It’s here again and back on schedule.  This week I’ve got emotion, fear and stigmatization on the mind, parables, heaven and hell and success for the soul and whoopee cushions, spleens and lots and lots of protein for the body, to name just a few.  So without further delay I present especially for you, the reader, the creme de la creme of the internet I happened to have stumbled across surfing the internets-

Regarding the Mind-

At World of Psychology, psychologist John Grohol reveals that other people and events do not cause our emotions, with some excellent advice on how we can take control of our own feelings.

Sticking with World of Psychology and John Grohol, here is another fantastic post reflecting on the stigmatization of mental illness by the newsmedia by linking it with violent crime in a manner that doesn’t hold up to reality.

At Reverse Thinking, John Eaton shares the profound truth that what causes our fears to mushroom out of control is the simple act of giving in to them. I know from experience that this is very true, and yet I continue grapple with the same fears over and over.  Here’s hoping one day we all may learn.

Regarding the Soul-

At By Common Consent, Kevin Barney brings to life the parable of the one whom the shepherd leaving the ninety and nine to save the one by sharing a testimony given in his ward by parents of the one lost and then found.

At Mormon Matters, Andrew Ainsworth shares his journey from a literal and concrete understanding of Heaven and Hell, to a much more powerful and transcendant vision of what they really are, states of being brought about by aligning ourselves with eternal principles.

At One Broken Off, Dallan shares some profound thoughts about defining success in a culture of perfection in a manner that is much more healthy.  He takes a look at the Lion within all of us with some very wise words.

Regarding the Body-

Dr.Rob at Musings of a Distractible Mind shares part 2 of his hilarious, informative and entertaining overview of heart sounds and physical examination in which the heart is likened to a whoopee cushion.

At Health Skills Weblog, Amiedus Free shares some nifty tidbits of health and science trivia, explaining us what the spleen is, how smoking makes back pain worse, and how sleep deprived hallucination are actually waking dreams.

At Brainblogger, Jennifer Green shares the story of the ketogenic diet, a nutritional and therefore “alternative” treatment for epilepsy that the scientific evidence supported and took right into mainstream medicine.  Researching these ideas is clearly not always the waste of money some claim it is.

or All the Above-

In the Deseret News, Doug Robinson has renewed my faith in the power of compassion with the story of Mindy Carter-Shaw, who is fighting to keep the man whose stupid decision maimed her child, out of prison.

Edwin Leap, MD reflects on how the problems that arrive at the ER reveal to him the failures of the social revolutions of the past fifty or so years in an insightful post.

At the Splintered Mind, Eric Schwitzgebel shares a profound and deep essay on what makes the love between husband and wife so powerful that it is the very foundation of life, society, and family, with excellent ideas on what can make enduring and unbreakable, in spite of the fact that it is necessarily conditional.

At Depressed (But not Unhappy) Mormon Mommy, Laura shares some powerful personal experiences and reflections on the incredibly complex, uncomfortable, and yet dreadfully important subject of suicide.

and just because I Liked it-

At Vitum Medicinus, a tongue in cheek job description for your basic medical student is posted. It would be more funny if only it weren’t so true, there’s pain in that laughter.

At Dr. Gwenn is in, the good doctor shares a very cool way to earn money for your favorite charities simply by surfing the internet, whether its hunger, child health, fighting breast cancer, literacty, saving the rain forest, or pet rescue that suits your fancy.

At Mind Hacks, Vaughan relates the fascinating history of the motorcycle helmet, which it turns out owes itself to sir Lawrence of Arabia and his untimely death.

That’s all I got this week, but you know me.  I’ll keep scouring the internet tirelessly and fearlessly and will not rest until the link is right here on my blog. Until then, happy surfing.

    I am continuing my review of the best blogs mind, body, and soul at least from my perspective.  Doctor blogs have been the subject of controversy with the AMA lately.  There are privacy concerns and concerns about the professionalism of ranting about colleagues or patients in such a public forum.  While these concerns may be valid, this isn’t what I generally see in the blogs, at least not the ones I end up following anyway.  Many, many blogs focus on healthcare and its shortcomings and problems with the system.  These have their place, but for me the very best blogs share the highs and the lows of medicine.  I think the blog format is ideal for sharing the unique experience and point of view that we physicians have.  I think the best blogs humanize the doctor, the patients and in so doing feed the soul.  Here are a few of my favorites-

1)  Musings of a Distractible Mind- Dr. Rob, a Medicine/Pediatrics specialist practicing primary care in the southeastern US has a very popular blog.  His posts are often goofy and offbeat one minute and serious and reflective the next.  In either case, they are always thoughtful and reveal a physician with great heart, very concerned about how to build the physician-patient relationship and in doing the very best for patients.

