7 ms·

If homeopathy "theory" says that the water retains an "imprint" of other chemicals it encountered, clearly the tap water coming into your house is horribly cont

by gumby 2y ago

If homeopathy "theory" says that the water retains an "imprint" of other chemicals it encountered, clearly the tap water coming into your house is horribly contaminated with the fish pee, ozone (from UV purification treatment) and the pipes themselves. I briefly considered selling a device that would "reverse" those consequences so the water from your tap would be homeopathically neutralized. But it just seemed unethical to take advantage of the poorly educated. It's bad enough there are people selling crystals, bibles, and magic charms -- selling a scam-device like this is just as unethical.

charles_f 2y ago
> clearly the tap water coming into your house is horribly contaminated with the fish pee, ozone (from UV purification treatment) and the pipes themselves. But then, the next concept is "like cures like". Why do you think people are so immune to fish piss?
- brendoelfrendo 2y ago
  Boy, I bet all those people in Flint, Michigan are glad they're immune to lead now.
  - charles_f 2y ago
    If they get sick that's only because of the mercury in those vaccines.
  - gumby 2y ago
    Is it supposed to be my fault, or the governor's fault that they chose to live in Flint and not Palo Alto or the Upper East Side of Manhattan? If you make bad choices, take responsibility and bear the consequences. That's the American Way. It ain't my problem, Jack!
    - AnnikaL 2y ago
      What will you say to people in Palo Alto who experience earthquakes, or Manhattanites who experience flooding?
      - gumby 2y ago
        Clearly they did not plan ahead. If they really worry about these issues they can simply move or turn to the private sector. If the private sector can’t help them, that’s clearly due to the jackboot of unelected bureaucrats — congress needs to juice the supply side by cutting taxes on the job creators. (BTW there’s an earthquake fault running right down Water St in lower Manhattan!)
- gumby 2y ago
  Well, we all know what else fish do in the water and I don't want my kids being born with gills.
bryant 2y ago
You could probably still do it. It'd just have to be a distillation system that's not explicitly branded as a countertop water distiller but still describes its function and effects as such. You see plenty of examples of this on the market already as-is in different sectors. A part for a Ford GT could cost 500 bucks where the same part for a Ford Fiesta could cost 50.
- toss1 2y ago
  Good point but not such a great great exsmple of spurious cost differences. The Ford GT is a top race-spec car putting out 660 horsepower and capable of speeds around 220 mph, while the econocar Fiesta tops out at 112 HP and would be lucky to see 100mph with a tailwind. Unless the part is something like a window-opener switch, yoi WANT that part to have all the extra engineering, higher spec materials, tighter-tolerance machining, and higher-level finishing that goes into making a high-performance machine actually perform at such high levels. Moreover, even if the parts weren't fundamentally different despite occupying similar roles in the car, the mere difference in volume of production will dictate a far higher cost for the "same" part in a car made only in quantities of only a few hundred per year vs thousands per month ...
  - bryant 2y ago
    I was referring to common elements like window switches, yes. I figured it would've gone without saying since the other components are binned based on manufacturing quality.
    - toss1 2y ago
      Yes, while some components are binned based on mfg quality, most key components of race or supercars are not merely differentially binned from the econocars. This is especially true for critical components like the drivetrain, suspension, chassis, etc. Race and supercar components will have entirely different design, engineering, materials specification, manufacturing, testinng, assembly, and QA processes. Just a gear in the transmission, a piston, body panel, or even the bolts and fasteners will often be as alien from an econocar part as are jet engine parts (in fact, it is not uncommon for racecars to borrow tech from aviation & space technology). A specific example that I work on is body panels and suspension components, which are just stamped steel for econo-cars, but for race and supercars are highly designed carbon fiber panels or components. They have literally zero in common except for ending up on the same general area of the car. Even when converting an econo-car to a low-level race spec, the new part will be entirely different. E.g., I've made parts for championship-winning pro rally and pro road racing cars. Every single component is stripped off the original frame, and then new parts are designed and built. E.g., when I build a carbon fiber hood, it will look a lot like the original, but in fact, not a single molecule or process will be the same as the original hood, but they might use an original hinge bracket to mount it to the frame. Source: Worked on racecars, drove several championship wins, own high-performance composites design & fabrication biz that does work for race teams, among other customers.
