Sometimes it’s possible to see some numbers and think that there is some sort of pattern or association there. Then we do the math and it turns out that what we saw was observed just by chance. Such is the case with this one observation seen by an anti-vaccine friendly pediatrician.
How can you put three-dimensional data on two dimensions and still tell a story? Let me tell you how.
A new study from Denmark shows that 1% of the children studied were diagnosed as autistic. Does that mean that the prevalence of autism in Denmark is lower than that of the United States (2.7%)? Nope. Not by a long shot.
What is the most basic thing a society needs to thrive? What does my daughter need to be successful? As it turns out, it’s not that difficult to have a well trained and well educated society. You just need good schools.
Literature and the arts have a lot of lessons to teach us about life and how we should (or could) live. I recently listened to the soundtrack to the play about Alexander Hamilton’s life, and the lessons were very interesting. Talk less, smile more? Maybe. But you also need to speak up against injustice. You need to stand for something, or you’ll fall for almost anything.
There is some misinformation floating around claiming that measles can cure cancer. As with most misinformation, this is an oversimplification of a recent clinical study.
I had the pleasure of being interviewed for a radio talk show about measles and the resurgence of it and other vaccine-preventable diseases. You can read the show notes and listen to the interview here: https://features.witf.org/stpodcast/vaccinations-and-the-measles-resurgence/
Measles has been plaguing humanity since around the 12th Century AD. It used to be that the lack of medical care and a vaccine were what caused the epidemics of measles. Today, the causes are mostly due to the human condition: to believing myths, spreading misinformation, inequalities in the delivery of healthcare and public health services, and the willingness of some people to make a buck off the fears of those who are not equipped to know better.
When I was studying medical technology, my professors and mentors emphasized the need to learn to do by hand all of the procedures that automated instruments did. Those instruments, which are veritable robots, can do a complete cell count in a few minutes. Doing a complete cell count by hand takes at least an hour if you’re good and organized……
We need a Black History Month because people of color have been relegated to historical footnotes when they can be role models and heroes for children of all skin tones and ethnicities. I know it because it was hard for me to find my own role models, finding only caricatures of Mexican Americans in history and pop culture.
