Intro Post

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer is a book written by Siddartha Murkehea, an Indian-born American physician and oncologist. Published on 16 November 2010 by Scribner, it won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize. Overall, it is seems to be a very well liked book, and I am excited to get started J

IRB #16

The second half of Robert M. Pirsig’s book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, is based more on the effectives of how we live, and how, in our race to achieve, we not only neglect ourselves, but the pursuit of happiness. An instant classic, the book (that has been in print since 1973) countinues to utlize imagery as a main method of develing into topics that over lap with beielfs from budddist doctrine. For example when writing about how once must take in their surroundings, he describes his surroundings. “After the rain stops, the sky lightens a little. But from the motel courtyard, I see past the cottonwoods that a second darkness, that of night, is about to come on. "(501) Then afterwards, he talks about the aflictions of nature and how, like the trees, we must be "everchanging and everlasting." (502)

My overall impression of this book was both thought provoking and entertaining. The book itself has reaffirmed in me universal truths, that I, like any other person, has lost touch with a result of my day to day schedule. With school, colloges, work, and music, I often forget to enjoy what I do instead of completing a task for the sake of completion.  As in Zen, the trick to being happy is to become one with the activity, to engage in it fully, to see and appreciate all details--be it hiking in the woods, penning an essay, or tightening the chain on a motorcycle.

Overall, I leave you with this quote, “We’re in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it’s all gone. ” "

TOW #15- Vaccine Outbreak

Just within this past year, there have been over 40 outbreaks of measles on the east coast alone. This wouldn't be all that strange, except every child in the united states is vaccinated  against the disease. Frank Bruni addresses this issue in his recent op ed in the New York Times: The Vaccine Lunacy. He begins his argument by addressing the sheer idiocy of the anti vaccine movement.He provides raw scientific data that goes against the notion that there is any link between measles and autism.  Or that anyone could suddenly get autism from a vaccine designed to prevent a person from coming down with measles.  In fact the only effect vaccines seem to have on those who receive them, remarkably to some, is the prevention of disease. There is a direct correlation between an increase in vaccines and a decrease in disease.

Bruni then proceeds to address where these beliefs come from.  One area he cites as a possible foul for the anti vaccine movement is the television medical industry.Dr. Oz, who Bruni points out has been proven wrong on many occasions, presents many quack products on his program.  He does so with a legitimate medical degree, and so people accept his advice as equally legitimate.  Often he does present solid advice, which makes his missteps more dangerous.  If intelligent adults go to the television for information rather than actual doctors they are more likely to believe quack science like the anti vaccine movement. The question that remains on many people's minds is who, if anyone, should be held accountable for the measles outbreak?  

TOW #14- The Joy of Psyching Myself Out

Forgoing my usual satire, I have decided to read an editorial piece published by the New York Times called "The Joy of Psyching Myself Out." The author, Maria Konnikova, is an ex- psychologist turned author. Within her piece, she discusses the underlying misconceptions behind writing and the scientific pursuit of the mind, and how despite their differences, they both require exact-ivity and creativity- and separating the creativity from the world of physiology is not only unwarranted, but also downright destructive. To emulate this, not only does Konnikya utilizes concrete examples, but she employs parallel structure to not only add factual support, but a sense of convictions and passion.

In order to make the argument that the freedom to explore is crucial to scientific discovery, Konnikova talks about the revolutionary psychoanalysis Sigmund Frued. She first gives background on his methods of studying and researching- and how he relies on creativity to come up with his hypothesis. Because of his willingness to think abstractly, he was able to achieve success. This creativity made him  “a breed of psychologist that hardly exists anymore: someone who saw the world as both writer and psychologist, and for whom there was no conflict between the two.” That boundary melding allowed him to posit the existence of cognitive mechanisms that wouldn’t be empirically proved for decades.

Konnikya also utilizes parallel structure to end the editorial on a powerful note. At the end, she refers to the reasons why she left the field of phycology; saying, “ I left psychology behind because I found its structural demands overly hampering…most new inquiries never happened — in a sense, it meant that objectivity was more an ideal than a reality. Each study was selected for a reason other than intrinsic interest.” Then, immediately following this claim, she declares, “I became a writer to pursue that intrinsic interest. But I do so having never quite left the thinking of the psychologist behind” and foes onto talk about the merits. This structure revolving around the word intrinsic interest and the comparison of pros and cons leaves the reader with an underlying feeling of torn interest. It is up to them to derive their own opinion through the information presented oh so jumbled and befuddled by Konnnikya.