Reviews for Probability in medicine

The average rating for Probability in medicine based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-05-11 00:00:00 Scott Jamieson What I was looking for -- a revelatory explanation for alcoholism -- won't come from this book. He is a literature professor out of his depth, but, more imporantly, he seems to be enjoying the stories of literary binges a bit too much. Per a few notes in my updates, some of the stories about Faulkner are hilarious, but then, I've never liked Faulkner's writing and would find it sad if he sacrificed his health for some of the high-flown muck he produced. I am probably thinking of a very long Faulkner story about a writer who encourages a wife's affair with a dying, miserable poet, just for the manuscript it will produce. Come to think of it, I've never had a strong love of Hemingway or Fitzgerald and don't know the works of O'Neill well enough. I do think it's notable that at least three of these writers have Irish surnames, whether it's a matter of broken Catholicism or history under the yolk. But the line I expected, which I was waiting for, zips past without further comment, namely that Faulkner stated he had a quiet temperament which drink made more interesting. If anyone's going to explore personal demons of complex writers, it will be the writers themselves, although, admittedly, looking so directly at themselves or the world may just be the problem.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-08-18 00:00:00 John Smith Some time ago I kept reading of this book in essays about the great writers of the 20th century; Fitzgerald, Hemingway, O'Neil, and Faulkner. They were all alcoholics and Fitzgerald and Hemingway died from it. O'Neil conquered his through willpower and Faulkner kept falling down drunk and getting up after a while. He lived long enough to become an old man and receive the Nobel prize. A few years ago I went to his house in Oxford, Mississippi and wondered what the sweet young graduate students who minded the house would have thought about their master after witnessing a binge with sound and fury. (Faulkner's daughter wanted nothing to do with the house when it came to her as an heir. Wonder what she saw and endured?) Whatever, the book by Dardis is lovely; written by a writer, it lays out the medicine of alcoholism along side the story of these giants. As I remember his theory it is that these writers peaked in output and quality and then declined to the extent that alcohol took control of their cell bodies. Yes, the argument is biochemical and quite well made. I think all English departments should assign the book for freshman English classes. My ex-wife, an English professor, gave my copy to a graduate student, who never returned it. Thanks so much.