Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 134 Editor's Choice: 12
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JMcall said
[Read the article: The light's on, but is anybody home?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I certainly do not imagine myself playing tennis just because someone asked me to."
Quick - DON'T think of a pink elephant.
You can't. It's almost impossible. Your brain may do it automatically.
This was a first pass experiment and provides interesting first steps. I'd like to see more. For example, the following tests on this woman:
1. Imagine yourself playing tennis.
2. Imagine yourself WATCHING SOMEONE ELSE play tennis.
3. Imagine a tennis racket.
4. Imagine spelling the word "tennis".
5. Imagine a person that you played tennis against in the past.
If conscious thinking is involved, all of these responses would be different (I would think - but I'm not a neuroscientist; some may actually light up the same). I think they would all be different, and would complete divorce these responses from hearing your name from across the room at a crowded party.
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... and other thoughts
[Read the article: The light's on, but is anybody home?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Terri Schiavo's brain was severely atrophied, and probably could not have recovered, much, if at all, during a normal human lifespan.
Contrast that with the man in Britain in the news in July whose skull was 50-75% fluid, along with a thin outer cortex "shell"? He was working as a civil servant, and was married with two children! Of course he had a CORTEX (believed to be the seat of consciousness), which Schiavo didn't have.
It's also been in the news recently that people CAN grow new brain cells, and they can also slow the loss of brain cells and the decline of mental function due to age by EXERCISING their brain - doing puzzles, word games, and even physical exercise itself.
I'm sure great strides will be made, but in the meantime, I think we will see an increased amount of mental rehabilitation attempts in vegetative individuals.
PS. Regarding why they don't just ask this woman all these questions, well, fMRI is expensive, and they can't just have the machine taken up by one patient, all day long. I second the early poster, who mentioned smaller, cheaper, more portable fMRI device development. But yeah, as a single patient, if her family is willing for her to continue to be a research subject, that'd be very interesting to pursue!
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david sugarman
[Read the article: The light's on, but is anybody home?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Do you live in this country (the U.S.)? Pretty much EVERY judge would rule in the brother's favor in that situation! And until we have equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians, that policy will continue.
What if the parents wanted to pull the tube, but the husband didn't? Would you personally still say the parents should get to decide? Remember that Terri herself allegedly said (to at least two different people on two different occasions) that she wouldn't want life support of this sort - for purpose of this discussion, assume that she did say that. Are you sure you aren't just projecting YOUR wishes onto someone else?
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david sugarman
[Read the article: The light's on, but is anybody home?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You said:
"why rule in favor of death? it's going to cost you nothing if they survive."
Remember, we are talking about a PERSON. A distinct separate human being. Not a pet. Not a doll. Not a plaything.
How do I know that you're not dressing me up in outlandish outfits, pushing me around in a pram, picking up my hand to wave it at passers-by, etc. Sure, if my consciousness is gone I don't really know these things are happening, so sure, it "costs me nothing", but I would not want you to have that kind of control over my body, whether it costs me anything or not.
If I'm so pro-life that I find these thoughts amusing, comforting, or fun, that's one thing. But if I don't, if I'm repulsed by that, then I should not have to be put in that situation simply because it "costs me nothing". It's not siding with death. It's siding with the wishes of the ACTUAL PERSON that's in this situation.
If I haven't expressed my wishes, then feel free to interpret to your own satisfaction. But if I've said I don't want this, you should respect my wishes.
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Confessions of a Matchmaker
[Read the article: If love is a game, do you need a coach?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]On the show Confessions of a Matchmaker, the matchmaker in question definitely "coaches" her clients on how to act on a date. People that jump right into the sex talk, people that talk too much about themselves, people that act too young or too old. It's hysterical. It's on the cable channel A&E (I don't know when though - they've moved it around a couple of times).
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Lame, but...
[Read the article: Eek, it's Sexy Anna Rexia! ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Trudy, I'm with you, up to a point. I think it should have the emaciated body on it, but not only because it's lame. Right now, here's what's going to happen:
"Cute - a whore skeleton. Wait, what's that? Tape measure? Anorexia, that's FUNNY! Ha ha ha! It's so cute!" Essentially trivializing the whole thing. Which is neither funny nor thought-provoking.
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Hooray for women in science!
[Read the article: Quote of the Day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's great to see this story getting wider coverage. We hear so little about the space program anyway, except that every time a shuttle goes up, everyone's worried it's going to explode. It's nice to have some good news for a change!
I hope a lot of girls and young women are seeing this and are empowered by it. Now, if only we could get more than one or two female Fortune 500 CEOs at the same time...