Stupid Idea #1: Dr. Semmelweis and washing your hands...

in #science7 years ago (edited)

Stupid Idea. Why stupid idea? Because today a friend said to me, “All you ever do is think about your stupid ideas.” This is probably common for a lot of people that have stupid ideas, but stupid is a matter of perception. Be weary of "consensus" and the herd mentality, it suppress the progression of exploration and ideas.

Dr. Semmelweis

Stupid Idea: If doctors disinfected their hands (with chlorinated lime solution) the mortality rate would drop.

In 1847 he realised that germs spreading to patients when hey were being operated on was causing infection and leading to an untimely death. It was his opinion that cleanliness of doctors and utensils was of the utmost importance to prevent germs spreading. “That’s stupid”, though the medical establishment largely ignored him. He died in 1865 age 47. It was several years after his death that the theory of germs being a problem really got going, and thus Dr Stupid and his stupid idea was right.