===== 🧾 Abstract =====

**Abstract**: a short summary of a scientific article — ideally meant to inform, too often designed to sell.

In theory, an abstract should:

> *Concisely present the purpose, methods, results, and conclusions of a study.*

In practice, it frequently becomes:

> *A marketing tool that oversimplifies findings, hides limitations, and exaggerates impact to catch attention.*

==== 🧠 Common problems with abstracts ====

  * Overuse of confident, vague language ("breakthrough", "novel", "promising")  
  * Lack of detail on sample size, methodology, or limitations  
  * Disconnection from the actual results buried in the full text  
  * Written to impress reviewers or funders — not to inform clinicians

==== 🚫 Why this matters ====

  * Abstracts are often the **only part** most readers see  
  * Misleading abstracts propagate hype and citation inflation  
  * Clinical decisions based on abstracts alone can be misguided

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> **A bad abstract sells a story. A good one exposes the evidence.**