Well, of course they do it to save money. But consider a fairly close analogy: if they are selling alcoholic beverages which are as comparatively contaminated and devoid of alcohol as these tests show, would they get away with it? Of course not. Why? Because people would notice. Why? Because, for its intended purpose, alcohol very clearly works.

And I'm not saying *no* supplements work, I take several regularly myself (including turmeric, though I don't buy it as a supplement). But the point remains, if they are knowingly putting some random organic detritus in a capsule and calling it ginseng and taking the risk of getting caught doing so, they are making a rather hefty wager on the belief that consumers won't know the difference.

That makes me want to go out buy some random homeopathic remedy just to try to angrily return it.

"I paid good money for this water that contains no Rhus Tox. When I brought it home, it was clear that it actually contained no Hypericum. You FRAUD!!!"

First of all, they are not "counterfeiters"; they purport to be the "legitimate" manufacturers of supplements who are passing off fraudulent substances as genuine. A counterfeiter would be someone else trying to pass off fraudulent supplements as the "good" brands.

Secondly, all of the items you mention must at some level serve the function/perception of the legitimate product. You can't pass off counterfeit money that doesn't even look like real money, counterfeit electronics that don't work at all, etc.; or in other words, you are counting on someone not noticing (or caring about) the difference.

So, yes, I will stand by my assertion, if so-called "legitimate" manufacturers of these supplements are selling absolutely fraudulent goods, then they must certainly believe that no one would notice the difference, and by extension, that the "real thing" has no effect that the consumer would miss.

What's the big deal? Instead of getting "Useless Compound X," buyers were getting "Useless Compound Y."

Well, if nothing else, it certainly shows that the manufacturers believe the 'bona fide' supplements are useless, as they would have to be pretty well convinced that no one would know the difference to engage in fraud on such a scale.

I can't speak for GP, but I don't have a problem with lingo or jargon per se, it's *meaningless* market-droid buzzwords that bug me. I don't see people complaining much about the vast amount of never-ending jargon in the tech world, until it comes to things like "Web 2.0", "Cloud", and "Internet of Things" that vaguely repackage existing concepts designed to appeal to the PHB hive mind.

So, yes, I'm old.

Actually, I would "villify" that you wrote "5 languages" then listed six...seven if you count C and C++ as separate languages as most people do. Oh, and that you misspelled "vilify".

But otherwise, good points.

To my mind, true "common sense" is what the GP describes, intuition guided by common experiences, not always accurate but useful in situations where you have no other information to go on.

Your understanding of "common sense" is what I would call "conventional wisdom", sometimes correct but often horribly wrong.

"Common sense" as used by most people can mean either thing and unfortunately erases any distinction between intuitive thinking (generally a good thing, IMO) and groupthink (not so much).

Actually, it is unconstitutional to have laws enacted in ways other than the constitution proscribes.

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

I rember buying the tripple album of Emerson Lake and Palmer. 3 (three) albums. That was unheard of.

Well, not exactly unheard of. The original Woodstock soundtrack, George Harrison's All Thing's Must Pass, Grateful Dead's Europe '72, and Yessongs are just a few well-known examples of triple LP releases that predate ELP's triple live album.

Now get off my lawn, because a zeppelin will be landing on it shortly.

Adjust your spectacles, old man. That's a dog taking a dump. Oh, the humanity!!

Stockholm Syndrome!

I was wondering if he might have received some "rectal rehydration".