4 ms·

But the thing is that you can use proxies to study this to an extent. Amongst rock climbers there is a naturally occurring population of free climbers, and it

But the thing is that you can use proxies to study this to an extent. Amongst rock climbers there is a naturally occurring population of free climbers, and it is possible to note the type and severity of injuries between different types of rock climbers (although i'm guessing your n is going to be low). The safety of parachutes themselves is an interesting question because they're not used as a preventative mechanism, I think that's the primary difference between them and climbing ropes/harnesses/pitons. Edit: I just noticed that I didn't address the randomized component. I'd still argue that evidence based medicine can actually include arguments that aren't randomized trials. That said, randomized trials are still one of the strongest sort of argument that can be made. As noted above, seatbelts are another sort of device that I don't think we need randomized trials to test the efficacy of. p.s. Just finished (and enjoyed) the Apocalypse Codex. The Laundry Files is one of my favorite series of books as someone who's always believed that empiricism and existentialism are reconcilable. Please write more :)

cstross 14y ago
Please write more :) I'm writing #5 right now. Publication due in mid-2014.
- knieveltech 14y ago
  Please excuse the hijack, anything in the pipeline for release in 2013?
  - gjm11 14y ago
    http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2012/10/still-under-siege.html http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2012/10/still-un... mentions "Neptune's Brood", space-opera set 5k years after "Saturn's Children" but it sounds like it may not actually be coming out until next year, along with three volumes of Merchant Princes (the existing books, in omnibus editions with minor changes) and maybe a UK edition of "The rapture of the nerds".
    - cstross 14y ago
      "Neptune's Brood" comes out in July 2013. (It's a high-concept space opera and a meditation on the 2007-08 liquidity crisis. Also, nominally, a sequel to 2008's Hugo-nominated "Saturn's Children".) "The Rhesus Chart" is in the pipeline for July 2014. The other stuff is all, effectively, reprints.
thwest 14y ago
You might be interested in this annual compilation http://americanalpineclub.org/p/anam http://americanalpineclub.org/p/anam

cstross 14y ago

Please write more :) I'm writing #5 right now. Publication due in mid-2014.

knieveltech 14y ago
Please excuse the hijack, anything in the pipeline for release in 2013?
- gjm11 14y ago
  http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2012/10/still-under-siege.html http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2012/10/still-un... mentions "Neptune's Brood", space-opera set 5k years after "Saturn's Children" but it sounds like it may not actually be coming out until next year, along with three volumes of Merchant Princes (the existing books, in omnibus editions with minor changes) and maybe a UK edition of "The rapture of the nerds".
  - cstross 14y ago
    "Neptune's Brood" comes out in July 2013. (It's a high-concept space opera and a meditation on the 2007-08 liquidity crisis. Also, nominally, a sequel to 2008's Hugo-nominated "Saturn's Children".) "The Rhesus Chart" is in the pipeline for July 2014. The other stuff is all, effectively, reprints.

thwest 14y ago

You might be interested in this annual compilation http://americanalpineclub.org/p/anam http://americanalpineclub.org/p/anam