When I read the paragraph that follows I thought how it accurately sums up how many people feel in 2017 and explains the political upheavals of 2016. But it was […]
Richard Smith
Richard Smith was the editor of The BMJ until 2004.
Richard Smith: Is evidence based medicine a form of microfascism?
My friend Nicholas Christakis recently tweeted: “Critique of evidence based medicine on grounds that it is exclusionary and ‘colonized’” providing a link to the critical article. He added an NB to […]
Richard Smith: Where general practice is flourishing
We hear a constant chorus that general practice is underfunded, understaffed, and on the point of collapse, so I couldn’t resist the temptation to visit a practice that is flourishing […]
Richard Smith: Disappointed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on health
Democracy, we are all told and mostly believe, is “the least bad form of government.” Sadly and ironically that belief is hardest to sustain during elections when we are deluged […]
Richard Smith: Will I make it to 2045 and become immortal?
The Singularity, when men merge with machines and become immortal, is “pencilled in” for 2045. I learn this from Irish journalist Mark O’Connell’s meetings with transhumanists described in his book […]
Richard Smith: Roger Bacon on ignorance and peer review
The Franciscan philosopher Roger Bacon (c1214-1294), who some regard as the father of modern science, argued in his great text Opus Majus that there were four sources of ignorance: Frail […]
Richard Smith: Must doctors believe in progress?
Does being a doctor mean that you’re obliged to believe in progress? Richard Smith discusses […]
Richard Smith: What have I achieved in six years of teaching?
Yesterday as I flew home from teaching in Amsterdam for the last time, I wondered what I might have achieved in six (or perhaps it’s seven) years of teaching. Twice […]
Richard Smith: Tales of sustainability II—a way forward from Brighton
The NHS is legally committed to reducing its carbon consumption by 80% by 2050, but the route to that destination is far from clear. The leaders in trying to find […]
Richard Smith: A day of wisdom, song, dance, and bonding in Bangladesh
Bangladeshis love to sing, dance, make music, recite poetry, talk, eat, and let off steam. So icddr,b day, the day of what may be the largest health research institution in […]