Review Tuesday: 'The Pen & the Stethoscope'

Today’s ‘Review Tuesday’. Synchronicity. Wikipedia says it’s a concept first described by Carl Jung, i.e. the experience of two or more events apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance, that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner [1]. Its meaningfulness distinguishes it from mere simultaneity. Last Thursday my cyberfriend Wordsmith [2] sent me an email titled: ‘Something fine to read’. That ‘something’ is an essay by a favourite writer of his – William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) [3] – on being a physician and a writer [4]. Williams’s essential premise is that doctors, being keen observers of all aspects of the human condition, are disposed to being writers and poets. The synchronicity? I received Wordsmith’s email as I was finishing The Pen & the Stethoscope. Published in 2010, it’s a 211-page collection of 15 short stories written by 15 doctors – including four Australians. Its nine non-fiction and six fiction stories vary in topic and writing quality – and thus their ability to attract and hold my interest. My picks are those by the three best-known medical writers: Atul Gawande, Peter Goldsworthy and Oliver Sacks. I don’t doubt doctors, at least good ones, are skillful observers of humans. But I don’t know if, as Williams suggests, doctors’ vocational skills give them the front-running in the writing stakes. For it’s one thing to collect material to write about, and quite another to craft it into beautiful writing. For all this, on balance I’m pleased I read The Pen & the Stethoscope.

Superstitions work

Sweetheart Vivienne’s superb book Alzheimer’s: A Love Story is published by Scribe Publishing [1]. Scribe also publishes The Brain That Changes Itself [2]. One of its main axioms is ‘Neurons that fire together wire together’ [3]. So last Thursday when Sweetheart Vivienne alerted me to a NYT article titled ‘Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits’ [4], I immediately thought of my lucky exam shirt. It was pastel plaid (pictured). Short sleeved. With a rounded (i.e. not pointed) collar. I can’t recall if I bought it or it was a gift. I started wearing it to exams in my early to mid teens. I did okay, so I wore it to more exams. Indeed I only wore it to exams – I didn’t want it to wear out because none of my other shirts had an exam track record. I don’t have it anymore. My mum gave it away. She knew it was my lucky exam shirt, but she thought it hadn’t made any difference to my exam results. According to a German research paper in the May issue of the journal Psychological Science, she was wrong and I was right. Its title’s self-explanatory: ‘Keep Your Fingers Crossed: How Superstition Improves Performance’ [5]. The research shows that superstitious beliefs, rituals and objects shouldn’t be underestimated – because they produce a genuine and consistent improvement in motor and cognitive performance. So if you have a lucky garment, charm or ritual, chances are it’s truly beneficial. Ho hum.

farmdoc's blog post number 577

In medical emergencies, I was taught, the inclination’s to rush in with quick action. But the more effective approach is to step back, sum it up, and then act. The same applies to fighting bushfires. And to book launches. It’s nearly a week since the launch of Sweetheart Vivienne’s book Alzheimer’s: a Love Story. In that time enough dust’s settled for me to write my impressions of The Launch:

(1) It was one of the most wonderful – and unforgettable – events in my life. (2) I was surprised that so many people (i.e. well-wishers) attended. (3) That so many did is a tribute to the high regard they hold Sweetheart Vivienne in. (4) She deserves it. (5) Each of the three speeches was spot on. (6) I regret I didn’t think to record them. (7) It doesn’t matter which of the three was the best. (8) Sweetheart Vivienne’s was. (9) I was so proud of her. (10) And so happy for her. (11) I still am. (12) The refreshments were spot on, too. (13) Especially the biscuits hand-made by Sweetheart Vivienne and darling Kate. (14) Readings deserves criticism for not having enough copies of the book to sell at the launch. (15) And for not prominently displaying the book in the street-front window, and in-store. (16) If it was good enough for Sweetheart Vivienne and Scribe to select Readings for the launch – and it was – then it was incumbent on Readings to reciprocate – as per items 14 and 15 above. (17) They should have too, because the review in their newsletter was very favourable [1]. (18) But they didn’t. (19) Their failure to do so was inexplicable. (20) Items 1-19 above are just my opinion. I could be wrong [2]. (21) But I’m not. (22) It was one of the most wonderful – and unforgettable – events in my life.

farmdoc's blog post number 519

Last night Sweetheart Vivienne and I watched the third episode of the third series of The Wire. We’re enthralled and riveted. As Farmdoc’s Blog readers know, Sweetheart Vivienne’s forthcoming book – Alzheimers: A Love Story, is being published by Scribe Publications. Scribe’s founder and publisher, Henry Rosenbloom (pictured), is a blogger too. Henry’s Blog makes fascinating reading. Not least his latest post – the 13 September ‘Seeing Life Through The Wire’ which perceptively, accurately and eloquently echoes my opinion of ‘The Wire’. I’ve never met the man. But I think if I had (and I expect to quite soon), I’d like him. For he’s courageous enough, i.e. sufficiently at ease with himself and his reputation, to have written this post – about AFL football – on his (corporate) blog. It too is perceptive, accurate and eloquent. Also a bit tongue-in-cheek. Talking football, last Saturday my team, Collingwood, was knocked out of this year’s finals – by Geelong, very convincingly indeed. No ifs or buts. Beaten by a vastly superior team. Am I surprised? No. Am I disappointed? A bit, because it’s been 19 years since we won our 14th – and latest – premiership. Now the Magpies are out, I’m supporting St Kilda in the Big One. For it’s 43 years since they won their first and only flag. By a point. Against us. Next Saturday it may go down to The Wire too. Go, Saints!