“There are many who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge: that is curiosity.

There are others who desire to know in order that they may themselves be known: that is vanity.

Others seek knowledge in order to sell it: that is dishonorable.

But there are some who seek knowledge in order to edify others: that is love.”
-Bernard of Clairvaux

It also reminds of a verse from Daniel. He is praising God for knowledge that was imparted to him. 

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

In this day of research, logic, and well, the internet, it’s good to remember who gives knowledge and wisdom. 

This video was added under an “optional” section in our study material. I think it’s fascinating.

For those too lazy (or rushed) to watch, I’ll highlight some interesting points:

1. Humans are NOT good at predicting what will make us happy. Especially over time. We tend to overestimate how bad something will be, and underestimate how good other things will be. Our brain is a drama queen! As the speaker says, we have “bad simulators” in our brain.

2. Happiness can be synthesized. We take un-ideal situations and find happiness in them. Sort of sounds like contentment to me.

3. Synthesized happiness is just as valid as “real” happiness. “I want to suggest to you that synthetic happiness is every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you are aiming for.”

All of these points are proven through psychological, behavioral, repeatable experiments. What I think is so fascinating is how this relates to the spiritual ideas of contentment and joy.

Dan Gilbert’s final thoughts are:

“When our ambition is bounded, it leads us to work joyfully. When our ambition is unbounded, it leads us to lie, to cheat, to steal, to hurt others, to sacrifice things of real value. When our fears are bounded, we’re prudent; we’re cautious; we’re thoughtful. When our fears are unbounded and overblown, we’re reckless, and we’re cowardly…. Our longings and our worries are both to some degree overblown, because we have within us the capacity to manufacture the very commodity we are constantly chasing when we choose experience.”

Is this a scientist or a preacher speaking? There is evidence that our freedom can hurt us? That we need rules and boundaries?

Or, that even in the worst circumstances, it’s possible to be happy? (Ahem… philippians 4:11-12)

Perhaps we can admit that we are seeking happiness in the wrong things. After all we aren’t that good at predicting what will make us happy.

So instead of rushing and searching through every human pleasure, perhaps it’s time to give contentment and joy in what we already have a shot. This man has just shown verifiable evidence of the Christian notion of joy (as opposed to happiness). I think that’s pretty cool.

-Bryce

Really, not much has changed since my last post. But, I’m trying to get back into blogging, so let’s catch up.

Since last August, I:

• Finished my first year of medical school:

• Found myself in a great relationship with this gal:

• Went to Lambeau Field:

• Studied a lot:

• Drank a lot of coffee:

• Went on a couple of mission trips:

Del Rio

• Went to South Padre Island:

• Drove a lot:

• Made some friends:

We are now one week into the second year of school. I’m really working on trying to post more often. As I’ve said before, there won’t be much of a schedule or category of topics. I’m going to be “free-blogging” – so be prepared for posts on everything from study tips to deep thoughts on Christianity and existence. My goal is to write at least once a week on, well, something. So, stick around!

“I’m doing the time of my life!”

Well, I’ve survived the first two weeks of medical school! I’ve been feeling like George. Sr in Arrested Development when he goes to jail:

Michael: You LOVE IT here? You’re doing time!
George Sr.: I’m doing the time of my life!

Despite all the studying and lack of free time, I really am having a great time. We’ve started classes in Anatomy, Clinical Skills and Molecules to Medicine (Biochemistry). It’s tough, but rewarding.

Here’s some things I’ve learned so far:

1. The biggest difference between medical school and college is not the difficulty of information, it’s the amount. You have to learn the info presented in class that day because the things you learn the next day will build on it. You can’t fall behind.

2. When you’re born, your spinal cord isn’t solid bone, but continues to grow and harden through adolescence. It stops growing when you’re 25. Thought that was interesting as I’m 25.

3. Cadaver dissection is not what I thought. Last Thursday was our first day of cadaver dissection. I was pretty nervous before that lab – being around a ton of dead bodies was just… surreal. So, I was very surprised that ~10 minutes into the dissection how that feeling had left, and a feeling of awe (I guess?) had replaced it. I soon began thinking of the cadaver more as a very intricate teaching model (which it technically is in a sense). And now, this week we’ve been working on the spinal cord and brain. Just yesterday (just a week into lab), we opened the “cranial cavity”. That’s fancy words for saying -we used a bone saw to cut off the top of the skull. Long story short – I’ve come to really like anatomy, which I never thought would happen.

