₦airaland Forum

^^^

I know somebody (a Nigerian Doctor) who is into Neurocybernetics. He has research interests in Artificial Intelligence and has previously been funded by NASA for some of his work relating to brain physiology and weightlessness. Send me an email on elias_beneli@yahoo.co.uk (that's elias underscore beneli) and I'll give you his contact details.

jade5268:
hello,
@ beneli i am a medical doctor considering the non clinical aspects of medicine, what are you thots on biomedical engineering. have applied for pg studies in this area. everyone thinks i should go for mph

I think the field of Biomedical Engineering would be very interesting, especially if you're a very creative and research-oriented person.

Of significance would be where you currently reside (or intend to reside), where you plan to do the postgraduate studies and what is motivating you in the direction of Biomedical Engineering.  MPH within the Nigerian context is probably 'safer', but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will guarantee you a lucrative job on graduation. Biomedical Engineering, on the other hand, is much bolder and futuristic-I see it as having great potentials, especially abroad. But a choice between MPH and Biomedical Engineering will depend fundamentally on what kind of person you are. Not everyone will enjoy, or even excel, as a Biomedical Engineer; while there are also a lot of people with the MPH who are either underemployed, jobless or doing something else with their lives!

Bottom line: don't listen to what 'everyone thinks'. 'Everyone' is never right. Listen instead to your heart and follow its whispers.

chiketee:
Hello sirs, im about writing my 4th mbbs exams, so i'll be through by next year, by Gods grace. the truth is that i have no passion for the career ahead, dont get me wrong i do enjoy knowing all the things i know about the body but im not looking foward to applying the knowledge. i just got a scholarship to study IT abroad, all i need is accept and the program starts and i cant postpone till next year. i have always been a creative person and i think i belong in the IT world. wat do u think i should do, should i take the risk?

I would have started to ask such boring questions like; 'what motivated you in the first place to choose medicine and what has changed since then?; what now informs your decision that you 'belong in the IT world'? and so on and so forth-ad nauseatum.

But I recognise that we are not always able to put into words the reasons why we are enthused by certain things in life. So all I will say is that you follow your heart and have good luck in life: your heart can take you to new horizons that your head can never even dream of (it can help you ride the vicissitudes of life, when your head tells you to give up), while luck-or God-incidence, depending on your beilefs-has the power to transform a career (whether medicine or IT), which would have remained insipid and tedious into a life that is full of vibrancy, colours and enriching opportunities! Whichever pathway you choose is wrought with risks; but risks, at the end of the day, are there to be taken.

Follow your heart and good luck in life!

Very tough questions you’ve asked there, Ajanlekoko!  I will try to answer them in my own way.

AjanleKoko:
beneli and mbulela,
Just wanted to re-iterate something here. We talk a lot about doctors being hungry, the system being in total decay, etc. But I have one question. What are our expectations as individuals?

I guess OUR expectation would be to be able to go to hospitals and get the solutions that we need to our health problems: within that expectation would lie the hope that those we entrust with our lives have the required training and skills to help us, and also have access to the basic resources to be able to meet our expectations of them. We should expect nothing less from our Doctors-we should expect nothing more. 

AjanleKoko:
How are we contributing, or refusing to contribute, to the systemic problems?

Our attitude of not asking questions of those entrusted with providing us services in all industries, contributes to the problem. Our propensity to be cowered into silence by those we perceive to be more ‘powerful’ then us, contributes to the problem. There is pervasive systemic failure because the man in us has died (due respects to Prof Soyinka) and Nigeria is left to fester because all that is left are wailing spirits who lack the ability to act.

AjanleKoko:
We talk about doctors' remuneration in Europe and North America. Have we asked what doctors are paid in India and the Philippines?

I am not sure what they are paid in India and the Philippines.  It is certainly much less than Doctors get paid in the USA, UK etc, That’s why you find Indian Doctors migrating to those places in droves.   

AjanleKoko:
I have a close Indian friend, here in Lagos, who is always telling me how amazed he is at Nigerians persistently demanding higher wages, without promising any particular level of productivity. In his opinion, there is no basis. He says in India, there are cutting-edge specialists in various areas of science, technology and medicine, that are earning something around $500 a month, but are still highly-skilled.

I am most certain that Indian Doctors get paid more than what your friend suggests that those specialists earn.

