2 ms·
It is so frustrating, trying to figure out at least a bit of whats going on and understanding some numbers, but apparently I cannot do this, without having to d
by hutzlibu 6y ago
It is so frustrating, trying to figure out at least a bit of whats going on and understanding some numbers, but apparently I cannot do this, without having to dive into papers, too?
There is so much confusion and missinformation flying around, when even here on HN there is discussion about the meaning of basic numbers.
(but please carry on discussing it)
- akiselev 6y agoTo be clear, this isn't some settled math like basic algebra or science like Newtonian physics - this is cutting edge stuff at the intersection of medicine, public health, and biotechnology. Experts disagree about the nuances of measuring the efficacy of drugs, vaccines, and therapeutics so throw in the glaring ethical concerns into the mix and you have a recipe for a complex field. It's rare (unheard of?) to find a clinical trial where the company (or their CRO) scientists didn't sit down with FDA regulators and negotiate over key features & risk indicators, benchmarking, patient selection, and so on because they bring expertise the FDA is unlikely to have. It's very difficult to get even a basic grasp of the details because you need to grok some complex statistics, biology, and public health to really dig in. Journalists sure aren't going to get the nuances so of course you have to read the academic literature.
- hutzlibu 6y agoI get it, that I won't really get it, without studying it. But it would be nice, to know what important numbers roughly mean, without that amount of work.