I made a decision a long time ago not to make my career a bet on bad things happening. I think that approach simply corrodes your strategic thought capacity. Human history is progress, so if you're constantly having to screen out the good to spot the bad, your vision will be unduly narrow. If you bet on progress, you can easily contextualize the bad, because progress is never linear. But if you bet on retreat, you must consistently discount advances as "illusions" and "buying time" and so on, and after a while, you're just this broken clock who's dead-on twice a day.
Thomas Barnett
Friday, April 10, 2009
Poetry on Fridays
Our Easter break here in Riegelsville is coming along nicely, with plenty of reading, walks in the fields, and a bit of music. It seems a pretty good storm is moving in, clouding the skies after a bright morning. For my part, I will be editing and studying, enjoying a quiet house.
So with that spirit in mind, let's hop back 1200 years to the voice of Po Chu I, who has been keeping me company recently. I always saw him as a somewhat conflicted, but dutiful Confucian, and now after reading some of Arthur Waley's book and jumping feet first into David Hinton's Poems of Po Chu I, I am now very much aware of Po's Buddhism, which, in Waley's translations doesn't really come through. Hinton's selection and translation decisions bring the Zen to the fore.
So with that spirit in mind, let's hop back 1200 years to the voice of Po Chu I, who has been keeping me company recently. I always saw him as a somewhat conflicted, but dutiful Confucian, and now after reading some of Arthur Waley's book and jumping feet first into David Hinton's Poems of Po Chu I, I am now very much aware of Po's Buddhism, which, in Waley's translations doesn't really come through. Hinton's selection and translation decisions bring the Zen to the fore.
It is a remarkable book of poems, I think.
"Early Cicadas"
A rising moon lights mountains first.
A sudden wind rustles lakewater first.
And it's no different for cicada song:
it fills the ears of someone idle first,
one song bringing a tangle of grief,
and the next such longing for home.
And there in Hsia-kuei, first cicada
song so long ago felt just like this.
Who was it, listening in a simple house
among scholartree blossoms at dusk?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Original, Original, Original
Late one night, driving, with my two sons we were scrolling the radio for some "good 'bad' music", the cliches, the mindless guitar solos, the short stretches of generic verses to set up the only hook in the song, which is then repeated ad infinitum. Fortunately, instead of that we stumbled upon AC/DC, who surely, at their best, are one of the snappiest radio bands ever. It seemed only two or three words IN THE ENTIRE SONG had more than one syllable. That struck me as a singular achievement. Rather like the french novel La Disparition, which was written entirely without the letter "e", but of another calibre altogether.
Some time later, while laying on a table getting some work done on my shoulder and neck, a Foreigner song came- I think it was "Double Vision". I noted aloud that every single line was a cliche. As I would soon casually observe: every single line of every single Foreigner song is a cliche. A notable achievement for a group of adult musicians with a large songbook.
So to inaugurate the first of an occasional series (and which allows me to slip outside and read in the sunshine) I bring you this wonder of stilted prose, "I Want to Know What Love Is", presumably penned by Lou Gramm:
Some time later, while laying on a table getting some work done on my shoulder and neck, a Foreigner song came- I think it was "Double Vision". I noted aloud that every single line was a cliche. As I would soon casually observe: every single line of every single Foreigner song is a cliche. A notable achievement for a group of adult musicians with a large songbook.
So to inaugurate the first of an occasional series (and which allows me to slip outside and read in the sunshine) I bring you this wonder of stilted prose, "I Want to Know What Love Is", presumably penned by Lou Gramm:
I gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
Incase I need it when I´m older
Ohhhh
This mountain I must climb
Feels like the world upon my shoulders
Through the clouds I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder
In my life there´s been heartache and pain
I don´t know if I can face it again
Can´t stop now
I´ve travelled so far to change this lonely life
Chorus
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me
I´m gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me
I´ve got nowhere left to hide
Looks like love has finally found me
In my life there´s been heartache and pain
I don´t know if I can face it again
Can´t stop now
I´ve travelled so far to change this lonely life
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A Cheery Tuesday Morning Post...
