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Friday, February 11, 2005
Influenza
Howstuffworks.com on The Flu. Might as well make this a learning moment.
BTW, it always bothers me when people talk about "stomach flu". Influenza (from "influenza degli stelli", or "influence of the stars") is a respiratory illness. I've got it in spades. It's interesting to track the progress, though--each day brings a variation on the basic theme, which is nice because otherwise I'd really be bored.
ntodd
February 11, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
Studies have shown that people who say they have a "stomache flu" in fact 64 percent of the time really have food Poisoning.
Oh and 94 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
Okay I don't remember the stats, but some high percentage was food poisoning, not the flu.
Get better.
spocko.
Posted by: spocko | Feb 11, 2005 2:47:13 PM
Lol, Spocko! And 103 percent of the people reading the stats accept it without question, believing immediately if math is involved, you obviously know what you are talking about.
Posted by: ellroon | Feb 11, 2005 3:25:09 PM
I've had a conversation with a great writer about Math. John Allen Paulos is his name and he is web is http://www.math.temple.edu/~paulos/
A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper is a very interesting book. He talks about how journalist's often mess up statistics and math. When I work with computer guys who are going to talk to journalist's I tell them never say, "You can do the math." They CAN'T! And we are seeing that prediciton come true regarding the politician's discussing social security.
He had a interview on the radio that was SO funny that I actually paid to have the interview sent to me! I also tried to hire him for a project, but it didn't work out. Nice guy. Funny. Smart. Well spoken.
Posted by: spocko | Feb 11, 2005 4:16:58 PM
spocko - I'm 87% sure I heard a stat like that before. Food poisoning is way more common than people susect. And thanks for the book rec.
Posted by: NTodd | Feb 11, 2005 6:40:36 PM
it always bothers me when people talk about "stomach flu".
You'd rather hear them talk about "having the shits"?
Posted by: Quaker in a Basement | Feb 12, 2005 8:04:15 PM
you could call it "viral gastroenteritis".
even though it is in fact not the "flu", it's true that a lot of people(even still in the medical field) will technically and incorrectly refer to the general symptoms of "inflammation of the intestinal wall that results in vomiting, watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, and sometimes a headache and a low-grade fever." as merely the "stomach flu" or "stomach bug" for a quick and short explanation to the poor shmoe who is incapable of moving more than a yard from their toilet due to having the shits and, for the unfortunate ones, both ends going at the same time.
apparently, over time, people associated symptoms of nausea (i.e. having the shits)that sometimes accompanied their bout of flu, with having the actual -as defined by its name- "influenza".
shit happens.
Posted by: amy | Feb 16, 2005 3:36:51 PM
Quake - actually, I'd rather they not mention it at all.
amy - can we shorten that to VG?
Posted by: NTodd | Feb 16, 2005 6:23:27 PM
people might think the doctor is telling them they have VD...but sure, why not? :)
or virgo?
Posted by: amy | Feb 17, 2005 10:08:09 AM
Buy me stuff off my 
