(Rant On) I can’t stand pseudoscience scams, in large part because it scares me to think we still have so many people who are so gullible, uneducated, and ignorant. I was tipped off by a friend to a concept unfamiliar to me called “earthing” so I looked it up. There are books and web sites about this subject, and even an “M.D.” after one of the names connected with it, though it is a ridiculous piece of pseudoscience anyone with a high school science education would see at once is crap. There can be only a couple of reasons for this notion even seeing the light of day: some people are sociopaths who have no qualms about robbing others, some people are seriously deluded, some are too dumb to see through the scam, and some may be desperately struggling with health problems and grasping at straws. It’s a sad thing to see.
Earthing is a complete misinterpretation of electrical grounding. Basically the claim these people make is that somehow, by being in contact with the earth (bare feet on bare ground, for example) we get some poorly specified electrical health benefit. They sell “earthing mats” and quite a few other items you have to electrically ground by connecting them to the 3rd (ground) pin in an electrical outlet, and which you then sleep, sit, or stand on to obtain the purported benefit.
Of course, this is a complete scam, and the proponents are either ignorant and slightly nuts or purely in it for the money (robbing innocent people who don’t know any better). The concept is totally transparent and without value except perhaps via the placebo effect. They offer no scientific proof of benefits, but surround the concept with a lot of “woo woo” pseudoscientific claims and anecdotal reports from users. This proves nothing.
Scammers avoid public comment. It is worth noting that their website has no place for public commentary except for carefully selected reports from users that all read like delusional malarkey. They’ve published a book touting their “discovery” as “The most important health discovery ever?”, and I was glad they put the question mark on that subtitle, because the concept is pure BS. All of these people need to take a beginning science class that covers electricity fundamentals, or a class that teaches how scientific proofs are made. In either case they would quickly see what an empty rip-off this so-called “Earthing” is (unless they’re nuts, which is also a reasonable possibility).
That such scams succeed is a failing grade against our educational system. The saddest part is what the existence of such a scam says about Americans and our educational system. For decades religious fundamentalists and the lunatic fringe have attacked our educational system again and again with vouchers, “schools of choice”, private schools, standardized testing, and the arcane provisions of laws like “No Child Left Behind” (which really was the opposite of what its name says, like a lot of conservative initiatives). Schools have been forced to be less focused on real education and more focused on other things such as standardized tests. School funding has been slowly leached away along with students now attending private schools, usually corporation-owned, degrading the capabilities of public schools. On top of that there is an extreme fundamentalist element in the religious right (can you say “Taliban”?) that constantly tries to kill public education because it doesn’t support their religious views. This small but very vocal minority have driven the Republican Party into extremist territory, and threaten the existence of the party even more than they threaten to have their views forced on us.
Isn’t the increasing number of know-nothings in our population bad enough? Not for the religious right, since ignorance is the gateway by which they recruit and brainwash new adherents. I recommend that anyone who thinks “earthing” as described on the website has any real benefit get their head checked. If you think your health will improve because you put your feet on a grounded mat I have a big bridge I’d like to sell you.
As always, if you think I am off base please educate me. — Tim
Tim Prosser - Scratch Space 
Thanks for your article Tim. I am inclined to believe that Earthing is another come on meant to extract as much money as possible from foolish people. It reminds me of Dianetics. I am fairly well educated, in the arts mind you. I consider myself a scientist, but not a professional one. As a scientist, I would like to give Earthing a chance until it is clearly shown to be otherwise. I have been looking for the sort of information on the internet which clearly would clearly show it to be a swindle but I have yet to find it. I have found a study that shows it to be as claimed. The study may be pseudo-science or a complete fabrication. I continue to look for a strong, scientific condemnation. Randi.org doesn’t have it. Science based medicine doesn’t have it.
Wow Tim! You are very smart! It is great that your BS in Geography and lifetime of music has prepared you to condemn earthing and write a critique of the U.S. education system. I wish everyonneeee was as smart as you.
While this is a personal blog where I occasionally rant – I admit that – your comment doesn’t illuminate much, Charlie S. I welcome discussion – I can learn, and can be as off base as anyone. Your comment, unfortunately, doesn’t add much. I hope others who offer opinions (I welcome any) will bring something more constructive. Thanks anyway for your comment. BTW, care to provide your credentials? Which side of the education continuum are you on? Or should I take your comment as evidence?
I also would like to question your credentials…what makes you an expert on the subject? What proof did you base your conclusion on? Care to share? Can you disproof it by running some tests? Or would that be too much work for you? Maybe if you can’t proof if it does or doesn’t work, you should just say, “I don’t know”. There are a lot of people on the internet talking about how it does work for them, and they are not getting paid. Are you calling them all liars? And stupid? When you order an earthing product from the company, you receive a book and outlet tester for free. Why would they include a $15 book with even just a $30 order…they sell the book seperately so why give it too you for free? doesn’t sound so greedy…doesn’t sound like a scam. And if you read the book at all you would see that research tests were conducted by professioinals that were double-blind to prevent the placebo effect. This is well before any products were for sale, or even an inkling that there would be demand for a product. Other testing has been done since the book was wrote. If you or anyone is curious about this research, you can see the findings at earthinginstitute.net
My credentials are over 20 years working in the development of often-sensitive electronic devices and computer hardware, and 30 years as a ham radio hobbyist using equipment with high sensitivities in the microvolt-to-nanovolt range as well as a variety of grounding systems. I have spent many work days in laboratories measuring tiny currents including ground currents and watching the changes in the voltages involved on sensitive instruments. My professional observations and what I’ve read about earthing say the voltages and currents normally flowing in every object including the human body are several orders of magnitude higher than those supposedly involved in “earthing”. I don’t see any need to run more tests, but feel free to obtain the appropriate education and equipment and have at it. I’d like to see your results as I’ve seen virtually nothing I could feel confidence in from earthing proponents yet. There is no reason to prove something doesn’t work if it can’t be proven that it does.
Yes, there are lots of people on the internet claiming benefits from earthing, but there are also people claiming benefits from wearing aluminum foil hats – anecdotal evidence proves little or nothing.
That companies charge this or that much for earthing stuff also proves nothing.
As for published research, I have seen it come from only a couple of sources that I never before heard of and they both fail to publish hard data, only judgments drawn from the data they don’t share.
Why can’t I go to the University of Michigan medical school in my state, a leading medical research institution, and be prescribed earthing equipment? Why do none of the doctors I know have any regard for earthing? Why do I have to consult the “earthinginstitute.net” for information on it? I can think of only one reason: it’s a scam. Please show me hard data or think again about this whole thing. There are good reasons it is not common knowledge or in common use.
Thanks for reading and replying.
Why don’t you just try it for God’s sake!! It does work! The “Tour de France” cyclists seem to like it…..I wouldn’t be without it!! June from Maine
I guess I have tried it. I’ve been grounded for scientifically-justified reasons such as protecting sensitive electronic devices from electrostatic discharge while I work on them. Humans evolved to be insensitive to such things, though. Do what you like, but I don’t see any proof it does any more than a tin foil hat.
Evolved…..OK
Hi,Tim. I have still found no strong scientific condemnation of it on the internet. At this point though, I have removed the large rock from it’s place as a footrest and put it back in the garden where it belongs. The reason: Earthing doesn’t pass the smell test.
I know that the concept of “smell test” is unscientific, but it makes sense to me.
I say Earthing stinks because of my involvement with the medical system as a patient. At age 44, the electrical system of my heart wasn’t working right. I had no heart blockage, thyroid problem or heart disease. The reason given for my problem was “unknown cause”. I somehow like it when very educated people say that they don’t know because it is a statement of humility, a way of saying they don’t know everything. After using a variety of drugs and an ablation procedure they put a pacemaker in me. The pacemaker itself is worth about $10,000. The surgery and hospital stay cost in the range of $100,000. The pacemaker checks the heart every one thousandth of a second and makes it beat when it needs it, depending on my activity level at the time. My case is supervised by an electro-cardiologist. I have the pacemaker itself checked quarterly by a technician who is often an electical engineer. It is done is a very respected hospital which not only treats patience but is known for it’s research. One of the research coordinators asked me to be in a study about one of the drugs I had used to control my problem but in the end, I didn’t qualify. I was excluded for moral reasons, because the study could have caused more harm than good. I like that too– that they care more about me than they do about filling their study.
I have been involved with people who are knowledgeable about the human body and the role electricity plays in keeping it working. They are humble and caring. Has no one told this team that the body has an electron build up and it has to be discharged by sleeping on a metal-laced sheet or walking barefoot? Have they not been able to figure that out for themselves? Do I trust them or do I trust the followers (who often believe in a lot of pseudo-science and just plain non-science). Do I believe the authors who may have other reasons to state their claims?
On the other hand is this something simple like bread mold which revolutionized the way we treat bacterial disease? Is it like something simple like Vitamin A which medical science now suspects is deficient in many people in Northern climates and can be given as a cheap supplement in pill form? Maybe it is. But more likely, it is another treatment that has no basis in reality put forth by a man in it for his own reasons (fraudulent or foolish) and supported by a renegade doctor. Every field has its renegades.
In short, after the peer-reviewed double-blind experiments have been written up and medical science, not some wealthy cable guy, tell it me it is legitimate, I will change the way I live. Until then, I can’t jump onto every medical treatment that comes out of left field.
Great response! Glad the rock found it’s way back to a beautiful place in your garden! I also would like to mention that a reverse ‘test’ of homeless people be in two groups. One sleeps under bridges, trees, parks, in their homeless tents. The second comparative group is led to small comfortable temp controlled rooms with a basic mattress, blanket and pillow. Allow them to sleep there for a week then compare the findings of the two groups. I find the ‘science’ behind ‘earthing products’… .totally different than the original concept that may have some validity. … with the focus on spending time in nature, kick off the shoes, wade in a creek type of thinking and life choices!