Screw the troops, I suppose. Its all about hiding the cost of war:
When Sgt. X went to see McNinch with a tape recorder, he was concerned that something was amiss with his diagnosis. He wanted to find out why the psychologist had told the medical evaluation board that handles disability payments that Sgt. X did not, in fact, have PTSD, but instead an "anxiety disorder," which could substantially lower the amount of benefits he would receive if the Army discharged him for a disability. The recorder in Sgt. X's pocket captured McNinch in a moment of candor. (Listen to a segment of the recording here.)
When Sgt. X went to see McNinch with a tape recorder, he was concerned that something was amiss with his diagnosis. He wanted to find out why the psychologist had told the medical evaluation board that handles disability payments that Sgt. X did not, in fact, have PTSD, but instead an "anxiety disorder," which could substantially lower the amount of benefits he would receive if the Army discharged him for a disability. The recorder in Sgt. X's pocket captured McNinch in a moment of candor. (Listen to a segment of the recording here.)
"OK," McNinch told Sgt. X. "I will tell you something confidentially that I would have to deny if it were ever public. Not only myself, but all the clinicians up here are being pressured to not diagnose PTSD and diagnose anxiety disorder NOS [instead]." McNinch told him that Army medical boards were "kick[ing] back" his diagnoses of PTSD, saying soldiers had not seen enough trauma to have "serious PTSD issues."
"Unfortunately," McNinch told Sgt. X, "yours has not been the only case ... I and other [doctors] are under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD. It's not fair. I think it's a horrible way to treat soldiers, but unfortunately, you know, now the V.A. is jumping on board, saying, 'Well, these people don't have PTSD,' and stuff like that."
Diagnosis in psychology is notoriously unstable- for instance, there are numerous studies that demonstrated that multiple experienced clinicians will diagnose a single client in multiple, even mutally exclusive ways. Some diagnoses, like certain personality disorders (e.g. Borderline and Antisocial) seem to have more to do with the person's gender than their conduct. Others are faddish dumps for lazy or frustrated psychologists to drop their difficult clients into- bipolar disorder these days, borderline personality a decade ago.
Still others are patently ridiculous, like diagnosing babies as bi-polar. A few times, perfectly healthy grad students have entered mental hospitals pretending to be psychotic and were unable to get out- everything they did was interepreted as a symptom of their "illness".
Yet, these are examples that point to a significant risk of harm to the individual if diagnosed in a particular way. Dangerous medications, lifelong stigma, emotional distress- all of these can result from a botched clinical experience. In the case of severely injured and highly distressed vets, a PTSD diagnosis is the path of least harm/most benefit to the individual, providing them with the support and care they need.
After all, they didn't make this war. The Bush administration did. They merely fought it. If one assumes that trauma is highly unlikely, one isn't going to be diagnosing much trauma. There is a vested interest in not diagnosing trauma, but rather "pre-existing" syndromes that have been shown to make PTSD far more likely. For example, a history of depression and some personality disorders (which I think usually result from early trauma) are linked to a more severe response to traumatic events.
Additionally, the Army quite deliberately lowered enlistment standards when it was running out of soldiers. Many of these new recruits were psychologically unfit. Many had committed crimes or had a history of serious drug use. These people are especially vulnerable (for these enlistment problems, and the related issue of driving gays out of the military see this.
The cost of this war is staggering. Unlike Vietnam, where some argue the PTSD rate was highly exaggerated in the media (links will come later), this war has thousands of head-injured vets who wouldn't have survived a generation ago. This in itself will make the post-service benefits scenerio entirely different.
Fortunately, the current Senate Armed Services Committee has Jim Webb on it. And Obama was leaning on them hard when he was a senator to investigate this scandal. They refused. We will see.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
More Genetics...
...researchers are beginning to unravel how specific genes and the social environment interact to produce changes in the brain that influence emotional control and violence in kids. One of the most exciting advances came in 2002, when Moffitt's group focused on the gene for the enzyme monoamine oxidase A. Variants of MAO-A have been linked with aggression in both animals and humans: the enzyme breaks down neurotransmitters including serotonin - a key molecule in the regulation of aggression. The team looked at the interaction between MAO-A, criminality and abuse as a child - a known risk factor for future antisocial behaviour (Science, vol 297, p 851).
The whole article is well worth reading. The variant of MAO-A is crucial, apparently, in the sense that kids who have a low-enzyme activity variant of this are far more likely to be badly damaged by abuse and neglect. This is one of those key questions: why do some kids flourish despite terrible upbringings, and why are others so crushed?
