Comments on: ‘Why We Make Mistakes’ – A Provocative Look at the Causes of Human Error, or Why There’s a 1-in-5 Chance That a Doctor Will Misdiagnose Your Final Illness http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/why-we-make-mistakes%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-a-provocative-look-at-the-causes-of-human-error-or-why-there%e2%80%99s-a-1-in-5-chance-that-a-doctor-will-misdiagnose-your-final-illness/ Janice Harayda Reviews Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry for Adults and Children Thu, 16 May 2013 19:28:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/why-we-make-mistakes%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-a-provocative-look-at-the-causes-of-human-error-or-why-there%e2%80%99s-a-1-in-5-chance-that-a-doctor-will-misdiagnose-your-final-illness/#comment-7754 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:17:30 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/?p=15496#comment-7754 “Life-threatening” might have been better, but I’d cut the author some slack on this one, although I agree that the wording is more than a matter of grammar.

Most writers at times use the wrong word or an ill-considered one. When they do, editors should call them on it: “Did you mean ‘fatal’ here or ‘life-threatening’?” But that kind of meticulous editing seems to have been more common in the past. And even very careful writers can’t always see the problems in their own work.

]]> By: Azalea http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/why-we-make-mistakes%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-a-provocative-look-at-the-causes-of-human-error-or-why-there%e2%80%99s-a-1-in-5-chance-that-a-doctor-will-misdiagnose-your-final-illness/#comment-7753 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:12:14 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/?p=15496#comment-7753 “doctors misdiagnose fatal illnesses”. If the illnesses are fatal the person is going to die no matter what the doctor does or doesn’t so what difference does the diagnosis make? It is life _threatening_ illnesses, where treatment can cure, that a correct diagnosis matters.

This is more than a matter of grammar – if I can’t trust the author to be clear about an astounding ‘fact’ like this, can I trust anything in the book?

]]> By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/why-we-make-mistakes%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-a-provocative-look-at-the-causes-of-human-error-or-why-there%e2%80%99s-a-1-in-5-chance-that-a-doctor-will-misdiagnose-your-final-illness/#comment-7750 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:29:49 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/?p=15496#comment-7750 Thanks, Sarah. This book seems to explain why a lot of people who studied for college exams while drunk didn’t do as well as they expected when tested while they were sober …

]]> By: sarahsk http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/why-we-make-mistakes%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-a-provocative-look-at-the-causes-of-human-error-or-why-there%e2%80%99s-a-1-in-5-chance-that-a-doctor-will-misdiagnose-your-final-illness/#comment-7749 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:46:16 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/?p=15496#comment-7749 One study found that people who learned while slightly drunk remembered better if they were tested while tipsy. Wow, that’s something I never would have guessed. Although I remember hearing in college that if you studied while listening to music, it would help you retain things. Have no idea if that’s true, or would require playing the same music while taking the test. Sounds like an interesting book.

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