Crowd wisdom has become one of the most effective tools in the web era. Computational abilities meet huge amount of data gathered from users across the web makes it possible for us today to access an information rarely possible before and to create new insights which are constantly shaping our map of knowledge.
Although today the web makes it possible for us to share and access much more easily articles and data about homeopathy still the next requested step of crowed wisdom in homeopathy is yet to be made.
The next requested step in homeopathy computational data needs to be one which will dramatically change the world of homeopathic software. A step from the present Homeopathic software concept which feeds us with edited repertories and materia medica towards a Dynamic homeopathic software, a software based on the crowed wisdom of its users, a software which will generate an ongoing dynamic repertory and an ongoing dynamic materia medica which are constantly shaped and gain their values from all the clinical data available online, The crowed wisdom of the homeopathy community worldwide.
Some words about the concept and the features of this Dynamic homeopathic software:
A tool which is basically a repertorization program, In that sense quite similar to the existing repertorization programs (Mcrep, Radar, Complete Dynamics…) But… a web based!!! Web based so that data of users can be gathered and processed (off course under consideration of patient confidentialities).
There will be an internal "engine" which is able to access the cases and read the repertorization and the remedies given. The information generated by that engine (basically an information which shows how tight are the connections between certain remedies and a certain rubric, based on the clinical experiences of the users) will structure a new repertory, a Dynamic repertory which is constantly built and shaped with the flow of data.
Repertorization of successful cases and the remedy given will be processed…i.e. if a certain amount (the "certain amount" is a point to be discussed) of repertorization will show that the rubric fear/mice is quiet common in cases of calc. than the remedy calc. can be offered under that rubric and shows in the dynamic repertory.
Aside from the dynamic repertory which is constantly generated by such a program you may also extrapolate lots of other info from this enormous online clinical data (simply by accessing and analyzing other available data such as potencies, dosing, main complaint, place and date…) :
- What are the most effective remedies for a certain pathology i.e. diabetes, adhd, sexual abuse, aids…?
- What are the most effective potencies / dosing for a certain pathology.
- Investigating the correlation between families of remedies and their cured cases, for example you may want to check whether the Cactaceae family does shows themes of oppression simply by analyzing the most common symptoms of the cases cured by remedies belongs to that family.
- Live materia medica: you may ask to see all cases of a certain remedy. And by reading this live materia medica come to an understanding which is not possible from standard and edited materia medicas.
- Learn for the correlation between the place of living, weather, pollutions… and the remedies/potencies given.
- Largest source of documented clinical experience. Can serve as a very efficient tool to prove authorities of the efficiency of homeopathy.
Every homeopath will have his own page in this Dynamic homeopathic software, a page on which he can upload his articles, materia medica, seminars… by that a huge library will be created. In a click of a button you will be able to see a vast amount of articles, cases, materia medica, pathologies… about any subject you like to study and explore.
In order to keep the existing repertories (Complete repertory, Synthesis…) safe from any automated data added to them (assuming that this Dynamic homeopathic software will include also one or some of those repertories), There will be a clear firewall between the existing repertories and the dynamic repertory. It will be technically impossible for the software to change data of those repertories. The only repertory which is influenced and changed by the clinical data is the Dynamic repertory.
Q&A
Isn't there a risk that this dynamic repertory will result in a very shaky and not reliable repertory? that data from not well experienced users or even false data will be presented by users, processed by the software engine and added to the dynamic repertory without any editor in charge?
In order to secure the reliability and quality of data there will be user preferences, by adjusting those preferences every user can secure the creditability of data, some examples for the preferences:
- Exposure scale: Each user can define the volume of users and data to be exposed to, means which is the data you allow your software to read and to gain value from (probably the data you consider as trusted and interested enough.)
you may start by defining only your cases as trusted enough and by that it means that only your clinical cases will be processed by the software engine, you may define only well-known users to access and read their data, you may also define that only homeopath from certain creditability scale are safe enough to read their data.
- Creditability scale: There will be a creditability scale, say from 1-10, for every user. Creditability scale will be effected from the amounts of credits (Kind of a "like" button) you gain from the community. The more credits you get from the community means the more solid and trusted is your data.
- Remedy rank: each remedy addition offered by the software will have its rank affected by the intensity of the correlation between the remedy and the rubric, how intensive and affirmative is the correlation between the remedy and the rubric in the clinical experience.
Anyway, one must pay attention to the fact that the preferences to define the creditability of data can always be changed…. So whenever you feel that your data seems to be loose a bit you may change your preferences to be more restricted and consequently the data (and the dynamic repertory created by that data) to be more solid.
Why this project has to be embedded into homeopathic software and not possibly a kind of a Facebook forum on which the community can share their clinical experience and knowledge?
The engine which runs thru the clinical data and offer new possibilities of remedies to rubrics needs a direct access to the repertorization and Rx (Remedies, potencies, dosing), and those are only available if embedded to our repertorization programs.
There were so many trials to create kind of a word wide professional forum for homeopaths which did not gain much success, why do you see a better prospect for that project?
There is a very Big different: The previous trials were indeed to create a forum, or kind of a Facebook group for homeopaths, and that means that every member of the community was required to open his browser, access the sight, register to the forum, upload an article, search for a materia medica and all those well-known efforts… But This Dynamic homeopathic software asks none from those steps to be made… you simply enter your homeopathic software which you open anyway every morning on your clinic and here you are, online for as many hrs. as your Dynamic homeopathic software is open, able to share and learn from the largest ever clinical data available.
Isn't there a risk that the existing repertories (Complete, Synthesis…) will be contaminated by this project ? If kind of an automated logarithm are yielding extension to the existing rubrics (by offering new remedies upon the clinical experience) Isn't there a risk that those solid and well proved existing repertories will be contaminated, that we will lose control over that precious and safe data.
As mentioned before, the existing repertories will be technically separated from any possibility to shift or edit their data. There is a clear cut between the dynamic repertory which indeed is always shaped by the clinical data flow, and the classical repertories which are there available whenever we would prefer to work solely upon their solid ground.
Is there a need to create a new Homeopathic software or can this dynamic repertory be embedded into the existing Homeopathic software?
Each of the options is possible. Preferably off course, it will be easier if a major Homeopathic software would embed this feature into its program, Still I do believe that with the viral and dynamic environment we all live in a well-built all new program which will offer those feature has an excellent chance to stand on its own in a quiet short period of time.