kittynh
11th October 2007, 05:43 PM
A very interesting book where each chapter takes a medicine or treatment and shows how it was the result of accident rather than a methodical intense study.
Eyeopening in that the most prescribed medications in the Western World were the result of someone going "well isn't that interesting" rather than, "let's find a treatment for depression".
The chapter on ulcers alone is well worth buying the book. If only because most of us were alive and can even remember the old treatments (that only made ulcers worse) and theories on the subject. Guess what? It isn't stress. Yet doctors went with what was traditional rather than thinking "maybe we have this wrong". Even today most people think ulcers are caused by stress and the wrong food.
At times almost distressing this book blows away your Hollywood notions about how the next best cure or drug comes about.
Full of fun illustrations and cartoons, it's a serious study of how chance and luck, and being prepared when luck comes your way, has been a major factor in the discovery of what keeps us well.
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Eyeopening in that the most prescribed medications in the Western World were the result of someone going "well isn't that interesting" rather than, "let's find a treatment for depression".
The chapter on ulcers alone is well worth buying the book. If only because most of us were alive and can even remember the old treatments (that only made ulcers worse) and theories on the subject. Guess what? It isn't stress. Yet doctors went with what was traditional rather than thinking "maybe we have this wrong". Even today most people think ulcers are caused by stress and the wrong food.
At times almost distressing this book blows away your Hollywood notions about how the next best cure or drug comes about.
Full of fun illustrations and cartoons, it's a serious study of how chance and luck, and being prepared when luck comes your way, has been a major factor in the discovery of what keeps us well.
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