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닥터 골렘
의료와 의학의 문제를 지식 사회학의 문제로 다루는 책이다. 의료와 의학에서 ‘전문성’이라는 게 무엇인지, 그리고 어떻게 형성되는지 해명해 나간다. 결국 의학과 의료의 전문성은 완성된 것이 아니라 만들어져 왔고, 앞으로도 만들어질 것임을 생생하게 보여 준다.
저자들은 플라시보 효과 문제, 가짜 의사 문제, 비타민 C가 암 치료제인가를 둘러싼 논쟁, 에이즈 치료약 임상 실험을 둘러싼 의사들과 환자 공동체의 갈등 같은 현대 의학의 독특한 사건들 속으로 독자들의 시선을 돌리면서 개인을 위해 질병을 치료하는 것과 공동체를 위해 질병을 이해하는 게 결코 같은 게 아님을 보여준다.
이 책은 과학이라는 이름으로 포장된 의학이라는 전문 지식을 독점한 의사와, 자신의 병과 고통에 대해 유일한 보고자이자, 치료의 대상인 환자와 그 보호자라 할 수 있는 시민 사회의 갈등과 협상을 통해 의료와 의학의 ‘전문성’이 형성됨을 보여 준다.
저자들은 플라시보 효과 문제, 가짜 의사 문제, 비타민 C가 암 치료제인가를 둘러싼 논쟁, 에이즈 치료약 임상 실험을 둘러싼 의사들과 환자 공동체의 갈등 같은 현대 의학의 독특한 사건들 속으로 독자들의 시선을 돌리면서 개인을 위해 질병을 치료하는 것과 공동체를 위해 질병을 이해하는 게 결코 같은 게 아님을 보여준다.
이 책은 과학이라는 이름으로 포장된 의학이라는 전문 지식을 독점한 의사와, 자신의 병과 고통에 대해 유일한 보고자이자, 치료의 대상인 환자와 그 보호자라 할 수 있는 시민 사회의 갈등과 협상을 통해 의료와 의학의 ‘전문성’이 형성됨을 보여 준다.
342 pages, Hardcover
First published November 15, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 5, 2019
I read the Traditional Chinese edition of it. The following review contains a little bit of thoughts specifically on the Chinese edition.
從兩位作者的辯證態度到譯者李尚仁老師的譯文風格都很喜歡！作為一個信奉現代醫學體系的人來說，這本書其實更多地是從社會學的角度客觀展現了另一方的視角，讀後對堅信乃至於迷信另類醫療（落實到生活實際上來說主要指中醫）的人以及 anti-vaxxer 們多了幾分諒解（。保留參考書目和原文某些重要詞彙的英文也很有幫助，只不過英文部分應該沒有校對，不時出現 trial 變 trail 之類的錯誤⋯⋯很巧的是，在看到書的結尾處柯林斯記錄平區夫婦如何選擇百日咳疫苗的例子時，剛好陪朋友去看病，醫生的診斷結果含糊且不大看好，在決定治療手段之前也恰巧採取了和平區夫婦相似的舉措：翻查該醫生此前發表的論文⋯⋯
從兩位作者的辯證態度到譯者李尚仁老師的譯文風格都很喜歡！作為一個信奉現代醫學體系的人來說，這本書其實更多地是從社會學的角度客觀展現了另一方的視角，讀後對堅信乃至於迷信另類醫療（落實到生活實際上來說主要指中醫）的人以及 anti-vaxxer 們多了幾分諒解（。保留參考書目和原文某些重要詞彙的英文也很有幫助，只不過英文部分應該沒有校對，不時出現 trial 變 trail 之類的錯誤⋯⋯很巧的是，在看到書的結尾處柯林斯記錄平區夫婦如何選擇百日咳疫苗的例子時，剛好陪朋友去看病，醫生的診斷結果含糊且不大看好，在決定治療手段之前也恰巧採取了和平區夫婦相似的舉措：翻查該醫生此前發表的論文⋯⋯
September 21, 2020
This was a great read exploring the hidden uncertainties of medicine. Its arguments are framed in two sets: the individual vs the collective, and the way we interact with medicine. Many people take medicine as a lofty field, unknowable to the masses below, but this book revealed a thoughtful look at just how tremulous medicine's iron pillars of knowledge are.
Between explorations of the surprising success of bogus doctors, to the ambiguous disorders of fibromyalgia and Gulf War Syndrome, to the wild reasons for tonsillectomies, to the astounding work of AIDS advocates in reaching a level of knowledge that allowed them to converse on even footing with doctors and positively influence the ongoing search for an HIV cure - this book shows that in reality, doctors don't know everything and encourages us to pursue an understanding of science for ourselves - to a degree!
For the individual may want to skip a vaccine because of fears of side effects, but the collective whole (and those down the familial line of the individual) will suffer from their choice, even if they have a (slim) leg of fears to stand on. The placebo effect actually has positive effects on some individuals, but when the time comes to conduct studies of life-saving diseases, and we NEED to do randomized controlled trials that involves not treating patients so as to gain a knowledge of what works and what doesn't, we must agonize that we are potentially sacrificing the few for the good of the whole. Along these lines, a surprisingly persuasive line of reasoning is not to dismiss alternative medicine such as acupuncture and herbal remedies; after all, if it doesn't actually harm people and it may help some (including those that modern medicine may be struggling to treat), then why not let them eat large doses of Vitamin C?
