Baffled by Numbers

Navigating information towards better health decisions

Talya Miron-Shatz, Ph.D., is a researcher at Princeton University. She specializes in medical decision making of patients and health professionals. See full bio

Baffled by Numbers

February 6, 2010

Boyfriends, heartaches, backaches?

If Ann's back hurt, why would Dr. Hillel Finestone, MD, ask about her love life? Sometimes, it appears, the two are related. And heartache is not the only reason to seek a physician who is also a pain detective. Read More

January 16, 2010

For 50 cents: Eat to be a hundred

This is the sad tale of the missing tomato - and an insight into helping Americans live to be a hundred. Read More

December 21, 2009

Nasty surprises, or - what would Jesus do

Even intelligent patients sometimes fail to ask questions. Should doctors provide the answers to unasked questions, or should patients be left to their own devices, often assuming favorable answers rather than inquiring for the truth? Read More

November 6, 2009

Nidal Malik Hasan - and mammograms?

How come it is so common to screen many, at enormous financial and mental cost, to save the lives of so few? And how come this reasoning is not applied to terror threats? Read More

October 5, 2009

How much should you eat? Woman vs. steak

When a woman with a huge appetite meets a Broadway Diner steak, the steak wins hands down. What does this tell us about portion sizes? Read More

September 22, 2009

The Joy of Spandex

Sure, exercise is good for you. But aren't you more likely to go to the gym if the instructor makes you feel like you're in Hollywood, or if the opposeite sex (or whichever sex you are attracted to) checks you out? Read More

August 31, 2009

How much should you weigh? (Part 2)

When the world sends unhealthy messages, urging you to become a stick figure, it's hard to know how much you should really weigh. Unless you Ask Alice. Read More

August 20, 2009

How much should you weigh? (Part 1)

When a skinny 11 year old does not fit into the smallest size of women's wear, that's when you begin to wonder how much - or how little one should weigh. Read More

August 7, 2009

Better than Warren Buffet tips

You may not be willing to pay $250,000 to dine with Warren Buffet. But if he offered you a tip, you would fly to Omaha and join him for a decent sized stake in one of his favorite meat joints. How come, then, you're a lot less excited over other risk tips that may change, or even save your life? Read More

July 13, 2009

How Juliette Binoche Nursed the English Patient – Power of Love

Why should we have faith in pharmacy-packaged opiates, and neglect the immense power of the opiates our own brain is capable of generating? The power of love. Read More

Behavioral Economics Basics

Why do we often think we know what we want, only to be disappointed with our purchases and choices? Behavioral economics studies just how irrational we humans can be.

Go to the Behavioral Economics Basics page for more on Behavioral Economics including:

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