5 ms·
" .. The Semmelweis reflex or "Semmelweis effect" is a metaphor for the reflex-like rejection of new knowledge because it contradicts entrenched norms, beliefs
by pella 16y ago
"
..
The Semmelweis reflex or "Semmelweis effect" is a metaphor for the reflex-like rejection of new knowledge because it contradicts entrenched norms, beliefs or paradigms. It refers to Ignaz Semmelweis, who discovered that childbed fever mortality rates could be reduced ten-fold if doctors would wash their hands (we would now say disinfect) with a chlorine solution. His hand-washing suggestions were rejected by his contemporaries."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semmelweis_reflex http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semmelweis_reflex
- billswift 16y agoI just read Atul Gawande's Better where there is a good discussion of Semmelweis, Apparently, Semmelweis was an extremely obnoxious nutjob, which is why he was ignored. When Lister started a lower profile, less obnoxious, program to do basically the same thing a few years later, he was much more successful.