Habituation: • Dostoevsky defined man as the creature that can get accustomed to anything. In The Function of Discontent, neurobiologist Indira M. Raman explains the brain chemistry of habituation. The is a mechanistic biochemical explanation of hedonic adaptation, eg most rich people can never have enough money. Similar adaptation allows us to tolerate adversity, to reach a new normal after tragedy.• The take…
Book to check out: • Skin in the Game, the newest book by Nicholas Nassim Taleb. One quote to summarize the book, “courage is the only virtue you cannot fake.” Taleb wants us to listen to, trust, act on the advice of people who have something to lose, some skin in the game. He bashes “interventionistas” and…
Starving: • I am just discovering Theodore Dalrymple. That feeling when you find a new author you love, and he or she already has like 10 books! He is a prison psychiatrist in the UK and has been called the best doctor writer since William Carlos Williams. **I think that award goes to Richard Selzer. …
The Past: • No one becomes successful without support. This article asks us to reflect on the people who loved us in childhood. Breaking down a few traits / coping skills imparted to children that will be used (or ignored sometimes) for the rest of life. Movement: • Do you bend like a C or a table? At…
Wisdom from a patient: • Anthem is taking deserved heat for denying payment for emergency medical care. The standard of the prudent layperson: one “who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine who reasonably expects the absence of immediate medical attention to result in” jeopardy of health, body part or organ functions. • Think about these concerns when you are interacting with patients. They…
Busy: • “Busy is a decision” according to Debbie Milliman, famous graphic designer and podcaster. We choose how many tasks and commitments to place on our schedules. • Marcus Aurelius said: “Get used to winnowing your thoughts so that when someone asked you what you were thinking, you could answer straightforwardly.” I would add “honestly without embarrassment.” Are…
Love: Wedlock comes from 13th century middle English: wedd (pledge) and lac (activity). To commit to someone is to pledge activity, ideally as a daily practice. Sometimes it is difficult and involves sacrifice (Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban, which means to be near / draw close). When you feel scarcity in life (time, money, energy, patience), remember…
Off the Grid: • Youtube video on a “retired” doc who now goes by the name Slomo and spends most of his time rollerblading on the beach sidewalks of San Diego. Cool, high production quality video, worth watching. Certainly one way to deal with burnout. Mobility: • If you sit at a desk or table for any length…
Transcend: Transcendental Meditation is different from Mindfulness Meditation. TM involves mentally repeating the same word/phrase with each exhalation. Supermind provides a comprehensive summary of the benefits, but like other TM books, it gives very little instruction on methods.TM effects: decreased sympathetic nervous system activity and blood pressure; less atherosclerosis and heart attack; increased insulin sensitivity and longevity.TM increases activity in the default mode network (DMN)…
Medicine: Very cool article from the New Yorker on anesthesia. I haven’t bought Katie Cole-Adams’s book yet, and might start with this one. But I like how this article (and apparently Cole-Adams’s book) explore the philosophical aspects of being put to sleep, rather than the clinical side. Some scary reports of people being “awake” during a surgery. It does appear that…
