Musings on the Passing Scene – Page 2 – Wandering Shrink (Samurai Shrink)

A Meditation on Beer

I trundled off to graduate school in New York City back in 1978. Things were very different in Manhattan in those days. My first “apartment” was a basement in a townhouse on Carmine Street in the West Village. I’m not talking about a basement apartment; I mean an actual basement. The only piece of furnitureContinueContinue reading “A Meditation on Beer”

Ivermectin, COVID, and the Politics of Medicine: A Case Study in How Science Works (and Sometimes Doesn’t)

I’ve avoided writing about politics—who needs the tsurris? But when science and policy collide, I can’t look away. Case in point: a group of New Hampshire legislators is pushing a bill to allow people to buy ivermectin without a prescription, presumably to treat COVID. So let’s take a closer look. What is ivermectin? Why didContinueContinue reading “Ivermectin, COVID, and the Politics of Medicine: A Case Study in How Science Works (and Sometimes Doesn’t)”

Fun with AI, Literary Style

I’m sure that I’m not the only one who finds AI, in its multiple forms, fascinating. I started with ChatGPT and then tried several others: Claude, Gemini, and Copilot. I eventually subscribed to Perplexity AI. I’m on a listserv for board-certified forensic psychologists and Perplexity seemed to be the best for researching topics related toContinueContinue reading “Fun with AI, Literary Style”

Pottery and Japanese Aesthetics

Lately, I’ve been thinking about pottery. I should probably back up and provide some context. When I was around 13 or so, I somehow got it in my mind to make sculptures. Maybe I tried it in art class, but I don’t recall. But I managed to obtain some self-hardening clay and made some animalContinueContinue reading “Pottery and Japanese Aesthetics”

Lack of Internet Leads to a Meditation on the Nature of Chickens

Several days ago in the morning, I was sitting at my computer, and there was suddenly a loud explosion from down the street, and I could see a flash of what seemed like lightning through the shades of my window. I knew it was a transformer blowing up. It used to happen every 2 weeksContinueContinue reading “Lack of Internet Leads to a Meditation on the Nature of Chickens”