Word of the Day: AGNOTOLOGY

I am an agnotologist, no doubt.  That is to say, I am fascinated with all that we do not know, with the gray areas and uncertainties of life, death, and everything.  Agnostic = Doesn't Know.  Agnotology = Study of Ignorance.  Science depends on us being very clear about what we do not know yet, so that we can devise ways to try to find out.

( Great article here from the NY Times )

QotD: Medical Suffering

The relief of suffering and the cure of disease
must be seen as twin obligations
of a medical profession that is truly dedicated to the care of the sick.
Physicians' failure to understand the nature of suffering
can result in medical intervention
that (though technically adequate) not only fails to relieve suffering
but becomes a source of suffering itself.

--Eric J. Cassell