Graphic Novels about Healthcare Data Science
Prompt
I would like to create a few fun graphic novel short stories targeting high-school students about the value of data in healthcare. For example, for many years cigarette companies tried to convince people that smoking cigarettes did not cause cancer. Gas companies tried to convince people that lead in gasoline was harmless. People promoting homeopathic remedies had no evidence it helped. And companies selling vitamins for billions of dollars each year only benefited a small percent of the population. Please create a list of these stories and summarize the lessons they teach.
I love this idea! Graphic novels are a perfect medium to show the dramatic tension between scientific evidence and powerful interests. Here are compelling stories about the value of data in healthcare that would resonate with high school students:
Proposed Graphic Novel Stories
1. "The Tobacco Conspiracy: When Science Met Denial"
Follows scientists like Ernst Wynder and Evarts Graham in the 1950s as they gather mounting evidence linking cigarettes to cancer, while tobacco executives actively suppress and distort data. Shows the industry's tactics of hiring "doubt merchants" and the courageous whistleblowers.
Lesson: Data can reveal uncomfortable truths that threaten profitable industries. Corporate interests sometimes deliberately manufacture doubt about solid scientific evidence.
2. "Lead Feet: The Battle Against Tetraethyl Lead"
Chronicles the story of Clair Patterson, the geochemist who discovered environmental lead poisoning, and his decades-long fight against the lead industry. Features the tragic "looney gas building" incident where workers died, and Robert Kehoe's industry-funded research claiming lead was safe.
Lesson: When profits are at stake, industries may hide data about public health dangers. Independent research is crucial, and sometimes scientists must persist for decades before data wins.
3. "The Homeopathy Illusion: Dilution Confusion"
Explores the origins of homeopathy and follows modern teenagers trying to understand why their parents buy these remedies. Shows how placebo effects work and what proper clinical trials actually reveal about homeopathic treatments.
Lesson: Personal anecdotes and testimonials aren't data. The plural of anecdote is not evidence. Controlled studies are essential to distinguish real effects from placebo effects.
4. "Vitamin Hype: When More Isn't Better"
Tells the story of Linus Pauling's vitamin C claims and follows the actual research showing most people don't benefit from supplements. Reveals how a multi-billion dollar industry thrives on misleading marketing rather than evidence.
Lesson: Even Nobel Prize winners can be wrong when they ignore data. Correlation isn't causation, and the supplement industry isn't required to prove their products work.
5. "The Radium Girls: Glowing in the Dark"
Follows the young women who painted watch dials with radium in the 1920s, told by their employers it was harmless (even encouraged to lick their brushes!). Shows how they fought for medical data to prove their illnesses came from radiation poisoning.
Lesson: Workers deserve access to data about workplace hazards. Companies may hide health data to avoid liability. Individual health records can reveal patterns when analyzed together.
6. "The Opioid Deception: Purdue's Lies"
Chronicles how Purdue Pharma claimed OxyContin was less addictive than other opioids, despite their own data showing otherwise. Follows a high school community affected by the opioid epidemic and the doctors who uncovered the truth.
Lesson: Pharmaceutical companies must share all their data, not cherry-pick results. Post-market surveillance data is as important as clinical trials. Aggressive marketing can override scientific caution.
7. "Sweet Lies: The Sugar Industry's Secret"
Reveals how the sugar industry paid scientists in the 1960s to publish research blaming fat—not sugar—for heart disease, setting back nutrition science for decades. Follows modern researchers uncovering these suppressed documents.
Lesson: Who funds research matters. Industry-sponsored studies may be biased. Following the money reveals conflicts of interest that can distort scientific conclusions.
8. "Blood and Superstition: The End of Bloodletting"
Shows how bloodletting was considered "proven medicine" for centuries until Pierre Louis used numerical data to show it actually harmed patients. Features the death of George Washington from excessive bloodletting.
Lesson: Tradition and authority aren't evidence. Even well-intentioned doctors can harm patients without data. Systematic collection and analysis of outcomes can overturn centuries of practice.
9. "The Thalidomide Tragedy: Why We Test"
Tells the story of Frances Kelsey, the FDA reviewer who refused to approve thalidomide in the US despite industry pressure, while thousands of babies in Europe were born with severe defects. Shows the birth of modern drug testing requirements.
Lesson: Rigorous testing before approval saves lives. One person with scientific integrity can make a huge difference. We need long-term safety data, not just short-term effectiveness data.
10. "Buckle Up: How Crash Data Saved Lives"
Chronicles how automobile companies resisted seat belts for decades, claiming they were unnecessary. Shows how crash test data, epidemiological studies, and passionate advocates eventually made seat belts mandatory.
Lesson: Systematic data collection changes policy. Industry opposition to safety measures is often about cost, not science. Public health data can overcome corporate resistance.
Overarching Themes for the Series
These stories collectively teach high school students to:
- Question authority and ask "Where's the evidence?"
- Understand that profit motives can corrupt science
- Recognize the difference between anecdotes and data
- Appreciate how statistical analysis reveals patterns
- Value independent research and peer review
- Understand study design (controls, randomization, sample size)
- Recognize conflicts of interest
- Appreciate the courage required to speak truth to power
Each story could end with a "Data Detective" page showing students how to evaluate health claims they encounter online and in advertising, making them critical consumers of health information.
