Just a little bit stronger
Just a little bit wiser
Just a little less needy
(And maybe I'd get there.)
from Maria Mena's Just a Little Bit
Friday, January 18, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Scholastic Impact of Video-Gaming
In a brief presentation at the
Alternatively, some earlier studies which evaluated psychomotor skills vis-à-vis video game activity which demonstrated that “video-gamers showed superior eye-hand coordination, more rapid reaction time, superior spatial visualization and increased capacity for visual attention and spatial distribution.” Taking on the results of previous studies, the team suggested that surgeons who had previously played video games would have better skills in a standardized laparoscopy and suturing program, thus establishing a correlation between playing video games and improved performance in the said program.
After carefully controlling other factors, including the amount of time spent in playing video games, as well as the content, form and game mechanics, their results indicate that there could be a good side to video gaming chronicles. “Video game skill and past experience with video games are significant predictors of laparoscopic skills and suturing capability after controlling for sex, years of medical training and number of laparoscopic cases performed (p <0.01),” Dr. Rosser explained.
The study population included 33 surgeons and the methodology was composed of three elements, namely the questionnaire, the laparoscopic skill and suturing program (top gun), and the video game tasks. The first one probed on the respondent demographics as well as their video gaming history and surgical specialty and experience and the number of laparoscopic surgeries they have handled. The program was composed of laparoscopic and suturing drills. Lastly, the video game elements were chosen based on perceived correlation with the aforesaid skills.
Performance of certain tasks has been shown to improve with video game simulators, as in driving skills and flying planes. Amidst the ever-increasing sales of video-games worldwide, side by side the cost-effectiveness of alternative training models and other accompanying advantages of simulation such as error prevention, and taking out ethical issues in using living subjects, using video game simulators in improving laparoscopic and suturing skills opens a more interesting field of practice for future physicians; and you would no longer be surprised when you find a surgeon in pre-op, playing Trauma Center (Nintendo game) to warm up before minor invasive surgical procedure.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
from calvin and hobbes
"Some people are pragmatists, taking things as they come and making the best of the choices available. Some people are idealists, standing for principle and refusing to compromise. And some people just act on any whim that enters their heads. I pragmatically turn my whims into principles!" -- Calvin Sunday, January 06, 2008
all grown-up
did you miss the rugrats when they turned the show into "all-grown-up"?
you remember how when you were little, you have this little impression that there are just some things which are simply not for kids; that some things, like certain conversations and discussions are only for grown-ups? well, there are those kids who were fortunate to be treated "maturely" by the grown-ups around them, as a result, albeit without aiming to generalize, these kids grow up with a more mature take on different things. if they used the "grown-up thoughts" well, then good for them. otherwise, they would just feel that a good amount of their childhood had been taken away from them.
why all these talk about grown-up thoughts anyway? after welcoming another year, and finding yourself counting the days once more, you simply couldn't help but feel how quickly time passes, and you realize that as the clock turns, nothing stays the same. everything changes. inevitably.
with the inevitable, and with the realization that nothing remains the same, you learn the value of acceptance. difficult as it is to embrace change and to detach oneself from certain ideals, memories, experiences, and individuals--learning to accept the certainty of change somehow makes it easier for you to keep going and free yourself from a weighed-down state which is largely of your own making.
when you grow-up, you teach yourself to accept that there are a lot of things which are bound to happen, sooner or later. for one, you cannot expect that a child remains a child forever. some times, no matter how strongly you wish to feed your inner-child, circumstances put you in a position where a little of that inner-child dies. and you can't say you didn't try saving her.
sooner or later, you have to forgive yourself for things which you have been tying off your neck, like a bar of lead pulling you deep to the ocean, in the past; the same way that you have to forgive others for whatever pain, hurt, and injustice you may have experienced because of them.
when you were little, you were told that some things have to wait. that you can do certain things when you're old enough. that everything is part of molding you to become a the best person you can be. when you're grown up, you should be grateful for everybody who took responsibility and cared enough to nurture you. still, when you get old enough, you take it upon yourself that certain restrictions will have to be maintained.
maybe growing up isn't too bad. if watching all the films you want is good enough reason. ha!
you remember how when you were little, you have this little impression that there are just some things which are simply not for kids; that some things, like certain conversations and discussions are only for grown-ups? well, there are those kids who were fortunate to be treated "maturely" by the grown-ups around them, as a result, albeit without aiming to generalize, these kids grow up with a more mature take on different things. if they used the "grown-up thoughts" well, then good for them. otherwise, they would just feel that a good amount of their childhood had been taken away from them.
why all these talk about grown-up thoughts anyway? after welcoming another year, and finding yourself counting the days once more, you simply couldn't help but feel how quickly time passes, and you realize that as the clock turns, nothing stays the same. everything changes. inevitably.
with the inevitable, and with the realization that nothing remains the same, you learn the value of acceptance. difficult as it is to embrace change and to detach oneself from certain ideals, memories, experiences, and individuals--learning to accept the certainty of change somehow makes it easier for you to keep going and free yourself from a weighed-down state which is largely of your own making.
when you grow-up, you teach yourself to accept that there are a lot of things which are bound to happen, sooner or later. for one, you cannot expect that a child remains a child forever. some times, no matter how strongly you wish to feed your inner-child, circumstances put you in a position where a little of that inner-child dies. and you can't say you didn't try saving her.
sooner or later, you have to forgive yourself for things which you have been tying off your neck, like a bar of lead pulling you deep to the ocean, in the past; the same way that you have to forgive others for whatever pain, hurt, and injustice you may have experienced because of them.
when you were little, you were told that some things have to wait. that you can do certain things when you're old enough. that everything is part of molding you to become a the best person you can be. when you're grown up, you should be grateful for everybody who took responsibility and cared enough to nurture you. still, when you get old enough, you take it upon yourself that certain restrictions will have to be maintained.
maybe growing up isn't too bad. if watching all the films you want is good enough reason. ha!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
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