Masaru Emoto, Water, Ice Crystals and The Little Prince

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	"The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists. And what good would it do to tell them that? They would shrug their shoulders, and treat you like a child. But if you said to them: 'The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612,' then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions." (The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exup�ry)
	There's nothing wrong with fiction. Some of the more important, interesting and entertaining truths about the universe and our place in it have been presented by talented fiction writers like Antoine de Saint-Exup�ry. The problem with Emoto's work is that he represents his ice crystal experiments as scientific fact instead of an allegory illustrated with pleasant pictures, and in doing so diminishes both his story and his 'science'.
	There is no credible scientific evidence to support Masaru Emoto�s claims that water is able to alter its crystal structure based on human words, thoughts and music. However, Emoto has successfully published several books, presented his work as scientific fact, been featured in a popular movie, What the Bleep!, and been invited to lecture around the world. All of which lends credibility to his claims of scientific veracity � without the necessity of requiring any of his statements to actually be True. It is interesting to consider why his books and ideas are popular and accepted by so many people as valid science when neither his 'evidence' (ice crystal pictures) nor most of his observations on the natural world demonstrate any actual application or understanding of science.
	Many people do not have the training (or perhaps the motivation) to evaluate the truth of Emoto�s claims. It is enough to accept his claims based entirely on his presentation of �the evidence� and the testimony of other Believers. Consequently, they can move beyond the scientifically improbable content of his ideas and accept the message of his story.
	Emoto�s message is not ultimately about the ice crystals; he uses ice crystal shapes as a vehicle to communicate his views on human relationships, God, human origins, the environment, and other subjects important to him. Marriam-Webster' Online Dictionary: Main Entry: al�le�go�ry \'a-lə-,gōr-ē\ Function: noun 1 : the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence; also : an instance (as in a story or painting) of such expression. I answer another visitor question about Emoto here.

Discussion

I finally read several of Masaru Emoto's books to try and understand the appeal of his ideas.

This effort was suggested by my wife, Carol, who pointed out that if I was going to criticize Emoto�s work which I had been doing regularly and loudly since I saw it presented in the movie, What the Bleep! (which won the coveted Pigasus award - category #3 - in 2004 [archive]) it might be a good idea to actually read his books.

I am a scientist, and have little patience with ideas that are presented as Scientific Fact when they are based on principles which reside completely outside the realm of traditional scientific understanding, have no expectation of validity based on recognized scientific theories and have no independent experimental support.

I had considered Emoto�s work complete pseudoscientific nonsense since I first heard about it, and I could not understand how anyone could take it seriously, never mind calling his ideas "groundbreaking revelations" as some reviewers have gushed. Yet I had never actually sat down and read one of his books cover to cover. Well, I did � I actually read two of his books, Messages from Water and The Shape of Love, cover to cover � and was more baffled than ever by the popularity of his books and ideas. He includes numerous descriptions about how the physical universe works, including many characteristics of water, which do not coincide with how I (and other scientists) understand the natural world (the Examples: Emoto tab above will provide details).

If my scientific training has any validity and my understanding of the concepts Emoto�s words were trying to communicate is accurate, I can come to only one conclusion: Masaru Emoto�s work is based on his personal interpretation of physical reality which is quite different from the physical realm studied and written about by mainstream scientists. This YouTube video is enlightening.

My conclusion is echoed by other scientists including the foremost snow crystal and snow flake photographer, Kenneth G. Libbrecht, a Professor of Physics and Chairman of the Physics Department at Caltech who wrote, �If you think it defies common sense that water does this {modifies it�s physical behavior in response to thoughts, words, and music}, you are right. In fact water does not respond to thoughts and feelings - it's just water.

How then does one explain Mr. Emoto's experiments? My best guess is that Mr. Emoto grows hundreds of crystals and then selects different shapes to demonstrate whatever point he wishes to make. For example, when the water was exposed to classical music he picks out some beautiful crystals to show us. For rock-and-roll, he selects some ugly crystals and shows us those.

