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Thu 27 Feb, 2014 12:26 pm
Does "Decision, decisions" mean "a single decision, and then many more (decisions)"?
Context:
How can you ensure that your life is worth living?
27 February 2014
Dramatic advances in communication with people in a minimally conscious state have provoked questions central to our ideas about what makes life worth living
TERRI SCHIAVO died after 15 years spent in a state that many fear as much or more than death itself.
In 1990, Schiavo suffered a heart attack that left her in a persistent vegetative state. With no clear record of her wishes, her fate became the subject of a bitter dispute that pitted her husband against her parents, divided US public opinion and prompted the intervention of president George W. Bush before being settled by the US Supreme Court in 2005.
Sadly, the Schiavo family's heartache is not unique. In fact, it is becoming more common. Last year, for example, a UK court ruled against resuscitating a devout Muslim who was in a minimally conscious state. His family had argued that he would have preferred to live on, believing this to be God's will.
Few people make "living wills" that specify how they would like to be treated in such situations. Once in a vegetative or minimally conscious state, they cannot express their wishes themselves, leaving physicians and family with the unenviable duty of choosing a course of action.
This scenario is about to become more fraught still. This week brings news of a remarkable discovery: stimulating the brains of people in such conditions can rouse them, for short periods, to the point where they can answer simple questions (see "Brain zap rouses people from years of vegetative state").
This discovery has clear medical benefits: it should help doctors to make better assessments of patients' conditions. The hope is that researchers will be able to extend the stimulation, resulting in more significant brain activity and even, perhaps, a return to something resembling an acceptable quality of life.
Before then, there is a host of ethical issues. No one has yet asked the obvious questions: are you suffering? Do you want to live, or die? These questions will one day be asked, even if we don't yet know how to interpret any answers. We may not know any time soon. The only way to dictate our fate is to decide and record what we consider to be a life worth living.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Decision, decisions"
@oristarA,
it's a single decision based on more than one variable.
it's something people say when they are having a hard time trying to decide what to do...
It's usually posed as a question. Meaning there is a quandary about which decision is the right one.
@Region Philbis,
Region Philbis wrote:
it's a single decision based on more than one variable.
it's something people say when they are having a hard time trying to decide what to do...
oristarA? RP is correct. "Decisions, decisions" is another oddball English language idiom.
Hi, O.
It's snowing in New York again!
I don't have a precise answer to your question, I've seen "Decisions, decisions" used in comedy when a character reads out a list of possible ways to go then says "Decisions, decisions" as if there is something to think about, even though it's obvious to the audience that there is only one choice and he's just being stupid in a humorous way. Oh, and usually, time is of the essence, that's why it's funny he taking so long to decide.
The use of it as the headline for the story doesn't make real sense to me.
I defer to others for their input.
I can't decide. Really show how much I love animals, or shoot that bear that is headed my way.??? Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Joe(Gah!)Nation
Everybody's right. Now, is it the right headline?
Joe(scratches head)Nation
@Joe Nation,
The expression is "Decisions, decisions", that is, both plural.
The speaker is (usually ironically) bemoaning the fact that he has a lot of decisions to make, and cannot decide what to do.
@oristarA,
It means Ori that they're a sort of burden or hindrance
In my own case I have avoided most major decisions by marrying a girl who is much smarter than me. In everyday matters I've developed methods of choice that don't entail much thinking. For instance the numbers 1 and 3 figure prominently into such choices. For instances, how many logs should I carry to the woodpile
Well, obviously three. But commonsense is not excluded. For instance if one is especially heavy then I might take it alone, that is, as a load of one
But again commonsense is sometimes welcome. If I can tuck it under one arm sometimes I can carry one smaller with that hand. But then if a number of even smaller branches lie there I'd consider taking three with the other hand
But of course only if they're piling up
Some larger numbers do figure in. For instance 27 is very prominent (being 3^3) in a situation for instance sorting rocks or pulling weeds when six or even nine imparts a sense of guilt
@McTag,
Good point on the plurals.
Am I the only one who thinks it's not the right headline?
Joe(seems odd, but I can't exactly say why)Nation
@Joe Nation,
I think it is an apt title, Joe, for this reason.
While we speak as if there are many, I think it also entails just a difficult one to make and making a decision to pull the plug or not really tops the list or close to it.
Is it that it seems too callous given the situation?
@oristarA,
To me it is a reference to the legal DECISION (in the absence of a living will) about what an individual's DECISIONS would have otherwise been about continued medical treatment (or the opinions of others).
The headline seeks to garner the gist of the story at the risk of appearing flippant.
Headlines are not a good guide to how English should "go"; especially in this country.
We get some awful puns which are neither clever or funny, as well as some which are quite apt and witty, but in either case they are contrived by the editors to catch the eye, pique the interest of the reader, and/or amuse.
JTT, Miss L Toad, McTag : all good insights.
Yeah, to me "Decisions, decisions" is a little crass given the subject matter.
Joe(I'm a sensitive soul)Nation