Would you like me to develop any of these stories in more detail, or help you create character profiles and story arcs for the graphic novels?
Prompt
Are there any ways we could tie the ability for scale-out graph databases to provide a better holistic views of large-scale healthcare data using an enterprise healthcare graph.
I love this idea! Graphic novels are a perfect medium to show the dramatic tension between scientific evidence and powerful interests. Here are compelling stories about the value of data in healthcare that would resonate with high school students:
Proposed Graphic Novel Stories
1. "The Tobacco Conspiracy: When Science Met Denial"
Follows scientists like Ernst Wynder and Evarts Graham in the 1950s as they gather mounting evidence linking cigarettes to cancer, while tobacco executives actively suppress and distort data. Shows the industry's tactics of hiring "doubt merchants" and the courageous whistleblowers.
Lesson: Data can reveal uncomfortable truths that threaten profitable industries. Corporate interests sometimes deliberately manufacture doubt about solid scientific evidence.
2. "Lead Feet: The Battle Against Tetraethyl Lead"
Chronicles the story of Clair Patterson, the geochemist who discovered environmental lead poisoning, and his decades-long fight against the lead industry. Features the tragic "looney gas building" incident where workers died, and Robert Kehoe's industry-funded research claiming lead was safe.
Lesson: When profits are at stake, industries may hide data about public health dangers. Independent research is crucial, and sometimes scientists must persist for decades before data wins.
3. "The Homeopathy Illusion: Dilution Confusion"
Explores the origins of homeopathy and follows modern teenagers trying to understand why their parents buy these remedies. Shows how placebo effects work and what proper clinical trials actually reveal about homeopathic treatments.
Lesson: Personal anecdotes and testimonials aren't data. The plural of anecdote is not evidence. Controlled studies are essential to distinguish real effects from placebo effects.
4. "Vitamin Hype: When More Isn't Better"
Tells the story of Linus Pauling's vitamin C claims and follows the actual research showing most people don't benefit from supplements. Reveals how a multi-billion dollar industry thrives on misleading marketing rather than evidence.
Lesson: Even Nobel Prize winners can be wrong when they ignore data. Correlation isn't causation, and the supplement industry isn't required to prove their products work.
5. "The Radium Girls: Glowing in the Dark"
Follows the young women who painted watch dials with radium in the 1920s, told by their employers it was harmless (even encouraged to lick their brushes!). Shows how they fought for medical data to prove their illnesses came from radiation poisoning.
Lesson: Workers deserve access to data about workplace hazards. Companies may hide health data to avoid liability. Individual health records can reveal patterns when analyzed together.
6. "The Opioid Deception: Purdue's Lies"
Chronicles how Purdue Pharma claimed OxyContin was less addictive than other opioids, despite their own data showing otherwise. Follows a high school community affected by the opioid epidemic and the doctors who uncovered the truth.
Lesson: Pharmaceutical companies must share all their data, not cherry-pick results. Post-market surveillance data is as important as clinical trials. Aggressive marketing can override scientific caution.
7. "Sweet Lies: The Sugar Industry's Secret"
Reveals how the sugar industry paid scientists in the 1960s to publish research blaming fat—not sugar—for heart disease, setting back nutrition science for decades. Follows modern researchers uncovering these suppressed documents.
Lesson: Who funds research matters. Industry-sponsored studies may be biased. Following the money reveals conflicts of interest that can distort scientific conclusions.
8. "Blood and Superstition: The End of Bloodletting"
Shows how bloodletting was considered "proven medicine" for centuries until Pierre Louis used numerical data to show it actually harmed patients. Features the death of George Washington from excessive bloodletting.
Lesson: Tradition and authority aren't evidence. Even well-intentioned doctors can harm patients without data. Systematic collection and analysis of outcomes can overturn centuries of practice.
9. "The Thalidomide Tragedy: Why We Test"
Tells the story of Frances Kelsey, the FDA reviewer who refused to approve thalidomide in the US despite industry pressure, while thousands of babies in Europe were born with severe defects. Shows the birth of modern drug testing requirements.
Lesson: Rigorous testing before approval saves lives. One person with scientific integrity can make a huge difference. We need long-term safety data, not just short-term effectiveness data.
10. "Buckle Up: How Crash Data Saved Lives"
Chronicles how automobile companies resisted seat belts for decades, claiming they were unnecessary. Shows how crash test data, epidemiological studies, and passionate advocates eventually made seat belts mandatory.
Lesson: Systematic data collection changes policy. Industry opposition to safety measures is often about cost, not science. Public health data can overcome corporate resistance.
Overarching Themes for the Series
These stories collectively teach high school students to:
- Question authority and ask "Where's the evidence?"
- Understand that profit motives can corrupt science
- Recognize the difference between anecdotes and data
- Appreciate how statistical analysis reveals patterns
- Value independent research and peer review
- Understand study design (controls, randomization, sample size)
- Recognize conflicts of interest
- Appreciate the courage required to speak truth to power
Each story could end with a "Data Detective" page showing students how to evaluate health claims they encounter online and in advertising, making them critical consumers of health information.
Would you like me to develop any of these stories in more detail, or help you create character profiles and story arcs for the graphic novels?