He then concludes that classical music makes beautiful crystals while rock-and-roll makes ugly ones. What he does not show us is that both musical treatments made the same numbers of beautiful and ugly crystals. The "treatments" actually had no effect.

Do I know Mr. Emoto does this? No, which is why I called it a guess. Mr. Emoto has never published his work in a reputable scientific forum, where it would be scrutinized. He only presents it in self-published books, where he is free to say whatever he wants.

Basic physics says the work cannot be correct, and Mr. Emoto has not convinced the scientific community that his experiments have any merit whatsoever. Have I tried to reproduce Mr. Emoto's experiments? No, and I don't intend to.

While I try to keep an open mind to new ideas, this one is just too outrageous. I only have limited time and resources, so I study ideas that I think are more likely to be fruitful.

As we liked to say back on the farm in North Dakota -- it's good to have an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out!�

I have asked a number of people who like his books and accept his results as valid why they believe that the formation of ice crystals can be influenced by people's thoughts, words written on pieces of paper and music. The answer is always because he has written a book that clearly shows pictures of beautiful crystals that have formed in response to positive messages and ugly, messed up crystals that formed in response to negative messages.

When I point out that no one else in the world has duplicated his work, and his theories about water behavior seem to contradict established scientific principles they look at me as if to say, "So, what's your point. The man is a best selling author - millions of people believe in his work - he has been featured in a popular movie, and he is highly regarded and invited to speak all over the world about his research on ice crystals. Why shouldn't I accept his ideas as True." A person's reputation and popularity apparently trumps the need to provide verifiable evidence when it comes to accepting scientific claims.

If the foundation of Emoto�s work lacks any scientific credibility, why then is it so popular � at least among many non-scientists?

An answer came to me while I was cleaning my office (another of Carol�s suggestions) and came across a copy of Antoine de Saint-Exup�ry�s classic story, The Little Prince, that I had read and enjoyed many years ago (text only, pdf with pictures). This charming story recounts the adventure of a pilot who crashed in the Sarah Desert in the early 20th century and was visited by a traveler who lived on a small asteroid, B-612 (discovered by a Turkish astronomer in 1909, according to the author)

A Visitor's question: Hi, how are you? My name is Patrycja and I was researching health effects of water based on ideas of Masaru Emoto when I stumbled on your website. You are obviously not a fan of his work and to be frank I would like to believe it, but would really like to see results with my own eyes. I was wondering if you had ever tried to recreate his experiment? If no, why is that? Thanks and have a great day! Patrycja My Response

I like this story even though it is filled with pseudoscientific nonsense. How, for example, does the Little Prince travel through the vacuum of space � he just seems to appear on the various asteroids and planets he visits? Perhaps he takes "advantage of the migration of a flock of wild birds", as suggested by the narrator.

How could asteroid B-612 have been seen with a telescope over 100 years ago if it is as small as portrayed in the book? How could an asteroid that small have enough atmosphere or water to support life? Is it possible for Baobab trees to split a small planet in pieces? Can roses really talk? And so on ...

When I read The Little Prince I am not jolted out of the story by the scientific inconsistencies I encounter even though I am a scientist. I assume the author wrote allegorically; I ignore the glaring errors in the author's description of how the universe works; and I enjoy the imagery, the story, and the messages of love and human foibles. The critical, skeptical, analytical, scientific portion of my brain is switched off when I read stories like this. Although the author does not explicitly state his book is fiction, he makes no claim that the �scientific� principles and gadgets described in the story are real � they are just literary devices to move the story along and present the author�s message. I suspect that non-scientists reading the book also do not get bogged down by scientific inconsistencies and are able to enjoy the story and messages the book has to offer.

