The Myth of Er From the Republic of Plato

The Myth of Er From the Republic of Plato The Myth of Er from Platos Republic tells the story of a soldier, Er, who is thought to be dead and descends to the underworld. But when he revives he is sent back to tell humanity what awaits them in the afterlife.    Er describes an afterlife where the just are rewarded and the wicked are punished. Souls are then reborn into a new body and a new life, and the new life they choose will reflect how they have lived in their previous life and the state of their soul at death.   The Myth of Er (Jowett Translation) Well, I said, I will tell you a tale; not one of the tales which Odysseus tells to the hero Alcinous, yet this too is a tale of a hero, Er the son of Armenius, a Pamphylian by birth. He was slain in battle, and ten days afterwards, when the bodies of the dead were taken up already in a state of corruption, his body was found unaffected by decay, and carried away home to be buried. And on the twelfth day, as he was lying on the funeral pile, he returned to life and told them what he had seen in the other world. He said that when his soul left the body he went on a journey with a great company, and that they came to a mysterious place at which there were two openings in the earth; they were near together, and over against them were two other openings in the heaven above. In the intermediate space there were judges seated, who commanded the just, after they had given judgment on them and had bound their sentences in front of them, to ascend by the heavenly way on the right hand; and in like manner the unjust were bidden by them to descend by the lower way on the left hand; these also bore the symbols of their deeds, but fastened on their backs. He drew near, and they told him that he was to be the messenger who would carry the report of the other world to men, and they bade him hear and see all that was to be heard and seen in that place. Then he beheld and saw on one side the souls departing at either opening of heaven and earth when sentence had been given on them; and at the two other openings other souls, some ascending out of the earth dusty and worn with travel, some descending out of heaven clean and bright. And arriving ever and anon they seemed to have come from a long journey, and they went forth with gladness into the meadow, where they encamped as at a festival; and those who knew one another embraced and conversed, the souls which came from earth curiously enquiring about the things above, and the souls which came from heaven about the things beneath. And they told one another of what had happened by the way, those from below weeping and sorrowing at the remembrance of the things which they had endured and seen in their journey beneath the earth (now the journey lasted a thousand years), while those from above were describing heavenly delights and visions of inconceivable beauty. The story, Glaucon, would take too long to tell; but the sum was this:- He said that for every wrong which they had done to any one they suffered tenfold; or once in a hundred years- such being reckoned to be the length of mans life, and the penalty being thus paid ten times in a thousand years. If, for example, there were any who had been the cause of many deaths, or had betrayed or enslaved cities or armies, or been guilty of any other evil behavior, for each and all of their offences they received punishment ten times over, and the rewards of beneficence and justice and holiness were in the same proportion. I need hardly repeat what he said concerning young children dying almost as soon as they were born. Of piety and impiety to gods and parents, and of murderers, there were retributions other and greater far which he described. He mentioned that he was present when one of the spirits asked another, Where is Ardiaeus the Great? (Now this Ardiaeus lived a thousand years before the time of Er: he had been the tyrant of some city of Pamphylia, and had murdered his aged father and his elder brother, and was said to have committed many other abominable crimes.) The answer of the other spirit was: He comes not hither and will never come. And this, said he, was one of the dreadful sights which we ourselves witnessed. We were at the mouth of the cavern, and, having completed all our experiences, were about to reascend, when of a sudden Ardiaeus appeared and several others, most of whom were tyrants; and there were also besides the tyrants private individuals who had been great criminals: they were just, as they fancied, about to return into the upper world, but the mouth, instead of admitting them, gave a roar, whenever any of these incurable sinners or some one who had not been sufficiently punished tried to ascend; and then wild men of fiery aspect, who were standing by and heard the sound, seized and carried them off; and Ardiaeus and others they bound head and foot and hand, and threw them down and flayed them with scourges, and dragged them along the road at the side, carding them on thorns like wool, and declaring to the passers-by what were their crimes, and that they were being taken away to be cast into hell. And of all the many terrors which they had endured, he said that there was none like the terror which each of them felt at that moment, lest they should hear the voice; and when there was silence, one by one they ascended with exceeding joy. These, said Er, were the penalties and retributions, and there were