Homeopathic remedies are ineffective

Dilution My first point is that the dilution of homeopathic remedies are well beyond any rational standard and make them ineffective. “homeopathic remdies get more effective as they get more diluted. ” (1) This is one of the foundational principles of homeopathy and the reason behind the incredible dilutions. This is a chart I sourced which gives a rough guide to the level of dilution: (2) X Potencies (Decimal) C Potencies (Centesimal) Ratio Raw Mat. - 1 1X - 1:10 2X 1C 1:100 3X - 1:1000 4X 2C 1:100000 5X - 1:100000 6X 3C 1:1000000 7X - 1:10000000 8X 4C 1:100000000 9X - 1:1000000000 10X 5C 1:10000000000 11X - 1:100000000000 12X 6C 1:1000000000000 13X - 1:10000000000000 14X 7C 1:100000000000000 15X - 1:1000000000000000 The ratio refers to the amount of parts of water in comparison to one part of the actual remedy. “So for example, 6x = 1 part in 10, 6 times. So the final concentration is 1 in 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10, or 1 in 1,000,000. ” (1) Please remember that all of this is sourced from homeopathy advocacy websites so none of it is exaggerated. Now I imagine that my con is going to argue that not all homeopathic remedies are on the high end of the scale and that many are probably 1X but this is not true. This website . http://www.helios.co.uk... is one of the primary retailers of homeopathic remedies. I entered the shop and went only on remedies beginning with the letter T, the first five had a potency scale range of “6X, 12X, 6C, 30C, 200C” (4) meaning that the least diluted has one part remedy to one million parts water. The most diluted having the ratio of 1:1 x 10-400. I have gathered some analogies together to demonstrate the level of dilution in a more comprehensible way: 8X = The allowable concentration of arsenic in US drinking water. (5) 12C = A pinch of salt in both the North and South Atlantic Oceans (6) 200C = As there are only about 10 to the 80atoms in the entire observable universe, a dilution of one molecule in the observable universe would be about 40C. 200C would thus require 10 to the 320 more universes to simply have one molecule in the final substance. (7) You may believe a 200C remedy to be rare or non-existent but Oscillococcinum is one, a remedy marketed for flu symptoms, which is sold in more than 50 countries. As you can see these dilutions are absolutely absurd due to the fact that “Serial dilution of a solution results, after each dilution step, in fewer molecules of the original substance per litre of solution. Eventually, a solution will be diluted beyond any likelihood of finding a single molecule of the original substance in a litre of the total dilution product. ” (8) Therefore it is completely illogical and irrational to call homeopathic remedies anything but ineffective and the idea that more dilute substances result in a more effective product is an absurdity. Water Memory and "Succussion" These are the two main explanations homeopathy advocates give in response to the question of dilution. The concept that water has some kind of memory is often repeated, this is of course ridiculous because liquid water does not maintain ordered networks of molecules for longer times than a small fraction of a nanosecond. (9) French immunologist Jacques Benveniste published a study in Nature magazine stating that in a double blind study they had found evidence of this water memory but it was later found to be a fraud and Nature published a follow-up report on the issue stating that “the hypothesis that water can be imprinted with the memory of past solutes is as unnecessary as it is fanciful. " Subsequent credible research has only corroborated this fact. Succussion is the second explanation given by advocates of homeopathy, the word itself is medical jargon for shaking the substance. I hardly need to go into why this is a pointless activity, it's quite obvious to even a scientific layman like me that atoms aren't going to multiply or change simply from the act of shaking, they'll just move. Studies into Homeopathy and Professional Medical Opinions Studies such as BBC's Horizon (10) and ABC's 20/20 (11) have failed to differentiate homeopathic remedies from water. Those undertaken to prove the effectiveness of homeopathy are often deemed “statistically significant” with positive rates of 5% or something similar, a natural outcome when you consider the play it's making with chance. Unless the studies for homeopathy are double blind you must take into account the tendency for a 'placebo effect' outcome which would of course render the study inaccurate. Others who have commented on homeopathy include Edzard Ernst, the UK's only professor of complementary medicine, he criticised high street pharmacists for selling homeopathic remedies without informing customers that they contain no biologically active agents and are no more effective than sugar pills. (12) One notable publicity stunt was undertaken by James Randi in which he consumed many boxes of homeopathic sleeping pills to nil effect. There are of course many other studies and articles criticising it, but my 'characters remaining' count is quickly diminishing. The final thing I'd like to point you to is the explanations for the perceived effects, which can of course be explained rationally and separately from the homeopathic treatment. (13) I look forward to con's response. Sources . http://abchomeopathy.com... . http://www.remedymakers.com... . http://www.helios.co.uk... . https://www.helios.co.uk... . http://www.news-medical.net... Emery KO, Uchupi E (1984), The geology of the Atlantic Ocean Robert L. Park (2008), Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science, Princeton University Press, pp. 145–146 . http://en.wikipedia.org... Cowan ML; Bruner BD; Huse N et al. (2005). "Ultrafast memory loss and energy redistribution in the hydrogen bond network of liquid H2O" . http://www.bbc.co.uk... . http://abcnews.go.com... . http://www.guardian.co.uk... . http://en.wikipedia.org... (sourced from Shelton, Jay W. (2004), Homeopathy: How it Really Works)