Maybe I’m the last one to figure this out but it finally came to me what the point of studies are. For instance, I read that the Norwegians did a study about tumors in breast cancer patients. One of the conclusions was that tumors grow faster in younger women than in older women. This observation seems logical when you think about it. I don’t think this was any big surprise. However the second finding was that larger tumors are more noticeable on mammograms than smaller tumors. They said that this finding was suspected. Yes, I thought, I should hope so.
Just as I was thinking about how ridiculous that finding was and how they wasted time and money to figure that out, it came to me. The point of studies is sometimes two fold. The first is to see what the outcome of something is. The second which applies to this example, is to take a statement that you find to be obvious and true, and to come up with proof.
I may tell you that leaves are green, which is a painfully obvious statement, but for me to state it as absolute fact if someone should argue otherwise, I must be able to recite some proof or findings to back it up.
So, silly as some studies seem to be, there is a method to the madness, and sometimes it’s worth the time and money.