Thinking Out Loud About Reliability and Validity

I came across the following post a couple of weeks back. It is a picture of the upper torso with the focus on the heart and the caption: Effects of Cold Water. This post and the accompanying reactions to it have compelled me to write this note.

                                                      

I was, and still am amazed, to see how 282 shares (it was initially only 63) by the originator have grown to 26, 251 shares in all — and this figure is still increasing. I have received this myself from more than a few friends, often with an accompanying text declaring: “No more cold water after meals” or something along those lines.

                                                           

If you generally read with an attitude that everything you read can be trusted, then you’re most certainly going to believe that post. And I tell myself, my my how easy it is to propagate untruths and misconceptions. Often I think it’s not the people who write who should be faulted, but we readers who really need to be more critical in our reading.

                                                  

When I saw the picture, the first question I asked myself was: “Who wrote this?” Anonymous? Reliability dips. If you have something to write that you think is worth reading, then have the integrity to put your identity to it. Otherwise, it's not likely that you'll be taken too seriously. Well, not by me at least.

                                                               

You’ll find that only the first paragraph talks about drinking cold water after a meal and how this purportedly leads to cancer. Wow! Quite a big claim, isn’t it? I think most people latched on to that segment. Now, here’s the odd thing: The rest of the ‘essay’, a good three paragraphs, gives some details and advice regarding heart attacks. Erm, weren’t we talking about cold water, here? Reliability dips further. I highly doubt that it’s been written by someone with an academic background decent enough to make such claims, let alone a medical professional. Regardless of language, I think learners are taught quite early in school the various structures of a text.

                                                                 

Towards the end, you’ll see this statement: “A cardiologist says if everyone who reads this message sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we’ll save at least one life.” That's something quite uncharacteristic of a cardiologist to say! You would expect Cardiologists to be more scientific than that. A superstitious cardiologist. Sounds rather oxymoronic, don’t you think? In any case, with the mention of a medical professional, this text might seem to be gaining some credibility. But then we ask, which cardiologist? No name, again. Reliability dips even further.

                                                                   

But just because the article doesn’t seem reliable, does it mean that it is not valid? There are one or two valid points. Heart attacks are a concern. And if at all, this message does help to remind us on the importance of not ignoring certain symptoms of heart attacks. I have heard that pain in the left arm is one symptom. But, pain in your left arm doesn’t necessarily mean that you have heart problems. It could be due to your sleeping position. Likewise, absence of pain in the left arm does not necessarily rule out the possibility of heart problems as the article points out.

                                                   

I am not judging that it is wrong to share this picture. But if you do share something like that, be clear on its contents and the value it will add to your readers' knowledge. It always helps to include a line or two articulating your thoughts, so readers know the point you are trying to make. In this case, it might seem more valid to focus on the symptoms of heart attacks rather than cold water.

                                                                                                                                     

So, does drinking cold water immediately after a meal cause cancer? An article, “Throwing Cold Water on Cold Water”, taken from the Active Living academic journal (January 2009 Volume 18 Issue 1 Page 11) has dismissed this as “Nonsense”. It quotes the University of California (Berkley) Wellness Letter, which has been studying these and other such claims. Apparently, the body “does a good job of warming cold beverages to body temperature.”

                                                                  

Still, this could just be one of many different perspectives. But nevertheless, it comes from an authoritative source, which surely means it is more reliable and more valid. I, for one, am not yet intending to stop the icy-cold lime juice which complements the spicy-hot fish head curry. So, my investigation ends here.