Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
IMITATION SCIENCE
_ IMITATION SCIENCE: _ The figure below shows imitation jewelry resembling real jewelry but costs only rupees 788/= In the same way, imitation science resembles science but fares poorly on scientific methods: There is no evidence to show that high dose vitamins prevent cancer or cardiovascular disease and maintain good health in healthy (non-pregnant) adults. There is no evidence to show that calcium supplements prevent fractures in normal adults including post-menopausal women. Yet billions take vitamins and calcium pills recommended by doctors and/or media driven by pharmaceutical industry which displays purported scientific studies (imitation science) showing benefits of vitamins and calcium supplements. _______ Prologue: There is a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon in which Calvin poses the question to Dad: “Why does ice float?” Dad responds: “Because it’s cold. Ice wants to get warm, so it goes to the top of liquids in order to be nearer to the Sun.” […]
Economic Development vis-à-vis Environment:
Economic Development vis-à-vis Environment: _ _ Prologue: “When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money,” Native American saying. A quote by Richard Wilkinson describes economic development as a development of more intensive ways to exploit the natural environment. We hurt the environment in more ways than you could possibly imagine. Misguided construction, irrigation and mining can deface the natural landscape and disrupt important ecological processes. Aggressive fishing and hunting can deplete entire stocks of species. Human migration can introduce alien competitors to native food chains. Greed can lead to catastrophic accidents and laziness to environmentally destructive practices. Will our children and grandchildren live in a better world, or will economic and social conditions decline? Every culture has worried over this question—often for good reason. One would think that modern man, living amid ever-rising material comforts […]
ALLERGY
ALLERGY: ______ ______ Prologue: Medical representatives of pharmaceutical industry frequently visit doctors to promote their products and shower doctors with drug samples, gifts and tours. One medical representative gifted me a perfume to promote his new product. I do not use perfumes. However, human mind is curious and when a perfume was given to me as a gift, I thought why not use it. Two weeks after using perfume, I developed itching skin rash over my body known as ‘Urticaria’ and dermatologist diagnosed it as allergy to perfume. The priciest perfumes and skin care products can cause allergic reactions because of the chemicals that give them their scent. In one fragrance, there may be as many as 26 allergens. The figure above shows urticarial skin rash in another patient. Allergy is not a disease but a mechanism which may play a role in a number of disorders. You can be allergic to anything […]
MIND READING
MIND READING: _ The baby in the figure above is trying to read mind of mother. _ Prologue: “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. A controversial comment indeed but everybody wants to read mind of others and prevent others from reading their minds. Most of us have heard the old adage, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” In other words, keep your negative thoughts to yourself. But what if someone could read your thoughts? Thinking about what’s going on in other people’s heads, is something we do practically all the time. Did your boss like your presentation? Why did the beautiful woman on the bus smile at you? This type of mind reading is so ubiquitous in everyday life. Mind-reader is a […]
SANITATION
Note: During routine maintenance of website, the article ‘Sanitation’ was inadvertently lost and therefore I am re-instating it in its original form now. It was posted in December 2012 but now it is posted in March 2013. The article ‘Fear’ is following the article ‘Sanitation’. Dr. Rajiv Desai. MD. March 20, 2013 ________________________________ Saturday, December 1st, 2012 SANITATION : _ The picture above shows open defecation near railway track in India. _ Prologue: After writing many articles on topics which concern us in our daily life; right from food, environmental pollution, water and clothing, I thought I must write on the most important and most neglected subject, namely sanitation i.e. safe disposal of human excreta (feces & urine). Till the age of 15 years, I did not have the luxury of private toilet as I was brought up in a middle class environment in Mumbai where shared toilet was the […]
