I'm bothered by this thread but not for the reasons expressed by Beth or Mike but by the fact that TIPS appears to have no stomach (yes, I said that on purpose) for discussing issues related to psychology and science. I was not offended by Mike's post (I thought the yellow soup/chocolate milk line was over the top) but it didn't stop me from reading the NY Times link (and eventually the the journal article). I'm troubled that the supposed offense and the supposed apology have distracted the group from discussing the types of things I came to expect TIPS to discuss.
Here are the types of responses I had hoped to read in response to this post. 1) I think the use of three groups was a good example of multiple control groups to ensure that improvement was not from the preparation process (flushing/rinsing the intestine prior to treatment). I might just use it in research methods class. It also presents an interesting point to open discussion on the ethics since the researches discontinued the study because the of the ethical concern that the control group was potentially being harmed. 2) Isn't it interesting how our concept of feces as dirty inhibits, and in fact triggers a disgust response, to the point where people might resist a treatment with now published efficacy results. Is feces really all that different from blood simply because of cultural associations? Will the pharmaceutical industry develop a name that hides what it is in the "medicine" and at that point will people be lining up for treatment. 3) Wow, 14,000 people per year die from gastrointestinal bacteria! 4) I started thinking about my old dog, who on occasion ate other dog's poop. I use to think he was a stupid dog, but now I wonder if he wasn't just settling his gut, because as I think about it it most offen occurred after a bout of throwing up and the sickness ended. Smart dog after all. A long time reader (and seldom a contributor) who wants the TIPS of old where we can discuss issues and make jokes at the same time. Doug Doug Peterson, PhD Associate Professor of Psychology The University of South Dakota Vermillion SD 57069 605.677.5295 ________________________________________ From: Mike Palij [[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 11:17 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Cc: Michael Palij Subject: Re: [tips] Would You Take S#!t From Anybody? Dear Beth, *Mea Culpa mode on* I want to say to Beth and anyone else that I may have offended with my post on "Taking S#!t" from others, I am sincerely sorry that I have offended you and will endeavor in the future to more tightly monitor my behavior/writing and edit out anything that anyone could possibly find offensive. I hope that you can find it within yourselves to accept my apologies. I would just like to note that the main point of the post was that "Taking S#!t" from others appears to be a good thing though some people might find "Taking S#!t" offensive and/or juvenile. In which case, don't take any s#!t from anyone. *Mea Culpa mode off* So, I think I will go away now, pick up a copy of one of Albert Ellis' books and try to find out why I am responsible for other people's feeling and how to deal with folks who need a humor implant. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] P.S. To Prof. Sylvester: life is unfair, and then you live in Daytona Beach. -------------- Original Message --------- On Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:12:48 -0800, Beth Benoit wrote: Mike, I know it's pretty hard to resist the temptation to make scatological jokes about this, but believe me, people with severe Crohn's and ulcerative colitis who are undergoing this treatment get very tired of it. Also, you misread the cause of the illness: it's not always a result of taking antibiotics but from *Clostridium difficile* infections that aren't cured by antibiotics. If you are terribly sick all the time, wasting away, occasionally having "accidents" in public and feel you'd rather die than continue to live like that, you'll try anything rather than endure a helpless and hopeless chronic inflammatory disease. As disgusting as it may sound to the uninitiated, it's beginning to get a decent track record, as the article stated. Proctologists and gastroenterologists endure a lifetime of childish jokes like this, but point out that the gut is a fascinating thing to study and marvel at it. I suggest that on a professional website like ours, we don't need to make juvenile jokes about this, and might consider empathy for people who will potentially profit from this treatment. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 8:43 AM, Mike Palij <[email protected]> wrote: > Some new medical research shows that for people with gastrointestinal > illness arising from the use of antibiotics appear to do much better after > a > "fecal transplant". > > I kid you not. > > The NY Times has an article that provides a popular media account of > the research and can be accessed here: > http://www.nytimes.com/2013/**01/17/health/disgusting-maybe-** > but-treatment-works-study-**finds.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/health/disgusting-maybe-but-treatment-works-study-finds.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all> > > There are various ways that the "transplant" can be done, including an > old Chinese method. All I'm saying is that at lunch, avoid the yellow > soup and the chocolate milk. > > The research article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine > and the publisher has made access to the article free; see: > http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/**10.1056/NEJMoa1205037<http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa1205037> > > As with most medical procedures, don't try this at home unless you're > under medical supervision. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [email protected] > > P.S. For some reason this reminds me of the British movie "Layer Cake" > in which Daniel Craig starred before he became the new James Bond. > There's a scene between Craig and Michael Gambon (who played > Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies) where Gambon explain the > facts of life to Craig (well, the facts of life as a senior gangster see > them > and tries to impress them into a younger gangster). Recent Ph.D.s > desiring > an academic career might benefit from viewing this scene (the movie > is actually quite good for a British crime/drug deal gone wrong genre > piece). --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=12991.6a54289b29ceb58cb7609cc50e0dc1c8&n=T&l=tips&o=23114 or send a blank email to leave-23114-12991.6a54289b29ceb58cb7609cc50e0dc...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=23117 or send a blank email to leave-23117-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
