- Plink
v.i. 1. To shoot at targets selected at whim. 2. To deflate media hyperbole, sometimes with more hyperbole. Pages
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Monthly Archives: November 2009
Endocrine disrupters are chemicals that mimic the hormones in our bodies (often estrogen), and just like the natural versions, they cause our cells to stop, start, or change their functions. Exposure to these chemicals is known to cause birth defects, cancer, and a host of other health problems in animals, and is suspected of doing [...]
Posted in Breast Cancer, Environment and Health 5 Comments
The next time a health news report is causing you excessive worry (or manic optimism), when they’ve dodged your goo tool, and perhaps even your size matters tool — when some editor is rubbing his hands in glee convinced that they’ve got you this time because the study involved people, and lots of them [...]
Posted in Toolkit Leave a comment
From time to time, when I’m swamped at work and flunking out of social life 101, I have a tendency to say “awww, phooey” to the Big Issues, like health care reform and environmental stewardship. I figure someone else can worry about ‘em for a while. When that happens, all it takes to reignite a [...]
Posted in Environment and Health Leave a comment
A year and a half ago, I found myself strapped to a backboard in the back of an ambulance, unable to answer a simple question. My car had been totaled by a driver who was too important for red lights, giving me what a yogi would describe as a perfect opportunity to practice “just [...]
Posted in Health Care Reform Leave a comment
Remember Henery Hawk, that little chicken hawk who was always pestering Foghorn Leghorn? That’s the image that should come to mind the next time you read of a little 12-person (or 20-rat, or 40-mouse) study claiming to have found a cure for cancer, wrinkles, or even boredom. It’s not that small studies are worthless [...]
Posted in Toolkit, Uncategorized 2 Comments
While I was working on the previous post (introducing the you-are-not-goo tool), I ran across a textbook case study for Tool #1, and a reminder of how useful this one simple rule can be. ABC News (the Australian Broadcasting Company) online ran an article reporting on an experiment involving nano-sized metals (like the type commonly [...]
Posted in Plink, Toolkit Leave a comment
At the risk of getting fire-bombed by PETA, let me describe Tool #1 this way: test tube goo and lab rats are not people. This seems pretty self-evident, doesn’t it? Yet you’ll be amazed (and infuriated) at how many breathless media reports of fabulous new discoveries don’t bother to explain whether the miracle [...]
Posted in Toolkit 2 Comments
What’s missing from the mammo debate