The 2003 workshop was held at a new venue: Oriel College—part of Oxford University, in the centre of Oxford City, adjacent to the High Street, and one of the oldest colleges in Oxford (its former graduates include Sir Walter Raleigh and Cecil Rhodes). With its beautiful old buildings situated around quadrangles, participants could imagine what it would be like to be an undergraduate here.

The workshop was chaired by Professor Paul Glasziou, soon to start his new position as Director of Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Oxford. The …