Americans would be better off if there were less of us, rather than fewer³.
I laughed out loud at the beautifully correct use of less and fewer. To answer your grammar question, what you want is the subjunctive (hypothetical) mood. Again, your construction is correct.
That's just what I was about to write when I saw your comment, so I'll just add an "amen!" to the correct use of the subjunctive, and even more to the joy of finding others who know (and use, and celebrate) the difference between "less" and "fewer." Maybe it seems trivial, but “He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much."
I think the true "original sin" of human beings is the need so many of us have for learning things "the hard way". I remember thalidomide. Sometimes I wonder who else does. From drugs that make it easier to lose weight to the ones that make it easier to put on muscle mass most people seem to have lost (or more likely never had) any ability to discern the payoffs of their actions. Almost as if advertising was NOT entended to make you believe side effects do not exist.
I remember Thalidomide, and the people who suffered as a result, vividly. They used to be pretty common, but I haven't seen one for a while now. I don't think Thalidomide was used here in the U.S. but I was reminded of it recently, when I encountered an English actor, Mat Fraser, who had to have been a Thalidomide baby.. He has the tell-tale flipper hands
I had an appt with my cardiologist today (TH is with my pulmonologist. Both drug pushers extraordinaire. I'm beginning to believe that all doctors are now. Very frustrating time to be a patient.
Here's an example of 'what I get". Just a sample.
I was hospitalized in Feb for a week, diagnosis was what they call Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction HFpEF; my right coronary artery (RCA) was/is completely occluded but I have excellent collaterals making up for that, and the ejection fraction (left side pumping out) is 55% which is in the normal range. I know this because besides all the other tests, they did an echocardiogram and a cardiac catherization. No stents needed, no bypass needed, according to the surgeon who did the cath.
When I went into the hospital -which btw was for out-of-the blue shortness of breath escalating to severe feeling of suffocating with nearly any minimal exertion like brushing my teeth- my lipid panel was good (I've been careful my entire life about my diet and weight etc; my BMI is 20). My triglycerides were 77, my cholesterol 130, my glucose and A1C good, etc. I was on NO meds. Now I'm on 10 meds... drug pushers (and I've begun to decline any more! They don't like that...).
I had bloodwork done a few weeks ago. Since Feb my triglycerides have triples. Yes, 3X. My cholesterol and A!C have risen, my potassium and calcium and sodium have risen to not-so-good numbers. ARGH. So today I brought all this up to the cardiologist and she refuses to entertain the thought that this is being caused by any of the meds I've been put on... ARGH! I asked her which is it (bad me, I questioned the doctor): high triglycerides are bad for my heart and circulatory system, thus I've been put on meds to control it (when I was never high to begin with) OR it doesn't matter (in which case why am I taking meds???).
She recommended I take fish oil... Unbelievable.
I'm so terribly frustrated.
The saving grace of today though (at least there's something)? My pulmonologist ordered a CT of my chest the end of Nov -something they'll do occasionally to watch for any changes in my lungs- and it found an aortic aneurysm of 4.4 cm (apparently not to be worried about right now according to the radiologist's report) so I showed the results to the cardiologist. She said it needs to be watched for any growth so I asked how often I need a CT for that (6 mos, yearly?) and she gave me the name of a cardiac surgeon to consult with about that. Maybe just MAYBE this guy will have better answers than I'm getting -meaning, isn't a drug pusher and can unwind all these meds and make sense of all this.
Medicine is ridiculous anymore and also: doctors used to listen to you; NOW DOCTORS DON'T LISTEN TO YOU. :(
My intermittent fasting has organically become one intentional and delicious meal in the middle of the day, enjoying my cooking and eating to satiety. The same friend who recommended The Ecology of Care to me is just about to read The Phoenix Protocol and is exited about it. There is just SO MUCH the "experts" truly don't know, or even care to know. I have always been of the mindset that if you are eating whole foods, you can trust your own body to direct you. External and internal states are always in flux, and your gut has a brain you can trust.
"Most of the neural traffic is from the gut to the brain, not the other way around." (pg. 679, The Matter With Things, volume 1, Iain McGilchrist)
Great piece Heather. Hubby and I have been watching/listening to Darkhorse Podcast since almost the beginning. You and Bret are phenomenal. Question: What is the "meaning" behind the fence photo at the end of all your Substack/Natural Selections ?? Thanks much, and keep up the fantastic work.
Americans would be better off if there were less of us, rather than fewer³.
I laughed out loud at the beautifully correct use of less and fewer. To answer your grammar question, what you want is the subjunctive (hypothetical) mood. Again, your construction is correct.
