1402

In

England Now

of intelligence I have just picked up: at least one university has a professor of artificial intelligence. Apparently this relates to computers. I wish I were a student again, for I would dearly love to send a proxy to sit in on one of his lectures.

seething with runners, joggers, walkers, parents with pushchairs, all duly registered (including a few dogs) and ready to go. A 65-year-old friend peeled off his track suit, announcing "it looked so nice this morning I decided to do my usual 9 miles before breakfast in case the weather changed". Somewhere a loud hailer could be heard bleating. It was the mayor, who has a flair for a well-turned platitude. Few heard what he said, but I’m sure it was appropriate. We all heard the gun. With a great roar the crowd, about 2700 of them, surged across the park. Once on the road the mass of people began to spread, the real runners in front, the joggers behind them, and the walkers and push-chairs at the rear. Our route took us through the town centre and at one mile a pattern began to emerge. The unprepared were beginning to flag. At two miles we were passing the weary, but in turn were being passed by power-packed harriers who were headed for the front. The enthusiasm never flagged. It was amazingly infectious. I heard it said that people were leaping out of parked cars to join in. At four miles we started meeting the "big boys" on their way back from the finish, still running. Honour demanded that we sprinted. The ego trip now came into its own. I found myself passing youngsters half my age or less. My coronaries were holding up well and my fencers’ elbow was hardly noticeable. A steep rise just before the finish was tough, I admit (several had vomited there I noted). I collected my certificate and paused for breath. One of the organisers came running up. "We need you, doc! There’s an old chap in trouble over by the St. John’s tent." He certainly looked a bit grey and gasping and was laid down gently on the couch. I started to take a history, but he cut me short: "don’t worry about me, just a bit winded, I’ve been jogging for 30 years". My presence was clearly superfluous. At the final reckoning there were no infarcts, no sudden deaths, but a whole crowd of new joggers. We meet two or three times a week, it takes 20-30 minutes, and you really feel better for it. <

Letter: Bromocriptine and secondary amenorrhoea.

1402 In England Now of intelligence I have just picked up: at least one university has a professor of artificial intelligence. Apparently this rela...
164KB Sizes 0 Downloads 0 Views