I know it was either a typo or misheard by a steno, but taking the name of one of the world’s great mechanical geniuses in vain (BCMJ 2007;49[4]:170 [9]) just has to irk an old coot who has spent much of his life punching holes in paper and (occasionally) medals for fun!
And if I had tried to register my Model 1935 Hi-Power as a “Brownian,” knowing our brilliant bureaucrats as I do, I’d have risked 5 years in the pokey—honest citizens aren’t allowed to make typos in such vital matters as our culture of safety.
In a more serious vein (not that 5 years up the lazy river isn’t serious), I enjoyed your article very much. It was not only a revelation—especially the atomic stuff—but also a reminder to me of the NRC in Ottawa, where my father did original research from 1930 until the 1970s.
I often went to his lab, where he showed me how to use Bunsens, pipettes, etc., and how to do a lot of “fun stuff.” I vaguely recall him showing me a huge apparatus in a new room, and I think he told me that it was the first electron microscope in Canada. No idea what year that was, but I do remember not understanding a word of the physicist’s explanations.
—M.S. (Bud) Wolochow, MD
Richmond
Indeed “Browning” in my original should have been “Brownian.” Thanks for pointing out the error; it’s nice to see that people read these things critically.—ED
Links
[1] https://bcmj.org/cover/september-2007
[2] https://bcmj.org/author/ms-bud-wolochow-md
[3] https://bcmj.org/node/2214
[4] https://bcmj.org/print/letters/re-sweating-really-really-small-stuff
[5] https://bcmj.org/printmail/letters/re-sweating-really-really-small-stuff
[6] http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://bcmj.org/print/letters/re-sweating-really-really-small-stuff&via=BCMedicalJrnl&tw_p=tweetbutton
[7] https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Re: Sweating the really, really small stuff&url=https://bcmj.org/print/letters/re-sweating-really-really-small-stuff&via=BCMedicalJrnl&tw_p=tweetbutton&via=BCMedicalJrnl&tw_p=tweetbutton
[8] https://bcmj.org/javascript%3A%3B
[9] https://bcmj.org/issues/sweating-really-really-small-stuff
[10] https://bcmj.org/modal_forms/nojs/webform/176
[11] https://bcmj.org/%3Finline%3Dtrue%23citationpop