If something is described as ‘reliable’, what springs to mind? Dull but dependable? Solid and sure? It’s a word that gets bandied about with respect to clinical studies and I’ve often wondered quite what the user of the word means, apart from some kind of overarching sense of ‘good science stuff’. When I think of […]
Category: archimedes
Confused, ambiguous or uncertain?
Not-sure-ness … a word sadly missing from the dictionary at the moment … is thick in the air at the moment, like sunseekers on a August beach or beer bottles the morning after a party* Not-sure-ness can come in many angles and shades, and if we can distinguish them we may be able to seek […]
Looking back and mistaking things
The aged among you may be aware wing mirrors in other countries carried a warning .. “Objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are”. Those of a certain persuasion may be unable to read that without singing too. There’s a physical and psychological truth to the statement which we should be […]
Vote counting
If eleven people say one thing, and a twelfth disagrees, where do we go with the decision? Let us start with a simple question. What if it’s “Are the chips any good at the canteen?” Straightforward – the 11 probably outweigh the 1. But … what if the 11 all report hearsay … “Simone always […]
Questioning the minutiae
It’s when big stuff hits and happens that the machinery of state (or the hospital or household) seems to step up and move fast and effectively to undertake activities it seemed to need months to do previously. Enormous clinical trials of agents to treat the complications of SARS-CoV2 have sprung into existence within weeks; hospitals […]
Don’t Panic Dr Mainwaring!
The novel coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has brought about many changes in what we’ve been doing, some of which might stay and some of which might go. One of the striking things was about how we, as a community, have communicated new aspects, theories, ideas, uncertainties and changes in understanding. Some of the messaging may […]
In pandemics, clear thinking (and explanations) matter even more
There’s been a flurry of interest about non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) drugs like ibuprofen and the new coronavirus recently. The UK medicine’s safety authority have been clear that there is no good evidence of a link between severe COVID19 disease and NSAIDs, but that this isn’t a lot of evidence. When there’s not much data of […]
As good as you’ve got
Non-inferiority is an annoying phrase. Mostly because it’s got the feel of a double-negative about it, but also because it’s frequently quite a confusing thing to prove. There are an increasing number of clinical trials which are designed not to show SuperDrugOmab is better than Olde Elixir, but just that it’s not worse. […]
What’s not being said?
Now and then you’ll be looking at research and thinking “that’s interesting” .. or “we should do that” .. but perhaps there’s a nagging doubt in the back of your brain. I would encourage you to listen to that voice. And reflect. What isn’t this research telling me? What’s not being said? Go and look […]
Mirages and moving classifiers
The joys of new technologies are many and varied. There are now ways of communicating even within NHS hospitals which were apparently designed to block all mobile phone signals, to see veins where none appear to exist and to allow a child within a radiotherapy fixation mask to become a superhero. Technologies are brilliant; they […]