X-Message-Number: 31159
From: "Chris Manning" <>
References: <>
Subject: Re: Statistical illiteracy among physicians
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:34:16 +1100

> Message #31150
> From: "John de Rivaz" <>
> Subject: Statistical illiteracy among physicians
> Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:47:14 -0000
>
> It's a largely unknown problem that applies not only to uneducated people 
> but to the highly educated, including physicians, journalists and 
> politicians. Statistical illiteracy among physicians causes 
> over-treatment, overdiagnosis and increased health care costs. It also 
> affects patients, whose hopes can get unnecessarily raised by the claims 
> that they read in medication advertisements. Statistical literacy should 
> be taught in school beginning in the primary grades.
>
> more on
>

> 
http://www.sciencenews.org:80/view/generic/id/38364/title/Sound_reasoning_requires_statistical_understanding
>
> I think similar view have been expressed by Robert Ettinger and others on 
> this list. Maybe this article will help.

I was probably one of the others. And the example given in the article, 
about blood clots, is statistically identical to one much closer to home: My 
local motoring organisation, the RACV, tells people that driving with a 
blood alcohol concentration of .05% doubles your risk of an accident. What 
they don't tell us is what the actual levels of risk are.

> However "opt out" organ donation, as suggested, may have a problem in that 
> it is embarrassing or difficult for cryonics people to do the necessary 
> form filling. It has a big positive in my view that logically,  the 
> freedom to "opt out" of post mortem dissection for the purposes of 
> determining the cause of death automatically follows.

It might follow logically but I doubt if it follows legally. 

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