And think of the people in the world .. who live on the earth…. actually sleep, eat, live on the earth (underlined)!
Tim, could you make a couple of edits for me. By Vitamin A, I meant Vitamin D. By patience, I meant patients. Thank you.
Sorry, Ron, I don’t know how to do that, but I believe your comment will appear, and should suffice. Thanks. – Tim
I too suspect “Earthing” is a sham, but the points made in the latter two parts of this polemic is rather…flimsy
Well, the No Child Left Behind Act, while passed during the younger Bush’s tenure, nevertheless was voted through Congress with overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate. The implication of this is that the focus on tests is something both parties might be focusing too much on. Thus, the No Child Left Behind Act is not worthy of supporting the point that it’s only the conservatives’ fault.
Furthermore, one of its co-authors was Edward Kennedy and George MIller, neither of whom can be considered remotely conservative.
As for standardized tests prior to NCLB, they came about as the result of the ESEA. The ESEA was passed under Lyndon Johnson’s watch, another Democrat with big government leanings. The NCLB is a reauthorization of that bill.
Note that conservaties are not likely the first group one thinks of as people who are concerned with being in tune with Nature of any sort. Rather, any person with an inclination to prefer “natural” products or an inclination towards “green” things are most susceptible to “Earthing” and other related products.
I doubt that if public schools got all the funds and the private schools got nothing that the results would be much different. The extra money spent is probably not going to affect the enough students’ core values sufficiently to one, value learning concepts related to electricity in class, and two, “maintain” that knowledge years into the future. The failing grade should goes towards individual people’s values–some people care more about conversing with friends, complaining about the impracticality of what they are learning, or how boring the materia is; extra money will likely not change them significantly–, how they are socialized, which affects what they value, and humanity’s disposition to being not use their rational faculties all that much.
Exactly the kind of discussion I hoped for. Thank you!
I confess to ranting a bit, but am perpetually appalled at how education seems less valued, apparently for political reasons, and science, the knowledge base humanity has built over the millenia, is often discounted, a pattern that seems to have increased over the past few decades. I totally agree that this is from cultural changes – do you think they’re driven by corporate domination of our media? Certainly corporate forces are short sighted and focused on goals that suboptimize the common good in the name of profits. I don’t believe that, like corporate prisons, corporate schools are any improvement. It is hard not to feel frustrated and powerless, observing the trends.
Perhaps you could help me de-bunk this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=E46Fm0dtE2c
Granted, my High School electronics is more than rusty. The last time I tried to fix a TV, it had vacuum tubes. That was about 35 years ago. Anyway, when I look at this guys electrical connection, the banner for Earthing.com seems to conveniently cover up what he is doing with his hands, like some slight of hand artist. But it seems to me,that he is measuring an “open circuit” with his multi-meter rather than “Voltage”. In this case, I think he’s measuring resistance – “Ohms” because an open circuit should have virtually infinite resistance, depending on what you set the meter’s scale at/ but when he touches the other probe on the end of the multi meter, there is less resistance due to the body acting as a conductor. At least, this is my theory. And if we are talking about “current” generated by EMF,s should we not be talking about Amperes not volts? As I said, my electrical knowledge is now so rusty as to be virtually nonexistent. What do you make of this video and his ‘electronic measurements”?
Hi RKD – thanks for the comment. I watched the video and just about everything in it is nuts. The idea that keeping your body nearer to ground potential has health benefits is crazy, unless we’re talking about a harmful voltage (and you’d feel it, I guarantee). The currents involved in what he’s measuring are very tiny, and depending on the input impedance of the meter being used, his experiment will show radically different (but low) voltages. He also never touches on whether the voltages in question are alternating (AC) or not – that makes a difference because a ground at DC is not necessarily a ground at all when the current is alternating – how electricity behaves is very frequency dependent. Static mats are great for bleeding off static charges that might damage unprotected chips, transistors, diodes, etc., which is why they’re usually used by electronic/computer repair techs. Those mats, wrist straps, etc. have to have a resistance in the megohms (millions of Ohms), however, so they can’t present an electric shock hazard. If you were grounded to one of those mats (assume 1 M Ohm) and grabbed 120 VAC, Ohm’s law says the current would be 120/1000000, or 0.00012 Amperes – far too low to feel, or to make any difference to anything. I could go on and on, but can assure you this is pure crap designed to sell ignorant people stuff they don’t need and keep them confused. This guy should be wearing a tin foil hat so the aliens can’t read his mind and learn this “valuable” stuff. The whole thing makes me very sad. Thanks for asking, though.
you said nothing to prove him wrong it is just a pure rant, and to dismiss it like you are doing entirely is not beneficial to anyone, do you understand how radiation affects the body in even the slightest way? Not saying earthing is indeed factual but you just have no base for argument with this article, probably because you didn’t even read the book and watched a couple videos instead. And oh yeah, the educational system was never there, discover it’s origins and why it was created to begin with, or keep believing the “facts” they give you about science, because no one has their hand in the development of the masses, not in the beloved USA!
While I agree it was a rant, it’s hard to dispute non-science. I have been technically involved with radiation in various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum for over 30 years, some of it professionally, and believe I understand its effects quite well. I hate seeing people taken advantage of, whether they are well educated or not, and the “Earthing” thing is pure poppycock made to sound scientific to those who have little or no education in science, and put forth to sell people products they don’t need and get their money. Facts are facts, well documented and backed up with data from properly constructed experiments. Nothing of the kind is presented on “Earthing”.
If you’d like to hear an interesting take on where our education system has gone, and how it can be radically improved, check out this TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson at http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html. It’s an eye opener.
But yeah, earthing is a scam I agree with you on that…but I do not think it is completely off base, but the products are a joke. Just think you should have included more evidence to support your view, first comment was dickish and I apologize, nothing every gets solved through confrontation and disrespect for another view.
Thanks, David. Unfortunately, while the products offered by the Earthing people are legitimate, mostly created for the avoidance of accidental static discharge while servicing electronic equipment, it is the reasoning for buying them that is pure bunk. I do appreciate the discussion – that is a good thing, and hopefully other readers will avoid the scam.
If you’d like some science, the earthing people state that there are health benefits to being grounded and discuss small (and some oddly large) voltages they are measuring. What they don’t say is that the products in question are made to bleed off static voltages slowly, and that is why their resistance (mat surface to the ground connection) are always a _minimum_ of one million Ohms (industry standard), meaning that the application of 1 Volt would cause a current flow of one millionth of an Ampere to ground – a vanishingly small amount that would have no health effect at all because the very presence of electricity in the building would induce much higher (but stilll inconsequential) currents in just about anything. Look up Ohm’s law to verify the math.
Also, the voltages they are measuring are induced by the magnetic fields surrounding anything with current flowing in it in the vicinity, and the internal impedance (the alternating current analog to resistance) of the meter doing the measurements has a critical impact on the voltage being measured in these circumstances. Therefore the voltages they cite are of little meaning – certainly there are tiny voltages there because there is electricity flowing in nearby wiring and resulting magnetic fields permeating everything in the area – but to say it has health impacts is a completely unsupportable statement, especially when such tiny voltages and currents are involved.
Thanks again for your comments, and don’t take any wooden nickels! 😉 — Tim
To back up an earlier comment I made, if you do the math with Ohm’s law you’ll see that even that 1 megohm connection used by the earthing people will conduct a full Ampere when a million volts is applied, but a millionth of an ampere when one volt is applied. By that I mean that, at a million volts, it could be considered a very good conductor, while at a single volt it would be regarded as an excellent insulator. The sellers of “earthing” products are either scam artists or they are deluded, pure and simple.
I think people here are misunderstanding something. “Well prove earthing is fake” is not really a valid request. Scientists do usually go around finding theories to disprove. They propose a theory, and then do testing to see if the theory is false or correct. State an actual scientific theory pertaining to the effects of positive and negative electrical charges on the human body, and then someone can test that. Then another theory about the effects of earth’s flow of electrical current and it’s effect on a human body, and that again can be tested. The key problem is the concept is so completely absurd, that most scientists wouldn’t have motivation to test the theories unless it was something they were already working on.
In the real world if a scientist ever proposed theories pertaining to earthing, they would generally propose the theory, write a paper on what scientific principles they believe are involved and how, then they would test the theory themselves and publish the theory, paper, and results of the study in a peer reviewed journal where other scientists could evaluate the theory and results, and even conduct their own experiments to test the theory. You do not, and will not ever see this happen with earthing.
Someone mentioned dianetics and that’s a good comparison. A science fiction writer came up with a story, and suddenly it was a religion. He just imagined something up and some people happen to believe it. Similarly with earthing the guy who started it all, imagined either a big scam where he could make money, or a silly idea while he was thinking one day. Then he proceeded to write about it and people read what he wrote and believed it. This is a very very different process and I wouldn’t think it would be that hard for people to understand. Just because someone thinks something is one way, doesn’t mean it’s true, and the burden of proof is on the non believers. People should have to substantiate what they claim before anyone believes them, but sadly that doesn’t seem to happen.
