Know-it-alls

[Jazzy]

What makes the people on the internet think that they know better than experts who have dedicated years to a subject with either hearsay or 'research' from search engines?

 

[Lamb]

What makes the people on the internet think that they know better than experts who have dedicated years to a subject with either hearsay or 'research' from search engines?

Because some of those "experts" are bought by bigger companies sometimes. Those experts can push drugs when natural supplements might actually be better for the body. In my case, it was taking magnesium and my primary care doctor was so impressed that she is now telling her patients about it instead of pushing drugs. yay!

 

[tango]

Sometimes people truly think that 5 minutes on Google beats decades of experience. And sometimes research on Google does lead to a deeper knowledge than someone regarded as an expert might have.

A friend of mine is a retired doctor. Some time ago I was talking with him about something medicine-related that I'd been researching in some depth. When I commented that he probably knew more about it than I did he said that probably wasn't the case - he was a general medical doctor with a hugely broad understanding but the amount of research I'd done on that particular topic meant I probably knew more about it than he did. Had he encountered a patient with that specific need he would most likely have referred them to a specialist.

Of course a significant difference is that although I gained an understanding of that specific issue, I had no experience at all with a huge range of other issues, any and all of which my friend would have at least some ability to identify and treat.

 

[Lamb]

Sometimes people truly think that 5 minutes on Google beats decades of experience. And sometimes research on Google does lead to a deeper knowledge than someone regarded as an expert might have.

A friend of mine is a retired doctor. Some time ago I was talking with him about something medicine-related that I'd been researching in some depth. When I commented that he probably knew more about it than I did he said that probably wasn't the case - he was a general medical doctor with a hugely broad understanding but the amount of research I'd done on that particular topic meant I probably knew more about it than he did. Had he encountered a patient with that specific need he would most likely have referred them to a specialist.

Of course a significant difference is that although I gained an understanding of that specific issue, I had no experience at all with a huge range of other issues, any and all of which my friend would have at least some ability to identify and treat.

Sometimes working together with the doctor and what you've investigated is the key to better treatment as you suggest at the end of your post. Doctors can't know it all and they might not even get a full understanding of your symptoms, but you do and when you've Googled things and looked at experiences from other people online, you can help direct your doctor to the best path for treatment.

 

[tango]

Sometimes working together with the doctor and what you've investigated is the key to better treatment as you suggest at the end of your post. Doctors can't know it all and they might not even get a full understanding of your symptoms, but you do and when you've Googled things and looked at experiences from other people online, you can help direct your doctor to the best path for treatment.

Sure, a lot of the times experts have a very broad knowledge that includes a good sense of where to go to fill in the gaps. Of course that assumes enough humility to know that there are gaps.

When people assume that "the expert" must know everything about the subject because they are, after all, "the expert" is when we end up with the idea that certain people are infallible. That's generally not a good place to be.

 

[Stravinsk]

Ha!

This reminds me of a minor medical issue I had many years ago. My ear was blocked with wax...to the point where I couldn't hear out of it. Went to a doctor, and he flushed it. Afterwords, every day, it hurt, like something inside was injured. Went to another doc, and a swab was taken to be analyzed by a lab. Came back as this particularly nasty bacteria. But medicine was available.

Not knowing better, I got the medicine (a topical ear dropper) and used it. Relief. Problem was, it didn't solve the problem. I had to continue to use the medicine. So I started doing research, a lot of it. Not only on the bacteria but surrounding factors, particularly diet. On my next visit to the doc I asked him about solving the problem, not just treating it. His response was basically:

"Sorry, but these things come up as one gets older. I'm afraid we're just going to have to deal with it" (meaning I must continue to buy the medicine to have relief).

As I was in my late 20's, early 30's I found this unbelievable. So, at this point I presented some of the research I had done. The doctor got angry! He really didn't like his authority being questioned!

Long story short, I finally solved the problem by changing things in my life and only used the prescription medicine for a short while (a few weeks).

 

[tango]

I had a temporary doctor when my regular doctor was sick. His response to some blood metrics being marginally outside of whatever is considered normal these days was that I should be on a load of different medications. When I asked him about lifestyle changes he couldn't understand why I didn't want to be on multiple medications. I pretty much ignored everything he said, looked at the metrics, and made a few lifestyle changes (mostly relating to eating less and moving more). Lo and behold, all the numbers soon moved back into "normal" territory.

And of course that's before the observation that what is considered "normal" shifts. So when the level at which someone is considered to have high cholesterol is dropped - shocker - suddenly millions of people now have high cholesterol and "need" to take pills for the rest of their life.