When I read Masaru Emoto�s books or listen to him speak, on the other hand, I am constantly jarred out of the story by the scientific inconsistencies I encounter. Emoto has promoted his work and ideas as scientific FACT � as legitimate, say, as Einstein�s theory of relativity or snowflake physics. Consequently, I read and listen with the critical, skeptical, analytical, scientific portion of my brain switched on. I evaluate every sentence he writes against my understanding of how the physical universe operates. When Emoto presents statements as FACT (examples below) that flatly contradict everything I know about the physical and biological sciences, it becomes impossible to assign any credibility to any part of his message, and I quickly lose interest in the story.

Emto himself explained in a 2005 interview (try this archive) for the Maui News that he is not particularly interested in scientific methods designed to reduce experimental bias by blinding samples. After a preliminary blinded screening to see if new researchers can obtain crystal pictures from water known to produce crystals or not, "I do not require any blind test on any samples after that. I believe that the researcher�s aesthetic sense and character is the important aspect when taking crystal photographs. Therefore, I try to make sure that they can take photographs in a relaxed and positive atmosphere. I urge each one of them to try their best because beauty exists in everything.� And later in the article, "...I did not start out with any modern scientific background. I did not even know the limit of science to stop me from giving this research a chance.� (emphasis mine - RJ)

My hypothesis is that scientists are trained to evaluate statements which are made about the universe we inhabit and to question anything presented as fact that that seems contrary to their understanding of the natural world. Many non-scientists who read Emoto�s books, however, do not have the training or experience to evaluate the scientific claims he makes and test them against principles of nature that are commonly accepted as true by scientists.

Consequently they read uncritically and are not yanked out of the story by the conflict between their knowledge and what they read. They are also probably intrigued by the notion that their thoughts can influence the physical properties of water and how it crystallizes. As a result, they can follow the story and the flow of ideas throughout the books and lectures and pick out useful tidbits. Apparently, the underlying message is compelling for many people.

In Emoto's introduction to The Hidden Messages In Water he makes a revealing statement, "This book has given me a "stage" from which to speak to you about the 'fluctuation' theories that I have studied for more than a decade, and also about my own experiences, my research based on the observation of human behavior, and my own thoughts concerning the cosmos." There is a lot more than water theory that Emoto is interested in communicating, and he found the perfect medium to convey his message.

In my estimation, both Antoine de Saint-Exup�ry's and Masaru Emoto's books are allegories; both authors invented a fictitious universe that behaves according to the requirements of the story they are trying to tell. In The Little Prince a small person from asteroid B-612 tells the story, in Hidden Messages in Water and The Shape of Love, ice crystals sensitive to human messages tell the story.

Saint-Exup�ry made no effort to sell his creations (a space traveler from asteroid B-612, a talking fox, planet destroying baobabs, etc.) as scientifically factual.

The problem with Emoto' message, on the other hand, is that he attempts to pass the his literary fabrication (the physical and chemical behavior of water molecules - and other comments on nature) off as scientific fact. When the alleged scientific facade crumbles, so does his message.

Selections from The Little Prince

As you read the 'scientific' statements made by Antoine de Saint-Exup�ry - particularly if you read the statements within the context of the book - is it obvious to you that they are not supposed to be taken literally? Does it matter to the story whether or not the statements are an accurate representation of the universe?

Statements in The Little Prince that could be interpreted as scientific:

The Real Messages of the The Little Prince:

"If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself, 'Somewhere, my flower is there...' But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened... And you think that is not important!"
It is such a secret place, the land of tears.

"I ought not to have listened to her," he confided to me one day. "One never ought to listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance. Mine perfumed all my planet. But I did not know how to take pleasure in all her grace." ..."The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything! I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her... I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her..."

"Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies. It seems that they are very beautiful. And if not the butterflies-- and the caterpillars-- who will call upon me? You will be far away... as for the large animals-- I am not at all afraid of any of them. I have my claws." And, na�vely, she showed her four thorns.

"My flower is ephemeral," the little prince said to himself, "and she has only four thorns to defend herself against the world. And I have left her on my planet, all alone!"

