We’ve known for years that drug companies give gifts to physicians. The gifts have taken many forms – pens, vacations, meals, free samples, etc… Physicians always insisted that these gifts didn’t influence their prescribing practice – that they always prescribed strictly in the best interests of their clients. Two trends have been exposed in recent… Continue Reading
Archives for November 2010
Mental Illness: The History of a Mistake
The human brain is a pattern-seeking machine. Because of his brain, man strives to understand the world around him and uses this understanding to improve his lot. The brain looks for patterns and explanations. Our ancestors, for instance, discovered that certain rocks, through processing in certain ways, could be shaped to make sharp tools which… Continue Reading
Learning Disorders Are Not Illnesses
The notion of learning disorders gained momentum during the 50’s and 60’s, when it began to be appreciated in professional circles that there were a small number of individuals who, although quite bright, seemed to experience inordinate difficulty learning to read. They juxtaposed letters or did not seem to readily “see” the patterns of letters… Continue Reading