Case Quizes Clinical Cases

Revisiting: What Remedy Is Homer Simpson?

lewis quiz may image

Elaine gives the answer to another in our “famous people” Quizzes!

I think it was Maria who asked if we could do a quiz on Homer Simpson…. Shana, find me a “Simpsons” episode!  The one with Frank Grimes!

Check!

Here it is, Mom!

It’s in 6 parts, to get around the copyright laws.  I hope you can find them all.  Do your best.

Anyway, good for you, Shana; what would the Quiz ever do without you? 

I don’t know.

Let’s summarize this cartoon for people who may not ever have seen “The Simpsons” before.  It’s the longest running show on TV, right?  25 years?  Anyway, Homer, basically, is an idiot!

And so is his son, Bart!

Yes, Bart is constantly in trouble and he’s not doing well in school as you can imagine!  His sister Lisa, on the other hand, is getting straight-A’s, but, that’s neither here nor there; back to Homer…he’s a caricature of the All-American male “Joe 6-Pack”–anti-intellectual, insensitive, lazy, boorish, focused primarily on donuts, beer and nonsensical television shows; he’s inconsiderate, a slob, rude, rageful, misses the point of most things, and is totally irresponsible; but yet, everybody seems to like him; I think it’s because he’s naive on top of everything else!  Nothing stupid that he does is with malice. He’s a handful for his wife Marge!  Maybe we’ll do Marge next time….

Woo-hoo!

In this episode, the location is the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant where Homer works–owned by multi-millionaire, C. Montgomery Burns (who’s 104 years old and pretty much senile).

Mr. Burns is watching the news, he sees a human-interest story on how a man named Frank Grimes, after being blown up in a barn accident, fights his way back to health and eventually graduates from college with a degree in nuclear engineering!  Mr. Burns says to his “toady”, Mr. Smithers, “Smithers, find me that man!  I want to make him my executive vice president!”  “Uh, yes sir,” drones Mr. Smithers.  Two seconds later, Mr. Burns calls Smithers’ attention to another human-interest story, “Look at that, Smithers!  A dog rescues a boy from an on-coming car and then throws a criminal in front of it!  Find me that dog!  I want to make him my executive vice president!”

Ultimately, we find Frank Grimes working next to Homer.  He is horrified that Homer seems to know nothing about nuclear energy, plant safety, nor anything about professionalism nor even common courtesy!  Poor Frank Grimes, he was under the impression that his hard work and devotion to his job would be rewarded!  But everyone seems to be taken with Homer Simpson despite his gross negligence! Frank Grimes tries in vain to expose Homer as an idiot and a menace but no one will see it!

Good description, Mom!

So what remedy is Homer? 

Write to me at [email protected] and tell me what remedy you come up with!  Shana, do you have any of your famous announcements?

One week to go ’til the Barry Gibb concert!!!!

So soon?

There will be a full report in next month’s Quiz!

And now for this month’s Funny Thing–something funny Shana said as a baby!

All right, I’m outta here!

And here it is now, Shana Lewis, as a 4 year old:

**********

“Shana, never dial 911 unless it’s an emergency.  Do you know what an emergency is?”

“It’s a song by The Whispers.”

**************

 

—————————————

Votes

Baryta carb-3

Phosphorus

Nat-carb

Calc-carb-2

Sulphur

_______________

Hello Elaine,

Hello, Peter!

Homer is for sure an intelligent person, because in one episode you see that he has put a pencil into his nose during his childhood and lost most of his intelligence.  Then accidentally the doctor removed it and he became very smart.  But because of problems he then got into with friends and family due his higher intelligence, he decided to put the pencil back into his nose….

Shana says it was a crayon.

Homer has a lot of the carbon-element, but also something from the gold-series, maybe Baryta carbonicum, because he is indeed intelligent, but restricted due to some internal/external factors.

He is still like a child, immature, and very naive.

Yes, I agree with everything you say.