"I should like to see a sunset... do me that kindness... Order the sun to set..." ... "You shall have your sunset. I shall command it {said the king}. But, according to my science of government, I shall wait until conditions are favorable." "When will that be?" inquired the little prince. "Hum! Hum!" replied the king; and before saying anything else he consulted a bulky almanac. "Hum! Hum! That will be about-- about-- that will be this evening about twenty minutes to eight. And you will see how well I am obeyed."

"Do you really admire me very much?" the conceited man demanded of the little prince. "What does that mean-- 'admire'?" "To admire mean that you regard me as the handsomest, the best-dressed, the richest, and the most intelligent man on this planet." "But you are the only man on your planet!" "Do me this kindness. Admire me just the same."

"Where are the men?" the little prince at last took up the conversation again. "It is a little lonely in the desert..." "It is also lonely among men," the snake said.

"Where are the men?" the little prince asked, politely. The flower had once seen a caravan passing. "Men?" she echoed. "I think there are six or seven of them in existence. I saw them, several years ago. But one never knows where to find them. The wind blows them away. They have no roots, and that makes their life very difficult."

"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy." "I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed." ...What does that mean-- 'tame'?" "It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. It means to establish ties." "'To establish ties'?" "Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..." "I am beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is a flower... I think that she has tamed me..."

"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." "Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."

One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed...

"The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen."

This was a merchant who sold pills that had been invented to quench thirst. You need only swallow one pill a week, and you would feel no need of anything to drink. "Why are you selling those?" asked the little prince. "Because they save a tremendous amount of time," said the merchant. "Computations have been made by experts. With these pills, you save fifty-three minutes in every week." "And what do I do with those fifty-three minutes?" "Anything you like..." "As for me," said the little prince to himself, "if I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water."

"All men have the stars," he answered, "but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all these stars are silent. You-- you alone-- will have the stars as no one else has them--" "In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night... you-- only you-- will have stars that can laugh!"

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Selections from The Hidden Messages in Water and The Shape of Love

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Statements in The Hidden Messages in Water and The Shape of Love presented as scientific facts:

Below are just some of the more easily extracted passages Emoto seems to present as Scientific Fact that I suspect will set off the mental alarms of any scientist who reads Emoto's works. I have tried not to take them out of context or changed their meanings. Emoto presents each of the statements in the same manner - there is no indication that some of his assertions are to be taken metaphorically or allegorically and others as scientific fact.
I challenge you to switch on the analytical portion of your brain and evaluate the quotes below based on your common sense, experiences and understanding of the world. Check some of them against authoritative library or Internet references; are they statements you would accept as scientifically valid?

Does it matter if Emoto seems to present these statements as factual -- as accurate representations of the real world -- when the scientific community dismisses them completely?

References: The Hidden Messages in Water (HMW), The Shape of Love (SOL)

If we consider that before we became human beings, we existed as water, we get closer to finding the answer to the basic question of what a human being is. (HMW pxvi)

In a word, these pioneers of medicine taught us to "treat like with like, fight poison with poison." For example, if someone is suffering from lead poisoning, symptoms can be alleviated by drinking water with the minutest amount of lead in it - an amount ranging 1 part in 10¹² (one trillion) to 1 part in 10⁴⁰⁰. (HMW pxvii)

You yourself will be able to clearly see the effect that words, photographs, and music can have on water. (HMW p4)
And as sound is created, there is a "master listener" to receive the sound: water. (HMW p43)
The written words themselves actually emit a unique vibration that the water is capable of sensing. Water faithfully mirrors all the vibrations created in the world, and changes these vibrations into a form that can be seen with the human eye. (HMW p43)

Due to the change in the earth's terrestrial magnetism, the tone our ears can hear most easily seems to be rising. (SOL p44)

What information did ancient water bring with it when it left outer space and fell to earth? We can assume that it carried the program needed for the development of life. (HMW p60)