blessings as great. Now when the spirits which were in the meadow had tarried seven days, on the eighth they were obliged to proceed on their journey, and, on the fourth day after, he said that they came to a place where they could see from above a line of light, straight as a column, extending right through the whole heaven and through the earth, in colour resembling the rainbow, only brighter and purer; another days journey brought them to the place, and there, in the midst of the light, they saw the ends of the chains of heaven let down from above: for this light is the belt of heaven, and holds together the circle of the universe, like the under-girders of a trireme. From these ends is extended the spindle of Necessity, on which all the revolutions turn. The shaft and hook of this spindle are made of steel, and the whorl is made partly of steel and also partly of other materials. Now the whorl is in form like the whorl used on earth; and the description of it implied that there is one large hollow whorl which is quite scooped out, and into this is fitted another lesser one, and another, and another, and four others, making eight in all, like vessels which fit into one another; the whorls show their edges on the upper side, and on their lower side all together form one continuous whorl. This is pierced by the spindle, which is driven home through the centre of the eighth. The first and outermost whorl has the rim broadest, and the seven inner whorls are narrower, in the following proportions- the sixth is next to the first in size, the fourth next to the sixth; then comes the eighth; the seventh is fifth, the fifth is sixth, the third is seventh, last and eighth comes the second. The largest (or fixed stars) is spangled, and the seventh (or sun) is brightest; the eighth (or moon) coloured by the reflected light of the seventh; the second and fifth (Saturn and Mercury) are in colour like one another, and yellower than the preceding; the third (Venus) has the whitest light; the fourth (Mars) is reddish; the sixth (Jupiter) is in whiteness second. Now the whole spindle has the same motion; but, as the whole revolves in one direction, the seven inner circles move slowly in the other, and of these the swiftest is the eighth; next in swiftness are the seventh, sixth, and fifth, which move together; third in swiftness appeared to move according to the law of this reversed motion the fourth; the third appeared fourth and the second fifth. The spindle turns on the knees of Necessity; and on the upper surface of each circle is a siren, who goes round with them, hymning a single tone or note. The eight together form one harmony; and round about, at equal intervals, there is another band, three in number, each sitting upon her throne: these are the Fates, daughters of Necessity, who are clothed in white robes and have chaplets upon their heads, Lachesis and Clotho and Atropos, who accompany with their voices the harmony of the sirens- Lachesis singing of the past, Clotho of the present, Atropos of the future; Clotho from time to time assisting with a touch of her right hand the revolution of the outer circle of the whorl or spindle, and Atropos with her left hand touching and guiding the inner ones, and Lachesis laying hold of either in turn, first with one hand and then with the other. When Er and the spirits arrived, their duty was to go at once to Lachesis; but first of all there came a prophet who arranged them in order; then he took from the knees of Lachesis lots and samples of lives, and having mounted a high pulpit, spoke as follows: Hear the word of Lachesis, the daughter of Necessity. Mortal souls, behold a new cycle of life and mortality. Your genius will not be allotted to you, but you will choose your genius; and let him who draws the first lot have the first choice, and the life which he chooses shall be his destiny. Virtue is free, and as a man honours or dishonours her he will have more or less of her; the responsibility is with the chooser- God is justified. When the Interpreter had thus spoken he scattered lots indifferently among them all, and each of them took up the lot which fell near him, all but Er himself (he was not allowed), and each as he took his lot perceived the number which he had obtained. Then the Interpreter placed on the ground before them the samples of lives; and there were many more lives than the souls present, and they were of all sorts. There were lives of every animal and of man in every condition. And there were tyrannies among them, some lasting out the tyrants life, others which broke off in the middle and came to an end in poverty and exile and beggary; and there were lives of famous men, some who were famous for their form and beauty as well as for their strength and success in games, or, again, for their birth and the qualities of their ancestors; and some who were the reverse of famous for the opposite qualities. And of women likewise; there was not, however, any definite character in them, because the soul, when choosing a new life, must of necessity become different. But there was every other quality, and the all mingled with one another, and also with elements of wealth and poverty, and disease and health; and there were mean states also. And here, my dear Glaucon, is the supreme peril of our human state; and therefore the utmost care should be taken. Let each one of us leave every other kind of knowledge and seek and follow one thing only, if peradventure