Peter Saul, an Australian intensivist, presents a TEDx talk in which he tells of the crisis of death in the 21st century and implores us all to start talking about dying.
Dangerous Love
January 21, 2011 By 12 Comments
Love is dangerous. If you don’t believe me, read on to learn about all the ways amorous acts can threaten life, limb and… other body parts.
Fighting the Rust
March 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Human health, like everything under (and around) the sun, is subject to the relentless progress of entropy. Ice melts, iron rusts, people age and die. Nothing in medicine changes the fact that our overall mortality rate is always 100%. BitingTheDust’s ‘Wreck of the Week’ is a potent visual reminder of this unchangeable law of the universe.
Out, Out
January 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Choosing Life or Death
January 30, 2010 By 1 Comment
Bad News Broken
January 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The patient’s son and two daughters had said little during the family meeting. The older daughter steadied her sister’s trembling hand while the son stared at the doctor intently.
A Philosophical Death
December 1, 2009 By 2 Comments
Letting Go
November 25, 2009 By 2 Comments
Death by Black Hole
October 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment
As an emergency doctor it is important to be aware of all the myriad ways of meeting one’s maker. ‘Death by Black Hole’ – a process that results in ‘spaghettification’ – is one of the more exotic ways of dying that until now I hadn’t considered in any great detail… Neil DeGrasse Tyson explains it [...]
Cough or kill
May 21, 2009 By 2 Comments
I am a belligerent skeptic of over-the-counter cough and cold medications. I’ve been this way since well before I ever entertained the idea of being a doctor. The late Michael Shannon (also known as the ‘dancing doctor‘) nicely summed up the problems with this group of medications: ‘The problem with cough and cold medications are [...]
