Bad Medicine
http://ww2.heartandstroke.ca/Page.asp?PageID=33&ArticleID=6297&Src=blank&From=SubCategory
Another heart-warming (literally!) story via Canada’s Heart And Stroke foundation:
Traditional disclaimer: I have no axe to grind against The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada; to the best of my knowledge they do good work.
Traditional disclaimer: I have no axe to grind against the medical profession in general; they do good work. In particular over many years I have been well-served by many local GPs and specialists..
Non-Traditional disclaimer: I know this guy, Tim Morrison. I’ve met him and talked with him. If you’d like to know how/why I know him, I’d be pleased to tell you. Contact Me
The article linked (above) tells how medical brilliance saved Tim’s life. There’s more to the story. His parents had to make a decision when Tim was one week old; let nature take its course or allow the medical profession to have a shot, with the obvious benefit that even if they failed they might learn something. The parents had guts. And because of this, Tim survived and is a parent.
Richard Dawkins in “River Out Of Eden”, on the first page states “All organisms that have ever lived … can make the following proud claim: Not a single one of our ancestors died in infancy. They all reached adulthood … successfully copulating”.
If Tim’s defect-at-birth is genetic, then there is a chance that the DNA will be passed on to his children. Had Tim died at birth, the DNA would not have been passed on.
As a four-year old, I was treated for Perthe’s disease, successfully it seems (I’m now 61 years old). If Perthe’s disease is genetic in origin, then my two sons and one daughter may have inherited this defect. Had I not been treated, my awkwardness in leg bones might have caused me, in childhood, to stumble and fall under a truck/sabre-toothed tiger, or perhaps left me so ugly that no woman would have me. In those cases my genes would not have been passed on.
The more successful we are at treating infant problems, then the more successful we are at passing those problems on to the next generation.
Sounds like I’m getting awfully close to eugenics, doesn’t it?
Humans need to be aware that medical costs, already predicted to rise as population grows and doubles every thirty years or so, will be further taxed as people like me (one leg is 1 cm shorter than the other) arrive at old age with all the usual problems compounded by extra problems. I suppose my arthritic hips, when they come, will be complicated by 60+ years of uneven loading on my hip sockets.
Good medical treatment in the young stores up a cost down the road.
IQ of 108
My friend Bill is not stupid. He is, after all, my friend, and I don’t mix with stupid people.
He drew my attention to getting my IQ examined on the web. Bill knows that I’m smarter than him, than anyone I know, but then, doesn’t everyone know that by now?
Here’s my take on web-based IQ evaluations.
In the first place, an IQ score merely tells you how far above or below average you are. Average of what? Average of the group in which you were tested.
Test me in Chinese within a group of Chinese schoolchildren, and I will have a low IQ, below 100.
Test me in English with a group of English-speaking children from the desolate wastes of India, and I will suddenly rank above average.
Same me, different group, therefore different average, therefore different IQ score.
I am unchanged; I know no more no less than before (except how to order a drink of tea in Chinese).
In the second place, if I were offering a web-based service in return for money or an email address, I’d make sure that my (unseen) customers were satisfied. The basis would be: Answer these questions and I’ll email to you a random number between 105 and 145, a score of 100 being, of course “average”.
Everyone would receive an above-average IQ score. “Be sure to tell your friends about this site”.
Smart people are too busy reading books or thinking about the universe to get their IQ tested.
For one thing, there’s not enough time left to read all the good books, let alone all the books …
Bad Logic! Bad!
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/296926
“Owner fighting to save puppy” – another pit bull story.
“It’s so sad that a simple thing like your dog escaping can mean your dog is killed,” said King, spokesperson for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Canada …
Identical logic: “It’s so sad that a simple thing like your dog escaping can mean your neighbour or your neighbour’s child is killed.”
More Lunacy – GTA to face grim future due to global warming
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/296590
More lunacy:”Committee Chair Paula Fletcher agreed, saying Mayor David Miller has talked about tolls, but only if they’re spread out on all GTA-area highways. A study commissioned by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, released Monday, said extra charges on some Ontario highways would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ease traffic jams.”.
Right.
Now think back to the last time the 401 was closed due to a collision. Did everyone turn around and go home? No. They crept off the highway and flooded the urban streets.
What will happen when faced with a toll on the 401? We will use one of the parallel major roads, or a straight-through side street, to get across the city.
We know that people who want to drive will drive. The only question is “Where?”.
Tolls will raise revenue and tax the car driver, but they won’t inhibit driving.