If you just look at the earthing website you can see clearly that they are con men. Their language implies that it is scientific but there is no real effort to prove anything. They speak about science but at the same time, use reasoning instead of proof to convince people. It would be rare to see a scientist present a theory in this manner. For example, they may say “As time has passed, we’ve become more disconnected from earth, sleeping in houses on beds, and walking with shoes on at all times. Health problems are at an all time high today. These things must be related and MD Fraud’nfake has discovered this amazing breakthrough to better health that is taking the medical community by storm. The government doesn’t want you to know about this secret.” That is reasoning, not proof. They are implying that because two things are happening concurrently, they must be connected. Then they put the name of a single doctor on the statement to imply that it is backed up by medical professionals, when 1 doctor out of all the doctors in the world is insignificant. Then they make a claim that the medical community is behind them. This is rather hard to corroborate, and many people would just take it as fact because “who would ever make such a claim if it wasn’t true!?” Then you imply that it’s a secret someone is trying to cover up and it gets people mentally engaged because many people have a distrust for authorities they are eager to validate.
In the end, all that was useless puffed up words if it’s not immediately followed with evidence like dozens of peer reviewed studies, and the backing of dr Fraud’nfake’s dozens of colleagues who also agree with him. Not to mention articles from a medical journal showing that many doctors are starting to recommend the treatment to their own patients. Also some documents showing that perhaps a senator was working with a company that has a competing treatment to have information about the treatment suppressed, or to get it banned. You’ll never see this with these pseudo science authors.
I’ve read some of these books, for instance the infamous kevin trudeau. He talks in a similar manner to what I’ve just dissected, for hundreds of pages without actually referencing anything verifiable. No studies cited. No thousands of doctors willing to back him up and recommend any of it to their patients. Of course there is no proof because the government and big business is out to hide the truth. All it is, is someone’s verbose ramblings, that are designed to sound plausible enough to convince someone to believe them without any proof. Since there’s next to no actual information ever contained in the book, it’s like a bag of lays potatoe chips that is all puffed up, but when you actually open it up, there’s only a little pile of crumbs at the bottom.
What makes it really more sad, is that there is real corruption out there in the government when it comes to health care. Lobbying by big pharmaceutical companies. The companies themselves can do unscrupulous things. Instead of focusing on fixing those real problems though, this is the kind of stuff we get. People believing in voodoo.
Tim,
I don’t see that the concept of earthing is absurd in terms of human physiology. If sensitive electronics need to be grounded, might not the human body be ill-adapted to rubber shoe soles etc.? People have a capacitance and can store charge; maybe it’s not good long-term for the body to store charge, especially positive charge?
However the evidence they give for it is of the flimsiest. If you wanted to check the idea, it would be trivial to ground yourself with a few $ worth of items at the hardware store, though you might want to plug the grounding device into a surge-protected outlet in case of a lightning strike.
David Wolfe’s videos are blatant faith healing, setting people up to expect a miracle cure.
If it works better than placebo, why aren’t barefooters who aren’t preconditioned to expect miracles, raving about the anti-inflammatory, etc. benefits of barefooting? The known health benefits from going barefoot seem to be pretty much restricted to the feet.
I would love for “earthing” to be really helpful bc I have terrible immune system problems, which is admittedly why I got curious about it. But I don’t see any good reason to hope that.
The WHO has info on EMF and human health, see http://www.who.int/peh-emf/en/
Thanks for the information, Laura. I have been interested in EMF and related topics for more than 35 years, and have yet to see credible evidence of harm, though I’ve seen a LOT of hysteria and misinformation from uneducated sources. As for “earthing”, everything has capacitance and charge at some level, but the currents involved are incredibly tiny. Even when dry air is serving as a good insulator (most frequently in the winter) and permitting some high voltages to collect (I’ve seen sparks that would suggest tens of thousands of volts), it is the voltage that rises until it can jump gaps or otherwise find a way to equalize with the surrounding environment. That type of EMF has no meaningful frequency as does most human-generated electricity and electromagnetic waves – it builds up and then discharges in one or more random events. That’s the highest voltage most people would ever experience, btw, and once the charge is equalized with the surroundings it is effectively gone. Grounding static fields that exist on the body (just like any other object) might prevent accidentally causing a spark to jump to something electrical (at a different potential voltage), but the rest of the current flows would be no different than any that occur on every other person all the time, so the whole concept of earthing is an empty one. They sure can trump up some phony scientific credentials, though, and write in a style that would convince people uneducated in such matters. I hate scammers – they are irresponsible at a minimum and usually criminal. Thanks for reading and commenting, and best of luck to you in the future. — Tim
Tim,
Here is a pdf by the WHO with a summary of research on effects of static electric, static magnetic and very low-frequency EM waves: http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/en/Static%20and%20ELF%20Fields.pdf
To summarize the summary:
Static electric fields: No known effects. The charge stays on the surface of the body because the insides of people’s bodies are conductors.
Static magnetic fields: Can have some effects by inducing electric currents in people’s bodies. They might have an adverse effect on some occupationally-exposed workers.
Very low-frequency EM waves (e.g. the 50-60 Hz waves associated with AC current.):
“Many effects of ELF (extremely low frequency) fields are observed when levels of induced electric fields and currents exceed the body’s natural electrical signals”; but it seems there’s little evidence that exposure below the occupational exposure standard has a bad effect (only tentative evidence). People in their houses are probably exposed to ELF fields far less than, say, someone who works on power lines.
So it’s not quite a position of “totally bogus concern”, but it’s pretty reassuring.
One thing I read from the “Earthers” was that grounding oneself is supposed to act as a Faraday cage, excluding EM fields from one’s body. This sounds wrong to me. Faraday cages are a grounded metal container, and if you’re inside one it’ll exclude external EM fields. I don’t think you can do this simply by grounding your body.
I don’t feel like reading through all the comments, so I’m not sure if this was discussed…. I don’t see any science backing up the fact that earthing is a scam. I do, however, see plenty of videos of people measuring voltage before and after grounding. I don’t really care if you think oh its a certain voltage or amp or whatever, it wont harm you. That’s literally saying 8 volts or whatever those things register, is completely okay to be running through your system and decreasing that 100x fold will not have any positive effects on your body. I’m not saying I buy into this, but facts are facts. There is proof that these earthing products do work. The critics on the other hand have nothing but “people are so gullible, jeez, im so much smarter than them, I’d never buy anything like that” Then they go and blow $200 (cost of sheets) on some crazy pill from Pfizer.
Thanks for your comment, Kohl. Would you believe you’ve got voltage in your body all the time? You can’t avoid it. It’s a natural property of all matter to have electron motion (current) and charge potential (voltage), and you have electricity in you making your nervous system work, too. You can measure it, though it’s quite variable depending on your environment and how you are measuring it. If you didn’t read the comments you might have missed some of the science, but are you interested in knowing the truth? Show us facts that say “earthing” has any scientific support, please.
As Neil DeGrasse Tyson says, “the nice thing about science is that it’s still true even if you don’t believe in it.” Thanks again — Tim
Tim,
Perhaps you’d like to look at the results of these double-blind (no placebo effect) studies on Grounding. You may feel that people showing voltage reductions with multimeters is bunk, but
this are medical findings – a bit harder to dismiss. Your thoughts?
1) cortisol normalization
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15650465
J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Oct;10(5):767-76. The biologic effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress. Ghaly M, Teplitz D.
2) calcium-phosphatase, magnesium, potassium,iron, electrolytes, thyroid, glucose, etc.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21469913
J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Apr;17(4):301-8. Epub 2011 Apr 6. Earthing the human body influences physiologic processes. Sokal K, Sokal P. Source Department of Ambulatory Cardiology, Military Clinical Hospital, Powstancow Warszawy 5, Bydgoszcz, Poland. psokal@wp.pl
None of this is about “gee, I’m so much smarter than them”. All of this (on my part, anyway) is because I HATE to see people ripped off by pseudoscience and BS.
Stop the scammers. Check around for other information when some pitch like this seems a bit far out or odd. Sometimes it’s just about getting your money, but sometimes people who put forth such ideas are ignorant and deluded, and don’t know any better. Ask someone who is formally educated in the area in question, and don’t be too quick to jump at (or give money to) something that seems outside mainstream science or “too good to be true.” Not all scammers are malicious, but all of them can lead you astray and waste your time, energy, and possibly money. In some cases people suffer real harm (though probably not from earthing).
Tim,
I fully agree that there are scammers out there of all kinds, in the political, financial and medical professions. A healthy dose of skepticism is always warranted. But it’s not right to prejudice yourself against a healing modality without looking into the possibility of it’s legitimacy. Also, it also not right to double down on previous opinions when facts present themselves to the contrary.
Above, there are 2 studies that show a medical benefit to Grounding. Certainly all the facts aren’t in on this new concept but it does look like it deserves a fair shake even if it doesn’t exactly jibe with your views on electrical conduction.
OK, first of all I have to admit I know nothing about earthing, but am willing to learn. However, I’d just like to say it sometimes pays to try something, even when you have no real faith it will do you any good. My history – agoraphobia since the age of 20, severe and intractable, going on for 30+ years and devastating my life in just about way imaginable. Yes, I tried all the conventional help available, but none of it ever did me much good, the agoraphobia was always there, never left. Out of desperation I then tried just about everything I could think of or anything new I read about, including special diets, including food combining, raw foods, the stone age diet, vegetarian and vegan diets, high fibre, high protein, low protein, dairy-free, and others I just can’t recall; supplements of all kinds; hypnotism; bio feedback; removal of all mercury fillings; meditation; special exercises to help rebalance my body; a chemical-free environment; music therapy; brain training; reflexology; aromatherapy, and others that have slipped my memory. Did they help? Sometimes I thought they helped a little, but the improvement was aways minimal and soon disappeared. It got to the stage that although I still tried various things I no longer had any real hope they’d do me any good, I just thought trying was better than not trying, than giving up.