2) Notes of an Anesthesioboist-   Written by T., and anesthesiologist, oboist and classical music enthusiast, this blog is a true gem.  She ponders the meaning of life, shares the richness of hobbies, and outside interests, ponders family and motherhood and career, all from the perspective of the doctor who puts people asleep during surgery.  I love this blog because it is so full of a complete and balanced love of life. 

3) Edwin Leap, MD- The emergency room certainly lends itself to great drama and stories.  There are more emergency room professional blogs, both doctors and nurses, than any other field. The problem is that the exposure you have to horrors and abuses can also lead to cynicism.  This is one physician who has by and large escaped that trap.  As a published author and newspaper columnist, he is a gifted and wonderful writer.  He is a believing Southern Baptist full of faith.  Most of all he is a wise, warm and generous soul who has never lost sight of the reason he became a doctor in the first place.

4) Apollo, MD-  There are a myriad of medical student blogs out there.  Medical school is a time of extraordinary challenge and growth.  It makes sense that there would be a lot of reflection and sharing of the experience on the internet.  I have found no one more adept at capturing the experience than Lester Leung, author of this website.  He writes thoughtful, profound, and insightful posts on the state of medicine and on what it teaches you about life, in beautiful prose. 

5) Mothers in Medicine- This is a relatively new and wonderful group blog.  I am perhaps not their target audience as I am not and will never be a mother.  However, these women have a perspective and wisdom that I think all of us in medicine can appreciate and learn from.  I love how they tie the art of parenting and the art of medicine together.  They are open about the struggle they find in each and in the endless quest for balance.  They consist of a variety of physicians in a wide array of fields, including the recent addition of the Anesthesioboist noted above.  

Those are my recommendations, feel free to leave any suggestions of your own in the comments and I’ll check them out.   Next week I’ll share some of my thoughts on the best of the Mormon Blogs, known in some circles as the Bloggernacle.

Welcome, one and all to my wrap up of all the best posts to be found on-line in my adventures in cyberspace.  This time we have no worries, the importance of intelligences, the fine line between creativity and madness, wet bugs and so much more, so dig in.

Regarding the Mind-

At Mothers in Medicine, MWAS, a pediatrician, shares the havoc that can be wreaked upon the mind by a simple little question, “What If?”

In a similar vein, James at Finding Optimism has a series of great quotes about worries, their wasted energy, and how they can be rooted out.

At Mind Hacks, Vaughn argues that because how we think varies by our situation and environment, that lab experimentation is precisely the wrong way to study it, in a biblically titled post, through a lab, darkly..

Regarding the Soul-

Mollie at Get Religion critiques reporting of the fascinating conversion story of Joe Eszterhas, the Hollywood writer that brought us such raunchy films such as Basic Instinct and Showgirls.

At By Common Consent, Margaret Young has some eloquent thoughts about how serving a mission for the Lord with single minded dedication can paradoxically open the mind and give strength to weather the storms of life.

At Latter-Day Saint Philosopher, Nathan Richardson reflects on why knowing that we consist of an “intelligence” that has always existed is so important, in spite of our knowing virtually nothing more about the subject, as he reflects on why the Lord saw fit to reveal this piece of the puzzle.

Regarding the Body-

Michael at Medgadget reports a stunning breakthrough by Harvard researchers who “directly reprogrammed” the cells in mouse pancreas to produce insulin rather than their usual digestive enzymes.  Could this be the first step in the cure for type I diabetes mellitus?

At Encefalus, a report to complement my pondering of sleep deprived mad scientists, in which the Author ponders the wonders of Dopamine, an important agent in wakefulness, creativity, and madness, all at the same time.

Joseph at Corpus Callosum looks into a new report that shows denture cream and an excess of Zinc can lead to profound neurological impairment.

or All the Above-

At Reflections in a Head Mirror, Oncologist Bruce Campbell, MD shares the story of two patients, illustrating the difference between curing and healing, which he believes, lies in relationships.

Edwin Leap, MD shares a thought provoking column he wrote for the local newspaper where he asks why do we spend so much in medical resources on Drunks? The answer is heartfelt.

the Anesthesioboist takes a sobering moment to reflect on the pain every doctor faces when having a patient die, in a very powerful post that ends with the big question, “how do we heal?”

and Just because I Liked it-

Dr. Rob at Musings of a Distractible Mind notes the considerable irony involved when congress acts to stop pharmaceutical companies from giving (gasp!) pens and paper to physicians.

RD, MD at GNIF Brainblogger has a wonderful description of the dilemma we physicians face when it is our turn to be sick, as he analyzes the pluses and minuses of revealing what you do to your health care team.

I stumbled across the ultimate site for parents who want to raise doctors, or parents who just think toys that teach about the human body are way cool, I Heart Guts sells plush stuffed internal organs toys, brain included of course, to help your kid leap ahead in the human anatomy department.

