I thought Dr. Marty Makary was joking when he breezily mentioned in his new book “Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong and What it Means for out Health” that treating early appendicitis with antibiotics could reduce the carbon footprint of patients. But then later in the book he stated, “I believe in climate change” and then he took credit for leading the charge on hospitals reducing their emissions. Talk about having a blind spot.
“Blind Spots” has: (1) some strong chapters — i.e., peanut allergy hysteria, AIDS, the cholesterol myth, hormone replacement therapy, silicone breast implants; (2) a once-in-a-while-foray into some junk science judo epidemiology tips (e.g., too wide confidence intervals and arbitrary statistical groupings); and a (3) general expose of, and contempt for the corruption of medical journals and medical establishment. But I know from other parts of his book, e.g., his nutty comments on climate, glyphosate, fluoride in drinking water and others, and his positions on Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) that he’s only willing to apply scientific thinking selectively. Blind Spots is a worthwhile read. But watch out for Makary’s. By the way, my “Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense Against Health Scares and Scams” (2001) is much more useful for combatting the scourge of medical junk science.
My pull-quotes from the book. You may appreciate them.
