Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century

The opposition to homeopathy led to the formation a new –and short-lived –group: 1023. Unfortunately they were not able to produce any new ideas with which to attack homeopathy, as is shown by their choice of name. Based on the approximate value of Avogadro's number, it is a reference to their continuing conviction that there is no science more fundamental than nineteenth century chemistry. The fact that this idea was rejected by homeopaths at least 180 years ago, and has been rejected by other scientists for approximately a century has escaped their notice.

 

In an effort to prove that homeopathy does not work, members of 1023 chose to perform a bizarre stunt outside branches of Boots the Chemist in order to influence the company's policy on selling "homeopathic remedies". By taking "overdoses" of potentised substances they hope to prove that homeopathy does not work. 1023 - An Overdose of Nonsense shows that this experiment is so badly designed that it is in fact utterly incapable of proving their case, though it is capable of proving that the process of potentisation makes a significant difference.

 

1023 - An Overdose of Nonsense also points out that the premises on which the 1023 group's argument is based are profoundly flawed, since they do not fit with the facts. Indeed the evidence shows that the 1023 group does not understand:

• basic mathematics,

• basic scientific principles,

• research evidence,

• the principles of research design,

• medical facts,

• the principles of evidence based medicine, or

• the principles of homeopathy.

 

In short the group was profoundly ignorant of the subject it was making claims about, and its ‘overdose’ stunt was simply a propaganda exercise without any scientific basis. 

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