Treatment, or Prevention? In a perfect world, prevention would not prove necessary. There would be cures for everything. In the American media world, this landscape seems to exist – or is promised soon. Suffering from schizophrenia? There’s a pill. High blood pressure? Multiple pills. Together they’ll surely work. Depression? Check. Where “personal will” no […]
Chancing It (3/31/14)
Chances Are… Does time control life? Or does chance? Items: – A famous calligrapher, you settle into your airplane’s aisle seat and pull out your pen. It’s a poor substitute for the brush, but you have many notes of thanks to write. Chinese calligraphy is one of the world’s great art forms. Actively collected and […]
Dying for Sleep (3/24/14)
Sleeplessness Can sleep loss kill brain cells? Yes. Like the kind when I pull an all-nighter for school or work? Yes – if you are a mouse. So why should I care? Because if similar events befall people, you may really want to protect your sleep time – or at least how long you stay […]
The Enraged Heart (3/11/14)
Does Anger Kill? For thousands of years the anecdotal answer has been yes. Rage frequently kills those enraged – and those around them. But what happens in modern life? Therein’s a tale involving personality, tobacco, and the changing mores of research. What’s New Now? A large meta-analysis in the European Heart Journal, put together […]
Your Lying, Cheating Brain (3/3/14)
Creating Useful Lies “I just know it’s true. I saw it.” But your brain is not a DVD player, correctly recording what happened. And that’s a good thing. The unreliability of memory has been a literary theme for thousands of years. The creation of our many “true fictions” are ascribed to factors varying from personality […]