>>I worked for years with the Head of Microbiology. He heard my daughter cough while he and I spoke on the phone. He asked if we took her to the doctor. I said yes and a specialist and they did not know. He asked for their names and said they were both terrible. He told me to tell them he said it was x. I told them. They ran a test and found he was correct. You place too much faith in the equality of doctors and programmers at your peril.

There was a time when med students aspired to be the sort of expert doctor who could make a diagnosis based on history and examination. We were taught that history is 80% of the diagnosis and I once worked with a surgeon who made the diagnosis in her final practical exams as the patient walked in the door. Not any more; the big reason is Liability (including in Canada) justifying ticking every applicable test on the order form, bolstered by patients who are conditioned to expect a barrage of investigations of any reported symptom.

I see comments from others about medical doctors; MDs do have more experience even than programmers when it comes to medical treatment, and the pace and consequences of medical change. IMHO biological science (like medicine) is very different from disciplines like programming where truths can be declared by vendors or others who can make reality match their declarations. Biology is a lot less certain and people who try to be absolutists in medicine often come a cropper. JMHO.