The other day, I gave a talk to incoming students of PT, and to my surprise I was pleased with my talk. I thought why those students should only have to listen to my rambling, let me put it out in the ether.
Our tale commences with our ancient predecessors, the Australopithecus, emerging some 3 to 3.5 million years ago and embarking on the journey of walking on two legs. While it's possible that other species in our evolutionary lineage also had bipedalism, I'll focus on the Australopithecus. These guys were relatively diminutive, lacked our expansive brains, and certainly couldn't run at impressive speeds. They probably hid in the tree for most of the time. As time progressed, we became more upright in posture, bid farewell to arboreal habitats, and saw our brain sizes expand. We also had major disadvantages as we evolved into hominids.
What were and are our disadvantages?
Adopting an upright stance introduced new challenges during childbirth and increased the likelihood of “falls”. Yet, against these odds, we managed to thrive, spreading beyond the African continent's borders. Our footprints reached as far as South America and Australia roughly 40 to 50 thousand years ago. In the process, it seems we're also burdening this pale blue dot we call home with the weight of our burgeoning population.
These accomplishments were not random strokes of luck; They were rooted in myriad of reasons: from cognition to adaptability, but I will stick to one or 2 factors. Please remember that our offspring are uniquely ill-equipped to fend for themselves for an extended period after birth, and the process of childbirth frequently demands assistance—a sharp departure from the norm in the animal kingdom. We are effective in hunting alone, as we don’t have claws, or hoes or great ability to run fast. So, what makes us good is working together. Remember we are social animals. Archaeological finds, spanning thousands of years, offer evidence of our enduring capacity for empathy and care. Healed fractures from the past, like the femur fracture discovered in Spain dating back around 15,000 years, tell stories of individuals being tended to, perhaps for months, until they healed.
Empathy, camaraderie, and altruism have been constants throughout our history—not just a product of modern socialist ideologies. These qualities seem to be innate, woven into the very fabric of our success story. From aiding in the rearing of children to supporting the weak and the infirm, we have consistently extended our compassion and support to members of our own tribe. It's a thread that runs deep within us, contributing significantly to our journey through time.
This I think with time became medicine, So the basic quality you need to have to be a therapist is Empathy and altruism. Unlike many things in “spirituality” like equipoise or being with material wealth may be anti- evolutionary- hence we all struggle to achieve it. But, compassion, looking after the weaker, having empathy is in our genes. It is what will make our society more productive, healthier and happier. Sadly, capitalism and privatization of health is slowly removing these qualities from us, and it is completely gone at the time we join a job. So, we need to start afresh, and teach our students the value of empathy and compassion.
Next comes following science and not be a Jack ass and flow some random “science” you say on social media. Following evidence, I believe will come if we have empathy and understanding of patients and suffering. Otherwise, we will be some random guy who operates a switch in the op or cracking the spine and feeling proud of it.
Don’t ask me if I have empathy and compassion towards my patients- of course I will say yes, but I am sure my patients will not agree (at least some of them ha-ha)
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As you might have guessed, this is not an exact transcription of my words, this is A certificate blog the talk was kids, so...
P.S.: The Homo genus comprises numerous species (there are too many for me to recall all the names), but those I remember are: Homo erectus, Homo floresiensis (referred to as "hobbits" due to their unique nature), and Homo neanderthalensis (with whom we interbred, resulting in most of us carrying around 2 percent Neanderthal genes, except for some regions of Africa). Additionally, it's interesting to note that chickens also exhibit a bipedal gait, although their foot posture is different.
