Awakening. by Joshua Lang, Atlantic Magazine.
Sevoflurane is a multipurpose gaseous wonder, making it one of the most commonly used general anesthetics in the United States today—even though anesthesiologists are still relatively clueless as to how it produces unconsciousness.
We can’t figure out whether patients are awake, or what being awake even means?
As a teenager … Tononi wrote a letter to Karl Popper, a famous European philosopher, asking him whether he should devote his life to studying consciousness. Popper wrote back with encouragement and sent an inscribed copy of one of his books. Tononi considered approaching the subject through mathematics or philosophy, but ultimately decided that medicine would provide the best foundation. So he attended medical school
One takeaway:
A human has about 100 billion brain cells. If we were astronomers of our own brains, we would be overwhelmed like Sagan.
2nd takeaway:
I’m happy to continue to repress any memories of pain in surgery. Hypnotize me to rediscover those traumas? No thanks.
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