Editor's choice - The beautiful mind
"The mind... in itself can make
a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
John Milton, Paradise Lost
We have come a long way.
From the days of Aristotle and Plato,
through the ages of western
philosophy, and rightfully into the world
of scientific inquiry, the study of the
human mind has come a long way.
Our fascination with the human mind-
or brain, you choose-has not
subsided. It probably never will. We are
still a long way from understanding
how our brains work, and "as long as
our brain is a mystery, the universe, the
reflection of the structure of the brain
will also be a mystery." This 100 year
old statement by Ramon y Cajal, one
of the founders of modern
neuroscience, still holds.
The study of the mammalian brain has
changed rapidly in the past few
decades, so much so that George
Bush senior called the 1990s "the
decade of the brain." Changes are, of
course, inevitable in every branch of
science-great or small. That is the
beauty of science-it continually
rewrites itself. Is it any wonder then
that Richard Dawkins wants everyone
in the world to see the poetry in
science (p 337)?
LUDOVIC COLLIN/WELLCOME PHOTO LIBRARY
Psychiatry too has come a long way.
Considering its meagre beginnings, in
attempting to treat diseased mind,
psychiatry is as evidence based today
as it can be. The approach to
psychiatry, as for all other medical
specialties, is increasingly molecular.
Given this new precision, why are
medical students so hesitant to pursue
psychiatry (p 329)? The myths are
strong and they manage to perpetuate.
So strong that even a medical
professional may refuse to seek help
when depression strikes (p 340). And
your colleagues may not always be
there to understand (p 339).
The importance of mental health to our
society should never be
underestimated. And in the aftermath
of natural disasters widespread mental
ill health is profoundly illustrated.
Almost a year on, the survivors of the
earthquake in Pakistan do not seem to
have escaped ongoing mental trauma
(p 344).
Hollywood, with its stereotype
psychopaths, certainly cannot
encapsulate the clinical complexity of
psychiatry (p 346). Nor can "mad or
bad"-an undeserving adage for
forensic psychiatry (p 332).
We humans love speaking about
heaven and hell, of sins and
atonement. Science has its seven
deadly sins too-of not asking the
right question, of not challenging
traditions and dogmatic beliefs, of
failing to experiment, of failing to admit
failure, of failing to communicate
important findings, of falsifying results
for fame or fortune, and last, but not
least, of misinterpretation. Let's hope
none of these sins befall the study of
the most remarkable feat of evolution
on earth.
We may have come a long way. But we
still have a long way to go.
Balaji Ravichandran, student editor, studentBMJ
Email: bravichandran@bmj.com
studentBMJ 2006;14:309-352 September ISSN 0966-6494
