It's a proven fact

I guess its a good of time as any to post on my feelings on science in general. A friend of mine had a girlfriend in high school that used to drive me nuts. Whenever we had a disagreement, she would say, "Well its a proven fact!" and that would be the end of the conversation. I don't even remember what we were talking about, but that statement bothered me more than the argument itself.

Living in the scientific age, it is tempting to think we 'know' many things that we do not. True scientists have a hard time giving something the label of 'fact'. There are many strong ideas that have been tested and retested and still get the title 'theory' rather than 'law.'

This can be a challenge as a doctor, as many people want to come to the doctor and be told exactly what they have and exactly what to do to make it better. This is especially difficult when dealing with pediatrics as far less scientific studies are done on children compared with adults. I have a feeling 50 years from now we will look as silly as Theodoric of York looks to us today. I know this is a Saturday Night Live sketch, but its actually pretty historically accurate:







If you don't want to watch it, here's the best line:
"Why just 50 years ago we would have thought your daughter's illness was brought on by demonic possession or witchcraft. But nowadays we know that Isabelle is suffering from an imbalance of bodily humors perhaps caused by a toad or small dwarf living in her stomach."

The biggest problem I see is that there is so much research being done, that isn't properly interpreted. Especially if the media catches wind of something, a circus ensues. The basic problem is best shown in this cartoon:



The most common misinterpretation I see is when a study finds a correlation, and it is interpreted as a cause. Using that reasoning, I can prove tomatoes cause cancer. A study could easily show that 98% of those that developed cancer had eaten tomotoes in the last month. In this case the correlating elements have absolutely nothing to do with one another. This may sound like a ridiculous argument, but I've heard it many times (except substitute vaccinations and autism for tomatoes and cancer).

Some people hold their beliefs about certain things (vaccinations, global warming, bigfoot, etc) as dear to them as their religious beliefs, which can be dangerous. It can be devastating when something you hold as 'fact' gets proven wrong by the next study. We just need to do the best with the information we have, and roll with the punches when we get more.

Yes, this post is a preface to a post on vaccinations.... get ready...