..
Is concreteness notional?
Is abstractness real and tangible?
It is the perspective that decides everything.
Consider the supposedly abstract concept of diagnosis for example. Now a term that is generally associated with human health and medical practice, it has been around since the beginning of existence and has been an integral part of all known processes (and should have been one of every unknown process as well!).
Anything that has been in existence for that long should certainly have an interesting story to tell. What follows is an abridged autobiography of diagnosis - an abstract idea to us humans, but which considers itself as much concrete and substantial, as we are.
.
.
If you like the tale that follows, don't forget to look up a 2 minute animated presentation at the end of it!.
.
.
.
Click here to buy posters!
.
.
Verse-a-tale of Diagnosis
. . . . . .I suspect that, perhaps, this is how;
. . . .Quite contrasting meanings words endow
. . . . .In the historical context; though fated
. . . . . To be etymologically closely related.
. page 1 of 30
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
. . . . . .As an example I take my own case.
. . .. . To its Greek roots, my origin I trace,
. And find that I am derived from the word 'gnosis'
. . . That has an apparently speculative basis.
. page 2 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com. . . .. The innocuous looking little prefix 'dia'
. . .. has added a new and different dimension,
. .And transformed me from something intangible
. To a logical, concise, and conditional contention.
. page 3 of 30
..Maybe, it is merely a matter of a paradigm shift
. . . .With usage of words; a practice of thrift.
. .Time, over the centuries, has certainly wrought
. . .A change in perspectives, deeds, and thought.
. page 4 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com. . . .. A diagnosis with its established rules
. . . . .Helps in restoring the ailing to health.
. . . Gnosis attempts, with its logic, to find
. . . . .A palliative for the ailment of death.
. page 5 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com. Doubtless, commendable, and noble causes both,
Though to tread a gnostic's path I am quite loathe.
His realm is limitless, beyond the bounds of reason;
.I am within the same domain-season after season.
. page 6 of 30
.Leaving the gnostic to his incomprehensible ways,
. . In whose pursuit one loses the count of days.
I'd rather, my methods and processes, substantiate;
.And how I analyze systems-animate or inanimate.
. page 7 of 30
. .
. .
. .
Buy at AllPosters.comThe differentiation is just a handy
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . convenience though;
For the benefit of those who hold a divergent
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . view, to know.
Such a standpoint would certainly rob
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..the human of his sheen;
To me, a man is nothing but another
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sophisticated machine.
. page 8 of 30
. .
. .
. .
Buy at AllPosters.com. . . . . .The principle of cause and effect
. . . . . .Is my primary guiding fundament.
. . .There is no system, that to such a scrutiny,
. . .Would not ultimately and inescapably relent.
. page 9 of 30
. . . .The tools and apparatus used in my trade
. . . .have obviously changed through the ages.
. .It was touch, sight, and birth charts in the past,
. . . .And now complex instruments and guages.
. page 10 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.comMy acumen and accuracy was no less in the
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bygone eras;
. . Don't ever pass judgements based on my tools.
. What matters more than those supportive props
Is the recognition of symptoms following
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . associated rules.
. page 11 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
.That this is indeed so, can be verified by the fact
. That brain surgeries were performed in 3000 BC.
For surgeons and patients attuned to
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . contemporary norms,
The thought can be, in more than one way,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .a bit queasy!
. page 12 of 30
A human system is a collective of varied symptoms.
The first step in healing is to analyze
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .such conundrums,
Then a strategy that would impart to it
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lasting harmony.
This is the Oslerian ideal that guides
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . medical philosophy.
. page 13 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
Maintenance of other systems follow a
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . similar approach.
. Be it an aircraft, a computer or a hackney coach.
In this notion, there is however,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .a petty logical skew;
"Harmony" is such matters, is the
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . human point of view!
. page 14 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
Now that my identity and independence
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . have been ascertained,
(And you are assured that I am not someone
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. crazy or harebrained!)
We will look at some of the diagnostic tools
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in vogue;
Used by medical practitioner's in clinics,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .hospitals, and morgues.
. page 15 of 30
. . The basic diagnostic kit that all medics carry,
Which is also a trademark,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . like a wand is to a fairy;
Has a 'Steth,' a 'Spigmo,' and
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a double-headed hammer,
The names of these tools can make
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the uninitiated stammer!
. page 16 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
One of the most dramatic
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of such tools is the X-Ray.
Its worth being much more,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .than the monetary defray.
. . . Radiation rendering flesh and skin lucent,
. . . The denser bone not being so transparent.
. page 17 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
Accepting the fact that X-ray has
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . revolutionized diagnosis,
It would also be necessary to note another,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .with emphasis.
That traditional bone-setters continue to
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ply their trade and well
Without the need of this sophistication,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .upon which to dwell!
. page 18 of 30
. .One thing that provides information in a flood
. .About the status of body equilibrium, is blood.
Contemporary medical diagnosis
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . overwhelmingly rests
On hematological, serological,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and immunological tests.
