HN has drifted further and further from reality, which has been very strange to watch. The classic example was someone dismissing Dropbox when they first launched, but now it’s turned into dismissing billion dollar companies after they’ve clearly won.
I also note the "weasel word" idea. This wasn't just an idea, but an implementation.
The same thing might make sense as a value-added feature in a more comprehensive health service (so the "idea" might be good when put in that use).
But as an idea for a service based entirely on it, it failed hard. What exactly twist do you have in mind to save it? Or are you just saying "we'll never be sure" with more words?
I think posting haughty words is a lot easier than trying to make something work.
Also the opposite: dumb ideas are tried again and again to no avail ever.
The meta-analysis idea wasn’t terrible. It’s just that there’re many assumptions in a statistical sense, the founder might not be the right person to implement it and he might have targeted the wrong market. Some people are under the impression that everything can be solved just by build an app. However, some fields are much more complicated than your gig economy food delivery.