If you don't work in healthcare, then you may not know that radiologists are known as "hedgers." That is, radiologists will say things in ways that avoid being definitive on anything. Maybe this is pneumonia. Maybe that is a mass. "No definitive fracture is seen"—does that mean a possible fracture is seen? Admittedly, radiologists can … Continue reading Confidence Without Certainty: If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I don’t know
Author: Jonathan Mates
20% Dreamer, 80% Builder
The other day I was walking by a construction site. I wondered what they were building. The fence around the site was covered by blocking material, and there was a sign with the construction company's name on it. I walked up to the sign and saw a picture of a gleaming building, with a central … Continue reading 20% Dreamer, 80% Builder
Designing with bias in mind
You may remember this alert from 2018, when a ballistic missile warning went out to the people of Hawaii. If you don't remember it, that’s OK—it turned out to be a false alarm. Although the full cause was never made public, there was widespread speculation that it stemmed from a poorly designed UI—the user interface … Continue reading Designing with bias in mind
Let’s not outsource humanity
If you've attended any talks about AI in radiology in the last couple of years (including mine), then you've probably heard Geoffrey Hinton’s 2016 prediction that "in 5 years deep learning is going to do better than radiologists" and so we should stop training new radiologists. Turns out that wasn't just wrong, it was shockingly … Continue reading Let’s not outsource humanity
Physicians as leaders
This is a piece that I co-wrote with Graham Walker and Matt Sakumoto, and originally published in LinkedIn, under the title RuPaul Runs an Amazing Meeting. I thought it would be interesting to share in my blog, as well. It’s a well-known fact that if you’re good at one thing, you’re good at everything. Adele … Continue reading Physicians as leaders
Perfectly adapted for somewhere else
Humans are arguably the most successful species in the world, adapting and spreading across a spectrum of environments like no other. You might see, for example, ants or grass or birds all over the world, but you won't see a particular species of any of them in the desert and in the rainforest and in the … Continue reading Perfectly adapted for somewhere else
No such thing as fair
When I began to write this, the Beijing Winter Olympics were going on,1 and as often happens during major sporting events, the question of "fairness" was raised. Which country should an athlete be allowed to represent? Does it make a difference if the athlete is a potential champion, as opposed to a lower-ranked competitor? What … Continue reading No such thing as fair
Red Goggles 