9 ms·

I gravitate towards self help because expert help has almost always resulted in very large expenses and my actual problem not being solved. Every experience I'

I gravitate towards self help because expert help has almost always resulted in very large expenses and my actual problem not being solved. Every experience I've had with a doctor that was less severe than "I am actively dying" has just been "Take pain killers for a couple weeks and come back if it isn't fixed by then, also here is a $200 bill." The one time I hired someone to fix something on my house (to fix some water damage), I had a literal stream of water coming in to my house above the repair the next time it rained. In most cases, it seems you need to know the answer to the problem yourself before you can trust someone else to diagnose and fix the problem correctly.

swiley 5y ago
Trusting other people to administrate your home computer is totally ok though because they're actually experts.
- truffdog 5y ago
  That is the Kaseya business model.
potatoman22 5y ago
Conversely, sometimes you need that outside expert perspective to help open your eyes to the real problems.
- war1025 5y ago
  And that's the real rub of it. I don't know what I don't know, but I also don't know where to get that knowledge, so a reasonable first step is to investigate the people pushing "self-help" methods. From there you can often learn the right keywords to get a foot in the door with someone knowledgeable and have them actually tell you something useful rather than just taking your money and sending you on your way.
rajin444 5y ago
Most of us work in a profession where we hire teams of people to maintain systems with a fraction of the complexity of the human body (not to mention our understanding of how computers work is orders of magnitude higher than our understanding of the body). Contrast that with a doctor seeing a patient for the first time.
- deregulateMed 5y ago
  Ahhh the good ol "Medicine is Art and Science". How many people have died because we keep letting physicians tell us this? I'm pro Evidence Based Medicine, but physicians can't buy mansions if the medicine can be discussed by scientists.
  - potatoman22 5y ago
    What are we letting physicians tell us? That the body is complex? GP didn't mention anything about it being an art
  - throwaway4220 5y ago
    - Evidence based medicine is in all medical guidelines across specialties. It may even lead to defensive medicine. The "art" part of medicine is when you choose to skirt around the guidelines ie you need a noninvasive scan to diagnose your cancer, but you can't afford a PET scan or anesthesia so we will do the biopsy first because it's cheaper. This will open you up to lawsuits, but you do what you think is best. - Journal clubs are in all fields of medicine. Yes the scientific rigor is definitely lacking, but it's more from poor understanding of statistics and the sci method than maliciousness - if you want to deregulate the medical industry, many more people will die. For instance, the easiest way to make money in the ER is to refuse the uninsured dying patient without due course
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  Alright, now explain why I should pay them $200 (or more) for a half-hour consultation where they parrot something google could have told me and fill out a form in Epic? I'm with parent, unless you have a lot of time and money to spend, or an obvious problem like a broken leg, doctors aren't worth very much.
sixothree 5y ago
My experience with doctors is not too different from yours. I had been experiencing sinus pain debilitating enough to affect work. I was referred to a doctor who was an hour late, whose only actual advice was use saline solution, and then charged me $150 (deductible not yet met). I've been using "concierge" medicine ever since.
rurp 5y ago
The poor quality of so much professional work has been a surprising realization for me as I've gotten a little older. I used to think that most professional plumbers would be really great at plumbing and could easily fix most problems wothout issue. Same for electricians, doctors, mechanics, etc. In practice, I run into blunders and extremely shoddy work more often than not. Hiring a person for a home repair often takes just as long as learning how to do it myself, given how often they make mistakes or do poor quality work. Same for doctors; I can't remember the last time I was told something by a doctor I didn't already know from researching it myself. They mostly just gatekeep medicine, IME. This isn't at all meant to say that I'm particularly good at research, mostly I'm talking about knowledge that's a quick DDG search or youtube video away.

swiley 5y ago

Trusting other people to administrate your home computer is totally ok though because they're actually experts.

truffdog 5y ago
That is the Kaseya business model.

potatoman22 5y ago

Conversely, sometimes you need that outside expert perspective to help open your eyes to the real problems.

war1025 5y ago
And that's the real rub of it. I don't know what I don't know, but I also don't know where to get that knowledge, so a reasonable first step is to investigate the people pushing "self-help" methods. From there you can often learn the right keywords to get a foot in the door with someone knowledgeable and have them actually tell you something useful rather than just taking your money and sending you on your way.

rajin444 5y ago

Most of us work in a profession where we hire teams of people to maintain systems with a fraction of the complexity of the human body (not to mention our understanding of how computers work is orders of magnitude higher than our understanding of the body). Contrast that with a doctor seeing a patient for the first time.

deregulateMed 5y ago
Ahhh the good ol "Medicine is Art and Science". How many people have died because we keep letting physicians tell us this? I'm pro Evidence Based Medicine, but physicians can't buy mansions if the medicine can be discussed by scientists.
- potatoman22 5y ago
  What are we letting physicians tell us? That the body is complex? GP didn't mention anything about it being an art
- throwaway4220 5y ago
  - Evidence based medicine is in all medical guidelines across specialties. It may even lead to defensive medicine. The "art" part of medicine is when you choose to skirt around the guidelines ie you need a noninvasive scan to diagnose your cancer, but you can't afford a PET scan or anesthesia so we will do the biopsy first because it's cheaper. This will open you up to lawsuits, but you do what you think is best. - Journal clubs are in all fields of medicine. Yes the scientific rigor is definitely lacking, but it's more from poor understanding of statistics and the sci method than maliciousness - if you want to deregulate the medical industry, many more people will die. For instance, the easiest way to make money in the ER is to refuse the uninsured dying patient without due course
AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
Alright, now explain why I should pay them $200 (or more) for a half-hour consultation where they parrot something google could have told me and fill out a form in Epic? I'm with parent, unless you have a lot of time and money to spend, or an obvious problem like a broken leg, doctors aren't worth very much.

sixothree 5y ago

My experience with doctors is not too different from yours. I had been experiencing sinus pain debilitating enough to affect work. I was referred to a doctor who was an hour late, whose only actual advice was use saline solution, and then charged me $150 (deductible not yet met). I've been using "concierge" medicine ever since.

rurp 5y ago

The poor quality of so much professional work has been a surprising realization for me as I've gotten a little older. I used to think that most professional plumbers would be really great at plumbing and could easily fix most problems wothout issue. Same for electricians, doctors, mechanics, etc. In practice, I run into blunders and extremely shoddy work more often than not. Hiring a person for a home repair often takes just as long as learning how to do it myself, given how often they make mistakes or do poor quality work. Same for doctors; I can't remember the last time I was told something by a doctor I didn't already know from researching it myself. They mostly just gatekeep medicine, IME. This isn't at all meant to say that I'm particularly good at research, mostly I'm talking about knowledge that's a quick DDG search or youtube video away.