 THE UNDEFEATED MIND Fall 2012 |
 Photo: o palsson Mirror neurons just might be the most exciting neurological discovery of the last twenty years. First described in 1992 in macaque monkeys by neurophysiologists at the University of Parma, Italy, mirror neurons may help explain everything from language acquisition to self-awareness. What are mirror neurons? Continue reading…  Photo: Stephen Brace This last summer, my wife and I had a fight. As with many fights between married couples, the surface issue was inconsequential but housed an important issue underneath. I’d accidentally burned the hamburgers I was grilling for our dinner (because we hadn’t cleaned our barbecue for some time, grease had accumulated, which increased the barbecue temperature as it burned). When I placed the charred hockey puck burgers in front of her, she became annoyed (having warned me about the grease). When I apologized, she said nothing, and I became angry that she was still annoyed with me. Continue reading…  Photo: nathanborror I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: we are, all of us, meaning-seeking creatures. We seek not only to define the meaning of our lives by adopting, whether consciously or unconsciously, an over-arching purpose, but also to understand the reason for almost everything that happens in the course of each day. Why did our boss change our work schedule? Why does our spouse care so much about the clothes we wear? Why is traffic snarled for miles ahead of us? Why did that man in the news kidnap and rape that girl? Continue reading…  Photo: bb_matt When I was (much) younger, I believed that large multimillion and multibillion dollar companies were engines of discipline, efficiency, organization, and quality. How could they not be and still be as powerful and successful as they were? Then I went to work for one. And then I married someone who went to work for an even bigger one. And we discovered together that most businesses, in fact, succeed in spite of themselves. Continue reading…  Photo: Lance Shields A few weeks ago, a friend of mine told me about a particularly painful breakup he’d gone through recently. His girlfriend had decided she no longer wanted to be with him and had summarily cut him out of her life. Naturally, he yearned for an explanation and some closure, so he confronted her. She explained to him what she perceived to be the problem, that he wasn’t focused enough on her and their relationship, Continue reading…  Photo: Josep Ma. Rosell When I was a fourth-year medical student, I once did a month-long rotation in the ER. One night a woman came in who we decided needed some lab work. When I let her know we needed to draw her blood, she began to tremble visibly. “I’m scared of needles,” she whispered to me. Continue reading…  Photo: tawalker Several weeks ago, I was editing together some video footage for a home movie and was surprised to discover how irritated, negative, and just plain mean I sounded when talking to my wife. I remember most of the interactions that were filmed but not any of the feelings I was quite clearly projecting. In one segment, my wife was trying out a tripod and having trouble figuring out how to use it correctly. “You’re holding it wrong,” I snapped sharply. “That’s not right at all!” Continue reading…  Photo: Steve Keys Email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Delicious, Digg, LinkedIn, blogs (of course), and scores of others—all part of the new and wonderful ways we can now connect with one another electronically, each with its own culture and unique set of rules. In one sense, the planet has never been more interconnected. And yet, this interconnectedness, while wonderful, hasn’t come without cost. Continue reading…  Photo: LaPrimaDonna How many patients have I known over the years who’ve found themselves caught in the quicksand that is caring for a chronically ill loved one? Too many to count, so I’ll recount just one. Mrs. S is an elderly woman married to a retired university law professor, who has been slowly losing a battle with dementia. Once a witty, intelligent, and self-deprecating delight of a man, over the years I’ve been caring for him, he’s gradually changed into a cantankerous, vitriolic, shell of his former self, now barely able to remember the day or month, much less the year. Continue reading…
|
|
|
Copyright © 2012 Happiness in this World - All Rights Reserved
|
||
