Re: what electronic device could you build 3000 years ago?

From: N. Thornton (bigcat_at_meeow.co.uk)
Date: 06/11/04 

Date: 11 Jun 2004 08:02:56 -0700

"Terry Given" <the_domes@xtra.co.nz> wrote in message news:<J7ayc.878$s52.35855@news.xtra.co.nz>...
> "N. Thornton" <bigcat@meeow.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:a7076635.0406101507.7697af66@posting.google.com...
> >
> > I think this is what makes so much difference between peoples capacity
> > for learning. Many it seems cant handle realising they got something
> > wrong, and thus only occasionally learn anything that requires
> > re-evaluating what they believe. Some OTOH are fully comfortable with
> > being wrong, and expect it, and can thus learn a whole skill in one
> > go. The more I get told no thats not right, as long as I learn to be
> > ok with that, the faster and more I learn. In other words its not so
> > hard for many to increase learning speed
> >
> > Regards, NT
>
> bingo.
>
> there seem to be 2 basic reactions to discovering a screw-up - hide it/blame
> others, or expose it for all to see, fix it and have a hack at the root
> cause. no prizes for guessing which is common. Aviation is a good example of
> the latter approach, medicine the former. IIRC doctors kill 10x more people
> than car crashes (500,000 per year in US), due to errors alone - in NZ the
> medical ***-up rate is 5% in hospital. lots of it is poor handwriting.
>
> When I lived in Boston I went to pick up a prescription from a CVS, and they
> wanted me to sign a form declaring they had explained all relevant info to
> me (a relatively recent legal requirement). I refused, pointing out they had
> explained nothing at all. They got pissy, and said "sign it or no meds" so I
> got pissy and demanded to speak to the manager, who ultimately got the point
> that *they* were technically negligent, and eventually gave me the info they
> were required BY LAW to provide.
>
> Cheers
> Terry

Interesting stats. From what I've seen of med practice here it seems
to be riddled with patchy competence. Even the experts I've found
surprisingly ill informed and positively careless with their
conclusions. And as you say, admission of oversight is not something
popular.

Its really sad to watch people miss opportunities to recover and end
up dead because they are unable to question poor decisions on matters
which are simplicity itself to treat. I'm particularly thinking here
of bacterial infections that can and sometimes do develop into
septicaemia, which again is quite poorly treated here. People die
because people have some form of mental block about doctors, and are
simply not able and willing to question and get informed.

Regards, NT