I suspect all of us can describe situations when experts were wrong, really wrong – and it was up to us to inform them and correct them to get things straightened out.
To wit, a few examples:
- Despite a skull fracture and multiple knock out blows involving other broken bones, not one health care professional ever mentioned TBI to me. I inadvertently stumbled onto a book on TBI at age 58, and there, on every page, was a description of my life. I was subsequently diagnosed with prior moderate traumatic brain injury and multiple mild traumatic brain injuries, and finally, treated. If I had been treated decades earlier, my life – my career would have turned out much better.
- When I had random parts of my body swelling, I was told I had “idiopathic angioedema”, which is Latin for “I’m a doctor and I don’t know” (I came up with that on my own, but later, an MD, DDS said that too me too 🙂 ). After ending up in an ER with my throat swelling shut, I went to PubMed and began reading. I learned that an estimated 85% of those with “idiopathic angioedema” had a food allergy. It took me 3 months of note taking (because I have a “late phase” delayed reaction) – to discover I was allergic to almonds. Eliminating almonds didn’t end the problem – over the next six months of note taking I found two other foods I was allergic to. I did my own prick tests and took photos of my skin reactions to an allergist. He did double blinded SPTs and confirmed the results. He told me I was the first patient he’d had in 20+ years of practicing medicine that had done his own SPTs 🙂
- My sister had health problems for decades. Medicine was not helpful – she eventually figured out on her own that she had celiac disease, as does one of her daughters and as does one of my daughters. The diagnosis was later confirmed after she told the doctor what tests needed to be done …
I do not have a PhD in any subject, and I am a brain injured idiot.
Pfizer’s post, above, is a sure-fire way to ensure many of us will never take anything from an “expert” at face value. The “appeal to authority” argument is the worst form of argument – a valid argument rests upon facts and logic, not cheap tricks. Pfizer’s “argument” is based on arrogance and says we are not permitted to question authority.
