Discussion Board

While I agree with you on the importance of filters, which is part of my point of the above, I would say time is not on our side.

In regard to filters though, if I have no time to keep up with the info, how am I going to have time to develop (of find) a proper filter? And, if I can't, then how do I pick which filter is correct? How do I learn that skill? And, who sets up these filters? Also, as the information continues to increase exponentially, so will the amount of "experts" and potential filters, again, only make the overall issue and process of sorting it all out (information and filters) more difficult.

Time is limited and finite in response to each of our lives. It is the one factor that from the moment we are born, we will have less of as each day, hour, second and minute pass.

However, at the same time, the flow of information continues to increase and after a decade or two of the "age of information" we are worse off then before.

Everyone I know in my profession agrees. Each year, each week and each day, there is exponentially more information then the year, week and day before and they can't keep up with it no matter what they do.

And, many of these are people who already dedicate time to the flow and have the skills to potentially do it well. Yet, they are overwhelmed by both the rate and the amount of the flow.

It would only be that much more difficult for someone who does not have the time, or the skill.

And, that is exactly what I see. In the past, the majority of my patients came to me and realized they were lacking in information, let alone accurate information, and needed help. Today, the majority of my patients come to me thinking they not only have the information, but they have very accurate information, in spite of the fact that it is not working for them.

You see this phenomenon all over the internet and social media sites. It has even progressed to the point where people who have no qualification or education in an area at all are arguing with highly qualified, highly educated experts that they know the experts topic better than the expert.

In Health
Jeff

removed by poster for being off-topic

If you follow the thread, I am speaking specifically of health information.

And, I am speaking of the lay person, who is trying to understand it all



Yes

In Health
Jeff

i have found this thread to be very useful....terrific comments and links...

but jeff i must respond to your comment about the uneducated and unqualified person arguing with the expert as if they know more about the topic than the expert.

at times that person may have an idea that the expert hasnt thought about...this is just an observation i have made working with kids...

jeff you are remarkably good with presenting the evidence...not many people are able to do that...but sometimes a little kid comes along like the story of the kings new suit of clothes...

harry

Thanks and thanks to all who contributed.



I agree. And I have no problem with it. I was in those shoes myself. However, my concern is not the discussion or the direction of the flow of the discussion. My concern is they tone and attitude of the discussion. From early on, I always felt it an honor and privilege to be able to engage in communication with experts and/or leaders in a field. I was always humbled and honored. I still am.

But today, it seems like much of the attitude has changed and what I see is much much more obnoxious, arrogant, aggressive and divisive communications with no honor, respect or grace and I think much of it is fueled by the advent of the internet and especially social media.

So, while the kid with the story of the kings new clothes is true and does happen, we have to remember that it is not a common occurrence. However, today's technology has given every person with an internet connection, a blog and/or a FB page, the ability to think so and that they have discovered it.

So, my main issue is not the communication or direction of it, but the tone and attitude of it.

In Health
Jeff

i agree entirely with your comments....the internet is virtual so people can get away with it....you have been very important to me and my health..
and i am stubborn and skeptical and old..
harry

Oh boy do I agree with this. It seems like with the internet, people read tidbits and headlines and then apparently are "experts" on a subject and fail to ask questions. I've done it myself. Our media doesn't help when anything and everything is reported without much fact finding or insight.

Jeff,

What is your opinion regarding the value of books, like Dr. T. Colin Campbell's "The China Study?"

Reason why I ask is that there are many people like me who can be persuaded by the arguments made in a book like Campbell's but have a difficult time wading through all of the scientific studies presented in JAMA or the New England Journal of Medicine.

Do you think such books are effective at being ways of introducing people to scientific data surrounding nutrition?

Obviously, some books are misleading. So, there are limits to their value, right?

I think mass market books are excellent for personal edification and sharing.



Sure, I think they can be an excellent introduction



Yes, very much so.

In Health
Jeff

More support for my comments...

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/10/162594751 ... nd-science

"According to IBM, 90 percent of the data in the world was created within the last two years," Silver tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies. "So one problem is what we call the signal-to-noise ratio — the amount of meaningful information relative to the overall amount information is declining. We're not that much smarter than we used to be, even though we have much more information — and that means the real skill now is learning how to pick out the useful information from all this noise."

In Health
Jeff

A great article on "How to critically appraise an article."

http://www.nature.com/nrgastro/journal/ ... p1331.html

And a more technical one on How to Read a Clinical Trial Paper

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3380258/

In Health
Jeff