Errors rampant

We’ve found the cure for the common cold – that these two pills and you will be well by morning. Every once in awhile such a claim will cross my desk; in this case it was repeated in my chief’s speeches and his chief’s speeches, and then by the chiefs of other division chiefs, and other countries’ chiefs… like a bad rumor, news of the panacea spread. I had a look at the underlying numbers and my gut wrenched. An old canard in new guise. Now we must walk it back, never speak of the numbers again, retreat to the general principle – washing your hands is good for preventing colds – but it is always hard to retrieve a rumor than to let it loose.