INSIGHTS | 13. Questioning Medicine

There is value in burning the deadwood. Medicine also has deadwood. Such as practices from a bygone era that are no longer applicable, effective, or financially feasible.

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Article: How Often do Medical Specialties Question the Practice they perform?

Context

As trees & plant-life proliferate on the forest floor, they contribute to the possibility of a seriously destructive fire. Controlled burns are a common practice of forest management that serves multiple purposes.

On the one hand, it prevents fires from getting wildly out of control and potentially scorching the earth - limiting agriculture yield. On the other, it stimulates germination of plant life.

In agriculture, this practice is called slash-and-burn. Plants are cut down (slash) and left to dry right before the rainy season. The accrued biomass is then burned - resulting in a nutrient-rich layer of ash which makes the soil fertile.

There is value in burning the deadwood.

Medicine also has deadwood. Such as practices from a bygone era that are no longer applicable, effective, or financially feasible.

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