Zooillogix has a fascinating photo display of insects who happen to have gotten wet, like the bug below.

I hate rain!

That’s all I got for now.  Hope you enjoyed.  However if you you are hungry for more the blog carnivals are here.  There is an abundance of good stuff at this weeks Grand Rounds is up at a Chronic Dose for all things medicine, and Encephalon is bringing all things brain out of Africa.  See you later.

The internet is full of a veritable flood of information and it can be a lot to wade through.  I thought I would take an occasion or two to share some of the blogs I’ve found that really keep me going back for more, which are featured on my sidebar, starting with the more outstanding (IMHO) neuroscience blogs out there.  Here’s my top five.

1)  The Frontal Cortex- This blog is written by Jonah Lehrer, author of the book Proust was a Neuroscientist.  It is part of the blog collective that is Science Blogs.  He has a wonderful knack for taking the complexities of the brain and likening them to simple terms that relate to common experience.  He has the soul of a poet himself.  He argues that a lot of neuroscience is stuff we relate to in our own reflection and has been explored by famous people in art and other fields.  He brings a great human touch to neuroscience.

2) Mind Hacks- This blog was started by the authors of the book of the same name.  Being brought to you by authors means they are great at finding things that strike public interest or curiosity and bring them to light.  Dr. Vaughan Bell, a psychologist in London is by far the most frequent poster and consistently comes up with some of the most amazing little factoids.

3) Neurophilosophy- This blog is also part of the Science Blogs collective, with the author a graduate student in Neuroscience who goes by Mo.  It’s strength is that it digs up the fascinating history about how we know what we know about the brain, in sparkling narrative.  The author has quite a knack for finding and telling obscure and fascinating stories behind the dry facts.

4) Cognitive Daily- This is again one of the Scienceblogs family.  They have many neuroscience blogs I didn’t care for, but their good ones are really good.  Authored by the married research scientist of Dave and Greta Munger, they delve into the fascinating subject of cognitive psychology, looking at what we can learn about the way we think by observing thinking. 

5) (tie) GNIF Brainblogger- This blog is a group effort that takes a unique approach to neurology and psychiatry, using the Biopsychosocial Model.  In other words, they believe humanity can be described in biological terms, terms regarding the mind, and in sociological terms.  It is the “holistic” approach that popped up everywhere when I started medical school.  The end result is a blog that challenges the scientific community on some of its assumptions, for better or for worse.  I think they give a fascinating viewpoint that is often too easily dismissed and brushed over.  This blog is all about wellness for the “whole” person and is wonderfully done.

5) (tie) Eide Neurolearning Blog- This is a blog written by a physician couple that delves into one of my favorite all time subjects, human growth and development in terms of the mind and brain.  Their ultimate work and interest is in the group I work with, those with neurodevelopmental disabilities, so they are kindred spirits.  I love their practical approach to finding therapeutic applications to science about the way we think and learn.

A list of five just felt right.  Okay, so maybe I fudged with the tie thing.  Six is such an odd number.  It just felt capricious and wrong somehow.   Maybe I’m turning into Adrian Monk.  Anyway, next week I will profile the best of the doctor blogs,  see you then.

    “ We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.”

            Doctrine & Covenants 121:39

      Few things in life distort the relationship of communities and society more than power and politics.  The American revolution and the revolution in France introduced democracy to both America and Europe in roughly the same time period.  The French revolution ended up much more violent and tumultuous than the former, described by Charles Dickens as “the best of times” and “the worst of times” simultaneously.  The French revolution was an extremely violent and intolerant uprising.  It led to mass beheading and guillotining of the aristocracy.  It led to the rise of the first of the modern despots in Napoleon, who enthralled the recently empowered majority, was voted into power which he refused to release and unleashed upon the rest of Europe, as the revolution ran off its rails.

The Storming of the Bastille in 1789

  America on the other hand,  was more peaceful.  They maintained their democracy and developed a burgeoning middle class.  They became the rising power of the 19th century.  Alexis de Toqueville carefully examined the difference between the two in his book Democracy in America.  He reached the conclusion that in France, the revolution in its anger and retribution created a new “tyranny of the majority.”  Their rule was every bit as despotic and oppressive as any tyrant to those in the minority who did not stand with them.  Terror and the guillotine reigned.  These new democrats so opposed the old order that they violently opposed every auspice of what they stood for.  Among other things, this led to a violent disdain for religion, as the Catholic church had been key to power in France.  Indeed, disdain for religion distinguishes France to this day. 

