It’s official – summer is over. Although Labor Day may seem like the end of summer with vacations in the rear-view mirror, it is not. Summer officially ended on Thursday with the autumn, or fall, equinox. Unlike other events that we think of as a day, the fall equinox is a moment that occurred at exactly 9:04 PM for people in the Americas. At that time, the sun was over the Earth’s equator and everyone across the globe got a day and night lasting approximately 12 hours each.
With fall comes activities like trips to the cider mill, pumpkin patches, apple orchards, and perhaps getting lost in a corn maze. Of course, there is the ghoulish fun of Halloween and Thanksgiving dinner gathering! Fall is also an unfortunate reminder that crisp autumn days will give way to winter – although not officially until December 21, 2022. Until winter arrives, autumn is to be enjoyed and as in Albert Camus’ famous 1942 play The Misunderstanding, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
The play is not at all as upbeat as this often-quoted line. The Misunderstanding is dark, philosophical play that the then 29-year-old Camus wrote living in Paris under German occupation. The play is the story of a man who returns home after many years to visit his mother and sister. The two run a boarding house where in order to make ends meet, they occasionally rob and murder wealthy guests. He decides to conceal his identity when his mother and sister do not recognize him. Even as communications are not going well, he does not reveal his identity. The many misunderstandings and mistaken identity result in the mother and daughter murdering him. The day after the murder, while going through his papers, they discover the truth – that he is their son/brother.
One take-away from the plays is how a “misunderstanding” can change the course of our lives. How we act greatly depends on our understanding of something or someone. Lack of understanding can have a myriad of effects including rejection of facts, dismissal of health-related scientific findings, discriminatory views/actions, and difficulties with interpersonal relationships. This Weekend’s Reading will hopefully enhance the quality of your understanding on leading healthcare issues and other topics!
This Weekend Reading Series begins with Something New with some of the latest on strategies to address substance abuse, anxiety screening and children’s health. Next, check out Money Changes Everything exploring the growing presence of private equity in the healthcare space, healthcare financing and health workers’ wages. In Brainstorming, you will find articles on medical gaslighting, personality testing and more. Last, but not least, check out Come Spy With Me, and my personal favorite, The day we discovered our parents were Russian spies !
I hope you enjoy the following:
1. Something New
- Task Force Recommends Anxiety Screening for All Adults Under 65 (HealthDay)
- Candy, cash, gifts: How rewards help recovery from addiction (Associated Press)
- ‘This program’s really saved us’: As Canada offers safer opioids to curb overdoses, will U.S. follow? (STAT)
- Formula May Be Right for Infants, but Experts Warn That Toddlers Don’t Need It (Kaiser Health New)
2. Money Changes Everything
- Private Equity Sees the Billions in Eye Care as Firms Target High-Profit Procedures (Kaiser Health News)
- Private equity deals drive up healthcare use, costs among physician practices, JAMA study finds (Fierce Healthcare)
- Death Is Anything but a Dying Business as Private Equity Cashes In (Kaiser Health News)
- Wage Theft and Worker Exploitation in Health Care (AMA Journal of Ethics)
- A health economist acknowledges how financing experiments failed our health system (MedPage Today Professional)
3. Brainstorming
- How Gaslighting Manipulates Reality Gaslighting isn’t just between people in a relationship —it involves social power, too (Scientific American)
- ‘Paradigms of distrust’: Medical gaslighting leaves patients dismissed and disrespected (Healio)
- Why Companies Are So Interested in Your Myers-Briggs Type If you’ve looked for a job recently, you’ve probably encountered the personality test. You may also have wondered if it was backed by scientific research. (JSTOR Daily)
- One of Long COVID’s Worst Symptoms Is Also Its Most Misunderstood Brain fog isn’t like a hangover or depression. It’s a disorder of executive function that makes basic cognitive tasks absurdly hard. (The Atlantic)
4. Come Spy With Me
- Northern Spy (Out on a Limb Apples)
- The day we discovered our parents were Russian spies For years Donald Heathfield, Tracey Foley and their two children lived the American dream. Then an FBI raid revealed the truth: they were agents of Putin’s Russia. Their sons tell their story (The Guardian)
- More Bosses Are Spying on Quiet Quitters. It Could Backfire. (The Wall Street Journal)
- David Fairchild, America’s Top Food Spy. If you had something delicious for lunch today, you likely have David Fairchild to thank for it. (The Saturday Evening Post)
- Spy-themed, Interactive, On-line Jigsaw Puzzles (Spy Museum)
Enjoy your weekend!
Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]
