Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Learn to remember your dreams

Surely, you’ve often found yourself frustrated by your inability to recall a dream. You wake up with fleeting images in your mind and a lingering sense of pleasure it brought you, but all of that slips away at a dizzying speed. By the time you’re finishing your morning coffee, chances are you can’t remember a thing. Wouldn’t you love to be able to recall those delightful dreams—the ones we enjoy so much at night but forget the moment we wake up—in vivid detail? Well, I’m going to share a simple technique you can use to achieve just that, one that I can personally vouch for because it works.
 
When you wake up and realize you’ve just emerged from a dream into the waking world, don’t move. This is crucial because moving is like shaking off dust—it causes those memories to vanish. Let me repeat: don’t move. Instead, while you’re still relaxed in bed, focus on the last image or scene from your dream. Hold it in your mind for a few moments, and then slowly begin to rewind, as if you’re unraveling a ball of yarn. Step by step, visualize each scene of the dream in reverse order, working backward. You’ll notice how this makes it surprisingly easy to recall the entire dream. The secret lies in this simple exercise: it strengthens the neural connections that help anchor dream experiences in your memory. If you practice this every day, you’ll even find that retrieving those wonderful dream moments becomes easier and easier over time.
 

A well-documented exploration of Medicine, Pharmacy, and rural society in the 19th century through two biographies that should not be forgotten:
“Kisses are tears”: https://a.co/d/eCok2Y0

The many facets of a 19th-century village doctor

The book “Kisses are tears” rescues the biography of a village doctor, Gaspar Fisac ​​Orovio (Daimiel, Spain, 1859-1937), who stood out for his multiple facets and, above all, for his quality as a human being. Summarizing them, we can list some of the most notable:
 
PHYSICIAN - Doctor of Medicine. Official Physician and forensic doctor of Daimiel. Member of the Daimiel Local Health Board. Provincial Health Delegate for the Ciudad Real Provincial Council. Awarded by the Royal Academy of Medicine (Calvo Prize, 1905) and recognized with various distinctions at medical congresses on tuberculosis (Barcelona, 1912; San Sebastián, 1913).
 
EPIDEMIOLOGIST - A tireless scholar of the origins, prevention, and treatment of diseases, he left behind significant studies for his time on measles and tuberculosis. He discovered that the dust-laden air breathed by plasterers and lime workers, rich in calcium, immunized them against tuberculosis. Building on this hypothesis, he established the scientific foundations that would lead to the development of an innovative treatment for the disease.
 
INVENTOR - Discoverer of a preventive treatment for tuberculosis and promoter of the development of the first pharmaceutical specialty in the form of an inhaler (“Fisac Pulvi-Inhaler”), which was registered in Spain. He also invented an original device to prevent the spread of diseases during epidemic periods through stagnant water in holy water fonts.
 
JOURNALIST - A frequent writer and chronicler for the newspaper El Eco de Daimiel, where he also served as director during his brother Deogracias’s illness and after his death. He was a correspondent and contributor to articles in other newspapers of the era.
 
POET - Author of numerous poems, two of which—at least as far as is known—won awards at literary competitions in Ciudad Real. Many of his works were published in El Eco de Daimiel and other outlets.
 
PLAYWRIGHT - Author of several short theatrical pieces (“juguetes”), performed during cultural evenings at the Ayala Theater in Daimiel.
 
THEATER DIRECTOR AND ACTOR - Stage director for plays performed at the Ayala Theater in Daimiel and an actor in some of these productions.
 
ECOLOGIST - Although the term “ecology” was not coined until 1837, there had long existed a medical movement, the hygienists, who viewed disease from an “ecological” perspective, seeing it as the result of a complex interplay of environmental factors (temperature, winds, soil, etc.) and socioeconomic conditions (poverty, overcrowding, working conditions, etc.). Gaspar Fisac’s scientific works provide ample evidence of this approach.
 

