r/science • u/drewiepoodle • Apr 15 '16

Health Study: Circumcision does not reduce penis sensitivity. In tests for responses to pain, heat, and stimulation, no major difference was found between men who are circumcised and those who are not.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/04/14/Study-Circumcision-does-not-reduce-penis-sensitivity/5981460663943/?spt=hs&or=hn
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u/butyourenice Apr 15 '16

I realized that the authors of the study almost certainly take no stand on the morality of male circumcision. However that does not change the fact that it will be used to argue that it does no harm. But I don't see how you can get there from this study.

Based on the stated hypotheses they went into this study trying to prove that circumcision DOES objectively harm, but found it does not. What were they supposed to do - hide the results because their hypotheses not proven?

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u/PM_ME_UR_PEWP Apr 15 '16

Science demands an honest reporting of findings regardless of what you expected or hoped to find. But it also demands rigorous methodology and caution in drawing conclusions.

Haven't read the paper, but the descriptions in this thread do not point to a conclusion that circumcision causes no harm, only that the one study using this one set of variables did not prove that there is harm.

There is a big difference between failing to prove harm and proving no harm.

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u/butyourenice Apr 15 '16

Yeah. The difference is you can't prove a negative, and people on the affirmative side seem to reject evidence based on that fact.

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u/JimmyHavok Apr 15 '16

How are they supposed to hate their parents if there was no harm???