I’ve received a number of emails asking why I’ve started turning off comments on most of my posts. It’s something of a trial feature at this point, just to see what happens. I’ve been pretty unimpressed with blogs’, forums’, and the Internets’ (political punctuation jab, ha!) commenting/debates/discussions for awhile now, not just on this blog but in general. They usually range from “Wow I agree” to “You’re so wrong” but they never really change anyone’s mind or perspective. Often people don’t even read them, they just scroll down to the comment form so they can feel self-congratulatory that their voice has been heard.

Because it’s so easy to respond and often so anonymous, people say knee-jerk, silly things that aren’t well thought-out, intelligent, or even logical. Even if I do try to respond, there’s no guarantee that the person I’m debating/discussing with will even come back to the post to respond. It’s a low-yield waste of time that really doesn’t accomplish anything.

I’m happy to have an intellectual back-and-forth with people–if you’re interested, just email me.

We’ll see if it takes or not. I admit it’s nice to receive comments, just to see that people are reading and either agreeing or disagreeing with my thoughts–but my blog was never really meant to be a discussion board. Just a collection of my thoughts and experiences as I find my way through medical school. My feelings and opinions aren’t up for public debate. Sorry!

If you have an opinion on something I post, and feel that your voice just must be heard, you’re welcome to start your own blog or email me personally. I’m usually pretty good about writing back.