A well-documented exploration of Medicine, Pharmacy, and rural society in the 19th century through two biographies that should not be forgotten:
“Kisses are tears”: https://a.co/d/eCok2Y0

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

The real size of Greenland: Clearing up myths and confusion

Greenland, that vast expanse of ice and tundra at the northernmost edge of the planet, has caused confusion for centuries due to its representation on maps. If you’ve ever looked at a traditional world map, you’ve likely noticed that Greenland appears to be of an enormous size, even comparable to continents like Africa or South America. However, this is a cartographic illusion, an inevitable distortion that occurs when transferring the surface of a sphere—the Earth—onto a two-dimensional plane. In this article, we will explore the true size of Greenland, how it compares to other countries, and address the intriguing debate about whether it is truly a single island or two hidden beneath its ice sheet.
 
Map distortion: The problem with the Mercator projection
 
Most world maps we are familiar with use the Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century by cartographer Gerardus Mercator. This projection was designed to aid maritime navigation, as it preserves angles and allows for straight-line routes. However, it has a significant flaw: it distorts the size of landmasses, especially near the poles. The farther you move from the equator, the greater the exaggeration. This is why Greenland and Antarctica appear massive, while equatorial regions like Africa seem smaller than they actually are.
 
In a Mercator map, Greenland might appear as large as Africa, but the reality is quite different. Africa spans approximately 30.37 million square kilometers, while Greenland covers only 2,166,086 square kilometers. This means Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland. The distortion is so extreme that, on some maps, Greenland seems to rival South America (17.84 million km²), when in reality, it is much smaller.
 
The real size of Greenland and comparisons with other countries
 
With its 2.16 million square kilometers, Greenland is undoubtedly a massive island—the largest in the world, in fact—but its true size comes into perspective when compared to other countries. For example:
 
Australia: At 7.69 million km², it is more than three times larger than Greenland, though it is often considered a continent rather than an island.
 
United States: At 9.83 million km² (including Alaska and Hawaii), it is nearly five times larger.
 
Mexico: At 1.96 million km², it is very similar in size to Greenland, though slightly smaller.
 
Spain: At just 505,990 km², it could fit into Greenland about four times.
These comparisons show that, while Greenland is vast, it doesn’t come close to the continental giants that traditional maps might lead us to believe. Its location near the North Pole amplifies its apparent size, but in real terms, it is a fraction of what the most common projections suggest.
 
One island or two? The mystery beneath the ice
 
Another fascinating aspect of Greenland is its geological nature, which has also fueled debates. Approximately 80% of its surface is covered by a thick ice sheet, known as the Greenland Ice Sheet, which in some areas reaches a thickness of 3 kilometers. This ice sheet conceals much of the underlying terrain, leading to speculation about whether Greenland is truly a single landmass or several separate islands connected by ice.
 
Recent geophysical studies, using technologies such as ice-penetrating radar and gravitational models, have revealed that beneath the ice sheet, Greenland is indeed a single island in geological terms. While there are deep depressions and valleys, there is no conclusive evidence that the bedrock is divided into two or more independent landmasses that would emerge if the ice were to melt completely. However, the thickness of the ice and the pressure it exerts have deformed the terrain, creating a complex topography that can lead to misunderstandings.
 
In a hypothetical scenario where all the ice melted, Greenland would still be a single island, though its habitable surface would be much smaller than its total size suggests. Much of its interior is depressed due to the weight of the ice, and the idea that Greenland consists of two islands remains more of a myth than a scientific reality.
 
In summary, Greenland is a place of superlatives: the largest island in the world, almost entirely covered by ice, and a cartographic enigma that has puzzled generations. Its real size, 2.16 million square kilometers, places it far below the continents it appears to rival on maps, but it remains impressive compared to many countries.
 
The next time you look at a world map, remember that what you see is an interpretation, not reality, and that Greenland, though vast, occupies a much more modest place in the global landscape than its distorted image might suggest.
 
