顺势疗法解析：温和治愈还是严重骗局？：英语精读讲义

Homeopathy may be the most controversial

顺势疗法可能是最具争议性的，

but also the most popular alternative medicine.

但也是最受欢迎的替代医学。

While some argue against it,

虽然有些人反对它，

others swear by its great power and effectiveness. 短語動詞

但也有人发誓说它功效强大。

How does homeopathy work?

顺势疗法是如何起效的？

How did it become what it is today

它是如何发展成今天这样的？

and what can modern medicine learn from it?

现代医学又能从它身上学到什么？

The first principle of homeopathy is like cures like. 文化背景

顺势疗法的第一个原则是“同类相治”。

Remedies use ingredients that cause the symptoms you want to cure.

药物使用的成分往往正是导致你想治愈的症状的成分。

In practice, that means that remedies against fever could, for example, 表達脈絡

在实践中，这意味着退烧药可能（例如）

be made from belladonna, which also causes fever.

由同样会引起发烧的颠茄制成。

A mixture based from bee venom

一种基于蜂毒的混合物

is used to treat itchy swellings and so on.

被用来治疗发痒的肿胀等等。

The second principle is a special method of preparation called potentization. 文化背景

第二个原则是一种叫做“势能化”的特殊制备方法。

The idea is that diluting and agitating the ingredients 語法

这个想法是，稀释和震荡这些成分

activates their curative powers and enhances their effect.

可以激活它们的治愈能力并增强效果。

To do this, the ingredient is dissolved in alcohol or distilled water.

为此，成分被溶解在酒精或蒸馏水中。

Homeopaths take one part of the solution and mix it with nine parts of water,

顺势疗法医师取一份溶液并将其与九份水混合，

diluting it down to 1/10 of its original concentration and shaking it. 短語搭配

将其稀释到原始浓度的 1/10 并摇晃它。

What you have now is a 1x potency,

现在你得到的是 1x 的效力，

one part ingredient and nine parts solvent,

即一份成分和九份溶剂，

named after the Roman numeral X for 10.

以罗马数字 X 代表 10 来命名。

Now this process is repeated.

然后重复这个过程。

Take one part, mix it with nine parts of pure water,

取出一份，将其与九份纯水混合，

and shake it vigorously.

并剧烈摇晃。

Now you have 2x.

现在你有了 2x。

You do this again and again until you reach the desired grade of potency.

你一次又一次地这样做，直到达到所需的效力等级。

The finished remedy is then taken orally

制成的药物可以直接口服，

or sometimes it's applied as little sugar pellets that are sold as globuli.

或者有时会滴在被称为“糖球”的小糖丸上出售。

A 20x potency, for example,

例如，20x 的效力，

is like dissolving one aspirin pill

就像把一粒阿司匹林

in the water volume of the whole Atlantic.

溶解在整个大西洋的水量中。

But many are much more extreme, like 30c, for example.

但许多甚至更加极端，例如 30c。

C means that the mixture has one part ingredient and 99 parts water.

C 意味着混合物有一份成分和 99 份水。

So the commonly sold 30c mixture means one part ingredient

所以市面上常见的 30c 混合物意味着一份成分

and 1 million billion billion billion billion billion parts of water.

对应 1百万个十亿、十亿、十亿、十亿、十亿份的水。

If we wanted a globuli pill with a single atom of the original ingredient, 語法

如果我们想要一颗含有一个原始成分原子的糖球，

then our pill would be the diameter

那么我们的药丸的直径将是

of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

地球到太阳的距离。

150 million km.

即 1.5 亿公里。

A pill so massive that it would collapse into a black hole

一颗如此巨大的药丸，它会因为自身的质量

under its own mass.

坍缩成一个黑洞。

Because of this, potentization is one of the biggest criticisms of homeopathy.

正因为如此，势能化是顺势疗法受到最大批评的地方之一。

The extreme dilution is supposed to make the ingredients more potent. 語法

极度稀释据称能使成分变得更强效。

But on a physical level, this doesn't really make sense.

但在物理层面上，这其实毫无意义。

Most homeopathic remedies are diluted so much 語法

多数顺势疗法的药物被稀释得如此之多，

that not a single atom of the active ingredient is left in them.

以至于它们连一个有效成分的原子都没有留下。

The explanation of why the mixture still works

为什么这混合物仍能起效？对此的解释是，

is that shaking the mixture after every dilution

每次稀释后摇晃混合物，

leaves behind a spirit-like essence of the ingredient. 短語動詞

会留下成分的“精神本质”。

Basically, the idea is that water remembers what was put into it. 習語

基本上，这个想法是水会记住放入其中的东西。

But if this were true, then every substance that ever met a drop of water 語法

但如果这是真的，那么所有曾接触过一滴水的物质

would leave an essence behind

都会留下其本质，

and lead to unpredictable effects when it was accidentally ingested.

并在被意外摄入时导致不可预测的效果。

Think of all the stuff that lives and floats in the oceans.

想想海洋中所有生存和漂浮的东西。

Every sip of water would be a supercharged homeopathic cocktail. 習語

每一口水都会是一杯超级顺势疗法鸡尾酒。

So how did homeopathy become the most successful alternative medicine?

那么，顺势疗法是如何成为最成功的替代医学的呢？

In the 18th century, medicine was very different from today.

在 18 世纪，医学与今天大不相同。

Treatments like bloodletting left the patient worse off than before. 短語搭配

像放血这样的治疗方法让病人比以前更糟。

So German physician Samuel Hahnemann wanted a non-invasive,

所以德国医生塞缪尔·哈内曼想要一种非侵入性的、

natural way of healing and developed homeopathy.

自然的治疗方式，并发展了顺势疗法。

And in fact, homeopathic hospitals were soon successful

事实上，顺势疗法医院很快就取得了成功，

because doing no harm beats doing harm. 語法

因为“不造成伤害”总比“造成伤害”好。

Hahnemann imposed very strict rules on his patients.

哈内曼对他的病人制定了非常严格的规定。

First, you had to avoid coffee,

首先，你必须避免咖啡、

tea, alcohol, spicy food,

茶、酒精、辛辣食物、

sweet food, no old cheese,

甜食，不吃放久的奶酪，

no onions, no meat,

不吃洋葱，不吃肉，

no clothes made from sheep's wool,

不穿羊毛做的衣服，

but also no sedentary work,

也不能做久坐的工作，

no sitting inside in stuffy air,

不能坐在空气浑浊的室内，

no warm rooms, no riding horses,

不能待在温暖的房间里，不能骑马，

no napping, no playing games,

不能午睡，不能玩游戏，

no masturbation,

不能自慰，

and of course no reading pornographic texts,

当然也不能看色情读物，

and many more.

还有很多很多。

Then, and only then, would his remedies work 語法

根据顺势疗法发明者的说法，

according to the inventor of homeopathy.

只有做到这些，他的药才会起效。

Of course, all of these instructions are ignored and not talked about today.

当然，今天所有这些规定都被忽视和避而不谈了。

Medicine has changed a lot in the last 150 years.

过去 150 年里，医学发生了巨大的变化。

Never before in human history have we enjoyed a comparable level of health. 語法

在人类历史上，我们从未享受过如此高的健康水平。

Never have we lived as long.

我们也从未活得这么长。

And this is largely due to the new tools we've developed. 短語搭配

这在很大程度上要归功于我们开发的新工具。

Modern diagnostics, double-blinded studies,

现代诊断、双盲研究，

and scientific evaluation to check and prove which stuff works.

以及用来检验和证明什么东西有效的科学评估。

Thanks to these tools, after countless studies and reviews,

多亏了这些工具，在经过无数的研究和审查之后，

we know beyond a shadow of a doubt 習語

我们确信无疑地知道

that homeopathy does not have any effect beyond placebo. 用詞

顺势疗法除了安慰剂效应之外没有任何作用。

But even so, who cares why it works if it helps people? 表達脈絡

但即便如此，如果它能帮助人们，谁在乎它是怎么起效的呢？

Maybe you tried it and felt better.

也许你试过，感觉好多了。

Or you know someone that got over a horrible disease 短語動詞

或者你认识某个在使用顺势疗法药物时

while using homeopathic remedies.

克服了可怕疾病的人。

And there are plenty of reports of it working for children and animals.

并且有很多关于它对儿童和动物有效的报道。

What do we make of these experiences? 短語動詞

我们该如何理解这些经历？

The placebo effect is very real and not imaginary.

安慰剂效应非常真实，绝非虚构。

No matter how smart you are, you're not immune to it. 講解

无论你多聪明，你都不能免疫它。

If people believe that something will help them feel better,

如果人们相信某样东西会帮助他们感觉更好，

their trust alone has the desired effect.

单凭他们的信任就能产生预期的效果。

And it's been proven that the placebo effect can be transferred.

而且已经证明安慰剂效应是可以传递的。

Children and animals rely on their parents or keepers

儿童和动物依赖他们的父母或饲养员，

and are in tune to their emotions.

并且对他们的情绪变化很敏感。

If a parent has a lot of trust in a treatment and eases up, 短語動詞

如果父母对一种治疗方法充满信任并放松下来，

this can help a child relax and help relieve symptoms.

