High Expectations

Public support of biomedical sciences, medical research and medical care comes with high expectations which frequently bear no relation to the nature and status of those endeavors. The public is interested in cures and they are conditioned to expect what they want to be true, which is misunderstood and overstated. From the laboratory to the clinical setting to everyday life data are gathered, analyzed, interpreted and organized to reach conclusions that shape medical care. The conclusions are derived in a context of biological variability, biological adaptability and behavioral uncertainty. Every step is subject to error, bias and ignorance. The unknown vastly exceeds the known and the boundary between the two moves slowly and erratically revealing contingent truths. It is at all times a work in progress and whether or not it is oversold, it is overbought.