AjanleKoko:
It's easy for us to say 'don't mind the Indian  jare!'.  But I think the man has a strong point. He comes from a nation where people fight hard for whatever they get, and he wonders why we expect to be spoon-fed? Why do we think these other nations have solid and committed governments, or that these people do not have the same ethnic, religious, or socio-political problems we have?

The socio-economic revolution unfolding in India, I must confess, is quite impressive. And I agree that they do not have solid and committed governments etc, but at least they do have a government.

In Nigeria, we have witches masquerading as politicians. They cluster together in their covens to scheme and plan on how to suck the very life blood out of our country. They are adept at talking the talk of ‘governance’, but are bereft of any ideas of what it means to govern. They are howling demons from our worst nightmares that have dared encroach into our living experiences to take us hostage. They parade themselves as politicians, but they are not. The fact that they come from amongst us, raises some questions that need to be answered by all of us. So in that respect we are different from India.

AjanleKoko:
My father used to tell me a lot about his two myths theory. He says there are two myths about Nigerians, that they were hardworking and very intelligent, but these myths are in fact myths - Nigerians are not any more hardworking than other people or more intelligent than others. For him, the only thing Nigeria has is its population.

Your father is absolutely right. And if I may add, that population is but 150 million people most of whom have lost the spirit to fight.

Are we getting what we deserve? I don't know. But I curse whatever negative Karma that now bestrides us and is taking us on this horrific ride into total collapse!


PS: You may discern from my response that it's not so much about the so called systemic failure, but it's more about the state of helplessness that it engenders. Hence my comment about us being held hostage by demons!

Abagworo:
you are drawing us back by mentioning qualities of an ethnic group.ok what are the qualities that makes one distinct?remember you might personally feel distinct but to others you have no differences.for example in ngwaland,an osisioma man whose area is highly urbanised might feel distinct from isialangwa man whose area is rather backward and highly into crime,does that make them any different?ngwa is ngwa so is igbo igbo.even though the ngwas have continued to tarnish the image of the igbo nation,i have never seen any igbo man coming out to disclaim them because we are all igbos.same goes with every part of igboland.

I find the bolded to be ignorant and quite offensive.

How exactly have the Ngwas continued to 'tarnish the image of the Igbo nation'?  There are some statements that you brush off, because you understand that the author is, to borrow from your rant, 'backward'-intellectually. But when it comes from somebody who you don't usually count as being of that hue, it becomes a matter of concern. Your statement about Isialangwa people being 'backward and highly into crime' is unevidenced and very prejudiced. I am trying very hard not to label you a slowpoke, and believe me, it takes a lot of will power.

So what exactly is it that the Ngwa's do that tarnishes the image of the 'Igbo nation'. What is your evidence that the Ngwa are any more criminally minded than people of your own village or, in this instance, people of your tribe? (I use 'tribe' here because somebody who has some sought of ethnic pride and enlightened consciousness would not bleat out such vacuous tribalistic drivel).

^^^

I know what you mean.

Until you find your own 'relationship' with the Christ, a relationship that makes you understand in the matrix of your being that it's not so much about the things we do or try to do: the rituals of religion-the leaves that Adam uses to hide his unclothedness-but it's about what God has done for those of us who are imperfect, then the discouragement; the stumbling on and on, will continue. It is guilt that paralysis the most. The guilt of one that wants to walk with God, but finds himself, far from able. And it is only once we can learn to rise above that paralysing guilt (psalm 32.1) and embrace the redeeming grace of our Christ; only then can the process of redemption start. It is a process. That is my testimony.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-77812.0.html

viaro:
What's the 'big picture' there? Verse 6 - 'in this place is One greater than the temple'.

God bless us as we come back to the most important part of our lives and worship: the One who is greater than the 'things' we emphasize these days.

Thanks Viaro. In this maze, which is our life's journey, it's so easy to get distracted by the pettiness of 'reason', 'logic' and the shadows cast by the embellishments of religion; when that which opens the portal of heaven, is but the simplicity of true worship.

