Decision of the Month

Books





Rational Rationing in Western Michigan

March 9th, 2010

See a nice TV news segment from Grand Rapids Michigan last night (March 8th), that followed up on a symposium on health care rationing, where Norm Daniels (one of my heros–a philosopher from Harvard) and I address the need to discuss how to set appropriate limits to contain health care costs. Click on my picture to link to the colloquy coverage.

What are health insurance companies good for?

March 1st, 2010

They take our money, and hand it over to hospitals and doctors, while keeping a good portion for themselves. What a waste, huh?
Well, yes and no. To see a really illuminating discussion of health insurance companies, and what they really do, see this blog http://michaelbrownmd.blogspot.com/2010/02/health-insurance-does-not-earn-its.html by Michael Brown– the Chief Information Officer at Harvard University [...]

Another Middle Age Facebook User

February 22nd, 2010

My kids are interested in learning how to use Facebook. So I figured it was time for me to learn something about this tool, meaning that at the ripe young age of 47, I’ve joined the ranks of the Facebook users.
Now I need help from all of you to teach me how to learn this [...]

My Neighborhood Made Me Do It

February 4th, 2010

 My Center at CBDSM regularly posts what we call the “Decision of the Month.” Our most recent DoM highlights some research I conducted with Sarah Gollust, a UM graduate student now working at Penn.
 
Click on this link, http://www.cbdsm.org/doms/diabetes-lobby, to find out what happens when people learn about how neighborhoods influence people’s health.
 
And click here, http://www.cbdsm.org/doms/archive, [...]

Megan Fox’s Belly Button: The Key to Understanding Politics?

January 28th, 2010

Okay, as fine as is her midriff, most of you probably don’t list Megan Fox’s belly button as her first, um, attribute worth pondering. But bear with me–her belly button IS key to understanding why the Massachusetts senate seat just went to a Republican, and why Democratic efforts to reform our healthcare system are now [...]

Fixing Healthcare Means Maintaining Infrastructure

January 21st, 2010

It is pothole season in Michigan, with roads crumbling under the pressure of winter cold. Then again, with the condition of our state’s dismal economy, pothole season is becoming a year-round phenomenon here in the Great Lake State. Michigan’s government can no longer afford to fix roads like it used to, and the same goes [...]

Mark McGwire: New Poster Child for Cognitive Dissonance

January 14th, 2010

Answer = Himself
Question = Who is Mark McGwire trying to deceive?
It’s laughable, isn’t it.
• He took steroids for “health reasons”• The drugs “didn’t help him” hit home runs• The “steroid era” made him do it
Mark McGwire’s belated confession to using performance enhancing drugs was only surprising in his determination to call them “health enhancing drugs.” And even that [...]

Underwear Bombers and the Politics of Invisibility

January 6th, 2010

It’s easy to criticize the Obama administration, isn’t it?
Look at the unemployment rate. Or, have you heard about the tax hikes that some say we will need to pay to cover health care reform? Oh yeah, and the administration did a great job with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab didn’t it? His dad told [...]

Underwear Bombers and the Politics of Invisibility

January 6th, 2010

Easy to criticize the Obama administration, isn’t it?
Look at the unemployment rate, for example. And have you seen the tax hikes they’re going to need to pay for healthcare reform? Oh yeah, and they did a great job with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab didn’t they?-his dad told us he was going rogue, and then [...]

Nine Blessings from 2009

December 22nd, 2009

1.  I didn’t turn 50
            Rinse and repeat that blessing for two more years!
 
2.  Healthcare reform has provided plenty to blog about for the whole year!
            Rinse and repeat for  . . . ?  
 
3.  Neither of my children are adolescents
            . . . yet!
 
4.  Two of my three books weren’t pulled from the [...]



I am a physician and behavioral scientist. My research and writing explores the quirks in human nature that influence our lives -- the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions....

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