The more I read the more warnings I hear about doctors online.  It seems that as more doctors interact online, the more problems we can expect to encounter.  According to authorities, things are about to get worse for all of us.  Imagine the clinical chaos we can expect come 2050.

Or maybe not.

The problem with this pessimistic view is what Matt Ridley has referred to as extrapolationism: the assumption that the future is just a bigger version of the past.  What’s bad now will be worse later.

But as history has taught us, the future is not simply an extension of the past.  We have a remarkable capacity to correct ourselves.

Going forward:

• Doctors will learn from experience.
• Digital professionalism will be part of every medical student’s curriculum
• We’ll be smarter.

So pay no attention to the apocaholics who have hijacked the public discourse on doctors and social media.   And don’t expect the sky to fall any time soon.

For a realistic view of the future of the human race, read Matt Ridley’s The Rational Optimist.