Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: behavior

  • Dr. David Hartley and the benevolent AI

    Erik AndersonHouston, Texas Question posed to ChatGPT: What is the “Golden Rule”?ChatGPT answer*: The “Golden Rule” is a principle found in many different cultures and ethical traditions and often phrased as “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”1 Presently, artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as ChatGPT are exceptional at reiterating information, but do…

  • Tattoos in the twentieth century

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “It was in 1972 and you didn’t really go around showing tattoos or talking about them…And now all of a sudden it has become the thing to do.”1– Cher, American singer, actor Placing dyes or pigments into the dermis to form a design dates back at least 12,000 years. Tattooing was seen…

  • Qualis artifex pereo

    Henri Colt Laguna Beach, California, United States Translation: “What an artist the world is losing with me!”— cited by Suctonius, The Twelve Caesars, Nero 49; Loeb ed., 2:177 Michael had jet black hair and sorrowful brown eyes that sparkled when he smiled, which was often. Sprawled on his lounge chair every Saturday, he soaked up the…

  • All too human: The mountain gorillas of Uganda

    James L. FranklinChicago, Illinois, United States The Ugandan mountain gorilla is a member of the Hominidae family, also known as the great Apes. The extant species include: the orangutan, the eastern and western gorilla, the chimpanzee, the bonobo, and ourselves—Homo sapiens. The mountain gorilla is one of two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. The one…

  • Wounding words

    Charlotte GrinbergCambridge, Massachusetts, USA In college, I majored in anthropology. I was interested in understanding the political, social, legal, and economic forces that influence behavior. As language is inherently related to consciousness and culture, its study was central to my learning. In my medical anthropology course, for example, we spent hours discussing the linguistic difference…