he may be able to learn and may find some one who will make him able to learn and discern between good and evil, and so to choose always and everywhere the better life as he has opportunity. He should consider the bearing of all these things which have been mentioned severally and collectively upon virtue; he should know what the effect of beauty is when combined with poverty or wealth in a particular soul, and what are the good and evil consequences of noble and humble birth, of private and public station, of strength and weakness, of cleverness and dullness, and of all the natural and acquired gifts of the soul, and the operation of them when conjoined; he will then look at the nature of the soul, and from the consideration of all these qualities he will be able to determine which is the better and which is the worse; and so he will choose, giving the name of evil to the life which will make his soul more unjust, and good to the life which will make his soul more just; all else he will disregard. For we have seen and know that this is the best choice both in life and after death. A man must take with him into the world below an adamantine faith in truth and right, that there too he may be undazzled by the desire of wealth or the other allurements of evil, lest, coming upon tyrannies and similar villainies, he do irremediable wrongs to others and suffer yet worse himself; but let him know how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as possible, not only in this life but in all that which is to come. For this is the way of happiness. And according to the report of the messenger from the other world this was what the prophet said at the time: Even for the last comer, if he chooses wisely and will live diligently, there is appointed a happy and not undesirable existence. Let not him who chooses first be careless, and let not the last despair. And when he had spoken, he who had the first choice came forward and in a moment chose the greatest tyranny; his mind having been darkened by folly and sensuality, he had not thought out the whole matter before he chose, and did not at first sight perceive that he was fated, among other evils, to devour his own children. But when he had time to reflect, and saw what was in the lot, he began to beat his breast and lament over his choice, forgetting the proclamation of the prophet; for, instead of throwing the blame of his misfortune on himself, he accused chance and the gods, and everything rather than himself. Now he was one of those who came from heaven, and in a former life had dwelt in a well-ordered State, but his virtue was a matter of habit only, and he had no philosophy. And it was true of others who were similarly overtaken, that the greater number of them came from heaven and therefore they had never been schooled by trial, whereas the pilgrims who came from earth having themselves suffered and seen others suffer, were not in a hurry to choose. And owing to this inexperience of theirs, and also because the lot was a chance, many of the souls exchanged a good destiny for an evil or an evil for a good. For if a man had always on his arrival in this world dedicated himself from the first to sound philosophy, and had been moderately fortunate in the number of the lot, he might, as the messenger reported, be happy here, and also his journey to another life and return to this, instead of being rough and underground, would be smooth and heavenly. Most curious, he said, was the spectacle- sad and laughable and strange; for the choice of the souls was in most cases based on their experience of a previous life. There he saw the soul which had once been Orpheus choosing the life of a swan out of enmity to the race of women, hating to be born of a woman because they had been his murderers; he beheld also the soul of Thamyras choosing the life of a nightingale; birds, on the other hand, like the swan and other musicians, wanting to be men. The soul which obtained the twentieth lot chose the life of a lion, and this was the soul of Ajax the son of Telamon, who would not be a man, remembering the injustice which was done him in the judgment about the arms. The next was Agamemnon, who took the life of an eagle, because, like Ajax, he hated human nature by reason of his sufferings. About the middle came the lot of Atalanta; she, seeing the great fame of an athlete, was unable to resist the temptation: and after her there followed the soul of Epeus the son of Panopeus passing into the nature of a woman cunning in the arts; and far away among the last who chose, the soul of the jester Thersites was putting on the form of a monkey. There came also the soul of Odysseus having yet to make a choice, and his lot happened to be the last of them all. Now the recollection of former toils had disenchanted him of ambition, and he went about for a considerable time in search of the life of a private man who had no cares; he had some difficulty in finding this, which was lying about and had been neglected by everybody else; and when he saw it, he said that he would have done the same had his lot been first instead of last, and that he was delighted to have it. And not only did men pass into animals, but I must also mention that there were animals tame and wild who changed into one another and into corresponding human natures- the good into the gentle and the evil into the savage, in all sorts of combinations. All the souls had now chosen their lives, and they went