Randi Attacks Homeopathic Nonsense

One of my personal heroes is in the news again -- the Amazing Randi. James Randi had a successful career as a magician, and now devotes his time and energy to debunking fakes and frauds (like psychics, mediums, miracle healers, telepaths, diviners, etc.). For many years he offered a million dollars to anyone who can prove their particular paranormal "gift" scientifically -- or just do something he can't reproduce using trickery. He has never had to pay up (no surprise there).

Now he is taking on the so-called "medicine" of homeopathy. Homeopathic medicine is the putting of infinitesimal amount of some ingredient in a water solution (many times the amount of the "ingredient" is so small it can't be detected) in the belief that this solution can have some kind of therapeutic effect on the human body. It is nonsense of course, and about time that someone exposes this quackery.

Randi has again offered a million dollars, this time to anyone who can scientifically prove that a homeopathic "medicine" has any effect at all on the body (beyond the effect that ordinary water has). I don't think there's any chance he'll have to pay up, since homeopathy relies more on human gullibility than any actual medicinal value.

And when he offered the million dollar challenge, Randi and thousands of other people decided they would prove their point by trying to overdose on homeopathic drugs. They took massive doses of the so-called drugs to show that they have absolutely no effect. Randi also challenged drugstores to stop making their customers "pay real money for fake medicine".

Randi said, "Consumers have the right to know what they're buying. No one should walk out of a drugstore with a homeopathic product without knowing these basic facts: there is no credible evidence that the product does what it says; there is not one bit -- not a single atom -- of the claimed 'active ingredient' in the package; and no U.S. health agency has tested or approved the product. It should be a crime for retail corporations to profit by denying the public this critical information about the products on their shelves."

I agree and I appreciate Randi's efforts, but I doubt they'll be able to do away with homeopathy. Far too many humans are incredibly gullible and all too willing to believe in "magical thinking" and quackery. As P.T. Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute."