The Law Of Similars

I still recall the day when i was back in MFI, my mechanics lecturer gave us a difficult problem and he asked us to prove it. It was a an excavator which is carrying a certain amount of mass in its arm and we have to prove that it will tumble forward. It shouldn't be too hard if we just apply our knowledge in moment and forces. However, we have too many unknowns making it impossible to get an answer. Unless of course, we see it from a different point of view..

Imagine having two mice. One is white and the other is black. How do you prove that the white mouse is white? You can choose to try your best proving that it is white, or, you can see it all from a different point of view. To prove that it is not black. Sometimes, we encounter this kind of problem in mathematics. Like the one that my lecturer told us to solve last time. So instead of proving that it falls, with all those unknowns, we proved that it doesn't stay on its ground. Thus bringing us to the conclusion that the excavator falls forward and the poor contractor being in a big mess.

It's amazing to see that just by changing our point of view in a problem, we can achieve something better and solve a problem a lot faster, and of course, a lot easier. It all depends on how we see it.

I've read the book The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. The story is all about Ancient Mysteries and conspiracies. Which i like. Not that i really believe in Ancient Mysteries or such, but i do think that we can learn something from the book. In the book, Peter Solomon, Robert Langdon's friend, always point it out to Langdon that sometimes, we just need to change our point of view to see something more clearly. In the book, Langdon get to solve a lot of the ancient riddles by doing so. Our mind is complicated, up to the point that we can't see simple things that lie right in front of our eyes. All we need to do is to see it from a different point of view.

The Law Of Similars. I'm sure up to this point, you guys are still wondering what is it and what link does it have with all the things that I'm saying now.

Us mankind, we have moved forward so far. We, as the only creature with intelligence have do great wonders in this world. We have achieved a very high level of knowledge in physics, mathematics, chemistry and medicines. And according to Moore's Law, our advancement in technology will continue to grow exponentially. However, in our arrogance with our knowledge, we have forgotten other form of fields. Long forgotten fields. Which modern scientist claim to be bogus and unproven. Most of us forgot the practice of acupuncture, homeopathy and other form of "traditional" medicine. How can we say that it's wrong if it is left unproven? But don't get me wrong, not all scientists are like this. Some strive to prove the effectiveness of these practices.

Don't worry, we're getting close to the Law Of Similars now.

People nowadays have forgotten about these practices. Some of us don't even know some of it. And I was part of those people. I just found out about homeopathy recently. A field proposed by the german physician, Samuel Hahnemann. It's a form of alternative medicine which is based on the philosophy called The Law Of Similars. This law stated that drugs or treatment for a certain disease will produce the same effects or symptoms as the disease that it's supposed to cure. We can see these symptoms if we apply the drug to a healthy person without the disease and the drug will produce the same effect as the disease.

Similia similibus curentur, let like be cured by like

It's like using a poison to treat a poison. This is based on the belief that the a substance that produces the same effect as a diease can cure the disease if used at a very small dose. This method of course have not been proven but you can see its effectiveness. Thus homeopathy stays as an alternative medicine. Not real science that we learn in medic school.

I'm not saying all this cos I'm a big fan of homeopathy and other form of alternative medicines. What I'm trying to show you is that, from what i see, homeopathy is just another branch of science that wants to cure sick people but the practitioners have a different approach than conventional medicines do. Both are looking for the same truth.

So i believe until the day where we all are able to change our approach in a problem comes, we will never see the truth that lies in this world. We will never be an enlighten mind until that day comes. We have restricted our way of thinking into what we are taught in school. Most of us have lost the ability that we had when we were child, that is, the ability to really see the world as how it is. I myself have lost that ability. But it's never too late to change.


P/S: Sorry for the long post dear. Haha. I had this on my mind and I've taken time to structure it and made some research about it. So that explains why i haven't post anything for quite sometime. :)