Mexican American Studies in Tucson – Victory or An Ouroboros Moment?

April 7, 2012

Information cocoons are a real phenomenon, spun by the positive feedback loop of only considering opinions consistent with one’s own currently held opinion. Cocoons can also be created by our inability to assimilate and process the sheer volume of information available[1] to us. I was reminded of the latter when I was made aware of … More Mexican American Studies in Tucson – Victory or An Ouroboros Moment?

Not all information is equal

April 1, 2012

And some information is more equal than other but in today’s connected world the difference is becoming increasingly opaque. Advances in technology have eroded information filters that had historically allowed the consumption of information in a manner consistent with our ability to process it. Failure to differentiate meaningful information from informational background noise facilitates the … More Not all information is equal

Mayo Clinic Mysticism

March 30, 2012

I used to believe that the Mayo Clinic was a venerable institution adhering to the scientific principles and practices that resulted in superior patient care and above average clinical outcomes.  I’m not sure I had any real basis for that perception and recently I’ve come to recognize that such a perception is ill founded. What … More Mayo Clinic Mysticism

The power of the anecdote vis-à-vis VAX-D

March 13, 2012

Unfortunately there seems to be nothing more powerful than the personal anecdote. “Let me tell you, I had back pain for years and it worked for me.” Substituting any condition for “back pain” and any intervention for “it” will create a compelling endorsement for “it” that is often more powerful than reason or compelling scientific … More The power of the anecdote vis-à-vis VAX-D

Keystone XL, gasoline prices and politicians

February 25, 2012

I’m not exactly sure why I can’t seem to let go of this topic. Maybe it’s because I sat through another news cycle with Republican candidates vociferously maintaining that President Obama could somehow affect short term gasoline prices. Once again they cited how the policies of his “anti business” administration were limiting the production of … More Keystone XL, gasoline prices and politicians

Gasoline prices, politics and the reality of petroleum distribution.

February 20, 2012

Governments of 18 of the top 20 oil producing nations control the distribution of oil from their territories. Only two, the United States and Canada, allow oil companies to distribute oil according to market dynamics. While it may be correct to talk of “Saudi Arabian Oil” there is no such equivalent entity as “American Oil.” … More Gasoline prices, politics and the reality of petroleum distribution.

Understanding Complementary and Alternative Medicine – CAM

February 12, 2012

The title should be “Trying to understand Complementary and Alternative Medicine” because I simply can’t understand it – at least the medical basis for it. I’ve never really paid much attention to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and just assumed it was just something of interest to a fringe element of society. After all, there … More Understanding Complementary and Alternative Medicine – CAM