(Kent Repertory)

CHILDISH behavior (See Foolish) : Aconite, alum., anac., apis., arg-n., Bar-c., bar-m., bufo., calad., carb-an., carb-s., carb-v., chlol., Cic., croc., crot-c., ign., kali-br., nux-m., par., puls., rhus-t., seneg., stram., viol-o.

FOOLISH behavior (See Childish) : Absin., acon., agar., all-c., anac., anan., ant-c., apis., arg-n., ars., bar-m., bell., calc., cann-i., canth., carb-an., carb-v., chin., cic., con., croc., cupr., der., Hyos., kali-c., lach., lact., lyc., merc., nux-m., nux-v., op., par., ph-ac., phos., phys., plb., sec., seneg., Stram., tanac., verat.

But why are you still using Kent’s Repertory?    It’s outdated. For example, “childish behavior” in Kent lists 25 remedies.  In Murphy’s Repertory, the same rubric lists 61 remedies.  “Foolish behavior”: Kent’s–42, Murphy’s–77.

Jan Scholten wrote about Baryta that he is like Gold, but very timid and shy, not ready to take responsibility.
So Homer has one foot in Carbon and one in the Gold-Series.

All in all he is a caricature and this makes it difficult to analyze, because his behavior is an imagination of someone who observed a certain pattern in different people and fused them into one imaginative character.

Yes, you make a good point. I understand your vote for Baryta carb, but Homer’s lack of shyness leads me away from it.

Best regards
Peter Lusso

Thanks for voting, Peter; I hope to see you back again next time!

Is anybody else here?

—–

Hi Elaine!

Well, Maria, it’s about time!  I believe you’re the reason we had this quiz!

Wow, Homer is a really difficult one to guess!  He “smells” like a Phosphorus to me.  You know, the “bad” Phosphorus as we have read in Mati Fuller’s articles?

Gee, I don’t know, Maria….I think the idea with Phosphorus (according to Mati’s understanding) is that because their delusion is that they’re alone on a deserted island, this, then, is their greatest fear in life—that their friends will desert them; so, they become experts at making friends to forestall this dreaded fate; so, because it’s a delusion, it has to come true—if it’s not true, it can’t be a delusion!  Am I right???  Which means she somehow has to behave so badly, she drives all her hard-won friends away!  So while Phosphorus is earnestly making many friends and being so charming that everyone wants to be their friend, they are simultaneously sabotaging their relationships to make the delusion come true!!!!!!

So therefore, the dark side of Phosphorus is… their unspoken demand that you must prove your friendship to them over and over again or you’re not a true friend!  Hence, their neediness, their never-ending “emergencies” you need to attend to, their hour-long, phone calls where you have to commiserate with them, and then, inevitably, the breaking point when inevitably you say, “If you don’t mind, Miss Phosphorus, I can’t talk to you right now, I have an emergency of my own to take care of.”  Well!  Now you’ve done it!   You have proven to Phosphorus that what she suspected all along, you are not a true friend!!!!!  Now you have to pay for not showing the love Phosphorus “deserved”, based on how nice she was to you in the beginning–and of course, the Phosphorus need for love is never-ending, you can never show her enough love to assure her that you will not leave her; Phosphorus never feels safe, they’re always looking for hints that you’re going to abandon them to a life of isolation!  So, the person you originally thought was the nicest person in the world turns out to be your worst nightmare!  So, phosphorus winds up alone, just like her delusion said she would, and SHE made it happen!!!!!

Phosphorus is the only remedy listed under “Delusion, island, is on a distant” (delusion she is on a distant island).  Good for Mati Fuller for ferreting this out!

I thought of other remedies too, but in “Naive” phos is a 3.
I am not a materia medica expert…

(Gasp!)

but I have to say this; Phosphorus is definitely the remedy that can drive me crazy in real life, so does Homer.

So there you go, my vote is for Phosphorus!  I am willing to try again if I am wrong.

