Archive - Limits of Inference

Overdiagnosis: why scientists and statisticians think we should test fewer people

A targeted testing strategy is the gold standard when screening for disease. This is the best practice for a reason.

Jan 4, 2021

Overdiagnosis: false-negatives and sensitivity of RT-PCR [1]

why false negatives aren't as much of a problem in practice

Jan 4, 2021

Overdiagnosis: technical versus clinical false positive [2]

Whether or not a false positive is an error can depend on who you ask

Jan 4, 2021

Overdiagnosis: how early detection changes the definition of disease itself [3]

what does it mean when disease incidence is uncorrelated with mortality. can you have cancer even if you will never be sick?

Jan 4, 2021

December 2020

The best and worst of public health

being healthy means saying yes to life

Dec 11, 2020

November 2020

Understanding Risk From Viral Disease

Infection is a risk factor, not a disease itself

Nov 13, 2020

October 2020

September 2020

May 2020

Debunking the myth of purely ‘data-driven’ decisions

data is a great tool, some expect too much of it

May 27, 2020

April 2020

What is inductive reasoning?

Why do we put so much faith in a fallible process?

Apr 9, 2020

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