Intermezzo OP118-2 played by Seymour Bernstein

In the very last days of life, John, AC4CA, was in hardship. His wife was institutionalized due to progressive Alzheimer and the corona pandemic refrained him from seeing her in person. He had neuroendocrine tumor becoming uncontrollable with the previous treatment and had to attend to MD Anderson oftener for further choice.

In that situation, he has played Waltz by Chopin, which unfortunately I could not recall of the name of, as he told me. It seemed music was a real relief in his life at that time. 

I told him to listen to the latest sonatas of Beethoven. I thought they would have given him conslation and even more power for life. 

He answered me he would. But, listening to this Intermezzo by Brahms played by Seyour Bernstein, I realized I was wrong then. He needed a piece of music closer to his heart than encouraging Beethoven, even if Brahms stood on the same level as him without any solution to his problems. Mostly emotional and almost staggering as if ceasing telling the story halfway. 

A couple of years ago, he has passed away like a puff of wind. This performance by Bernstein has reminded me of that truth in life in relation with the memory of this important friend.

 

Origin of music breathing together

The hunting tribe, Baka pygmies, has kept their life style in the central Africa since over one hundred thousand years ago. Their culture is thought to represent the origin of our culture. 

They sing the song for certain important events. Surprisingly, it's not a simple monophony but a polyphony with elaborately constructed rhythm. Each participant sings own unique part which collectively becomes a polyphonic music. I firmly believed it was not possible without synchronizing their breath. One of our ancestors' direct descendants, Baka pigmies tribe, may still maintain that style of the origin of music. 

Since age 50 years or so, I had been immersed in playing cello, which I started at the med university as I often mentioned. I often wished I had taken more lessons in young days whenever I had difficulty to play it. However, with kind good company of music, some from the university days, I could enjoy some chamber music as a cellist. I learned that breathing together was the key point in music. I believed it was how music was born among our ancestors. Breathing together brings us pleasure. Since we live together with them. When I knew of the polyphony this tribe still had held since ancient days, I was convinced that I had been in the stream of music if not perfect way. 

This piano trio has reminded me of that history of music which is not well conscious of even by music players. This piece, one of my most favorite ones, requires very intimate attitude to it when it is played. Each player seems to have realized that atmosphere in this rendition. 

https://youtu.be/W4_cP_-mf5w?si=zUHetGV4DBS6Nn0I

It is always a big pleasure for me to find such an ensemble.

AI assisted medicine

In 1963, a famous neurologist, Professor Shigeo Okinaka of Tokyo University has published at his retirement lecture that the misdiagnosis rate throughout his career as a doctor was 14.2%. He had been eager to have made autopsy for the patients in charge, when they died, to confirm his own diagnosis for them. Of course, the diagnosing means, such as laboratory exams or diagnostic imaging, were limited those days and the concepts of diseases were different from now. But his misdiagnosis rate was accepted by doctors with much surprise. It was a surprise that such an excellent neurologist as Okinaka could bring on such a rate. In my med student days, this anecdote was often told as a lesson to study hard of the diagnostics.

Reaching correct diagnosis is always the very beginning of medicine. It determines whether a patient would go dead or alive in most serious cases. The more important it is for a patient, even the more essential it is for a doctor. 

 

In the recent issue of Science, Eric J. Topol of Scripps Research Institute has written how accurate diagnoses could be made when generative AI is introduced in the diagnostics in medicine. 

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn9602

As introduced in this article, there are possibilities of misdiagnosis in two aspects of clinical medicine. Clinical doctors at the front of medical service are always diagnosing their patients in System 1 thinking way. Without laboratory tests or diagnostic imaging, the doctors should give a diagnosis, even if tentative, to the patient before him/her. Automatic, near-instantaneous, reflexive and intuitive manner. In Japan, under the system of the socialistic medical economics, most of the doctors could not spend much time for each patient. Generative AI may benefit the doctor as well as the patient since there would be less chances for the bias of the doctor in charge. 

