Stress, recovery, ...acclimation?

[Jonathon Sullivan]

Lo these many years ago, some forgotten working group of a Certain National Medical Organization met over bagles and coffee, and among the topics they discussed was the terminal arrhythmia previously known as "electromechanical dissociation," or EMD. In this situation, the heart's sinus node generates electrical impulses, and the conduction system conducts them, resulting in a signal on the cardiac monitor. But there is no effective heartbeat, and no pulse. Treatments are extremely limited. Prognosis is grave.

The AHA's contribution to this problem was to mandate (a la Newspeak) changing the name of the condition to "pulseless electrical activity," or PEA. The new term denotes a condition in which there is electrical activity, but no effective heartbeat, and no pulse. Treatments are extremely limited. Prognosis is grave.

So, you know, progress.

Similar situation a few years ago, when it was decided that we should call them IV drug "users" (IVDU) instead of "abusers" (IVDA). Just think about that. While you're thinking about it, speculate as to how it might have actually changed facts on the ground.

This is the kind of thing that happens when you labor under the assumption that we can reliably effect meaningful change or progress by talking about how we should talk. Rarely is it thus.

[Pluripotent]

This is the kind of thing that happens when you labor under the assumption that we can reliably effect meaningful change or progress by talking about how we should talk. Rarely is it thus.

Ah, yes. I remember very clearly being warned as a medical student in the ICU not to refer to the ubiquitous Computers on Wheels that the attendings invariably stood behind and used as a podium and lectern as we did our "toilet rounds" (a term I'm sure is also banned) not to call them C.O.W.s, because some strange entity could be walking by just as the unfortunate 3rd year assigned to find the computer says, "hey, man, have you seen the cow? We're rounding soon!" and that troubled entity would undoubtedly be thinking, "hey, that asshole just called me a cow!" And of course would write a nasty letter to the administration about how terrible you are and should never be allowed to become a doctor. To avoid this tragedy, you should instead call them Workstations On Wheels, or W.O.W.s, which makes you sound like a moron.

[blues]

This is the kind of thing that happens when you labor under the assumption that we can reliably effect meaningful change or progress by talking about how we should talk. Rarely is it thus.

[Scaldrew]

This is the kind of thing that happens when you labor under the assumption that we can reliably effect meaningful change or progress by talking about how we should talk. Rarely is it thus.

I maintain that names cannot change in one lifetime once they've been imbedded in the language. Simple anecdote in nutshell form, Belgium only recently (15-ish years ago) adopted the euro currency. Before that, we used franks. Nowadays, people still count in franks as opposed to euros. They'll see something priced at €5 and say "that's 200 franks". This is more common when used to stress an unwillingness to expend any amount of money; they'll do the conversion on the spot to tell the teenager asking for extra money to go out drinking that they don't feel like giving them 1,000 franks willy nilly. I myself am old enough to remember saving lots of franks, never using them, and then losing all of them, but I'm not old enough to continue thinking in franks in this way.

This holds true for all of the words others have decided we shouldn't use, such as handicapped (srs), a version of immigrant (srs), and a bunch of others I can't remember off the top of my head. People do not see the point in using different words that are no less problematic once you think about it and refuse or even protest by over-using them.