Magnetic therapy does work. If a computer has a virus on the hard drive and you expose it to powerful magnets you are quite likely to destroy the virus. 
My first summer job I spent about two weeks de-gaussing government floppy disks. Man was that fun. Put disk in machine, wait 60 seconds, hope magnets aren’t destroying my brain cells, take disk out, put disk in, wait 60 seconds, hope that magnets are giving me super powers, take disk out.
Actually there are a few other explanations as well. It could be an effect of multiple comparisons. If you try enough things, then eventually you will try something on a day that you happen to feel better than average, and you may attribute that feeling better to the thing you tried on that day.
It also could be that there was a real effect from the therapy but that it was unrelated to the magnets. I’m entirely willing to believe that the ergonomic structure of the nikon pillow and bed improved his pain, I just suspect that the same thing would have happened if the magnets had been replaced with pieces of non-magnetic metal. My first experience with homeopathy was actually a quite positive one. I had an earache and bought homeopathic drops which right away helped my pain. I am convinced that the effect was real and not simply a placebo effect. However, I am also convinced that it was likely due to the “inactive” glycerine rather than 10^(-whatever) traces of whatnot they added to it.
All lodes lead to Batman.
“Magnetic Therapy” didn’t work 100 years ago. Why would it all of a sudden start working?
Also:
Electrical current
Radiation
Phrenology
Blue glass
Don’t work.
The old “patent medicines”, OTOH, contained opium in alcohol - it didn’t cure anything, but it sure as hell “worked” in at least a couple of senses.
Probably.
It was definitely to Zatanna in Brave And The Bold. I don’t remember what issue. IIRC Healer Angela Marcy thinks it’s faith and her psychic abilities healing people. Batman discovers it’s actually her ring- which injects some unspecified drugs into the people she lays hands on- that’s responsible.
Zatanna doesn’t come off very well in that story. She’s an actual magic-user in the DC universe, and was periodically written as a performing stage magician (i.e. she’d use a mix of conventional stage magic and real magic in her act and was skilled in both), yet she’s overly credulous in the fake faith-healer’s abilities. If anything, she’s supremely qualified to spot fakery, more so than Batman.
My adolescent self found the issue’s cover compelling, for, uh… some reason.
I agree completely.
Holy cats! WTF is Zatanna wearing???
Thank you. That is probably the best way to reply to the whole “open-minded” thing I have ever seen.
8
Though my personal preference is the tuxedo/fishnet outfit she started with and has since returned to, the character’s costume varied significantly over the years.
Yeah, so the fuck what? It’s moronic and Tapioca Dextrin’s comment on monopoles was spot on. Magnets make a field. You get it? The magnetic field created by an arrangement of magnets has a flux near that south pole that is identical to the flux at a location near the north pole of the magnet. This talk of having the north pole be good for you while the south pole is bad is too idiotic for words unless monopoles exist and you could “charge” something up with either a positive or negative magnetic charge. Get it? Magnets make a fucking field that has no + or - associated with it, just a direction.
ETA: If the south pole of a magnet is good for back pain, you could get an identical field by putting the bad north pole of a magnet against you abdomen.
TD’s comment on monopoles was a complete strawman.
Look, the purpose of commenting on such things is to fight ignorance, right? Success is measured in terms of how many minds you change.
Just suppose you have a friend, and he tells you that he is thinking of getting some magnetic therapy. You wish to warn him that it doesn’t work. And while instructing, you knowingly misrepresent the claims of magnetic therapy. Ask yourself this, how likely is it that you will change his mind that way?
Have you in fact ever seen any skeptic win by lying?
That’s so what.
Actually, I think you’ll find it was a joke.
I dunno, you can impart a lot of useful information with models that are not quite accurate or complete. Heck, the teaching of math is full of stuff like that:
Basic arithmetic: Six minus four is two. Four minus six is incorrect.
Basic algebra: Now that you understand arithmetic, we can tell you four minus six IS correct by introducing the concept of negative numbers. By the way, the square roots of four are two and negative two. The square root of negative four is incorrect.
Basic trigonometry: Well, now you’re ready to learn that the square root of negative four IS correct, by introducing the concept of imaginary numbers…
And so forth, with each level of math introducing one or more concepts that didn’t exist at the previous level or even breaks the rules of the previous level. Does that mean the teaching of earlier levels was spreading ignorance? Maybe, but it’s USEFUL ignorance. Using a white lie to discourage a friend from wasting large amounts of money on a quack therapy (for example, telling him that Scientology sells poison milk to schoolchildren) isn’t so bad. If it’s just him buying a magnetic bracelet at the dollar store, let it go.
No matter.
No, it was a joke based on the silly claim that the direction of the magnetic field you were exposed to made a difference. Obviously if you had a monopole you wouldn’t accidentally harm instead of heal because you turned the magnet the wrong way round.
I’ve racked my brain trying to come up with an idea of how their idea would even work, but no simple theory passes even the most superficial and cursory examination.
As others have said, it was a joke. Also, you don’t want to bore those that believe the woo with nitpicky crap like this. Technically, its the truth-In reality, they won’t understand it and they will ignore it.
snerk
In what way? Explain the humour.
Here’s a hint, it wasn’t a joke, it was simply wrong. It’s an argument I’ve seen before, it was intended seriously, and it fails.
Please try to understand. The OP asked a reasonable question - does magnetic therapy work? Obviously someone asking a question like that is willing to listen if we tell him that it doesn’t work.
What you need to do is post information that will persuade him. When presenting an argument, ask yourself how the OP will react. If **FreeHomes **should come back to this thread and read your responses, what will he think?
I pointed out a strawman. HFB responded “so the fuck what.” Czarcasm declared it to be a “nitpick.” And both are willing to continue posting it, even though they know it to be a false argument. They have actually said so pretty directly.
How would the OP react to that? Anyone think he’d be won over by their willingness to knowingly post fallacies? I think he’s find magnetic therapy MORE convincing.
I’m prepared to take that chance, in the sense that I can’t summon much concern about the beliefs of some anonymous internet user whose only posts were in this thread a dozen years ago.
Even if he was a child and you played the “won’t someone PLEASE think of the children?!” card, I’d be all “meh.”
I am irresistibly drawn to this thread once again, for no apparent reason. It’s a peculiar attraction…I can’t explain it. :dubious::eek::smack: