Introduction
Having been caught in a web between meeting timelines in editing two books and
contending with the daily grind of work has been challenging at my age but I am
not regretting what I have got myself in. The ever resourceful youths of today
and the continued expressed interests they show in wanting to be mentored
carries me through crises and storms. There is so much to share and when our
views are still looked on as words of wisdom there is ‘seed money’ to continue
writing and problem solving.
The last three weeks have been punishing as I had to prepare
for a lecture to be given to postgraduates one day before their final clinical examinations.
I was not cynical in wondering if any would be interested in listening to
lectures the day before an examination when I was warned that they would be
attentive lest some pointers for the next day’s examinations may leak out! Plainly
this was not the purpose, I thought as I dwelt with the pathophysiology of
hypoxia, infections and maldevelopment of the brain causing cerebral palsy.
Immediately after the four day of postgraduate examinations
I had the pleasure of sitting through the convocation of one cohort of final
year medical students back at my University. They were all dressed prettily,
young men and women and had much to say about their new workplace (as many had
begun working as interns). That day was pleasing to mind and body, to see these
young people having achieved their aims of becoming doctors.
Then I reflected; are they done, have they attained what
they worked for, what else is in stock for them? That brought me to Edinburgh,
a planned holiday to visit my daughter. My wife and I had decided not to venture far from the city
as we had done some travelling in Scotland on a previous trip. I did not want
to exhaust myself especially after the long flight from Malaysia.
Reflecting on
Scottish Soil
Montague Street is walking distance from the University Town
and I had walked up the Golden Mile leading to Edinburgh Castle a few times. The
city was much quieter this time around and I thought that economic recession
must be severely affecting the city. However, later I came to understand that
the students were away on holidays and hence the ‘major’ population were out of
town. I wanted to visit the Museum of Scotland again when my wife retorted that the ‘entire city was a
Museum’! The weather was not particularly cheery though it was summer. The greens
were pleasant to the eye and the lack of humidity made me comfortable but I
still needed to have my cardigan on as it was chilly most times.
The Scottish have always felt that they are different from
the English and have wanted to be a separate country. The Scottish Parliament
was established for this purpose though they remain in the United Kingdom. Brave
heart, the movie clearly illustrates the independent thinking of the Scotsman.
As I read the historical perspectives of life as a Scotsman, I realise how deeply
internalized this feeling is. The historical buildings in the centre of the
city are stupendously regal and they portray the proud nation they are.
During a previous
trip some three years ago, we drove to a village on the invitation of an old
friend, a gynaecologist, who lived about an hour and half north, in a village
close to Stirling. This loveable character who had retired several years earlier
as a consultant had this beautiful cottage where he lives with his wife. They
were more than happy to have us for lunch, a typical Scottish meal of roasted
chicken and potatoes. Immediately after lunch he beckoned us to walk the hills,
something we could not decline despite his wife’s protest (she kept my wife out
of harm’s way). Such a joy it was to see this healthy old man chattering about
his feats and how he leads an active life of daily walks, swimming in the ponds
around the hills, and the regular sailing trips he makes with his family. He must
be past 70 but there you are, the life of a retiree, and he is looking forwards
to more healthy living.
Trip to the Museum
What makes the Scots proud? Alexander Fleming discovered
Penicillin and antibiotics were born. The Nobel Prize he worn with all the
other medals are displayed at the Scottish Museum. Jackie Stewart, the F1
Driver and champion for many years prides the nation for the best built motor engine
used by Stewart. The continued harassment by the English has kept them wanting
to prove their might in all fields. Ian Donald, the famous gynaecologist from
Glasgow is the father of Ultrasound. Dolly, the first cloned mammal was a
product of the experiments of the Scotsman, again proudly displayed at the
Museum of Scotland.
Was this a Bookshop
or was it a Library?
Going on laid back holidays with a kinder weather; though chilly,
it was a comfortable, allows me to read a bit, taking me away from the routines
of medicine. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin reflects on a multitalented
human who had the energy to become a well-known statesman, author, inventor,
printer and scientist; the outstanding high moral standards was well recognised
as characteristic of the man. From modest beginnings he rose to become an accomplished
American of his time through sheer effort and determination. If one needs
motivation seek this book, get the hard
copy or ‘KINDLE’ it! Although his autobiography was not published till after
his death, one can measure the man’s methodical approach to llfe as he scribbles
the outline of his autobiography in the first three pages of the book. This approach
has been the very principle of ‘scaffolding’ adopted as a learning theory. He
leaves nothing to imagination and includes topics like, ’learn French and
German, Marry, Erect a Library, Affection for my brother (the one younger brother
he had), Father’s remark and advice upon diligence! His social responsibilities
goes beyond selfless devotion and building hospitals. He touches on his
scientific mind very briefly through what he calls his success of electrical
experiments. He mentions about the famous ‘lightning kite and various discoveries’.
Would it not be vital to reflect on what we have today,
material wise and why the turmoil in the
world is causing such havoc when people like Benjamin Franklin ignites productively
those hidden talents one has to make the world a better place to live in. We continue
to get into the blame mentality and soon get overpowered by mundane gossip and unproductive
ventures.
We blame politics but that too is based on the rule of law.
I could not spend more time but did spend about three hours at the Blackwell
Book shop not far from Princess Street one afternoon, in Edinburgh. I was
overwhelmed with the enormous number of books on various subjects that ignited
more enthusiasm in me. A quick scan from primary school books through to
Politics and Academia illustrates why it is worthy for us to be here off and
on. The subject of philosophy appeals to me as it is perplexing yet relevant. I
read a little about Aristotle and how he was passed over not being selected to
take over the Academy after Plato passed away. It was revealing how he had to
leave Greece and find his way to be in
the courts of Macedonia. There is little that suggests he had a great influence
on Alexander the Great when he took over the throne after his father Philip
died (Alexander was just 16 years). My
primary school history classes suggested that Alexander died of malaria at the
age of 28. Yet this book reveals he died due to indulgence in alcohol and that
he never went beyond what is now Pakistan and India because China was not
revealed to him in his geography of the nations.
Several books on pedagogy and andragogy in the bookshop appealed
to me and I feel must be made required reading for all teachers. The basic principles
of teaching are based on specific learning theories and the wonderful array of information
I found was overwhelming.
Anatomy Acts
Andrew Patrizo and Dawn Kemp have put together a treasure of
thinking skills based on Anatomy. If one feels Anatomy is a dry subject do read
this book (Anatomy Acts: How We Come to Know Ourselves). Clearly it is Scottish
and it was lying in my daughter’s bookshelf and now I am the proud owner of the
book!
The introduction reiterates the glory of the Scots and the
authors have intertwined literature and poetry into history as they explore the
anatomy of the human body. Those who have read the Great Books and have a
weakness for English Literature would not put this book down as it cleverly use
analogies of the vast fields of America and sea faring feats to explain the ‘Paradoxes
of Interiority’. Over 500 years the authors throw the veil over’ your good
sense in exploring the human body’ through Scottish eyes. It is a fact that
Scotland has been one of the most important countries for medical teaching and
training. Reference is made to the Edinburgh Town Council in 1540 granting the
Incorporation of Barbers and Surgeons the right to perform dissection of executed
criminals against the wishes of relatives. This was the only way to explore the
inner secrets of the human body. The fresher the body the more it attracted
observers. This Act ‘demonstrated that the criminal should be denied a decent
burial but by permitting it be dissected by anatomists, it was seen as ‘the final
act in a drama of retribution and punishment ‘.
Anatomical dissection drew an audience as if it was a theatrical
act. It is mentioned that in Bologna (ITALY), notices are displayed about a
forthcoming dissection as if a new play is in town. Vesalius, one of the earliest
anatomists, would perform these acts in a church (San Francesco) with public demonstration.
During one such session there were 500 students where he showed his skills and
implored the wrong information (on anatomy) of his rivals.
The illustrations contained in the book portray a mixed
feeling of disregard for the dead and the wantonness for exploring the human body.
A poem appears in Chapter 1 where dissection is seen as one
of brutality in pursuit of knowledge:
‘Behold the Villain’s dire Disgrace
Not Death itself can end.
He finds no peaceful Burial-place
His breathless, Cosre , no friend.
His Heart exposed to prying Eyes
To pity has no claim:
But dreadful! From his Bones shall arise
His Monument of Shame.’
Subsequent chapters are endowed with culture and nature. In explaining
the nervous system reference is made as to
how our state of ‘nerves’ are inherently tied to our nature. The higher you are
in society the more mature (graduated) are your nerves. If one has read or see
the classics like ‘Sense and Sensibility’ or savoured the works of Milton and
Shakespeare one can appreciate how daintily the Madame of the house moves and
addresses the Lord in impeccable English manners. The spleen was erroneously
tied up with the nerves. Reference is made to the ‘mind stirring the body
towards diverse motions and renders it nervous’ in a well-received book published
in 1733 by Dr George Cheyne (English Malady). The gist of the book is to
explain why the English were melancholic and suicidal. The book has three parts
but the title is intriguing; English Malady or a Treatise of Nervous Disease of
all Kinds as Spleen, Vapours, Lowness of Spirits, Hypochodriacal and Hysterical
Distempers.
Conclusion
Deep learning provides us the tools to be able to see perspectives
of life from different angles. I have not attempted to portray the greatness of
the Scotsman using the illustrations above but I am reflecting on our education
principles that which discriminates the ordinary from the extra-ordinary. Scotland
has a population of about three million but the 500 years of history illustrates
a section of the world that has not been left behind. Their illustrious sons
have given so much to Medicine and many other fields that we could look up for creativity
and motivation.
I spent but four days in Edinburgh but I seem to reflect
with envy as to that much we can give if we looked at life in a broader sense.
What made the authors of Anatomy Acts write a book that appeases to non-medical
and medical readers? How cleverly they have used their background exposure to
history, culture, literature and language to craft a well thought though text that makes reading so interesting. The
message is powerful; the power is not in the hand but in the mind and the pen!
Sivalingam Nalliah
Edinburgh 1 June 2012