Then one I read I came across an article on EFT (emotional freedom technique), a theory that involved tapping on various parts of the body while repeating an affirmation. Just another thing to try if I could be bothered, and since it sounded so simple and would only take a few minutes to do I thought I might as well give it a go. So … I tapped and repeated my affirmation, it took about 5-10 minutes, then I did it again the next day. I went into town with my husband … and here’s where it gets interesting … I didn’t have to have him with me in shops, I was able to go in by myself, I was even able to tell him I was heading off to some shops further up the street and would meet him in half an hour’s time! I don’t think he believed me, he told me afterwards he followed me at a discreet distance up the street, just in case I was suddenly in a blind panic. But I wasn’t, I was calm and confident, and perfectly able to manage on my own, not feeling the usual faintness and dizziness that always plagued me in public places. That was about 6 years ago and I’ve been fine ever since, my agoraphobia has gone completely. Only someone else who suffers from that vile illness can understand the happiness and relief I’ve felt every day since that first day of freedom, it’s like I’ve been let out of prison, even though it was a prison of my own making.
So, why did EFT work for me when nothing else, neither conventional nor complementary therapies, did? I don’t know. Why doesn’t it work for everyone? I don’t know. Why does drug treatment or CBT work for some and not for everyone? I don’t know. Has earthing worked for some people? Yes, they say it has. Why doesn’t it work for everyone? I don’t know. The truth is that for certain illnesses there is nothing that works for everyone, but there are some things that work for some people. It’s all too easy to say it’s the placebo effect, it certainly could be, but why did only one out of dozens of therapies work for me? Why didn’t one of the other things I’d tried over the years have a placebo effect on me? The truth is there are more questions than answers, both about conventional and non-conventional treatments for illness, which is why I don’t rush to condemn those that don’t appear to have a scientific basis that satisfies the scientists.
Sorry for such a long post, but I do feel that anything that might – just might – bring relief to some people in their search for good health, shouldn’t be sneered at simply because it’s not endorsed by the scientists. I’m an educated woman, but am very glad I was ‘gullible’ enough to try the often-derided EFT. It gave me my life back.
Thanks, Izzy. I am so glad EFT worked for you. I still, however, must ask for real scientific data on things before I can discount other causes beyond those claimed.
Mr Prosser you say “you hate to see people ripped off by pseudoscience and BS” why hate it? there are more worthy subjects for your hatred and contempt besides a few salesman flogging grounding shoes and crystals. how about pharmaceuticals, gmos, insecticides, pesticides products produced by batteries of scientists with impeccable credentials. pseudo or bona fide science is a cross eyed worm. and the more dominant the so called bona fide science becomes the more its products imperil our planet. maybe we are better off with the pseudo variety.
My knee jerk reaction was to dismiss the idea of earthing as bullshit, but I decided to google “pubmed earthing” before doing so and was convinced otherwise.
Tim I see that Jorlev sited two of these articles for you. What is your response?
Sorry I missed this and didn’t respond sooner. I did read the articles, but … why are there only those two and no more? They seem a bit far flung, too, geographically and I’d expect a bit more science out there on the subject than I see. They also did not share data, as I remember, leaving me wanting more. I guess they didn’t counter my skepticism. I’d like to see a comparison of the magnitude of differently induced currents in the human body for starters, and then more on the effects thereof, and I have yet to see anyone looking into either. If the electrical effects of “earthing” are far smaller than those from other sources I’d probably not go further in expecting any benefits.
Why hate it? Well, what’s right is right, and fooling people with BS to take their money is wrong. Certainly multination corporations essentially control our government in order to more easily take our money, but that’s worth hating, too and. more importantly, opposing.
I did read the articles but they don’t erase my skepticisim. I don’t know if the changes they’re measuring are significant, nor what their controls are, etc. I want to see some meaningful, detailed statistics (simple tests of significance, correlation, etc.) and I haven’t yet found a link to such. Can you provide one? I would bet other environmental factors (light or dark, warm or cold, for example) would cause hormones to vary, but would it be enough to make any measurable difference?
Here’s a good question: if the theory and practice are established and real benefit results, why isn’t it standard medical practice? I am a big proponent of innovation, but this isn’t ground breaking. It’s been around for a century or more, yet why isn’t anyone making money on it if it is beneficial, other than a crackpot-looking character who gives few specifics and talks A LOT?
BTW, I still have the book “Psychic Discoveries from Behind the Iron Curtain” in a bookshelf, thoroughly debunked along with Yuri Geller’s spoon bending silliness. It made him a lot of money, though – that’s where I have a problem, and I expect any honest person would feel similarly.
Throwing out science because it has been misused is like throwing out your hammer because somebody hit you with it. It accomplishes nothing positive. It’s the people and organizations who act badly that we need to oppose, if only through discussion and education.
As for earthing, bring on the details of what it accomplishes. Anybody can measure microampere currents at low voltages. I’ve done the same thing many times. Calculate the power involved: 8 volts into a nominal 20 megaOhm impedance at the input of a standard solid state voltmeter means a current in the range of 0.0000004 Amperes, and a power level in the neighborhood of 8 times that, or around 320 billionths of a watt. How much work or harm can that do? The action of a neuron (see http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/301notes2.htm for a reasonable discussion) is measured in millivolts of potential but the it’s essentially a chemical function involving electrical potential. It isn’t clear that it is susceptible to the much smaller currents involved in earthing.
Well, thanks for the opportunity to rant some more. I’ll be interested in any information more than an abstract, but especially in answers to my questions.
I don’t yet have an opinion about earthing either way but I’m willing to give it a go now after reading you peice because you sound like a real dickhead. Your article basically says you don’t believe in it (which is fair enough) and but then provide no evidence. Then you spend the rest of the article belittling those who may have a different opion to you. If everyone though like you we would still be living in caves. You really have nothing constructive to say. Why didn’t you just write, “I don’t believe in Earthing” and leave it at that.
Max – please read my replies from July 26th and August 1st of 2012, and from August 1st, 2013, for simple mathematical calculations of the factors involved. The currents flowing in your body from being near electrical wiring with current flowing in it are extremely small (but measurable) relatively random, but present whenever you are near those electromagnetic fields. I don’t belittle people having a different opinion than me, I get frustrated with people who don’t dig in and learn the science involved, and with those who take advantage of them. Science is not a matter of faith – it rests on empirical proofs of logical theories that establish facts. Yes, I admitted to publishing a frustrated rant – I get fed up with scam artists and crackpots convincing people who don’t know any better of ridiculous ideas, and especially frustrated with people who take advantage of others and BS them to make money. That’s all.
My father proposed this idea of grounding to me tonight and my highschool level intelligence was instantly skeptical, so I decided to look into it. All I’ve seen so far are overpriced rip offs and hearsay. The only “proof” for this I see is that people have done it, and feel better (placebo), or “Scientific Studies” that prove it, which I have yet to find one that properly does a scientific report with a control group and statistical analysis to prove that there’s a significant difference between Earthing or not, and that the results are not due to chance. I don’t understand how buying a mat which “grounds” you, or walking outside barefoot (especially when the grass is wet!) is any different than just touching a metal door knob? Let alone the fact that having a passive charge inside your body is apparently a bad thing. Can electrical interference mess with microbiological reactions inside your body? Probably. But so much so that it makes you ill? Highly doubtful on that one. Glad to see there’s still some people out there who believe in the Scientific method, Tim.
Also, for everyone asking for evidence to disprove Earthing, I believe Hitchens’ Razor applies perfectly.
Thank you, Erin. I completely understand how people become emotionally invested in a concept that sounds credible to the “untrained ear”, especially if they have invested personal resources in it or endorsed it to others. As astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says, however, “The nice thing about science is that even when you don’t believe it, it’s still true.” The forces involved in “earthing”, as described, are of far lower magnitude than identical forces within and around us all the time. That and my deep opposition to scams and pseudoscience in general were what initially led me to write about it. Thanks for reading, keeping a clear head on your shoulders, and sharing some good common sense with us. As I put up on my cube wall at work yesterday “The more I think and learn, the better I get at thinking and learning.” Keep up the good work — Tim
Erin,
The obvious answer to one of you questions is that a doorknob isn’t grounded. It’s usually surrounded by wood and therefore insulated. Touching a doorknob won’t ground you. That’s a scientific fact,
It’ also a scientific fact that reactive oxygen species (molecules that need to acquire or give up an electron) damage DNA and other cell structure’s causing disease and aging. The theory is that grounding can reduce some reactive oxygen species in the same way that antioxidants do.
Skepticism is not a substitute for knowledge.
Thanks, Randy. It would be interesting to see some data, experimental results, to understand whether grounding has an effect on ROS molecules and whether the effect is enough to make a difference. My guess is that other currents induced by environmental factors swamp the currents grounding might affect by orders of magnitude. This is one of the main reasons I think “earthing” is a scam. Those promoting it either know it’s not effective but are getting something for doing so, or don’t know any better and are, therefore, “talking through their hats” as my elderly relatives used to say.
Large skepticism leads to large understanding. Small skepticism leads to small understanding. No skepticism leads to no understanding.
Xi Zhi
We don’t need to perform experiments to know whether grounding has an effect on ROS. We know that it does because that is how chemistry works. Chemistry is basically about what electrons do during chemical reactions. What is more important than what happens to ROS is how this affects our body. You don’t have to search far for studies. Just google “pubmed grounding” and the first 9 items listed link to scientific studies.
Biochemistry is complicated though. We don’t always know why things works they way they do. We make educated guesses work our way through the maze of metabolic pathways by doing more experiments. On the other hand, your guess just a guess and nothing more. Guessing is not a substitute for knowledge. Anyone that has had a year of college level physics doesn’t have to guess about how powerful the affects of grounding are. Consider that most cases of lighting damage can be prevented by proper system grounding.
