It is amazing that an author who writes about bias is not aware of
his/her own possible bias. Jill Klein demonstrates homeopathy as an
example of illusory correlation. But you have to read literature with
considerable confirmation bias to use it as proof for this purpose.
Vandenbroucke defied the medical community to produce a conventional
method with better proof than homeopathy.(1) Fundamental research is
improving and rendering remarkable proof that homeopathy is more than just
placebo effect.(2) I suspect that Klein is convinced that homeopathy
cannot work, as I was when I started in general practice. But many
patients experienced benefit from homeopathy where I could not help them.
Then I tried the method myself and observed reactions that I did not
expect. In general, doctors that try homeopathy are amazed, they can help
patients that they could not help before.
Klein reverses things, patients show doctors that homeopathy might work,
doctors on the other hand are reluctant to accept this conclusion. They
cling to the hypothesis that medicines can only work by molecular
interactions. They refuse to consider other options. Brownian motion, the
fact that molecules hover in a medium defying gravity, can illustrate that
this is a mistake. It took many theories and much more experiments before
Einstein and Smoluchowski solved this problem theoretically and Perrin
experimentally.(3) The starting point for this research was believing our
own eyes. Why can’t we believe our patients?
Lex Rutten, homeopathic physician
References
1. Vandenbroucke JP. Medical journals and the shaping of medical
knowledge. Lancet 1998;352:2001-6
2. Belon E, Cumps J, Ennis M, Mannaioni PF, Robertfroid M, Sainte-Laudy
J, Wiegant FAC. Histamine dilutions modulate basophil activation. Inflamm.
res. 2004; 53: 181-8
3. Mayo DG. Error and the growth of experimental Knowledge. TheUniversity
of Chicago Press. Chicago 1996
Rapid Response:
Biased paper on bias
It is amazing that an author who writes about bias is not aware of
his/her own possible bias. Jill Klein demonstrates homeopathy as an
example of illusory correlation. But you have to read literature with
considerable confirmation bias to use it as proof for this purpose.
Vandenbroucke defied the medical community to produce a conventional
method with better proof than homeopathy.(1) Fundamental research is
improving and rendering remarkable proof that homeopathy is more than just
placebo effect.(2) I suspect that Klein is convinced that homeopathy
cannot work, as I was when I started in general practice. But many
patients experienced benefit from homeopathy where I could not help them.
Then I tried the method myself and observed reactions that I did not
expect. In general, doctors that try homeopathy are amazed, they can help
patients that they could not help before.
Klein reverses things, patients show doctors that homeopathy might work,
doctors on the other hand are reluctant to accept this conclusion. They
cling to the hypothesis that medicines can only work by molecular
interactions. They refuse to consider other options. Brownian motion, the
fact that molecules hover in a medium defying gravity, can illustrate that
this is a mistake. It took many theories and much more experiments before
Einstein and Smoluchowski solved this problem theoretically and Perrin
experimentally.(3) The starting point for this research was believing our
own eyes. Why can’t we believe our patients?
Lex Rutten, homeopathic physician
References
1. Vandenbroucke JP. Medical journals and the shaping of medical
knowledge. Lancet 1998;352:2001-6
2. Belon E, Cumps J, Ennis M, Mannaioni PF, Robertfroid M, Sainte-Laudy
J, Wiegant FAC. Histamine dilutions modulate basophil activation. Inflamm.
res. 2004; 53: 181-8
3. Mayo DG. Error and the growth of experimental Knowledge. TheUniversity
of Chicago Press. Chicago 1996
Competing interests:
homeopathic physician
Competing interests: No competing interests