3 ms·

When we look back at the history of many illnesses, it's easy to wonder how the previous generations could have been so dumb to not have realized the root cause

by mabbo 12y ago

When we look back at the history of many illnesses, it's easy to wonder how the previous generations could have been so dumb to not have realized the root causes. The story of stomach ulcers is especially wonderful, because it's so recent [1] (stomach ulcers were obviously caused by stress, and poor diet, etc). One wonders how many obvious root causes to common illnesses are sitting right in front of us. A good friend of mine has dealt with depression issues for many years. I'd love to learn that a quick anti-parasite treatment would relieve her of the pain she's dealt with. [1]: http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/07-dr-drank-broth-gave-ulcer-solved-medical-mystery http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/07-dr-drank-broth-gave-...

Osmium 12y ago
> One wonders how many obvious root causes to common illnesses are sitting right in front of us. Perhaps it's a silly comparison, but I was reminded when reading this of the Facebook bug the other day[1] where progress was suddenly made when they started to think of system components as malicious actors communicating over covert channels. Here is someone arguing that we should be thinking about depression in essentially the same way: there are malicious actors (infectious agents) communicating over a covert channel (by some mechanism we don't yet understand). Perhaps the analogy is a bit of a stretch, but I think the idea of re-conceptualising a known problem in a new light is probably a good one. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8660994 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8660994
bayesianhorse 12y ago
Well, no. If there had been obvious causes for major depression, they would have been found by now. There may be some infectious agents who induce depressions (like hepatitis), and some have not yet been discovered, but I highly doubt that a major infectious cause for major depression is still "hiding".
- EdwardCoffin 12y ago
  Did you miss the comparison to ulcers and how long their real cause was overlooked in favour of a mistaken cause?

by mabbo 12y ago

Osmium 12y ago

> One wonders how many obvious root causes to common illnesses are sitting right in front of us. Perhaps it's a silly comparison, but I was reminded when reading this of the Facebook bug the other day[1] where progress was suddenly made when they started to think of system components as malicious actors communicating over covert channels. Here is someone arguing that we should be thinking about depression in essentially the same way: there are malicious actors (infectious agents) communicating over a covert channel (by some mechanism we don't yet understand). Perhaps the analogy is a bit of a stretch, but I think the idea of re-conceptualising a known problem in a new light is probably a good one. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8660994 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8660994

bayesianhorse 12y ago

Well, no. If there had been obvious causes for major depression, they would have been found by now. There may be some infectious agents who induce depressions (like hepatitis), and some have not yet been discovered, but I highly doubt that a major infectious cause for major depression is still "hiding".

EdwardCoffin 12y ago
Did you miss the comparison to ulcers and how long their real cause was overlooked in favour of a mistaken cause?