3 ms·
The correct takeaway is to use information responsibly, not to deny yourself information.
by Footkerchief 5y ago
The correct takeaway is to use information responsibly, not to deny yourself information.
- robbiep 5y agoI agree in principle, but health literacy is so appallingly low - globally - that more often than not people are not equipped to deal with this information. As I said in an earlier post on this thread, look at the askdocs subreddit. 90% of the posts there are worried well asking for clarification of some unnecessary test they went and specifically asked a doctor for, the result of which they don’t understand and which is causing a cascade of health anxiety. If every person understood enough to realise how many ‘abnormalities’ enough investigations would show up, and how in 99% of people they mean absolutely nothing, then it would be fine. But that’s not our current situation. And if you’re one of those people who are capable of parsing the dense health literature and understanding the implications (or not) of ‘normal abnormal’ findings, then go for it. But for the population as a whole? It’s not viable or helpful
- colinmhayes 5y agoPeople are too dumb to do that, even if they're actively trying to.
- astrange 5y agoYou can't do that unless you know the prior probability of everything you're looking for.