WebMD and hypotheticals like this blog reminds me of a quote from Hamlet:
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”
I do not think you can make a good nor bad version of WebMD. But what it does today is makes you think about things that you're better off not thinking about.
Health is subjective to start with. It is more qualitative than it is quantitative at the individual level. The exact problem of WebMD is that it uses the latter to help inform the former.
I have got way more answers from old books than I can find online. Especially those on back pain, chronic illness, and even regular headaches. Much of this information is not new and even goes back to the idea that "thinking makes it so".
The real question in my head is whether WebMD does more harm than it does good or vice versa. It's pointless to think about because it is what it is.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”
I do not think you can make a good nor bad version of WebMD. But what it does today is makes you think about things that you're better off not thinking about.
Health is subjective to start with. It is more qualitative than it is quantitative at the individual level. The exact problem of WebMD is that it uses the latter to help inform the former.
I have got way more answers from old books than I can find online. Especially those on back pain, chronic illness, and even regular headaches. Much of this information is not new and even goes back to the idea that "thinking makes it so".
The real question in my head is whether WebMD does more harm than it does good or vice versa. It's pointless to think about because it is what it is.