in the order of their choice to Lachesis, who sent with them the genius whom they had severally chosen, to be the guardian of their lives and the fulfiller of the choice: this genius led the souls first to Clotho, and drew them within the revolution of the spindle impelled by her hand, thus ratifying the destiny of each; and then, when they were fastened to this, carried them to Atropos, who spun the threads and made them irreversible, whence without turning round they passed beneath the throne of Necessity; and when they had all passed, they marched on in a scorching heat to the plain of Forgetfulness, which was a barren waste destitute of trees and verdure; and then towards evening they encamped by the river of Unmindfulness, whose water no vessel can hold; of this they were all obliged to drink a certain quantity, and those who were not saved by wisdom drank more than was necessary; and each one as he drank forgot all things. Now after they had gone to rest, about the middle of the night there was a thunderstorm and earthquake, and then in an instant they were driven upwards in all manner of ways to their birth, like stars shooting. He himself was hindered from drinking the water. But in what manner or by what means he returned to the body he could not say; only, in the morning, awaking suddenly, he found himself lying on the pyre. And thus, Glaucon, the tale has been saved and has not perished, and will save us if we are obedient to the word spoken; and we shall pass safely over the river of Forgetfulness and our soul will not be defiled. Wherefore my counsel is, that we hold fast ever to the heavenly way and follow after justice and virtue always, considering that the soul is immortal and able to endure every sort of good and every sort of evil. Thus shall we live dear to one another and to the gods, both while remaining here and when, like conquerors in the games who go round to gather gifts, we receive our reward. And it shall be well with us both in this life and in the pilgrimage of a thousand years which we have been describing. Some References for Platos Republic Suggestions based on: Oxford Bibliographies Online Ferrari, G. R. F. .Reeve, C. D. C. .White, Nicholas P. .Williams, Bernard. The Analogy of City and Soul in Platos Republic. The Sense of the Past: Essays in the History of Philosophy. Edited by Bernard Williams, 108-117. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006.

The Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives

The Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives This exercise will give you practice in effectively using the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. InstructionsComplete each sentence below with the appropriate comparative or superlative form of the adjective in italics. When youre done, compare your answers with those on page two. Her voice, which was always soft and melodious, was even _____ and sweeter than usual.All four boys were uncommonly lazy, but Jimbo was the _____ of them all.Of all the silly things people said toward the end of the twentieth century, perhaps the _____ came from the author who declared the end of history. Bright stars filled the night sky, but there was one star that was larger and _____ than the others.A loud voice is needed to command attention, but the _____ voice in the room seldom belongs to the most effective leader.Working in a library may not seem very interesting to most people, but Maggie believed that she had the _____ job in the world.My grandpa told a good joke, but I told a _____ one.Our final exam was difficult, far _____ than I had expected.Terry went directly to the shelf filled with cheap toys and picked out the _____ one he could find.Andrew didnt think the joke was very funny, but after Karen explained it, he laughed like it was the _____ joke he had ever heard.I made up a story about a beautiful bird that sang the _____ song ever heard. Gandalf says that the ring is dangerous, far _____ than anyone can imagine.You own many ugly sweaters, but this one has to be the _____ sweater in the world. Below (in bold) are the answers to the Exercise in Using the Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives. Her voice, which was always soft and melodious, was even softer and sweeter than usual.All four boys were uncommonly lazy, but Jimbo was the laziest of them all.Of all the silly things people said toward the end of the twentieth century, perhaps the silliest came from the author who declared the end of history.Bright stars filled the night sky, but there was one star that was larger and brighter than the others.A loud voice is needed to command attention, but the loudest voice seldom belongs to the most effective leader.Working in a library may not seem very interesting to most people, but Maggie believed that she had the most interesting job in the world.My grandpa told a good joke, but I told a better one.Our final exam was difficult, far more difficult than I had expected.Terry went directly to the shelf filled with cheap toys and picked out the cheapest one he could find.Andrew didnt think the joke was very funny, but after Karen explained it, he laughed like it was the funniest joke he had ever heard. I made up a story about a beautiful bird that sang the most beautiful song ever heard.Gandalf says that the ring is dangerous, far more dangerous than anyone can imagine.You own many  ugly  sweaters, but this one has to be the ugliest sweater in the world.