In the image, the real size of the countries (in red) is shown compared to the size they typically appear on maps (in blue).
 

A well-documented exploration of Medicine, Pharmacy, and rural society in the 19th century through two biographies that should not be forgotten:
“Kisses are tears”: https://a.co/d/eCok2Y0 

On the subject of the Dodo

When we’re born, they put us in diapers popularly known as “dodotis” (a term derived from the brand that introduced them: Dodot). Perhaps it’s a subtle foreshadowing of what awaits us in the future: extinction, much like the dodo (see the image of that charming yet foolish bird). Just like the dodo, we all pass through this life, leaving behind only a faint memory that fades with time.
 
I recently heard a line from an old movie that struck me: the truly valuable thing isn’t what we do or what we own, but the kind memory others keep of us. Well, in that way, we’re not so different from the dodo either—a creature so gentle, so naive, that it ended up in the stomachs of all sorts of diners.
 
There’s no escaping it. No way out. All we can do is waddle through life cheerfully and clumsily, savoring the moment and bringing joy to others along the way—and later, through their memories of us. Until, inevitably, the last faint flicker of that memory dies out in this tiny, forgotten corner of the universe.
 

A well-documented exploration of Medicine, Pharmacy, and rural society in the 19th century through two biographies that should not be forgotten:
“Kisses are tears”: https://a.co/d/eCok2Y0

When humanism reigned in Medicine

Speaking of medicine and humanism in medicine (how little of it remains today!), it's fitting to recall the life of one of those 19th-century doctors who exemplified what a good doctor should be. Reading the book "Kisses are tears" opens the door to that not-so-distant, yet almost forgotten, past...
 
First, let us say that Gaspar Fisac Orovio (Daimiel, Spain, 1,859 – 1,937) was a distinguished physician of his time. Though he served as a municipal doctor in a small town in La Mancha before moving to Ciudad Real Hospital, he earned professional recognition and prestige not only for his selflessness and dedication to his patients—always treating them with a humane and approachable demeanor, so rare today—but also for his discoveries. Through his research on tuberculosis, he developed the first recorded preventive and curative treatment for the disease in Spain. His expertise with numerous epidemics—cholera, typhus, measles, and more—enabled him to establish a series of hygiene and sanitation measures to curb their spread. His, then, was a life that saved many lives.
 
Second, we turn to his work as a journalist. He began by contributing to a newspaper founded by his brother, later taking over its direction when his sibling’s health declined. That newspaper, El Eco de Daimiel, became the best-selling publication in Ciudad Real, its influence reaching far beyond to other corners of Spain. Though it ran for just over five years, it produced 445 issues. From its pages, it championed ideals of democracy and justice, as well as a steadfast defense of the healthcare and journalistic professions.
 
Third, we explore his role as a poet. Though he never published a book—poetry being, for him, a hobby—he left behind a significant body of compositions that deserve a place in Spanish literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Evidence of this lies in the awards two of his works received at literary contests. This passion also led him to write, direct, and even perform in small theatrical pieces.
 
As we see, his was a multifaceted, active, and fascinating life—one I hope will spark the interest of many readers. Yet, for me, the facet that stands out is none of these—not the physician, the journalist, nor the poet—but rather his quality as a human being. For what is the worth of our time on this earth if no one, not even our family and friends, remembers us with affection? In his case, it was not only his loved ones who held him dear, but all who knew him and all the patients he treated—taking time for them, caring about their worries and struggles, and helping them however he could. That is the highest praise one can offer any person: that they were a good human being. There is no greater distinction, even if, as in his case, he advanced medicine, pioneered journalism, and excelled as an unsung poet.
 

A well-documented exploration of Medicine, Pharmacy, and rural society in the 19th century through two biographies that should not be forgotten:
“Kisses are tears”: https://a.co/d/eCok2Y0