I called into a radio show on NPR
I was in my 20’s; my whole purpose to drop a reference to homeopathy (I’d been dabbling in it for a while) on some guest scientists (the show was the now-defunct Odyssey, hosted by Gretchen Helfrich.) I have no idea what the particular topic was that day, but their reaction to my positive mention of homeopathy (which I’m sure they regarded as pseudoscientific nonsense) amuses me even now. To paraphrase, because I have no record of the call, one of them said:

“We know enough about how chemistry and biology work to know that homeopathic medicines can’t do anything.” And he laughed with that sort of laugh which creates deep solidarity with all who agree with him.

He was subtly mocking me.
I took this as a bit of a challenge and went on to continue using homeopathy and seek to understand it better for many years. To summarize what I learned from experience: homeopathy is powerful, but when it is not the tool for a given job, don’t use it. It can’t correct deficiencies, but it can give information. When used in a proverbial vacuum, it isn’t a magic bullet, but when added to an already functioning system of reality-based health, it can be useful.

Recently, out of the blue, some researchers in mainstream science have stumbled upon phenomena that, if found to be repeatable, verify certain claims of the homeopaths. Bizarre chemical discovery gives homeopathic hint… Check it out. I’ve seen some amazing things using homeopathy, mostly when used in acute illnesses. I’m convinced it’s effective in lots of situations…

Even so, I don’t actually use homeopathy more than a few times a year
Since about seven years ago, I’ve had fewer and fewer reasons to access my stash of remedies. Many of them have expired. What happened?

I found a hidden gem and it outshone all the other therapies I’d ever tried
The end of one story is the beginning of another.

Image: CC BY 2.0, credit.

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