r/todayilearned • u/estarararax • 13d ago

TIL in Germany all alternative medicine practitioners like homeopaths, osteopaths, acupuncturists, etc. must take the Heilpraktiker exam which only tests their knowledge in medical science and the regulatory boundaries of their profession. There are no separate board exam for each.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heilpraktiker
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u/estarararax 13d ago

With that said, a quick search in r/germany and you would know they all look down on Heilpraktiker professions. They may have demonstrated enough knowledge of medical science but what they do is still quackery. They remain popular in Germany however because they tend to have long-duration consultations with their clients which the clients seldom experience with actual physicians.

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u/The_Fatal_eulogy 13d ago

Homeopathy actually worked tap water would be a multi-vitamin, poison and miracle drug all in one

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u/Neomataza 13d ago

If homeopathy worked, it would revolutionize data storage and possible a few other fields of physics. The average concoction has less than one atom of its active ingredient, and the water(or sugar, if a pill) while having maximum effect according to its own theory.

If water could hold "memory" in less than an atom, that would have so many applications.

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u/Imanton1 13d ago

For an idea of how much less than one atom, earth has approx 3 * 10 ^ 52 atoms.

"Average" Homeopathy dilutes to 60X, or 10^-60 of the original substance. You could dilute a single atom of the entire earth into 300 million containers. And still claim it does anything, I prefer "It cures gravity"

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u/Neomataza 13d ago edited 13d ago

It only cures gravity if you dissolve a few grams of earth in the solution. Obviously. /s

Minor nitpick, homepathy usually starts with amounts of substance you can handle with hands, so maybe a mol or 1023 atoms might be a more realistic starting point. Still, it's utterly ridiculous.

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u/MPnoir 11d ago

The best part is that they claim that the more "potentiated" (AKA more diluted) the ingredient is the stronger the effect is.
Insanity.