Cassie

Cassie was my patient. Cassie died after a year in hospice.

I was holding her hands when she breathed last. This is the moment I crave to have but pray not to have!! - as it is incredibly overwhelming.

I have been to such moments when my Nana, dadi, and father died.

But Cassie was young.

As I held Cassie's hand, she opened her eyes and looked at me but decided not to say a word. I neither had the courage nor knew what to say.

I have always wondered about the last few words in Tolostoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich."

He wanted to say that but was unable to bring it out. 

"Anyhow, why speak? I must act," he thought.

I guess it's better to avoid talking to have a peaceful death.

Evolution

 

Lahore vs Karachi

 On ongoing teasing between Lahore and Karachi

گو لہور میں ولادت اپنی جگہہ اہم ہے

 مگر کراچی میں زندگی “جینے” کا اپنا لطف ہے

Elites, Poor and sharing

(Shared by a professor of pharmacology in one of the Grand Rounds)

"One life lesson I learned from the pharma industry is that the proportion of price drop is independently associated with anything's use in life among the elite and poor.  Elites try to control things but fear sharing, and keep things at a high value so low-income people can't reach them. They are even afraid of sharing things among themselves. As soon as anything in life, like a drug, becomes generic, its price drops quickly. I found that people experiencing poverty are more intent to share and crave less material things. It's the most bizarre paradox of life. I don't mean that a person should stay poor, but there is a line where the human mind loses its tendency to connect with other humans and seek the welfare of other humans - and that's the biggest curve ball of life."

Historians

 The biggest tragedy of humanity is that all of its historians turned out to be lousy futurists. 

~anonymous

On "Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel"

 Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel has been a riveting yet hefty read.

 It may not be the best text on West vs. the Rest, but at least I did not see racist undertones while trying to understand his problematization of the oversimplified history.

He claims that he was looking for the answers to why history evolved differently on different continents over the last 13 thousand years. He apparently shunned the common racist response of some people/races to be superior to others. His thesis was that the answer had little to do with people and everything to do with their surroundings.

He/his argument/books did become quite controversial. He has been accused of having masked his biological determinism or historical racism in the garb of natural disposition and distribution of resources. However, biology has been used to explain a lot of other world dynamics: gender relations, patriarchy/matriarchy, sexuality, success, wealth, and cognition.

The "Jared Diamond is a racist" argument suggests that environmental, ecological, and geographical factors led to the West's colonization of the rest, ignoring the determinants of this. Diamond's argument is seen as racist, as it overlooks the terrible actions of Europeans and their unfavorable ideologies.

European descendants can find comfort in the thought that those before them weren't so bad after all while the Whites may find comfort in the thought of no longer having to deal with the horrors of invasion, slavery, and genocide.

But JD (though sometimes extends it too far) does not say any of that. He says that the different historical paths of different countries are not due to racial superiority but to environmental factors. He thinks geographical traits and the availability of plants and animals that can be tamed are two of the most important factors that determine how societies grow. He challenges the idea that racial differences alone are to blame for past events and stresses how important it is to understand these factors to fix world problems of inequality.

Listening

 

Old stuffs

 

Gaaon

 

Do people change?

 

Right man

 

Never stop dreaming

 

House Job

 I frequently get students from Pakistan to rotate with me. The following is a share from one of the students.

"Sir! A House Job in Pakistan can be a farce. It is full of skud work. It is more of a slavery. Learning entirely depends on the person himself. In some cases, you don't even get paid. One of the account section clerks held my last three months of salary, as I mistakenly shared that I am going to the USA as soon as I finish the House Job. 

My father is a physician who did his MBBS during Pakistan's golden days of medical education. Now, it's all expensive fees. Students start preparing for USMLE from day one. It's an investment, not an education, and a relatively easy way to get a USA visa.

My father saw me after the first three days of my house job. He asked how was it?

I furiously replied: Horrible!

He just mumbled: Hmmm.

I continued: 'Pehle din registrar ne kaha, mere rishtedaar ka le ja ker MRI kerwa do. Poora din lag gaya. Dusre din, aik aur senior ne apne kisi rishtdar ke bachhe ki circumsision kerwane bhijwa diya"

Father asked: "Did you learn anything?"

I replied: "Is main kiya lean kerne ka tha?"

Father said, "In medicine, your learning starts as you enter the hospital. It's like a leaning temple. You could have learned from MRI technicians about the essentials they look for before the procedure, how they determine different cuts, and how they process films - or a difference between a closed and open MRI - The next day, you could have learned how they determine the length of the foreskin for circumcision. It all depends on you."

From then on, I changed my approach. As I indulged at every step with a learning mindset, I felt I had become a different person and a better physician.

On Men, Women, Love, Lust, and Relationship

(Someone wrote on Quora)

 Whereas there will be a gap between the two sexual intercourses of the male...

He will jerk away from the female after the first mating.

And it is his nature to want to sleep.

Whereas the female nature is entirely opposite.

She is eager to hear those words from his mouth immediately after intercourse that will tickle her...

She doesn't know that a man cannot love after love

He may yearn for love after the war.

He basically plays the role of hunter?

Yes, in civilized society, this tendency is covered in beautiful clothes.

Hitler, the world's greatest dictator, used to kill five hundred men every day and write love songs with his head in his girlfriend's lap.

His cheeks would get wet while describing the past moments of separation from her.

Enraged by the carnage in the Kalinga war, Ashoka yearned for love...

He incorporated Buddhist philosophy into himself in this way

Today, Ashoka and Buddhist philosophy cannot be separated.

Even Napoleon Bonaparte used to take off his armor and immerse himself in love; he was so romantic and dedicated to his beloved.

At this time, no poet or even a man with an innocent heart can be so dedicated.

He will play for some ten minutes.

Which will not satisfy him in any way...

To get this satisfaction, he may be eager to change his partner.

Wherever social bonds are weak, this change occurs within about six months.

But these changes neither change the situation nor his mentality...

That means he fails to love in getting love.

If it becomes an outlet for the wildness of man

So he can love, he can receive, he can give...

This is one reason the female always leans towards the unruly male rather than the socially civilized one.

This is why spoiled guys get devoted girlfriends.

Let the boys get the tag of being socially civilized...

What a brilliant artist - Safdar Ali Soomro

Like all other people, I was introduced to Safdar Ali Soomro after his stolen paintings were found accidentally in a Pakistani drama. I was absolutely stunned by his talent. He deserves better.

Full story at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2571684/amp
 

 

Defiant!

 

Universe and us!

 

70-20-10

 

Destruction by words

 

Go with the flow (?)

 Sometimes, people around you make comments that stop you to ponder. 

Two days ago, while returning from a medical conference, my flight was delayed due to a storm while I was at the gate. The airline offered passengers the option of waiting or changing to other flights. I was intending to take the offer and fly the next day.

I asked one of the passengers (a professor at Mayo Clinic) beside me what we should do. He gave an interesting reply:

" When I was not that wise and used to go with the flow and whatever came my way, I made better choices in life. Since I started thinking of myself as intelligent, I made little progress. Life is a much higher phenomenon, and the human mind, with logic, usually fails against life's curve balls. I guess I will wait."