Scott Adams: Knowledge is Health

Scott Adams tells us 50% of second opinions from doctors contradict first opinions? And that 80% of the findings in medical literature are wrong.

“A new company called Metamed offers to be your personal medical researcher. For a fee of $200 per researcher per hour, with a $5K minimum, you can make sure the full force of science is on your side. Metamed analyzes the medical literature and tells you which study results about your condition are reliable and which are not. They assess the value of various diagnostic tests, and create a map of all possible medical correlations. It’s the sort of thing your doctor would love to do for you if he had the resources.”

And those Google glasses everyone’s making fun of?

“I can also imagine a time in which Google Glasses will observe all of your food choices during the day and keep a running record of your nutrition. When you stray from a healthy diet, your glasses might start suggesting a salad. When you don’t exercise all day, the glasses might suggest using the stairs instead of the elevator. For all practical purposes, a human with Google Glasses and a smartphone is already a cyborg. And your future cyborg half will do a better job of keeping your organic parts functioning than you are doing on your own.”

UPDATE: Metamed went out of business in 2015

My first spring

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We’re finally starting to get some warm, sunny days where I live and I find myself thinking of this spring as my first. I’ve been blessed with many, beautiful springs but I enjoyed them in tiny sips. Some photos here, a video there, a sunny afternoon on the deck.

This spring I plan to drain the cup. It is my intention to be fully present and aware of each moment. There are fewer distractions in my life these days and I can make time crawl (if not stop). I’m going to lean forward and watch each bud bloom, every robin hop, every cloud drift.

Such awareness is no easy thing. My busy mind has other plans and no interest in the present, whatever the season. But my mind is less in control these days.

“Thinking of course is not bad. It is just dispensable and unnecessary. It clouds up the joy of being.”

This spring, I am.