“Data is the new gold” is the mantra of our age. The data scientist has been termed the “sexiest job of the 21st century.” Every industry is driven by the impetus to acquire, curate, and analyze all aspects of their business. We measure and quantify everything with the promise of utilizing this data to drive… Continue reading Quality Detector
Tag: Healthcare Informatics
The Map is not the Territory
It is hard to even fathom let alone comprehend the size, scale, and complexity of the universe. It takes light 91 billion years to traverse the diameter of the observable universe. That is approximately six times longer than the age of the universe itself. Similarly, the amount of information in the world vastly overwhelms the… Continue reading The Map is not the Territory
Truth Springs from Arguments
Nature is saturated with feedback mechanisms ranging in scale from the molecular to the macroscopic. Feedback is defined as the process of mutual causal interaction: where A affects B and B affects A. This interaction creates a circuit of effects, so any change in A, causes a change in B, which in turn causes a… Continue reading Truth Springs from Arguments
Medicine, the science of uncertainty
In a recent article, it was estimated that at least $200 billion is wasted annually on excessive testing and treatment. The impact of the overly aggressive, extraneous care is not only financial in nature but also generates mistakes and injuries believed to cause 30,000 deaths each year. In 1979 the founders of the field of behavioral… Continue reading Medicine, the science of uncertainty
It from Bit
The universe is composed of energy, matter, and information. However, it is not energy nor matter that makes the Earth unique, but information. No known place in the known universe holds more information than Earth. It is said, our planet is to information what a black hole is to matter and what a star is… Continue reading It from Bit
Brain Drain
Data, information, and the patient-physician encounter are at the heart of medicine and health. William Osler (the father of modern medicine) recognized early the role of patient-focused data-driven decision making when he stated that, “the practice of medicine is an art, based on science.” Translated into modern medicine, the physician gathers information from “indirect” sources… Continue reading Brain Drain
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