There’s no right or wrong here, per se; all you have to do is make a case for your remedy.  You could start by making a list of the elements of the case, for instance, I would pick:

1. idiocy

2. childishness

3. lazy

4. desires beer

5. rude

6. messy

7. naive

8. irresponsible

9. selfish

10. blaming

11. snoring

and whatever else you may think of, then try to turn these ideas into Repertory rubrics, and see if a single remedy keeps showing up.  By the way, the rubric for messy is “Mind: untidy”, for irresponsible, look up “Mind: responsibility agg” or “Mind: lazy”.  For blaming–“Mind: reproaches others”.

Oh boy, tough quiz!  Great job Elaine!

Shana is so happy you liked it!  She’s clapping!

Ok I repertorised… Guess what?

Uhh….don’t tell me, don’t tell me….Tell me!

Sulphur came up first, then Lycopodium and third Phosphorus (see my vote wasn’t soooo wrong 😛 )

I too came up with Sulphur and Lycopodium!  Here’s my chart:

I thought of sulphur first when I saw the video and I thought no way THIS idiot is a sulphur!

But Sulphur is actually a 1 under Idiocy, which means there are a few Sulphur idiots!!!!

So I ruled it out.  Sulphur is not present in responsibility-related rubrics.

The Repertory isn’t perfect as I’ve said before.  But if you’re a 4 under “Lazy”, how can you not be anywhere under “Aversion to responsibility”?  See what I mean?  So I picked “Mind: Lazy” because much was made in the episode of Homer being “lazy”. (“It’s not that I’m LAZY, it’s that HE’S a crazy nut!”)

Lycopodium is not present in Untidy and Beer, desire for.

I saw that too.

So from those 2 above I vote for Sulphur because Lycopodium would care how others see him at work.

Yes, definitely.

Also Lycopodium wouldn’t be so messy.

Right!

And most of all Homer really likes beer!

Exactly!  The remedy would have to be under: Lazy, Idiocy, Desires beer, Selfish, Ravenous appetite, and Untidy, at the very least!  Also, we could consider adding the rubric “Extroverted”, under which Sulphur is a 2, and Lycopodium only a 1.  You can see that Homer has no trouble making friends–except for Frank Grimes.

If I am wrong I will try again 🙂

No, take the weekend off!

Wow Elaine!  Homer a sulphur!  What a shame… 😛

Yes, a shame for Sulphurs everywhere!

You know, I have difficulty to “read” remedies that don’t match exactly the idea we have for them.  And these quizzes help a LOT in this direction; that is, to expand our knowledge for different phenotypes of the remedies.

Oh great, now I have to look up “phenotype”!

So we can see an idiotic Sulphur, an extroverted Nat-m, a quiet Lachesis, or an unemotional Ignatia, etc!

Well, remember, Sulphur WAS in the “Idiocy” rubric!  But Nat-mur is not in the “Extroverted” rubric. Here’s the thing, Sulphur actually covers this case really well.  Sulphur is a “4” under “Lazy”, a “4” under “Rudeness”, a “2” under “Selfishness”, a “3” for “Desires beer”, a “3” for “Untidy”, and what about “Raging”?  It’s a “4”!  You know, there aren’t that many 4’s in the repertory.  A “4” means the remedy is BOLD underlined!  You might ask, “When, exactly, was Homer raging?”  Remember when he was in the basement of his home trying to make a model of the Nuclear Power Plant for that children’s contest Mr. Burns was sponsoring?  He was yelling and screaming and banging things, he had no patience at all–just like Beethoven, our other Sulphur!  

Bye, Maria!

Hello! Is anybody there?

—–

Hello Elaine,

Hello, Anurag!!!

I couldn’t resist this time to answer you without double checking the remedy for Homer Simpson:

As I went through the video I was thinking of Phosphorus and Chocolate, but apart from friendly nature I couldn’t find anything marked.

Then I recalled one of your articles mentioning, “Nicest people in the material medica” and started looking for its symptoms.

