We live in an era of strident partisanship, with elections often decided by candidates’ attitudes towards morally and emotionally charged issues like gun control or abortion. Each presidential election seems to hinge on some set of irresolvable moral and cultural divisions, leaving the winner with at best a tenuous majority, while a firmly ensconced and…
As we get ready to turn the clocks on a new year, it is good to remember that for most of us, our happiness increases with age. See this recent news article which talks about some of my old, ahem, research on aging and happiness.
Take a look at a brief summary of a new paper i just published, led by a wonderful medical student at Michigan, Michael Kozminski. It shows that oncologists seem to place far greater value on quantity of life over quality of life.
In my last post, the fate of a cold-blooded killer depended on nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices who could not agree whether his death would deter potential criminals. It is easy to understand why Supreme Court Justices, forced to make difficult judgments about highly subjective issues, so often disagree with each other. No one knows,…
On November 23, 1973, Dennis Weaver read a disturbing article in his Atlanta newspaper. Two men were found dead in a ditch along the very same highway where he had been hitchhiking the day before. Even more disturbingly, Weaver recognized that these were the very same men who had picked him up. Weaver called the…
I gave a talk Wednesday as part of an ethics series here at Duke. Here is one take on my presentation. See if you can spot the Far Side reference!
In a recent post, I asked for your thoughts on how you would feel if your doctor posted an anti-health reform letter in his waiting room. Link The letter was a direct quote from one posted in Dr. Hal Scherz’s urology clinic in Atlanta. Scherz is president of Docs4PatientCare. For all I know, Scherz is…
I need to know what you think of the following situation. You walk into your doctor’s office, turn your insurance information into the clerk, take a seat in the waiting room and discover the following letter sitting on the couch-side table, authored by your very own doctor: “Dear Patient: Section 1311 of the new health…
Suppose you are at the car dealer and have narrowed your choice down to two automobiles. One is a little nicer looking, and the other has a more comfortable interior. One gets twenty miles per gallon and the other gets twenty five. You typically drive about twelve thousand miles in a year, which means (queue…
Sarcopenia: a mysterious disorder that causes people’s muscles to shrink away. 25%, 30%, even greater loss of strength… until the victim is struggling to make it up to the second floor bedroom. Would you undergo a treatment for this disorder if it was safe and effective? And do you think your insurance company should pay…