About The QuantumPulse, aka The Vibe Machine (old)
A new article has been written: http://awfulcontent.com/article/about-the-quantumpulse-aka-the-vibe-machine
On May 11th, 2010 Gene Koonce himself sent me an e-mail.
- Name
- Gene Koonce
- gene@vibemachine.com
- Subject
- uninformed typist
- Message
-
Dear Brock ? last name ?
I do have a phone 970-356-9594. I am a real person with real technology and real clinical studies that I was required by the FDA to remove from the internet. I would think a person like you would investigate thouroughly before printing data based on false info. What is your phone # and address so we can talk.
Sincerely, Gene Koonce 2329 10 st Greeley, Co 80634
Now I had done some research on previous articles, but apparently not enough to Gene's satisfaction. So hopefully the new article with it's multiple links to reputable sources of information is sufficient for Gene's scholarly standards of information.
The old article was done without any strenuous consideration for research or sources and was done mostly for my own amusement at picking apart quackery and bad ideas. The new article is a little bit more rigorous and too the point than my previous attempts.
But if you're curious give this one a skim.
I was exposed to the VIBE machine about four years ago by a friend who seemed to think it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I was a bit skeptical so I read the VIBE website, which I must say was bizarre, and I wrote an article about the machine and website. The short story is the whole idea is bunk and great amusement for me. So periodically I check up on things and re-write the article whenever I am bored or when something new warrants it. Welcome to the fourth or fifth edition of the VIBE Machine page (I don't keep track that well it seems).
Apparently the VIBE Machine is no more, it has been replaced by a new machine called the QuantumPulse. Although to my untrained eye the QuantumPulse is a VIBE Machine. Simply comparing QuantumPulse.com to the VIBE machine (http://web.archive.org/web/20030405212027/http://www.vibemachine.com/ the actual website is down, but thanks to the Internet Wayback Machine, not forgotten) and you can see that visually they are identical. References to the VIBE machine or improvements made by the QuantumPulse are absent.
The VIBE machine QuantumPulse was developed by an electronics repairman named Gene Koonce. Gene claims exactly zero medical training or knowledge right on his website. However his electronics expertise is highlighted quite a bit, it's his electronics expertise that allowed him to develop the VIBE machine QuantumPulse. But I'm not sure what qualifies him to make devices that have such dramatic effects on the human body. The simple analogy is that I made a device that fixes cars, but I really know nothing about engines. Who wants to offer their car up first? Now in my experience, typically, TV repairmen are not sources of health advice or medical experts.
Recently the FDA expressed interest in Gene Koonce's adventures in electronics based health care. Offhand the FDA is the reason why the VIBE machine has been replaced by the apparently identical QuantumPulse. Although I am not sure how such a transparent tactic can last, it does show some moxie though, although moxie doesn't amount to evidence for the machine's efficacy.
For me simply reading the QuantumPulse website ought to makes things perfectly clear. Put on your woo goggles and I'll highlight some telling signs of quackery.
The QuantumPulse is based on proven technologies and theories pioneered by scientists like Georges Lakhovsky, Nikola Tesla, Royal Raymond Rife, and Dr. Robert Becker to name a few. We believe the QuantumPulse can promote and support general well-being.
I am familiar with Nikolai Tesla, he's a rather interesting character. Once touted as the man who invented the 20th century, his inventions and contributions to society are many and great and his genius is undeniable. But while he did a lot of great work, Tesla had many crackpot moments and made many wild and outlandish claims. For example Tesla once claimed he could split the Earth in half with carefully placed and timed explosions. I think this quote from Wikipedia best sums Tesla up.
In the years after [his death], many of his innovations, theories and claims have been used, at times unsuitably and controversially, to support various fringe theories that are regarded as unscientific. Most of Tesla's own work conformed with the principles and methods accepted by science, but his extravagant personality and sometimes unrealistic claims, combined with his unquestionable genius, have made him a popular figure among fringe theorists and believers in conspiracies about "hidden knowledge".
Georges Lakhovsky - The original inventor of V.I.B.E./QuantumPulse type devices called Multiple Wave Oscillator. It's been 80 years, plenty of time for a mountain of evidence to accrue. Where is it?
Royal Raymond Rife - He was a guy who has some nifty ideas about cancer and diseases that didn't pan out and appear to run contrary to medical evidence. But his ideas were just so much fun how could quacks let them go to waste?
Dr. Robert Becker - This guys isn't famous enough for a Wikipedia entry, but like the others he is dead, albeit more recently than the rest. He had a theory that the foundation of life is not physical or biochemical but rather is based on biological electro or electromagnetic energy fields. However this is just wrong and it begs the question; how could modern medicine work if it ignores such a fundamental underlying truth?
Moving on.
It is universally accepted that every atom in the universe has a frequency. The QuantumPulse uses a multi-wave oscillator and spectrum tubes containing noble and other gases to create frequencies that fall between the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum range. It also uses a Tesla coil to create high voltage and a subtle electromagnetic field. This combination produces biophotonic light. The electromagnetic field is used as a carrier to transmit the frequencies in a radius of approximately 6-8 feet around the machine. The new tuning capacitor, that is patent-pending, sits on top of the machine and produces alpha waves. The QuantumPulse produces a 90° phase shift between electrical and electromagnetic fields. The base of the machine is constructed of materials which block electrical fields, but allow electromagnetic fields to flow.
This whole paragraph is rife with techno-babble that would make a Star Trek writer a little weak in the knees. But I will attempt translate what has been written.