Naturally one needs be realistic and not expect grounding to be the solution to all medical problems. It may help you and it may not. However, it’s a very cheap solution compared to life long prescription medication or surgery so I think its worth a try. I have tried it for one of my problems but it didn’t help. It may help others though and they will only know by trying.
I remember a book I read about shiatsu massage and the author talked about energy and the way it flows around the body. I thought the energy ideas were bullshit, and I still do. But it didn’t close my mind to the idea that shiatsu has health benefits. I asked a friend who did shiatsu what the western interpretation was and he related information about its affect on the lymphatic system. Keeping an open mind often leads to information knee jerk scepticism shuts the door on.
I know only three people who ground. One sees angels, believes Mother Theresa is at her back and that God finds her parking spaces. The second still believes a fair bit of what L.Ron Hubbard told him to believe. The third wrote a book on how he was cured of MS, yet he uses a wheelchair. These are bad signs. I do have one year of university physics. It taught me how much I don’t know. When the weight of scientific opinion shows that Earthing works, I will take that big rock that the Mother Theresa follower gave me, out of my garden and back under my desk where she placed it. Until then I will assume that it is part of the long list of crackpot cures that hucksters have fed us and will continue to feed us. No metal sheets for me.
She actually put a rock under your desk and thought that you would get grounded that way? WOW!! She is way off!! She doesn’t understand the concept of grounding at all. If you would like grounding to work, you can’t just bring a peice of the ground into the house and expect it to work the same way, as if the rock has a little antenae on it! Crazy lady thought she might same you some money by using a rock instead of ordering the pad! That is funny tho!
Thanks for the note, Brenda.
I am a heart patient. I don’t have heart disease but the electrical system in my heart isn’t up to scruff and I have now had a pacemaker for more than 15 years. My problem was judged to be of “unknown cause”. I went down to the hospital, perhaps a year ago, and asked them about “earthing”. No one had heard of it. These men and women are on the cutting edge of how electricity effects the heart. The last time I had pacemaker surgery the doctors were from Israel and India. There are Americans there, and, of course, many Canadians.
My plan is to let them inform me about Earthing. Until they say, “You know what. There has been a simple thing that we have been overlooking all along. If only we knew about it fifteen years ago, you may not have needed the surgery. It could have been replaced by a metal blanket”. Well, when that happens I will accept Earthing. Until then I will lump it in with Dianetics, MMR causing autism, and toothpaste causing Alzheimer’s. Time will tell.
Ron I am using an earthing half sheet and I sleep with my feet on it. It’s not made out of metal. I bought it to see if it helps with sleep apnea which is a neurological disease. The reason why I decided to try it was because when I was on a camping vacation in Utah before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea I had no snoring problems. There are a number of environmental factors that could have made the difference and grounding is one of them.
The sheet haven’t cured me of sleep apnea but I have been waking up on my back lately. When I was younger that was my prefered way to sleep but with sleep apnea I haven’t been able to sleep that way even with a CPAP machine.
Lastly, it’s common for medical professionals to offer health solutions in the form of drugs or surgery when dietary or behavioral changes will work even better without risk or side effects.
Thanks, Randy. Good luck with it. I have also been in a situation where a medical professional advised surgery when a simple home remedy (in the end) did the trick.
Let me tell you about my wife’s death from cancer. In her last few days word got out that she didn’t have much time left. My cousin called me and told me to feed her kale, saying that it was an alkaline food and that cancer couldn’t live in an alkaline environment. I told him I wouldn’t do that. He asked what I had to lose. I told him my self respect and my wife’s respect. What gall. What foolishness. He is also a proponent of Earthing. Bad sign for Earthing.
I have a friend who is a cancer specialist with a subspeciality in skin. Mostly, he has been a researcher. He has had fellowships at Harvard, Yale and U of Toronto. His big breakthrough was finding out that skin cancer is not spread through the cancer cells themselves but through healthy cells near the cancer cells. Maybe one day that discovery will be part of the puzzle that cures skin cancer, maybe not. But from my cousin’s point of view my friend would be wasting his time– all that he has to do is feed his patients kale!
I know that this in itself does not discount Earthing, but, if my cousin believes it I will keep my distance. When my doctor/researcher friend recommends it I will take a second look.
Earthing claims to help you sleep deeper and also to help you get rid of some of your aches and pains.
Both of these maladies are supported by a billion dollars pharmaceutical industry and pain management Medicos.
If it was this simple and Earthing worked , do you think these highly motivated, educated and well paid professionals would give up their living and prestige and accept this new paradigm with open arms???????????
I don’t think so.
If you have a sleep problem or have aches and pains and the current treatment is not working to your satisfaction then you have nothing to lose but to be open minded, inform yourself and read about Earthing to your satisfaction.
Then try it if you wish. Your choice.
Basically its free and there is plenty of evidence out there to show that it works for many people. Just because this new approach (paradigm) is not yet understood or ignored by the so called professionals does not mean it does not work.
If you can’t Sleep or have the Aches and Pain you will soon discover whether it works for you or not.
When the Student is ready the Teacher will appear!!!!!!!!!
Trust your own judgment after all its your Pain and no one else feels it and suffers from it except YOU.
I have been Earthing for about 6 months using a very primitive set up I constructed. I sleep deeper but fortunately do not have any aches and pain yet. I am 69 and have recently fractured my ankle, and I am convinced I am healing quicker and more comfortably using Earthing. I have nothing to compare it to so its just my assertion of what is happening.
Hi, Bruno. I probably don’t trust the drug companies anymore than you do, but they are policed by the American Surgeon-General, and his counterparts in various countries, government medical organizations, various organizations of doctor’s, nurses and pharmacists, legislators who look for honesty in advertising, the press, concerned internet sites like quack watch and James Randi and all thinking people. Also, no matter how many cures may occur from outside the pharmaceutical field, we all eventually die and in the preceding two years pharmacy rakes it in.
I don’t trust the pharmacy companies any more than I trust big oil or big tobacco. I try to make educated discussions about drugs, and I avoid them if at all possible.
But if you want to look at the list of quack cures, you just have to hunt around. Quackwatch has a huge list. Most of the quacks get away with what they are doing by calling their ideas freedom of speech. Fraud is a very difficult thing to prove though the American government still managed to put Kevin Trudeau in jail.
Anyway, I agree that it doesn’t cost much to try Earthing. It is hard to figure out if it works though. I don’t have to get into the placebo effect. I actually did try Earthing. A friend gave me a big rock. I put it under my desk. It actually made me feel calmer but it also gave me a bout of diarrhea. I kid you not. Did the rock cause one or the other or neither or both?
Anyway, I researched Earthing on the internet. I also researched it through the cardiac centre at St. Mike’s hospital where I am a patient. I also found out that a friend, who seems to believe absolutely every quack cure, also believes in Earthing. I know that a stopped clock is right twice a day.
I looked at the rock and felt very foolish. I put it out in my garden where it belongs.
But I agree, there is no cost in putting a big rock under my desk to, supposedly, release charge. I just don’t like doing things that are probably foolish.
Hi Ron,
I agree with you life and the world can be full of trickery and we all have to be on our guard.
I also agree with the possibility that the PLACEBO affect may have something to do with my perception and acceptance of the Earthing paradigm.
But in the end does it really matter if someone can’t sleep or has aches and pains( usually the elderly ) and the Placebo kicks in and solves their problems?????????
We may not understand why it happened but hey who cares my problems have been solved!!!!!!
Usually people who are desperate and have tried all the orthodox treatments have the courage to look outside the square and search for a new approach to healing. If their present treatment worked there would be no need to look for anything.
Your big Rock example to my knowledge has nothing to do with Clint Ober’s Earthing paradigm change.. Have a look at http://earthinginstitute.net/clint-ober-talks-about-earthing/
to see what he says Earthing could be if you are interested.
Interesting though how you had a reaction to placing the Rock under your desk and the fact that you felt calmer was a positive affect that would help any ones health condition. Just because you or I cannot explain why it happened in my view is not really a big deal.
We all feel foolish when we don’t understand why something happens however its the result we feel or achieve or are looking for that IMO is more important than what others ( authorities) think or say.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Bruno. I actually read the book which I think was called “Earthing” by the two founders of the movement. I found it interesting but beyond that I didn’t know what to make of it. All the best.
By the way – I did have a look at Clint Ober’s videos, and the first thing I noticed was that he doesn’t say exactly how he measured the voltages he speaks of, and it appears he doesn’t understand enough about electricity, static or dynamic, to know how to measure it correctly or the impact of different measurement methods and tools on the results. His accounts are anecdotal – unscientific accounts of human perception, not reliable science – and really prove nothing. (What was the internal impedance of the volt meter he was using, for instance – that can have a huge effect on measured results.)
Rely on science, people, not pseudo-science.
All i have to say is if it is a “scam” how come it is free. All you have to do is stand barefoot on the earth.
love this one too !!! ITS FREE WHAT U GOT TO LOOSE!!!
Actually, being barefoot would make no difference from wearing shoes, electrically speaking. The availability of electrons would not be significantly different. And what about different types of pavement or rock or dirt one might stand on? What does “earth’s surface” mean”? Yes, most people can probably stand or sleep on dirt, so “earthing” is free, but that doesn’t mean a scam concept like this won’t be perpetrated and perpetuated. People who don’t know any better look for hope, solutions to their problems, etc. and if they can’t tell real science from pseudoscience they can be seduced by such crap. Once they’ve bought into such a concept people feel invested in it so, rather than feeling embarrassed that they fell for a scam, some of them cling more and more tightly to the concept and try to convince others of its truth. They will have success with others who don’t know any better, and some of them will become personally invested in the idea as well. Thus a baseless concept like this is passed on for decades and even centuries in spite of a complete lack of properly reviewed and vetted scientific proof. That is part of the human condition, but (my initial point in this article) it does indicate that many people are not receiving a good science education. Too bad.
