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From: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Tea(actually references)
Message-ID: <898@psivax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Dec-85 13:37:26 EST
Article-I.D.: psivax.898
Posted: Fri Dec 13 13:37:26 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 16-Dec-85 04:29:23 EST
References: <3441@brl-tgr.ARPA> <715@lasspvax.UUCP> <144@bbncc5.UUCP> <2359@amdahl.UUCP>
Reply-To: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Distribution: net
Organization: Pacesetter Systems Inc., Sylmar, CA
Lines: 46

In article <2359@amdahl.UUCP> ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems) writes:
>> 
>> Sigh, references, please.  Whatever the risk, it must be very small,
>> for I have never seen any such a claim in the admittedly conventional
>> literature that I habitually read.  I am open to being convinced otherwise.
>> Convince me, please.
>
>Sigh, another condecending request for references.  The purpose seems
>to always be the same.  To equate a lack of references with a lack
>of truth.

	I would not say it was condecending. Nor do I equate lack of
references with lack of truth - only with lack of *verifiability*.
Without proper documentation I cannot properly evaluate any claims
made. So I cannot make *any* judgement about the truth or falsity of
the statements. In the absence of evaluable evidence I simply take the
easiest course and retain my current opinions. So yes, convince me
please! Give me usable evidence and I will at least consider it to see
what its significance is.

> While references are fine for academic works, and
>would even be nice for the net, they are not the be-all and end-all
>of information.  I, too, remember reading *somewhere* of *some*
>study which showed a correlation of tannins with esophageal cancer.
>Milk was found to inhibit it.  My references?  My own memory of
>an article in *some* magazine.

	In that case say so, do not present it as a *fact*, but rather
as an idea you once heard.

> If you want references, go look
>them up in the library.  The net is not a library nor is it
>an acdemic convention where finished papers are being presented.
>It is more like a cocktail party.

	Well, I think the *discussion* groups might be called a
cocktail party, but this is *supposed* to be a technical information
group, if I am going to be using the info I get I need to have *some*
idea of its reliability.
>
-- 

				Sarima (Stanley Friesen)

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