November 29, 2017

Grow:

I have encountered the same concept in a few different locations this week: 
-In Learn Better, the author talks about “stretching.” To truly learn, you must build on a current store of knowledge, rather than 1) reviewing what you know or 2) jumping into quantum physics with no background. 
-Then in So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Cal Newport cites the idea of the “adjacent possible.” This is the area at the cutting edge of knowledge where we combine ideas that are floating around into a new groundbreaking idea. Explains how many discoveries occur independently around the same time (sunspots, oxygen, calculus).  –Anders Ericsson describes deliberate practice in this same way. Coaching and tutoring (and effective teaching) push us just beyond our prior knowledge to learn something new. 
Expanding our knowledge and skills should involve discomfort, strain, effort. 
My co-faculty Tim Price teaches residents on shift to carry “one more patient than comfortable.” Not 5 more patients than comfortable; and not so few that you are totally under control. You want to push just past the comfort level. Growth occurs on the edge.

Rest:

Just finished Why We Sleep, which is packed with more detailed wisdom than most popular sleep books. One interesting finding from the book was the ability of sleep researchers to READ YOUR DREAMING MIND. They had already determined the form of dreams based on which areas of the brain are most active (visuospatial, motor, hippocampus, emotional/limbic). But now Kamitani and colleagues can detect the actual content of dreams using MRI brain mapping. No mention of Matrix-style uploading to the brain yet ; ). Many future pearls to come from this book!

What to listen to:

Jordan Tice began touring while in high school, and now has several acoustic guitar and banjo albums. Excellent music for studying or relaxing. 

Uplift:

This montage of individuals hearing for the first time is powerful. No captioning is provided, but it looks like they’re all wearing cochlear implants. 

Quote:
Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind.
-Ian McLaren (or Plato or Philo of Alexandria)

This quote is especially actionable. Remember you are not the center of the universe. Be patient (and present) with all of the people you encounter today.  

Martin Huecker, MD, is co-editor in chief of the free, open access Journal of Wellness. He is an Associate Professor and Research Director in the Department of Emergency Medicine (EM) at the University of Louisville. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Dr. Huecker graduated from UofL’s EM Residency Program and (Chief Resident in 2011). He works full time seeing patients and teaching residents in the UofL Emergency Department. His diverse research interests include substance use, accidental hypothermia, and healthcare professional wellness. Dr. Huecker is also a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician (DipABLM). He loves books, (cold) trail runs, dogs, and coffee. His wife is an OB/GYN and they have 4 children with cool names.