Nowadays, far more than ever before, people can do useful science (collect data, draw conclusions) about their own health. This personal science can produce much better results than expert advice. For example, I found ways to sleep better and raise my mood superior to what sleep and mood experts know. I wonder how others are using this new power. This is why I wrote a story for Boing Boing about a woman (Sarah) who figured out what caused her migraines after conventional doctors failed to help her. She was eventually helped by an expert (a naturopath) but most of the improvement came from self-experimentation showing that cleaning and skin care products caused migraines.
The story got many comments. A surprising number were eerily dismissive. You might think it was a good thing that Sarah got rid of frequent crippling migraines after doctors failed to. Nope: “Anecdotes are not data” (56 likes). The same person also said “data is data”. Both are examples of preventive stupidity. “Big Brother loves you,” replied Mark Frauenfelder, and I agree. Another surprising comment was “Don’t encourage these people” (= people like Sarah). One of the dismissista s came to his senses. “I’d simply like to close with an apology, as on reflection little I’ve posted here has been useful or expansive,” he wrote.
Some comments nicely summed up the main points of the story. “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” was a good description of Sarah’s conventional doctors. They acted as if their only tool was the ability to write prescriptions — so every problem called for a prescription. When the first 10 drugs didn’t work, they tried more drugs. When the first 30 drugs didn’t work, they tried more drugs. Surely this is bad medicine, yet, as far as I can tell, that’s what they learn to do.
Some comments asked questions it would have helped if I had anticipated. How could Sarah have tried 50 different migraine drugs and 13 different birth control pills in one year? I wasn’t puzzled by this but details would have clarified things.
Above all, the comments supported my belief that Sarah’s problem was common. Many commenters said they had migraines caused by environmental triggers. Only one said his migraines turned out to be caused by a tumor. In spite of this pattern of causality, the comments also suggested that conventional doctors generally prescribe drugs for migraines. (“They had the prescription typed into the system before I was even finished telling them what was going on.”) It’s like trying to enter a room by breaking through a wall (prescribing a drug) instead of using the door (finding the triggers). It’s as if all they have is a sledgehammer.