Some party.
At a party this weekend, I met someone studying public health. She had worked on a study as part of her degree program. The study was to compare people with schizophrenia vs. a control group based on how much time each group took between taking drags on cigarettes. That was it. Findings: people with schizophrenia smoke slightly faster than people without schizophrenia, spending less time between drags.
She didn’t know (or care) why people were interested in knowing this information. There was money to do the study, so it was done.
So could she tell how many people standing outside the party puffing away were schizophrenic?
Also, if you’re going to be in public health, you should study HIV, tuberculosis or malaria. That’s where the fun work is (if you’re into disease).
2 years ago • Notes