You may have noticed I've been involved with blogs much more lately - again.
Well, life isn't as hectic anymore. Part of it is that I reorganized my life. But another part is that, well, I'm over a big hump.
Medical school applications are pretty much finished. Medical school references are all complete. Midterms are done except for one. I don't have any essays due till the end of November (I think there are 4, I've lost count). But, I've partitioned my time, so that hopefully being organized will keep me sane.
Sunday night was the first time in 2 months that I sat at my desk and realized I didn't have to work!
What a liberating feeling.
With a massive load of stress off my shoulders, I find that I have stuff to write about yet again.
Hurrah!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Blogger Beta...eh?
I have converted my blog to the new Blogger Beta style. Spiffy eh?
I even managed to code back in my 'trademark' left and right sidebars.
Still a few tweaks required...but I like it!
Google owns the world.
I even managed to code back in my 'trademark' left and right sidebars.
Still a few tweaks required...but I like it!
Google owns the world.
Paradox: Darwin vs. Hippocrates
A paradox has been tugging at my mind these past months. It's all rather vague and abstract, but I'll try to present it nonetheless. It goes something like this.
Life on this earth has been driven by natural selection. Every organism alive today is only here because it, and it's many ancestors, have made it through nature's brutal selective hand. They are the ones most capable of breeding and surviving in the specific environment that they inhabit. If an organism carries a gene which makes them weak or feeble, they will die. They will not spread that gene. That's the point. That's natural selection. But more so, that species as a whole is better off with the weak individual dying. It keeps harmful genes out of the gene pool.
And such is the world of Darwin.
But we humans are odd. We defy Darwin's world - we defy nature itself. Our technology and medicine allows weakness and disease to survive. Our health industry allows weak and sick individuals to survive, reproduce, and nurture offspring - a possibility nearly impossible to every other species on this planet. We have been able to overcome natural selection. Its heavy hand no longer controls our fate. Our doctors, drugs and scientists do that now.
And I confess, I am one of those who wants to take on nature. I do, after all, want to become a Physician. It would be my sworn duty to heal others. This is my dream.
This is the world of Hippocrates.
What would Darwin and Hippocrates have to say to one another? Are physicians in some way harming humankind? Doctors are bound to do good and no harm - that is their oath. Every human life is precious. Every human life is equal. Every condition will receive the full treatment available. Pharmaceutical companies labour long and hard at designing and producing drugs. They do it for the dollar, but intentions aside, patients receive treatment. However, the unintentional consequence of health care is that bad genes might make it through, they might get passed on.
And herein lies my paradox. In defying natural selection--the very branch upon which the human species stands--are we only making our species weaker? By fighting against the weeding hand of nature, are we only doing more harm in the long run?
I for one know, if I ever make it into medicine, I would do good and no harm.
Besides, I've always had a thing for the Greeks.
Life on this earth has been driven by natural selection. Every organism alive today is only here because it, and it's many ancestors, have made it through nature's brutal selective hand. They are the ones most capable of breeding and surviving in the specific environment that they inhabit. If an organism carries a gene which makes them weak or feeble, they will die. They will not spread that gene. That's the point. That's natural selection. But more so, that species as a whole is better off with the weak individual dying. It keeps harmful genes out of the gene pool.
And such is the world of Darwin.
But we humans are odd. We defy Darwin's world - we defy nature itself. Our technology and medicine allows weakness and disease to survive. Our health industry allows weak and sick individuals to survive, reproduce, and nurture offspring - a possibility nearly impossible to every other species on this planet. We have been able to overcome natural selection. Its heavy hand no longer controls our fate. Our doctors, drugs and scientists do that now.
And I confess, I am one of those who wants to take on nature. I do, after all, want to become a Physician. It would be my sworn duty to heal others. This is my dream.
This is the world of Hippocrates.
What would Darwin and Hippocrates have to say to one another? Are physicians in some way harming humankind? Doctors are bound to do good and no harm - that is their oath. Every human life is precious. Every human life is equal. Every condition will receive the full treatment available. Pharmaceutical companies labour long and hard at designing and producing drugs. They do it for the dollar, but intentions aside, patients receive treatment. However, the unintentional consequence of health care is that bad genes might make it through, they might get passed on.
And herein lies my paradox. In defying natural selection--the very branch upon which the human species stands--are we only making our species weaker? By fighting against the weeding hand of nature, are we only doing more harm in the long run?
I for one know, if I ever make it into medicine, I would do good and no harm.
Besides, I've always had a thing for the Greeks.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Where'd You Go
Yes, I've disappeared lately, I know. I am in fact still alive. I don't have time or motivation to say anything of significance, so I will post one of those "this is what I've been up to" blog posts.
***
Medical school applications are almost over. So far I've completed:
UBC
University of Manitoba
University of Toronto
Queens University
University of Western Ontario
McMaster University
University of Ottawa
Northern Ontario Medical School
I still have to do:
University of Alberta
University of Calgary
Dalhousie University
University of Saskatchewan
And yes, I'm applying to almost every medical school in Canada.
Chances are I'll get 12 letters of rejection. But maybe, just maybe, one school is brilliant enough to let me in. Hah!
***
A good boss makes a big difference!
My boss has kindly allowed me to drop down to 5 hours of work per week instead of 9. This may seem insignificant, but it's the difference between getting home at 3pm or 9:30pm.
***
I'm going to be volunteering at the Dr. Peter Centre. This is a residence and day centre for AIDS infected individuals. Those inside are also dealing with issues such as poverty, homelessness, drug addiction, and mental problems. I'm going to be volunteering in the live-in residence, which has 24 private single-room dwellings. I'll be doing things like one-on-one chats, games, reading aloud, and taking residents to local medical appointments.
This is going to be very challenging. I've never done anything like this before. But I'm excited. This is going to give me some really valuable experiences, and probably bust a lot of my naivety.
***
I thought October would be busy, followed by a relatively low key November.
The way it looks...no chance in hell...
***
Medical school applications are almost over. So far I've completed:
UBC
University of Manitoba
University of Toronto
Queens University
University of Western Ontario
McMaster University
University of Ottawa
Northern Ontario Medical School
I still have to do:
University of Alberta
University of Calgary
Dalhousie University
University of Saskatchewan
And yes, I'm applying to almost every medical school in Canada.
Chances are I'll get 12 letters of rejection. But maybe, just maybe, one school is brilliant enough to let me in. Hah!
***
A good boss makes a big difference!
My boss has kindly allowed me to drop down to 5 hours of work per week instead of 9. This may seem insignificant, but it's the difference between getting home at 3pm or 9:30pm.
***
I'm going to be volunteering at the Dr. Peter Centre. This is a residence and day centre for AIDS infected individuals. Those inside are also dealing with issues such as poverty, homelessness, drug addiction, and mental problems. I'm going to be volunteering in the live-in residence, which has 24 private single-room dwellings. I'll be doing things like one-on-one chats, games, reading aloud, and taking residents to local medical appointments.
This is going to be very challenging. I've never done anything like this before. But I'm excited. This is going to give me some really valuable experiences, and probably bust a lot of my naivety.
***
I thought October would be busy, followed by a relatively low key November.
The way it looks...no chance in hell...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)