[extropy-chat] Effectiveness of Medicine

[Jeff Medina]

On 9/25/05, Harvey Newstrom <mail at harveynewstrom.com> wrote:
> One problem with statistical analysis is that it doesn't indicate cause
> and effect.  It may be true that increased medical spending correlates
> with decreased health.  But this does not mean that increased medical
> spending causes decreased health.  It makes more sense to me that
> decreased health causes increased medical spending.

The paper doesn't claim increased medical spending *decreases* health,
nor even that it correlates with decreased health. It points out that
there is no correlation between increased spending and increased
health. Very different, and not open to the 'perspective change'
criticism you offer above.

--
Jeff Medina
http://www.painfullyclear.com/

Community Director
Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
http://www.singinst.org/

Relationships & Community Fellow
Institute for Ethics & Emerging Technologies
http://www.ieet.org/

School of Philosophy, Birkbeck, University of London
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/phil/