The Prepared Mind

The mind prepared: hypnosis in surgery.

In 1846, a Scottish surgeon named James Esdaile reported 80% surgical anesthesia using hypnosis as the sole anesthetic for amputations in India. His work caused sufficient stir that when ether anesthesia was demonstrated in what is now called the Ether Dome at the Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16 of that same year, a surgeon strode to the front of the amphitheater and said, "Gentlem...

On drug development, chance, and the prepared mind.

This CCR Focus section examines lessons learned in drug development, focusing on specific examples of agents or targets that have hit roadblocks during development. In some cases, the hurdles have been surmounted; others are still a work in progress. Much has been written about the need to increase the success rate of drugs transitioning from phase II to phase III trials; about half of the drug...

Chance and the prepared mind in drug discovery

Chance and accidents play important roles in scientific discoveries, but they are not blind luck. Serendipity is not merely stumbling on things unsought for, it is the ability to see significances and find values in the things stumbled upon. Without this ability, accidents do not lead to discoveries, as Pasteur observed: “Chance favors the prepared mind.” What are the characteristics of a prepa...

Minimizing infection risk: fortune favors the prepared mind.

Despite advances in care, infection in total joint arthroplasty remains a serious problem that has yet to be solved. Reported infection rates range from <0.5% in highly specialized centers to a high of 2% as reported at a national level. The epidemiology of total joint arthroplasty remains challenging because of the relatively low, but significant, incidence of infection. Still, there are varia...

Invited commentary: be prepared to change your mind.