Reading Wednesday 4/09
Sep. 4th, 2019 07:47 pmRecently read: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
siderea made a post covering a topic I've been trying to articulate for a while, science fanboys who get all militant in the public sphere about the superior scientific virtue of modern, allopathic medicine over its supposed enemies of woo and superstition.
The focus of the post isn't quite where I would have put it. I don't think the main problem is putting medicine on a pedestal, exactly. And the connected post about pedestalization of teachers and school-based, institutional education I don't agree with nearly so much. But I do very heartily agree that there's a massive problem with rhetoric around science-based medicine. (We usually say "evidence-based medicine" this side of the pond.) Yes, actual medicine which has been rigorously proved to be effective is a thoroughly good idea, and yes, people selling woo and claiming that it's "alternative" medicine do a lot of harm. But there are also real problems in medicine and medical research, some due to error and some due to bias and abuse of power, and both of those classes of problems can be both systematic and individual.
(I would also add that it does a disservice to science to equate "scientific" with, always right and never to be questioned by non-experts. Because that's the opposite of science, that's dogma. The whole point of science is that you change your models in the light of new evidence, and empirical reality, not people who wield authority, is the arbiter of truth.)
Currently reading: Declare by Tim Powers. I'm about 2/3 of the way through, and it's suddenly switched viewpoint from a made-up protagonist to, er, Kim Philby who was an actual historical person. It's also gradually committed to unambiguously being set in a world where the supernatural is real and important in international affairs. I really like the portrayal of djinns, and the setting of a meta Great Game between humanity and the spirit world intertwined with the Cold War between different factions of humans. But it's a bit weird to have a real person as a viewpoint character in this AU. (I didn't mind when Philby was a minor character alongside TE Lawrence and Harold Macmillan.)
Up next: Not sure in terms of fiction, but definitely lots of course-related texts.
siderea made a post covering a topic I've been trying to articulate for a while, science fanboys who get all militant in the public sphere about the superior scientific virtue of modern, allopathic medicine over its supposed enemies of woo and superstition. The focus of the post isn't quite where I would have put it. I don't think the main problem is putting medicine on a pedestal, exactly. And the connected post about pedestalization of teachers and school-based, institutional education I don't agree with nearly so much. But I do very heartily agree that there's a massive problem with rhetoric around science-based medicine. (We usually say "evidence-based medicine" this side of the pond.) Yes, actual medicine which has been rigorously proved to be effective is a thoroughly good idea, and yes, people selling woo and claiming that it's "alternative" medicine do a lot of harm. But there are also real problems in medicine and medical research, some due to error and some due to bias and abuse of power, and both of those classes of problems can be both systematic and individual.
(I would also add that it does a disservice to science to equate "scientific" with, always right and never to be questioned by non-experts. Because that's the opposite of science, that's dogma. The whole point of science is that you change your models in the light of new evidence, and empirical reality, not people who wield authority, is the arbiter of truth.)
Currently reading: Declare by Tim Powers. I'm about 2/3 of the way through, and it's suddenly switched viewpoint from a made-up protagonist to, er, Kim Philby who was an actual historical person. It's also gradually committed to unambiguously being set in a world where the supernatural is real and important in international affairs. I really like the portrayal of djinns, and the setting of a meta Great Game between humanity and the spirit world intertwined with the Cold War between different factions of humans. But it's a bit weird to have a real person as a viewpoint character in this AU. (I didn't mind when Philby was a minor character alongside TE Lawrence and Harold Macmillan.)
Up next: Not sure in terms of fiction, but definitely lots of course-related texts.
