Do you have a better example to set the context up to ask whether blood testing at that scale could ever become possible if enough people kept trying to crack that nut, contrary to the general consensus of infeasibility?
Why would you need a better example? It's a very, very stupid question; asking it is not worthwhile.
This is the problem the experts pointed out:
If your sample is so small that a substance you're looking for isn't present at all, you will fail to detect that substance, even if it was present in the pool you drew your sample from.
Theranos claimed the reverse, that they could detect a substance whether it was present or not.
How much thought do you want to devote to the question of whether a different approach might realize that dream?
> It's a very, very stupid question; asking it is not worthwhile.
I, for one, learned something from your response, so clearly it was a great question and very much worthwhile. How did you manage to end up so horribly wrong?
It is funny how the seemingly well educated on HN hate education so much. A classic case of "I got mine"?
1. More about Theranos. I've never given them attention in the past.
2. That you hate education (except maybe when it is your own).
> How would education have helped?
Once you get past the education level of somewhere around a five year old, meaning the education necessary to sustain basic life, does more ever really help in some kind of grand fashion? More education will sometimes allow you to stumble into desirable places, but exactly what education is beneficial to get there is random chance. It remains to be seen if this education will be a lucky break or just more to add to the useless pile, but either way does it really matter?
Why would you insist on framing a general discussion of the wisdom of defying conventional wisdom in terms of blood tests? Blood tests only come up in this context because of the one time someone lied about them.
You wouldn't. It has little to do with the general discussion. It was quite clearly posted as an aside.
It came up because the previous commenter was on a train of thought where the general topic lead him to think about Theranos, which lead him to think about blood testing in general and thus questions about that arose.
That is how discussions occur. If that slide into a new topic doesn't interest you, you don't need to reply.
Speaking of "don't need to reply", there are many times when I start writing a comment, realize that in fact it's wholly off topic, and delete it. Not every "train of thought" needs to be aired out.
No train of thought ever needs to be aired out. But at the same time, if you don't see that your questions are asked, how are you to ever know? Surely we are not anti-education types around here?
You are right that if you find yourself staring to make off-topic statements, like some of the earlier comments with their authors wanting to arbitrarily assert that they don't know how to read, it is time to go outside instead.
