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Stereotypes in Medicine
I suppose we are all, at times, seduced by stereotypes. They are, after all, a simplified way of processing the other world –underlining how they are different from us. Even the etymology of the word, derived from Greek, seems as if it would be helpful: stereos –firm, or solid; typos –impression. But unfortunately it has…
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The Dark Night of the Canadian Soul
I hesitate to refer to the 16th century mystic Spanish poet St. John of the Cross’ dark night of the soul, but I am troubled by the political process in which I feel engulfed. Swallowed… And yes, powerless. And it’s not so much that I disagree with the ideology expressed or dislike the personalities of…
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Facing up to the Medicine
There is something magical about a face. It is at the same time familiar and yet mysterious. And although it contains many parts with disparate functions, these are somehow secondary. We see the face as a unit, then judge the components; it is a face first, and only subsequently an aggregation of details. It is…
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Medical Revisionism
Words -that’s all they are: sounds that by their very presence magically communicate meaning. They are more than mere noise or background. They are not the wind rustling through the leaves, nor the sounds of a frog in a pond; in a way, they are entities that resolve uncertainty, and in as much as they…
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The Art of Medicine
‘The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls’, as Picasso said. I suppose he was on to something there, but I rather fancy Francis Bacon’s take on it: ‘The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery’. The reproductions that hang on the walls of my office…
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Miasmatics
Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be, For my unconquerable soul. This may be how we choose to think about ourselves as we screw our courage to the sticking place. And yet, much as we hate to admit it, there is…
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Food for Thought
There’s something encouraging about the fact that we are not simply our genes. We’ve moved on -evolved, I guess. They are still the recipes, the instructions, but as every chef knows, you don’t always have to include all of the ingredients to get a good result. Genes are perhaps more akin to a first draft…
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Representative Gynaecology
I have a confession to make. Nothing salacious. Nothing morally or even ethically repugnant. Nothing, perhaps, even interesting, but it needs airing nevertheless. Like a clothesline full of underwear, it may seem embarrassing at first –shocking, even- but boring if it is watched too long. I am not talking Wikileaks here; heads will not roll,…
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