Sir Austin Bradford-Hill, the epidemiologist who made the case for cigarettes causing lung cancer:
"All scientific work is incomplete – whether it be observational or experimental. All scientific work is liable to be upset or modified by advancing knowledge..."
"All scientific work is incomplete – whether it be observational or experimental. All scientific work is liable to be upset or modified by advancing knowledge..."
"... That does not confer upon us a freedom to ignore the knowledge we already have, or to postpone the action that it appears to demand at a given time."
In other words, sometimes we are compelled to act on imperfect evidence, on the best assessment of the facts.
In other words, sometimes we are compelled to act on imperfect evidence, on the best assessment of the facts.
He also said, having read the works of great philosophers on causation:
"I have no wish, nor the skill to embark upon a philosophical discussion of the meaning of 'causation'."
but his Bradford Hill criteria are a common standard for determining causation.
"I have no wish, nor the skill to embark upon a philosophical discussion of the meaning of 'causation'."
but his Bradford Hill criteria are a common standard for determining causation.