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/n/m/nmgtthee.htm

Ikedonn:
Hello brothers and sisters in nairaland.I have a questions that're bothering my mind,the questions are:i have a fiance that i am planning to get married to,we both live in Thailand,she's a Japanese citizen.She's a qualified registered nurse and midwifery.She told me she would like to secure a nursing job in nigeria after getting married to me.But guys,how is the possibility of this?can she get a well-paid job in nigeria?pls advice me,thanks

You may get a better response if you posed your questions to nurses on the wider forum.
You may also try contacting the Nursing and Midwifery council to clarify what she needs to do to be eligible to work as a nurse in Nigeria.
Here's their link http://www.nmcnigeria.org/

Good luck

@ Allycat,

I agree with you that a lot of Doctors, if given a second chance, would not opt for a career in Medicine.

For a lot, especially the junior doctors in Nigeria, it's a waste of life, full of frustration and devoid of any quality!  And as long as the health system continues in its present free fall into total collapse, then as you rightly suggested, the younger ones will continue to be even more ruthless, the patient will suffer even more and the brain drain will get even more intense. But it shouldn't be so.

I keep on harping on about the 'system' being the problem because I know that if there were some semblance of sanity in the health system, if there were proper structures in place that allowed for better regulation, meaningful contininuous professional development and career progression etc, a lot of Nigerian Doctors abroad would start coming back to partner with those at home to piggy-back, as it were, our health system into the 21st century. The Indians are doing it and they are not better than us.

But sometimes I feel as if my not having had enough Nigerian 'experience' denies me the priviledge to talk about workable solutions. (Un)fortunately I didn't have the benefit of training in Nigeria for either my primary medical qualification or my specialisation. And other than my house job and NYSC couple of years, my work was mostly in the private sector, so it seems as if my exposure is inadequate and only gives one side of the (sad) story.

Perhaps, you (as somebody still 'holed up in the trenches') would be able to give a better perspective of what needs to be done to remedy the problem.

With regards to the Hippocratic (hypocrites) oath, I like to believe that once upon a time-bleary eyed and freshly out of medical school-I had, with left palm on my chest and sweaty right palm laid on top of a holy book, stood in front of a white bearded professor, whose eyes gleamed with pride at yet another colleague who has answered the call to serve humanity, while I-with heart bursting with enthusiasm and a burning fire in my bones-mouthed the promise of the oath to forever 'see in my patients nothing else than fellow creatures in pain'. Yeah right! Such sentimental crapola did not happen.

I remember that on graduation from medical school, any oath that i did take (the physicians oath) was in a very hard slavonic language in a country that did not officially believe in God; and the 'fire' that illuminated my eyes at that time had been ignited not by any selfless desire to go and be a charity worker but more by the fact that the world could be my oyster and I could finally start making returns on the investment that had been made in me! That, i think, is what motivates the majority of Doctors, everywhere in the world, and not any sentimantal altruism to go and serve.

ziga:
True. . .healthy development, but unfortunately, i don't think this will bring any progress to healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
This case will be like flogging a dead horse. No matter how many lashes, it is not going anywhere.

The government can't provide enough equipped hospitals, provide incentives that would keep health care workers in the country, make healthcare affordable for the average Nigerian. . . etc

If these are not done, it is only a matter of time before we hear of another case like this.

Your argument is very valid but i don't quite agree with the bolded part.

There is no denying the fact that there's not enough money being put into the health sector to enable the proper infrastructures (equipments, training etc) to be put in place, but given that a lot of the health providers are from the private sector, if there is an escalation of taking negligent doctors and other health providers to court, then they will be compelled to improve on the standard of care that they provide. Of course a consequence of the compensation culture creeping into Nigeria will be that the cost of health care will shoot up, but that is a price that will have to be paid for quality.

If it will take suing Doctors and other health providers(nurses, pharmacists, traditional healers etc) to jump start a revolution in our health sector, so be it. The status quo needs to be changed.If the change doesn't come from top to bottom, then let it come from bottom up!

@Jenwitemi,

You assert that; ‘the creator and the created are one inseparable unit. They are not separated by each other, so they create each other simultaneously'.  This obviously is just a point of view, borne out of your own personal 'experiences' and exposures. I hope you don't think it's anything more than that!

I notice that in a lot of your posts you implore people to be 'perceptive' (a word which by the way needs defining); yet your response, that ‘God’ is just an ‘English word’, to my question; ‘what is God?’, leaves me wondering what exactly you mean when you use the word 'perceptive', because in my little understanding of what it means, that response would most certainly not qualify.
   
