The State of Alaska’s House Labor & Commerce Committee is considering a bill that “would unwisely permit the practice of naturopathy, a discredited form of pseudoscience, in the state of Alaska.” (Source: CFI Director of Government Affairs and Policy, Azhr Majeed)
Naturopathy is not a name people bandy about. Most people, however, are aware of homeopathy which is really what is being considered in the bill above. (I think the term naturopathy is a substitute term to avoid the negative reputation of homeopathy. The term naturopathy was invented 80 years after the term homeopathy.)
The foundations of homeopathy are basically these two:
Law of Infinitesimals (or Law of Potentization): This principle states that the curative potency of a substance increases as it is diluted multiple times, often combined with shaking (succussion).
Potentization/Dynamization: The process in homeopathy involving serial dilution and succussion (vigorous shaking) to unlock the “vital energy” of a substance. (Source: Harvard University)
In ordinary language, they claim is that diluting a drug or chemical makes it stronger. (You can always recognize a scam if they claim “adding water makes it stronger.”) So, if you run across someone who believes in this nonsense ask them to consider the following scenario:
A guy goes into a bar and asks for a whiskey and a pitcher of water. When he is served, he pours out half of the whisky and fills the glass with water from the pitcher. Then he empties half of that diluted beverage into the bartender’s sink, and fills it up with water again. He does this ten times. Then he downs the final liquid in his glass. So, question: do you expect this guy to fall off of his bar stool dead drunk?
If you do. You are a homeopath.
Uncommon Sense 