Light that falls in-between the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum is called visible light, so this machine apparently emits visible light. Congratulations. I have a lamp that does that in less than 85lbs.
Tesla coils are neat devices that have a lot of valid uses, although they have been largely replaced in many applications by superior technology. However they are a pop culture icon, a staple of sci-fi movies and for any Tesla nuts who believe Tesla was always right they are magical catch all devices that can do anything one wants. It appears though in the QuantumPulse the tesla coil helps transmit the visible light that the machine generates.
Alpha waves, from what I've read alpha waves are one type of brain wave. People produce them in various strengths depending on whether their eyes are open or closed so they may be related to vision. Alpha waves are measured with an EEG. Why does this machine produce alpha waves, what is this production supposed to accomplish?
Phase shift, I learned about these in trigonometry. I had to graph waves and phase shifts were involved. It sounds impressive, but what is a phase shift supposed to accomplish? The website doesn't elaborate. It sounds high tech though and that's the important part.
Electric fields and electromagnetic fields, one is blocked and one is not. What happens if you do the reverse? Why is this important, what does this do? I have no idea. Who would go out of their way and fill their page with technical jargon when you're target demographic is probably not going to be well versed in the jargon and not explain it? Do people still fall for the "I don't know what he's talking about, but it sounds good" sales pitch? I guess so.
Moving on.
Quantum mechanics is regarded by virtually every professional physicist as the most fundamental framework we have for understanding and describing nature, for the very practical reason that it works; it is “in the nature of things”. It is, in fact, an entity related to both energy and momentum of elementary particles and of photons.
According to quantum mechanics it's possible for me to fly, lift a bus over my head, walk through walls and travel faster than the speed of light. Well, I wish it was true anyway. But you probably can't prove me wrong. Quantum mechanics is a legitimate field of science. However it is very difficult and complicated subject and really not within the grasp of 99% of the population simply because most people do not have nearly enough science education to really grasp it. And that is precisely why it's such a popular MacGuffin for quacks and pseudoscience.
As a general rule of thumb, anyone who invokes quantum mechanics as an explanation for their product or for their ideas and that person is not a physicist or a scientist in related field, then whatever they claim should be held to the highest sort of skepticism. Beware of of invocations of quantum mechanics, pseudoscience may be afoot.
In the little bit of spare time he was afforded Gene worked on various inventions in the energies and frequencies arena. Inspired by the works of Nikola Tesla, the unorthodox methodologies that he was discovering completely contradicted his formal education in electronics.
Completely contradicted? That statement is in desperate need of some explanation, because the first question I asked is; "contradicted how?" Gene seems to be saying that everything he learned about electronics is basically wrong. But if formal electronics is bunk, and my web server doesn't run on magick how are you reading this webpage? So maybe only partially contradicted? Do these so-called unorthodox methodologies work on fixing TV's better than standard ones? So many questions, so few answers.
The QuantumPulse works on several different levels by using an electromagnetic field. In this field, a high voltage pulse is added along with ozone. The charge is placed at a negative voltage which is being transmitted to an antenna designed to twist the magnetic field. It is then routed through noble gases.
Textbook goobledegook: wordy and generally unintelligible jargon that is deliberately not explained or defined. How come?
What we are finding is that it depends on your state of mind, and most importantly, your intent. “Intent” is defined as “a conscious plan”. Therefore, whatever you put into your time spent with this machine… whatever your conscious plan is at the time… will be what you ultimately experience. It could range from inner peace and profound enlightenment to merely a non-destructive energy. It’s for you to decide… to create your own plan. Each individual is unique; their needs are unique as well. What is suitable for one person may not be appropriate for another. What is important is for each of us to find the tools we require and to take advantage of them.
Translation: pessimists and goth kids beware! This machine will kill you because your "conscious plan" probably sucks. Pessimists might want to try evidence based medicine because it doesn't give a goddamn what your conscious plan is.
The QuantumPulse is not a medical device and is not intended to be used in a medical situation of any kind; therefore, it is not FDA cleared.
And yet even Gene can't help but make the cancer cure implications when he thinks he won't get choke slammed by the FDA for it. It's not that I don't want a magical cure for cancer. But do you know how many different people have claimed different methods for curing cancer? There are so many miracle instant cancer cures I find it miraculous that anyone has cancer at all.
The sad thing is there are people who will, either through this machine or some other equally retarded quack treatment, forgo actual cancer treatment and die as a result. Essentially these assholes are getting away with murder for profit.
The bottom line is this machine is all science fiction and not science fact. It's not supported by any accredited institution or research, but it has a comfortable home with fringe homeopaths and new age practitioners. For believers it's a godsend and the fact that no claims made by Gene Koonce are supported by science is irrelevant because science is only a thing of convenience for these people. When science agrees with them science is reliable and worthwhile, and when science disagrees science is shoddy, worthless, arrogant, misguided, dogmatic, elitist, etc. Pick a side for fucks sake.
Further Reading:
http://www.devicewatch.org/reports/vibe/vibe.shtml
I was introduced to the VIBE machine in 2004 by a friend of mine, who was a believer in it. It sounded like bunk at the time and when I read the website I immediately began writing an article on my site where I ripped on everything from the shitty concept to the shitty web design (http://web.archive.org/web/20030405212027/http://www.vibemachine.com/). Just to be a dick, in about four minutes I copied the logo freehand in Photoshop. Three of those minutes were spent trying to match the font because I suck at eyeballing fonts. This doesn't prove anything, it was just funny to me.
This is just four minutes of work I can't ever let to go to waste. It's a pretty good reproduction and I suck at Photoshop, especially in 2004.