    America, on the other hand, maintained a robust religious life without sacrificing religious liberty through a separation of church and state, removing formal church hierarchy from political power, but allowing, even encouraging religious practice freely among all citizens.  At the same time, which religion and practice became a matter of conscience.  It seems America found a way to protect the minority from majority rule through its respect for the individual.  This inspired many Frenchmen.  Like minded thinker Edouard Rene de Laboulaye actually comissioned the Statue of Liberty as a gift to the Nation he saw as the one that would bring democracy to the world.

Certainly it was not perfect.  Tyranny remained the rule for African slaves and Native Americans.  However, this culture is what eventually enabled the overthrow of slavery, and further down the line, the civil rights movement.   In essence, a dedication to individual rights and freedoms and the lack of an entrenched aristocracy allowing movement up the socioeconomic ladder to an unprecedented degree allowed a republic representative democracy to flourish in America.   De Toqueville did warn of the ever present threat of a “soft despotism” as democracy could be subtly subverted by an elite group with amassed wealth and power.  The story is not all roses and rainbows for the USA. 

   There is a natural tension in any democracy between the minority and majority.  The USA is no different.  This is why in this land of religious freedom, my ancestors were expelled from their home and driven from this country to the Rocky Mountains.   This is why the civil rights movement was necessary.   This is in large part responsible for movements such as political correctness and feminism.  Those who sit in the position of power, have the tendency to abuse that power.  The prophet Joseph Smith said it was the nature and disposition of almost all men. 

   It is an unpleasant realization to sit in the seat of privilege and realize that things aren’t quite the same for others living in the same country where equality is an ideal.  Feminism, Civil Rights, the Anti-defamation league, and all similar movements draw power from this shared ideal.  The fact that we have not achieved equality causes guilt.  This guilt is the key to the power of the disenfranchised.  Their power and political influence rise from it. 

    I wonder sometimes if this power is not just as prone to abuse.  When your power comes from the inequities, how do you accept victory.  To do so is to lay down your power.  I wonder if it is possible to wield guilt like a club until you create a soft tyranny of the minority.  I think these feelings are responsible for the backlash political correctness has received.  I think these revolutions and movements, just as the French, are always in danger of running off the rails.  These wise words were shared by Maya Angelou in her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, “The sadness of the women’s movement is that they don’t allow the necessity of love. See, I don’t personally trust any revolution where love is not allowed.”

    I think the point stands for all political movements.  I with Ms. Angelou.  I don’t trust any revolution where love is not allowed.   My problem with power and politics in general is that it always seems to lead to manipulation or oppression of the opposition.  In its most simplistic and vulgar form it is bullying, violence and war.  I think the more subtle forms remain damaging and corrosive to the soul as well. 

     I have referred before to the story of the end of Apartheid in South Africa, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.    I never tire of the power of this story.  I am still in awe of the hearts of those who found to forgive the very worst atrocities imaginable.  This is revolution done right.  This is what politics can be, even in the worst of situations when girded about with love.  I strongly encourage everyone to give it a listen.

    We need to better understand one another.  To survive as a society we need empathy, for the majority, the minority, for whichever group we are not.  We need better communication and less rhetoric.  We need a committment to listen to one another and work out differences peaceably.   We need to forgive our opponents of the wrongs that have hurt us.  More than anything what we need is love.

It’s back, the feature in where I share all that is virtuous, lovely or of good report in my wandering to cyberspace.  I may have complained that I am sick of it in my last post but I am over that now.  Please disregard it, which I leave only as a reminder to me and warning to others about what happens when certain medications are stopped or skipped.   Instead, turn yourself to the very best of the past week in the Internet-

Regarding the Mind-

At Sharp Brains, Alvaro discusses hard, scientific evidence showing that teaching social and emotional skills causes students to achieve more in every single aspect of their education.

Do you know who you are voting for in the next election?  If you said no, Jonah Lehrer says your wrong, you just don’t know it yet, in a provocative post on the myth of the undecided voter at Frontal Cortex.

Again at Frontal Cortex, Jonah apparently has politics on his mind, as he examines the usefulness of fear to the politicians in winning votes, as shown in a rather disturbing (for me anyway) experiment.

Regarding the Soul-

At Times and Seasons, Nate Oman ponders the relationship of individual Mormons to the Church, noting that the words member or believer don’t really do it justice, and that marriage is both scriptural and more apt.  This leads to wonderful insight of what a healthy and mature relationship with the church looks like.

At By Common Consent, Neal Kramer takes an in depth look at the difference between knowing and being and how the Mormon expression of testimony may extend into our lives.  I guess this means Neal is in my camp in my campaign to perfect “I am a Child of God.”

At Mormon Matters, without taking sides, Stephen Marsh tackles the firebrand issue of homosexuality and Mormonism, expounding on the importance of people at odds with one another to remain respectfully engaged with each other, particularly as it relates to faith and community, in a post I think is wise beyond words.

