Acute vs. Chronic Illness: How Do We Decide What to Treat or Eliminate?
What happens when someone gets sick? Most people would answer, “you get sick, you get treatment, and you get better.” But for 133,000,000 Americans the answer is “you get sick, you get treatment, you never get better.” These are the people with chronic il
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THE LAST NATURAL MAN WHERE HAVE WE BEEN AND WHERE ARE WE GOING?
The Last Natural Man
Robert A. Norman • Sharad P. Paul
The Last Natural Man Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?
Robert A. Norman Department of Dermatology Nova Southeastern Medical School Ft. Lauderdale Florida USA
Sharad P. Paul Faculty of Surgery, School of Medicine University of Queensland Brisbane Australia AUT Auckland New Zealand
ISBN 978-3-319-42215-2 ISBN 978-3-319-42217-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42217-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016957166 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
We are at the crossroads of a major transformation. Why is our current time so important in the history of man? We are at a point where we may be the last generation that is still partially or fully natural. The last natural man. Natural in what way? What is “natural”? Is it a catch phrase like “integrative” or “holistic” that transmits a certain magical warm glow? If the word “natural” was a plant, it would be beautiful, green, luxuriant, and edible. Does it mean we are the last to not replace or modify our parts? What about laser surgery? Knee or hip replacement? Botox and fillers? Chemical therapy? Or a directional chip in the brain? Do we really mean the very last natural man? Cultural evolution has been the major driving force over the last several thousand years and enormous in its influence compared to almost invisible changes in our physical adaptations. If cultural and religious evolution was the driver for human history, are we now entering the phase of physical transformation – where humanity refuses to accept mortality and seeks to make changes to defeat nature? Ray Kurzweil calls the coming age
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