This post by Patrick Hahn about The Day the Science Died reminds us that we have lived through some extraordinary times but seem inclined as perhaps people were after World War II to not dwell on things and just get on with life - for a decade or two until the memories came back. - see The Day The Science Died. I’m not a medical doctor. I don’t even play one on TV. So why … [Read more...] about Peeking behind the Curtain for a Wizard
Samizdat
They Used to Call It Medicine
This is part 3 of a set of lectures organized by André Marx, a family doctor from Stockholm. Its alternate title is Girl who Eats Salt. This follows Girl with a Clinical Trial Tattoo, and Girl who Tackles Ghosts. A video recording done by Thomas Hultgren of Girl who Eats Salt is Here. Our lady is still in the waiting room. She will come in before the end of the … [Read more...] about They Used to Call It Medicine
Announcing a Birth
Samizdat is proud to announce the imminent birth of El Naufragio de lo Singular – a transformation into Spanish of Shipwreck of the Singular. The birth is expected before the end of September. The expectant parents welcome you to this post - the equivalent of a baby shower party. Baby showers may be primarily or perhaps exclusively North American. This parent had … [Read more...] about Announcing a Birth
From Gaia Hypothesis to Pandora
Pandora's Eyes, ©2021 Billiam James From Gaia to Pandora is an instalment in the Politics of Care, which is now the main focus of this site. Pandora: Dos Centavos is a sister piece previously called the Pandora hypothesis. After writing this, I mentioned to my agent that a Pandora Hypothesis would be a closing point in Shipwreck. This caused her to say that she could … [Read more...] about From Gaia Hypothesis to Pandora
Venus Rising: Women and Antidepressants
Serotonin may be our most primitive neurotransmitter and so on theoretical grounds alone there was reason to think that the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibiting drugs (SSRIs) - sold as absolutely and completely safe, the only danger lying in not having them when you needed them - might have significant effects, not all of which would be good. In 1993, I chaired a … [Read more...] about Venus Rising: Women and Antidepressants
The Transit of Venus: Autonomy or Nurture?
Venus is the black dot in the upper right quadrant of the sun. The plan was to finish the I Can't Breathe series with Magic is from Venus but then the word Nurture popped onto my radar. There is a Venus Rising to come. The word autonomy starts appearing in medicine and in bioethics sometime in the 1950s, give or take a few years, linked to the emergence of Informed … [Read more...] about The Transit of Venus: Autonomy or Nurture?
I can’t breathe III
This post follows on Being Black, I can’t breathe and I can’t breathe II and will be followed by Drawing Breath (I and maybe II). Patsy Stephenson has managed to wriggle her way in again, see comments on I can't breathe II. Whether she managed to stage this photo or not, as a red-head Patsy has had to live with a terrible stigma - although perhaps not as bad for a … [Read more...] about I can’t breathe III
I can’t breathe II
This post continues a sequence that began with Being Black and I can't breathe. and will be continued with I can't breathe III and Drawing Breath. The picture features Patsy Stephenson, one of a well-heeled group of women, including Kate Middleton - likely there for the photo-op - protesting the death of Sarah Everard in London, killed for walking down a suburban street at … [Read more...] about I can’t breathe II
I can’t breathe
On Wednesday February 10, I gave a lecture at the Therapeutics Initiative (the T.I.) in Vancouver about the Permanent Sexual Dysfunctions SSRIs and other drugs can cause. See Sex and Evidence Based Medicine. The damage done by these drugs often extends beyond a total and complete inability to feel sexual desire and pleasure to a total inability to feel pleasure of any sort … [Read more...] about I can’t breathe
Being Black
You're a black man walking down a street with a friend. A cop car pulls up and two cops get out and spread-eagle you and your friend up against the car or a wall. They rough you up while they search you. You ask why have they stopped you and they say they don't need to tell you. [There are moves toward having police wear bodycams that record exactly what happens but you … [Read more...] about Being Black