Thursday, October 26, 2006
Blinded by science
With the mid-term elections coming up, a lot of hot button issues are coming to the forefront. I find it strange that science can become a political divider in this day and age.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/25/michaelj.fox.campaign.ap/index.html
Science is a methodology, a way to ellicit natural information. We all learned in school about the scientific method. Hypothesis development, experimental design, data collection, interpretation. Careful questioning leads to discrete answers. It usually leads to more questions while the answers slowly build towards truth the way the Egyptian pyramids were methodically built towards an apex.
Millions of person-hours of effort has determined the pathophysiology of Parkinson disease. It is caused by a significant decrease in dopamine production in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. This leads to the characteristic triad of rigidity, tremor and bradykinesia (slow movement). This has been researched extensively.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have Parkinson disease. That a person who has Parkinson disease is interested in research into it's cure is understandable. To criticize a person supporting research that may lead to a cure is questionable. To claim that that same person is being exploitative is reprehensible.
***Note: Parkinson did not have the disease, he characterized it. Therefore it is "Parkinson disease" not "Parkinson's disease"***
Michael J. Fox wants to be cured. His disease prevents him from doing his life work. He supports stem cell research for the possibility of a cure of his disease. This support is not tied to political affiliation. If a conservative supported stem cell research, I'm sure Michael J. Fox would support that candidate. If a libertarian supported stem cell research, I'm sure Michael J. Fox would support that candidate. If a conservationist supported stem cell research, I'm sure Michael J. Fox would support that candidate. For Rush Limbaugh to infer that Michael J. Fox was "either off his medication or acting" is an indication to me that 1) Limbaugh has no understanding of Parkinson disease, 2) Limbaugh has no understanding of Fox's position, and 3) Limbaugh is open to politicize any issue regardless of available evidence.
This is just one issue I've been focusing on with the upcoming elections. There are more and many of them will directly affect our lives on the local, county, state and national levels. I'll be at the polls on November 7th. I hope that many more show up to make their voices heard.
|
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/25/michaelj.fox.campaign.ap/index.html
Science is a methodology, a way to ellicit natural information. We all learned in school about the scientific method. Hypothesis development, experimental design, data collection, interpretation. Careful questioning leads to discrete answers. It usually leads to more questions while the answers slowly build towards truth the way the Egyptian pyramids were methodically built towards an apex.
Millions of person-hours of effort has determined the pathophysiology of Parkinson disease. It is caused by a significant decrease in dopamine production in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. This leads to the characteristic triad of rigidity, tremor and bradykinesia (slow movement). This has been researched extensively.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have Parkinson disease. That a person who has Parkinson disease is interested in research into it's cure is understandable. To criticize a person supporting research that may lead to a cure is questionable. To claim that that same person is being exploitative is reprehensible.
***Note: Parkinson did not have the disease, he characterized it. Therefore it is "Parkinson disease" not "Parkinson's disease"***
Michael J. Fox wants to be cured. His disease prevents him from doing his life work. He supports stem cell research for the possibility of a cure of his disease. This support is not tied to political affiliation. If a conservative supported stem cell research, I'm sure Michael J. Fox would support that candidate. If a libertarian supported stem cell research, I'm sure Michael J. Fox would support that candidate. If a conservationist supported stem cell research, I'm sure Michael J. Fox would support that candidate. For Rush Limbaugh to infer that Michael J. Fox was "either off his medication or acting" is an indication to me that 1) Limbaugh has no understanding of Parkinson disease, 2) Limbaugh has no understanding of Fox's position, and 3) Limbaugh is open to politicize any issue regardless of available evidence.
This is just one issue I've been focusing on with the upcoming elections. There are more and many of them will directly affect our lives on the local, county, state and national levels. I'll be at the polls on November 7th. I hope that many more show up to make their voices heard.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
BEST WEEK EVER!!!!!
So this week was the first in a long time (not counting vacation) that I didn't have to be in the hospital on-call for an extended period. 13 days of call-free bliss.
This is a big deal because generally I'm on call on average every fourth day. And being on- call means being awake most of the night, admitting patients to the floor from the ER and getting calls from nurses about patient problems- this patient needs this medicine, that patient is now running a temperature, another patient is throwing up, this other patient had their IV come out. I'm lucky if I get more than an hour of sleep (and it's never a continuous 60 minutes- usually 10-15 minutes here and there). And then I go home in the morning to sleep, work the next couple of days to get back onto my usual sleep schedule just to be on call again and start the whole cycle over.