You then assert confidently that; ‘God is whoever or whatever each individual makes "It" to be through his/her perception, intuition, and worldview. We create God to suit our inner state of spiritual growth. One man's God is another man's blasphemy.’

To avoid any further misunderstanding would you kindly clarify a few questions that linger in me, reading through your statements:

1. If we create God to suit our inner state of spiritual growth, and ‘it’ is whatever each individual makes ‘it’ to be; are you then saying that in your 'perceptions', God does not exist other than in man’s fantasy/imagination?
2. If God is a product of our own imagination and experiences, as you imply, then what do you mean when you say that the created and the creator ‘create each other simultaneously’?
3. If God is not a product of man’s imagination then does he exist apart from man?
4. What exactly is the essence of God from your point of view?
5. Is man God?
6. If man is not God, then what is man?

Thanks

This is a very healthy development.

The chances are that if the family gets a good solicitor, they will most certainly get compensated. The solicitor would be requesting a specialist medical opinion that the perinatal injuries sustained by the child has lead to the organic brain damage described. They will also be querying whether the person who carried out the procedure actually had the relevant level of training. It doesn't matter whether such injuries are known complications of the procedure in question or not.

Our society needs more of such litigations and questions asked of its health providers and doctors. Because once this culture is internalised; once people begin to demand of their service-providers, evidence-based treatments by qualified practitioners, then these service-providers will begin to sit up to provide the services they are in a contractual agreement to provide. They would also be more persuaded to ensure that proper mechanisms are put in place in their practices to ensure that all their employees comply with best practices in the health sector. And be ready to pay the penalties when they fail to do so. That's how things work in sane societies.

Why this culture is healthy is because doctors will then learn not to be experimenting with clinical situations that they are not equipped to handle and be motivated (or encouraged by whichever body/organisation that indemnifies their practices) to ensure that whoever carries out any procedures within their practice is skilled in such procedures. This will also encourage those that want to open up clinics (or carry out any clinical procedures) to have the relevant evidence-based skills and training that they need to be able to remain competitive and relevant. With this culture a lot of the quacks in our society that give good doctors a bad name will be forced to close shop.

Those that say that this family has been motivated by greed, or are insinuating some sort of mercenary subculture, have an attitude that is part of that problem that has put our health system in the mess it's in.

@Jenwitemi.

What is 'God'?

Jenwitemi:
They do, but not necessarily so. Look at it this way, to be a painter, one has to paint in order for the painting to make one a painter. But because the painting is only an inanimate object, it has to be witnessed and acknowledged by a third person(a sentient being) as the work of the painter, before the painter can be called a painter of any calibre. Catch my drift?

To be a creator, one needs to have created something observed by another sentient being capable of acknowledgement. So, the created does not necessarily have to imagine it's creator in order for the creator to exist, even though this might be the case if the created is sentient enough, like humans for example. It can go both ways. The relationship between the created and the creator is always symbiotic, they both compliment each other. It is a dance of symbiosis.

I am tempted to say that you actually answered your own question. But I think it's not really that simple, if you were looking for a philosophical answer to the question; 'Can God exist without us?'

Your earlier write-up about our 'sentience' and the whole act of acknowledging God on earth presupposes that we already know what 'God' and 'sentience' are. But in all honesty, I think that nobody really knows. The Holy books give to us shadows of God, while the Neurosciences are still struggling to come to grips with what 'consciousness' is really all about. 

So until we are clear without any ambiguity what I mean when I say; I am, ', or what I am saying when I affirm; 'God is, ', it will be difficult to fully answer the question you pose. And until then, our responses are but primitive grunts and aberrations of the truth, clouded by our own beliefs, unbelief’s, life experiences and the cultures where-in we became ‘sentient’. 

In my belief system, the relationship between God and man is not symbiotic. The spirit of Man from which consciousness seeps is a blurred expression of the ineffable one. Man's 'worship and praise' of God is for man's benefit alone and not for God's. Our 'spiritual' exercises of attempting to 'walk with’ Him are for our own benefit, but God can do without man.

God does not need man to exist as God is self-sufficient.  He just is.

I honestly think it’s all going to get a lot worse in Abia state.

I think so because-as some people have already suggested-this whole thing seems to be political, as opposed to the random criminality of some people. I am inclined to think that some politicians are actually playing ‘chess’ with the fortunes of the state. 

