Posts by linger
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Way back in 2008, Ben Goldacre wrote quite a balanced article about the results of tests of antidepressants (not just SSRIs) against placebo, and the media misreporting of same as “proof” that SSRIs don’t work. As Goldacre points out, antidepressants do work, better than placebo – but their level of proven effectiveness only outweighs the risk of side effects, in a majority of patients, for cases of severe depression. [ETA: See also Bart’s point just posted – some minority of patients with mild depression may also be helped by antidepressants.]
Goldacre has also written extensively (e.g. here and here) about the nature of the placebo effect, which he ascribes not just to the effect of patient beliefs about a treatment itself, but also to the cumulative effect of all aspects of the presentation of the treatment to the patient. His description suggests to me that it may not strictly be possible to compare drugs vs. therapy directly, as the two types of treatment would need to be compared with very different types of placebo: the familiar “sugar pill” on the one hand, vs. say, a series of conversations with friendly “medical personnel”, avoiding the topic of the patient’s depression, on the other hand.
But also, such a comparison would ignore the point that many patients may need both types of treatment.
-
Hard News: Community standards, in reply to BenWilson,
what conservative doesn’t hate other people having porn?
To be fair, they're not all total hypocrites:
some of them hate themselves for having porn, too. -
I have for many years resisted having any physical (photographic) presence on teh Interwebz. I regard the self-image as an unwelcome distraction from the intended message.
Unavoidably, photos do leak out from conferences; but even there, I’m usually hidden under a hat, and/or facing away from the camera. In one photo taken while I was actually giving a presentation, I’m behind a floral arrangement. These are all better options than the reflexive cringing rictus when I’m caught by a lens out in the open. Only once has a publication asked for a selfie. Luckily, to the best of my knowledge, it was never used.
I toyed with the idea of a gravatar for use here, and got as far as making up a low-resolution self-portrait, which after sitting around for 4 years finally got used about 2 months ago when I joined Facebook … a move I regret already. -
Hard News: A different kind of country, in reply to Sacha,
as secret as a flasher’s knob
agreed, at least WRT asset sales, but YTF is so much of NZ still focussing on the shiny shiny coat fabric instead of noticing how much they’ve been shafted in the meantime?
-
Hard News: Who else forgot to get married?, in reply to Gareth Swain,
The current situation in Japan is a little more flexible than that. Bride and groom do have to be put on the same family register -- which means that for at least some (local government) purposes they are filed under a common family name -- but women can and often do retain their unmarried name for professional purposes. Two of my (30-something) colleagues have got married within the last 3 years. One changed her name; the other (with a little more history of research and publication behind her) didn't.
-
Hard News: Who else forgot to get married?, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Bob McCoskrie’s dashboard [...] in a clown car
Which also implies that the red light he sees is in fact attached to his nose with elastic.
-
Southerly: Getting There is Half the Fun, in reply to Konrad Kurta,
That was the point: they'd be personally motivated to ensure the computers would work correctly.
-
Field Theory: Good News Everyone!, in reply to Ethan Tucker,
True that. I'm picking overwhelming hubris to be the winner on the day, with a strong showing from casual racism.
-
Southerly: Now I Am Permitted, in reply to David Haywood,
It would have been contemporary, too. I think. The resolution (and/or my failing eyesight) is too bad for me to read the exact date on the cartoon, but it is certainly before 2009. 2001? 2004? 2007? I can’t tell. Curse the brown spots in my only working fovea...
-
Southerly: Now I Am Permitted, in reply to Tim Michie,
across the issue
Or in extreme form, all over an issue.
Both, in practice, are quite compatible with coverage that still lacks any relevant context, and which may even smother any genuine signs of progress or dialogue.