Very interesting story of Dr Alice Stewart and Sir Richard Doll.
Dr Stewart first discovered the association between X-raying pregnant women and the risk of developing childhood cancer. Her work was ‘debunked’ by a prominent epidemiologist Sir Richard Doll /1
Dr Stewart first discovered the association between X-raying pregnant women and the risk of developing childhood cancer. Her work was ‘debunked’ by a prominent epidemiologist Sir Richard Doll /1
Dr Stewart doubted herself but the evidence was there loud and clear. The damage that Doll had done with opposition took years to unravel. Meanwhile thousands of childhood cancers could have been avoided.
Why? ‘Her findings undermined the prevailing mental model of disease’ 3/
Why? ‘Her findings undermined the prevailing mental model of disease’ 3/
‘She had to be wrong. If she was right, too many other assumptions had to be re-examined.’
‘What Dr Stewart had provoked in her scientific colleagues was cognitive dissonance: the mental turmoil that is evoked when the mind tries to hold 2 entirely’ incompatible views’. 4/
‘What Dr Stewart had provoked in her scientific colleagues was cognitive dissonance: the mental turmoil that is evoked when the mind tries to hold 2 entirely’ incompatible views’. 4/
It turns out that Sir Richard Doll had all sorts of conflicts of interest including taking large sums of money from industries whose chemicals he was clearing of cancer risk. Read more here;
/5
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22019537/
/5
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22019537/
A huge thank you to @amirhannan for recommending @M_Heffernan’s book #wilfulblindness which has many of these stories and is giving me lots of food for thought - including exploring my own biases in more detail. Highly recommended reading in the current world we live in (6/6)
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