bitwize 2y ago
"It's a miracle! Take physics and bin it! Water has memory, and whilst its memory of a long lost drop of onion juice seems infinite, it somehow forgets all the poo it's had in it." --Tim Minchin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYkyB35zkk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYkyB35zkk
rc_mob 2y ago
There are all sorts of homeopathy theories depending on who you talk to and what day of the week it is.
- gumby 2y ago
  Oh goody I can sell seven models, one for each day of the week!
Teever 2y ago
> But it just seemed unethical to take advantage of the poorly educated I thought about doing the same during COVID when people were believing ludicrous claims about nanobots in the vaccine. I was thinking that you could make a nice chunk of coin selling those old acam magnetic bracelets that 'deactivate the nanobots so that you can get the vaccine protection without the bots' That way people would be helped by your scam product. And another way to look at it is that these people are going to be scammed by someone, it might as well be you, some with morals and not someone who is going to use that scamoney to move onto a bigger and bigger scam until they scam their way into the office of president.
- samus 2y ago
  Other scammers might be even less scrupulous and sell stuff which is actively harmful.
- gumby 2y ago
  > And another way to look at it is that these people are going to be scammed by someone, it might as well be you, some with morals Hard to believe that anyone scamming others has acceptable moral scruples. Rather a case of "Yes, he killed a bunch of people but at least he was kind to his dog and kept to a strict vegetarian diet for moral reasons". But I have to confess I had some pleasurable Schadenfreude thinking of this idea.
KennyBlanken 2y ago
It likely wouldn't work. All these treatments are rooted in personality cults, social pressure, and anecdotes. Unless one of the big names in naturopathy gives your widget the thumbs up, the whackos won't buy it. In order to get them to give your widget the thumbs up, you'd have to give them a take. Once you get 1-2 big names on board - now all the others have to decide whether to go with the flow (while not getting paid), try to shake you down, or go against the big names. Reiki is a good example of this bullshit. You can get "certified" to a certain level, but the first question that people want to know is "who trained you", and they essentially follow a flowchart to see if your training came from the "good" reiki practitioners.
samus 2y ago
Such devices are indeed already on the market. They are fancy water filters, nothing more, nothing less.
- gumby 2y ago
  I should have guessed. Of course the water picks up the imprint of the filters. My device would use magnets! Moving magnets so it doesn't bias the water.
  - kergonath 2y ago
    Do not ever try putting something like “magnet water purifier” in Google, then. Or, if your results make too much sense, just add some bullshit like “crystals”. You’d be disappointed to learn that about 54,017 charlatans beat you to the punch. Some of them even got some articles in something that looks like a peer-reviewed journal…
    - gumby 2y ago
      Sheesh, there is probably no hope for humanity. I vote for the rationalist robots.
CoastalCoder 2y ago
> It's bad enough there are people selling ... bibles I'd like to suggest that starting a thread based on "${specific_religion} is false" won't go well on HN. Or was your point more about the selling of them? Sorry if I misunderstood.
- BrandoElFollito 2y ago
  To the point of OP, this is the same kind of belief, just older. One believes in /something/ when there is no scientific evidence for it - against all odds.
  - CoastalCoder 2y ago
    I'd like to substantively respond, but the GP comment's negative score confirms that HN isn't a good forum for this topic.
kergonath 2y ago
> I briefly considered selling a device that would "reverse" those consequences so the water from your tap would be homeopathically neutralized. But it just seemed unethical to take advantage of the poorly educated. You can rest assured that other people definitely did and indeed are still doing it. Ask me how I know. (A couple of late-night rabbit holes, of course. From positive crystals you’re supposed to put in a water filter to magic pots that turn dead, sterilised water into the pure, living good stuff. The Internet can be very depressing).
cbsmith 2y ago
You say that like fish pee isn't good for you.
- gumby 2y ago
  You should put it in capsules and sell them through Whole Foods.

