Robert Novak diagosed with brain tumor

The Chicago Sun-Times, Robert Novak's home newspaper, published Novak's statement today that he has been hospitalized with a brain tumor.

“On Sunday, July 27, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I have been admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where doctors will soon begin appropriate treatment. “I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period."

Novak is alert and talking — he wrote the statement announcing his illness — but in intensive care, where the hospital does not allow phone calls or flowers, according to his assistant, Kathleen Connolly.

"He's talking,'' Connolly said. "He seemed fine."

The diagnosis was sudden. Novak became ill Sunday during a family outing near Cape Cod, Mass. A family member called 911, and he was brought by ambulance to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where the diagnosis was made.

It’s too early to know whether the tumor is malignant or benign, his assistant said.[Snip]

Novak, 77, struck a pedestrian last Wednesday [July 23] while driving his Chevrolet Corvette in Washington, D.C. The man he struck suffered minor injuries, according to the Associated Press. Novak was issued a $50 citation.

Asked whether the accident might have been linked to the columnist's medical condition, Novak's reporter, Charlie Spiering, said today, "It's really too early to tell."

Novak said he didn't realize what happened and continued driving until a bicyclist stopped him, the Associated Press reported. David Bono, the bicyclist, said the pedestrian was hit in a crosswalk and was splayed across Novak's windshield.

The report last week that Novak had struck a pedestrian in a cross-walk and appeared unaware that he had done so was strange at the time. This appears likely to provide an explanation for that event.

As much as I dislike Novak's politics, I really hope this is not cancerous. No one deserves that. It is hard not to compare Novak's condition to that of Senator Ted Kennedy who was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer and has been getting treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital, also located in Boston.

We should all wish Bob Novak the best possible outcome.

A small insight from research into free will in insects

Free Will. What is it?

"Free will is essentially an oxymoron — we would not consider it 'will' if it were completely random and we would not consider it 'free' if it were entirely determined," Brembs said. In other words, nobody would ascribe responsibility to one's actions if they were entirely the result of random coincidence. On the other hand, if one's actions were completely determined by outside factors such that no alternative existed, no one would hold that person responsible for them.

"We speculate that if free will exists, it is in this middle ground" between randomness and determinism "that is currently not well understood or characterized," said mathematical biologist George Sugihara at the University of California at San Diego.

MSNBC reports on a study on free will in fruit flies. The study suggests that even fruit flies have a certain degree of free will.

This is an interesting piece of research, mostly for what it tells us what is wrong in our beliefs I think. Even insects apparently cannot be programmed rigidly and be expected to survive. Next question - what is the mechanism by which such apparent aspects of free will work in the brain?

"The Brain on the Stand" by Jeffrey Rosen

Terri Gross of "Fresh Air" on NPR today has Jeffrey Rosen, who wrote the article published Sunday in the NY Times Magazine. Rosen is discussing the legal implications of the advances in brain science and the use of PET scans for getting at the truth and assigning legal responsibility for criminal behavior.

This is the future. Only it is tomorrow, not next century or even next year.

What can the new brain science tell us?

How much of it could be used in a criminal trial? Can it be used to determine guilt, or can it be used to determine responsibility punishment.