In this Christmas season, all sorts of things come to mind. Stories and sentiments, memories and meaning, faces and feelings. Not to mention gifts given and received. If we ponder the original Christmas story and its prominent figures, the Wise Men bearing gifts from afar are likely to pass before…

We live in an era when personal expression has become an every day matter of interest, discussion and media attention. Let’s list a few examples: • MeToo Movement: Freedom from sexual assault and harassment. • Reproductive Rights: Women’s rights over their bodies and choices around pregnancy. • Gender Identity: LGBTQ…

Ghostriders in the Sky being a favorite traditional song, we decided to do a takeoff on the title. If there can be ghostriders in the sky, why not ghostwriters? [Here is a link to a grand version of the song by a Swedish cowboy with a wonderful voice.] But can…

Medicine, as we know it, is an invention of civilization. It is the professionalization of the practice of healing. Healers and healing surely appeared from the beginning of material existence. But, medicine is relatively new in human experience. The longer society has existed, the more inventive medicine and doctors have…

“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” Arthur Conan Doyle When preparing to write on Medical Investigation, following our previous essays on Medical Misinformation and Information, the great detective Sherlock Holmes and his creator Arthur Conan Doyle came to mind. So, we did some review of The Medical…

“Some of the most exciting opportunities of our lives come cleverly disguised as insoluble difficulties.” –– Bernie Siegel Our previous essay on Medical Misinformation dealt with the shortcomings of modern science and medicine. We think ourselves far advanced compared to past generations. …

“What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.” Mark Twain Mark Twain, aka Samuel Langhorn Clemens, went right to the mark in so many of his aphorisms. The one above seems to fit quite well with much…

“Ideas come from Space.” Thomas Edison Elon Musk seems to be everywhere, these days. There is no doubt that he is a brilliant billionaire bent on putting his imprint upon modern life. His motives seem progressive, even while some of his ideas have met with questions and even derision. Elon…

“That today’s war has been caused by one man’s wickedness is a fact.” George Will, Washington Post We think of Vladimir Putin as President and Potentate. At the same time, we imagine him as some grand Mongol warrior almost beyond full confrontation. Rather than go mano a mano with Putin…