Transportation & Distribution Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Transportation & Distribution Management - Essay Example Transportation plays an important role in manipulating logistic. The vision of FedEx supply chain services is to become the world leader in global integrated logistics management, supply chain solutions and time-definite delivery (FedEx, 2014a). In the international market, FedEx faces competition from DHL, UPS, foreign postal authorities like Deutsche post and TNT N.V, freight forwarders, passenger airlines and all-cargo airlines. There are three important aspects of transportation management: Carrier selection, documentation and shipper carrier relationship. Carrier selection process includes the activities of identifying and procuring the best modes, the best carrier for each mode and best rates (Younkin, 2006). Companies tend to have a carrier mix like combination of aircrafts and road vehicles to order to have smooth operations, speed delivery at a low cost. Fed EX has a great air-and-ground network which facilitates the quick delivery of time sensitive shipments that deliver the shipment in one to two days with guaranteed delivery time. Its transports approximately 4 million packages and 11 million pounds of freight daily. For smooth functioning and fast delivery across the globe FedEx has mix of air and delivery fleet which consists of 650 aircrafts and 48000 motorized vehicles. FedEx has collaborated with more than 375 airports worldwide for the landing of its aircrafts without any difficulty. In October 2013, FedEx added first new Boeing 767-300 freighter in its air fleet. This is a major step in company’s strategic aircraft fleet modernization program as it is a more efficient and lower emission aircraft. 767 replaced MD 10 aircraft and is 30 percent more fuel efficient and incur 20 percent less unit operating cost (FedEx, 2014a). FedEx also provided a customized carrier to transport the skeleton of Wankel T-Rex dinosaur. In that customized lorry temperature was kept at 22C and each crate of bone was surrounded by

The Relationship between the investment in Petrochemical Industries Research Proposal

The Relationship between the investment in Petrochemical Industries and Economic Development - Research Proposal Example Changing the production means refers to the correction of faults in the structure of the economy or elimination that problem (Omar Mohyee Adeen, 1976). One of the major factors that affect the changes in the national economy is that of investment decisions (Krosinsky, and Robins, 2008). Often the discovery of an abundant natural resource in one country leads to tremendous investment in the resource and decline in the manufacturing sector. This scenario which is called the Dutch disease is a common effect in developing as well as developed countries. It is necessary that the development of an industry following the discovery of a natural resource is accompanied with a balanced development of manufacturing and the small industries. This will lead to generation of employment and diversification of the source’s income. With the availability of abundant raw materials, natural gas and cheap workforce the petrochemical industry is the best industry that shall be developed to grow the economy (Rooney, 2005; Sari, 2009). With this framework, it will be interesting to analyze if there is any relationship between the investments in petrochemical industry and economic growth. Besides this, the author will try to find out the possibility of a Dutch Disease taking place in the Libyan economy. The author will also try to find out the possible ways to prevent it and achieve a balanced growth of economy. The aim of this research is to understand and explore the potential impact of the discovery of petrochemical industry resources in Libya. The author aims to achieve the following objectives through the research: The effect of the development of petrochemical industry on other industrial sector’s size and profitability. In particular, the author aims to find out the affect on smaller and manufacturing industries. Often, the discovery of a natural resource in abundance leads to high economic

Radioiodine Therapy for Hyperthyroidism

Radioiodine Therapy for Hyperthyroidism RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Radioiodine therapy is now a day increasingly used for treatment for hyperthyroidism. The response to this treatment is unpredictable and the factors postulated to predict outcome have not generally proven clinically useful or is not widely accepted in clinical practice. So this retrospective study was carried out to determine whether the demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics at presentation had any influence on the recurrence and the success of the radioiodine therapy. This study was carried out in the Nuclear Medicine Department of Kovai Medical Center And Hospital during the inclusive period of Jan 2014 to July 2014. At the beginning of the study 70 patients were included, but only 62 completed follow up. In this study, the records of 70 hyperthyroid patients were reviewed. Among those 70 patients, 23 (32.9%) males and 47 (67.1%) females were enrolled. The female to male ratio was 2.1:1, showing a higher incidence of hyperthyroidism in females than in males. Even though females are more prone to hyperthyroidism, this had no influence on the outcome of therapy (p=0.2330). Similar studies conducted by Antony Lewis et al also could not find any association between gender and outcome of therapy. (Table: 1 Graph: 1) As hyperthyroidism is relatively more common in adult population, for convenient analysis patients were categorized based on the age limit into 2 groups i.e. less than 35 years and above 35 years . The mean age of study patients was found to be 42.56Â ±13.44 years (range 15 to 72 years). 