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Flawed statistics and science confirming existing paradigms
Author(s) -
Rutten Lex A. L. B.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of evaluation in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.737
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2753
pISSN - 1356-1294
DOI - 10.1111/jep.12922
Subject(s) - false positive paradox , bayes' theorem , scientific evidence , completeness (order theory) , epistemology , selection (genetic algorithm) , selection bias , medicine , epidemiology , computer science , actuarial science , mathematics , philosophy , bayesian probability , artificial intelligence , pathology , economics , mathematical analysis
Background Part of the scientific community states that implausible methods cannot have a true effect and that epidemiological proof can only lead to false positives. Discussion Homeopathy is regarded as an example of an implausible method with false positive evidence. However, epidemiological proof is necessary to falsify the placebo hypothesis. Implausibility is now supposed to rectify selection of a part of all trials, but the applied selection criteria are diverse and not common in conventional medicine. Applying Bayes' theorem only once to demonstrate that a low prior chance does not lead to reasonable probability is flawed application of this theorem. Conclusion Demanding scientific evidence and then rejecting the same with post‐hoc selection of trials and flawed statistics shows unwillingness to falsify the completeness of existing paradigms.