In a brilliant article called Lies, Damned Lies and Medical Science (pdf) a bright light was shone upon the reality of medical practice across the board, .... by what I thought was an almost extinct species - honest scientists.Thank goodness that some actually exist. It gives me hope for the future! The fact that medicine is often damned lies, is something we've been talking about for decades. But the question is, Why do people believe that medical practice is automatically the truth with halos?
It has something to do, ironically, with something called "Democracy". We assume that democracy equates with transparency, which equates with honesty. We think that because in a democracy, where we can supposedly have access to information, that that information will be the truth. Funnily enough, I was discussing this with a friend of mine who was born in Russia, who thinks that we "naievites" in the Western world, have a lot to learn. In Russia, they can smell a rat a mile off, because corruption is expected, and people know it's every nuance, and in which sewers it lives.
Conversely, in the western world, she says, ... we're easily duped because we "assume" ASS U and ME... that democracy stands for doing what is right, and being open and honest about it.
My friend has encountered far more corruption in the Western World than she ever encountered in Russia. I was astounded. I asked her, "How can that be?" She answered, "Well, everything is stuck right out there in the open, albeit buried in a few thousand pages of nothingness...., because democratic "Powers that be" know that most people won't look for it, because they always "Trust us". In Russia, you expect corruption, but you'll not usually find the proof right out there in the open". My friend says that the level of naievity in the Western world is utterly astounding, and I agree with her. But if you say that to anyone with a moulded conformed mindset, they believe their intelligence is being insulted.
The problem is that most of the public lives in a mirage-land bubble, and thinks that anyone who believes that medical science is based on damned lies, must subscribe to "loony conspiracy theories". (Which is a view conveniently cultivated, perpetuated and reinforced by the medical system to great effect.)
To my knowledge, this is the first time that those who are honest, in the system, have clearly spelled this out in such detail. That .... there are lies, damned lies, and medical science.
Hopefully, they won't join the ranks of the Dodo birds....
