Getting Better

Across Nov, Dec, and Jan, I spent a significant amount of time in a hospital for a family emergency. I was working, but I was also reading while waiting…

Last year, across Nov-Jan, I spent a significant amount of time in a hospital for a family emergency. I was working, but I was also reading while waiting around. One of the books I read during this time was “Better” by Atul Gwande. The book talks about certain aspects about improvement that I’ve also read in Swtich.

An empty hospital floor

The chapter titled “The Bell Curve” is one my favorite chapters. Dr. Gwande talks about cystic fibrosis treatments across the US. This is how he described the doctor at the top treatment center:

He believed that excellence came from seeing, on a daily basis, the difference between being 99.5{13371f13f0bf161e7595c2ac5df92e005bed3de1d132ef646d0a44f3a1a9ee62} successful and being 99.95{13371f13f0bf161e7595c2ac5df92e005bed3de1d132ef646d0a44f3a1a9ee62} successful.

It looks like they’re almost the same but over the course of a month, it adds up. Over the course of a year, it adds up even more.

A line from the conclusion of that chapter:

Even doctors with great knowledge and technical skill can have mediocre results; more nebulous factors like aggressiveness and diligence and ingenuity can matter enormously.

As a sysadmin and software engineer, my success does not depend on my skills alone. I work in a team. I can only be successful if I communicate effectively and work with the team. On that note, I’d also recommend the post “What we can learn from the Mayo Clinic” from The Farnam Street blog.

Image credit: Naoki Takano hospital (license)

Cooked

I’ve been reading Michael Pollan’s Cooked and watching the Netflix show. This is my favorite line from the book. There’s a very…

I’ve been reading Michael Pollan’s Cooked and watching the Netflix show. This is my favorite line from the book:

Easy. You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. Cook it for yourself. Eat anything you want–just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself.

There’s a very similar line in the show too:

Eat anything you want. Enjoy all of your food. Anything you want. You want apple pie? Have a whole apple pie tonight. You want cookies with that apple pie? And ice cream with that apple pie? I’ll allow you to eat all the cookies, all the ice cream, and all the pie you can have tonight. I’m just gonna ask you to do one thing. Make all of them. Make the apple pie, make the ice cream, make the cookies. And you know what I know is gonna happen? You’re not having apple pie, ice cream, or cookies tonight.

Image Credit: Justin making an apple pie by Justin Leonard on Flickr.