These boys were three times as likely to be diagnosed with conduct disorder in adolescence and 10 times as likely to have been convicted of a violent crime in adulthood compared with boys of the same genotype who had not been abused. Boys with the high-activity variant seemed all but insulated from the effects of childhood abuse - in terms of antisocial behaviour - as there was little difference between abused boys and those who had not been abused.
10 times more likely. That is enormous.
The whole article is well worth reading. The variant of MAO-A is crucial, apparently, in the sense that kids who have a low-enzyme activity variant of this are far more likely to be badly damaged by abuse and neglect. This is one of those key questions: why do some kids flourish despite terrible upbringings, and why are others so crushed?
These boys were three times as likely to be diagnosed with conduct disorder in adolescence and 10 times as likely to have been convicted of a violent crime in adulthood compared with boys of the same genotype who had not been abused. Boys with the high-activity variant seemed all but insulated from the effects of childhood abuse - in terms of antisocial behaviour - as there was little difference between abused boys and those who had not been abused.
10 times more likely. That is enormous.
Upcoming....
TAS goes on break tomorrow. Today, at a sweet, mid-19th century, one room schoolhouse up the street, we are having a formal lunch. Last year a number of students suggested some lessons in manners and such things. For the past couple of weeks, we have had a formal place-setting for 6 people set up in the foyer, and have been encouraging students to take lunches there. Today they will put the rubber to the road: dessert forks, champagne flutes, bread plates. Our venerable cooking and watercolor teacher, Buffy, is the force behind this event. Such a good idea.
In two weeks, our visiting musician Mr. Rawlings and I will be conducting a weeklong workshop in building, playing, and composing upon a simple dulcimer or monochord. The intent is to work out a version of the music and art program that we should have in place some time next year. Details will be posted over the next few days.
Also in the works is a version of the comtemplative education program we are developing. It may be a while yet, but stay tuned for details.
In two weeks, our visiting musician Mr. Rawlings and I will be conducting a weeklong workshop in building, playing, and composing upon a simple dulcimer or monochord. The intent is to work out a version of the music and art program that we should have in place some time next year. Details will be posted over the next few days.
Also in the works is a version of the comtemplative education program we are developing. It may be a while yet, but stay tuned for details.
A few Quick Ones
Bob Dylan has a short interview in the Times of London, where he discusses Obama, the Civil War and a few other things. Very entertaining and interesting, I thought.
For the awful pictures of the earthquake in Central Italy (east of Rome, in the mountains that form the spine of the peninsula), go to La Repubblica's gallery. Apparently a prominent scientist predicted the earthquake a month ago, and was dismissed as a grandstander. Devastation.
We traveled north of there, in Umbria around this time last year. The finest of school trips, two wonderful students, a parent, and me, taking it real easy. But this earthquake shows, once again, how disfunctional Italian politics can be.
For the awful pictures of the earthquake in Central Italy (east of Rome, in the mountains that form the spine of the peninsula), go to La Repubblica's gallery. Apparently a prominent scientist predicted the earthquake a month ago, and was dismissed as a grandstander. Devastation.
We traveled north of there, in Umbria around this time last year. The finest of school trips, two wonderful students, a parent, and me, taking it real easy. But this earthquake shows, once again, how disfunctional Italian politics can be.
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Drug Reps, again
Every once in a while this blog bangs on the drums and insists that if, as a patient, you are receiving bad information, then you are not giving informed consent to the treatment you receive. What if the continuing education your doctor receives is strongly biased towards an unproven or even dangerous medication? Here's the article.
Here's a teaser:
Here's a teaser:
• Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is spending $12.3 million on an online UW course for doctors to tell them how to get their patients to quit smoking. A top priority is prescribing Pfizer's drug, Chantix, which has been linked to serious side effects, including a rash of suicides. But mention of the side effects can't be found in course materials.
• The German company Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals paid more than $320,000 to fund a UW course on a condition known as restless legs syndrome. The course said 10% of adults have the disorder, when other research suggests the actual figure is much lower.
• Two companies, Pfizer and Bayer, have spent more than $340,000 to fund a UW continuing education course for doctors that touts their drugs, among others, to treat an extreme form of PMS. Doctors taking the course online aren't told that some of these drugs may not work much better than a placebo.
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