Google Body: What if?

In late 2009 I wrote I’m a physician and not a surgeon because I’m an introvert and not an extrovert [1]. In September 2010 I wrote that another reason’s I’m not fantastically dextrous [2]. But there’s a third reason: I hated studying anatomy. Actually I’ve always been, and I still am, curious about the human body’s structure. But in the early-mid 1960s when I was in the early years of my undergraduate medical course studying anatomy, it was taught in a didactic, dry and thus unappealing way. I thought so, anyway. So I learnt enough to pass the exams. But I didn’t master it. At least to the degree I needed to be a surgeon. This regret came flooding back to me this week when I read of Google Body [3, 4]. Google says it’s ‘a detailed 3D model of the human body. You can peel back anatomical layers, zoom in, and navigate to parts that interest you. Click to identify anatomy, or search for muscles, organs, bones and more’ [5]. Here’s the link [6]. In the left side-bar you choose a female or male figure. And you go from there. Left click and drag to rotate the image. Search via the box top right. For Google Body to work you’ll need a web browser that supports WebGL [7] (for 3D interactivity), e.g. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari 10.6 or higher. But not Internet Explorer. It’s a fantastic program. I wonder if it’d been around in the 1960s I’d be a surgeon today. I doubt it. But you never know. Ho hum.

List: '10 technologies that will change the way you drive’

Today’s ‘List Friday’. No doubt today many bloggers will put up April Fools Day [AFD] posts. But not me. Yeah yeah. I know it’s important to put fun into your life. And I try to, even though at heart I’m a serious introvert [1]. But I find AFD humour adolescent at worst and undergraduate at best. My dad was much more of an extrovert. As I’ve written, he spent all his work life in the motor trade [2, 3]. He loved cars. No, he adored them. Maybe this is why so many Farmdoc’s Blog posts are about cars. I don’t know how many because I haven’t put a specific ‘car’ tag on each such post. But whatever the number is, today it’s one more. Today’s list, courtesy of the Age, is ‘10 technologies that will change the way you drive’ [4] The writer, the aptly named Age deputy motoring editor Barry Park [5], calls them ‘our top-10 projections on the technology on the horizon that will change the way we drive’. (I hope his driving’s smoother than that sentence.) ‘On the horizon’ means, I think, all 10 technologies are available now but not widely so. Or hardly at all for airless tyres. Thus this list’s hardly a time capsule of fanciful ‘what ifs’. But I agree with Park that all 10 are likely to become increasingly prevalent. And they should change the way we drive – for the better, making motoring a safer and more pleasant activity. Here’s hoping.

This week's compendium

Here’s this week’s compendium. It’s something different. All items – except number 8 – are links emailed to me during November.

1. Sprouting’s so much fun; and so nutritious. Currently I’m sprouting chickpeas. [1] H/t Sweetheart Vivienne.

2. Beautiful and functional design can’t be beaten. Pity so little makes it into commercial production. [2] H/t darling Meg.

3. This Atlantic article titled ‘Caring for Your Introvert’ is exactly me. 100%. So much so, it’s scary. [3] H/t Chrows25.

4. Mark Twain’s quote: ‘A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes’ is in the first paragraph. It’s a favourite of my beloved’s. [4] H/t Sweetheart Vivienne.

5. I don’t think I’ve ever made bagels. This recipe should initiate a remedy. [5] H/t Sue & Craig.

6. But I’ve baked Turkish bread (aka pide). From this recipe. Yum. [6] H/t darling Kate.

7. A startling Age article about the environmental implications of keeping pet dogs. [7] H/t Sweetheart Vivienne.

8. Thursday 18th November was my late parents’ 67th wedding anniversary. [8] H/t darling sister Sue.

I hope you had as much fun reading this week’s compendium as I had compiling it.

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

List: '9 Essential Clothing Repair Skills'

Today’s ‘List Friday’. In late 2009 I wrote that I’m a physician and not a surgeon because I’m an introvert and not an extrovert [1]. Another reason’s that I’m not fantastically dextrous. I’m not ham-fisted, mind you. (How could a Jewish boy be ham-fisted.) But I’m no dab hand with a needle. At least I can sew on a button – neatly and tightly, as the photograph shows. Today’s list, from planetgreen, is titled ‘9 Essential Clothing Repair Skills – Make Your Clothes Last Longer!’ [2] I, being a parsimonious fellow, am all for repairing things to make them last longer. Clothes included. Clothes especially. But my skills are sadly lacking. Of the ‘9 Essential Clothing Repair Skills’, I possess only two: as I’ve told and shown you, I know ‘How to Sew a Button’ (skill number 1). And I know how to ‘Line-Dry Clothing’ (skill number 9). So my skills neatly bookend the 9-item list. I don’t know why I’ve never learnt the other seven skills. I suppose it’s a male/female thing: males cause the rips and holes and frays, and women repair them. How absurd. I’m 120% sure darling Kate has all nine skills. For her they’re a doddle. She can probably use them blindfolded. While I’d like to learn the seven skills I lack, I can’t see it happening any time soon. I’ve got other skills to learn. Ho hum. And by the way, I love the photographs that punctuate the planetgreen list.

farmdoc's blog post number 619

If the world’s divided into introverts and extroverts then no doubt I’m an introvert. Which explains why I’m a physician and not a surgeon. Because physicians are introverts whereas surgeons are extroverts. In other words, extroverts become surgeons, and who’s left become physicians. We introvert physicians, being thoughtful and sensitive folk, are oft amused by the antics of our surgeon colleagues. I’ve read no better account of this friendly rivalry, than in this article in the MJA’s Christmas issue. It’s a tongue-in-cheek parody. And like all good parodies, it contains more than a modicum of truth. I especially like the jokes: ‘What is the difference between an orthopaedic surgeon and a carpenter? The carpenter knows the name of more than one antibiotic.’ ‘How do you hide something from an orthopaedic surgeon? Put it in a book.’ And ‘Did you hear we have employed a holistic orthopaedic surgeon? He cares about the whole bone and not just the fracture’. Also surgeons’ boilerplate logic: ‘You need an operation. I will do an operation. The operation is done. You are better now. Goodbye’. Finally I had a Yuletide chuckle at the Competing interests disclaimer: ‘The author has received hospitality, friendship and gifts of wine from a number of surgeons and is keen to point out that the content of this article in no way refers to them. He is, however, not planning to have any elective surgery in the foreseeable future’. Prof. Bowden, you’re a hoot!