Caution is of course necessary - the authors encourage individuals to learn about medicine, but only to a degree that they can make informed decisions when need be. One of the authors chose to not get the recommended whooping cough vaccine because of a potential side effect, choosing instead a foreign variety - which was later adapted by the US as the default. While they turned out to be making the correct informed decision, they caution against those who decry the MMR vaccine as causing autism, based as this argument is on one mother's fears and a single subsequent paper that only looked at a handful of patients - while the author agreed that parents should still be taking the vaccine. Instead, that websites stoke the fears and claims to be superior to those with years of medical experience is a sad extension of their rightful call to interact with medicine on more than just a passive level.
A compelling, interesting read!
Between explorations of the surprising success of bogus doctors, to the ambiguous disorders of fibromyalgia and Gulf War Syndrome, to the wild reasons for tonsillectomies, to the astounding work of AIDS advocates in reaching a level of knowledge that allowed them to converse on even footing with doctors and positively influence the ongoing search for an HIV cure - this book shows that in reality, doctors don't know everything and encourages us to pursue an understanding of science for ourselves - to a degree!
For the individual may want to skip a vaccine because of fears of side effects, but the collective whole (and those down the familial line of the individual) will suffer from their choice, even if they have a (slim) leg of fears to stand on. The placebo effect actually has positive effects on some individuals, but when the time comes to conduct studies of life-saving diseases, and we NEED to do randomized controlled trials that involves not treating patients so as to gain a knowledge of what works and what doesn't, we must agonize that we are potentially sacrificing the few for the good of the whole. Along these lines, a surprisingly persuasive line of reasoning is not to dismiss alternative medicine such as acupuncture and herbal remedies; after all, if it doesn't actually harm people and it may help some (including those that modern medicine may be struggling to treat), then why not let them eat large doses of Vitamin C?
Caution is of course necessary - the authors encourage individuals to learn about medicine, but only to a degree that they can make informed decisions when need be. One of the authors chose to not get the recommended whooping cough vaccine because of a potential side effect, choosing instead a foreign variety - which was later adapted by the US as the default. While they turned out to be making the correct informed decision, they caution against those who decry the MMR vaccine as causing autism, based as this argument is on one mother's fears and a single subsequent paper that only looked at a handful of patients - while the author agreed that parents should still be taking the vaccine. Instead, that websites stoke the fears and claims to be superior to those with years of medical experience is a sad extension of their rightful call to interact with medicine on more than just a passive level.
A compelling, interesting read!
June 5, 2019
Straight-forwardly extends the theoretical framework of Golem: What Everyone Should Know about Science and The Golem at Large: What You Should Know about Technology to medicine. The draw out the tension between medicine as science and medicine as succour, short-term and long-term considerations, and "population average testing" and "specific individual causes" to help study the issues. The various chapters deal with how The Placebo Effect complicates medicine, how difficult it can be to spot bogus doctors, tonsil treatments, alternative medicine, contested diseases, AIDS activism (reprinted from Golem at Large), and vaccine controversies.
The most interesting aspects of this volume is how the authors disagree (slightly, somewhat) on the question of vaccinations. The case studies are not quite as flashy as the ones in the previous books, and overall (As they admit) they move to be "more on the side of science in this book," making it somewhat less interesting a read, compared to the previous volumes.
The most interesting aspects of this volume is how the authors disagree (slightly, somewhat) on the question of vaccinations. The case studies are not quite as flashy as the ones in the previous books, and overall (As they admit) they move to be "more on the side of science in this book," making it somewhat less interesting a read, compared to the previous volumes.
January 31, 2024
Very interesting book that analyses medicine as a science that makes mistakes but also possesses experience in addition to knowledge that can't be replaced by just reading a medical source.
Some very interesting stories inside about bogus doctors (there are so many of them everywhere and some of them are better than "real" doctors due to the experiences).
I learned about the scientific conundrum of vitamin C's potential to cure cancer (in reality not cure but make the conditions of the patients better).
Much more in terms of great stories about chronic fatigue, placebo effects and tonsils debate.
Great book overall.
Some very interesting stories inside about bogus doctors (there are so many of them everywhere and some of them are better than "real" doctors due to the experiences).
I learned about the scientific conundrum of vitamin C's potential to cure cancer (in reality not cure but make the conditions of the patients better).
Much more in terms of great stories about chronic fatigue, placebo effects and tonsils debate.
Great book overall.
April 14, 2020
This book is a very good summary of the important issues in modern medicine today.
December 31, 2021
Even though this is not a particularly recent book, very pertinent in these COVID times. Very accessible and easy to read.
March 6, 2025
left me with more questions than answers
March 24, 2013
I had to read this for school (only a couple of chapters) but I found it to be so interesting and easy to digest (in the way it was written), that I started from the start and went through the entire book. My favorite chapter is the first, Placebo Effect, and seven, The AIDS activists. It's an interesting book which more than just informing is there to evoke thoughts, I find that every chapter had something interesting to add. And I believe that another strong point is that I don't feel there's only one 'side' to the debate over science or medicine, there's no easy pro/con sides to take while reading this. In a way this made me even more confused to what is the right choice, the whole battle between what's good for the individual and what's good for the community. Anyway, I liked it!
June 5, 2008
people think medicine is science and that is a big mistake. This book reveals a lot of the voodoo that we call modern medicine...
November 17, 2007
Thus far--pretty nifty.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews