Thursday, June 9, 2011

Entangled doctor-patient relations

I believe in quantum pharmacology but certainly not quantum pharmacy! Drugs involve chemical or physical bonding at very specific sites in specific proteins. Quantum physics is integral to that function. However, anything beyond that is classical.

But, yesterday, I stumbled across this incredible paper which just leaves me speechless! This is part of a long series of papers by the author, claiming homeopathy is based in quantum physics.

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2007 Mar;4(1):7-16. Epub 2006 Sep 14.

Journeys in the country of the blind: entanglement theory and the effects of blinding on trials of homeopathy and homeopathic provings.

Source

Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London SW7 2AZ, UK.

Abstract

The idea of quantum entanglement is borrowed from physics and developed into an algebraic argument to explain how double-blinding randomized controlled trials could lead to failure to provide unequivocal evidence for the efficacy of homeopathy, and inability to distinguish proving and placebo groups in homeopathic pathogenic trials. By analogy with the famous double-slit experiment of quantum physics, and more modern notions of quantum information processing, these failings are understood as blinding causing information loss resulting from a kind of quantum superposition between the remedy and placebo.

2 comments:

  1. Homeopaths have begun to use terms like quantum memory (whatever the hell that means) to obfuscate their pseudoscience... I wish more physicists would stand up and ask "WTF are you talking about?"

    Then again, it doesn't matter that all of homeopathy is a crock (don't take my word for it -- look at the literature with exclusively null results or even Wikipedia).

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  2. More on this author:

    http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?s=a68d553c9f2c433fdf2fe8fa9b7a77fe&t=85020

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