You read an article you disagree with on Sensible Medicine: What next?

At Sensible Medicine, we are committed to publishing a range of views. On a number of topics we have done this. From masking, to colon cancer screening, to the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and beyond. We have had debates on this platform, which is something that we don't see on any other websites in medicine. During the course of this, a few things have come up, which we want to address.

1. Some readers have confused two things. Sensible medicine strives to be balanced, but individual articles will not be. You want to read essays that are opinionated and argumentative. Each individual essay will not be a mealy middle of the road view. Of course, some of our writers are more nuanced and centrist than others. (*VP Looks around nervously…)

2. If you read something you don't like, you are welcome to submit a reply. When appropriate, we may even get the original author to reply back to you (our preference is to give them the opportunity). A number of you have written in saying that you disagree with a certain piece, but you don't want to write a reply. Let us say, and this is just our opinion, you are the problem in society. If you feel strongly about something, grow a spine, and write a reply. What are you worried about? Do you think they'll fire you from your job? Are you worried about your professional reputation? We struggle to understand the reason why you're declining. Nobody will care that you wrote a reply for Sensible Medicine. It won't be mentioned in your eulogy. Truly, it will be forgotten in a week. So if you feel strongly just do it, otherwise, don't complain to us. Especially if your complaint email is longer than a reply. We truly wonder: what's going on in your life that you have time to write such long emails but you don't have time to write a reply to be published so people can read it?

3. If you do want to write a reply, here's our tip. Read it aloud. We're trying to publish essays that appeal to a broad group of readers. Not everyone who reads this publication is a doctor, or statistician, or fan of Chaucer. We prefer sentences that are crisp and short, but we appreciate that there are other styles of writing. But, no matter what style you employ, you should be able to read your essay aloud in under 7-10 minutes. Shorter is better. And it should sound good to your ear. That's the best way to improve your writing. If you choose to submit, please send us your reply (or article) rather than a “pitch.”

4. Please focus your essay on the arguments made. Don't speculate about the intentions or goals of the writers. That's ad hominem. Also, don't waste half your essay talking about whether someone has the right or experience to comment on the topic. They've already done so, and it's more ad hominem. Get to the point.

5. We're going to try to do more debates in the weeks to come to model the kind of writing we enjoy. Previously, for this publication, we have each debated a side of the issue that we actually don't agree with. We did that to make interesting reading and because that's the kind of thing we like to read. We want to do more of this in the future. If you have ideas for what you want us to debate, email us. There is a link on the about page for email suggestions or submissions.

6. Please become a subscriber. If you believe in what we're trying to do, which is to showcase a range of ideas, please support us.