That's just what I was about to write when I saw your comment, so I'll just add an "amen!" to the correct use of the subjunctive, and even more to the joy of finding others who know (and use, and celebrate) the difference between "less" and "fewer." Maybe it seems trivial, but “He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much."
I think the true "original sin" of human beings is the need so many of us have for learning things "the hard way". I remember thalidomide. Sometimes I wonder who else does. From drugs that make it easier to lose weight to the ones that make it easier to put on muscle mass most people seem to have lost (or more likely never had) any ability to discern the payoffs of their actions. Almost as if advertising was NOT entended to make you believe side effects do not exist.
I remember Thalidomide, and the people who suffered as a result, vividly. They used to be pretty common, but I haven't seen one for a while now. I don't think Thalidomide was used here in the U.S. but I was reminded of it recently, when I encountered an English actor, Mat Fraser, who had to have been a Thalidomide baby.. He has the tell-tale flipper hands
Any writing that footnotes Pink Floyd is a must read!
This is a portentous coincidence, I must say ;)
I had an appt with my cardiologist today (TH is with my pulmonologist. Both drug pushers extraordinaire. I'm beginning to believe that all doctors are now. Very frustrating time to be a patient.
Here's an example of 'what I get". Just a sample.
I was hospitalized in Feb for a week, diagnosis was what they call Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction HFpEF; my right coronary artery (RCA) was/is completely occluded but I have excellent collaterals making up for that, and the ejection fraction (left side pumping out) is 55% which is in the normal range. I know this because besides all the other tests, they did an echocardiogram and a cardiac catherization. No stents needed, no bypass needed, according to the surgeon who did the cath.
When I went into the hospital -which btw was for out-of-the blue shortness of breath escalating to severe feeling of suffocating with nearly any minimal exertion like brushing my teeth- my lipid panel was good (I've been careful my entire life about my diet and weight etc; my BMI is 20). My triglycerides were 77, my cholesterol 130, my glucose and A1C good, etc. I was on NO meds. Now I'm on 10 meds... drug pushers (and I've begun to decline any more! They don't like that...).
I had bloodwork done a few weeks ago. Since Feb my triglycerides have triples. Yes, 3X. My cholesterol and A!C have risen, my potassium and calcium and sodium have risen to not-so-good numbers. ARGH. So today I brought all this up to the cardiologist and she refuses to entertain the thought that this is being caused by any of the meds I've been put on... ARGH! I asked her which is it (bad me, I questioned the doctor): high triglycerides are bad for my heart and circulatory system, thus I've been put on meds to control it (when I was never high to begin with) OR it doesn't matter (in which case why am I taking meds???).
She recommended I take fish oil... Unbelievable.
I'm so terribly frustrated.
The saving grace of today though (at least there's something)? My pulmonologist ordered a CT of my chest the end of Nov -something they'll do occasionally to watch for any changes in my lungs- and it found an aortic aneurysm of 4.4 cm (apparently not to be worried about right now according to the radiologist's report) so I showed the results to the cardiologist. She said it needs to be watched for any growth so I asked how often I need a CT for that (6 mos, yearly?) and she gave me the name of a cardiac surgeon to consult with about that. Maybe just MAYBE this guy will have better answers than I'm getting -meaning, isn't a drug pusher and can unwind all these meds and make sense of all this.
Medicine is ridiculous anymore and also: doctors used to listen to you; NOW DOCTORS DON'T LISTEN TO YOU. :(
x
My intermittent fasting has organically become one intentional and delicious meal in the middle of the day, enjoying my cooking and eating to satiety. The same friend who recommended The Ecology of Care to me is just about to read The Phoenix Protocol and is exited about it. There is just SO MUCH the "experts" truly don't know, or even care to know. I have always been of the mindset that if you are eating whole foods, you can trust your own body to direct you. External and internal states are always in flux, and your gut has a brain you can trust.
"Most of the neural traffic is from the gut to the brain, not the other way around." (pg. 679, The Matter With Things, volume 1, Iain McGilchrist)
I am nowhere near as active as I was when I was younger. I eat a satisfying midday meal ONLY and still have to watch my weight.
Great piece Heather. Hubby and I have been watching/listening to Darkhorse Podcast since almost the beginning. You and Bret are phenomenal. Question: What is the "meaning" behind the fence photo at the end of all your Substack/Natural Selections ?? Thanks much, and keep up the fantastic work.
P.S. Two of my four sisters are, or have been, on Semaglutide. One ended up with gastro-paresis and muscle "disfunction." Bad bad bad sh*t.
“If there were less of us…” is correct because it is a subjunctive phrase.
I’m not so sure that there are no gay frogs. 😂
Nice mix of educational, humble, metaphorical, snarky and hilarious. Well played, once again.