. page 19 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
It will be humbling for the
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . haughty humans to know
That within them, millions of life forms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . independently kowtow.
Some of these parasites feed off
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. the human body to live;
. Many others while doing so, also generously give!
. page 20 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
Microbiological tests establish the presence
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .of these life forms,
And determine whether they are within
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . permissible norms.
Under control and in bounds, they bestow a life
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of pleasure and ease;
In dearth or in excess, they are the cause of
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .many a disease.
. page 21 of 30
Ultrasonography is another noninvasive
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .procedure to visualize
Muscles, tendons, and internal organs,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . their structure and size.
Its particular usefulness in feotal and
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . prenatal care aside,
It is misused in the abhorrent practice of
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . female infanticide.
. page 22 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
To describe a condition, all indirect diagnoses
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . faithfully contrive.
There is however, no equal to seeing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .an internal disorder "live."
The procedure called Endoscopy
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . provides for just this,
With a camera-mounted tube sent
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . through any body orifice.
. page 23 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
Computed tomography is a process
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .that uses images by X-Rays
To painstakingly fashion a 3D image
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .from a series of 2D overlays.
CT is used to diagnose many things and
. . . . . . . . . . .. is not confined to medicine alone;
Any object dead or alive is game,
. . . . . . . graded opacity to X-rays, which is prone.
. page 24 of 30
Magnetic resonance imaging uses powerful
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . magnetic fields.
Unbridled power, upon hydrogen atoms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . in the body, it wields.
Altering their alignment in a very
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . systematic manner;
Making them detectable by a
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . computerised scanner.
. page 25 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
Many of these procedures are termed
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . safe and noninvasive,
But the possibility of inadvertant hazards
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . is all-pervasive.
Cancer production and chromosome breakage
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .to name two,
If meticulously enumerated, there would be
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . quite a few.
. page 26 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
My services are solicited even after the last breath
. .To unambiguously ascertain the cause of death.
. . Autopsy it is called, the body, to so minister.
. . The tools for the task, too look fairly sinister.
. page 27 of 30
With proliferating computers matching
. . . . . . . . . . . . human population growth charts;
And digital viruses, in every way rivaling,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .their "real" counterparts;
Diagnostic devises abound, that quickly
. . . . . . . . . . . . sift through our virtual treasures
To detect and snare the digital vermin with
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ingenious counter measures.
. page 28 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
Gone are the days, on a mechanic's word
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .one solely depended,
And waited until the erring mechanism
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .was apprehended.
Now a vehicle is plugged into a
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .sleek disgnostic machine
that in jiffy, gathers every obnoxious
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .detail there is to glean.
. page 29 of 30
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Buy at AllPosters.com
All through the ages and every moment,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ever since existence dawned;
I have been with all and sundry to guide them
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . through life and beyond.
"Nothing is indispensable," is a saying coined
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .in ignorant bliss;
Without me, there is nothing!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I am the almighty diagnosis!
. page 30 of 30
If you have enjoyed the style and language of narration of the "Verse-a-tale of Diagnosis", you might perhaps, be interested in reading the author's latest book, "Making of a Medico". Click here to view a 2 minute animated presentation on the book.
You can order your copy online. Click here to buy "Making of a Medico".
. . . .
. . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Get your copy of
. . . .
. . . .
. . . Making of a
. . . .
. . . . . .Medico
. . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . today!
. . . .
. . . .
.
Did the Verse-a-tale of Diagnosis leave you awe-struck?
submit
-
Reply
- pariplavi pariplavi Nov 4, 2009 @ 12:13 am
- enjoyed the poem!
-
Reply
- science_fiction_novels_cyberpunk science_fiction_novels_cyberpunk Oct 11, 2009 @ 3:19 am
- Your exposition runs through fundamental achievements of human civilization. I feel the proud and the limitations of being a human... And I need both diagnosis and gnosis to progress. 5*
-
Reply
- Lalitha Manjunath. Lalitha Manjunath. Sep 28, 2009 @ 10:28 am
- Good Work.Enjoying it thoroughly!
AllPosters.com
Click here to buy Sale Posters!
Spice up your environment with posters from AllPosters.com
The World's Largest Poster & Print Store
Over 500,000 Posters and Prints
Great Prices - Fast Delivery
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
by Wordwinder
Ram, in his perspective:
I was born a human;
Of the average kind, a specimen;
Childhood aspirations were aplenty,
To become a yeoman, a swordsma... (more)
I was born a human;
Of the average kind, a specimen;
Childhood aspirations were aplenty,
To become a yeoman, a swordsma... (more)
Explore related pages
Guide to becoming an egg donor- I built this lens because I know a lot of women are interested in learning more...
Diabetic Foot Care- Diabetes can cause extensive foot damage. Damage can sometimes occur and go unno...
Paperless office solution.- If you could start today and save one tree how would you do it? I looked at busi...
Algarve Health- Residents and guests at Algarve can rest assured that, should they require medic...
Healthcare For All- The lack of access to health care for millions of people in the United States is...
