Study finds that a lot of studies come to the wrong conclusions, new study expected tomorrow to disprove such claims.

(Study: What's good often turns out bad
By Lindsey Tanner (Seattle Post))

The refuted studies dealt with a wide range of drugs and treatments. Hormone pills were once thought to protect menopausal women from heart disease but later were shown to do the opposite, and Vitamin E pills have not been shown to prevent heart attacks, contrary to initial results.

Contradictions also included a study that found nitric oxide does not improve survival in patients with respiratory failure, despite earlier claims. And a study suggested an antibody treatment did not improve survival in certain sepsis patients; a smaller previous study found the opposite.

Ioannidis acknowledged an important but not very reassuring caveat: "There's no proof that the subsequent studies ... were necessarily correct."

I would note that it is not really that bad of a track record, being wrong 30% of the time is still being right 70% of the time.

But there are those who seem to have certain types of psychological dynamics who get a little lost in the science of it all. They tend to be all about saftey and health, healthy health. They keep stretching their supposed concern and their supposed knowledge about it all. Then here comes the State at their behest because you are not concerned about your own health enough. In fact, it turns out that the most helpful helpers are even more concerned for your safety than you are! So that's why they must help you. They're so helpful, these little helpers, all concerned for your health. Saftey first!

The current near-hysterical preoccupation with saftey is at best a waste of resources and a crimp on the human spirit, and at worst an invitation to totalitarianism

(State of Fear, by Michael Crichton :571)

I recently happened across the blog of one watchful fellow who is keeping a close watch on what is safe and what is not. Let me see what his blog says today. Well, color me surprised it seems he is concerned with saftey again. Actually, color me orange, as the watchful fellow who keeps watch over such things reports that we have been in a Code Orange Ozone advisory these past days.

So consider yourself advised of that.

But one can't forget the Homeland Security Advisory System which is usually at code blue. So we have a mixture of blue and orange codes....mixing blue and orange makes code brown. Code Brown? Yes, this combination makes for the little known Code Brown. It is on my bullcrap advisory system. And it's a real Code Brown on some days.

Well, I scanned/read the page of the watchful watcher. It's not really too bad today, some good points. Yet seeing the mind behind the text I am reminded of this quote: "The safest sin: envy, which is easily disguised as enthusiasm for equality."
(The Untamed Tongue: A Dissenting Dictionary
by Thomas Szasz :37)

There are some psychological dynamics that turn some fellows just Green with envy. Say, maybe Ralph Nader could color code that and put it in one of their advisory systems. I would like to be kept advised to keep me safe from more Code Browns.