As most of you know, America and the world is on the cusp of yet another deadly surge in COVID infections, this time being driven by the highly contagious Delta Variant, which is also more deadly than the previous infections. All the computer models (the same ones that were very accurate over this last year)…

I want to say that I am sincerely sorry for any offense words I have used in this blog over the past few years. I tend to feel strongly about things, good things and bad. As most of you know, I have had strong (negative) views toward Donald Trump. There is no reason to discuss…

Just a brief follow up. I was seen at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance on Tuesday. As I described, it is hard to tell if my cancer is coming out of remission because of mixed lab findings. They agree that it is not clear. We have decided to follow one value, my gamma light chain proteins…

Update: The last time I wrote, I spoke of being in a window of positive news about my cancer. My symptoms were low and the tests were favorable. I was at the point of being giddy, and guilty for feeling so good when I have friends suffering. Anyone who has dealt with a chronic disease,…

I could not end this series without touching on these two topics for completion. As I pondered how to do that, even these parting topics had spinoffs, such as how do we find truth to start with (epistemology)? But I will let that go for now. Certainty In most religious sects, certainty is not only…

In 1992 I listened to a remarkable lecture titled, Possible Answers to Basic Philosophical Questions. Dr. Schaeffer, the presenter, had made the point in an earlier lecture that philosophy is really a remarkably simple discipline because, unlike biology or physics, there are only a handful of questions and an equal number of possible answers. The…

A few weeks ago I was the brunt of someone’s anger. It was one of those situations where you step into a stranger’s line of fire . . . and it had nothing to do with you. Now, I don’t even remember what it was about. But I started thinking afterwards, that we who live…

I tell these stories, not because I think they are unique to me. It is not about “my journey” but about the human condition. I tell them because I’ve observed them and like a correspondent, I want to write about the experience because I think many others have had the same. A good friend and…

The Art and Science of Religious Intolerance To fully address tolerance, I believe we must look carefully at the substance of intolerance. I used the term “art” in the title, not implying a positive trait, but how we work creatively to dress up or decorate our intolerances to make them more palatable. Within the variety…

 One of my favorite movies of all times was Awakenings. It was my favorite for several reasons. It was based on a semi-autobiographical novel written by Oliver Sacks, a neurologist and brilliant writer. I knew his work well as I spent 38 years in neurology. I also loved the movie because it featured Robin…