by gumby 2y ago

charles_f 2y ago

> clearly the tap water coming into your house is horribly contaminated with the fish pee, ozone (from UV purification treatment) and the pipes themselves. But then, the next concept is "like cures like". Why do you think people are so immune to fish piss?

brendoelfrendo 2y ago
Boy, I bet all those people in Flint, Michigan are glad they're immune to lead now.
- charles_f 2y ago
  If they get sick that's only because of the mercury in those vaccines.
- gumby 2y ago
  Is it supposed to be my fault, or the governor's fault that they chose to live in Flint and not Palo Alto or the Upper East Side of Manhattan? If you make bad choices, take responsibility and bear the consequences. That's the American Way. It ain't my problem, Jack!
  - AnnikaL 2y ago
    What will you say to people in Palo Alto who experience earthquakes, or Manhattanites who experience flooding?
    - gumby 2y ago
      Clearly they did not plan ahead. If they really worry about these issues they can simply move or turn to the private sector. If the private sector can’t help them, that’s clearly due to the jackboot of unelected bureaucrats — congress needs to juice the supply side by cutting taxes on the job creators. (BTW there’s an earthquake fault running right down Water St in lower Manhattan!)
gumby 2y ago
Well, we all know what else fish do in the water and I don't want my kids being born with gills.

bryant 2y ago

You could probably still do it. It'd just have to be a distillation system that's not explicitly branded as a countertop water distiller but still describes its function and effects as such. You see plenty of examples of this on the market already as-is in different sectors. A part for a Ford GT could cost 500 bucks where the same part for a Ford Fiesta could cost 50.

toss1 2y ago
Good point but not such a great great exsmple of spurious cost differences. The Ford GT is a top race-spec car putting out 660 horsepower and capable of speeds around 220 mph, while the econocar Fiesta tops out at 112 HP and would be lucky to see 100mph with a tailwind. Unless the part is something like a window-opener switch, yoi WANT that part to have all the extra engineering, higher spec materials, tighter-tolerance machining, and higher-level finishing that goes into making a high-performance machine actually perform at such high levels. Moreover, even if the parts weren't fundamentally different despite occupying similar roles in the car, the mere difference in volume of production will dictate a far higher cost for the "same" part in a car made only in quantities of only a few hundred per year vs thousands per month ...
- bryant 2y ago
  I was referring to common elements like window switches, yes. I figured it would've gone without saying since the other components are binned based on manufacturing quality.
  - toss1 2y ago
    Yes, while some components are binned based on mfg quality, most key components of race or supercars are not merely differentially binned from the econocars. This is especially true for critical components like the drivetrain, suspension, chassis, etc. Race and supercar components will have entirely different design, engineering, materials specification, manufacturing, testinng, assembly, and QA processes. Just a gear in the transmission, a piston, body panel, or even the bolts and fasteners will often be as alien from an econocar part as are jet engine parts (in fact, it is not uncommon for racecars to borrow tech from aviation & space technology). A specific example that I work on is body panels and suspension components, which are just stamped steel for econo-cars, but for race and supercars are highly designed carbon fiber panels or components. They have literally zero in common except for ending up on the same general area of the car. Even when converting an econo-car to a low-level race spec, the new part will be entirely different. E.g., I've made parts for championship-winning pro rally and pro road racing cars. Every single component is stripped off the original frame, and then new parts are designed and built. E.g., when I build a carbon fiber hood, it will look a lot like the original, but in fact, not a single molecule or process will be the same as the original hood, but they might use an original hinge bracket to mount it to the frame. Source: Worked on racecars, drove several championship wins, own high-performance composites design & fabrication biz that does work for race teams, among other customers.

bitwize 2y ago

"It's a miracle! Take physics and bin it! Water has memory, and whilst its memory of a long lost drop of onion juice seems infinite, it somehow forgets all the poo it's had in it." --Tim Minchin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYkyB35zkk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYkyB35zkk

rc_mob 2y ago

There are all sorts of homeopathy theories depending on who you talk to and what day of the week it is.

gumby 2y ago
Oh goody I can sell seven models, one for each day of the week!

