Homeopathy

[Alan H]

Latest post of the previous page:

Have you never seen that horse that can tap out numbers with it's hoof? Toby doesn't need to sign as he has our PIN No, although he hasn't seen fit to use it as yet, he trusts me to pay the bills

Very sensible...

[getreal]

Alan, I pay £350 a year with an annual £75 excess for each illness/injury for a 7 year old border collie. He's one of the cheaper breeds to be insured. If you have a breed which is prone to certain illnesses/diseases you pay more. PetPlan cover for life, so if you dog develops a lifelong condition that will contiue to cover it. Most policies don't do this. Of course all the usual stuff, vaccines/worming/anal glands aren't covered. Well, I suppose the anal glans would be covered, but the annual cost would be less than the excess.

Now that I've written that it's pretty outrageous.

[Alan H]

Of course, if you take out pet insurance, you're betting on your animal having above-average healthcare costs and that you will therefore pay less in premiums than you would otherwise have to pay direct to the vet. It does buffer you against very high costs and it's your decision whether the premiums are worth it, but, as always, you're paying someone else to reduce your risk (in paying high vet bills) while they take on no overall risk because they will have calculated premiums to cover all likely eventualities - unless there is an epidemic of some particular disease that requires costly treatment!

[Alan H]

Are Boiron homeopathic products bogus?

[Dave B]

I love Carrie!

[Alan H]

Boiron To Pay Up To $12M To End False Advertising Suits

By Keith Goldberg
Law360, New York (March 07, 2012, 1:47 PM ET) -- French homeopathic medicine giant Boiron Inc. agreed on Tuesday to spend up to $12 million to settle several putative consumer class actions claiming it falsely advertised the benefits of its homeopathic remedies.

Boiron will put up $5 million to cover consumers seeking refunds on Boiron products they purchased, according to the proposed settlement filed in California federal court. Refunds are capped at $100 per household, the settlement said.

Boiron also agreed to make changes to the labeling of its products, including adding a disclaimer stating that...

Unfortunately, you need to register to read the rest, but you get the gist...

[Dave B]

[Alan H]

The inimitable Andy Lewis has blogged about this: Boiron Settles for $12M to Stop Homeopathy Lawsuits

[Nick]

Of course, if you take out pet insurance, you're betting on your animal having above-average healthcare costs and that you will therefore pay less in premiums than you would otherwise have to pay direct to the vet. It does buffer you against very high costs and it's your decision whether the premiums are worth it, but, as always, you're paying someone else to reduce your risk (in paying high vet bills) while they take on no overall risk because they will have calculated premiums to cover all likely eventualities - unless there is an epidemic of some particular disease that requires costly treatment!

Oh, Alan! What a jaundiced view you have of insurance! You are not so much "betting" on anything, especially not the abnormally bad health of your beloved moggie or mutt. You are laying off the risk of an abnormally expensive disease or injury to your pet by accepting somewhere near the average cost of vet bills for all pets covered. The insurer's profit comes from the service of providing the pooling of the risks. If they make abnormally high profits, then competition between insurance providers should reduce the margins and cost. And it is not true that the insurers take no risk. For that to be true, they must have perfect knowledge of all future claims. Clearly they don't. They do have data, of course, but that should, and does, contribute towards competition.

[Alan H]

I’ve decided to do my bit for homeopathy awareness…

Watch the slide show...

[Dave B]

Excellent.

[Alan H]

What skeptics do...

[Tetenterre]

I’ve decided to do my bit for homeopathy awareness…

As Dave said, excellent.

[Alan H]

Oh noes!

Homeopathy in crisis as water loses its memory

The world of homeopathy was plunged into deep crisis this week as it was revealed that water had lost its memory.

And efforts to find a homeopathic remedy have so far proved fruitless.

‘A watery version of Alzheimer’s seems to have occurred,’ said one homeopathy practitioner. ‘And it’s a bit of a vicious circle trying to find a cure.’

But Dr Miles Schofield, a leading expert on alternative medicine, said he had a beaker of homeopathic water in his lab that appeared to have lost its memory but could still play the Bach flower remedies, a Chopin nocturne and several pieces by Thelonius Monk.

‘This little beaker of water remarkably can’t remember which tap or reservoir it came out of,’ he said, ‘or cure boils, but it still has this amazing ability – for water – to perform from the classical and jazz repertoire, albeit in a highly diluted form.

‘Such is the power of homeopathy – and water,’ Dr Schofield declared.

button/JohnA

[Alan H]

Just in case there's someone who's not seen laughed at this: Charlene Werner Explains Physics

[Dave B]

[Shakes head in disbelief]

[Tetenterre]

OK, here's a challenge for you: how can the theory of natural selection explain the evolution of such profound phuqouittery?

[Val]

Alan I thought this vid was going to be the one where she talks about the water having memory. Is this the same woman and can you please find that bit for me again. Not lazy just confused/

[Alan H]

Alan I thought this vid was going to be the one where she talks about the water having memory. Is this the same woman and can you please find that bit for me again. Not lazy just confused/

Not sure - I don't remember having seen her on any other video. However, there are many quacks out there 'explaining' how water remembers things - can you remember anything about the one you're thinking of?

[Dave B]

I seem to remember that as well, Val, but a search on Youtube on the lady produces only the one Alan linked.

[jdc]

Here's my contribution to World Homeopathy Awareness Week: http://jdc325.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/ ... ness-week/