Apparently the first reference to comparing treatment and control groups is in the Book of Daniel in the bible, where King Nebuchadnezzar orders his people to eat only meat and drink only wine (for their health). When some object, he allows them to eat only legumes and drink only water for 10 days, after which he compares their health to the “control” group of meat-eaters. They do better, so he allows them to continue their diet. Note, however, the lack of randomization and hence the possibility of a strong selection effect. The king appears to implicitly understand this, since he does not order everyone to switch to the new diet.
20 Responses
The first [recorded] control trial? http://t.co/sIFK3CkdRT
Apparently the first reference to comparing treatment and control groups is in the Book of Daniel… http://t.co/nnirY02wYi
One for the MEL-istas. The first control trial, on health effects of diet, from the Book of Daniel http://t.co/1XKsmrYM2o
From .@cblatts, for the data geeks: an argument that the Biblical Daniel was the cause of the first controlled trial http://t.co/JIg9IQtYRV
Nice… “The first control trial?” http://t.co/sdHvjq6JKA #eval
RT @cblatts: The first control trial? http://t.co/SuJEQN7Uc0
Was written up here by Duncan Neuhauser: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1743807/pdf/v013p00153.pdf
RT @poverty_action: RT @cblatts: The first control trial? http://t.co/uQR7elhNL6
RT @joshuakeating: King Nebuchadnezzar: The first control trial? http://t.co/52WnY7tPZW
King Nebuchadnezzar: The first control trial? http://t.co/52WnY7tPZW
Now if only more researchers would take advice from the Bible(never thought I’d say that…)
http://t.co/YrVSGEc0AU via @cblatts
RT @cblatts: The first control trial? http://t.co/uQR7elhNL6
El primer ensayo controlado es bíblico. “@cblatts: The first control trial? http://t.co/wtblWTtlGy”
The first control trial? It’s from the Old Testament http://t.co/K9bEP98ymm via @chrisblattman
@cblatts Gideon is roughly a half millenium earlier (Judges 6:36-40). Surprising that God puts up with being the experimental subject!
RT @cblatts: The first control trial? http://t.co/SuJEQN7Uc0
RT @cblatts: The first control trial? http://t.co/SuJEQN7Uc0
The first control trial?: Apparently the first reference to comparing treatment and control groups is in the B… http://t.co/7EodWL3cDQ
@cblatts I’ve totally thought about this before! Also, 10 days is a rather short period to observe health effects. We’ve come a long way.
RT @cblatts: The first control trial? http://t.co/SuJEQN7Uc0