An ounce of skepticism = a pound of not being just another sucker

[dave32]

Sorry for the long subject line, only one that came to mind.

 

Interesting article from TIME addressing 'the experts.' Snipped:

 

"You say brain scans show that when presented with expert advice, we actually lose our ability to make our own decisions.

 

Yes. Now, let me point out, I always feel a little funny when I quote the results of a brain-scan study or even quote the findings of any study because, of course, my book is all about pointing out the problems with studies. But for what it's worth, people have actually looked at this question of what happens to brain activity when people are given expert advice, and sure enough, you see that the brain activity dies out in a way that suggests the person is thinking for themselves less. The brain actually shuts down a bit in the face of expert advice. When we hear an expert, we surrender our own judgment.

 

So we essentially just blindly follow experts?

 

That's exactly what it is. And there are certain experts who, not only is their advice very resonant, but they themselves are very resonant. Some experts project tremendous confidence. They have marvelous credentials. They can be very charismatic  sometimes their voice just projects it. Some experts get very, very good at this stuff. And what do you know? It really sort of lulls us into accepting what they say. It can take a while to actually think about it and realize their advice makes no sense at all."

 

Link

 

[cavanami]

There is a "foundation" that "looks" into all of this, Tavistock.

 

They have found that when a person is presented with too many options (what to do), they do nothing.

 

The "gang" uses this to their advantage...keep the folks in front of the TV, dumbed down with a six pack!!!

 

Welcome to the 21st century!!!

[dave32]

Cav, be cautious with the dark vague arch-conspiracy stuff. I'm sure there's elements of truth to it, but... yeah.

 

Working with physicians and nurses almost every day for the past 5 years made me skeptical about medicine. The majority of it is quite simply an educated guess. Any patient with a serious condition should aggressively do their own research and be their own advocate. So, this article grabbed my attention with it's intro -- it rang true weighed against my own limited experience.

 

From the same article above:

 

----

 

"He begins by writing that about two-thirds of the findings published in the top medical journals are refuted within a few years. It gets worse. As much as 90% of physicians' medical knowledge has been found to be substantially or completely wrong. In fact, there is a 1 in 12 chance that a doctor's diagnosis will be so wrong that it causes the patient significant harm. And it's not just medicine. Economists have found that all studies published in economics journals are likely to be wrong. Professionally prepared tax returns are more likely to contain significant errors than self-prepared returns. Half of all newspaper articles contain at least one factual error. So why, then, do we blindly follow experts?"

 

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1998644,00.html#ixzz0spUuRQOf

 

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Sidenote: I'm moving in a few days and going on a little personal sabbatical. Gone for a few weeks.

 

Later dudes.

 

Ps. Flash, I won't be back till I've finished 'Dispatches.'