Regarding the Body-

Apollo, MD shares his new found enthusiasm for interventional neurology by likening the battle against an acute stroke to a video game, the Legend of Zelda, in a wonderful post.

At Musings of a Distractible Mind, Dr. Rob has me wishing he taught physical exam at my medical school as with characteristic offbeat goofiness, he gives the most entertaining overview of examining the heart sounds that I have ever seen.

At C.E. Chaffin’s blog, a wonderful poem dedicated to his own pinkie, about pain, injury, and the oddness of human perception and quirks of the nervous system.

or All the Above-

The Journal of Clinical Oncology, in its “Art of Oncology” feature has a truly heartwarming, tear-jerking story of a little boy’s wish to go to preschool, the power of palliative care with the system actually achieving the American Academy of Pediatrics goal of “adding life to years, not just years to life.”

At Storied Mind, John D. shares a beautiful story about the power of the human voice, particularly in the form of prayer, to reveal the inner working of our soul and to open the way to profound healing.

Again at Apollo, MD (one of my very favorite blogs), an amazingly insightful reflection on the role of spirituality in healing, emphasizing the power of community, of  owning our problems and findinng inner strength.

At Neurophilosophy, Mo shares the fascinating story of Ken Walters, a 51 year old man who suffered a stroke and unlocked previously unknown artistic talent in the process of recovery.

Capping off a very crowded category that I could not bear to thin down, Laura at Depressed (but not unhappy) Mormon Mommy bears her soul, sharing some sage bits of wisdom that helped her through the experience of Post Partum Depression.

and Just because I Liked it-

The greatest Muppet scientific assistant of all time, Beaker, makes beautiful music himself in chorus, before the wondrous experiment goes off the rails, in the stirring rendition of Ode to Joy shown below.

At Musings of a Distractible Mind, the always entertaining Dr. Bob responds to reader input, as he takes a offbeat look and the similarities and differences between Doctors and Barbers.

On a more serious note, I turn again to Neurophilosophy (a blog loved by more than just me) where Mo takes a walk through the history of Brain Surgery, presenting a photo journal of Harvey Cushing, who pioneered surgical removal of brain tumors and is generally considered to be the greatest neurosurgeon of the twentieth century.

Sometimes the history of medicine is almost as fascinating as the subject of medicine itself.  That’s all I got this week.  Hopefully you find it as useful and helpful as I did.  I will now get working on producing some quality posts of my own.  Until then, happy surfing.

(A note- Please don’t worry, I am not psychotic, not really hearing voices.  I am just referring to the automatic thoughts and inward conversation we all have, even when we are unaware that we are doing it.)

I am starting to feel it now.  I am tired.

I am tired of politics.  I am tired of people talking at other people.  I am tired of trying to reach the unreachable.  I am tired of doing things I usually enjoy.  This is the world of depression and I fear it is creeping back. I am tired of blog shouting matches.  I am tired of others condemning others who condemn them back.  I am tired of man’s inhumanity to man.  I am tired of writing.  I even sucked the joy out of the Olympics in my last post.  I am tired of fear and its ugly effect on people.  I am tired of writing.  I am tired of trying to wrestle out the beautiful, praiseworthy, and good report out of what I find, what I read, and what I write. 

   The voice is getting loud.  The voice is a pessimist.  It finds fault with anything I do.  I can’t write anything because it will not be good enough.  There is nothing worth writing.  There is just weariness.   A while back John D. at storied mind wrote about how creativity has at times burst him out of depression.  All I feel right now is depression stamping out creativity. 

   The voice in my head that berates me for all my shortcomings is gaining strength.  This is the voice that tells me I cannot do justice to my subject.  This voice is the perfectionist.  The voice is mean.  This is the voice that ridicules my every idea with the weight of a hammer on my soul.  This is the voice that sucks joy out of every waking moment causing me to walk in a kind of slumber.  The voice is the embodiment of every grade school bully, every cutting word I have ever had aimed at me.  The voice is cause of the heaviness in my chest, the fog in my mind, and the weight in my limbs.  The voice is my enemy.  The voice is me.   A certain sick part of me wants the pain, revels in the melancholy, knowing that if it keeps up all will go numb and feeling will be no more.

    The voice is a liar.  The voice is a magnifying glass and amplifier.  Like a funhouse mirror it takes little blemishes and creates gigantic character distortions.   The voice would take that of which I am most proud and tell me it will never happen again.  The voice has no subtlety, no room for nuance.  It takes mistakes and makes them world changing.  It takes pain and makes it never ending doom.  It takes the fact that there is nothing going on to trigger such feelings and makes me a pitiful whiner.  It takes grief and makes life unredeemable, not worth the effort of breathing. The voice is a monster.

