The Scariest Show on TV proves we remember little of our schooling; but as schools demand more, the students hate it more, and they remember less & less. Beating Children Some years ago I saw a t-shirt that read, “The beatings will continue until morale improves.” This applies to all sorts of bureaucracies, but particularly … [Read more…]
Professional arrogance is dangerous: We ignore the knowledge and wisdom of common people at our own risk.
If you have been reading here, you are probably aware that I am a physician. Which is interesting, because my wife is largely anti-medicine, or at least resistant to medical approaches. She belongs to some on-line groups that look at alternative medicine, and who emphasize the importance of a healthy diet. We get along fine. … [Read more…]
I mentioned a couple of days ago that we homeschool our children. One of the questions/complaints we often hear from other parents is about their socialization skills. Interaction with peers is an important step in socialization, so how will our kids learn social skills? Sometimes on my grumpy days I ask: What kind of socialization … [Read more…]
I remember working a small town hospital in central Mississippi and seeing a patient in her 50’s. In tow was a very engaging 5 year-old boy. As I was examining his grandmother, he was going around the ER opening all the drawers and looking inside. He didn’t touch anything, he just looked. And the whole … [Read more…]
My children hardly wanted anything for Christmas. They only asked Santa for a couple of things each, and my wife and I had to work to come with a few extra gifts for them. Then after opening presents, my daughter happily commented that she had gotten more than she asked for. Gratitude. That’s something we … [Read more…]
My wife is a few years younger than I am, and I think when I met her she was a bit impressed with me. She actually thought that I knew stuff, maybe I even had some wisdom. She quickly disabused herself of that opinion, of course. Familiarity, contempt, you know the routine. But it got … [Read more…]
At one point in practicing medicine, I remember worrying that I was becoming racist. I had examined several black children one day who were all uncooperative and fought me, so I couldn’t get in a good exam, which means I couldn’t practice good medicine. I could feel myself tensing up when I went to examine … [Read more…]
I got some feedback, positive and negative, on the Justice Scalia/Affirmative Action piece. One person asked an interesting question about different admission criteria for football players, and that gave me something to think about. In Fisher v University of Texas, Fisher was not denied admission because her slot was filled by a minority student. Rather, … [Read more…]
Could tobacco addiction and the perfume industry be a legacy from the Black Death of the 14th century?