Peter Selley and I have many friends in and a soft spot for The BMJ - the journal for members of the British Medical Association. One of us has read every issue since 1970. We thought there might be some response to our post Are Journalists the Answer to Clinical Medicine's Cause and Effect Problem, which, in the nicest possible way, accused The BMJ of cooking up the equivalent … [Read more...] about Not The BMJ News
Green
De La Revolucion Francesca A La A. I.
MEDICINA: DE LA REVOLUCIÓN FRANCESA A LA INTELLIGENCIA ARTIFICIAL Diapositiva 1: En pleno siglo XVIII en Francia médicos como François Quesnay y otros fisiócratas crearon la palabra economía, que dio lugar a expresiones como Laissez-Faire y Emprendedor. Proponían la idea de que los organismos humanos se pueden autorregular, lo que podríamos llamar homeostasia. Adam Smith … [Read more...] about De La Revolucion Francesca A La A. I.
Jen and the Genestalk
Mystery in the Moonlight © Nina Otulakowski March 2023 As she was about to leave the house, Jen’s mother asked her if she was on her way to get vaccinated. Mother, she said, that’s like asking me to take the cow to the market. It’s a bit twentieth century, maybe even nineteenth. You get vaccinia virus from cows. I’m heading off to meet Bri and Suzanna for the latest gene … [Read more...] about Jen and the Genestalk
Dos Centavos – Veinte Euros
Five years ago, in a riff on the theme of rape, Dos Centavos tackled drug induced harms and the inability of doctors to see, hear or believe the people they put on a poison who end up poisoned. Dos Centavos was not the only post on this unfolding disaster. Many other posts, like A Call to H*Arms, cover this central element of modern politics, science, and … [Read more...] about Dos Centavos – Veinte Euros
Here We Stand, We Can Do No Other
In 1517, Martin Luther nailed a defiant proclamation to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. (See RxISK Reformation Day). The issuing of indulgences, offering easier entries to Heaven, in return for money is popularly represented as being at the heart of the storm that followed. A significant part of the storm came from Luther’s stubbornness – his Here I Stand I Can Do No … [Read more...] about Here We Stand, We Can Do No Other
Are Women Better at Everything?
I was born in a generation where it was thought women couldn’t drive cars, write fiction, compose music, compete at sports, or should be let work after marriage. Women were emotional, intuitive, erratic but not really capable of full rationality. Ireland in the 1950s may have been a few years behind other parts of Europe on these issues, but it has a prior history of women … [Read more...] about Are Women Better at Everything?
Relationship Based Medicine
Some months ago I was asked by Paul Rosenfeld, who directs psychiatric training at Mount Sinai Hospital Morningside West, to give a lecture. This took place on January 18. There was a Q and A afterwards. The talk was recorded and the video is here - Relationship Based Medicine. There will be two related talks, which will also feature in posts soon. Relationship Based … [Read more...] about Relationship Based Medicine
The Sovereign Individual
To the Sounds of a Drum © Nina Otulakowski November 2022 Back in the last Millenium, 1997, a book appeared called The Sovereign Individual, written by James Davidson and William Rees-Mogg (yes - the father of Jacob) about the transition to an information age. No longer would we be Numbers, we would be Free Men - See I Am Not A Number. There was a chance for Donald Trump's … [Read more...] about The Sovereign Individual
Miracles in Buenos Aires: Water and Wine
This post is by our South American correspondent. A Water into Wine miracle occurred in Buenos Aires in October 2020. A 66 year old volunteer, number 12315632 in Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine trial, had received his second vaccination of BNT162b2 (30 μg) on the nineteenth of September in the city’s Hospital Militar. Twenty-nine days later he was admitted to hospital with … [Read more...] about Miracles in Buenos Aires: Water and Wine
The Best Books on What Medicine Should Be
Two months ago I had an email from Ben Fox of forauthors@shepherd.com – a new venture looking to promote books in a new way. See Shepherd.com. The idea is to feature a book by an author and then get her or him to list five books that have particularly influenced them – centered on a topic of their choosing and linked into their work. Newspapers have been doing this for … [Read more...] about The Best Books on What Medicine Should Be