tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post6168576079168341398..comments2024-03-28T11:03:41.050-05:00Comments on Unlocked Wordhoard: Elves and FairiesDr. Richard Scott Nokeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01348275071082514870noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post-63172118725440752912008-02-20T18:14:00.000-06:002008-02-20T18:14:00.000-06:00Nice post! Although, as a medical student, I have ...Nice post! Although, as a medical student, I have to say that any doctor that just throws out a prescription for an antibiotic without performing the necessary culture tests is behaving irresponsibly, and should be reprimanded. There are very definite ways to establish which microbe is infecting you (though its Latin name may make no sense whatsoever), and a clinician that does not perform them (or order them from the lab) is being lazy. Unnecessary antibiotics are the number-one cause of the development of resistant strains, which are ridiculously scary and dangerous. <BR/><BR/>Now, viral infections are a whole different beast! We don't have a way to kill viruses yet, and many doctors are reluctant to admit this to their patients, for fear of causing alarm. You try explaining to a patient with a viral cold that the medicine you give him can only be palliative. It's not much fun. I wish I COULD tell people it was fairies. It'd make my life easier, for sure. :-)Ceciliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901613446334304832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post-77933253879191848882008-02-20T11:38:00.000-06:002008-02-20T11:38:00.000-06:00Nice post! I've often thought about how easy it i...Nice post! I've often thought about how easy it is for the modern world citizen to scoff at medieval beliefs, but we really have only changed a few key nouns...<BR/><BR/>Nice talking to you today!Jennifer Lynn Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17591257224217929921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post-16823934682835793792008-02-20T08:52:00.000-06:002008-02-20T08:52:00.000-06:00hmmmmm, diatoms as fairies, I can't wait to tell M...hmmmmm, diatoms as fairies, I can't wait to tell Matt ;)<BR/>JenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13713642.post-43376187970186336462008-02-20T07:56:00.000-06:002008-02-20T07:56:00.000-06:00What a great post! I've been thinking over the pa...What a great post! I've been thinking over the past few days about modern-day superstitions, and this intersected well with my thoughts. On Saturday, I attended a conference about myth in Germanic culture (medieval through modern), and yesterday my students brought up older Mexican superstitions in the composition class I teach. Also, reading <I>Beowulf</I> and the surrounding scholarship has contributed to my thoughts (about monsters and such).<BR/><BR/>I've been wondering what sort of superstitions we hold now that could be scoffed at only a few centuries from now. Of course, you've pulled this together well with some of the key aspects of microbiology. Obviously science claims their beliefs in these organisms are based on data and research, but how much do we actually know about them? How much are they "superstitions" of belief, ready to be usurped by the next wave of data?<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the thoughts.bwhawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17909010609907741198noreply@blogger.com