Presented by Richard Maclehose, PhD
Associate Professor
Division of Epidemiology & Community Health
University of Minnesota School of Public Health

I have lived in Minnesota for 11 years and have capably adapted to my surroundings: I rake snow off my roof, I believe tater tot nachos are a vital source of sustenance, and I have developed the ability to suppress those things with which I am irritated until I implode in passive-aggressive anger. There may be nothing more passive-aggressive than criticizing someone else’s work in a division seminar and, so, here we are. I will discuss why I’m irritated with the latest craze in epidemiology: e-values, which are used to quantify uncontrolled confounding. I will discuss the source of my irritation, gives some examples of why I am irritated, tell irritating jokes, and propose alternatives to e-values, which worry me but do not irritate me.