1619: Watson Medical Algorithm - Revision history

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2025-03-02T12:07:46Z

‎Explanation

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added Category:Comics edited after their publication using HotCat

FaviFake: /* Trivia */

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‎Trivia

172.69.194.162: /* Explanation of steps */ punctuation/grammar fix, and a separate sense-fix

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‎Explanation of steps: punctuation/grammar fix, and a separate sense-fix

172.68.3.127: /* Explanation of steps */ spell fix

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‎Explanation of steps: spell fix

172.69.22.220: /* Explanation */

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‎Explanation

42.book.addict at 18:30, 29 February 2024

2024-02-29T18:30:09Z

Maplestrip: How to survive.

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How to survive.

Maplestrip: /* Explanation */ If the word "horrifying" isn't brought up before the fourth sentence of the page, we're doing something wrong...

2024-02-23T12:29:25Z

‎Explanation: If the word "horrifying" isn't brought up before the fourth sentence of the page, we're doing something wrong...

162.158.146.180: /* Explanation of steps */ Simplified reference

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‎Explanation of steps: Simplified reference

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 ==Explanation==
-IBM's {{w|Watson (computer)|Watson}} is a natural language system designed to answer questions posed by humans. Recently, {{w|IBM}} has extended Watson to act as a {{w|clinical decision support system}}, using image analytics to aid {{w|physicians}} in medical decision making.
+IBM's {{w|Watson (computer)|Watson}} is a natural language system designed to answer questions posed by humans. Recently, {{w|IBM}} has extended Watson to act as a {{w|clinical decision support system}}, using image analytics to aid {{w|physicians}} in medical decision making. In this comic, [[Randall]] uses a {{w|flowchart}} (as he [[:Category:Flowcharts|often does]]) to represent a guide to the algorithm used by Watson, including bizarre and horrifying techniques including surgical alteration of a patient to match a height and weight chart or squeezing the patient to make sure fluids come out of them. Like [[416: Zealous Autoconfig]], this comic pokes fun at a rigid, poorly-designed setup that ends up potentially doing more harm than good.
 Modern {{w|medicine}} involves both standard processes and clinical judgment based around years of advanced training. An algorithm like this would have to be incredibly complicated in order to simulate the clinical judgment of a good doctor. However, some procedures are not normally used, and some would obviously cause damage.{{Citation needed}} Below is a [[#Explaination of steps|detailed description of each step]], but here is a list of some of the more strange steps:
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 **If the patient has less than 100 limbs, check their {{w|Vitamin D}} level
-Although there are two options where the patient is {{w|Inpatient_care#Planning_for_patient_discharge|discharged}} the patient should be very lucky to make it to one alive. The only survivable route requires the patient to be injecting with oxygen, which is typically lethal. The patient would also experience multiple unnecessary operations, which hopefully do not last long enough for their vitamin D levels or their phone battery to decrease significantly.
+Although there are two options where the patient is {{w|Inpatient_care#Planning_for_patient_discharge|discharged}} the patient should be very lucky to make it to one alive. The only survivable route requires the patient to be injecting with oxygen, which is typically lethal. The patient would also experience multiple unnecessary operations, which hopefully do not last long enough for their vitamin D levels or their phone battery to decrease significantly. The option at the bottom left is only reached after your skeleton is removed (and nothing is mentioned about putting it back, even if that would help).
-You can also reach this discharge option another way, but that would only be after your organs were removed... But if you get through this you could reach the discharged option alive. Sadly there is a little glitch mentioned in the title text:
+The other discharge option is to the right, three boxes down, and can only be reached if you survive having an oxygen saturation of less than 50 % (less than 80-90 % can be a serious problem, see [[#Explanation of steps|table below]]), and a very dangerous oxygen injection. Then you have to have a skin graft and a good D vitamin level. It is also best that you have a fully charged phone else you will be subject to defibrillation (which may very likely kill you, if it will continue until your phone is charged to above "low" level - which is probably not even possible). You can also reach this discharge option another way, but that would only be after your organs were removed... But if you get through this you could reach the discharged option alive. Sadly there is a little glitch mentioned in the title text:
 The title text implies that, if the patient is so lucky to ever reach one of the two places with the option "discharge patient", a minor glitch will cause the program to go back to the ''hunt down and capture patient'' option which thus force the patient and the program to repeat the process again in an infinite cycle, that will only end once the patient give another rating than 0-10 of their pain level on the 0-10 scale. Then the program will start to sequence their genome, then apply a tourniquet and finally perform an autopsy on what will, in the end, for certain be a deceased patient; but maybe the patient was still alive when the autopsy began. This will finally cause the patient to leave the cycle as a corpse. If the patient dies before giving a different option, the machine could get stuck, as it will never receive any answer to the pain level question. It could also get stuck trying to charge the patients phone battery by defibrillation.

