4 ms·

It makes claims of medical efficacy, so the FDA gets involved.

kazinator 8y ago
Being fertile or not isn't "medical", though, it is biological. Should a vocabulary memorization app require FDA approval? Memory is biological.
- azinman2 8y ago
  Do you see doctors for memorizing vocab? No. Do you see them for pregnancy issues? Yes.
  - kazinator 8y ago
    > Do you see doctors for memorizing vocab? Quite plausibly so; if you have unusual trouble remembering even modest quantities of vocab, that could be a brain problem.
    - azinman2 8y ago
      But then it’s memory in general, not specifically for vocab.
      - kazinator 8y ago
        A problem that shows up as infertility could be something more general too.
  - kazinator 8y ago
    > Do you see them for pregnancy issues? Not if you're not pregnant, unless 1) you would like some non-over-the-counter birth control method or 2) you're trying to get pregnant and it's not working as it should be (biology is failing).
    - azinman2 8y ago
      Hence “issues”
- cstrahan 8y ago
  Correct: being fertile or not is a biological attribute. It's when you introduce some means of manipulating your biological functions (either through behavioral changes or the consumption of external substances) for the sake of your health that something becomes "medical". Your comparison breaks down: memory is a biological function, but the implements used to help one memorize stuff aren't being sold under the premise that it'll have any impact on the recipients health. With unwanted pregnancy you have the possibility of psychological trauma and physical complications -- and as with any pregnancy, risk of death. If we look at the app as just giving a rough idea of when one is ovulating, then it seems ridiculous to have the FDA involved. However, the FDA knows that people will be using this not purely out of curiosity in some biological attribute -- the app users will almost certainly be using it to choose when to have condom-less sex to not get pregnant. If the app is ineffective, it could do a lot of harm. If humans had evolved in such a way that we risked severe physical and/or psychological trauma in the pursuit of expanding our vocabulary, you can safely bet the FDA would be involved there, too.
  - kazinator 8y ago
    > With unwanted pregnancy ... s/pregnancy //

Being fertile or not isn't "medical", though, it is biological. Should a vocabulary memorization app require FDA approval? Memory is biological.

azinman2 8y ago
Do you see doctors for memorizing vocab? No. Do you see them for pregnancy issues? Yes.
- kazinator 8y ago
  > Do you see doctors for memorizing vocab? Quite plausibly so; if you have unusual trouble remembering even modest quantities of vocab, that could be a brain problem.
  - azinman2 8y ago
    But then it’s memory in general, not specifically for vocab.
    - kazinator 8y ago
      A problem that shows up as infertility could be something more general too.
- kazinator 8y ago
  > Do you see them for pregnancy issues? Not if you're not pregnant, unless 1) you would like some non-over-the-counter birth control method or 2) you're trying to get pregnant and it's not working as it should be (biology is failing).
  - azinman2 8y ago
    Hence “issues”
cstrahan 8y ago
Correct: being fertile or not is a biological attribute. It's when you introduce some means of manipulating your biological functions (either through behavioral changes or the consumption of external substances) for the sake of your health that something becomes "medical". Your comparison breaks down: memory is a biological function, but the implements used to help one memorize stuff aren't being sold under the premise that it'll have any impact on the recipients health. With unwanted pregnancy you have the possibility of psychological trauma and physical complications -- and as with any pregnancy, risk of death. If we look at the app as just giving a rough idea of when one is ovulating, then it seems ridiculous to have the FDA involved. However, the FDA knows that people will be using this not purely out of curiosity in some biological attribute -- the app users will almost certainly be using it to choose when to have condom-less sex to not get pregnant. If the app is ineffective, it could do a lot of harm. If humans had evolved in such a way that we risked severe physical and/or psychological trauma in the pursuit of expanding our vocabulary, you can safely bet the FDA would be involved there, too.
- kazinator 8y ago
  > With unwanted pregnancy ... s/pregnancy //