#teaspoon

rosewind2007:

Tony Hancock or Hannibal Lecter: which metrics to use for volumes of blood in documents for the general public; a semi-serious quantitative and qualitative approach

Image 1: Hannibal

CONCLUSIONS When writing documents for a general audience (the man in the coffee shop, the nonbinary person on a train, the woman in the street) referring to volumes of blood:

1. use millilitres in preference to spoons (tea or table)

2. use the abbreviation ml in preference to mL

3. someone will always (ALWAYS) suggest the use of ‘arm’

Often, in documents such as patient information sheets, there will be references to blood tests where various volumes of blood may be taken. Clearly the aim is to INFORM the reader of the volume which will be taken. You want them to understand how much blood (the metric) is involved. There is a clear ethical drive for this, and it will also (hopefully) reassure the reader.

The volume of blood will be decided by the needs of the trial.

SPOILER: use millilitres and abbreviate to “ml”

HOW this volume is COMMUNICATED is decided by how the document is written.

In this essay I will demonstrate that a general audience prefers millilitres, and in addition we apparently prefer the abbreviation ml (this was an unexpected finding).

Based on results of polls (n=519)

It is important that the volume is given in a way which is clear and unambiguous: it is X quantity. This metric should not be open to interpretation.

You want your reader to feel happy about the volume of blood, to be reassured.

There is also the manner of the connotations of the metrics used. When you read a word, it will conjure various associations in the mind.

In the context of a clinical trial, you want the reader to genuinely understand what the volume means, so that true informed consent is given.

With this is mind, note that currently the metrics most often used (personal experience) for blood test volumes are millilitres or spoons (teaspoons or tablespoons).

SPOILER: use millilitres and abbreviate to “ml”

Image 2: see below somewhere spoons and mls, (author’s own, I have many spoons)

SPOILER: use millilitres and abbreviate to “ml”

In this essay I will demonstrate that a general audience prefers millilitres, and in addition we apparently prefer the abbreviation ml (this was an unexpected finding).

Based on results of polls (n=519)

Millilitres are clinical, they sound scientific. This has positives (it sounds professional), but also negatives (lacking the ‘human warmth’). There may be concern that there is a lack of true familiarity. Though people are very much aware of 5ml as a concept, their actual approximation of what this volume IS may not be accurate. Weighing against this is the ubiquity of the internet; if anyone is puzzled, they can ‘Google it’. The millilitre is an internationally recognised unit of measurement. I would also note that every parent/carer of a small human has several of these which they are incapable of throwing away:

Image 3: again, tumblr images, they come free with cough syrup, we keep them, no idea why (author’s)

Spoons are perhaps seen as hugely familiar and ‘comforting’. Most people will have spoons in their home. This domestic ‘vibe’ (as the scientific one above) has both positive and negative connotations. Positive are the familiarity, the domestic and the safe. Negative is the association with cooking, the Hannibal Lecter problem. As someone said, “What are they making with the blood? Cookies?”. In this way, spoons full of blood can become a disconcerting image, there is a very real ‘ick factor’. The Hannibal Lecter factor?

In this essay I will demonstrate that a general audience prefers millilitres, and in addition we apparently prefer the abbreviation ml (this was an unexpected finding).

Based on results of polls (n=519)

Another problem with spoons is that the quantity has regional variation, UK spoons and US spoons are not equivalent. 5 tablespoons of blood in the UK is 6 tablespoons in the USA. Spoons are also a less exact measurements than millilitres, people may have their own spoons they use for baking. In my cutlery drawer I have a ridiculous number of teaspoons, their volumes are not consistent.

Therefore, with spoons people may be confident but inaccurate with their understanding of the volume.

The abbreviation used for the two measurements may also cause confusion:

SPOILER: use millilitres and abbreviate to “ml”

Tbsp may be confused with tsp (teaspoon) and the capitalisation seems open to debate. With millilitres the convention is apparent mL, but the preferred abbreviation is ml, with a lowercase l. There is potential for confusion with 1 or uppercase I in various fonts and typefaces. People will argue this point, and indeed they do. The majority of people polled prefer ml, and I do (and this is my essay):

Image 4: Poll is ongoing but look, image at the bottom I guess - tumblr’s fun like this

Back to spoons or millilitres: I conducted three polls on different social media platforms: Facebook, BabyCentre and Twitter. The overall response n=519. The same question (give or take) was asked in each poll:

Image 5: All the polls! Yes, the people of Twitter can be silly people-images of the three (yes 3) polls

Hopefully these polls make the ml preference clear, though do note the slightly different wording of each question (damn).

Overall preference for mls was 73%, and for spoons 22% - more than three times as many people prefer mls.

CONCLUSIONS When writing documents for a general audience (the man in the coffee shop, the nonbinary person in the street, the woman on a train) referring to volumes of blood:

1. use millilitres in preference to spoons (tea or table)

2. use the abbreviation ml in preference to mL

3. someone will always (ALWAYS) suggest the use of ‘arm’

I realise this essay is a little off topic for me, here on Tumblr where it’s all about Murderbot: but this is a subject very close to my heart.

