Since starting the automated Q&A work I’ve been struck by something I’m calling for now question trajectories, but it’s more knowledge trajectories or even uncertainty trajectories. It stems from the observation that a user asks a question, gets and an answer and then follows up with a related question. Their knowledge needs evolve in a short space of time. During the beta we had two such trajectories:

One

  • Are EDOF Monofocal IOL considered as treatment of refractive error
  • Do EDOF monofocal IOL’s have significant clinical benefit for patients without any prior refractive error when having cataract surgery
  • Are EDOF IOL classed as an “accommodative” lens
  • Is an EDOF lens mono or multifocal
  • Is an EDOF lens monofocal?

Two

  • What is the prognosis for paediatric C3 crescentic nephritis inba 2 year old with 73% sclerosed glomeruli
  • Are crescentic lesions seen on the kidney biopsies of children with C3 glomerulonephritis
  • What is the prognostic significance of crescentic lesions seen on initial diasgnostic biopsy in a child with C3 glomerulonephritis
  • what is the long term prognosis of a renal biopsy with 73% sclerosed glomruli with successful immunotherapy treatment and now in remission but with persistent proteinuria

And now that AskTrip is live, we have our third:

  • How common is hand, foot, and mouth disease in Canada?
  • How long should children with hand, foot, and mouth disease stay home?
  • Can adults get hand, foot, and mouth disease from children?
  • Is hand foot and mouth disease more common in Canada than it was thirty years ago?
  • Is hand-foot-and-mouth disease the same as trench mouth?
  • Was hand, foot, and mouth disease a common disease among soldiers during WWII?

I asked ChatGPT to analyse the questions and suggest future, connected, plausible questions. Here are the top 7 suggestions:

  • What are the first signs and symptoms of HFMD in children and adults?
  • How long is a person with HFMD contagious, and when is it safe to return to school or daycare?
  • Are there particular seasons or months when HFMD outbreaks spike in Canada?
  • Which provinces or territories report the highest rates of HFMD?
  • What home care measures relieve mouth pain or fever in kids with HFMD?
  • How can I disinfect toys and household surfaces to prevent HFMD spread?
  • Can pregnant women or immunocompromised adults suffer complications from HFMD?

This is possibly only interesting to me but with enough of these trajectories could we start to see patterns in thought/knowledge evolution? What other uses might we put these question trajectories to?