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Medical misinformation

Lies, damned lies, and medical science
by David H. Freedman, The Atlantic, November 2010

This is a long essay on the work of Dr. John Ioannidis. In Chance News 28, we reported on a paper by Ionnidis that appeared in the August 2005 Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine journal, entitled Why most published research findings are false. The Atlantic article notes that this is the most downloaded in the history of that journal.

Indeed, far from being ostracized by his colleagues, Ioannidis is a much-sought-after speaker, and a frequent co-author on research papers. The article concludes with this quote from Ioannidis, which might serve as the moral of the story:

Science is a noble endeavor, but it’s also a low-yield endeavor. I’m not sure that more than a very small percentage of medical research is ever likely to lead to major improvements in clinical outcomes and quality of life. We should be very comfortable with that fact.

Submitted by Bill Peterson