On the other hand, deliberate, thoroughly exmined consultation, which only few patients could receive at exceptionally specialized institutions at present, may depend on System 2 thinking. This could be supported by generative AI as well. It may give the updated knowledge of medicine to the doctors which is essential for the correct diagnosis. This may happen less frequently than the former cases but may determine the prognosis of the patient.  

Generative AI sounds very helpful to us in clinical services. There could be, however, two issues, so far as I understand, when generative AI is introduced into the clinical medicine. 

The first is who would pay for the cost of AI. At least, the present system in medical economics would not afford that for routine use. Could only limited number of wealthy patients pay for that? In our country, MHLW seems to replace the area the publich health insurance covers to that of private insurance. The people is told they would have more chances for better medicine in that private insurance covering area. They don't know how much private insurance costs everyone.

The second issue is who would take the responsibility of misdiagnosis by generative AI. In our country, they won't bring such a case to court so often. With system being americanized, there should be more cases of law suits. Who should be responsible for such a case?

As a whole, however, it should be a progress in the medicine. It would be accepted and used properly in clinical medicine in the near future. At least, much better than development of the AI controlled arms. 

Still getting along well

Again, it's been a pretty long interval since last post in this blog. We are doing just fine. My wife is busy at the activities of local community, which is told to be voluntary but, in reality, is compulsory from the order of the local government. Anyway, she seems pretty happy to do with the neighbors. I am still kept busy at the farm/garden. I have been planting various summer vegetables. Spring broccoli, lettuce, green pea, fava beans and potatoes have been harvested. As an unexperienced farmer, I knew how short potatoes could be preserved in ordinary condition. I was a bit shocked. In summer, it would get too hot to prevent budding of potatoes! It turned out to be a useless and desparate trial to keep them for half a year or longer. I am serious to prepare for food shortage which could be brought with the poor policy of agriculture by the government. Maybe I should grow rice or wheat for such preserved food in our country. You know the food self sufficienty rate is only 38% in our country, which drops to around 10% considering of dependency of fertilizer or of the other sources for farming on imports from the other countries. I have already written about it in a previous post.

Another reason why I am apart from renewing this blog may be that I am less concerned about relationship with others, that is, am not caring for any approval or supports by others. The internet SNS is a handy tool to get in touch with others and to inform them how I am getting along, most probably expecting any praise by others, or if not so much, any concern toward me. Year by year, I am feeling that way. Maybe, it is a sign of senility. They say losing sociability is an early sign of congnitive disorders or, at least, a risk factor for those illnesses. So I would adhere to blogging a bit more hoping it would prevent or delay the arrival of real elderly. 

Sometimes, I am still cooking dinner. This is a dish of beef with newly harvested broccoli. The broccoli was 8 inches in diameter. Without any fertilizer but with only compost, it has grown that size without much damage by bugs. This was seasoned with oyster sauce. 

Another cook is a simple fresh salad. The lettuce and green pea were the products in my farm. Tomatoes are getting ready soon. I expect hundreds of them will be served for salad etc very soon.

So that is how I am getting along. Still reading a lot of books regarding mostly politics, economy and music. Listening to good music such as Art of Fugue as I recently mentioned of or chamber music of Brahms and so forth. It is a time of treasure for me to listen to them before going to sleep.   

This blog should be named "An old man's monologue" for now. I still appreciate anyone who visits here. I would continue it until it becomes an old man's solo diary and I am told to stop it.

Again re the Art of Fugue by JS Bach

 Recently, the night cap for me has been the Art of Fugue by JS Bach, I have written about it and fond memories with this great work in the past posts.

I just would like to point out it should be performed with key boards like cembalo. It makes the melody line distinct compared with string ensemble like quartet. This performance by Juliard String Quartet is an exception. Its performance is so exhaustive and detailed. As if the texture of the music was shown before us. 

