6 ms·

I came to realize that there was a long-standing scientific controversy in the field, and I felt that I had no choice but to get to the bottom of things myself.

by kr0bat 3y ago

I came to realize that there was a long-standing scientific controversy in the field, and I felt that I had no choice but to get to the bottom of things myself. Although I am not a medical doctor, I hold a PhD in neuroscience and am familiar with critically reading scientific literature. I decided that I would invest as much time as necessary to learn everything I possibly could on the subject. At that point, there was nothing in my life more important than finding out what had really happened to my son. This is why higher education (and academic mettle) is amazing

drt5b7j 3y ago
[flagged]
- dartos 3y ago
  And that’s solid advice for starting a tech company. (This is a y combinator website)
- faeriechangling 3y ago
  I'm not dismissive of education. I learn on the job. I learn in my free time. I learn to further my career. I learn to help myself out. I learn for fun. What I resent is the absurd idea that going to a brick and mortar institutions for 4, 6, maybe 10 years, following a track the teacher and administration considered best, with the vast majority of those being educated getting an outdated curriculum, is an effective means of learning. This entire attitude is portrayed as pro-education but it's really just pro-institution. It's only an effective means of learning insofar that the credential you get at the end can open doors to opportunities to learn, a point I will readily concede. I also have done amateur medical research in my spare time and literally printed out some papers and taken them to my doctor and said "let's do this". This ended up being very successful and very productive. It's not what the OP did is something people who did fancy book lernin' through a SCHOOL can do only after years of toil. You can just pick up the skills you need as you go and get reasonable results.
  - dtdynasty 3y ago
    I think you underestimate the lack of self directed learning ability people have before going to a higher education institutions. I know I would have failed at solo learning without going to college before hand. Structured education can definitely help a majority of students who need to get to a point where self directed learning is effective. I have my qualms with higher education but its existence itself is not one of them.
dartos 3y ago
I think that speaks more towards the author than higher education. Definitely a tangent, but attributing that attitude to higher education is like someone attributing a doctor saving their life to an act of god. Like yeah if you squint I guess that’s true. My experience with higher education has been that of administrators taking advantage of my naivety for profit, elitism towards those not in academia, and dismissal of any ideas that wouldn’t directly result in a grant or a good headline. I wouldn’t really say that the author’s “mettle” is a result of the same environment.
- sanderjd 3y ago
  Yeah I dunno... I mean, a lot of these things are true, and they all are big problems, but also, in my experience, academics (at least in the sciences) do actually know how to read and understand research, which is an extremely difficult and useful skill.
  - hyperthesis 3y ago
    Yeah, I think "mettle" here is like a sword and shield and the ability to use them (read and understand scientific literature, and able to do so, self-directed, for years). But whether a person does use them, and for what, is entirely due to the person themselves.
  - j16sdiz 3y ago
    Isn't that just what PhD do? I meant going through piles of papers - most of them bring more new questions than answers - and stay sane
    - sanderjd 3y ago
      Yep. That's exactly what I'm saying. This is like the primary skill that people learn to get a PhD. It's true that people can learn it without getting a PhD, but hardly anyone does, because it kind of sucks and if you're doing it you may as well do it with the guidance of an advisor and get a credential at the end.
  - 3y ago
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
rossant 3y ago
Yes, I met other parents with higher education/a scientific background (researchers, engineers...) and living the same situation with their child. They naturally question the assertions by healthcare professionals, they make their own research, they ask highly precise and relevant questions to such a point that most doctors are simply unable to answer... I remember that as I was questioning the diagnosis at the hospital and trying to make sure there wasn't another medical explanation, I was basically threatened by doctors who told me, "Just stop asking questions and accuse your nanny as everyone else, or you'll be the one in trouble". Apparently, it was very unusual for a parent to refrain from accusing the nanny when she was the suspect number 1! I actually know one case where the parents (with a high education) were "too fast" in exonerating their nanny and tried to find a second medical opinion on their own to find out why their child was sick. Well, the judicial system didn't like it and they ended up being accused themselves. Their child was taken away for 4 months. The trauma was so intense that their family didn't survive and they eventually divorced (that's unfortunately the fate of many, if not most families).

