Optimization: Adjusting something to reach its best state for a specific purpose. We often think that the fastest and strongest options are the best. The fastest way down a slope isn’t a straight line, but a parabola that naturally connects high and low points. A sniper can cause more lethal wounds at 400 meters than at 200 meters. Although the bullet travels faster at 200 meters, the wound size isn’t as large, and at 400 meters, the slower-moving bullet over a longer distance causes more friction as it passes through the wound, resulting in more severe injuries. In every situation, there is an optimal choice suited to the goal. Trial and error are useful for finding this optimization. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Austrian psychiatrist Julius Wagner-Jauregg had a remarkable talent for recognizing patterns. When a common tendency appears, it’s called a pattern. Finding common ground also involves identifying problems or finding solutions. Before the discovery of penicillin , Julius was searching for a way to treat neurosyphilis but accidentally discovered that the condition was cured when the patient developed a severe fever from another disease. Julius intentionally infected a patient with malaria to induce a fever, and when the fever rose, he used quinine to treat malaria and saved the syphilis patient. Without treatment, syphilis had a 30% survival rate, but with malaria-induced fever, the survival rate increased to 60%. The survival rate was doubled. For this work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1927. Although high fever causes pain in humans, it also signals that the immune system is active. Recognize patterns to solve problems. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”