Author Archives: Juniper Quin (Blog Writer, SevenPonds)

Study Estimates Medical Error Is Third Leading Cause of Death in USA

A recent study from John Hopkins University urges systemic change to reduce medical error

Researchers at John Hopkins School of Medicine published a report in The BMJ earlier this month that estimates that preventable medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Medical error includes surgical complications that go … Continue reading

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Life Extension Pursuits of the One Percent Miss the Point Completely

Death-phobic billionaires invest in prolonging life for the select elite

What do eliminating cancer and infectious diseases, genetic modification, cryonics and artificial brains that retain original human personality have in common? All these ventures are being funded by some of the world’s wealthiest and most death-phobic people. Peter Thiel, the … Continue reading

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Digitized Memorial Reflects Impermanence of Life

"Family Tree" from Lithuanian designers subjects at-home cremains to tech failure

Lithuanian designers Loucas Papantoniou and Asta Sadauskaite have developed the “Family Tree” — a sleek, modern, beehive-style wall mounted structure designed to keep family cremains in a single unified place within the home, complete with backlit LED memorial message screens programmable … Continue reading

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Our Weekly Tip: Turn Your Grief Into a Gratitude Meditation

Use this simple process to turn painful thoughts into evolutionary tools

Our Tip of the Week: Grief and loss are deeply intertwined. Why would we grieve anyone if we felt that there was no loss? It can be useful to notice, then, what has been lost. The first thing that may … Continue reading

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”The Work of the Dead” by Thomas W. Laqueur

Thomas Laqueur's epic historical survey reveals insight into how and why we care for the dead

Significant amounts of research have been invested in understanding the grieving rituals of the animal kingdom, but literature examining the role that the human corpse plays in how culture is created and sustained over time has been relatively sparse. That … Continue reading

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“When you buy something, you’re not paying money for it. You’re paying with the hours of your life you had to spend earning that money. The difference is that life is one thing money can’t buy. Life only gets shorter, and it is pitiful to waste one’s life and freedom that way.”

- José Mujica, Former President of Uruguay and 'World's Poorest President'
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