The School of Blore

Kosmodisk — the 90s Slovak back support that taught me something about evidence.

Kosmodisk is a shaped plastic and rubber back support, sold as an EU Class I approved medical device.
EU Class I approval sounds impressive. It simply requires manufacturers to certify that a device is safe. It says nothing about whether it works.

The evidence behind Kosmodisk consists of an industry study claiming positive effects in 83% of cases, and a 2003 thermal imaging study on Hungarian bus drivers. Neither published in any peer-reviewed journal.

The same institutional language — "approved," "clinically tested," "medical device" — gets used across very different levels of evidence. And most people never notice the difference.

Personally, I'd have thought a similar effect could be achieved by putting on a warm jumper. But a warm jumper doesn't come in a fancy box with a medical device registration number on it.

This is a clip from my latest video on Slovak pharmacy culture — the full spectrum from credible to preposterous, and the history behind why the line between conventional and alternative medicine is drawn differently here than in Britain.

Full video: https://youtu.be/-IgtLxdFrJk

Slovak children with a cough might get honey — for which there is decent evidence — or calcium syrup, for which there is almost none.

A 2018 Cochrane review found honey reduced cough frequency better than no treatment, and performed comparably to standard over-the-counter cough medicines.

Calcium syrup? Genuinely useful for calcium deficiency. For coughs? I couldn't find a single high-quality trial supporting it.

But Slovak parents give it without question. Because it sounds credible, side effects are minimal, and the tradition runs deep. The institution has endorsed it so many times that questioning it would feel like questioning whether thermometers measure temperature.

That's the problem. "Not obviously wrong" and "supported by evidence" are not the same thing — and the system doesn't make that distinction visible.

This is one clip from a longer episode on Slovak pharmacy culture, the history behind it, and why it matters.

Full video: https://youtu.be/-IgtLxdFrJk

One study is interesting. Twenty contradictory studies are confusing.

What you actually want is someone to gather all the evidence, assess the quality, and look at the overall picture.

That's what a systematic review does — and the Cochrane Review is the gold standard.
Independent. Non-profit. No commercial interest in the outcome.

This is a clip from my latest video on Slovak pharmacy culture — why the line between conventional and alternative medicine is drawn differently here than in Britain, and what history has to do with it. https://youtu.be/-IgtLxdFrJk

Going from 38°C heat into air conditioning? Dangerous.

But jumping into freezing water after a sauna? Completely normal.

From the latest episode of The Blorecast on Slovak attitudes to cold, draughts, socks, air conditioning and “the silent killer” known as prievan: https://youtu.be/LiEDKykC0bQ

🇸🇰 Chladená alebo nechladená?
🇬🇧 Chilled or unchilled?

In Britain, if a waiter asked whether you wanted your cold drink cold, you'd assume they were having some kind of episode. In Slovakia, it's a perfectly reasonable question.

This is the tip of a very cold iceberg. Full episode dropping tomorrow — https://www.youtube.com/