I'm OK. YOUR OKAY. It's not enough to be OK. If you want to give OK. You have to learn to live OK. It's hard to text in phone OK. If you must shift twice OK. But if autocorrect Ok's. It's much easier to be OK.
Author: Dr. O
I am a physician in the national capital region. I value science based medicine, but I use this blog primarily for creative expression and education. I write here for a general audience. It contains my thoughts and musings. Always see your doctor for individual medical advice.
My kid’s school has forgotten to teach a love of reading
Tonight my 8-year-old begged me to read the next chapter of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. While reading, he blurted, "MOUNTAINOUS! What does that mean?" before I had even reached that part. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect he actually likes reading. But I know better. My son hates reading. It is no wonder … Continue reading My kid’s school has forgotten to teach a love of reading
There is human vomit on the moon
Pack in what you pack out apparently does not apply to astronauts. While it may seem irresponsible of humanity to leave our junk on extraterrestrial landscapes, it is rather costly to bring it all back. Every pound of stuff we bring back requires that much more fuel. We need more fuel to carry that fuel. … Continue reading There is human vomit on the moon
Gender is taught, but also is not.
Gender is something people become aware of at an early age. As soon as children can form complex ideas about the world, they begin to assign themselves and others a gender, and these ideas are frequently not congruent with the expectations many others have. Like all things biological, gender is messy. For the sake of … Continue reading Gender is taught, but also is not.
Doctors that declined the COVID-19 vaccine
I was surprised the other day while rounding on patients in the hospital that two of my fellow interns stated that they would opt out of the COVID-19 vaccine. They were afraid that it was not tested enough to guarantee there would not be long term consequences for them.
What came first? The chicken or the id?
In my unconscious mindwhat will I find?A depth of perception?A constant reflection?Or something far more benign?Below a thought's surfacewill I find a purpose?(How different are my thoughts that those of a porpoise?)Deep in my innerswill I find a child?or something more freewheeling, randomized, wild? During medical school, aside from being taught that Sigmund Freud's theories … Continue reading What came first? The chicken or the id?
No one actually knows what you are saying.
When we are speaking to others, what they understand is only partially influenced by our intended meaning. A large part of receiving information is subject to one's emotional state, attention to the details of our speech, current thoughts, ability to understand our words, and especially what the receiver expects us to be saying.
They is home sick today.
Thee and thou died as singular second person pronouns. They has arisen as the dual-edged sword of first person pronouns: both singular and plural... which is really the way we have always accidentally used it anyway, just with the wrong verb conjugation.
The [black] lady [with the purple lipstick]
I am finding it more and more difficult to work toward a world in which our children have so many rich experiences of their friends that the last thing they would think to use as a reference is skin color. In many ways, it is my white privilege that has permitted me to try and ignore racial language.
By the numbers: when you should NOT do the experiment.
Doing scientific research on medical treatments helps us to know whether or not they work. That seems obvious, but there are times when a scientist may not want to test whether or not something works. Let me explain. It may seem obvious that we should not conduct medical experiments on treatments like castration for depression. … Continue reading By the numbers: when you should NOT do the experiment.
