Nazi Medicine Post on Mefi?

November 10, 2011 2:54 PM

I think I saw a post on the site a year or so ago about the ethics of using Nazi medical data in modern science.

I remember it linking to a cite where you answered ethical questions about it in a sort of 'no win' choose your own adventure sort of way. I am not positive it was on Metafilter, but that is the most likely place I saw it. I've tried the site search and Google and I'm not finding it. Help please?

posted by eleanna to MetaFilter-Related at 2:54 PM (14 comments total)

The ethical questions thing (if it's the one I'm thinking of) has been quadruple posted (at least, sort of), but without skimming them all, I'm not sure if any of those talk about Nazi medical data.
posted by juv3nal at 3:09 PM on November 10, 2011

Perhaps you're confusing something with the "Should You Kill the Fat Man?" test, maybe? Or something on the home page there?
posted by misozaki at 3:19 PM on November 10, 2011

Would it more likely be rockets? Engineering was something they were actually good at, and the allies took a lot of that tech after the war (see: landing on the moon) - their medical stuff was mostly likely politically driven gobbledegook and awfulness.
posted by Artw at 3:31 PM on November 10, 2011

I remember the post but can't find it. I think it was partially based data regarding the survivability of hypothermia.
posted by elephantday at 3:38 PM on November 10, 2011

Here's a PDF covering the subject.

Linked from this post.
posted by elephantday at 3:42 PM on November 10, 2011

The Ethics Of Using Medical Data From Nazi Experiments is not what you're looking for, but it's an interesting read on the subject, nonetheless. Discusses whether "morally-tainted" data should be used in modern experiments.
posted by zarq at 3:50 PM on November 10, 2011

You know who else used nazi medical data ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:50 PM on November 10, 2011

Also, the 'is the handmaiden a virgin experiment' discussed at that jlaw link is completely batshit insane.
posted by zarq at 3:52 PM on November 10, 2011

No, I remember that too. It would ask you a question and you would choose your response, and then it would try to talk you out of your response. That if you changed your mind again, it would talk you out of THAT. It was very well done, I recall.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 3:53 PM on November 10, 2011

Yes, John Kenneth Fisher, that's the one I'm thinking of. I wish I could find it. The other things posted are helpful and interesting, but I wish I could find this one...
posted by eleanna at 4:12 PM on November 10, 2011

This? From this comment by BP.
posted by misozaki at 4:13 PM on November 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Yes! Thank you. I am glad that I am not going crazy.
posted by eleanna at 4:23 PM on November 10, 2011

Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I didn't know about it until now.
posted by misozaki at 4:31 PM on November 10, 2011

This? From this comment by BP.

Thanks, I was looking for that. I remembered making some kind of comment along those lines.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:11 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]