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2012/291541/
I am reading this study (thanks for posting it, Sandy), and from the outset it uses non-scientific terminology that makes no sense. If these people did all these “clinical” studies over a premise they couldn’t accurately define in scientific terms, I am embarrassed for all of them. In essence, this study is more of the same manure that the whole “earthing” concept is sold on.
In the first paragraph the phrase “vast supply of electrons on the surface of the Earth” is used. Of course there is a “vast supply of electrons” on the surface of the earth, as well as on people’s shoes, skin, the molecules of air around them, etc., etc. And what is “the surface of the earth”? They don’t try to define it. Electrically, if your shoes are on the earth, or on pavement (is that part of the surface of the earth?), the electrical potential (number of available electrons) does not vary much. At the high voltages static electricity can achieve the resistance of common substances such as rubber and leather is negligible, and they function as conductors, so the notion that “direct contact with the surface of the earth” is any different is nonsense. Also, “Reconnection with the Earth’s electrons” is a totally nonsensical statement. What are “the Earth’s electrons”? These people can’t establish such an ownership or identity. If you are in touch with anything in contact with the planet, including the air, you are connected with the “Earth’s electrons”. Also note that this paper admits “This paper reviews the earthing research” which means that no new science is made. It is a freaking book report, and from the information collected previously in this blog post it is clear there is very little research to review, and what there is is not scientific or definitive, but smacks of scammery and pseudoscience.
I could go on pulling this paper apart, but I won’t go very far – it’s not worth it. Why hasn’t the concept been tested on animals? That’s simple. My bet is it’s because animals can’t be manouvered into “feeling” health changes because they are being made to do things differently.
If this topic is ever to become a part of real science it needs to be analyzed in a truly scientific way, and this paper (like those before it) fails to do that. I am embarrassed for the participants, and for anyone who wastes their time on this topic. I also believe that a good science education would lead anyone else to the same conclusion I have reached.
I appreciate the effort to find studies of this topic, though. Studies are rare for one obvious reason (the concept is a failure sustained by “woo woo” pseudoscience and the wishful thinking of people without good education in science). The whole thing (“earthing”) is a sorry commentary on the gullibility of poorly educated people and not much else.
Sandy,
This is a great summary of the scientific experiments on grounding.
Tim,
You only addressed the first paragraph of the paper. Could you address results in section 2.4. I would be particularly interested in hearing your refutation of the results that relate to blood viscosity.
Only a left wing nut job could take the subject of earthing in one paragraph to an attack on religion in the next.
For me that makes anything you say irrelevant.
Tim,
I’m saddened to see that you have caught so much grief over this article since it was published. Every single point you made has legitimacy, most importantly the commentary on the U.S. Education System. I would say the thing that’s most disappointing is confessing or shying away from “ranting” in the comments above. Pseudoscience is nothing short of an epidemic, and there should be more people expressing sincere anger towards claims such as Earthing/Grounding and the like. I read an article yesterday, from a similarly bogus source, that claimed wearing sunscreen actually increases risk of skin cancer. Upon further examination of the studies used in the article, the amount of data that was cherry-picked was absolutely staggering. This type of science isn’t allowed in any scientific work that merits publication, but obviously has free reign in educating the ignorant on millions of websites worldwide. This lack of scientific literacy has effects that span far wider than the topic at hand.
My advice to anyone reading information that claims to be scientific truth is to immediately be skeptical. No matter how legitimate the evidence may seem, check it again. And again. And once more. Check the sources, the source’s sources, and take a significant measure of pride within yourself to be as thorough as possible. Try and wrap your mind around the truth that correlation does not always equal causation, that causation is often VERY difficult to prove, and that you have a civic duty to remain weary of the information presented until the evidence is overwhelming (refer to the consensus on climate change for definition of “overwhelming”–97 to 99 percent among scientists). You owe such diligence to yourself, those around you, the many who have come before, the many who may come after, and to the capacity of the human intellect; without it, you are a contributor in dooming us all towards an existence marred by ignorance, and increasing the likelihood that our species will cease to exist far sooner than it should.
-THS
The other day the electricity in the house was shut down unexpectedly..The local Electricity co. was carrying some kind of work in the neighborhood and I had received a letter to that effect but had plainly forgotten about it.
I was watching TV and in my bed at the time and suddenly I felt something different and strange when the TV and the electricity was shut off.. My dog Bella who was on the floor in the bedroom also must have felt this something as her ears pricked up and she was looking around curious that something had happened.
Now I have experienced Electricity shut downs before so it was nothing new to me but for some reason this one seemed different. As I lay in bed thinking why am I feeling this way its only an Electricity shut down, nothing to get excited about , I spotted a voltage multi -meter next to my bed
and decide to measure myself.Being an earthing enthusiast I would often measure myself both earthed and not earthed.
Normally if I was not earthed I would record 1,835 to 2,000 volts at different times.
In this case with the Electricity switched off I was surprised to read a near zero voltage. I read the meter a few times to make certain that I was taking the correct reading.
I then pondered to myself and said where had that normal voltage of 1.835 to 2,000 volt disappeared to. Is it normal that our bodies are meant to be close to zero Voltage as the meter had shown once I had a total electricity shutdown?????? Was that my natural state.?????
So the question I ask ,namely if my natural state is near Zero Voltage is the 1.835 + voltage that I normally carry around detrimental to my health in the long run?????? ( Or helpful for that matter)
I think this is what earthing is about, questioning the natural voltage that our bodies should have.
Clint Ober would say, that when you are earthed ( a near zero voltage of the body)
you sleep deeper and for most people especially older persons it helps to deaden or clear their aches and pains.
The proof is in the pudding by taking action and doing it. Its free and you can either walk barefoot or you can earth yourself whilst you sleep. All it takes is an earthing stake, a small piece of wire and a computer static bracelet to do test it. $20 material at your local hardware store.
Since it accessible to everyone and its free, who would you believe, the experts who may be defending a multi billion dollar industry, or curious persons that have dared to check it out for themselves and seen that it works for them.
Good place to start is http://earthinginstitute.net/faqs/ and there are many videos on You tube
that can also enlighten you to be more curious of a perfectly normal fact of nature.
Thanks, Bruno.
First, I am quite skeptical of your measurements. I have measured the voltage across my hand, for instance, many times in the lab with high quality, high impedance voltmeters and never got anything like that narrow range of voltages you report. Results have always been quite random.
I am assuming you meant 2.000 volts, not 2,000, but static voltages can exceed 10,000 volts (evidenced by my own ability to draw a one inch spark from an appliance in particularly dry conditions while walking on a synthetic carpet).
The voltages induced in our bodies are extremely complicated but the majority appear to come from the electrical systems around us and it’s not surprising your measurement would drop when those electromagnetic fields in house wiring, etc. are de-energized. You never addressed why this electricity shutoff was different from any other, though.
Lastly, however, I have to point out that, for as long as this concept has been around and as many people have taken an interest (or been taken in) by it, there is still no definitive proof – no double blind study or anything of the kind – created under proper scientific conditions that say this concept has any merit.
If it makes you feel good, do it, but don’t be misled. The nice thing about science is that it is true whether you agree with or believe in it or not, and I still see no real science in earthing, just a lot of people who want to believe (which makes us easy to deceive, incidentally). I say have fun but don’t waste too much money or time on earthing, and if it works for you … good. After a century of examination I still know of no proof that electromagnetic (EM) fields at ambient levels are harmful (and that goes for cell phones, too). There are well established standards for EM safety based on the amount of heating produced in tissue by reliably measurable EM fields. That is why amateur radio handheld radios (walkie talkies) are limited to less than 6 Watts or so – the field strength when the antenna is an inch or two from one’s eyeball is short of that which would heat the eye (highest concentration of water in the body) to the point where it would begin to “cook” and the person would get cataracts. The impact of EM fields on tissue is visible in your microwave oven, but there you are seeing hundreds of Watts, not the thousandths or millionths-of-a-Watt that might be measured in current flows across the skin or through the body. Voltage is just the presence of electrons with a desire to move to a more positive object nearby (that’s what Voltage is: potential caused by the attraction of opposite charges), and without current (actual electron movement) no power is present and no damage can be done.
Thanks for your comment and best of luck to you.
Thanks, Bruno.
First, I am quite skeptical of your measurements. I have measured the voltage across my hand, for instance, many times in the lab with high quality, high impedance voltmeters and never got anything like that narrow range of voltages you report. Results have always been quite random.
I am assuming you meant 2.000 volts, not 2,000, but static voltages can exceed 10,000 volts (evidenced by my own ability to draw a one inch spark from an appliance in particularly dry conditions while walking on a synthetic carpet).
“Tim this is all new to me.
What I am measuring with a simple cheap Voltmeter has mainly been done in my bed in the same place at home . I am 70 and this year I fractured and ankle and fell of my bike and had to have a hip replacement so I have spent much time in my room healing.
The measurements I have stated have been constant using an earth wire (steel stake in the ground with wire attached to static computer bracelet ) one prod attached to it in one hand and the other prod in other hand.
What am I measuring , I don’t know. If it is static electricity the voltage I imagine is too small to get a static discharge.
The voltages induced in our bodies are extremely complicated but the majority appear to come from the electrical systems around us and it’s not surprising your measurement would drop when those electromagnetic fields in house wiring, etc. are de-energized. You never addressed why this electricity shutoff was different from any other, though.
