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Dear All,

I'm getting rather worried about the tone of some of the
replies to my earlier postings on gluten dose and lymphoma
etc.

Let's get this straight - I am NOT some holy thing called a
"Scientist".  I'm a fairly ordinary bloke who has been a
lab technician in the biological research area MANY years
ago, who then transferred to Radiation Safety and took a
degree in Health and Safety at Work starting at age 29.

This does not make me any sort of prophet.  It does make me
able to look a statistic in the teeth fairly closely and
decide whether I dare trust it or not.  Anyone can start on
this trail.  There are two GREAT books popularising this
(fun to read too) called "How to Lie with Statistics" and
"How to Take a Chance" by an American author - Darrell
Huff.  In my course they were required reading BEFORE we
started the statistics course.  I also vividly remember
opening my basic psychology textbook to the chapter
"Measurement" to find the heading subtitled "95% of people
agree that thay have an above average sense of humour".

I do have a wide scientific background (I couldn't do my
job otherwise).  I am also very highly trained in
observation (for the same reason).  Everyone has some sort
of agenda for any research or reading up.  I hope mine's on
the side of the angels, in that I worry about some of the
fear I see in posts on this list but DON'T assume that that
is the whole and look very closely at what I and others
actually write.  We're only human and human nature gets in
the way at times.

I'll continue to poke around in the literature as long as
it doesn't cost me money to do so and I will report here.
Just don't trust me blindly please.

I'll get off me soapbox now.

Regards

David

David J Walland
University of Bristol Radiation Protection Adviser
[log in to unmask]
Tel +44 (0)117 928 8323
Fax +44 (0)117 929 1209

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