At JAMA Neurology, “The Best Bad News” a physician tells the story of his quest for a diagnosis. This comment from the beginning of his search for treatment was jarringly true to life: By my appointment, I had some minimal dysarthria—barely enough to register over my lifelong fast speech and mumbling. I’m not sure the neurologist would have ordered imaging if I wasn’t a physician. . . . The magnetic resonance imaging was normal. This is the point where ordinary patients... Read more
There’s a screenshotted homework assignment, reputedly from a Georgia virtual school, that’s circulating right now, generating outrage and counter-reaction. It reads: Writing Prompt Trail of Tears Write letters from the different points of view listed in the questions. Remember to use facts to support your point of view. The specific assignment then says: Write a letter to President Andrew Jackson from the perspective of an American settler. Explain why you think removing the Cherokee will help the United States grow... Read more
I want to run through a case study from a physician who writes about gaslighting herself when it comes to difficult-to-diagnose chronic illness. I think this example is super important because it illuminates just how powerful is the tendency to dismiss symptoms that aren’t easily assessed and explained. This essay by Pooja Yerramilli ran in October 2020: “I have all the symptoms of a Covid-19 long-hauler — but I’m hesitant to identify myself as one.” It opens: As a physician,... Read more
Quick note on today’s SCOTUS decisions on the vaccine mandates . . . The court’s justification for upholding the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers was essentially this: Because the federal government is paying for medical services, it gets to set rules for providers. Regardless of whether you think this particular mandate was wise, consider these words from the dissent: These cases are not about the efficacy or importance of COVID–19 vaccines. They are only about whether CMS has the statutory... Read more
The following essay is a detailed discussion of the political implications of the meanings of cuss words. I’m not the one who made this an international civil rights issue? But the topic is crucially important, and a clean-version is not possible. Can I recommend Happy Catholic* if you’d like something beautiful and good to contemplate today instead? The Wine-Dark Sea is lyrical and thought-provoking, if you’d like to scroll some back issues and be edified. How about Siris, if philosophy... Read more
SuperHusband built us a Corsi-Rosenthal box the other week, which went quite well after I talked him off the ledge of compulsively re-engineering the thing. “But it was designed by guys with PhDs in compulsively-re-engineering exactly this thing,” I said. “It’s too late. It’s already been optimized.” He probably had to make a few tweaks anyway, but it went so fast there couldn’t have been too many improvements, I don’t think. Here’s a thread on how to make a version... Read more
What caught the eye of your internet-mom this afternoon was a weird bit of cross-discourse about body image, fat-shaming, and weight loss. No links, I’m going straight to bullet point answers to the questions and arguments these various voices are circulating: Why yes, our culture is obsessed with body image, and it can’t help but fuel psychological hang-ups about being thin enough (women, generally) or muscular enough (men, generally). For women, in particular, take this challenge: Keep a tally of... Read more
So my initial impression of the breathless coverage of Amy Schneider’s win on Jeopardy! was that it was just a fabricated story to give the NYT a chance to use the word “female” in a headline describing the accomplishments of a male-bodied human being. I know! They used not “woman” but full-on “female”, so I’m not sure what word is left in the Times lexicon to describe the existence of a biological fact, regardless of how you feel about gender as a... Read more
There are many good things in your life that you may have to walk away from. Your marriage is not one of them. There are many taboos, and trends, and social pressures that may be chaining you down, and that you may find great freedom and fulfillment in rejecting. Staying faithful to your wedding vows is not one of them. There are many good uses for literary prose. Glamorizing the destruction of a family is not one of them. Don’t... Read more
Artwork today is the Nativity by Robert Campin. I didn’t notice until I pasted it here that Baby Jesus is lying on the ground? Okay, so, that actually reminds me of the most amusing moment in all my experience of giving birth, but in this case looks like Mary’s done with that part and just decided to put her naked baby down on the dirt? He doesn’t seem to mind. Okay Mary, I’m cool with that, it turned out okay... Read more
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