Is Homer really that nice?

My search ended when I found the following rubric: “BETTER, by moving, by boring in ears and nose!”

Is that Phosphorus?  Maria voted for Phosphorus too.  Phosphorus does have a sweet tooth.  What you need to do Anurag, is make a list of the elements of the case, then see if you can find rubrics for those things.  I’ll get you started.  The word “Lazy” was mentioned a number of times.  Then there’s Desires Beer, Snores, Ravenous appetite, Childish Behavior, Messy, Idiocy…. I don’t want to do all the work for you…but do you see what I mean?  Then try to see if a remedy covers all or most of what you come up with.

Elaine, No, I was referring to your article on Natrum Carb. (https://hpathy.com/materia-medica/natrum-carbonicum/) “Always eating, always nibbling.”

Natrum carb????  Oh dear, no!  Nat-carb could never be as obtuse as Homer!  Nat-carb is very refined.  (I should probably go back and read my own article!)

Boericke’s materia medica mentions “BETTER, by moving”…

Where was Homer better by moving?

…better by boring in ears and nose…”, the way Homer Simpson twisted pencils in his ears!

Anurag, you must get a better Materia Medica.  Here are the modalities for Nat-carb in Murphy’s:

<MODALITIES>

Better from eating, rubbing, motion, pressure, wiping with hand, boring into nose or ears with fingers, sweating. Worse from heat of sun, weather, 5 a.m., alternate days. Worse from music. Worse mental or bodily exertion. Worse from milk , dietetic errors. Worse from vegetable diet, starchy food. Worse cold drinks when overheated. Aversion to cold air. Worse from drafts. Worse getting wet, drinking cold water, worse damp weather, change of weather. Worse from storms. Worse during full moon.

You see?  Boericke’s doesn’t have enough information!  Note that it says, “worse from … dietetic errors”; that means Nat-carb is very sensitive to the slightest change in food.  Does that sound like Homer? Homer will eat anything!  He’s obtuse, he’s the opposite of sensitive.  Nat-carb is a very sensitive remedy–sensitive, polite, refined, dignified.  It’s not possible for this to be Homer’s remedy.

I didn’t give weightage to the childish behavior as it looked like every person was behaving childishly except Frank Grimes.

I don’t think so… Who else was behaving childishly?  And what else can you call it when a person is sitting in his office swivel chair going round and around in circles just to get dizzy?  And what kind of person takes other people’s engraved pencils without asking, and and then chews on them?  A badly behaved child!

At the end, it proved to be Frank Grimes who was really childish himself.

In what sense?  Frank Grimes was having a nervous breakdown at the end because everybody at the plant was a Homer Simpson enabler!

Yes!  I agree about Natrum carb’s extreme sensitivity, but the way he refused to go to the office the day after Frank Grimes insulted him, thinking that Frank Grimes doesn’t like him, I thought he must be very sensitive.

Well, Anurag, if you have to insult people to their face in front of their wife and children before they finally get the message, I don’t call that sensitivity–I call it being obtuse!

I watched the video again to find the boring-into-ears/nose part that you were referring to?  Homer was cleaning his ears with Frank’s specially engraved pencil, which he took without permission, after chewing it and after Frank told him he couldn’t have any of his pencils!  It was to reinforce what an idiot and how obtuse Homer is and how tragic the character of Frank Grimes is; probably the message here is that the only way to survive a character like Homer Simpson is to just not fight it!  It’s like when Frank was telling Lenny and Carl that accidents at the plant had tripled since Homer had become Safety Inspector and Carl said, “It’s best not to think about it.”  This is why they can survive working with Homer, they just accept him for what he is.

I don’t know if you noticed or not, but….did you, or anybody, guess what remedy Frank Grimes is?  Think about it….think about it……..are you thinking?????  Do not read any further, any of you, until you come up with an answer!  What is Frank Grimes?  A perfectionist.  Dutiful.  Conservative.  Plays by the rules.  Wears a suit and tie.  Had his pencils engraved.  Perfect hair-cut.  “Special dietetic lunch”.  (Fear of germs?  Fear of disease?) 

