CONTENTS
➡️ Writing by hand is a vital life skill, says neuroscience research
➡️ Company of one - yourself
➡️ Fairness, or is it just self-interest?
➡️ LEAD ARTICLE: Wound healing - an everyday miracle that is "born to blush unseen"
➡️ Second helpings - good reading from the web
Writing by hand is a vital life skill, says neuroscience research
Corbley A, The Good News Network. January, 2024
🆃🅻;🅳🆁 𝕄𝕪 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖-𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕝𝕖
A newspaper in the USA mistakenly reported that the famous writer and humourist, Mark Twain, had passed away. To which, the man in his customary acerbic fashion, wrote back with the barb that the rumours of his death were greatly exaggerated. So too with handwriting. It's far from dead. In a digital era where keyboards often replace pens, a new study reveals significant neurological advantages of handwriting.
✅ ➡️ The research showed:
Writing by hand enhances brain connectivity more than typing. This enhanced connectivity is attributed to the complex motor skills involved in handwriting, which engage more sensory information and brain regions than the repetitive motions of typing.
Handwriting facilitates memory formation and learning.
These findings underscore the importance of preserving handwriting practices to support cognitive development and learning efficiency despite the rapid adoption of digital devices in education.
🇪🇳🇩🇶🇺🇴🇹🇪
"We show that when writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard."
Company of one - yourself
Volpe A, Vox. January 2024
🆃🅻;🅳🆁 𝕄𝕪 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖-𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕝𝕖
The article emphasises the benefits of spending quality time with one’s inner monologue. Individuals can harness the power of silence for creativity, problem-solving, and personal growth. The practice can be more rewarding than typical distractions like social media or gaming.
✅ ➡️ Set aside time for reflection, goal-setting, and creative thinking, with activities like walking or simple chores serving as ideal backdrops for productive thought. Avoid distractions, and focus on positive, meaningful thoughts to make solitude enjoyable and productive.
🇪🇳🇩🇶🇺🇴🇹🇪
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - Blaine Pascal, French philosopher and polymath.
“Harnessing the power of silence can have profound benefits, allowing our minds to dream up imaginative musings, solve problems, and create, as well as savour pleasant memories and build excitement for the future.”
Fairness, or is it just self-interest?
Christian P, The Conversation. January 2024
🆃🅻;🅳🆁 𝕄𝕪 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖-𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕝𝕖
Self-interest and adherence to social norms of fairness are perched at either ends of a see-saw. Our innate preference for equitable distribution isn’t just limited to situations where we stand to gain but also extends to scenarios where we’re at a disadvantage. This inclination towards fairness, emerging early in childhood, suggests a hardwired nature.
✅ ➡️ The tussle between individual interests and the collective good, or between different notions of fairness, manifests in various situations across societal, organisational, and personal levels. Here are some examples.
Resource allocation in healthcare.
Environmental policies.
Workplace diversity and inclusion.
Income redistribution through taxation.
Educational opportunities.
Public policy and social welfare.
Digital personal privacy vs state security.
Each of these examples underscores the complexity of balancing individual rights and the collective good.
🇪🇳🇩🇶🇺🇴🇹🇪
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” - Harper Lee, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’
LEAD ARTICLE
Wound healing - an everyday miracle that is "born to blush unseen"
It always comes through. I have been a surgeon for four decades. Our tribe works with the human body at levels that are closer and more direct than any other medical specialty. One lesson stays with me constantly. I am forever in a state of awe and wonder at the miraculous way in which the body heals consistently and effectively. Ambroise Paré, a pioneering French surgeon from the 16th century, said, “I dressed his wound, and God healed it.” It doesn't matter where you stand on the existence of God, but you can't deny the magic of healing. Guided by an intelligence that defies our cognitive capabilities, the process kicks in with astounding reliability.
Beyond "six sigma." The cascade of biological events that follow damage to an organism has evolved over millions of years. Being one of the most basic elements in the survival of a species, it is finely tuned to an extent that is "six-sigma" plus.
You can't ace Nature. Despite being given this extraordinary gift, we continue to labour under the delusion that there are measures and interventions—add-ons—that could aid or speed up wound healing. Are there any with evidence in support? In a word, "none."
