Thread by @drabbyphilips

//When I had Covid, I used Siddha medicine and it worked//
Let us discuss

This is Placebo effect, a type of cognitive bias

"If we believe a treatment will work, it often will have a small physiological effect"

Even if treatment were absent, outcome would have been same
1/

https://twitter.com/TRBRajaa/status/1392462416038961152

Why did you have Placebo effect?
Becoz of another cognitive bias

Survivorship bias
"We tend to focus on thos things that survived a process and overlook ones that failed"

This happens when you see/read many testimonials on Siddha working in others who also suffer from biases
2/

These two biases create another bias.
Blind Spot bias

We dont think we have bias, but see it in others more than ourselves

So when science tells you that there is no evidence to demonstrate any benefit of Siddha in treatment of Covid, you consider scientists as biased
3/

But are scientists biased?
Yes, they can be.

So how do they correct for it?
Becoz science is not biased.
"Science is an inherently probabilistic endeavor.
It shows us what is most likely true given the current evidence, not what absolutely is true."
4/

So what does science say about Siddha?
That it is pseudoscience

Why pseudoscience?

Becoz it is unreasonable
Siddha does not follow a scientitic method, but culture

Relies on belief tat earth, water, fire, air, sky – are in food, "humours" of human body

This is illogical
5/

Now coming back to Siddha improving Covid.

It most likely did not. In mild covid, patients improve without even modern medicine prescriptions and only symptoms care

We do not have quality evidence through rigorous clinical studies that Siddha does anything to any disease

6/

So promoting Siddha for Covid or any other disease per say, is currently not in the best interest of public health

One must show refrain
Here is an infographic on 'cognitive biases'

@tvikr @shrishrishrii @pash22 @thewittydoctor_ @athrvakhrbde

7/End