You already know that I am not a fan of this genetic testing craze.
Sure, folks are desperate to know where they came from. (And, it’s clear they don’t trust their grandparents to share!) Or, they are worried they may have some disease. (Like knowing what you have without a treatment is going to make you feel much better.) Some firms even promise to screen your embryo for diseases.
Continue reading Genetics. Microbiome. Guess which trumps?
Well, this may put the kibosh on my favorite dinner. One I have enjoyed since I was a tyke.
For years, there have been rumors that eating processed foods is related to obesity. The problem is that there were correlations- but no proof of causation.
Continue reading Say it ain’t so, Joe!
Back when I was involved with some 10 different research projects every week, I realized that one of the weakest points in my training was statistics. I needed those skills to discern if what we were doing was actually an improvement or not. As a techie, I was taught to believe (yes, that’s the verb) that statistical analysis would remove any bias I would bring to the analysis.
Continue reading Trust this as far as you can p?
Don’t get me wrong. I love parks. When my kids were young, we walked (or, occasionally drove) to them to enjoy the gorgeous views, the trees, the grass (and, sometimes the play equipment). I still ride my bike along the Potomac River, the C&O Canal, the O&D Trail enjoying the view as I hustle along.
Continue reading If a tree grows in Brooklyn?
Continue reading Pass the apple and the broccoli… I want to feel better.
We can (no, should!) enhance creativity in our kids and employees. Because our genetic composition only provides about 1/3 of our creative capabilities (eugenics). The rest of our creative juices are developed as a result of the environment in which we grow and live (euthenics).
Continue reading Creativity Enhancement
Big data. It’s all the rage. Somewhere, someone decided that, given our awesome computing capabilities, we can use this to predict behavior. Or, to understand the world because our computer systems will let us crunch the numbers.
Continue reading Big Data misses the difference between correlation and causation
