Anyone who knows me has heard my rant about the lack of evidence that Cholesterol at moderate levels has any relationship with heart disease. Now it seems that some vindication may be in the wind. The New York Times’s Alex Berenson reported that two widely read studies of cholesterol lowering drugs were not able to establish that the drugs provided any medical benefits to patients. Of particular note was the questioning, mentioned at the end of the article, of the assumption that cholesterol levels are related to heart disease in the first place. In a quote from the article we can see that it is a questionable foundation on which this assumption rests.
Entries Tagged ' Cultural' ↓
The Chloresterol Mystery
January 19th, 2008 — Cultural, Research Methods, Statistical Thinking
The debates
January 6th, 2008 — Cultural
Well, I watched the marathon debates on ABC starting with the Republican debate and through the Democrat debate. Let me state up front that I’m originally from Massachusetts (born in Boston) and therefore genetically a democrat. (Just kidding, of course, Mass. has had its share of Republican luminaries, Ed Brooke, Ed King, and more recently Mitt Romney)….What struck me about the debates were how different the two were. The Republicans and Democrats would appear to live on different planets.
Healthcare problems figured prominently in both debates and to a person (it seemed), the Republicans asserted that “America has the best healthcare system in the world.” This kind of empty-shell ‘patriotism’ just displays ignorance of the reality. Not only does the United States pay much more than any other country for its healthcare (as a percent of GDP), it’s mortality and moribidity statistics (e.g. infant mortality, life expectancy, etc.) are the lowest of virtually every other developed country. We pay more and we get less…that is the reality. Wake Up Republicans, the assertion of American dominance of healthcare is as empty as Dan Quayle’s claim that “America is the envy of the world.” No it is not.For their part, the Democrats seem to think that they will be able to fix this and fix that without the help or involvement of the primary players involved. The idea that one can change the healthcare system without involving pharmaceutical companies or insurance companies is laughable. Edwards seems more oriented toward antagonizing them. It is a kind of demagoguery really. It sounds great to say you’re going to show those bad guys a thing or two, but as it once was said… it’s like trying to teach a pig to sing. It doesn’t work and it annoys the pig.Individually performances varied (no kidding) perhaps the most passionate was John Edwards, the coolest under fire was Hillary Clinton. McCain is ahead in New Hampshire so he mostly shut up. Obama was a little less facile than usual and and Richardson was his usual affable self who seemed to be in the wrong room. Ron Paul stood out as the slightly whacky libertarian he is and Fred Thompson looked bemused. Giuliani was suprisingly sane and was it me or do the Republican field seem to genuinely dislike Romney?Ah well, on to the next…
Where Wonders Await Us - The New York Review of Books
December 10th, 2007 — Cultural, Philosophy
The following is an interesting piece which illustrates an important point about scientific thinking. Our knowledge and prediction is limited by our experience. Assertions or predictions about the world around us and our history on the planet are based on what we have observed. Who knows what unfound human remains might tell us about early life?