I need to quiet the monster.  I need to remember that in the past, I have quieted the monster.  I need to remember that I feed the monster, I control his health.  I can cut off his oxygen.  I need to move, to write, to do, and to find my inertia again.  So I am writing this post, in stream of consciousness, simply because I need to write something.

     Is it the voice telling me I need to write?  I honestly don’t know.  It is just a blog.  It is not earth changing.  The need is in my head.  I could shut it down tomorrow and only a hundred or so people (and that’s being generous) would even notice.  It is a hobby.  It is fun, enlightening and enjoyable.  Well, most of the time it is fun.  Right now, all that is enjoyable is no more.  Now all things fun are a burden.  Yet I know that even feeling as I do, I need to go through the motions.  I cling to a faith that this too, shall pass.  I need to take comfort that through sheer force of will I have done it, I wrote something.  This is my victory for today.  Tune in for the rest of the week to see if it lasts.

Moral of the story-  Even when you are feeling fine and hate seeing the doctor, don’t let your prescription run out.  Don’t stop SSRIs cold turkey, even if the side effects are driving you crazy.  You may do quite well for a week, two weeks, maybe more, but somewhere down the road the voice will grow louder, and that is never good.

Well, well, well, welcome to Mind, Soul and Body’s 100th post.  I guess that makes my collection of gems found surfing the internet just over a quarter of my posts.  Most blogs have about a three month lifespan and I am happy to have surpassed that.  I wonder if that means I am in this for the long haul, at least for the rest of residency, which is coming up on the end of one long, long road.  This week was a very strong one on the medicine, brain, and soul internet and I had to leave out an unusual number of posts.  Without futher delay I present only the best of the blogosphere (IMHO)- 

Regarding the Mind-

The BPS research digest examines a study that shows why an emergency or disaster can cause people to be completely unable to aid in their own rescue.

Wired Magazine has an article on a phenomenon that has long been driving the producers of migraine medicine crazy, it turns out that the Placebo effect is much more pronounced in kids, perhaps an argument for more childlike faith and less world weary cynicism.

At Cognitive Daily, Dave Munger describes a fascinating study finding that playing with guns increases your testosterone, and causes you to act out more aggressively, or at least spike drinks more vindictively.

John M. Grohol at World of Psychology delves into a study that looked at the complex reasons that innocent people confess to crimes they did not commit.

Regarding the Soul-

 At Keepapitchinin, Ardis Parshall shares the untold story of the Pacific Islander Mormon pioneers who left their island home to establish Zion in the desert.

At NPR, Barbara Bradley Hagerty shares the story of Grant Golliher, a true life horse whisperer, with his thought provoking comments about how his approach to horses mirrors God’s approach to us.

Sunrise Tantalize shares how training in Nursing involves care for the soul as well as body and mind, as she learns that readiness for enhanced spiritual well being is an authentic nursing diagnosis.

Regarding the Body-

In a fascinating Sci-fi type breakthrough, Mo at Neurophilosophy describes how scientists cultured human brain cells and how those cells then controlled and became the brain of a robot.

In the New Yorker, Atul Gawande delves into the mysterious sensation of the itch, which remains a medical mystery despite being the most common of experiences. (HT- Julia)

At Frontal Cortex, Jonah Lehrer shares his theory as to why salt enhances the tast of any food.  It seems sodium makes all  cells work better, nerves and taste buds especially, translating into electric current, firing and action potentials,

or All the Above-

The Salt Lake Tribunehas a reports recent research from Boston University on faith, college, and sexual behavior.  It turns out faith only affects behavior at BYU and that the dating culture is much, much more robust as a result.

At World of Psychology, Margarita Tartakovsky reports a disturbing new phenomenon in Pregnant womenwho look at too many pregnant starlets in magazines, Pregorexia.

Christine A Scheller posts a fascinating report on a Psychiatry and Spirituality forum meeting at UC Irvine, in which Harvard professor, George E. Valiant describes how spirituality is simply a description of positive emotions, something Psychiatry has historically ignored.  His theory on spiritual evolution really rings true to me in a Mormon kind of way.

and Just Because I Liked it-

In the New York Times, Kevin Sacks reports on a new trend driving marriage in these United States, good health insurance.

At Rural Doctoring, Therese Chan, MD lets us eavesdrop on a hysterical twitter conversation about wound debridement with larval flies in which the most awesome term ever coined for the specialist, Maggot Herder.

At Health Skills Weblog, Adiemusfree shares a razor sharp witted set of sarcastic affirmations for the unstable that would be right at home on the set of Stuart Smalley, revealing truths about the mind in wake of their irony.

That is all for this week, come back regularly and we’ll see if I can’t come up with something worthy of sitting with the exemplary list above.  Sometimes I feel tapped out, but occasionally I’m surprised and the wellspring of ideas replenishes itself.  Until then, Happy surfing.

” Be ye Therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.”

