Deconstructing Research VitaminD Fraud from Harvard and Medscape
Reading research is not enough -- we all have to learn to read critically otherwise we will get sweet-talked to our own destruction
In a recent (9Oct2022) video, I surveyed some basic concepts in logic, argumentation, and errors (eg, fallacies) that are used correctly, incorrectly, and strategically in science/medicine/political publications and presentations.
If you want to test yourself before seeing my review provided below, then watch the original 7-minute video here on Medscape (ie, Medskunk) and then come back here for my questions and video review provided below.
Now, let’s apply some of those analytical and critical thinking tools (including identification of fallacies) to the recent research and clinical guidelines presented by Medscape from Harvard Medical School:
What are the “straw-man fallacies” presented by this professor? How and why would an “elite university professor” be allowed to give a presentation that includes obvious logical fallacies?
What are the examples of “bait and switch” whereby she starts by using terminology a certain way and then switches the meaning of the words to arrive at a different conclusion/implication?
Does this “professor” present us with an internal lack of consistency in her message? Per my previous articles/blogs, what are the implications of internal lack of consistency?
In what ways is her message specific to a defined and very small socioeconomic group?
In what ways are her recommendations mathematically and clinically impossible?
How does she confuse vitamin D2 with vitamin D3, and what are the differences?
How does she confuse 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and what are the differences?
What is her explicit message (denotation) and what is her implicit message (connotation)? What paradigm is this professor professing?
How does she confuse “pharmacologic safety” with “clinical outcomes safety”? What is the difference between “risk of intervention” versus “risk of nonintervention/undertreatment”?
If you and your parents were paying big money to send you to an elite school where the professors force you to go along with garbage research and garbage thinking, would you have the courage to confront them and jeopardize your graduation in order to honor your truth?
As always: EXPAND THE VIDEO to full-screen, ADJUST THE AUDIO and preferably use earphones/headphones for better audio and focus, and see additional instructions on how to watch videos, if necessary.
Note that the second “final” edit is also available at the following link with (for paid subscribers) a link to download the video + all of the notes that were added to the final version of the video (in the yellow textboxes).