Thomas A. Ban: Psychopathology – Unedited notes from the 1990s

Thomas A. Ban’s Correction

In my “Psychopathology – unedited notes from the 1990s” posted on July 14, 2016, in my Collection in Archives and distributed on September 5, 2016 in  Educational Series (Number 35), it is written: “The term ‘psychopathology’ was first used in psychiatry in 1878 as a synonym for ‘psychiatry’ by H. Emminghaus……”. This information is wrong. The term, “psychopathology” first appeared in the psychiatric literature in 1845, in Ernst Feuchtersleben’s Textbook of Medical Psychology, the same book in which the term “psychosis” was adopted.

Thomas A. Ban

October 13, 2016 

Ken Gillman: Medical science publishing: A slow-motion train wreck

Ken Gillman’s reply to Barry Blackwell’s comment

BB: “I especially liked his… use of… unusual words.”

        I thank Barry for his kind comments and am so pleased he enjoys discovering interesting words.  En passant, I must add another favorite, “ultracrepidarian,” which means opining about things beyond the scope of one’s knowledge and expertise — so applicable in many of the contexts we come across!

        In relation to “stable doors and horses,” some readers seem to have not assimilated a major point in my conclusion, which is that journals may now be considered redundant.  I made suggestions and gave examples of how “post-archiving” assessment is already working in science and can easily and cheaply be expanded, leaving much money available for better uses. 

        Therefore, let that horse bolt and run free (or perhaps “put it out to pasture” is a better analogy).  We have a better steed!  Chaos prevails — but there is a better way.

BB: “Anything Ken says about anything is worth reading.”

        This statement caused my wife to dissolve into gales of mirth, through which I think I divined the words, “he has no idea what he is talking about …”; in fact, she thinks you were being ultracrepidarian.

January 23, 2020