4. I learned how to replace pedals on a bicycle. One of mine broke in half last week, so I replaced them. Just so you know, the right pedal has normal threads, but the left pedal is reverse threaded! Very important for removal. Here’s the broken pedal. Sheared right in half:

5. I’ts way cheaper to make your own trail mix.

6. Wearing scrubs is great – it really is just like wearing PJs.

Also, in two weeks, I’ve studied or been in class about 95.5 hours. I started keeping track of how many class hours and study hours I have in a big GoogleDoc. I want to track it as long as possible… just for fun. This is how the two weeks have felt:

More to come soon soon!

Getting the whitecoat!

Photo Op.

Parents came all the way from KC!

3 generations of Hamiltons!

The whole crew!

*DERP*

So, I got the white coat, got the stethoscope, got some scrubs… maybe I can just go home now? Nah…

Real class starts Monday!

On Monday, I was nervous and excited. I was nervous about school, getting around the school, being in a new city and knowing no one. But, when I walked into the class that morning, it was great to see 42 other people as nervous as I was! And as Monday went on, the nervousness quickly faded and the excitement to be at medical school came out!

Here we were all 42 of us after the first day:

We did a lot of random things all week. We had a scavenger hunt, listened to advice from people in different years, residents, and current doctors. I would say that around 3/4 of the people in Pre-Mat (including me), haven’t been in class for 3 or more years. So, they had some good (and intense) review sessions on some specific biochemistry and anatomy topics. There was also some new things like seeing (and touching!) the cadavers, doing a few clinical skills (saw a perforated eardrum!), getting scrubs, etc.

I’m really glad I did Pre-Mat. I feel like I’ve done so much this past week that I would be totally lost if I came in blind. One of the taglines for doing Pre-Mat is that you’ll have 40 friends before classes start. And, after this week, I’d have to agree with that!

Next up: White Coat Ceremony on Sunday!

I didn’t do much but drink coffee, go to the beach, and hang out with my family. Here’s a few photos from the week:

My uncle and my cousin.

My dad, brother and I at the USS Alabama in Mobile.

Some pelicans.

4th of July Moon.

My family.

Morning Clouds.

My cousin’s daughter, Meadowlyn.

The 4th.

It was a good week. 20 days until classes start…

Below are the MINIMUM laptop requirements for medical school. My only question is – “What are we going to be doing on these computers!?”

I’ve listed two current popular PC video games for reference, each of which require really good computers to run.

There are only three possible conclusions:

1. It’s a scam to force us to buy new computers through the library (they have a few packaged bundles).
2. We are just going to be playing video games for four years.
3. Taking notes and reading our textbooks online is going to take more power than launching a rocket into space.

I hope it’s number 2.

That email blew me away for so many reasons.

The first reason was just shock. It was so late in the application season (the 2013 app had been up for a month), that I had given up hope.

Second, I couldn’t believe all my work and waiting was over.

Thrid, I had come to the conclusion that I would be okay if I never got into medical school. This external thing didn’t define who I was, my identity.

And so, I saw the acceptance as a complete gift. As I said before, I was dead set on retaking the MCAT, volunteering in new places, and spicing up my Personal Statement. I was resolved to re-apply and get in to school in a few years.

This is going to get a bit theological now. I believe in a God who created mankind, loves him, and still interacts in personal ways. So, I believe that this was all done for a reason. These lessons I learned, how my motivations changed over the years, and all the waiting – I think it was intentionally done by God.

And so, going forward, my mindset is that medical school is a complete and utter gift. I came to a place where it wasn’t necessary (back to the identity thing above), but was ready to try again. And so seeing the acceptance to me was like seeing that final Christmas present under the tree.

Something I didn’t earn or deserve.

A gift.

—

So, that’s my story. I’m incredibly excited to start school in July. I’m hoping to update this blog with interesting things I learn, funny stories, medical jokes, and of course my thoughts along the way. For now, I’m just trying to enjoy my last few weeks that I have to myself. Thanks for reading this week!

Bryce