Here

The series of Canon attract my mind. Simple and still profound. The 2nd CD of his set starts with Canon. I am relieved as well as soothed whenever I listen to these works. I could understand why Bach has concentrated on the counterpoint works for his last one. Absolutely abstract and still specifically appealing to our mind.

Brahms Viola Sonata

In the last years of his life, they say, Brahms has felt running out of inspiration and energy for composition. He also had problems with his friends even including Clara Schumann those days. Knowing a virtuoso of clarinet player, Richard Muehlferd, however, he has been inspired and started composing the last works of chamber music featuring clarinet. The clarinet trio, the clarinet quintet and the two clarinet sonatas. Later, the clarinet sonatas were transcribed to viola sonatas. Being highly self critic, Brahms was not very happy with those arrangements.  But this couple of viola sonatas are performed like jewels by violists.

This 1st movement of the 1st sonata is particularly impressive. The beginning motif is from his 1st piano sonata OP-1. He told his work had been continuous like a loop. At the end of life, he must have had the same emotion of passion for music and possibly for life even if resignation for life is the fundamental mood in this music. I could hear solitude as well as a kind of anger on the background. 

I appreciate this viola version. The charactersistic of the instrument matches this music. Not so brilliant as violin but mellow enough to easily reach our heart.

This duo, Carr and Petrova, plays it most emotionally as well as passinately. They have left a recording of the clarinet trio by Brahms, which I posted in this blog before. Competent musicians. I hope these young musicians may publicate recordings of such great chamber music as this one.

 

Brahms won't give us heavenly relief as Bach does. But he still closely whispers his thoughts in our ear. We could find intimate companion for the travel of life.

John 9V1VV gone QRT

A few days ago, I received an e mail from John 9V1VV. The title was "QRT". It has made me utter "What?".

It was literally a news that he had decided to quit radio and sold all equipments for now. He has been annoyed by heavy noise from the surrounding. He often mentioned of that before and told me he could barely enjoy chatting on CW. 

I know what person he is and what he has been pursuing in ham radio. In a moment, I fully understood why he had made such a decision. He told me he enjoyed Thai tea, listening to music, constructing hifi system and doing volunteer work for the area etc. It seemed worthwhile for him to spend time with those things but not listening to noisy bands without anyone to converse. Recently, there were, as he said, only two exceptions like Jim W6YA and Happy W7SW strong enough to talk with. I was smiling at those call signs because they also used to be regulars for me to talk on 40m. Anyway, John has made up his mind and has stepped out into no-radio life now.

It was around 2007 when I ran across with John for the very first time. He was running with a hand key and later a bug key using an electrical keyer. He had worked as R/O for years and got ashore when the traditional work of R/O was extinct, I guess. However, he used to tell me he was unconsciously converting the words on signs or advertisements along the streets into Morse code. Realizing that, he wanted to come back to the world of Morse code communication. I believe it won't take too long before he applied for a ham ticket in Singapore and prepared the radio gear and antenna, possibly, a wire antenna. 

In our first contacts, I knew he had belonged to the old generation of CW operator. I felt close to him with that his intention. In addition, we shared classical music as hobby. whenever we meet on the air, we scarecely miss the chance to talk about music with him. I have also learned a lot on that subject from him. Something like the yiddish melody in Mahler's 9th. 

He has visited me at our home back in 2008, a year later from our 1st contact on the radio. On that weekend, we had one of the important rehearsal of the local orchestra. I was sorry but asked him to go for the rehearsal with me. I have written about his visit on a post in this blog. Here.

It has been a pleasant journey together on our loving mode in ham radio. He will be missed badly by a lot of his friends in ham radio including myself. But he has made up his mind to go off to another voyage of post-radio life. We could get in touch through the internet. It is not the end of our friendship but just another chapter of new voyage. Wishing him very good health and meaningful life.