“To see others suffer does one good” – Friedrich Nietzsche Schadenfreude, the enjoyment of another’s misfortune, first appeared in English writing in 1853. Other languages have similar phrases. The Japanese have the proverb, meshiuma- “The misfortunes of others taste like honey.” The French have, “joie maligne”. The Danish talk of, “skadefryd”. The Hebrew saying is,…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad term that describes any task performed by a computer than normally requires human intelligence. Machine learning is a type of AI in which computers learn from existing data, without explicit programming, to predict new data points. Deep learning is a subfield of this, which deals with especially messy data…
This was a quote from a school-age friend decades ago, which I considered senseless at the time, but now appreciate in a different context as a spine surgeon. Low back paraspinal muscles play an important role in the stability and functional movements of the lumbar spine. The condition of the muscle, such as density, cross-sectional…
On Saturday, Colorado Rockies’ Daniel Bard clocked 99mph in a Rockies win against the Texas Rangers. Most would think the cardboard fan cutouts behind home plate would have been the biggest talking point. Bard only worked 1 1/3 innings and threw 25 pitches… but Bard’s story is quite a doozy. Never heard of Daniel Bard?…
Why They Did It, How It Worked, and What’s Next… We’ve recently learned that the Houston Astros sign-stole pitches, using a program dubbed “Codebreaker”. Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal just published it was an intern who developed the Excel-based scheme used through 2017 and part of the 2018 seasons. The role in 2019 may be…
AAA batteries have been around since the 1950s and are most often used in low-drain portable electronic devices… TV remote controls, digital cameras, etc… In fact, they may have been invented solely to allow Kodak and Polaroid cameras to be smaller sized. They are such low power that an AA battery has three times their…
When a patient develops a vague symptom like a headache, the thought of having a brain tumor is distant… but surely is a worst fear. Most patients watch the symptom for a while, but when it doesn’t resolve they may discuss with a physician. Headaches are reported in about 4.5% of all primary care visits.…
Our nation’s independence came at a high human cost on all sides. We celebrate the 4th of July, which was the date in 1776 when the Second Continental Congress edited and approved the Declaration of Independence. Of course, signing did not begin until August 2nd and lasted through November. On the night of April 18,…
Anti-platelet medications (Plavix, Aspirin) and anticoagulants (Coumadin, Xarelto, Eliquis, Pradaxa, etc…) are blood thinners used to treat patients with blood clots, heart stents, and strokes. However, they make it very difficult to pursue surgery, since bleeding can be difficult to control and may continue to ooze after surgery. Usually in spine surgery, we stop antiplatelets…
June 14th is recognized as Flag Day. In 1775, the American Revolution was raging against the British for our independence, however, at the time numerous flags represented the different factions of colonists amongst the 13 colonies. On December 03, 1775, the Second Continental Congress chose the first official flag of the United States, the “Grand…