To tie things together: blood gets mentioned A LOT in the Murderbot Diaries but there are no spoons in the future…or at least none that Murderbot sees fit to mention.

Tony Hancock or Hannibal Lecter: which metrics to use for volumes of blood in documents for the general public; a semi-serious quantitative and qualitative approach

Image 1: Hannibal

CONCLUSIONS When writing documents for a general audience (the man in the coffee shop, the nonbinary person on a train, the woman in the street) referring to volumes of blood:

1. use millilitres in preference to spoons (tea or table)

2. use the abbreviation ml in preference to mL

3. someone will always (ALWAYS) suggest the use of ‘arm’

Often, in documents such as patient information sheets, there will be references to blood tests where various volumes of blood may be taken. Clearly the aim is to INFORM the reader of the volume which will be taken. You want them to understand how much blood (the metric) is involved. There is a clear ethical drive for this, and it will also (hopefully) reassure the reader.

The volume of blood will be decided by the needs of the trial.

SPOILER: use millilitres and abbreviate to “ml”

HOW this volume is COMMUNICATED is decided by how the document is written.

In this essay I will demonstrate that a general audience prefers millilitres, and in addition we apparently prefer the abbreviation ml (this was an unexpected finding).

Based on results of polls (n=519)

It is important that the volume is given in a way which is clear and unambiguous: it is X quantity. This metric should not be open to interpretation.

You want your reader to feel happy about the volume of blood, to be reassured.

There is also the manner of the connotations of the metrics used. When you read a word, it will conjure various associations in the mind.

In the context of a clinical trial, you want the reader to genuinely understand what the volume means, so that true informed consent is given.

With this is mind, note that currently the metrics most often used (personal experience) for blood test volumes are millilitres or spoons (teaspoons or tablespoons).

SPOILER: use millilitres and abbreviate to “ml”

Image 2: see below somewhere spoons and mls, (author’s own, I have many spoons)

SPOILER: use millilitres and abbreviate to “ml”

In this essay I will demonstrate that a general audience prefers millilitres, and in addition we apparently prefer the abbreviation ml (this was an unexpected finding).

Based on results of polls (n=519)

Millilitres are clinical, they sound scientific. This has positives (it sounds professional), but also negatives (lacking the ‘human warmth’). There may be concern that there is a lack of true familiarity. Though people are very much aware of 5ml as a concept, their actual approximation of what this volume IS may not be accurate. Weighing against this is the ubiquity of the internet; if anyone is puzzled, they can ‘Google it’. The millilitre is an internationally recognised unit of measurement. I would also note that every parent/carer of a small human has several of these which they are incapable of throwing away:

Image 3: again, tumblr images, they come free with cough syrup, we keep them, no idea why (author’s)

Spoons are perhaps seen as hugely familiar and ‘comforting’. Most people will have spoons in their home. This domestic ‘vibe’ (as the scientific one above) has both positive and negative connotations. Positive are the familiarity, the domestic and the safe. Negative is the association with cooking, the Hannibal Lecter problem. As someone said, “What are they making with the blood? Cookies?”. In this way, spoons full of blood can become a disconcerting image, there is a very real ‘ick factor’. The Hannibal Lecter factor?

In this essay I will demonstrate that a general audience prefers millilitres, and in addition we apparently prefer the abbreviation ml (this was an unexpected finding).

Based on results of polls (n=519)

Another problem with spoons is that the quantity has regional variation, UK spoons and US spoons are not equivalent. 5 tablespoons of blood in the UK is 6 tablespoons in the USA. Spoons are also a less exact measurements than millilitres, people may have their own spoons they use for baking. In my cutlery drawer I have a ridiculous number of teaspoons, their volumes are not consistent.

Therefore, with spoons people may be confident but inaccurate with their understanding of the volume.

The abbreviation used for the two measurements may also cause confusion:

SPOILER: use millilitres and abbreviate to “ml”

Tbsp may be confused with tsp (teaspoon) and the capitalisation seems open to debate. With millilitres the convention is apparent mL, but the preferred abbreviation is ml, with a lowercase l. There is potential for confusion with 1 or uppercase I in various fonts and typefaces. People will argue this point, and indeed they do. The majority of people polled prefer ml, and I do (and this is my essay):

Image 4: Poll is ongoing but look, image at the bottom I guess - tumblr’s fun like this

Back to spoons or millilitres: I conducted three polls on different social media platforms: Facebook, BabyCentre and Twitter. The overall response n=519. The same question (give or take) was asked in each poll:

Image 5: All the polls! Yes, the people of Twitter can be silly people-images of the three (yes 3) polls

Hopefully these polls make the ml preference clear, though do note the slightly different wording of each question (damn).

Overall preference for mls was 73%, and for spoons 22% - more than three times as many people prefer mls.

CONCLUSIONS When writing documents for a general audience (the man in the coffee shop, the nonbinary person in the street, the woman on a train) referring to volumes of blood:

1. use millilitres in preference to spoons (tea or table)

2. use the abbreviation ml in preference to mL

3. someone will always (ALWAYS) suggest the use of ‘arm’

spank me with a teaspoon