Yes, Frank Grimes is an….

Arsenicum!!!!!!

All the more reason to suspect that Homer is a Sulphur!!!!!!  These two remedies are natural antagonists!  Everything Sulphur does gets on Arsenicum’s nerves!  Did you notice that Frank Grimes wouldn’t give Homer even a SINGLE pencil?  Arsenicum will give away nothing!  Arsenicum is a 4 under “Greedy”!  They worry about germs, sickness, neatness, everything has to be in its place…did you see him lining up the objects on his desk so perfectly?  And then Homer comes barging in knocking his perfectly aligned objects over?  Arsenicum is a sitting-duck for Sulphur, he doesn’t stand a chance!  He’s doomed!  And of course, that’s the tragedy of this story isn’t it?  Poor Frank Grimes…….

I shall wait for the next month with your detailed explanation of the correct remedy.

OK; but, you will be surprised since you voted for Sulphur the last two quizzes….and all you had to do was vote for it one more time!  OMG!  This is the third Sulphur quiz in a row!

—–

Oh look!  It’s Miroslav and Jitka!

Hi Elaine, here is again a two-member group of deaf-dumb (for English ), who want to try the Quiz for May “What remedy is Homer Simpson”.

Despite the fact that this cartoon series is very popular here too, of course, famously dubbed, neither of us saw it.

D’oh!

Miroslav – watched the video, which you chose, and his guess is that Homer Simpson is Calcarea Carbonica : because he loves eating, is lazy, does not like changes and feels best at home with his family.

Miroslav, at least you DID try to list the elements of the case!  I agree that LAZY is an important rubric, and yes, I picked “ravenous appetite” too; but, there’s no evidence that Homer prefers to be at home with his family a la Calc-carb.  You may be referring to his fear of going to work after Frank Grimes put his finger in Homer’s face and said to him in Homer’s living room, “You are what’s wrong with America, Simpson!  You coast through life, doing as little as possible and leach off decent, hard-working people like me!  If you lived in any other country in the world you’d have starved to death long ago!  You’re a fraud, a total fraud! [Turns to Marge] It was nice meeting you.”  So, of course, after that, Homer was afraid to go to work; but normally he takes every opportunity NOT to be at home, and poor Marge gets stuck with all the housework and child-rearing.  He mostly spends his time at Moe’s Tavern drinking beer.  I think if he had been a Calc-carb., he would be a much better husband.

Jitka: At first I was decided not to try this quiz, because I was not keen on watching this video.  But now I decided to try it based on your description.  You’ve pointed out that Homer and his son are idiots.  In my opinion – the chapter “Mind” under a rubric “Idiocy”, Homer fits to Baryta Carbonica the most.

I agree that “Idiocy” is possibly the prime rubric of this case!  The trouble is, Jitka, that since it’s not a single-remedy rubric, you need more information to draw a conclusion.  Why can’t it be Baryta carb?  They’re shy!  Would Baryta carb come bursting into Frank Grimes’ office, out of boredom, singing, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”?  I really don’t think so!  In fact, Frank Grimes WISHES Homer Simpson were a Baryta carb, someone easily manipulated and prevailed upon.  In fact, under “Yielding, passive”, Baryta carb is a 3. 

Hey everybody, Vamsi’s in the house!!!!

—–

Hi Elaine,

Hope I am in time.  Had looked at Homer’s clip.

First look at Homer: sluggish in his gait, central obesity, mental dwarfishness, childish behaviour, sluggish, lazy, unintellectual, but not malicious….does it call for BARYTA CARBONICA.??

I really had to rush with the quiz this time…..pls let me know and I would be awaiting for your reply ..

Regards,

Vamsi.

