Naughty Mnemonics

I'm hooked on mnemonics. A well-known mnemonic is used to memorize the 12 cranial nerves:

I-Olfactory nerve
II-Optic nerve
III-Oculomotor nerve
IV-Trochlear nerve
V-Trigeminal nerve
VI-Abducens nerve
VII-Facial nerve
VIII-Vestibulocochlear nerve/Auditory nerve
IX-Glossopharyngeal nerve
X-Vagus nerve
XI-Accessory nerve/Spinal accessory nerve 
XII-Hypoglossal nerve

The mnemonic? In fact, there are several ways to remember it. But the most common one is the dirty one: Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel a Virgin Girl's Vagina And Hymen. (or, at the end, Ah, Heaven)

Yeah, I wasn't so keen on that either. A bit creepy even. Obviously, it's a carryover from the days when medicine was a male-dominated field. So, talking to M, I asked if there weren't a female answer to it. Not that he knew of. Incredibly unfair. Searching around, I was surprised to find no equally dirty version for females. However, I found lots of G-rated ones. So, I decided it was due time to have a "female" version. And here's what I came up with: Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel a Virile Guy's Very Ample Hard-on. So, there!

PS: If you'd like to take a stab at creating your own fun mnemonic, feel free to add it in the comments section. :)

Scrubs Mnemonics

Med students have several mnemonics for all the things they have to memorize. My friend Rey was reminded of a "Scrubs" episode (a great show btw) where one of the actors sing a line to remember something about the circulatory system. With the help of "Wonder Nick", he tracked it down. :) In case you can't understand the line, here it is (Season 9, Episode 10):

This is how I remind me of blood cells and their jobs: lymphocytes and T cells, crushing cancer on every level

The whole episode is pretty funny.

Geeky Humor

A geeky post from a not-so-geeky source. For some reason, I always get mixed up if positive charge results from an extra or missing electron. This makes it pretty easy to remember now!

So, two electrons atoms are walking on Prospect Park West. One says to the other, "Oy vey, I just lost an electron back there." And the other says, "Are you sure?" And the first atom says, "Yeah, I'm positive."

Update: Thanks to my Swedish friend for pointing out it should be two atoms, not two electrons. Like I said... the source isn't so geeky. D'oh!
Update: Looks like someone tipped the site that "two electrons" should be "two atoms" The source is now updated.

All Kinds of Minds

I've meant to post this TED Talks video of the autistic and amazing Temple Grandin. She has pretty much redesigned the standards of the majority of slaughterhouses in the country and speaks on autism issues. It's so true how different ways of thinking and learning need to be recognized.

"We've got to think about all these different kinds of minds. And we've got to absolutely work with these kind of minds, because we absolutely are going to need these kind of people in the future"

No Sleep

I'm exhausted. This may become a regular occurrence once summer class starts. But this time, it was my own fault. A research paper was due today for English class and I procrastinated till yesterday. I really, really have a difficult time writing well. It's like having 50 bubbles of disparate ideas over my head, and I have no idea how to combine them to make a coherent paper. Hm! I just thought of a way to compensate my poor process: write out all those ideas, cut them in strips, and then put them in order, filling in along the way. Since I am thought-to-speech-challenged, I think seeing the ideas and then moving them visually might help me write an essay more logically. I tend to become overwhelmed by all the ideas I want to touch upon and end up rewriting over and over again, creating a mess of a paper whose first draft looks like a jumbled diagram with arrows. I'll try this with my next paper.

Anyways! Overall, I am satisfied with the paper, but then in class, he pulled a sentence from my conclusion to critique. Although I had read it over this morning, the unwieldy, rambling sentence jumped out at me right away. The professor commented, "This is the sentence you get when you're writing really late at night." Yes, I was guilty of that, but in fact, I had added to this sentence that morning, in an attempt to make it more sophisticated. Bad idea, I guess. Only 1 more paper to write, and then another class, and a final exam. Then the real fun and test of wills begin with A+P I (Anat. + Physio I).

Oh, and yes. I finally settled everything for the summer and fall! I am officially a "Transfer Student" and therefore, paying less per credit. Summer, I'm still a non-degree student, but at least I'm enrolled in classes I need.

Organic Design

Similar to my post about origami art inspiring mathematicians and scientists, this TEDTalks focuses on nature and science as inspiration for design. Sometimes, nature offers the best solutions for practical structures.