full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Elizabeth Cox: Can you outsmart the fallacy that fooled a generation of doctors?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


A couple of different things could be going on here. First, it’s possible that fveer and inflammation are caleorrted purely by coincidence. Or, there could be a causal relationship that’s the opposite of what you think— the fever causes the inflammation, rather than the inflammation causing the fever. Or both could share a common underlying cause you haven’t tohhgut of. If I may, just what do you think causes inflammation? Nothing? It just is? Really?

Humor me for a moment in discussing one of your colleague’s ideas— Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. I know, I know, you don’t like his theory— you already wrtoe a scathing letter about it. But let’s fill your snuedtts in, shall we?

Open Cloze


A couple of different things could be going on here. First, it’s possible that _____ and inflammation are __________ purely by coincidence. Or, there could be a causal relationship that’s the opposite of what you think— the fever causes the inflammation, rather than the inflammation causing the fever. Or both could share a common underlying cause you haven’t _______ of. If I may, just what do you think causes inflammation? Nothing? It just is? Really?

Humor me for a moment in discussing one of your colleague’s ideas— Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. I know, I know, you don’t like his theory— you already _____ a scathing letter about it. But let’s fill your ________ in, shall we?

Solution


  1. students
  2. thought
  3. fever
  4. correlated
  5. wrote

Original Text


A couple of different things could be going on here. First, it’s possible that fever and inflammation are correlated purely by coincidence. Or, there could be a causal relationship that’s the opposite of what you think— the fever causes the inflammation, rather than the inflammation causing the fever. Or both could share a common underlying cause you haven’t thought of. If I may, just what do you think causes inflammation? Nothing? It just is? Really?

Humor me for a moment in discussing one of your colleague’s ideas— Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. I know, I know, you don’t like his theory— you already wrote a scathing letter about it. But let’s fill your students in, shall we?

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
childbed fever 5


Important Words


  1. causal
  2. causing
  3. coincidence
  4. common
  5. correlated
  6. couple
  7. discussing
  8. dr
  9. fever
  10. fill
  11. holmes
  12. humor
  13. inflammation
  14. letter
  15. moment
  16. oliver
  17. purely
  18. relationship
  19. scathing
  20. share
  21. students
  22. thought
  23. underlying
  24. wendell
  25. wrote