Re: I'm get tired of it too, but...

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Ted de Castro wrote:
> 
> I also understand that if the repsonse to confounders is NOT linear -
> then averaged data will not properly address those other agents.  But I
> haven't seen that explaination offered either.

	--What you say is true. Averaged data cannot clearly address the
effects of confounders, and it is easy to formulate examples of how this
can have an important effect and even explain our discrepancy between
observation and predictions of LNT.. But there
is a corrolary requirement to this process, that the necessary  
assumptions about behavior of these confounders must not be very highly
implausible. The only way to study plausibility is with specific examples.
Every specific example that I have concocted or that has been proposed by
others has been shown to be very highly implausible. That is why I am
actively seeking suggestions for specific explanations that I can analyze
for plausibility, and am offering rewards for such suggestions.
	These matters are discussed in more detail in my paper in Health
Physics 76:437-439;1999, starting near the bottom of the first column on
page 438.

Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu


************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html