Everything-as-it-should-be-Blackstone?

Not everything that can be done should be done.

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Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler.

Can complexity theory throw some different light on the aetiology of complex diseases, 1 currently explored mostly by the probe of molecular genetics? 2 Epidemiology, particularly as developing in the last half a century, has been dealing with disease aetiology—‘a priori’ not known whether simple or complex—with quite simple tools from an epistemological viewpoint. Observational epidemiology st...

How high should it be?

Gleason score 6 adenocarcinoma: should it be labeled as cancer?

Overtreatment of low-grade prostate cancer (Gleason score 6) is a recognized problem today, with systematic prostate gland sampling triggered by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurements. The extent to which overtreatment is caused by fear of death resulting from cancer, fear of litigation from undertreatment, and misaligned incentives that reimburse more for treating rather than monitoring ...

Common Sense in Environmental Impact Assessment It is not as Common as it Should Be

Reviews of environmental impact assessment (EIA) practice, particularly by industrial proponents, have highlighted common shortfalls. EIA would benefit from more ‘common sense’, which is not very common. For example, issue scoping usually includes too many inconsequential factors, and issues not directly affecting project decisions. Consideration of significance is often vague, misleading or in...