Check out this great Ted Talk from Elizabeth Pisani and the discussion questions puts together by GlobeMed senior, Ryan Lange.

Let’s Get Rational:

[ted id=”818″ lang=”eng”]

Discussion Questions:

1) Is there really a universal rational decision for a given situation? If not, then who should decide what’s rational (the voters, politicians, scientific experts, etc.)?

2) There is often a mismatch between knowledge and practice. Commercial sex workers don’t want STIs.  Drug users want to use clean needles.  And yet transmission occurs.  Why does this happen?  Are you convinced by her argument?

3) How can we reach out to policy makers to convince them of what we believe to be rational from a public health perspective?

4) How do we garner support from voters and tax payers for services and programs that are about taboo issues and stigmatized people (drug injecters, gay men, sex workers)?

Reply with any thoughts on these questions!