This is my take on the situation: Orji Uzor Kalu’s PPA is in firm control of Abia State and has transformed the state from being a once vibrant commercial city, famed for its International market and innovative people into a derelict haunt of thieves. They have been able to achieve this inglorious feat because they were never really interested in governing, but were more attracted by the potentials for squeezing out the very economic life-blood and soul out of the state in order to amass the wealth and power they now have. Abia, let’s not forget, is also an Oil producing state, so shares some of the largesse that the government out of its benevolence occasionally hands out to the ‘Niger Delta’.

Someone may want to argue at this point that OUK was an ‘international business man’ and all that before he became the governor, but i would respond that that did not deter him from draining the state and turning it into the wreck it presently is.

Currently, Abia state’s politics is shaped by the intra-ethnic rivalry between Southern Abians (Ukwa-Ngwa axis) and their Northern counterparts (Umuahia-Egbere axis),  and also by the struggle of politicians to unseat OUK’s PPA and install a PDP puppet government in the state. If the status quo remains, come 2011 PPA will sweep the state and local government elections and will install another puppet of OUK with a name like Kalu or Orji  in Umuahia. The reason for this is that OUK and his group have so much ‘resources’ available to them that they will rig themselves into power at the next elections without any sweat. This will be irrespective of what the common Abians think. Any serious opponents (at both state and local government levels) are terrorized out of the state. This I know, because one of my politically inclined acquaintances had a bullet shatter one of his legs, not too long ago, prompting him to leave.

So what has the recent spate of kidnapping and robberies got to do with all this?

I suspect that some people want the state to degenerate into such lawlessness that the Federal government will have no other option than to declare a state of emergency in Abia. Under a state of emergency the power equations will change, such that others can more assuredly compete at the next elections.  Without a state of emergency (or any other means by which OUK’s puppets can be neutralised, such as using EFCC), PPA will win again come 2011, whether Abians like it or not!

So what we have here is a very complex situation: some group of politicians may be trying to create chaos in the state in order to unseat the present stooge! I am not saying that it is PDP-sponsored but it is clear that if PPA is neutralised, other parties will have a better chance of winning in 2011. Is this good or bad for Abia? I’d ask those that are being kidnapped but one thing is clear though: the pawns are always the common, impoverished, man who hardly knows what’s actually going on. That’s the way the cookie crumbles in Abia-God’s own (forsaken) state.


As 2011 approaches, this is the kind of power-politics that’s going to become mirrored across most of the states of the federation.

@ Ilungunboy,
Some Ngwa do have ‘tribal’ marks. It’s a perpendicular slit, about 2cm long, on both sides of the face. It is usually not very prominent, unless it’s scarred over.

There is no denying the fact that there is a problem in Abia State. There certainly is and everybody, who is not a sycophant, will acknowledge that the place is a s-h-i-t hole (over)run by a bunch of lunatics and demons! And I honestly doubt that any informed Ngwa person will come out and claim that the criminal activity in ala Ngwa is not alarming. But the argument here (the essence of this thread, anyway) is not whether there is a problem or not, but whether all the criminal elements are Ngwa.

The evidence is not there to prove that it’s only Ngwa people who indulge in armed robbery and kidnapping in Abia state. So I wonder how those that assert so, reach their conclusions. The fact that Aba falls within ala Ngwa, is not evidence enough, so I am persuaded to assume that those who claim that the problem (of crime and kidnapping) is unique to Abia state and that the Ngwa are solely culpable, are just ignorant or just being disingenuous. I wouldn’t include EzeUche, with all his vacuous grunts about Ngwa people, within the bunch though. His comments suggest that he is an i-m-b-e-c-i-l-e immature young person that needs to be ignored.

AjanleKoko:
@beneli,
As noble as your cause obviously is, I am miffed in a way. Why do I have to run around complaining about doctors in Nigeria? Why can't the obvious stakeholders, the NMA, put steps in place to protect the integrity of their various private practices?

If the role of the NMA is the same as that of their counterpart in the UK, then most of the things they’d be doing would be focused on protecting the interest of the Doctors.

That’s right. It’s not so much about protecting the ‘integrity of their various private practices’, it’s about protecting Doctors interest in a dog-eat-dog-world. That’s what professional associations do! It doesn’t really matter what is on paper, the NMA officials are voted in by other Doctors based on what they plan to offer to the Doctors.