这有助于孩子放松，从而帮助缓解症状。

This can also be observed with animals

这在动物身上也能观察到，

who react strongly to the body language cues of the people caring for them. 短語搭配

它们对照顾它们的人的肢体语言暗示反应强烈。

But the most powerful tool of homeopathy is time. 表達脈絡

但顺势疗法最强大的工具是时间。

Our bodies are survival machines.

我们的身体是生存机器。

Infections pass on their own after a few days.

感染在几天后会自行消失。

But if you take some remedy when you already feel sick

但如果你在已经感到生病时吃了一些药，

and then start getting better,

然后开始好转，

it feels like it did indeed cure you,

感觉上确实是药治好了你，

while actually it would have happened anyway. 語法

而实际上这本来就会发生。

The homeopathy industry likes to play the gentle alternative to big pharma. 講解

顺势疗法产业喜欢把自己塑造成大型制药公司的温和替代品。

But the homeopathic industry is big pharma. 表達脈絡

但顺势疗法产业本身就是大型制药公司。

Billions of dollars are made with extreme profit margins. 用詞

他们以极高的利润率赚取了数十亿美元。

The homeopathy industry has its own lobby organizations 文化背景

顺势疗法产业有自己的游说组织，

and fights its enemies as hard as it can.

并且竭尽全力打击它的敌人。

A lot of money is on the line. 習語

这涉及到巨额的利益。

Globally, the market is expected to reach over 17 billion by 2024. 短語搭配

全球来看，该市场预计到 2024 年将达到 170 亿以上。

Some critics even argue that the homeopathic industry is bad for public health

一些批评者甚至认为，顺势疗法产业对公共健康有害，

because it creates distrust in proven medicine.

因为它造成了人们对被证明有效的医学的怀疑。

The belief in homeopathy correlates with skepticism about vaccinations. 用詞

对顺势疗法的信仰与对疫苗的怀疑相关联。

This can discourage people to seek the help they need 語法

当他们自己或孩子的生命危在旦夕时，

when their lives or the lives of their children are on the line.

这可能会阻碍人们寻求所需的帮助。

But there is actually a key to the success of homeopathy

但实际上，顺势疗法成功的关键之中，

that we could and should copy.

有一点是我们能够并且应该学习的。

The first consultation with a homeopath can take hours and is very personal.

第一次看顺势疗法医生可能需要几个小时，而且非常个性化。

For a patient who's already been on a pilgrimage from doctor to doctor, 習語

对于一个已经辗转于各个医生之间的病人来说，

this level of attention and empathy

这种程度的关注和同理心

can make a huge difference to their well-being, 短語搭配

可以对他们的健康产生巨大的影响，

even if the conversation was not the point of the therapy.

即使谈话并不是治疗的目的。

Modern medicine is efficient.

现代医学是高效的。

It saves millions of lives each year.

它每年拯救数以百万计的生命。

But it's also a strictly organized system.

但它也是一个组织严密的系统。

Tight budgets force doctors and nurses to deal with lots of patients. 語法

紧张的预算迫使医生和护士处理大量的病人。

Consultations need to be time-efficient, 表達脈絡

问诊必须注重时间效率，

diagnoses made quickly,

诊断要快，

treatments fast,

治疗也要快，

which can leave patients feeling invisible, 語法

这会让病人觉得被无视、

scared, and left behind. 短語動詞

害怕和被抛弃。

This is what modern medicine can learn from homeopathy. 表達脈絡

这正是现代医学可以从顺势疗法中学到的。

It meets a human need that has been left unfulfilled.

它满足了一种一直未能被满足的人类需求。

We need to make time for the individual again, 短語搭配

我们需要重新为每个个体腾出时间，

see people, not numbers. 表達脈絡

把人当人看，而不是看作数字。

But as important as empathy is, it's not a substitute for actual treatment. 講解

但尽管同理心很重要，它也不能取代实际的治疗。

Faith can move mountains, but sugar water can't cure cancer. 講解

信仰可以移山，但糖水治不了癌症。

After a short break of a few years, Kurzgesagt is back in German.

在短短几年的休息之后，Kurzgesagt 德语频道回归了。

Thanks to the support of Funk, we have relaunched the German channel

感谢 Funk 的支持，我们重新推出了德语频道，

and are beginning to upload a video every one to two weeks.

并开始每隔一到两周上传一个视频。

Besides redoing our favorite videos,

除了重做我们最喜欢的视频，

there'll be a number of videos that will not exist in English for a while.

还有很多视频在一段时间内不会有英文版。

Check out the channel here, tell us what you think,

在这里去看看我们的频道，告诉我们你的想法，

and subscribe and watch a few.

并订阅观看几期。

If the channel goes well, the German videos might become a regular thing for years,

如果频道运转良好，德语视频可能会成为未来几年的常规项目，

and we might even do more languages.

我们甚至可能会做更多的语言版本。