21 patients came under the category of less than 35 years with females and males with mean age of 27.42Â ±5.81 and 26.57Â ±7.45 years respectively. The remaining 49 patients comes under the age limit of above 35 years, the mean age of male patients was 49.06Â ±9.05 and 49.21Â ±10.21 years in females. This indicated a higher incidence of hyperthyroid conditions in subjects above 35 years. According to this study, there was no significant tendency for proportion cured to change with age (p=0.899). Studies done by Robert A.Nordyke et al also could not find any association with age and cure rate and also the mean age of the study population was also similar.(Table:2,3 Graph 2,3) The patients in this study received a fixed dose of 10 mCi for Graves’ disease and relatively higher doses for toxic multinodular goiters based on the size of thyroid gland determined by physical examination and thyroid uptake scan. Of the total of 70 patients who received radioactive iodine 52 (74.3%) patients were treated with an average dose of 5 mCi, range (0-10 mCi) and 18 patients received an average dose of 15 mCi, range (11-20 mCi) of radioactive iodine. The optimal method for determining the appropriate iodine-131 treatment dose remains controversial. Techniques vary from fixed dose to more elaborate calculations based on the gland size and iodine uptake. In calculated dose method, a dose of RAI is administered which is proportional to the size of the gland, this theoretically increases the chances of cure. But studies done by satzal-Mazer et al and Y.Khalid et al have failed to demonstrate any improvement in cure rate with calculated dose compared to fixed dose regim en. In this study ,a good result was seen in 90.9% of patient who received a dose of RAI in the range of 0-10 mCi and 83.3% of patients receiving a dose of 11-20 mCi, but this correlation was not significant.(p=0.403)(Table :4 Figure:4) Studies done by Funda Utsun et al revealed that majority of the patients was treated for Graves’ disease followed by toxic multinodular goiter. In this study also among the patients who received radioactive iodine, the largest group was diagnosed with Graves’ disease (54 patients, 77.2%), followed by toxic multinodular goiter (11 patients, 15.7%). The relatively smaller groups include those with thyrotoxicosis (4 patients, 5.7%) and solitary thyroid nodule (1patient, 1.4%). (Table: 5 Figure: 5) Clinical Graves’ ophthalmopathy was noted in 8 patients (11.4%) in which except one all others were female. 62 patients (88.6%) were free from ophthalmopathy. Of the 8 patients who had ophthalmopathy, 5 patients was treated successfully and hence there was no significant correlation between ophthalmopathy and outcome of the treatment in this study (p=1.00). Studies done by Wisam.K.Ghadban et al found out that there was no significant worsening or new development of ophthalmopathy post RAI treatment. In contrast, a systematic review done by Shamasunder H.Acharya et al concluded that radioiodine therapy is associated with increased risk of progression of ophthalmopathy compared with antithyroid drugs and hence pretreatment with steroids is necessary.(Table:6 Figure: 6) Presence of goiter was assessed clinically by endocrinologists and was documented as either present or absent at the time of radioiodine administration. About 58 patients (82.9%) showed the presence of goiter and in 12 patients (17.1%) the signs of goiter were not present. No significant association was seen in this study on goiter and treatment success. (p=0.326). In contrast, previous studies done by Anthony Lewis et al revealed that patients with small or no goiter were more likely to be successfully treated by a single dose.(Table: 7 Figure: 7) Prior use of antithyroid medication occurred in 63 patients (90%). Of these, 68.57% (48 patients) received treatment for more than one year whereas 21.43% (15) of patients received for a period of less than one year.10% (7) of patients had no pre-treatment with antithyroid medication before RAI administration. Previous studies done by Joyce S Y Yau et al demonstrated that there was no significant association between anti-thyroid medication and radioiodine treatment within one year. (Table: 8 Figure: 8) Among the study subjects who received pre-treatment, majority of the patients were treated with carbimazole (40%, 28 patients), followed by neomercazole (19 patients, 27.2%) and methimazole (15 patients, 21.4%). Only 1 patient among the 63 patients was treated with propylthiouracil (1.4%). All were advised to stop the drugs 7 days before radioiodine administration. A significant correlation was not observed between pretreatment with antithyroid drugs and treatment success (1.00). In a prior study done by Edward Prinat et al ,treatment success was obtained in patients with no pre-treatment and those who have stopped ATD seven days before 131I admnistration, while in the group of patients who received MMI until 131I application,success was significantly lower.