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From: smb@ulysses.UUCP (Steven Bellovin)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Re: Another dramatic cancer cure for macrobiotics
Message-ID: <645@ulysses.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Oct-83 09:06:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: ulysses.645
Posted: Tue Oct 11 09:06:17 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Oct-83 00:29:06 EDT
References: <1139@mhuxi.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 40

> From: abeles@mhuxi.UUCP (abeles)
> Subject: Re: Re: Another dramatic cancer cure for macrobiotics
> Message-ID: <1139@mhuxi.UUCP>
> Date: Mon, 10-Oct-83 16:34:39 EDT

> ....
> I was shocked--and skeptical.  Taking what Mr. Bellovin might regard as one
> manifestation of "informed consumerism" to heart, I asked her for the name
> of a reputable dermatology textbook so that I could learn more about this.
> She was very cagey and eventually did give me a title.

Exactly the sort of behavior (by you, that is) I was suggesting.

> Fortunately, I exhibited another type of consumer mentality by approaching
> an expert in dermatology at NYU, where after a much less radical biopsy,
> it was determined that (as had been diagnosed two years previously)  the
> feature was harmless.

Anyone who consents to any major procedure without getting a second opinion
is a fool.

> The point of the above: where (other than mass-market-mentality pulp)
> can a consumer of medical services find information on medical topics?

There are a variety of references available in most good bookstores.  Even
some books intended for physicians are comprehensible with a bit of work.
The easiest thing to check on, incidentally, is the scope and side-effects
of assorted drugs.

> As long as physicians prevent access to their privileged information through
> use of words like ETIOLOGY when they actually mean CAUSE and UTICARIA when
> they mean HIVES, there will be more such difficulties.

When talking about computers, do you refer to "memory banks", or do you
say "core" (incorrectly, I suspect), "RAM" (also not quite accurate),
"ROM", "disk", "floppy", "Winchester", etc.?  I'm not defending jargon,
but I would like to point out the difference between jargon and technical
terminology.  Words like "flu" are so over-used by the general public that
they have little value when precision is needed.  If you're handed a word
you're not familiar with, ask!