6 ms·

> they parrot something google could have told me anecdote time... went to the doctor once about an issue. She started typing into the computer. I caught a gli

> they parrot something google could have told me anecdote time... went to the doctor once about an issue. She started typing into the computer. I caught a glimpse and she was literally scrolling through a Google image search, looking for a match. That's the catch-22 with professional help. You need to hire a lawyer to help keep you out of trouble or solve your business problems. But since you're not a lawyer yourself, you can't judge the quality of the work. You're at the mercy of Yelp-like reputation systems or, possibly worse, recommendations from friends and people you know.

SllX 5y ago
Heh. That Google Image search was probably a substitute for some chart already in the office, possibly gathering dust.
- deckard1 5y ago
  hopefully that. Because I shudder to think that some doctor is going to take Google's results at face value. It's the Gell-Mann Amnesia. Every once in awhile I see one of those Google instant answer boxes on a search that I know is total BS. But then I go and pretend like the next dozen searches I do are perfectly reasonable results.
  - Jtsummers 5y ago
    I always enjoy the ones that read something like: What is a normal weight for a house cat? 150lbs <expand> "Is it normal for my house cat to weigh 150lbs? No, says every vet ever." I've found that on more than one occasion so I just started ignoring it. I really need to switch the default search engine on the rest of my devices to DDG. Google is not very useful anymore.
  - SllX 5y ago
    I think it’s a fair bet. Cards on the table, I’ve had shingles twice. If you want to get technical about it, I will always have the virus that causes it, but it will not always be able to break through. First outbreak, didn’t know what it was, it was in a part of my neck and shoulder I couldn’t see and based off feel and texture, I figured “eh, Hives”, and treated it as such. So the shingles progressed, and you definitely don’t want that, until I felt physically compelled to go see a doctor ASAP. One look, with no reference material, no image searches, no charts, the Doctor instantly knew what it was and didn’t bullshit me about my age. Wrote me an antiviral prescription and I was out the door. Second time, shingles being one of the circles of hell, I figure it out before it progresses, and this time I go to a an urgent care clinic because I don’t need a diagnoses, I need a prescription vending machine. Young guy walks in, quite a bit less experienced, I all but tell him exactly what I’m there for, and he’s a bit unsure because of my age, but he walks into another room, looks at a chart, and vends me my prescription. If not for a chart on the wall and my prior and convincing experience, he would have wanted a blood test. Now I’m sure the latter is a fine doctor with a few more years under his belt now, and can reference this event in his own mind the next time he’s feeling skeptical, but sometimes being a doctor is just having the experience to know what’s up, and knowing that maybe it’s been too long since med school and maybe you should cross reference it from somewhere, or ask a colleague. And some doctors don’t need to look at anything at all, and can pronounce a diagnoses on the spot. I looked at the chart, it just showed the different patterns of different skin conditions, and these weren’t photos but illustrations. Couldn’t tell you if that’s better or worse than Google Images, but I wished I didn’t have to go to a Doctor in the first place to ask permission to buy the same antivirals I used before.
lostdog 5y ago
I'm more worried when the doctor is too lazy to even do a Google search. Having an expert do a web search is a decent way to filter out bad results and find a reasonable answer quickly.
michaelmrose 5y ago
Imagine if someone said I pay that guy 100k a year and I peeked at his computer and all he was doing was looking up the problem on Google and typing in a text editor! It's not the typing or the Google search anyone is paying for they are paying for the usage of the highly trained brain that can evaluate what they are reading in the context of the hard earned skills and information possesses by the reader. On the topic of the doctors I wonder how it would work out if we combined anonymous analysis of doctors work by other doctors with patients.

SllX 5y ago

Heh. That Google Image search was probably a substitute for some chart already in the office, possibly gathering dust.

deckard1 5y ago
hopefully that. Because I shudder to think that some doctor is going to take Google's results at face value. It's the Gell-Mann Amnesia. Every once in awhile I see one of those Google instant answer boxes on a search that I know is total BS. But then I go and pretend like the next dozen searches I do are perfectly reasonable results.
- Jtsummers 5y ago
  I always enjoy the ones that read something like: What is a normal weight for a house cat? 150lbs <expand> "Is it normal for my house cat to weigh 150lbs? No, says every vet ever." I've found that on more than one occasion so I just started ignoring it. I really need to switch the default search engine on the rest of my devices to DDG. Google is not very useful anymore.
- SllX 5y ago
  I think it’s a fair bet. Cards on the table, I’ve had shingles twice. If you want to get technical about it, I will always have the virus that causes it, but it will not always be able to break through. First outbreak, didn’t know what it was, it was in a part of my neck and shoulder I couldn’t see and based off feel and texture, I figured “eh, Hives”, and treated it as such. So the shingles progressed, and you definitely don’t want that, until I felt physically compelled to go see a doctor ASAP. One look, with no reference material, no image searches, no charts, the Doctor instantly knew what it was and didn’t bullshit me about my age. Wrote me an antiviral prescription and I was out the door. Second time, shingles being one of the circles of hell, I figure it out before it progresses, and this time I go to a an urgent care clinic because I don’t need a diagnoses, I need a prescription vending machine. Young guy walks in, quite a bit less experienced, I all but tell him exactly what I’m there for, and he’s a bit unsure because of my age, but he walks into another room, looks at a chart, and vends me my prescription. If not for a chart on the wall and my prior and convincing experience, he would have wanted a blood test. Now I’m sure the latter is a fine doctor with a few more years under his belt now, and can reference this event in his own mind the next time he’s feeling skeptical, but sometimes being a doctor is just having the experience to know what’s up, and knowing that maybe it’s been too long since med school and maybe you should cross reference it from somewhere, or ask a colleague. And some doctors don’t need to look at anything at all, and can pronounce a diagnoses on the spot. I looked at the chart, it just showed the different patterns of different skin conditions, and these weren’t photos but illustrations. Couldn’t tell you if that’s better or worse than Google Images, but I wished I didn’t have to go to a Doctor in the first place to ask permission to buy the same antivirals I used before.

lostdog 5y ago

I'm more worried when the doctor is too lazy to even do a Google search. Having an expert do a web search is a decent way to filter out bad results and find a reasonable answer quickly.

michaelmrose 5y ago

Imagine if someone said I pay that guy 100k a year and I peeked at his computer and all he was doing was looking up the problem on Google and typing in a text editor! It's not the typing or the Google search anyone is paying for they are paying for the usage of the highly trained brain that can evaluate what they are reading in the context of the hard earned skills and information possesses by the reader. On the topic of the doctors I wonder how it would work out if we combined anonymous analysis of doctors work by other doctors with patients.