Brewster Rockit by Tim Rickard for January 27, 2021

Medical student syndrome.

Although it does puzzle me that every industry except medicine has embraced tech. If a doctor doesn’t know what’s wrong with you, the only thing he can do is refer you to another doctor who might have stumbled across whatever you have. The same system used in Ancient Greece.

Hypochonlinedria.

When you need a second opinion, ask Google.

Google has become synonymous with Internet searches to an extent that “you Google it”. In my circle of family & friends it’s aka Doctor Google when used to search for anything concerning medical conditions or treatments.

Resistance is futile!! You will be assimilated!!

I know! Wrong story but, it is the same genre!!

The problem is not so much what is on the internet. The problem is that people are so willing to believe what is on the internet.

He’s pregnant!

I’d say you got a serious helmet head syndrome, kid.

Keep in mind the result of a search for your symptoms returns the disease with the highest SEO.

Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K. Jerome is an oldie but still good. Pre internet, narrator looks into a medical book and realizes he has every single disease listed! So he decides to go for a (disastrous) boat ride. Still very funny and practically the definition of droll.

Place yourself in isolation, boy!

WebMD – the bane of physicians.

Reminds me of the old Simpsons skit where Mr. Burns has “a little bit of everything” (even ectopic pregnancy). All the diseases cancelled each other out so he was just fine.

There are people who believe they have diseases the CDC doesn’t recognize. They believe treatments exist for those diseases. Even when the CDC cites science to show those treatments do not achieve the results the people claim, they explain why the CDC doesn’t recognize those diseases by using argumenta ad hominem against the CDC. They get others to buy into their beliefs about those diseases. These adherents create websites to “educate” others about these diseases. The list of symptoms or potential symptoms are long, and have a lot of common symptoms.

Not feeling well + feeling tired are pretty much the two symptoms associated with everything.