Hi Vamsi, I got a lot of votes for Baryta carb so you’re in good company!  I can understand Baryta carb for the slowness and childishness but, Homer’s not the least bit shy.  He seems to be boorish with a sense of entitlement.

Is anybody else here?  Oh look, it’s Wayne from Australia!

—-

Hi Elaine,
I think Homer Simpson’s constitution is Calcarea Carb.

D’oh!

Homer is a blundering character, who seems to have confidence in himself, even if this is to hide an inadequacy.

Then it can’t be Calc-carb.  Calc-carb doesn’t do that–feign self-confidence to hide an inadequacy.  Here is what Catherine Coulter says about Calc-carb in her Portraits of Homeopathic Medicines:

“He senses his limitations, knows when not to discuss matters about which he knows little and does not overestimate his abilities; thus he escapes the Sulphur kind of foolishness.  Self-conscious about saying something inappropriate or silly and insecure about his intellectual powers, he may be reluctant to join a conversation unless well-versed in the subject.  He is seldom boastful and, as likely as not, feels thoroughly uncomfortable in the limelight, even when it is deserved.” (p. 54)

He likes to be liked and hates being out of sorts with anyone and is, despite his inadequacies, respected and liked by his fellow man.

I wouldn’t say “respected” but he is liked.

He tries to avoid argument and the breaking of relationships.  He does not form resentments.
He has confidence to deal with situations even though he does not perceive his own incompetence, e.g. the danger signal in the nuclear power plant and does not appear to become flustered, unlike the main character in the episode.  He, in a crisis, is cool and reliable.

That’s because he’s stupid and doesn’t know he’s in a crisis!

He seems to trust in his good fortune and hopes for the best, if this does not happen, “who cares”.

But Wayne, Calc-carb does not necessarily have a “Who Cares” attitude.  Calc-carbs are worriers, full of anxiety about the future, about impending misfortune; about health and heart disease.

He does not worry about his deficiencies and is willing to forgive others theirs.
He likes to receive praise, even if he doesn’t deserve it, e.g. the winning of the children’s model-building contest.  He chooses to associate with inferior types of men, because they will not challenge,

I don’t see it.  He’s friends with Lenny and Carl, they have Masters degrees.  Did you think Homer knew it was a child’s contest?  He didn’t.  Actually, it was Frank Grimes who was the deceitful one, he deceived Homer into participating in a children’s contest in the hope that Homer would be humiliated but it backfired when he was pronounced the winner!

and quite unconsciously he may create inferiority in others, notably his son Bart.

No, Bart is just an idiot!

He can be deceitful and is lazy.

Lazy, but not deceitful that I can see….

There are many rubrics which seem to portray him:

Impolite

That’s a good one.  However, Calc-carb isn’t listed there at all.

Impetuous

That’s a great rubric!  I love it!  I didn’t think of that one, but, so true!  However, Calc-carb is listed there as only a 1.

Slowness mental

Laziness
Reproaches, general ailments from

Funny, but, Calc-carb isn’t there.  You’d think it would be.  Calc-carb is very sensitive to criticism, but, the Repertory is not perfect, as I’ve said many times.  It’s under “sensitive to reprimands” and “sensitive to rudeness” so by all rights, you’d think it ought to be under “reproaches, ailments from”; but, it’s not.

Responsibility, general, aversion to
Falling asleep daytime

You can’t use that one.  He falls asleep in the daytime because of drinking beer and eating junk food!  He fell asleep at the funeral because he was bored!

Deceitful

What’s the evidence for that?

Scorned, general, ailments from being

Calc-carb’s not in that rubric.

Gluttony
Awkward, mentally

Calc-carb’s not in that rubric.

Shrieking (Screaming shouting)

Too large a rubric with roughly 200 remedies, you’d need a subrubric: Screaming, anger, in–but Calc-carb isn’t there.   Even in the rubric “rage”, calc-carb isn’t there either.