That’s not to say that they are oblivious of their Hippocratic (hypocrites) oath to practice medicine ethically. Far from it, its just that the bigger picture determines how they meet the obligations of that oath. The bigger picture is that so-called ‘systemic rot’.

AjanleKoko:
As far as I'm concerned, they're the progenitors of the so-called 'systemic rot', since it obviously benefits them.

I think the rot set in because of so many factors.

Obviously Doctors cannot absolve themselves completely of the blame since they (we) haven’t done really that much to change it other than agitate for increased salaries. But can you really blame the Doctors?

Before I left Naija, I doubt I was earning up to 50k per month. Having the toga of a ‘doctor’ around me, there were a lot of responsibilities that started to be thrust upon me, by society, based on the erroneous belief that I was now making loads of money. So because of the demands and expectations upon my meagre income I found myself deteriorating quite rapidly into penury!

To make ends meet I had to look for locums to do, private patients to treat, thereby working round the clock; I was accommodated at my night job, from where I commuted to my day job. I didn’t have a life. I didn’t have access (as in time) for training. I was frustrated. My frustration must have been palpable in my practice, no doubt but I left the country before I snapped.

I cannot speak for my colleagues who are in Nigeria, no matter how I try to empathise with them. But one thing is clear: a hungry man is an angry man, and a lot of our Doctors in Nigeria are hungry. That is a fact.

AjanleKoko:
Olikoye Ransome-Kuti was widely acknowledged as the nation's best health minister, but still faced major frustrations in the system. As he himself admitted when he left office, “my only regret as I leave the ministry is that I have not been able to mobilise all health workers behind the medical system. Most health workers are only interested in how to maintain their position in the hospital system.” To me, that statement says it all about Nigerians, doctors in particular.

I think that Dr Ransome-Kuti’s statement also says quite a lot about the system itself.

It is difficult to mobilize all the health workers within the structures currently available. Structures need to be mounted that allows health workers to be better regulated. Structures need to be in place that defines the standards of care that we wish to achieve, striving to make these standards comply with internationally accepted best practices, and making these standards available to all the health providers. Structures need to be in place that penalizes health providers that do not meet up with these standards. That’s how a system that wants to work, works. 

Civil society organizations also have a role to play. People should be making demands on their health providers and not adopting the ‘ee-go-better’ attitude. The truth is; ee no go better unless we do something about it!

AjanleKoko:
Two mornings ago, I woke up with a sharp pain in my left heel. Thought about going to hospital, but decided against it, by the time I thought about the fact that the doctors would prolly not diagnose anything anyway, or might even waste my time and money, pass me some random drugs, and generally make things not better.

So I went online, diagnosed my ailment at Diagnose-me.com, and started myself on the home treatment (just ice). Goes to show you how scared we are of Nigerian doctors; we now choose to diagnose our ailments by ourselves!

I don’t know what to say, really. I could go on another rant on how it’s dangerous to get our health advise and prescriptions of the internet blah-blah-blah, but I am sure you know all that, so I wonder if saying ‘sorry’, would suffice.

@KAG,
Your understanding of the uncertainty principle, virtual particles etc is totally flawed. Virtual particles do NOT emerge from nothing. In my initial response to you i had contexualised their behaviour as being within 'a complex space-time continuum' because their unusual behaviour-the way they oscillate between a form of matter ('particles) and a form of energy (waves)-at the level of quantum physics makes some scientists to consider their relationship to the whole concept of parallel universes, extradimensional space etc. Some have even posited that they are the 'graviton's being postulated to be the means by which gravity 'seeps out of our space-time continuum'.

This topic is way more complex than the way it appears on wiki, so please stick to what you actually understand.

KAG:
The uncertainty principle forbids knowing the precise amount of energy at a precise time. That's a major reason true vacuums don't exist - yet.

Okay, if that's the way you understand it, fine. I can clearly see that like myself, you're an amateur in this field!

Going by YOUR understanding then, kindly clarify how this is relevant to your position about virtual particles emerging from nothing, especially given your statement that 'true vacuums don't exist-yet'.

KAG:
Sure. NewScientist, 8 May 2010, pg 39.

I can't open this link. Can you kindly paste the relevant paragraph here and let's see what it says. Thanks

KAG:
First, no they do not exist as energy when they are not particles: they do not exist until they pop into existence in lieu of the uncertainty principle.[edited]

What's YOUR reading of this 'Uncertainty principle' and how virtual particles 'pop into existence in lieu' of it?