Matthew 5:48

    We love and adore that which is perfect in our society.  Hollywood is built on the premise that the beautiful people can sell movies, models are airbrushed to perfection to sell magazines.  The Olympic games is going on currently with its motto, “Bigger, stronger, faster.”

    As the records fall, it seems these athletes do live up to the motto.  Just look at Michael Phelps, the epitome of the bigger, stronger, faster ideal.

Michael Phelps, olympic swimmer has a very real chance at an unprecedented eight gold medals this Olympics.

    Sadly, as recent scandals in Baseball and Bicycling have revealed, the push to be bigger, faster, and stronger can lead to the use of steroids, amphetamines, or other substances with very real consequences for an athletes long term health and well being.  When does the drive to perform cross the line into madness.  In my day, Michael Jordan was celebrated worldwide as the greatest ever, even carrying his team to victory over my beloved Utah Jazz in one game in the finals with Forty some odd point and the flu.  Today, it is Tiger Woods held in much the same esteem, having just won the US open with a severe knee injury in a playoff he counts as his greatest victory ever.  My question is, at what point does this single minded devotion turn into madness.  

     Michael Jordan and the Bulls won and it mattered to him.  He was more driven to beat anyone who stood in his way than anyone I have ever seen.  It often seemed to me that the man got more joy out of winning and being better than he ever got out of the game itself.  This, by the way, is one of the prime characteristics of pride described so eloquently by C. S. Lewis.  Tiger Woods developed stress fractures of his leg in his intense desire to win.  He held his knee so rigid to protect it that he actually stress fractured his bones with his own muscles.  If you stop to think about it, that’s insane.  Golf is a game.  This could not really have been worth it.

I say this realizing that, for so many, sport is a metaphor for life.  In the Olympics, it is truly inspiring to see others achieve and show what mankind is capable with a little talent, opportunity, and a whole lot of single minded dedication to a goal.  It’s awe inspiring and yet intimidating at the same time.  My DW made a comment the other day in reference to a certain Olympic swimmer that no one should be that good at something and still look so good, essentially, all gold medal athletes should have to be ugly. (Honey, if your reading, no one should be allowed to be so beautiful while being as talented and gifted a teacher and organizer as you.)     

It is sad how easy it is to take what we percieve as our flaws and compare them to others strengths.  I actually excel at this myself.  I have to admit, like many a doctor, I am a perfectionist.   It has caused some serious suffering in my life.  It has thrown me into the depths of major depression.  It has not been my friend.  Clawing my way out has involved looking at what I do well and appreciating it, looking at what I could do better and working toward it. It has involved the realization that progress, not perfection, has to be the standard as I am horibbly flawed, but also capable of learning and growing and continually doing better. 

   Putting the achievers and the physically perfect on a pedestal has a ugly price.  Every year, millions of people put their lives at an admittedly small, but very real risk of death in plastic surgery, simply to improve their appearance.  People work out, exercise and diet for the body they want, which would seem a perfectly admirable and worthy goal, until anorexia sneaks in and  destroys them.   Track and Field stars, Cyclists and Baseball players have been scandalized by the use of performance enhancing drugs to a point that it has irreversibly diminished their standing in the eyes of many, many spectators.

     Many of these report they feel they had to use to level the playing field as they perceived everyone else was doing the same.  This week I heard a fascinating podcast exploring the phenomenon by Jonah Lehrer at the Takeaway.  Interestingly, some of these substances, HGH for example, have been proven to be no more effective than placebo and yet, because the athletes believe this will make them bigger, faster, and stronger, it does.  For this reason, the IOC defines its use as cheating and HGH is still banned. 

      Personally, I think the ugliest consequences of our obsession with perfection come in our dealings with the physically imperfect.  In our medical system, the most poorly compensated and least prestigious fields are the Geriatricians, who care for the old and frail, and the Pediatricians, who care for the very young.   I don’t think this is a coincidence.  In some degree the weak are always going to be considered less than the strong.  Where the elderly have been revered and respected in many societies, they are now locked away in nursing homes facing horrific neglect today.  As technology salvages, improves, and prolongs the lives of severely disabled children, many question if the cost is worth it.  While health care rationing is inevitable in some form or another, my biggest fear is that it will be the chronically ill and the elderly that will become an inevitable focus of cutting back, in no small part because we tend to value imperfection less. 

My wife, who has a degree in Early Childhood Education, reports the same trend in education.  The college professors look down on the high school teachers, who devalue the middle school teachers who feel superior to the elementary school teachers, who at least aren’t those pathetic preschool teachers, with pay decreasing all along the scale.

   Beyond being sad, this is actually the reverse of what really makes a difference in education.  More and more studies are showing the a child’s early developmental environment (i.e. reading books to them, etc.) are the most potent predictors of success.  This is where you really can make a difference in someones life.  That difference is still possible all along the way, but not for those who drop out and fall through the cracks each step of the way.