On repertorising , there’s strong results for Lycopodium. Nux vomica and Calc-Sulph.  I feel Nux vom would be too motivated for Homer, and the mental attributes for Lycopodium; viz, are highly represented more in people of high intellect, even though some characteristics they have are similar to Homer’s.
This leaves Calc carb, whose characteristics are outwardly placid and phlegmatic, but inside these people are inwardly sensitive and vulnerable.

Yes they are very sensitive and vulnerable; but, not Homer.  Homer is very thick.  He misses the point of most things—you forgot to mention “selfish”, “untidy” and “childish”, by the way.  When Frank Grimes insults Homer in his house in front of Marge and the kids (“You’re what’s wrong with America, Simpson….”) that kind of attack would register with anybody!  What didn’t register with Homer was all the previous attacks: “You idiot!  You nearly drank acid!  You just nearly killed yourself!”  Or, “I don’t think we’re being paid here to sleep.”  Or, “Stay out of my office, Simpson!”  To which Homer replied, “I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard that!”  I mean, your average person would be so embarrassed and humiliated by any one of those things.  So what this should say to us is that Homer is actually insensitive, which is why he can’t be a Calc-carb.

They have a tired and jaded mental state and have a disinclination to work.

Homer has a disinclination to work, that’s true; but he’s not “tired”, he’s up for any mindless misadventure you can think of–driving recklessly, even entering that “Create Your Own Model of a Nuclear Power Plant” contest that I’m quite sure Calc-carb wouldn’t have bothered with–too much pressure, too much stress, too much physical exertion which they have an aversion to.

There is indolence and procrastination, as well as many anxieties and apprehensions,

What anxieties does Homer Simpson have?

with a tendency to become overwhelmed and this sounds more like Homer, who has an absence of ambition and drive.

He has the ambition to do stupid things, like work in a bowling alley.

They are content to do the barest minimum.  That definitely is Homer.

You are right there.  No genuine ambition or drive.  I’m not saying there’s NO similarity with Calc-carb, only that it doesn’t fit the whole case.

I look forward to finding out what your impression is.

I actually picked one of the remedies you came close to.  You said Calcarea sulph, right?  I’m leaning toward the Sulphur part of that!

Regards Wayne

Thanks Wayne!  Who’s next in line?

—–

Hi Elaine,
LOVE that sweet 1980s Melvin Coleman bass line!

Are you referring to “Emergency” by The Whispers?   OMG!  Then you must be Peter Dunseith, my soul brother from Wales!

That’s me, soul sister, and I certainly am referring to “Emergency”.  As for that lazy, irresponsible, beer-swillin’ slob, Homer Simpson, could he be Sulphur?

Yes!  Yes!  Absolutely!

That’s what my repertory tells me when I drop in these rubrics:

MIND – FOOLISH behavior
MIND – CHEERFUL
MIND – INDIFFERENCE – appearance; to his personal
MIND – SLOWNESS
MIND – LAZINESS – physical
MIND – MENTAL EXERTION – aversion to
STOMACH – APPETITE – Ravenous
GENERALS – FOODS – Beer – desires
Inconsiderate, irresponsible, insensitive, rude, rageful – yet everyone seems to like him?

Exactly!

Yep, sounds like my brother-in-law, who is definitely a Sulphur.  My only reservation is putting Homer Simpson in the same remedy box as Beethoven.

But remember what we said about Beethoven, everybody likes him!  Despite everything!  So there you go!  And what else?  Indifference to personal appearance, inconsiderate, insensitive, rageful…more in common than you might imagine!

Is this the lesson of the day – that Sulphur is a very broad church?

Yes, the Church of Sulphur, it’s a big tent!  But you raise a good point!  What is it about Sulphur?    Is it that they’re “geniuses”?  No!  That’s not what it is!  Any remedy can be a “genius”, it’s HOW they’re geniuses that matters.  Beethoven managed it by being insulting, a slob (writing on the walls, etc.), being rude, exploding with anger, being impatient, inconsiderate, thinking himself a “great man”, etc., and that’s what led to the remedy choice.  Homer has many similarities!  Notice that even Homer retorts, “You wish!” when Frank Grimes mockingly says, “I don’t have to do my work, because I’m Homer Simpson!”