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 ==Trivia==
-*The [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/1/15/20151222113107!watson_medical_algorithm.png original comic] was updated after it was first posted.
+In the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/1/15/20151222113107!watson_medical_algorithm.png original version of the comic], the decisions for number of limbs were swapped. Watson would remove the extra limbs if you had less than 100 limbs, while in the corrected version, he would remove them only if you had more than 100. This actually opened up (a slim) chance to survive to the right discharge patient box. However, according to the title text, it wouldn’t matter in the end.
 {{comic discussion}}

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 Squeeze patient
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-Could be in the medical context as in providing external ventilation (see iron lung) or other means of removing fluid (e.g. squeezing pus from a boil).
+Could be in the medical context, as in providing external ventilation (see iron lung) or some means of removing fluid (e.g. squeezing pus from a boil).
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 Is fluid coming out of patient

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 Squeeze patient
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-Could be in the medical context is in providing external ventilation (see iron lung) or other means of removing fluid (e.g. squeezing pus from a boil).
+Could be in the medical context as in providing external ventilation (see iron lung) or other means of removing fluid (e.g. squeezing pus from a boil).
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 Is fluid coming out of patient

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 **{{w|Dissecting}} a doctor "for parts" after consulting them for advice.
 **Removing extra limbs from a patient if the count is 100 or more (This might be a reference to different number systems used in computers, as 100 is read in binary as four.)
-**Determining whether the "build environment" of the patient is sane. This is most probably a reference to the {{w|configure script}} used in the {{w|GNU_build_system|GNU build system}}, which emits "checking whether build environment is sane" as one of its status messages.
+**Determining whether the "build environment" of the patient is sane. This is most probably a reference to the {{w|configure script}} used in the {{w|GNU_build_system|GNU build system}}, which emits "checking whether build environment is sane" as one of its status messages. This is also referenced in [[371: Compiler Complaint]].
 **Rinsing the whole patient with a {{w|Saline (medicine)|saline solution}}.
 **Removing organs from a patient regardless of response to an {{w|organ donation}} request.

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 Dissect doctor for parts
-|     | <b >This may be considered ethically dubious{{Citation needed}}.<span > </span></b>Possible reference to the Doctor Who episode “{{w|The Girl in the Fireplace}}”
+|     | <b >This may be considered ethically dubious.{{Citation needed}}<span > </span></b>Possible reference to the Doctor Who episode “{{w|The Girl in the Fireplace}}”
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 Discharge patient (left)

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 Laser eye removal
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-This is not a standard medical procedure, and not a good idea.  This could be a pun on laser eye surgery where a laser is used to correct visual problems (e.g. short-sightedness), or laser hair and tattoo removal. At least in animal surgery, however,  laser eye removal [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smK0NYUtoqk does exist]. Laser eye removal is also discussed in [[1681: Laser Products]].
+This is not a standard medical procedure, and not a good idea.  This is a reference to [[1681: Laser Products]]. At least in animal surgery, however,  laser eye removal [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smK0NYUtoqk does exist].
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 Admit for observation