I’d no more listen to a physicist’s advice on my fertility than I would let a mechanic cut my hair.
You mean you don’t? OK, random rudeness about Guardian columnist’s photos over. This is intensely annoying:
The backlash against birth control apps is growing. Yet, women do need more readily available information about their own fertility, as well as about the side-effects of the contraceptives they are prescribed. Technology appeals because the medical profession too often dismisses and fails women, and has ignored the concerns of many women disenchanted with the side-effects of hormonal contraception. No wonder Silicon Valley steps in, seemingly offering a natural and smart solution that looks – and is – too good to be true.
But doctors should ask why so many women would consider trusting an app over a medical professional, and researchers should look at why so many people are unhappy with the prescribed pills, injections and implants, and work to improve them. All of us emerged blinking into the light from a uterus: fertility should be taken more seriously, and women should be trusted when reporting symptoms and anxieties, rather than be treated as unreliable witnesses and hysterics.
The thing is, anyone who came up with a better form of contraception would make a fortune. In fact, all those people who did come up with marginal improvements on the previous methods did make a fortune. It’s all one of the things that capitalism has done the best that is possible given the current state of technology. It’s even one of the things, under that capitalist impulse to gain pelf and lucre, driving technology along.
Sheesh, we’re all doing the very best we can and yet still complaints?
Physicist or physician?
Does she know that there’s a difference?
She’s right on one point, which is that Silicon Valley’s tech gurus are blowing the lid on the medical profession’s received wisdom.
The dull-but-worthy reference sites (e.g. WebMD) just replicate textbooks, the equivalent of Luther making the bible available to the masses. That’s no small feat in itself, but it merely repeats the voice of authority.
The real tech revolution is in apps and social-medical forums where patients discuss what works and what doesn’t, comparing notes and recognising patterns. A patient with an uncommon condition likely knows more about it than their GP, thanks to Dr Google.
Guardian columnist is fatuous and annoying – film at ten.
The ideal form of female contraception would be one which only fails when she’s screwing a rich guy.
Sheesh, we’re all doing the very best we can and yet still complaints?
One could argue that that is one of the things that helps capitalism along. Not good enough for you? Build a better mousetrap. It does, however, require that the complainer does more than just complain.
Gentlemen, the ultimate male contraceptive:
https://www.animatedknots.com/sheepshank/
(and it’s patent-free!)
The idea of a birth contol app’s fascinating. Wonder how it works. The phone is held between the knees & the app displays the pressure exerted to keep it there?
‘women should be trusted when reporting symptoms and anxieties, rather than be treated as unreliable witnesses and hysterics.’
Uh-huh.
researchers should look at why so many people are unhappy with the prescribed pills, injections and implants
Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that we’re mammals who procreate through sexual reproduction, and contracepting your future away – turning sex into a series of sterile mutual masturbation sessions – until you end up childless, alone, and eaten by cats is profoundly unnatural and depressing?
BIS – probably best deployed that way.
The ‘article’ is in response to one yesterday, where someone complained about a “Birth Control App” built by 2 CERN physicists, married to each other (and Swedish, I think – not in Silicon Valley anyway).
Apparently, like the Rhythm Method on which is it based, it doesn’t work. It especially doesn’t work on women who have irregular periods, being the reason they went on The Pill originally. Like the author, who apparently did zero research on failure rates and was surprised it wasn’t 100% effective. And got pregnant.
In many ways, it is very satisfying that The Groan’s ‘journalists’ lack of research has come to bite at least one of them.
Also, if I was her mechanic, I’d be ashamed of how her hair looks.
These apps aren’t a contraception method, they’s a contracoition method. They don’t allow you to have sex at will at any time without it resulting in conception, they specify when you must *NOT* have sex.
I’d no more listen to a physicist’s advice on my fertility than I would let a mechanic cut my hair.
But she’ll trust a computer programmer, the writer of the app. Ok.
Looking at her, I’m somewhat surprised she is in need of contraception.
“A patient with an uncommon condition likely knows more about it than their GP, thanks to Dr Google.”
No, it means they both read the same pages, which may result in them both being wrong.
She could definitely use the help of a painter and decorator
“I’d no more listen to a physicist’s advice on my fertility than I would let a mechanic cut my hair.”
Yeah, fuck John Harrison. What did a clockmaker know about sorting out the longitude problem over all those clever astronomers?
I beat 2 GPs, a locum and an ENT in diagnosing my problem. They all either gave up or got it wrong. And I did it by hitting google, finding forums and then reading up on some anatomy about how the eustacion tube works, and everything fell into place. Matched diagnosis and probable cause of the problem.
Like everything, there’s books and papers on the internet now. You can learn anyone’s job. You might not be able to officially do it because of regulations, but you can learn it.
@Andrew M – ” A patient with an uncommon condition likely knows more about it than their GP, thanks to Dr Google.”
better put simply as
” A patient with an uncommon condition likely knows more about it than their GP”
( my wife is a type 1 Diabetic, and she most certainly does know more about it than her gp, though due to a lifetime’s familiarity rather than google or any other particular source.)
Steve: You stopped having sex when you finished having kids then?
Bloke: I had to change GP, buy an endoscope camera and take my own pictures of the back of my gob before the system would stop telling me I was imagining things and get refered to an ENT, who told me I should have gone a lot early. Couple of weeks, under the gas, whipped the bits out. I get the result from the biopsy next week, fingers crossed for “just a lump”. Still relearning how to swallow though.