Odd Days: Statistics, love 'em or ignore 'em

If you are wondering why my voice has not been heard here recently, it's because I came down with a sound-stifling case of laryngitis.

This wouldn't be the first time I've lost my voice. It used to be a regular affliction. I remember one terrible two week period during which I could not emit a squeak, and yet I insisted on continuing to frequent bridge clubs and tournaments, forcing opponents to read my lips. When there was a dispute, I was unable to make my usual witheringly snide remarks and had to resort to glaring, which was totally unsatisfying because nobody would look at me.

But I digress. My belief is that I have a genetic predisposition to laryngitis. Of course now that I've submitted my spit for genotyping, I am suddenly of the opinion that all of my personality traits are genetic. I have in my possession predictions about me (based on statistics for my genotype) that run the gamut from eye color to likelihood of coming down (up?) with Parkinson's Disease. I carry the report around with me so that I can understand my behavior at any given moment.

Some of the results are downright insulting (I'm an "unlikely sprinter"). Others are flattering. Take pain tolerance, for example. I have spent the first 61 years of my life warning doctors that I have a low threshold of pain. I've always been annoyed when they take issue with that statement. But my genotype report indicates that I am likely to have a higher than average threshold of pain. (Never mind that there were only 5 people in the one study that came up with this result. Never mind that I could well have a terribly low threshold of pain in spite of the "likelihood.") On the face of it, I should be flattered. But the more I think about it, the less sure I am that pain tolerance is a good thing. Take an apocalyptic scenario, for example, where there is a limited supply of pain meds, I'd probably be one of the last to get the goods.

I don't like the sound of that.