A lecture of the type that I am used to giving is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “a discourse given before an audience upon a given subject, usually […]
Jeff Aronson’s Words
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Mind your temper
According to Galen, whose views influenced the practice of medicine for hundreds of years, each of the four fluid humours of the body, αἷμα, blood, φλέγμα, phlegm, χολή, [yellow] bile, […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Humours and humour
Two blogs ago, I mentioned the current interest in cupping among celebrities such as Olympic athletes and actors. There are surely easier and safer ways to obtain a placebo effect. […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Junior
The President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has asked Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for health (the SoSH), in a letter that also dealt with other […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Cupping
Many celebrities, including Olympic athletes, such as US swimmer Michael Phelps, and actors, such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston, are fashionably subjecting themselves to cupping. So, is “the silliest celebrity […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Narcissism
In Metamorphoses Ovid tells us about Echo and Narcissus. He seems to have invented the tale, although the legends from which he weaves it were already parts of Greek mythology. […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . “The pharmaceutical industry”—the definite article
A colleague recently asked me to point him to “an authoritative definition of ‘pharmaceutical industry’.” The term is one that few have tried to define, perhaps thinking that there is […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Nutraceuticals and functional foods
Deborah Cohen recently reported in The BMJ that George Freeman, the UK sciences minister, whose responsibilities include the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . A ban to abandon
Recently, Trish Groves reported in The BMJ that some conference organisers would like to ban the use of Twitter and other social media at conferences. The main concern seems to […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Re: “-er” or “-re”
Anglo-Saxon spelling was consistent, but when Old English and French collided after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, inconsistencies in English spelling arose that lasted until the printing press […]