Doctors in Canada have identified dozens of patients with similar, unexplained symptoms — a scientific puzzle that has now become a political maelstrom.

Investigation into Canada’s New Brunswick brain syndrome is being blocked by the province, whose claims that the syndrome is various existing diseases have been debunked by federal experts, who suggest that the provincial government controlled by its forestry industry is blocking the investigation to retain tourism and industry.

  • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
    151·
    3 months ago

    I completely agree with everything you’re saying, but I want to point out one thing that I absolutely hate about your citation:

    in one case as high as 15,000 times the test’s lowest detectable concentration

    This gives 0 context at all. I know scientific literacy is terrible in America, but this means nothing.

    What is the lowest detectable concentration? Is it 1 PPT? 15000 PPT is what, 15 PPM? Is that bad? I don’t know.

    This type of wording is used intentionally to make things sound worse than they are, and it works.

    I’m not saying they aren’t, I’m saying I don’t know if they are or not. This quote did nothing to inform me of how bad it is, just a fact that is entirely meaningless on its own, without context or education. If anything, it enraged me without knowing the facts, and that’s (potentially) very dangerous writing.