by kr0bat 3y ago

drt5b7j 3y ago

[flagged]

dartos 3y ago
And that’s solid advice for starting a tech company. (This is a y combinator website)
faeriechangling 3y ago
I'm not dismissive of education. I learn on the job. I learn in my free time. I learn to further my career. I learn to help myself out. I learn for fun. What I resent is the absurd idea that going to a brick and mortar institutions for 4, 6, maybe 10 years, following a track the teacher and administration considered best, with the vast majority of those being educated getting an outdated curriculum, is an effective means of learning. This entire attitude is portrayed as pro-education but it's really just pro-institution. It's only an effective means of learning insofar that the credential you get at the end can open doors to opportunities to learn, a point I will readily concede. I also have done amateur medical research in my spare time and literally printed out some papers and taken them to my doctor and said "let's do this". This ended up being very successful and very productive. It's not what the OP did is something people who did fancy book lernin' through a SCHOOL can do only after years of toil. You can just pick up the skills you need as you go and get reasonable results.
- dtdynasty 3y ago
  I think you underestimate the lack of self directed learning ability people have before going to a higher education institutions. I know I would have failed at solo learning without going to college before hand. Structured education can definitely help a majority of students who need to get to a point where self directed learning is effective. I have my qualms with higher education but its existence itself is not one of them.

dartos 3y ago

I think that speaks more towards the author than higher education. Definitely a tangent, but attributing that attitude to higher education is like someone attributing a doctor saving their life to an act of god. Like yeah if you squint I guess that’s true. My experience with higher education has been that of administrators taking advantage of my naivety for profit, elitism towards those not in academia, and dismissal of any ideas that wouldn’t directly result in a grant or a good headline. I wouldn’t really say that the author’s “mettle” is a result of the same environment.

sanderjd 3y ago
Yeah I dunno... I mean, a lot of these things are true, and they all are big problems, but also, in my experience, academics (at least in the sciences) do actually know how to read and understand research, which is an extremely difficult and useful skill.
- hyperthesis 3y ago
  Yeah, I think "mettle" here is like a sword and shield and the ability to use them (read and understand scientific literature, and able to do so, self-directed, for years). But whether a person does use them, and for what, is entirely due to the person themselves.
- j16sdiz 3y ago
  Isn't that just what PhD do? I meant going through piles of papers - most of them bring more new questions than answers - and stay sane
  - sanderjd 3y ago
    Yep. That's exactly what I'm saying. This is like the primary skill that people learn to get a PhD. It's true that people can learn it without getting a PhD, but hardly anyone does, because it kind of sucks and if you're doing it you may as well do it with the guidance of an advisor and get a credential at the end.
- 3y ago

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

rossant 3y ago

Yes, I met other parents with higher education/a scientific background (researchers, engineers...) and living the same situation with their child. They naturally question the assertions by healthcare professionals, they make their own research, they ask highly precise and relevant questions to such a point that most doctors are simply unable to answer... I remember that as I was questioning the diagnosis at the hospital and trying to make sure there wasn't another medical explanation, I was basically threatened by doctors who told me, "Just stop asking questions and accuse your nanny as everyone else, or you'll be the one in trouble". Apparently, it was very unusual for a parent to refrain from accusing the nanny when she was the suspect number 1! I actually know one case where the parents (with a high education) were "too fast" in exonerating their nanny and tried to find a second medical opinion on their own to find out why their child was sick. Well, the judicial system didn't like it and they ended up being accused themselves. Their child was taken away for 4 months. The trauma was so intense that their family didn't survive and they eventually divorced (that's unfortunately the fate of many, if not most families).