[17] .home. [19]

The Taos Discussion

Monday, August 29, 2005

ARC model and the tone scale:

thread of 4 beads

[12] , [13] , [14] , [15]

Message from John Sowa

Paul,

It's not just a branding problem: (see

> One of our feelings is that homeopathic medicine has a branding (naming) difficulty related to the name "homeopathic"..

The major problem is that homeopathic medicine has never been able to demonstrate its superiority to that wonder drug known as the *placebo*.

A placebo has a very strong physiological effect: if somebody is convinced that it will work, a supply of endorphins are created, which are responsible for a major portion of the effect:

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7892

Placebos trigger an opioid hit in the brain

It's also possible that other mechanisms that haven't yet been discovered are also involved in the placebo effect. Various forms of meditation and trance-like phenomena have large physiological effects, which could also be involved in the success of any medical procedure (including homeopathic, placebo, and even mainstream).

Bottom line: It's important to keep an open mind about all the alternatives (including the mainstream), but it's equally important to maintain a healthy skepticism about all of them (including the mainstream).

John Sowa