(Table: 9 Figure:9) The primary objective of radioactive iodine therapy is to eliminate hyperthyroidism, but what is important to patients is the quickness of therapeutic effect. Graph 10 shows change in mean concentrations of TSH and T4 before and after I131 administration. The result revealed an increase in TSH concentration after the RAI treatment whereas the T4 levels showed a decrease in the concentration which indicates that therapeutic effect is achieved in the hyperthyroid patients. Piotr Szumowski et al came up with a study which showed similar results. (Table: 10 Graph: 10). Thyroid hormone concentrations before and after administration of radioiodine was analysed. A significant difference was found in the concentration of TSH and T4 before and after radioiodine therapy in patients who are on thyoxine replacement therapy after RAI administration (p=0.000 p=0.003 resp.). Whereas on comparing the concentration of TSH and T4 prior and post therapy on who were not on drugs, there was no significant difference (p=0.533 0.057) (Table: 14). As the time after radioiodine administration elapses,the percentage of hypothyroid patients increases. The incidence of hypothyroidism was 38.5 %( 27) in first trimester, 12.8 %( 9) in second trimester and 2.8 %( 2) in the third trimester. A prior study done by Ajith S Shinto et al also similar incidence of hypothyroidism after therapy. (Table: 12 Graph: 12) The assessment of overall efficacy of treatment at one year after I131 administration showed that a euthyroid status was achieved in 24.3% (17) of patients, hypothyroidism was observed in 54.3% (38 patients), while persistence or recurrence of hyperthyroidism was seen in 10% of patients , which revealed that a second dose of radioiodine is required in these patients. This outcome meant that 75.7% of patients require further treatment. In that 38 patients requires further hormone replacement therapy and 7 patients requires a second dose of radioactive iodine. The achievement of euthyroid and hypothyroid status is considered as good result. Studies done by Mosako Tsuruta et al and Sirianong Namwongprom et al also showed similar results.(Table:11 Graph 11)

Personal Scarlet Letter

La Seanda Hendrick AP English Ms. Avallone Period 2 October 10, 2012 PERSONAL SCARLET LETTER ESSAY Insecurity, a word we’re all familiar with. A person’s insecurity is a reflection of one’s self-esteem and pride within their self. There are many things I am insecure about: my face, my weight, my body, the list goes on. These are all things that I believe are flaws about myself. I tend to think that everyone is against me. As if I am everyone’s enemy. That no one is as genuine to me as I am to them. My flaw is overthinking. Always over analyzing someone’s words or actions into what I assume they are meant to be.This major flaw of mine I believe is the cause of my insecurities. Over thinking has caused me to stress myself out over minor situations that could have easily been avoided. I developed early, very early, as early as 7 years old. In my young mind, I thought I was just like everyone else. That was until someone finally spotted it out, making m e aware of my abnormality. This then made me feel self-conscious about my physical appearance. For years to pass, I continued to believe that my abnormality was wrong. As if I was supposed to look like one thing but did not. I hit puberty before anyone of my age.I was the tallest amongst my friends and classmates and the most developed. Boys at my age did not look at girls that were â€Å"bigger† than them, or looked older than them. They were interested in girls that looked their age, which was only about 9 and 10. I did not take this as â€Å"I’m too good for them† or â€Å"They’re not on my level yet. † I took this as â€Å"boys don’t want me because I am ugly. † I would think that people only wanted to befriend me just to have a reason to laugh at me, or make me cry – considering I was a huge cry baby – I would think no one genuinely wanted to be my friend.We are all taught to watch our surroundings and who we allow in our lives. After all, you are a reflection of those that you surround yourself with. As I’ve grown up and have matured, a lot, I am still very self-conscious, but I choose not to let people know. All the hurt and agony I feel, I hide and keep to myself. It can hurt to hear the truth, the desire to know the truth but afraid of what the answer may be. This is where the overthinking plays in. The simplest thought, I over analyze and interpret in my own way and this can most likely cause me to come up with conclusions that were never discussed.These thoughts that I come u with tend to bring me down, making me feel worse than before. My mind is consistently in motion, I am always processing something. Without the peace of mind I desperately want, I will always scrutinize everything. This is a truly personal flaw that no one could ever point out, much more complex than any physical â€Å"flaw†. I have grown to not care what people have to say about what may seem as a flaw to them but I still undergo a personal struggle of attempting not to over analyze situations and allowing them to solve itself instead of making up a solution in my conflicted mind.

