A Heretic's Blog
“Quantity has a quality all its own” is a quote often attributed to Joseph Stalin. Recent results in AI show how this works for thinking. Here is a short video from OpenAI. OpenAI is a commercial company and not, as the name suggests, an open source collaboration. Nevertheless, the video shows how current AI systems … Read more
The doctor-patient relationship is based on specific decisions. Alice is sick. So what’s on her mind when she visits the hospital? Firstly, she wants a diagnosis. What is wrong with her? Then she wants to know the best treatment to reduce her symptoms and return her to health. Perhaps she hopes for a cure or … Read more
This post was going to be a more detailed explanation, but it rapidly became too complicated. So let’s make it short and simple. Probability is about what we know and what we don’t. It is a measure of information and uncertainty. There’s too much philosophy floating about. We will start with Newton’s Flaming Laser Sword. … Read more
Dr Archie Cochrane was a medical officer and prisoner in a german WW2 transit camp. The food was scarce and limited, leading to an outbreak of swollen ankles (oedema). Only a week later, Cochrane was dealing with oedema above the knees. Things were getting worse. The Trial Archie Cochrane remembered the wet beriberi caused by … Read more
Before we begin, this is about a great historical experiment. It says nothing about the efficacy and utility of vaccines. Don’t confuse science with technology: vaccination is a technology. We can accept Pasteur’s experiment on anthrax in sheep while understanding that it doesn’t apply elsewhere. Specifically, it doesn’t validate or invalidate any other vaccine, in … Read more
The Purpose Of a System Is What It Does. Let’s take a trivial example. What is this for: A radiator has one dominating characteristic; it gets hot. Its purpose is to heat the room. Now, something a little more demanding. What’s the purpose of this cheetah’s behaviour: It’s hunting. The purpose of its current behaviour … Read more
Linus Pauling and others claimed that vitamin C is a highly effective cancer treatment when used correctly. They supported these claims with initial clinical trials that indicated an unprecedented increase in life expectancy. In addition, the initial results suggested a remedy far more potent than existing medicine could provide. Pauling was not the originator of … Read more