In the process of falling to the earth, seeping into the ground, and then emerging, water obtains information from various minerals and becomes wise. ...Water records information, and then while circulating throughout the earth distributes information. This water sent from the universe is full of the information of life, and one way to decipher this information is through the observation of ice crystals. (HMW p61)

Scientists estimate that there are between 108 and 111 elements (I suspect that the number s 108 - for reasons which I'll explain.) Thus far, 90 elements have been verified in the human body - of all the creatures alive, only the human body contains so many elements. ...The more evolved creatures contain a greater array of elements. Compared with human beings, plants contain far fewer elements, and what is the result of having fewer elements? We can deduce that fewer elements means a smaller capacity for emotions. ((HMW p69)

According to Buddhism, the human being is born with 108 earthly desires... I think it is logical to conclude that these 108 earthly desires have counterparts in the 108 elements. (HMW p70) ...Humans are made up of combinations of all 108 elements - the 103 elements in the periodic table and the 5 new elements {found through nuclear reactions}. Other animals, plants, and substances have fewer elements. For example, roses may be made up of combinations of thirty atoms. (SOL p136)

The simpler atomic composition of a plant means its hado is purer and has stronger energy for specific types of information. This may explain why plants have better communication abilities than humans and animals, and they can communicate with other plants on this planet as well as with the home base somewhere in the universe. (SOL p86)

I was able to measure the vibrations coming from many different people, and I realized that the negative vibrations that we emit correspond to the vibrations emitted by the various elements. For example, the vibrations created by irritation are equivalent to those of mercury, by anger to those of lead, and by sadness and sorrow to those of aluminum. (HMW p70)

Let's say that you fall from a building and hit the ground. At the moment of impact, your body's frequency increases many hundreds of times, creating an obviously critical situation. Dramatic and sudden changes in the body's frequency result in great pain and damage. In such cases, treatment must involve equal or stronger frequencies to be effective - often having to do with the scalpel. Sharp instruments, by nature, have a high frequency, and it's the surgeon's job to use such instruments to cut into the body and return the patient's frequency to normal. (HMW p75)
When I talk to people about vibrations and frequency, I use what I like to call the "Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti theory." This means that the frequency of everything in the cosmos can be summarized in seven parts - do, re, mi, fa, so, la, and ti. (HMW p47)
I believe we came from the Big Dipper, which may sound startling; but the reason may be explained by my special attachment to the number 7. Why do we have seven basic notes? (sound): Why does a rainbow have seven colors? (color): Why are there seven days in a week? (time): Why do we have seven chakras in our bodies? (body):
I am fascinated by the fact that the important elements for humans (sound, color, time, and body) are related to the number 7. So when a friend of mine and I were talking about our origin, he said it must be the Big Dipper, seven stars. I was immediately convinced. ...Of course this belief is just the result of my own reasoning. (SOL p107-8) ...Among old fortune-telling practices, I believe we can find the keys to discover where our true home is. (SOL p130)
I have been thinking about this {opening a research lab - HMW p139} for a long time, prompted when I started to think about why the environment of the earth is in such a bad state, why people are so confused, and why our civilization is such as it is. Pondering these questions led me to the conclusion that is a result of the combination of, first, pride and corruption in the scientific community, and second, those in authority consciously allowing and encouraging the formation of such a society.

Of course, there are scientists who have their own will, and work according to their own consciousness. However, when we consider the condition of society, we realize that there are really very few who have conducted their activities with a mind to perpetuating the human race and cleansing this planet that we occupy. This does not describe, for example, scientists at the beck and call of those in authority in Japan who insist that water must be tainted with chlorine, resulting in an overall decay of society. (HMW p140) (I have been thinking about what the situation would be in Japan if Emoto got his wish and chlorine was removed from the water supply - RJ)

Real Messages of The Hidden Messages in Water?

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Selections from The Hidden Messages in Water and The Shape of Love

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