April 02, 2006

April Fool's

Some readers were quick to catch the April Fool's prank behind the BMJ story about extreme laziness now being categorized as a disease.

The facts are that Professor David Henry of the University of Newcastle in Australia is hosting a conference on disease-mongering this month. And as the University announced earlier, "Professor Henry outlines a scenario that will form the basis of an educational exercise. He has created a new ‘disease’ – Motivational Deficiency Disorder (MoDeD), a previously unknown, but surprisingly common condition. Professor Henry says Professor Leth Argos will present data on the prevalence, social impact and treatment of this exhausting new disorder. 'Linked with this, a public relations company will demonstrate how a disease is ‘managed’, how it is promoted into the community and will explain all the steps and techniques involved in this process,' he says."

Posted by schwitz at April 2, 2006 12:06 PM | TrackBack
Comments

You know it's not a very good April Fools joke if you post it on March 31st.

Ashamedly, I have to admit I was duped, but at least I posted it to my blog on the correct day, so nobody has to know I was duped, unless I admit to it, which I guess I just did.

Unfortunately, I'm old enough to remember Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, attributed to Epstein Barr Virus, afflicting several elite female cyclists back in the 80's, which made the report sound plausible.

Posted by: Marc at April 2, 2006 03:39 PM

Folks - it WAS April 1st - in Australia. The BMJ released it in embargoed form a day early and some outlets started to carry the story.

But it appeared officially in the BMJ on Saturday April 1st.

Gary knew perfectly well what we were up to

We were not just fooling around. We wanted to show that it is easy to create a disorder for the purpose of profit. The Google hits on "motivational deficiency disorder" were last friday 9; Sunday 101; Monday 245; Wednesday 452

We thought Leth Argos and Indolebant would give it away. But some outlets carried it as gospel. Was a quiet news day. The Chicago Tribune nearly carried it but checked the last minute. A paper in New Zealand put it on the front page

Posted by: David Henry at April 5, 2006 04:17 AM
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