KAG:
Actually, all current findings indicate that they do in fact emerge from nothing.[edited]

Give just ONE reliable source, which says that virtual particles emerge from nothing?

KAG:
No. As far as I know virtual particles are so called because of their short time span and their inability to be directly observed in relation to other particles. In any case, that is besides the point, as what is important here is that they do emerge from nothing and their effects are measurable.

They have a ‘short time span’ because when they are not particles, they exist in the form of energy. That’s what I mean by ‘oscillate’ between a form of matter and a form of energy. They do NOT emerge from ‘Nothing’. They emerge from energy.

KAG:
By the way, I take it that by "they oscillate between a form of 'energy' and a form of 'matter'" you mean they can affect forms of energy and matter not that would be what effects them, right? Just so there's no misunderstanding on this.

By ‘Oscillate’, I mean that they swing back and forth from being a form of energy to a form of matter.

KAG:
Finally, I'll go out on a limb and state that no, they are not the same as virtual energy, but they can cause virtual energy.

You are right, they are not the same as virtual energy per se, but the concept of ‘virtual energy’ allows one to understand ‘virtual particles’ better, because in essence  that’s what they are. 

But like you rightly suggested, all this is beside the point.  Of relevance is the scientific FACT that they do NOT emerge out of nothing.

^^^

'Virtual' particles are so called because they oscillate between a form of 'energy' and a form of 'matter' within a complex space-time continuum. You could also call them 'virtual energy', if you are so inclined, as it would mean almost the same thing. They do not pop out of 'nothing' as you suggest.


I make reference to this your comment: 'virtual particles are an excellent example of something emerging from nothing'. They are not.

mazaje:
And why must the universe behave like the human society where everything must have a creator? Why can't the universe create itself? Nothing has been shown to have created the universe, So many things have been alleged to have created the universe without any evidence at all. . . .We see new stars emerging out in the cosmos on their own without any thing creating them. . . .Since nothing has ever been shown to have created the universe i concluded that It created it self(my opinion of course). . . .I am not supposed to be arguing with you since I know that you god did not create the universe, the universe he created in in genesis 1. . . .That is not the universe we see and live it. . .

That, my dear good friend, is an opinion that is flawed on so many many levels.

You are beginning to sound like you're cornered and even recognise how ungrounded the so called 'atheistic evidences' against the existence of our God, are. 'Why can't the universe create itself? You ask, well for one the materialistic universe is Not sentient. Secondly the universe (at least the materialists one) must succuomb to all the laws of physics.  For your information 'new stars' are NOT 'emerging out in the cosmos on their own without anything creating them'. At least that's not whta the 'science' says. Each 'star' within a particular 'universe' is all part of the space-time-matter-energy soup farted out by white holes. Pardon the pun, i just couldn't resist it! That, my good friend, is one of the postulates of your 'science'.

To be honest with you though; my opinion is that your highlighted opinion suggests that you are clutching at straws in an attempt to justify your 'unbelief'? I also can't help noticing that you've grown up from referring to 'God' with a small 'g'. That's movement in the right direction my friend. Continue to open up yourself to the truth. It will certainly embrace you!

In the beginning God created.

^^^

Ajanlekoko, you are harsh!

To be honset though, I can't hold fort for the NMA, however I do agree that we, the Doctors, have not given ourselves a lot to be proud of in Nigeria.

One only needs to open a Nigeran newspaper to read of cases of clinical negligence, patient abuse etc. So I would be a bit foolish to try to mount a strong defence for my colleagues. Having said that, there is still systemic failure, which cannot be denied. I am sure that there are a lot of quality assurance mechanisms in place within the industry you work in. Such standardised, evidence based mechanisms are lacking in our health industry. That's the systemic failure, I'm on about.

A colleague who shares the same 'pain' about the state of the health industry, introduced me to this organisation in Nigeria http://sqhn.org/web/ which on paper seems to be set up to remedy some of the issues. In the UK, it''s a body like them that has been instrumental to improving the quality of services by facilitating the introduction of proper standards of health care and regulations. I have recently become a member and will be presenting a paper in their upcoming conference in July. I am sure that members of the public will be welcome to attend where they can vent their frustrations at doctors articulately.