” Correct. The reason being is that usually the electricity shutoff occurs mainly at night and then the main concern is finding the torch with the run down battery, or trying to find candles to bring some light to the darkness. Its all about survival mode, where as in the example I mentioned I was calmly laying in my bed relaxed watching television. Also in the past I did not have a voltmeter and did not have any skills how to use one or know that I could measure my own body voltage. ( Assuming I am doing it correctly)”
Lastly, however, I have to point out that, for as long as this concept has been around and as many people have taken an interest (or been taken in) by it, there is still no definitive proof – no double blind study or anything of the kind – created under proper scientific conditions that say this concept has any merit.
“Correct. Tim who is going to pay all that monies to discover whether this concept has merit when its free and anyone can do it. Look at all the potential promising so called orphan drugs that are around which big Pharma ignores because there is no monies to be made.
I would like to think that Science is all about finding the truth which is good for all mankind, however my cynicism tells me the only truth seekers in a Capitalist system is the truth that is valuable to vested interest and how much monies can be sucked dry from that discovery.”
If it makes you feel good, do it, but don’t be misled. The nice thing about science is that it is true whether you agree with or believe in it or not,
” Correct and it will stay there till some one pays attention to it and shows how it works and that other people in true spirit are also prepared to pay attention and get similar results. The action is a political process of who does the evaluating of the results. In the end Science may win out but at what cost in time and monies. ”
and I still see no real science in earthing, just a lot of people who want to believe (which makes us easy to deceive, incidentally)
“Fully agree with you the world we live in is full of trickery mainly created by us Humans who want to control others by taking advantage of them. Just look at our History”
. I say have fun but don’t waste too much money or time on earthing, and if it works for you … good. After a century of examination I still know of no proof that electromagnetic (EM) fields at ambient levels are harmful (and that goes for cell phones, too). There are well established standards for EM safety based on the amount of heating produced in tissue by reliably measurable EM fields. That is why amateur radio handheld radios (walkie talkies) are limited to less than 6 Watts or so – the field strength when the antenna is an inch or two from one’s eyeball is short of that which would heat the eye (highest concentration of water in the body) to the point where it would begin to “cook” and the person would get cataracts. The impact of EM fields on tissue is visible in your microwave oven, but there you are seeing hundreds of Watts, not the thousandths or millionths-of-a-Watt that might be measured in current flows across the skin or through the body. Voltage is just the presence of electrons with a desire to move to a more positive object nearby (that’s what Voltage is: potential caused by the attraction of opposite charges), and without current (actual electron movement) no power is present and no damage can be done.
Thanks for your comment and best of luck to you.
“Tim I did a free online course presented by Professor Barr called ” Bioelectricty Quantitative” from Duke university. The Calculus and mathematical applications were miles above my understanding so I did not understand or fully grasp the practical applications of the course. However I did ask Professor Barr what he thought was the optimum voltage level of the body for optimum health. There was dead quiet for a couple of weeks and finally he answered me.
” We don’t know , we have never looked at it that way”
Thanks for listening and being open. I am struggling with this concept also if it has merit, and I do enjoy the open discussion.
Regards bruno
Tim,
Unfortunately you are a sad, old, probably out of shape, cynical skeptic who hated the idea the second you heard it. And sorry, but your education isn’t very impressive. I suggest therapy.
The truth hurts. Sorry.
It’s important to note that I do not believe in earthing either. However, I am enlightened enough to think before I speak.
Maybe you should stop drinking?
Thanks for the comments, Tanner. I don’t know you so I won’t make any assumptions, but am sorry your comments don’t add much to the discussion. If you read the rest of the comments and my responses (which are much less “ranty” than the initial post) you might not have been so unkind. My advice is, get over yourself and hit the enter key when you have something constructive to add.
Many people are taken in by pseudo-science like “Earthing” and waste their time and money on things that don’t work. My aim is to stimulate and encourage critical thinking and a will to investigate and learn. With the quality of education in decline compared with other countries we in the U.S. should be looking closely at education systems of the past and present, and developing something new that produces well-rounded people who use their heads first, question authority of any kind, and understand the value of learning.
Unfortunately people who think for themselves tend to be “liberals” and our conservative leaders don’t want any more of them, thus their decades-long pursuit of worsening education with standardized testing and school funding cuts ad infinitum (in the name of taxes).
I have seen hard evidence that high school students in the 1890’s received an education that was quite comprehensive and a close equivalent of today’s college bachelor’s degree. And that was achieved most frequently in a one room school house with all grades present. While I don’t expect the re-establishment of one room schools it seems we should be able to learn something from our past.
If it weren’t for lawmakers, and Republicans in particular, distorting, harming, and starving the educational system we would all be a lot better off. Public education strengthens the middle and lower classes, exactly what Republican leaders and their billionaire conservative backers DON’T want. Since Republicans are apparently easiest to manipulate (just look at what Rupert Murdoch did to organize the tea party) Republican legislators at national and state level have been effectively bribed into undermining public schools with a wide variety of attacks. The most prominent one uses charter schools to defund public schools by taking away their students (funding is usually on a per-student basis). Worse yet, every study of charter school performance I have seen shows them to be, as a group, worse than the average public school. Like the corporate prison problem, however, corporate schools have made major inroads into the national system and big profits for the corporations running and promoting them. There’s nowhere near that kind of money lobbying for public schools, so they are fighting a losing battle and our young people are losing with them (along with the rest of us).
And that gets me back to so-called “earthing”, a simple scientific concept dressed up to fool those with poor knowledge of science and give them false hope. If that makes anyone money it’s just sad, and while I can’t blame anyone in desperate need for grasping at straws, it’s unfortunate that people don’t understand the simple fact that electricity does work when there is current flowing at a sufficient strength to do something, but the currents involved in earthing are far, far too small and random to make any difference whether they are present or being normalized away to the surroundings via a grounding system. Essentially earthing is an attractive sounding concept (to the uneducated ear) that is a waste of time and money. It proves that we need to strengthen our _public_ education system and give it sufficient funding, and get rid of corporate charter schools that sap school funding, do a poor job of educating students, and harm our educational system (and all of us in the process) in their single-minded pursuit of profit.
That’s what I intended this article to be about, and I realize it is a bit of a stretch for some readers to understand the relationship between pseudo-science scams and our education system, but I will continue to respond to comments and explain the concept as best I can. Best of luck to all and thanks for reading – your comments are always appreciated (but please make them constructive and factual).
And that gets me back to so-called “earthing”, a simple scientific concept dressed up to fool those with poor knowledge of science and give them false hope. If that makes anyone money it’s just sad, and while I can’t blame anyone in desperate need for grasping at straws, it’s unfortunate that people don’t understand the simple fact that electricity does work when there is current flowing at a sufficient strength to do something, but the currents involved in earthing are far, far too small and random to make any difference whether they are present or being normalized away to the surroundings via a grounding system.
” On what grounds do you base this Tim. Where have you read that small currents don’t have any affect on biological systems?????????/ ”
Essentially earthing is an attractive sounding concept (to the uneducated ear) that is a waste of time and money. It proves that we need to strengthen our _public_ education system and give it sufficient funding, and get rid of corporate charter schools that sap school funding, do a poor job of educating students, and harm our educational system (and all of us in the process) in their single-minded pursuit of profit.
That’s what I intended this article to be about, and I realize it is a bit of a stretch for some readers to understand the relationship between pseudo-science scams and our education system, but I will continue to respond to comments and explain the concept as best I can. Best of luck to all and thanks for reading – your comments are always appreciated (but please make them constructive and factual).
Hi Bruno – allow me to respond to your question:
” On what grounds do you base this Tim. Where have you read that small currents don’t have any affect on biological systems?????????/ ”
If I said “small currents dont have any affect (sic) on biological systems” I misspoke because such a statement doesn’t mean much unless “small currents” is defined in precise terms. Maximum electromagnetic exposure limits are typically defined in Watts absorbed within a physical area, sometimes specified in two dimensions and sometimes in three. Exposure limits usually refer to “RF” for radio frequency, even though radio frequency technically refers to electromagnetic fields between some vanishingly small number of Hertz (let’s say one) and 100 gigahertz.
There is a LOT of information (science) on electromagnetic safety on the web. Here are a few links to technical standards and discussions with lots of links to other information:
http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/radio-frequency-safety
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/human-exposure-rf-fields-guidelines-cellular-and-pcs-sites
http://www.rfcafe.com/references/electrical/fcc-maximum-permissible-exposure.htm
Click to access day2Varna_Foster.pdf
http://www.rfsafetysolutions.com/RF%20Radiation%20Pages/FCC_Regulations.html
With sufficient knowledge of electronics/science/math one can compute the sorts of currents and voltages that involved from the other figures provided in the standards (usually in Watts dissipated in a specified volume or area). I do not believe that any of the currents supposedly mitigated by “earthing” have a biologically detectable effect, but I’d be happy to learn of any science supporting earthing. People have shared a number of sources with me so far including two academic studies, one from the U.S. and one from Poland, neither of which would share their raw data and neither of which provided a what I felt was sound science or a convincing argument supporting earthing. Lots of people have offered clearly unscientific opinions and anecdotes but I still see nothing but pseudoscience and what is essentially blather around this concept.
I remain open to new information, as I hope to never stop learning, but I am experienced enough to be skeptical in the absence of hard facts, reproducable studies, etc. — Tim
I have talked about this more than a bit already, but it has been over a while and opinions shift and change. Also, I have talked little about the American educational system
I hear Americans have just about the worst and just about the best educational system in the Western World. It is the best when people can pay for it. It is the worst or (really, if you want to get picky) among the worst for everyone else. Too bad. In itself, universal education is darn close to a miracle.
