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My social network helped diagnose a rare disease that our doctors missed.

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Re: My social network helped diagnose a rare disease that our doctors missed.

#51
post #14
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to say it would be pretty awesome if there was a sudden influx in bored SAHMs learning to program / contributing to open source / starting their own company.

FWIW: I did post a link to HN on a homeschooling list where a parent (most likely a mom, since such lists tend to be dominated by women) was asking for resources related to programming. I also posted a link to a particular discussion here on another list (a really tiny list). I have long told my two sons that they aren't likely to be employable (especially my older son) so they need to plan on making their own compan…

Cool. :) If it's not too rude, why unemployable? Does homeschooling just create people who are too independent to be a good fit with a lot of employers, or do employers/college admissions see a homeschool education as less valuable than public/private?

Re: My social network helped diagnose a rare disease that our doctors missed.

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>three of her FB friends knew about a rare immune disorder. sounds like not that rare. Or is it rare just because doctor couldn't diagnose it? Just an experiment - googled "Face swelling" and the first page of the first organic result has "If you experience facial swelling accompanied by difficulty breathing, hives, intense distress, fever, redness, or warmth, seek immediate medical care (call 911)." I see how the fo…

There wasn't really a very clear timeline but you appear to have confused things somewhat. The parents noticed the rash and swelling on the Sunday and so were in the paediatricians office that same day. If the [emergency] paediatrician gives a clear diagnosis in person would you really say "hang on a minute Google's SERPs say I should call 911". You're standing there with the doctor, you don't need to call for one. T…

>If the [emergency] paediatrician gives a clear diagnosis in person would you really say "hang on a minute Google's SERPs say I should call 911". You're standing there with the doctor, you don't need to call for one.

Bringing up such seemingly applicable to your case search results while talking with doctor is necessary even if only to make sure that the professional would rule the results out as not really applicable to your situation.

Anyway, if you replace "Google SERP's" with "FB social search", then your gave a pretty accurate description of what happened in the article. It is just that "FB social search" took days, though it happened to bring more specific results.

Re: My social network helped diagnose a rare disease that our doctors missed.

#53
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW: I did post a link to HN on a homeschooling list where a parent (most likely a mom, since such lists tend to be dominated by women) was asking for resources related to programming. I also posted a link to a particular discussion here on another list (a really tiny list). I have long told my two sons that they aren't likely to be employable (especially my older son) so they need to plan on making their own compan…

Cool. :) If it's not too rude, why unemployable? Does homeschooling just create people who are too independent to be a good fit with a lot of employers, or do employers/college admissions see a homeschool education as less valuable than public/private?

I homeschooled my sons because they are both "twice exceptional": gifted and learning disabled/otherwise handicapped. They didn't fit into the school system and they won't fit in well in most environments. There is an old, out of date website where I talk some about parenting and homeschooling them if your curiosity requires more than a two sentence explanation to satisfy: http://www.kidslikemine.com/ I don't mind talking about it. I just haven't been sleeping well this week and I'm quite tired.

Re: My social network helped diagnose a rare disease that our doctors missed.

#54
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cool. :) If it's not too rude, why unemployable? Does homeschooling just create people who are too independent to be a good fit with a lot of employers, or do employers/college admissions see a homeschool education as less valuable than public/private?

I homeschooled my sons because they are both "twice exceptional": gifted and learning disabled/otherwise handicapped. They didn't fit into the school system and they won't fit in well in most environments. There is an old, out of date website where I talk some about parenting and homeschooling them if your curiosity requires more than a two sentence explanation to satisfy: http://www.kidslikemine.com/ I don't mind ta…

I think the two-sentence explanation was enough for me to get the idea. I knew a guy like that when I was a teenager, very smart, decent guy but problems getting along with people. (I think he made his money doing freelance programming actually, so we've come full circle.) Thanks for the link, though; your kids' blog is great. Gaming plus plothole-picking plus social consciousness is one of my favorite combos.

Re: My social network helped diagnose a rare disease that our doctors missed.

#55
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I homeschooled my sons because they are both "twice exceptional": gifted and learning disabled/otherwise handicapped. They didn't fit into the school system and they won't fit in well in most environments. There is an old, out of date website where I talk some about parenting and homeschooling them if your curiosity requires more than a two sentence explanation to satisfy: http://www.kidslikemine.com/ I don't mind ta…

I think the two-sentence explanation was enough for me to get the idea. I knew a guy like that when I was a teenager, very smart, decent guy but problems getting along with people. (I think he made his money doing freelance programming actually, so we've come full circle.) Thanks for the link, though; your kids' blog is great. Gaming plus plothole-picking plus social consciousness is one of my favorite combos.

Thanks. I'm really glad to hear you like the blog. So far, it hasn't seen much traffic/gotten much feedback so it's very nice to hear that. (If you have any ideas on how to promote the blog, drop me a line.)
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