James Harvey Robinson On Various Kinds of Thinking

A graduate of Harvard and the University of Freiburg in Germany, James Harvey Robinson (1863–1936) served for 25 years as a professor of history at Columbia University. As a co-founder of the New School for Social Research, he viewed the study of history as a way to help citizens understand themselves, their community and the problems and prospects of mankind. In the well-known essay  On Various Kinds of Thinking from his book The Mind in the Making (1921), Robinson employs classification to convey his thesis that for the most part our convictions on important matters...are pure prejudices in the proper sense of that word. We do not form them ourselves. They are the whisperings of the voice of the herd.   In that essay, Robinson defines thinking and that most pleasant type of it, the reverie, or free association of thoughts. He also dissects observation and rationalization at length. About On Various Kinds of Thinking In On Various Kinds of Thinking Robinson says, â€Å"The truest and most profound observations on Intelligence have in the past been made by the poets and, in recent times, by story-writers.† In his opinion, these artists had to hone to a fine point their powers of observation  so that they could accurately record or recreate on the page life and the wide array of human emotions. Robinson also believed that philosophers were ill-equipped for this task because they often displayed â€Å"†¦a grotesque ignorance of mans life and have built up systems that are elaborate and imposing, but quite unrelated to actual human affairs.† In other words, many of them failed to grasp how the average person’s thought process worked and separated the study of the mind from a study of emotional life, leaving them with a perspective that did not reflect the real world. He notes, Formerly philosophers thought of mind as having to do exclusively with conscious thought. The flaw in this, though, is that it doesnt take into account whats happening in the unconscious mind or the inputs coming from the body and outside the body that influence our thoughts and our emotions.   The insufficient elimination of the foul and decaying products of digestion may plunge us into a deep melancholy, whereas a few whiffs of nitrous oxide may exalt us to the seventh heaven of supernal knowledge and godlike complacency. And vice versa, a sudden word or thought may cause our heart to jump, check our breathing, or make our knees as water. There is a whole new literature growing up which studies the effects of our bodily secretions and our muscular tensions and their relation to our emotions and our thinking. He also discusses all that people experience that has an impact on them but that they forget—just as a consequence of the brain doing its daily job as a filter—and those things that are so habitual that we dont even think about them after weve become accustomed to them. We do not think enough about thinking, he writes, and much of our confusion is the result of current illusions in regard to it. He continues: The first thing that we notice is that our thought moves with such incredible rapidity that it is almost impossible to arrest any specimen of it long enough to have a look at it. When we are offered a penny for our thoughts we always find that we have recently had so many things in mind that we can easily make a selection which will not compromise us too nakedly. On inspection, we shall find that even if we are not downright ashamed of a great part of our spontaneous thinking it is far too intimate, personal, ignoble or trivial to permit us to reveal more than a small part of it. I believe this must be true of everyone. We do not, of course, know what goes on in other peoples heads. They tell us very little and we tell them very little....We find it hard to believe that other peoples thoughts are as silly as our own, but they probably are. The Reverie In the section on the reverie of the mind, Robinson discusses stream of consciousness, which in his time had come under scrutiny in the academic world of psychology by Sigmund Freud and his contemporaries. He again criticizes philosophers for not taking this type of thinking into account as important: This is what makes [old philosophers] speculations so unreal and often worthless.  He continues: [Reverie] is our spontaneous and favorite kind of thinking. We allow our ideas to take their own course and this course is determined by our hopes and fears, our spontaneous desires, their fulfillment or frustration; by our likes and dislikes, our loves and hates and resentments. There is nothing else anything like so interesting to ourselves as ourselves....[T]here can be no doubt that our reveries form the chief index to our fundamental character. They are a reflection of our nature as modified by often bidden and forgotten experiences. He contrasts reverie with practical thought, such as making all those trivial decisions that come to us constantly throughout our day, from writing a letter or not writing it, deciding what to purchase, and taking the subway or a bus. Decisions, he says, are a more difficult and laborious thing than the  reverie, and we resent having to make up our mind when we are tired, or absorbed in a congenial reverie. Weighing a decision, it should be noted, does not necessarily add anything to our knowledge, although we may, of course, seek further information before making it.