Obviously the solution to our problems transcends presenting 'papers' at conferences. There's need to move beyond the cliched 'rhetoric' to action. And the action should be one that brings about palpable, measurable change. The idea is that when some of the solutions are discussed in circles that have the muscles to be able to do something, which i presume the Society for Quality Healthcare in Nigeria is, then the change we want can happen.

But at the end of the day, a sytem works only as far as those that are within it wants it to work: as you may be aware, my Patient Advocay Service  (http://www.bpshealthcare.com/index.php?edata=MzA2MiNtZW51) is now available in Nigeria to people who wish to access aid to pursure litigation against those percieved to be quacks! So sometimes, the ball can be in the court of the sevice-users. Meaning that the service-users have a role to play as well!

^^^

I do share the concern though that there is a big problem. That fact is irrefutable!

^^^

Bros, I know where you are coming from, but saying that 'Nigerian Doctors' are incompetent, i would argue, is somewhat generalistic: some Nigerian Doctors may be incompetent, perhaps, but certainly not ALL, as the statement (by adrenaline) would imply.

My argument, or at least what I try to argue, is that the problem with the quality of health services has to do with the sytem in place and not so much with 'Nigerian Doctors'. The fact that these same Nigerian Doctors are able to perform exceedingly well when exposed to more organised environments, demonstrates that they (okay, we) are not inherently incompetent. One may be tempted, in self-defence that is, to argue that the 'Nigerian service-users are getting what they deserve' as they are not holding the service-providers (i.e. the doctors, the hospitals, the whole damned system) accountable for the quality of services they recieve. But such an argument would be rather callous and a tad simplistic.

So, my argument remains that there is gross systemic failure.


Edited-

Okay, I re-read your post and notice that you said 'the majority'. But the gist of my post still remains!

thehomer:
From observations of planet and star formation in the cosmos, there is a difference between this and the opinions proffered in the bible.

I believe in the bible. To be honest with you, I am unaware of these 'opinions proffered in the bible', which are incompatible with findings from the 'observations of planets and star formations in the cosmos'. Perhaps you can enlighten me a bit. Thanks.

SLIGHT:
Doctors why are people dying too much in our hospitals? Is It incompetency,drugs funds, or what ? Its really pathetic

I doubt it is incompetence.

On average, one can say that Nigerian Doctors, are NOT 'incompetent. Of course, one may admit that there is a deterioration in the quality of graduates from Nigerian universities in all professions, but even within this decadence, Nigerian Doctors are proving themselves to be resilient, competent and indeed very innovative. The service they deliver in Nigeria may at times seem below standard, but that has more to do with the health regulatory bodies, the quality assurance mechanisms in place, availability and access to modern equipments, and not so much to do with the Doctors themselves. If you go to hospitals in the UK, and in US where standardised service-delivery models and quality assurance mechanisms are in place, you will see a lot of Nigerian trained Doctors, favourably competing with their colleagues from all over the world and delivering very high standards of care.

So, the problem you highlight is with the Nigerian Health system, and not with the Doctors.

For some people, 'the fear of God'-the realisation of His awesomeness, the reverential unspoken worship of His essence-has nothing to do with the existence of 'Heaven' or 'Hell'. It has more to do with a vibrant spirituality, a connectedeness of a sort that some would prefer to call just 'Faith'. And for such people that have this 'faith', of which i speak, it would remain even if they were told that there was no 'heaven' or 'hell'. 

Faith is, because God is. It has nothing to do with a yearning for 'heaven' or 'a fear of 'hell'.

@ ChinenyeN

What exactly is happening in Ngwa Land? I try to visit ala Ngwa (Aba and Isiala Ngwa) any time i'm in Naija, and i don't see anything out of the ordinary, happening there. The 'security' problems are not unique to ala Ngwa.

@ Kobojunkie.

I am really curious to know your reasons for calling Igbo people 'Ibo', even when the majority tell you that it is Igbo, and some even go the extra length to let you know that they actually do feel offended by it? Of course it's your prerogative to call people whatever you want to call them, but it's decent to respect people's sensitivities. It wouldn't bother me as a person, if you called me Eboe, Ebo, Ibo or whatever. I would only brush it off as ignorance or bigotry. Of course I may be wrong on both counts, given that you've shown that you're not ignorant and you may actually be Igbo, yourself!