John Finnemore and the Emperor

[@ferb1131]

Unfortunately it turns out that double-blind peer-reviewed trials are no more of an 'easy way to tell them apart' than anything else, with a surprisingly high percentage of the positive results turning out not to be repeatable - and this going unnoticed for a long time because people rarely try to repeat them, and the failures to repeat them rarely get publicised.

[@lzrinzo]

Ferb - True. And that is why a critical questioning mind is crucial. A trial must be well designed and only answers the question that is being asked. However, a large number of important questions have been answered by repeated RCTs. If a trial cannot be repeated then doubt is cast on the results. This is a comedy sketch and sums up the importance of critical thought rather than the power of RCTs (just one of the tools science has at its disposal). Keep well!!