An Open Letter to Everyone Who has Been Nervously Pretending they Know How Medical Imaging Works…
But, like myself, didn’t. An explanation for the rest of us, starting with x-rays.
Editorial Note: much to my delight, actual imaging professionals have reached out to let me know how wrong I am. This piece will have some edits, where I will correct my misunderstandings as they are pointed out, and I'm grateful to my colleagues in imaging for helping me understand where I got it wrong. But my contention: I don't understand, and I was too ashamed to admit it, it turns out to be just as correct as I thought. I still don't get it. And so I am not doubting for the accuracy of the things I'm describing in the piece just yet…
I came, I saw, and I scammed. With apologies to Julius Caesar, and his pithy commentary upon vanquishing stuff, I have been annoyed at how medical imaging has been used to scam people.
Particularly, it’s been a problem in psychiatry1. It’s been super scammy, and it’s a problem. But as long as we don’t understand what’s actually happening, it’s easy to be scammed. It is confusing, and we’re gonna have to admit we don’t understand what’s actually h…