I liked what you chose as the elements of the case: Cheerful, indifference to appearance, slowness, aversion to mental exertion–I didn’t pick any those, but you are right!  He is cheerful!  I picked “untidy” instead of indifference to appearance.  “Slowness” is a good one!  It speaks to his cluelessness, missing the point of everything!  I really wanted a rubric to cover that and couldn’t find one; so, good for you!  And Sulphur is a 3 in that rubric!  See that?  Mental slowness!  Sulphur?  Who would have guessed?!  And aversion to mental exertion… I picked “idiocy”, not sure if it covers that or not; but, Sulphur is a 2 under “Exertion, mental, agg”.  You did a REALLY good job!  Listen to what Philip Bailey writes about Sulphur in his book Homeopathic Psychology, p. 352:

“Some Sulphurs are earthy and not at all intellectual or idealistic.  Generally, they are the most selfish and stubborn of all Sulphurs.  The earthy Sulphur is a simple soul who lives to eat, drink, have sex and play.  He is robust and either wiry or obese.  He is not necessarily stupid but his intellect takes second place to his senses, and also to his ego.  … robust and rather uncouth.  The wife of such a Sulphur once complained that her husband would embarrass her in public by picking his nose or farting loudly in the theater. ” 

It sounds like Homer Simpson to me!

Dr. B, I’m presenting Peter with an award. (Mainly for knowing who The Whispers are!)

And I want to thank all the other fun-loving people who voted in this quirky quiz — and remember, it was Maria’s idea!

Peter Lusso

Anurag

Miroslav

Jitka

Vamsi

Wayne

and of course, Maria!

See you again next time for another fabulous Hpathy Quiz!!!!

____________________________

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.

Elaine takes online cases! Write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: elaineLewis.hpathy.com

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

About the author

Shana Lewis

Shana spices up the Hpathy Quiz with her timely announcements and reviews on the latest in pop culture. Her vast knowledge of music before her time has inspired the nickname: "Shanapedia"!

8 Comments

  • hello everyone, this is regarding the article abut homer simpson`s remedy… and even i thought of sulphur as i have taken the rubrics like untidy ,idiocy and naked wants to be ..as we find him becoming like that in few episodes when he is excited. still the remedy pointed towards sulphur. thanks to the team as i have never got the guts to discuss about my favourite characters in this way. 🙂

  • Very Intelligent Elaine and Peter!

    This also highlights one very important aspect, sometimes we label medicines by seeing a persons position, achievements etc. and add rubrics from our side to suit that remedy. How a baryta carb looking personality could be Sulphur and how a Sulphur looking personality could be Arsenic guide us to be completely impartial while finding a remedy.

  • Great quiz. And I recall there being 2 sulphurs: an intellectual ragged philosopher, and a more down to earth practical type (my land lord is one). I had always pegged homer as LYC. But I see now that he just has some mentals. Of course LYC is veg. Sulphur…..

    Great way to explore…oh, and I discovered something about 4’s in Murphy’s rep )my only 21st century repertory….there are few fours because the good Dr. Did not convert the kentian (or knerr either I think) rubrics of 3 up to a four, as kent did to the grade 4 of boenninghuasen. One sees this not present in the clinical rubrics, the ones robin has treated a lot all have fours! So it is a composite rep that has not been fully equilibriated in terms of gradations. If u see a rubric that is only 1 and 2, but a lot of em, think boericke’S rep. The 2’s could easily be, preferably, I should say, as 3’s IMO. If one wants to see the same rubrics with gradations all (very) laboriously adjusted, roger VZ’s complete rep online is the one. But for an actual hard copy….only synthesis competes, and Murphy has far better clinical rubrics! Thanks again for quiz!

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