So 13 days of having a more normal schedule. I actually started to feel rested in the mornings coming to work. And during that time I was able to get personal work done at home- lots of forms to fill out for fellowship application.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers have made it into the ALCS!!!!!!! It's truly a monumental thing around here. People in downton Detroit are genuinely excited. Foot traffic has exploded. Cat Scratch Fever has really become an epidemic.
Imagine being the absolute worst at something. Not just at that moment, but the WORST OF ALL TIME. And the history of "all time" being about 150 years. And then turning around and competing as one of the best at that something within 3 years. Not just competing, but defeating the group who many "experts" claimed was the best.
That's the Detroit Tigers right now.
I believe that Detroit is the best sports town there is. The only other cities that compete in this distinction are Chicago, Boston and New York. No other towns can claim over the past 25 years to have championships in 3 of the major professional sports (Detroit has basketball, hockey and baseball championships; Chicago has basketball, football and baseball; New York has baseball, hockey and football; Boston has basketball, football and baseball). But Chicago is split in baseball between its Cubs fans and White Sox fans. New York is split in 3 sports (Yankees v. Mets, Giants v. Jets, Rangers v. Islanders). And Detroit is the only one to have repeat champions in two sports over the past 25 years (basketball, hockey). In all 4 major professional sports, the whole city of Detroit can get behind a single team without splitting its fan base. In addition to pro sports, the universities in Michigan provide plenty of opportunities for championships. Heck, a team from U of M even won the beer pong championship.
So that is why yesterday was so enjoyable for me. Sitting in a downtown sports bar watching the Tigers in the playoffs and U of M square off against MSU in the annual intrastate football clash. Not just watching the games themselves, but being in that atmosphere. The situation was quite unique; people would cheer in unison with every Tiger hit or Yankee strikeout, then turn around and half the crowd would cheer a U of M first down while the other half would groan. United for one moment, divided the next. In the end, everyone was in a great mood (perhaps because of all the beer consumed). The Red Wings even topped off the night by winning a 2-0 shutout.
A great way to end my call-free break. At least it's a nice thought to have swimming in my head now that I'm back on call.
|
This is a big deal because generally I'm on call on average every fourth day. And being on- call means being awake most of the night, admitting patients to the floor from the ER and getting calls from nurses about patient problems- this patient needs this medicine, that patient is now running a temperature, another patient is throwing up, this other patient had their IV come out. I'm lucky if I get more than an hour of sleep (and it's never a continuous 60 minutes- usually 10-15 minutes here and there). And then I go home in the morning to sleep, work the next couple of days to get back onto my usual sleep schedule just to be on call again and start the whole cycle over.
So 13 days of having a more normal schedule. I actually started to feel rested in the mornings coming to work. And during that time I was able to get personal work done at home- lots of forms to fill out for fellowship application.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers have made it into the ALCS!!!!!!! It's truly a monumental thing around here. People in downton Detroit are genuinely excited. Foot traffic has exploded. Cat Scratch Fever has really become an epidemic.
Imagine being the absolute worst at something. Not just at that moment, but the WORST OF ALL TIME. And the history of "all time" being about 150 years. And then turning around and competing as one of the best at that something within 3 years. Not just competing, but defeating the group who many "experts" claimed was the best.
That's the Detroit Tigers right now.
I believe that Detroit is the best sports town there is. The only other cities that compete in this distinction are Chicago, Boston and New York. No other towns can claim over the past 25 years to have championships in 3 of the major professional sports (Detroit has basketball, hockey and baseball championships; Chicago has basketball, football and baseball; New York has baseball, hockey and football; Boston has basketball, football and baseball). But Chicago is split in baseball between its Cubs fans and White Sox fans. New York is split in 3 sports (Yankees v. Mets, Giants v. Jets, Rangers v. Islanders). And Detroit is the only one to have repeat champions in two sports over the past 25 years (basketball, hockey). In all 4 major professional sports, the whole city of Detroit can get behind a single team without splitting its fan base. In addition to pro sports, the universities in Michigan provide plenty of opportunities for championships. Heck, a team from U of M even won the beer pong championship.
So that is why yesterday was so enjoyable for me. Sitting in a downtown sports bar watching the Tigers in the playoffs and U of M square off against MSU in the annual intrastate football clash. Not just watching the games themselves, but being in that atmosphere. The situation was quite unique; people would cheer in unison with every Tiger hit or Yankee strikeout, then turn around and half the crowd would cheer a U of M first down while the other half would groan. United for one moment, divided the next. In the end, everyone was in a great mood (perhaps because of all the beer consumed). The Red Wings even topped off the night by winning a 2-0 shutout.
A great way to end my call-free break. At least it's a nice thought to have swimming in my head now that I'm back on call.
