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by FireBeyond 2090 days ago
> This is ridiculous, if such a device exists and can detect a new condition that 5% of the US population has with a 80% false positive rate, and the condition was as serious as heart disease this would really be a miracle device and people would be grateful that such a thing exists.

Since we're overly simplifying, there _are_ devices that can detect conditions that 5% of the population has _and_ have far fewer false positives - X-rays, CT scans, MRI. In the grand scheme amazing things, but no-one's calling them "miracle devices".
2 comments
pixelbash 2090 days ago
> there _are_ devices that can detect conditions that 5% of the population has _and_ have far fewer false positives - X-rays, CT scans, MRI.

Perhaps, but you can't wear one on your wrist and you generally have to be quite sure something is wrong first.

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TeMPOraL 2090 days ago
Oh, but they are miracle devices, and were considered as such initially. But the difference between them and the hypothetical miracle device is accessibility. MRIs and CT scans are not something you can use to casually test half of the country's population.
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