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Why does this headline from Nature read like a scam advert from Facebook?
by LarryMullins 4y ago
Why does this headline from Nature read like a scam advert from Facebook?
- tptacek 4y agoBecause what's happening in this field is bananas right now, to the point where the results sound like scam adverts from Facebook.
- nindalf 4y agoBecause sometimes you’re dealing with the real article. This isn’t a boner pill made of rhino horn. This has been proven in double blind studies, FDA approved and has changed the lives of thousands of people. This could potentially halt the obesity epidemic, preventing many early deaths and improving the quality of life of countless others. At that point, such headlines are justified. What would you have written instead? Something lukewarm like “Obesity drugs show efficacy in many patients”?
- LarryMullins 4y agoI'm sure it's possible to formulate a headline for this story that doesn't sound like gutter-tier clickbait. Nature must be doing a poor job hiring / directing their editors.
- tptacek 4y agoToo much of this thread is debating whether these drugs are a good thing or a bad thing, and not enough is on the underlying science story, which is what HN "should" be interested in. What's happening with these drugs --- that you can replicate much of the effect of bariatric surgery with an injection --- is super interesting, and didn't seem to be on the horizon 10 years ago.
- nindalf 4y agoAgreed. I don’t think I’ll ever need these pills but I think in ten years we’ll think they’re the second most impactful thing to happen last year.