Can we learn from hidden mistakes? Self-fulfilling prophecy and responsible neuroprognostic innovation

Mayli Mertens, Owen C. King, Michel J. A. M. van Putten, Marianne Boenink · 2021 · Journal of Medical Ethics

Summary. When doctors predict poor outcomes for comatose patients and withdraw life support based on that prediction, they create a self-fulfilling prophecy that prevents learning. The patient dies regardless, so doctors cannot determine if their original prediction was correct or incorrect. This epistemic problem allows false positives to persist undetected in prognostic tests, distorting research on new neuroprognostication techniques and amplifying bias toward early treatment withdrawal. The authors propose guidelines to help researchers mitigate these learning obstacles and develop more responsible innovations.

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@article{mertens-2021-can-we-learn-hidden-mistakes,
  title   = {Can we learn from hidden mistakes? Self-fulfilling prophecy and responsible neuroprognostic innovation},
  author  = {Mayli Mertens and Owen C. King and Michel J. A. M. van Putten and Marianne Boenink},
  journal = {Journal of Medical Ethics},
  year    = {2021},
  doi     = {10.1136/medethics-2020-106636},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2020-106636}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Can we learn from hidden mistakes? Self-fulfilling prophecy and responsible neuroprognostic innovation
AU  - Mayli Mertens
AU  - Owen C. King
AU  - Michel J. A. M. van Putten
AU  - Marianne Boenink
JO  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PY  - 2021
DO  - 10.1136/medethics-2020-106636
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2020-106636
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1136/medethics-2020-106636

Countries

Denmark, Netherlands

Regions

Europe

Categories

innovation-theory, general-innovation

Added

2026-04-28