Rebecca Goldin is director of research for Statistical Assessment Service (STATS), a nonprofit media watchdog group affiliated with George Mason University, where she is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Professor Goldin is a member of the science policy committee of the American Mathematical Society and the advisory board of Math for America: DC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving math education.
If you have ever suffered from serious, ongoing pain (RSI, anyone?) you know the desire to take something, anything, to make it go away. What if you were told that you may have a risk as high as 2% of developing heart problems as a result of the painkiller? Would that stop you? And what if you were told that your risk without the drugs was 1%? Would that make you any more likely to start taking the pills?