FAQ time. Let me address some common questions and fallacies about healing.
Will antibiotics hasten or improve healing? No, not by themselves. There is a common belief that antibiotics promote healing. Unless there is an active infection in a healing wound, there is no requirement for antibiotic use. The reasoning that these agents can provide prophylaxis against future infections does not hold water. There is ample evidence to support this fact. Irresponsible use of antibiotics has led to a serious problem with antibiotic resistance in most places across the globe.
Will applying lotions and ointments (topical agents) to the wound benefit healing? No. The process of healing ensures that compounds quickly stretch across the surface of wounds and make them impervious to ongoing external damage. This happens in 24 hours or less. For all intents and purposes, wounds are sealed by a day. Topical applications are wasteful after this period. Some may even impair the process of wound healing.
Are vitamins, tonics, and protein supplements needed for good healing? No. It's highly unusual to see patients with malnutrition of a degree of severity that impairs healing. Healing is so fundamental to our survival that it will work very well in fairly severe states of undernourishment. Protein intake is also equally futile. The routine prescription of vitamins, tonics, and nutritional supplements is a waste of money.
Dressings. Until the time when the wound is sealed, most of us will keep the wound dressed with a sterile, absorbent dressing. Dry wounds, after 24-48 hours, can be left open without dressings. The surface of the wound will be water- and bacteria-proof.
Bathing. For reasons stated earlier, it is perfectly safe to wash or bathe a wound with clean water. There is no need for adding antiseptic agents to the cleansing solution.
Movement. With rare exceptions, movement will not impair wound healing. Gentle stimulation of tissues by activity could possibly help the wound heal. Even in fractures and bone injuries, modern techniques are geared towards early mobilisation.
Analgesics. There is a mistaken belief that the use of analgesic agents will impair healing. Untrue. Pain relief is essential. Movement will be made easier when there is no pain.
Diabetes. Well-controlled diabetics will heal wounds just as well as normal people. Under most conditions, they are not more susceptible to infections. The presence of diabetes is no reason to use antibiotics "prophylactically."
Too much of a good thing: excessive scarring and keloids. All healing ultimately leads to resolution through scar formation. A scar consists of tough, fibrous tissue that serves to hold the damaged parts together. Humans, peculiarly, can carry this process of scarring to excess. On the skin, this can be seen as keloids—thick, unsightly scars that persist for long periods. Most of the time, other than cosmetic concerns, they need no treatment. On occasion, they can be disfiguring and painful. Plastic surgeons have a number of options for dealing with troublesome keloids. Excessive scarring in organs that are hollow tubes (bowel, urinary passages, female reproductive tract) can lead to the formation of strictures. They can block the effective passage of contents down the tube and lead to problems of obstruction. Quite often, surgical treatment might be necessary to relieve the blockages caused by strictures.
Life force, prana, Chi ... I consider myself a hard-headed, evidence-informed practitioner of Medicine. But I concede that there are definite boundaries to our knowledge and cognition. We are alive and aware because of a process called life. At the moment of death, there is no physically detectable change in the body, but we know and acknowledge that the person has passed along. What left them? Hindu philosophy refuses to be pinned down and caught in a battle of words by stating, "Tat twam asi." That thou art. What's "That?" The answer lies beyond words.
The miracle of wound healing invokes a deep spiritual sense in the wonder of creation that goes well beyond man-made religions. No surgeon worth his salt can deny this.
🇪🇳🇩🇶🇺🇴🇹🇪
“Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.”― Cormac McCarthy
SECOND HELPINGS
Good reading from all over
🅆🄴🄻🄻🄽🄴🅂🅂
Collective mind’ bridges societal divides − psychology research explores how watching the same thing can bring people together
🄿🅁🄾🄳🅄🄲🅃🄸🅅🄸🅃🅈
Turning tasks into challenges: Gamifying productivity - Video
Networking is a necessary — and misunderstood — skill. Here’s how to hone it.
Scientists have invented a simple new test for creativity, And you can try it out
🄴🅃🄲⊡
Refreshing Sir! Post ICD I tell my patients to remove the dressing and wash the wound normally: Quite often patients come back with the old dressing after 1 week: In our set up people take medical advice half hearted and don't follow completely
Nuanced!