We are living in crazy times. Covid-19 has caught us unawares as it first started in Wuhan, China. In the following months, the fruits of globalisation and internationalisation betrayed us as more and more countries were introduced to the virus. Efforts of containment understandably varied in different jurisdictions. Some, like China and Singapore, imposed strict regulations in order to reduce chains of transmission. Some Western countries, such as the UK and US, owing to a relatively carefree approach adopted by their governments, exhibited slight ignorance to the science when dealing with the virus. Right now, the UK is under a second nation-wide lockdown.
What are the implications? Moreover, why should you read this blog, since there are troves of articles out there about the pandemic?
This blog is my first foray into quasi-academic writing. Here, I aim to explore a very broad range of health issues, including Covid-19 (obviously, in an approach as non-political as I can be), contemporary treatments, big data, machine learning in radiology, and more. Like any aspiring medical professional, I strive to practise evidence-based medicine. Every claim, apart from personal opinion, strives to be supported by nothing but established facts or published studies. We live in a world of misrepresentations and political mistruths. Dismantling them by using scientific objectivity is the first step to steer us away from an Orwellian universe.
The human body is beautiful. Dr Gavin Francis's book, Shapeshifters, elegantly describes different physiological processes that impress upon us how marvellous one can be. From pregnancies to puberty, all these changes of our anatomy galvanised within such a short period of time (relevant to lifespan) deserves no less than our awe and admiration. The complexity of the mind is the crowning jewel. I am sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that can be stored in an organ weighing roughly three kilograms. The weaving networks of neurones traverse across the soggy tissue, all communicating and growing, adapting and soaring. They contribute to the sophistication of our thought, the eloquence of our prose, and ultimately, the sanctity of our soul. More often or not, we forget about the miracle of life. We get entangled by the nitty-gritty of everyday life, fussed about the woman who brushed past us without apologising on the Tube, or the annoying colleague who simply failed to do his job properly. This is all natural. The only way not to let these little things get to us is to appreciate ourselves. Appreciate the human body. Appreciate the gem that is our mind.
*As a side note, I reference claims, facts and findings in the vast majority of my articles. I mainly use the APA (7th Edition) citation style or similar.
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