Our understanding of health

I have a background, and publications, in the field of rocket science, having designed control systems for planetary landers and deep space probes. As most folks know, we have had a phenomenal record of getting it mostly right.

With respect to science, research is research, but when I finally starting poking around in the area of medical research, spending decades reading and analyzing thousands of studies, I was horrified. It seems they get it mostly wrong.

In their defense, life sciences are complicated by the fact that we still do not fully understand how the human body works (or how any living thing works) in the detail necessary to get it mostly right. So there is a lot a guesswork, complicated by greed, ignorance, and arrogance. Right now, it’s the best we’ve got.

When I bring up the fallibility of the medical community, it has been known to frighten denialists to the point they will attack me and any other messengers, in an effort to make the message disappear. However, I prefer action to denial.