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When you go through medical school you hear a lot about how 50% of what you are learning will ultimately prove to be wrong, but nobody knows which 50%. So as time and knowledge progress, eventually that 50% (or some of it) comes to light. All the while a new 50% takes its place. Some of what is taught as medical gospel can become foolish or dangerous in time. Physicians of the future will look back upon us as barbarians as we similarly may view our less advanced medical predecessors. Probably most disciplines evolve along a similar path. Well understood and nearly universally accepted "scientific truths" in every field can turn out in time to be plumb wrong. Unfortunately, even in our world of instant information transfer and massive electronic pools of data, what was once the common wisdom takes a long time to be questioned, as newer contradictory data shakes up or outright demolishes what was once accepted without question.
So what does all this have to do with the price of eggs in Shanghai? Let's start our story at a restaurant with 2 couples jabbering away (myself and my wife, Linda; my friend, Howard and his wife, Faye). Of course as we all age, the topic of health issues pops up more and more in our conversations. It turns out Howard had developed muscle aches and general fatigue while taking a low dose of a statin drug. These symptoms completely resolved when the medication was withdrawn by his physician. He had encountered a...