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Philip Derrow's avatar

Your invoking of Sowell’s great insight from “A Conflict of Visions” to the practice of medicine is perfect. My oldest brother was an internist (geriatrician) and one of the early adopters of EBM. Geriatricians see the inevitability of death more clearly than most and the good ones know the constraints of both medicine and the human condition.

I followed my brother’s advice to always look at the evidence and have rejected multiple medical and surgical recommendations as a result, particularly related to PSA testing and spine and shoulder surgeries.

From my access to insurance claims data during my business career, I knew the actual practice of EBM wasn’t particularly common. But it was during Covid that the stark differences between those who know the constrained vision is the only one with good evidence and those who don’t became so clear. Even more frighteningly clear is the reality that we are treated and governed by docs and pols who almost universally follow the evidence-free unconstrained view. We are mostly the worse for it. Your work and willingness to shine a light on the problem is much appreciated.

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Ernest N. Curtis's avatar

I hope the reference to Thomas Sowell inspires others to read his works. Reading his magnum opus, "Knowledge and Decisions", as a young man had a profound effect on how I viewed practically everything. One of the great thinkers and expositors of the past several generations.

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