2 ms·

Whenever news like this comes out it makes me more cynical towards any sort of life sciences research that produces actionable health advice. Which is really a

• jcranmer 9y ago
  You don't need ethical flags to be cynical about the state of general "X makes me healthy" research. Most studies, even the squeaky clean ones (in terms of possible conflicts of interest), tend to suffer from persistent methodological flaws. P-hacking and small N are depressingly common. Actually establishing rigor in controlling only the independent variable is difficult (e.g., alcohol-is-good-for-you tends to be control poorly for the preexisting conditions of teetotalers versus non-teetotalers). There's also the "standard" biases of publication bias and the like.
• sbenitoj 9y ago
  That’s why logic is superior to many “scientific” studies. It’s clear that the environment we evolved in lacked much alcohol, therefore studies showing alcohol is healthy should be taken with a grain of salt.
  • k3d 9y ago
    It’s clear that the environment we evolved in lacked much penicillin, therefore studies showing use of penicillin is healthy should be taken with a grain of salt.
    • sbenitoj 9y ago
      To be clear, over usage of antibiotics is a MASSIVE health issue. Penicillin was an amazing discovery, but less than 100 years later we’re discovering antibiotic resistance and lifelong gut issues due to antibiotic usage.
      • k3d 9y ago
        How do you know that this is a massive health issue? What pure logic brought you to that conclusion?