iPhone notes app is the purest reflection of our humanity (Wired.com) and a medical informatics observation

What’s on your notes app in your phone? WIRED argues that this simple, unfiltered blank page is the easiest place for us to store our unfiltered thoughts. How true. For me: fragments of blog post ideas, books I hear about, movies to watch, hilarious quote from family members, messy to-do lists. Hotel room numbers. Parking garage locations. Who knows? What’s on yours?

https://www.wired.com/story/iphone-notes-app-purest-reflection-of-our-humanity/

Sometimes the simplest note-taking apps are the most profound.

As medical records technologists going back to the 1800’s discovered, if we over-engineer our tools, doctors and nurses will break the bounds of what is allowable documentation to let the story come out.

From Annals of Internal Medicine (requires login) a brilliant history of medicine article by Eleanor Siegel

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-153-10-201011160-00012

The image:

What is fascinating is that: in the 1800’s, hospitals began keeping paper medical records, one book for each HOSPITAL WARD of about a dozen patients. No patient-specific medical records. If you wanted to look back, you would find the ward book for the year, find the day the patient was in the hospital, then look for the patient’s name.

Each patient would be an entry on the page for the day. There was only room for ‘intervention’ and ‘outcome’. No place to write thoughts, observations, theories, learnings.

So, doctors would at times turn the page over and use the blank back of the paper to write (in this case):

This patient came in with what appeared to be an apoplectic stroke. He was interesting in that he had a dextrocardia. He later developed a clinical picture which we could not explain.
Diagnosis: Hemorrhage into cerebrum
Complication: ?Syphilis

Kpop Demon Hunters, yes, I’m a fanatic. Interview with EJAE (wired.com)

I am a huge fan of Kpop, and of Kpop Demon Hunters specifically. Read the interview with EJAE. I very much align with her Asian-American vibe and insights. So cool for a colleague’s success and for the American melting-pot. And the song and movie: excellent as well.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-k-pop-demon-hunters-star-ejae-topped-the-charts/

Do pictures change patient behaviors (James Stein substack)

I don’t often cite other blogs, but this is a worthwhile quick read about changing patient behaviors. Wonderful story about a physicians failure with a patient and the lessons he draws from using a calcium score to try to get a patient to change. Did not go well. And I will change how I think about this as a result.

https://jamesstein18.substack.com/p/do-pictures-change-patient-behaviors

Is AI Dulling our Minds *news.harvard.edu

This is very much on my mind as we race to embrace our newest AI assistants. If we outsource more and more of our tasks and thinking, does that make us duller? Yes and no, depending on …

Is AI dulling our minds?

I think this is a big deal; how will we work with our new AI partners?

We could either ask: “tell me the answer about XYZ” then we learn how to be great at copy and paste, but we don’t learn anything.

OR, we could ask: “Quiz me on the important principles of XYZ, and when I get it wrong, correct my understanding. Lead me to a deeper understanding of __”

When the AI becomes a helpful assistant, where I am the primary learner, this helps.

There is a big difference between cognitive ease for repetitive tasks that we don’t care to get faster at, VERSUS productive cognitive friction for topics that we, as humans, want to understand better.

Struggle is important for learning.

I have spoken.

--Ughnaught pilot Belin, from the Mandalorian

Can a Hydroelectric Dam Make the Days Longer? *Wired.com

I love questions like this, that don’t make sense, then then slowly start to make sense, and then draw you into the math and science and … woop! There’s an answer to the question.

https://www.wired.com/story/can-a-hydroelectric-dam-really-make-the-days-longer/

Math and science for the win, on unexpected questions.

What if AI helped students learn, not just do (harvard.edu)

This is the beginning of the beginning. Teachers are starting to create generative AI that helps students learn, and NOT do the actual assignment. Imagine a chatbot where a student can ask questions outside of the classroom to understand concepts or ask it to critique initial writing. I like this very much. There is something here for medical residents and medical students, and indeed even practicing physicians. Tweaking the relationship between the AI assistant and the human is our hard work to come.

What if AI could help students learn, not just do assignments for them?

Holiday Songs Featuring Generative AI in Healthcare (didn’t see that coming did you?)

One of the great pleasures in life is to catch people in a moment of joyful surprise. My schtick is ukulele EHR parody songs when people don’t expect it. Here are two: ChatGPT, sung to Sweet Caroline, about AI draft replies to patients, chart summaries and ambient notes. Then, EHR Wonderland, about Abridge and ambient note experience. OK, strictly speaking, only one is a holiday song parody, but who’s counting. Happy holidays!

ChatGPT – to Sweet Caroline

 

EHR Wonderland – to Winter Wonderland

UCHealth Parkview reduces sepsis deaths (Beckers)

The story continues. Our EHR, partnered with Epic predictive AI model among other predictive tools have reduced sepsis mortality by 1000 fewer deaths per year compared to our baseline, as we find and treat sepsis earlier with reconfigured teamwork in addition to improved detection tools. Another tale of the Psycho-80: 80% of a project’s success is about the psycho-socio-political skills of the people and 20% of the success is due to technology. Grateful for smart colleagues and partners. (image, our fearless informatics leaders, analysts and trainers having a well-deserved meal after another EHR implementation day)

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/ehrs/how-uchealth-uses-its-ehr-to-reduce-sepsis-deaths/

Easter Island Moai: Walking as a mode of transport?! (Binghamton.edu)

Engineers have simulated an Easter Island Moai and demonstrated that the easiest way to transport a Moai, the many-ton stone statues, is by WALKING THEM.

https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/5830/easter-islands-statues-actually-walked-and-physics-backs-it-up

Using computer modeling and recognizing that the base of the Moai is “d-shaped” and that the statue tends to lean forward, they figure out that using ropes and multiple teams, they could ‘rock’ the statue and ‘walk’ it to its final location from the quarry. View the link and the video of the walking.

Another ancient puzzle solved.

Origami Bloom Patterns (NYtimes) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/science/origami-bloom-patterns.html

There is a new category of origami folding and researchers think it can revolutionize solar panels or other technology going to space by folding down flat in rockets. 

There is a new category of origami folding and researchers think it can revolutionize solar panels or other technology going to space by folding down flat in rockets.

Very cool.