Here is my quick cure for the educational system… Put more tax money into it, expect more of the students. Foe instance expect them to show up to class. Have a system where most of the students can learn something applicable to the job market like they do in Switzerland. Show some courage when dealing with parents. Look to successful countries. Do what they do. There. Now that I have solved that problem…
What kids in school need is not a course in electricity but a unit in logical thinking, if you will, a course on Carl Sagan’s baloney detector. This, of course will take away from the ten thousand other units proposed by other well meaning people which still haven’t be instituted because the teachers are too busy as it is.
And get those damn i-phones out of the kids hands. Youtube, Facebook and various game sites are killing formal education.
And as for Earthing, I would love to meet an Earther that doesn’t believe in cancer cures bought off the internet, the evils of MMR inoculations, drinking a bit of silver every day and that there is a chance that L.Ron Hubbard was right about Dianetics. It seems to lump in with the rest of the crackpot cures. I would love to meet an otherwise sober individual who believes in Earthing and Earthing only among all the smorgasbord of crazy that is out there for us.
The main problem is that some people will believe anything told to him by a guy with “Dr.” before his name who wears a nice suit and brushes his hair back just right.
The secondary problem is that drugs cost a lot, medical care costs a lot, medical cures don’t always work, and, unfortunately, we can’t always trust our legislators. So some of us turn to the people who claim to have a solution that the people we have been listening to are conspiring to keep from us.
Earthing will die. Something else will pop us and flourish in direct proportion to our desperation.
Hi Tim,
And as for Earthing, I would love to meet an Earther that doesn’t believe in cancer cures bought off the internet, the evils of MMR inoculations, drinking a bit of silver every day and that there is a chance that L.Ron Hubbard was right about Dianetics. It seems to lump in with the rest of the crackpot cures. I would love to meet an otherwise sober individual who believes in Earthing and Earthing only among all the smorgasbord of crazy that is out there for us.
” Well unfortunately for me Tim at least in your eyes I don’t meet your criteria .
The secondary problem is that drugs cost a lot, medical care costs a lot, medical cures don’t always work, and, unfortunately, we can’t always trust our legislators. So some of us turn to the people who claim to have a solution that the people we have been listening to are conspiring to keep from us.
” And I think that ‘s the point. People only look else where when the present system is failing them.
It took me roughly a whole year before I took any action to try earthing and I have never looked back.( I never had any health problems apart from aging at that stage)
I have tried to pass on my experience and belief to others without much success and I am also disappointed that some people don’t dare to look.
I recall one person actually sweating in fear when lying on the bed earthed.
So my take on this is ‘Fear” of the unknown, and or wanting the security of some authority or man in a white coat to tell you its okay to try it.
Just because the present orthodox Electrical theory at this stage cannot explain in some peoples eyes why Earthing produces results does not mean this normal natural action does not work.
Especially in a modern world polluted by so many different EMF currents we take for granted today that only 50 years ago were unknown and unheard off.
Without a doubt, the vast majority a earthers are liberals, not conservatives. Just a bit of perspective. Figured this was fair game, as the author clearly injected some politics into the article.
I don’t know how you know that, Tim. I have noticed all my life that lefties tend to be better educated and are less likely to be “faith-bound”. I don’t have any immediate facts to support that, though, just a lot of experience. Most “earthers” I have communicated with have not appeared to have much education, especially in science, and that is saddening.
Just another Left-Wing reactionary wacko. His last paragraph says it all about his obvious bias. Nonsense article written by a pseudo-intellectual fool. I have been researching the web about the supporting and dissenting opinions on earthing and this one is useless. A real synopsis of the entire article: “Earthing pushes my buttons so I deride it.” The irony is: his “belief” based on nothing, is much more “religious” than most religions out there.
OK, Ian. You criticize but you offer no facts. Do you know anything about the science (or lack of it) involved in earthing? Put up, or shut up, please? I think you were looking in a mirror when you wrote your comment.
Interesting dismissal calling those that ground dumb and unable to understand electrical fundamentals and yet you offer no scientific explanation as to why they are ‘dumb’.
DO I have to keep giving a short course in electrical fundamentals in these comments? Just because people are claiming things here that, had they bothered to learn the basics of what they are talking about, they would know are ridiculous, must I keep explaining how electricity works? I guess I’m getting tired of that. I don’t say people who believe in this stuff are dumb, just uninformed. It puzzles me how science – the body of knowledge, things we know about our existence and environment – isn’t accepted by people who haven’t the background to understand it. Isn’t that the right time to trust the science and use what you can of it instead of accepting ridiculous fake science crap and getting riled up somehow?
I say, if you don’t understand the science, at least trust that many people spent their lifetimes establishing theories and proving and documenting the facts, and accept what they are saying. What would make you accept unscientific speculations and self-serving BS from single sources? Are Americans SO gullible these days? (Our political situation suggests that, unfortunately.) I hope we’ll see a turn around now, more concern for providing a good education to anyone who desires it. and a regrowth of common decency and (the rare occurrence of) common sense.
Above all, I wish the click-baiting idiots who purvey crackpot misinformation on the internet and elsewhere would get a real job and stop preying on us. We’ve got enough problems without their idiocy.
Use your heads, people! Crank up your BS sensors, too!
David Moore – I hope that answers your comment. If you read back into much earlier comments you’ll find several places where I attempted to address this fake “technology” in technical terms. Best regards and thanks for reading and commenting — Tim
Tim how does one explain
Lisa’s comments
“My fibromyagia and chronic fatigue of 30 yrs duration is gone. As is my severe insomnia. An AC voltmeter shows the changes! I have a pad under my feet also. It keeps me from feeling sore when I need to work long hours.”
from http://skeptoid.com/blog/2014/07/20/grounding-2-they-are-still-trying-to-fool-you/#comments
And this is just one of the many miraculous events that have happened to some people after earthing.
SO if you were Lisa , you must say , This is not true , lets give away the mat and earthing equipment and go back to my pain and lack of energy which I so dearly love!!!!!k
I can explain it in at least a few ways. Wishful thinking. Lying. Attachment to someone who does believe in it which makes it difficult for her to say otherwise. Deciding that a very small change in her health is because of earthing when it is just coincident. A person who is ready to believe and is susceptible to suggestion.
I don’t know Lisa. But I do know someone who believes that he has a cure for MS and has cured someone. He believes that he has superpowers from Scientology. He says he remembers parts of his past lives. He has cancer but his own treatments have kept him alive longer than doctor’s treatments. He thinks marijuana cures cancer. He thinks that all cancer is caused by vaccination. And… he also (literally) purchased the whole Earthing package. He is very intelligent while being very foolish. He thinks I am brainwashed.
Beliefs, like Lisa’s are a product of emotion as well as intellectualism. Science is like a “candle in the dark” in our world. When someone like Lisa makes a claim we take a second look but believing anecdotal evidence is not always wise. In the case of Lisa, it is not wise at all.
If I were Lisa I would probably just continue doing what seems to work. But that doesn’t mean it actually works.
As for my friend– the person cured of MS is still in a wheelchair. The superpowers have never been demonstrated. The past life memories are good for nothing. His cancer continues.
1. “I can explain it in at least a few ways. Wishful thinking. Lying. Attachment to someone who does believe in it which makes it difficult for her to say otherwise. ”
Surely you cannot come to that conclusion by what Lisa has stated , namely “I can explain it in at least a few ways. Wishful thinking. Lying. Attachment to someone who does believe in it which makes it difficult for her to say otherwise.
I accept she could be lying but what could be the point???? What is Lisa getting out of it by lying?????? What is she selling!!!!!!!!!
2.I don’t know Lisa. But I do know someone who believes that he has a cure for MS and has cured someone. He believes that he has superpowers from Scientology…………………..
I don’t know your friend so I can’t comment however if you are trying to compare Lisa with your friend , well end of discussion because I don’t know Lisa and I don’t know your friend
I have to take Lisa’s statement as being true on the grounds that there have been others saying or having miraculous changes to their health.
3.” When someone like Lisa makes a claim we take a second look but believing anecdotal evidence is not always wise.”
Correct but others have also made similar claims so its time to look and investigate. The reigning scientific paridigm as I understand it is , if there is no research grants or money it ain’t worth looking at!!!! . Remember the only reason that Lisa may have looked was because she was desperate as the orthodox method had not worked for over 30 years and she still had the strength and courage to look elsewhere to get rid of her pain!!!
Pain can also be a great motivator!!!!!
4.If I were Lisa I would probably just continue doing what seems to work. But that doesn’t mean it actually works.
What poppycock are you saying?????? It works for Lisa and I bet you Rita does not give a rats arse whether you wish to discover whether it works for you also. It works for her and that”s what counts. I imagine knowing that it works for her she is content to share her discovery with any else who may wish to try it!!!!!! She is not a mean person keeping this knowledge to herself because she has walked where other persons have not dared to do so!!!!! People like yourself for example!!!!!
5. As for my friend–……………………………………………………………..
He is still alive and has hope. Now that”s a positive outcome !!!!!!
Would you rather have him dead to prove your point???????
Hi, Bruno. Common sense is not that common. That is why we use science. I don’t want him dead but if he was would you then come around to my way of thinking?
“Hi, Bruno. Common sense is not that common. That is why we use science. ”
1.No one here is against scientific method , but what people often forget that its humans that are in control of the method and if they do not wish to look or perceive reality then nothing gets done. I am not claiming here that my truth is the only reality here!!!!!!
“. I don’t want him dead but if he was would you then come around to my way of thinking?”
2. Most probably not because as usual we don’t have all the information. However you make a fair point and I take it on board .
Thanks for the reply.
The Video I got my life back recently released
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/02/25/grounding-recharge-immune-system-slow-aging.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170225Z1&et_cid=DM134534&et_rid=1901206928
worth looking at and making up your own mind about what grounding is and does. Not rocket science but common sense !!!!!