    I think our culture has a true revulsion for the small and the weak.  I have experienced this far too often among my pediatric resident peers as they regard “broken” patients with disgust.  Mental incapacity in particular is reviled.  These are tough and complex issues.  I don’t mean to oversimplify them.  Giving care to an incurable demented patient at the expense of someone with a possibility of a greater quality of life undoubtedly makes sense in certain cases, though heartbreaking. 

    What I would hope we could all realize is that to one degree or another all of us are broken in some way.  Determining a person’s worth by physical function is a very, very poor way to judge, as God explained to the prophet Samuel

7 [...] Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 

1 Sam 16:7

     My hope is that we can all learn to look a little less upon the outward appearance and more on the heart in celebrating achievement.  Even more, I would hope we could do so in relating to those we fear or find imperfect and in making lifes tough choices.  I would hope that we could all realize that we are all “broken” in one way or another, and yet full of unlimited potential.  My hope is we could learn from each other in both our weakness and in our strengths.  My hope is, most of all, that in spite of my annoying preachiness, you get something out of this post.

Welcome, welcome one and all to the very best of the stuff I found laying around in cyberspace this week.  It may be a day late, but better late than never, I always say.  So without delay I present the very best I found on the Internet-

Regarding the Mind-

At World of Psychology, Samuel Lopez de Victoria gives an in depth look at Narcisism, what it is, what problems it causes, and how psychologists can help.

At Mind Hacks, Vaughan reports a fascinating study that showed that for amputees, imagining your missing limb relieves phantom limb pain and structurally reorganizes the brain at the same time,

At Finding Optimism, James shares a quick overview into the difference between healthy striving to achieve and unhealthy perfectionism, with links to websites that evaluate where you fall in the perfectionist scale.

Regarding the Soul-

At Heavenly Ascents, David Larsen shares some fascinating stories of the phenomenon of  pre-birth experiences, where the spirits of children not as yet born, or even conceived, come in contact with their future parents, as collected and researched by Sarah Hinze, of the International Association for Near Death Studies.

At Edwin Leap, MD, the good doctor reveals that he is also and excellent parent as he muses on the habit of cursing, how children are the cure for their parents, and how replacing cursings with blessings would make the world a much better place.

Ah, the joys of faith and politics.  It turns out that Mitt Romney wasn’t the only politician who others feel has to prove he is a Christian. Barack Obama is now being criticised the same way.  Christine Falsani bemoans the trend of testing politicians for “true” Christianity at the Chicago Sun Times.

At Latter-Day Saint Philosopher, Nathan Richardson looks further into the two prevailing theories of Morality, self and other based, in what has been a fantastic series.  He makes a marvelous point about the absurdity of relativism, likening it to someone believing antifreeze only harms those who don’t like the taste.

Regarding the Body-

Dr. Val and the Voice of Reason reveals unpublished research at the University of Utah, showing people in densely populated areas are have less obesity.  Moving out of the suburbs into a more “walkable” neighborhood will generally lose you 6 to 10 pound on average, suggesting that our cars just may be killing us..

Zooillogix reports the discovery of a mollusk that glows in the dark when exposed to human white blood cells, allowing it to tell you if you have an infection or not.

Medgadget presents a newly developed contact lense that can continuously monitor the pressure inside the eye in people with glaucoma, allowing the disease to be much better controlled and blindness prevented.

Or All the Above-

Shadowfax, an ER Doc who blogs solo at sardonically named Movin’ Meat reflects on life and death in a poignant post about a patient who came into the ER, never to come out, in a way that was all any of us could hope for.

At Mormon Organon, Steve Peck shares the rather frightening personal experience of how a virus attacking the brain completely altered his reality and fix beliefs and delusions you never had before, pondering what the experience taught him about agency, accountability and mental illness.

The Neurocritic reports a new study that compares and contrasts the brains and the eyes of patients with Williams Syndrome versus those with Autism, with fascinating insights into the differences between those with poor eye contact and sociality and the Williams patient, known to be super friendly, sociable and extra likely to look you in the eye.   .

and Just because I Liked it-

At The Chronicle of Higher Education, Peter Wood ponders the way our society drives away those who would be scientists, leading us to import heavily.   I might add that Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and others are doing science no favors as well, but that’s another story.

MedGadget presents what happens when you cross stained glass fine art with X-rays, in a striking, if slightly macabre display that really grabbed my attention.

At the Art of Manliness, Schaefer shares a wonderful collection of the greatest workout songs of all time, sure to include some gem you download onto your mp3 and get to work in the gym.

That’s all I got for right now.  I’ll keep my eyes out for more.  In the meantime, happy surfing.