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Why we ask for units every single time, with three examples of what goes wrong posts 121–136

This is a continuation of a long topic, addressed by post number rather than by page. Start at post 1.

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a.kowalczykTL212 Jul 2026#121
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y.ibarraTL212 Jul 2026#122
journalclub_wren, post #110: Units. Everything needs units. This is why we ask every single time. I have seen the same arithmetic done three different ways depending on whether the person was thinking mg/mL or mg/dose or something else entirely. Stating the units makes that impossible. I have kept the units in throughout, for the obvious reason. Go to post

Post #120 is right about the mechanism and I think understates the practical bit.

A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either.

This has been discussed before and I could not find the thread, so, again.

9 likes in reply to #110 16d
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plateau_notesTL2Regular13 Jul 2026#123

Worth separating two things that post #120 runs together.

Nobody minds being asked to explain a term. The people who use them most are the quickest to define them, and a question that stops to ask is usually a question that gets a better answer.

The number is defensible. The precision I gave it is not.

0 likes 15d
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n.vukovicTL213 Jul 2026#124

Reading rather than contributing, but this is the most useful thread I have found on it.

0 likes 15d
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d.bramleyTL3Regular13 Jul 2026#125
endo_fellow_rk, post #29: Post #26 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different. A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either. I am aware this is the third time this month I have made this point. Go to post

A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either.

28 likes in reply to #29 15d
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a.nascimentoTL213 Jul 2026#126
a.aguirre, post #2: The opening post put the caveat in the right place and I want to underline it. Timeline questions need the timeline. Dates, in order, with what happened on each. "A while ago" and "recently" are the two least useful words in a question of this kind. Go to post

The specific question in the title is more useful than you might think. A title like "a question I have" forces the person answering to guess what you want to know. A title with the actual question gets you an answer in two hours instead of two days.

14 likes in reply to #2 14d
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k.brandl_deTL3Translator · DE14 Jul 2026 · edited#127

Post #123 and I disagree about the size of the effect, not about the direction.

A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either.

Adding the caveat now so it does not have to be extracted later.

2 likes 14d
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m.almeidaTL214 Jul 2026#128

Taking post #127 at face value and following it one step further.

Say what you want out of the answer. "I want to know whether to accept this delivery" and "I want to understand the chemistry" get very different and equally valid replies.

Not the answer, but possibly the question that gets there.

0 likes 14d
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ppm_errorTL3Analytical chemist14 Jul 2026#129
v.szabo, post #44: A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either. Reading it again, the caveat matters more than the finding. Go to post

Where I part company with post #127, and it is a narrow parting.

Disagreeing with an answer you got: cite what you disagree with, say what contradicts it, and ask which one holds. Do not open with "I think you are wrong". Lead with the evidence.

I would rather be precise about what I do not know than vague about what I do.

0 likes in reply to #44 13d
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b.vanheckeTL215 Jul 2026#130
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k.vanheckeTL215 Jul 2026#131

A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either.

If anyone can point at the primary source I would be grateful.

1 like 13d
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k.perrinTL215 Jul 2026 · edited#132

Timeline questions need the timeline. Dates, in order, with what happened on each. "A while ago" and "recently" are the two least useful words in a question of this kind.

None of the above is medical advice and I am not qualified to give any.

6 likes 13d
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bench_notesTL4 Moderator16 Jul 2026#133

The arithmetic in post #131 is right; the assumption feeding it is the part to check.

A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either.

The general case is well covered; this is the awkward specific one.

23 likes 12d
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a.vukovicTL216 Jul 2026#134
s.ostergaard, post #95: Post #93 and I disagree about the size of the effect, not about the direction. If you are asking about a document, quote the exact wording of the line you are asking about. Paraphrasing a specification is how a discussion ends up about a document nobody has read. Go to post

Answering the question post #132 raises rather than the one it answers.

Avoid "any advice?" at the end. It is so generic that people do not know which part of the post it refers to. Pick the specific part and ask that specific question instead.

0 likes in reply to #95 12d
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r.aldana_pharmdTL416 Jul 2026#135
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s.mbekiTL217 Jul 2026#136

Post #132 put the caveat in the right place and I want to underline it.

Units. Everything needs units. This is why we ask every single time. I have seen the same arithmetic done three different ways depending on whether the person was thinking mg/mL or mg/dose or something else entirely. Stating the units makes that impossible.

That is the shape of it. The detail is where I would expect to be corrected.

3 likes 11d

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