TheUnCon

  Medicine has stood the test of time. We have come a long way over the years, from inventing and discovering ideas out of sheer curiosity to now building and recreating possibilities in the new age of automation. What was once a Eureka moment has now become interleaved into the social fabric of our society. This composition is a tribute to some of the most incredible milestones in medicine: smallpox vaccine, handwashing, electrocardiogram, subcutaneous insulin therapy, penicillin, test-tube babies, human immunodeficiency virus, COVID-19 virus and artificial intelligence. Needless to say, there are many other achievements which do not fail to inspire. Let this be an opportunity to embrace the history of medicine, and may it motivate us to continue to work for the betterment of mankind.  This composition is an original piece of water-based acrylic paint on canvas paper. The “strokes” refer to my favorite brushstrokes – whirled brush strokes with carefully merging color gradients. This p

Introduction Dr Beaky of Rome is English for Doctor Schnabel von Rom. This Roman phrase was engraved by Paulus Fürst, a plague doctor, and is a famous satire on the costume of the Plague Doctors. Plague doctors were no regular doctors. The government hired these so-called physicians and called upon them to treat those diseased with the Plague. To guard themselves from the disease, these doctors wore an elaborate ensemble which has been widely discussed in literature. Due to their grotesque appearance, these became popular outfits for Halloween! However, Dr Beaky’s costume may not have been just for Halloween, and the Plague killed scores of people before it was finally deemed a curable disease. Dr. Beaky Source Credit: Wikipedia  Plague in the 17th century The plague doctors were not really doctors. They were students and physicians starting their careers without established medical practices. More often than not, they were regular people who signed up for this life-threatening task of

SOHO, LONDON, 1854 It was the fall of 1854. A deadly epidemic of cholera had gripped the city of London. The worst affected would be the area around Broad Street, in particular, around a water pump. This water pump would later be a defining ‘focus of disease’ for what we call today as the Cholera epidemic of 1854. This story in history goes back in time to trace the early beginnings of epidemiology and public health sciences. In the early 19 th century, the city of London had a very poor sewerage system. This essentially meant that most of the waste generated would eventually be discarded in the Thames. Near most houses, waste would collect in cesspools that would infiltrate and leach into the nearby water sources contaminating the water supply. Needless to say, the city continued to function in these unsanitary conditions until the epidemic of 1854. City of London, 1850s Source Credit: npr.org DR. JOHN SNOW This was the time when London was hit with a series of Cholera epidemic

Source Credit: PBS  A landmark milestone in the history of medicine was made when David Vetter- the Boy in the Bubble, made the headlines. The 9-year-old boy suffered from Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a rare disorder that paralyzes the host’s immunity and makes a person vulnerable to common-place infections- maybe even the common cold. He had lived his whole life so far in a plastic bubble. His plastic home had shielded him from illness and disease, and he had been kept healthy, safe, and alive. At 9 years, he would finally transition from his life at the hospital to living a close-to-normal life at home. SCID: The disease When Carol Ann Vetter and David Joseph Vetter Jr lost their first child to the disease, they were cautious about their subsequent pregnancy. They had borne one healthy girl child- Katherine, but Carol Ann was found to be a carrier of the SCID variant gene which would express itself in male children. Being strict Roman Catholics, the couple knew that abor

Source Credit: A still from the movie Joker (2019) J oker is probably one of the most famous fictional characters in pop culture. DC Comics first introduced the character to the world and described him as "A homicidal artist, an agent of chaos, and the Clown Prince of Crime." A quick Google search showed me that the internet is torn between the infamous "Heath Ledger Joker" and the now most recent Joaquin Phoenix version. While his identity as Batman's archenemy remains a constant throughout most of his story versions, he is often described as a psychopathic killer with an abusive and dark past. This narrative is modified by many. However, the one thing that makes him unique – true to his 'Joker' mannerisms, is his humor. The Joker smile is inspired by the actor Conrad Veidt in –  The Man who laughs. "Why so serious? Let's put a smile on that face!" - Joker in "The Dark Night" The Todd Philips and Joaquin Phoenix version of