Teever 2y ago

> But it just seemed unethical to take advantage of the poorly educated I thought about doing the same during COVID when people were believing ludicrous claims about nanobots in the vaccine. I was thinking that you could make a nice chunk of coin selling those old acam magnetic bracelets that 'deactivate the nanobots so that you can get the vaccine protection without the bots' That way people would be helped by your scam product. And another way to look at it is that these people are going to be scammed by someone, it might as well be you, some with morals and not someone who is going to use that scamoney to move onto a bigger and bigger scam until they scam their way into the office of president.

samus 2y ago
Other scammers might be even less scrupulous and sell stuff which is actively harmful.
gumby 2y ago
> And another way to look at it is that these people are going to be scammed by someone, it might as well be you, some with morals Hard to believe that anyone scamming others has acceptable moral scruples. Rather a case of "Yes, he killed a bunch of people but at least he was kind to his dog and kept to a strict vegetarian diet for moral reasons". But I have to confess I had some pleasurable Schadenfreude thinking of this idea.

KennyBlanken 2y ago

It likely wouldn't work. All these treatments are rooted in personality cults, social pressure, and anecdotes. Unless one of the big names in naturopathy gives your widget the thumbs up, the whackos won't buy it. In order to get them to give your widget the thumbs up, you'd have to give them a take. Once you get 1-2 big names on board - now all the others have to decide whether to go with the flow (while not getting paid), try to shake you down, or go against the big names. Reiki is a good example of this bullshit. You can get "certified" to a certain level, but the first question that people want to know is "who trained you", and they essentially follow a flowchart to see if your training came from the "good" reiki practitioners.

samus 2y ago

Such devices are indeed already on the market. They are fancy water filters, nothing more, nothing less.

gumby 2y ago
I should have guessed. Of course the water picks up the imprint of the filters. My device would use magnets! Moving magnets so it doesn't bias the water.
- kergonath 2y ago
  Do not ever try putting something like “magnet water purifier” in Google, then. Or, if your results make too much sense, just add some bullshit like “crystals”. You’d be disappointed to learn that about 54,017 charlatans beat you to the punch. Some of them even got some articles in something that looks like a peer-reviewed journal…
  - gumby 2y ago
    Sheesh, there is probably no hope for humanity. I vote for the rationalist robots.

CoastalCoder 2y ago

> It's bad enough there are people selling ... bibles I'd like to suggest that starting a thread based on "${specific_religion} is false" won't go well on HN. Or was your point more about the selling of them? Sorry if I misunderstood.

BrandoElFollito 2y ago
To the point of OP, this is the same kind of belief, just older. One believes in /something/ when there is no scientific evidence for it - against all odds.
- CoastalCoder 2y ago
  I'd like to substantively respond, but the GP comment's negative score confirms that HN isn't a good forum for this topic.

kergonath 2y ago

> I briefly considered selling a device that would "reverse" those consequences so the water from your tap would be homeopathically neutralized. But it just seemed unethical to take advantage of the poorly educated. You can rest assured that other people definitely did and indeed are still doing it. Ask me how I know. (A couple of late-night rabbit holes, of course. From positive crystals you’re supposed to put in a water filter to magic pots that turn dead, sterilised water into the pure, living good stuff. The Internet can be very depressing).

cbsmith 2y ago

You say that like fish pee isn't good for you.

gumby 2y ago
You should put it in capsules and sell them through Whole Foods.