Dear Julian,
While of course it is possible for terrible biological effects to occur from
electromagnetic radiation, within the normal range of therapeutic magnets
(and they would not have had especially powerful magnets in Hahnemann's day
anyway) there is no side-effect, no harm possible, and thus no proving
possible. It is hard to be certain, but I believe that magnets do not
operate by the law of similars.
Yes, exactly. So I am wondering why Hahnemann might have called magnets
homeopathic, if he didn't carry out provings with them. He wasn't talking
about remedies made from magnets, since he speaks about regulating the dose
according to the amount of time the magnet is applied.
OK, I was wrong about that!
And I think Hahnemann was possibly interested in the idea of this animal
magnetism - which we would nowadays call bioenergy - as a likely candidate
for the force behind these remedies of his. Surely he must have been
curious! He was a deeply inquiring person. He must have known that a
detailed understanding of how his remedies worked was well beyond what the
science of his day could achieve; but he must have been looking for some
kind of basic understanding.
The science of bioelectrodynamics, that is, the science of electrical and
magnetic workings of the body and how these can be influenced. Homeopaths
seem to know very little about developments in this area. Homeopathy has had
remarkably little scientific effort or thought invested in it, from inside.
compared to related fields. On the outside, though, scientists have done a
lot. The most famous example seems to be Dr Benveniste with the memory of
water affair. I read of another researcher who measured the frequency of
Arnica 1000x at 9.725 kHz. Albert Abrams is reported to have demonstrated
that the waveform of malaria could be neutralised by the waveform of
quinine, i.e. the "remedy" wave was vibrating 180 degrees out of phase with
it, explaining the idea of the law of similars. The same can be done with
sound waves and this heterodyne principle is well known in electronics and
engineering. It seems within the range of possibility to record all the
wavelengths of the various remedies and convert them to sound, or light,
into scanners, etc. We would be able to match field strengths more precisely
and neutralise illnesses more accurately. This is the kind of thing that
Benveniste has been investigating. It has amazing potential offshoots, for
instance, instead of carrying tissue samples by courier from one hospital to
another, doctors would be able to email them to each other!
Someone on this group forwarded me much of the above, and it sets me
thinking about why homeopathy is so behind. If we could demonstrate what is
going on, and measure everything, many of these arguments and sectarian
disputes amongst homeopaths would be ended. I am also pretty sure that a lot
of homeopaths would stop being interested in it, though, as it seems that
science is a dirty concept for many. The person who forwarded me the
information told me (as I already knew) that mention of science is
considered heretical in some homeopathy circles, and speculated that the
reason for this is that many people in homeopathy are scientifically
illiterate and very challenged by the idea of anything complex. My
correspondent also suggested that for many homeopaths or would-be
homeopaths, what draws them is what they perceive as the mystical or
spiritual aspect of it. This is certainly something one does not find in
magnet research, from what I have read. That's really why I was asking about
Hahnemann and magnets - thanks again for your responses.
Warmly,
Anna
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