So yes, your doctor still needs to know math to help you in your recovery.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=148884&CultureCode=en
A medical researcher at the University of Warwick has found the 2,500
year-old Pythagoras theorem could be the most effective way to identify
the point at which a patient’s health begins to improve.
In a paper published in PLOS ONE, Dr Rob Froud from Warwick Medical
School at the University of Warwick worked with his colleague Gary Abel
from the University of Cambridge. They made the discovery after looking
at data from ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curves. These
curves were initially developed during World War II for the analysis of
signals to help operators decide whether a blip on the screen was an
enemy target or allied forces ships or aircrafts. In the 1980s, the
curves were adopted by epidemiologists to help them decide at what point
an individual has recovered from an illness.
Dr Froud said: “It all comes down to choosing a point on a curve to
determine when recovery has occurred. For many chronic conditions,
epidemiologists agree that the correct point to choose is that which is
closest to the top-left corner of the plot containing the curve. As we
stopped to think about it, it struck us as obvious that the way to
choose this point was by using Pythagoras theorem.”
Pythagoras theorem states that in a right-angled triangle, the sum of
the squares of the two right-angled sides is equal to the square of the
hypotenuse (i.e the longer diagonal that joins the two right
angled sides). This means that one can determine the length of the
hypotenuse given the length of the other two sides.
Dr Froud said: “We set about exploring the implications of this and
how it might change conclusions in research. We conducted several
experiments using real trial data and it seems using Pythagoras’ theorem
makes a material difference. It helps to identify the point at which a
patient has improved with more consistency and accuracy than other
methods commonly used.
“The moral of the story is that before you throw out the old stuff in
the attic – just go through it one last time – as there may be
something in there that is still relevant and useful,” Dr Froud added.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0114468
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