Measuring the easily measurable in this fashion is analogous to the drunk who searches for his lost keys under the lamppost because that is where he can see. The Twenty Questions binary format of screening has no place in the evaluation of the fuzzier, more social and subjective element of caring for the elderly. For instance, consider the crusty, cantankerous old man brought to the office by his family because he has refused to take a bath for six weeks. Did the doctor convince him to bathe? “Yes” or “No”? Can the husband who says “What?” be coaxed into wearing his hearing aid? To drive or not to drive? These are not easy, yes-or-no questions. The nuances of good medical care for the elderly are not so easily measured, tabulated, or statistically manipulated.
Like the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in quantum physics, the very process of making a measurement alters that which is being measured
The analogy, again in the field of education, is that of teaching to the middle of the class at the expense of the exceptional students
Like the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in quantum physics, the very process of making a measurement alters that which is being measured
The analogy, again in the field of education, is that of teaching to the middle of the class at the expense of the exceptional students
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