A Double-Blind Study Is Truly Doubly Blind

April 4, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is truth.

I welcome comments on my poems at https://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A philosophical poem about the limitations of double-blind studies:

A double-blind study is truly doubly blind:

First, because it thinks it's in control;

Second, because it's in too much control,

Masking viscera with the face of mind.

Being's neither linear nor lined;

Cause and effect are interactive; the whole

Disintegrates divided into parts; the goal

Must be with more humility defined.

One sees by flashlight; variables unknown

Cannot be controlled; nothing is

Isolable; each moment is unique.

Yes, statistics help, but they are prone

To hide what might be missing. Scientists quiz

The world and get the answers that they seek.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/adoubl.html. For more philosophical poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Truth

4/1: Facts Are Less Reliable than Dreams

4/2: The Truth Is Far Too Truthful

4/3: What You Think You Know, You Don’t

4/4: A Double-Blind Study Is Truly Doubly Blind