Great article. In my view, it sure supports G. House saying it's the pain that changed him. I know when my back is bad or any sustained pain, it is plain maddening. Distractions are golden. Pain relief is heaven. And being a doc seeing how it is on the other side of the prescription pad must be ten times worse. I'm almost surprised he didn't mention House.

That really is a fantastic article. If I were a medical school professor I think I'd assign it to my med students. A couple of passages particularly made me think of House: The real surprise was realizing that duration of pain was far worse than intensity. I had a throbbing pain during my recovery that I could rate as a 4 if I’m generous, but it lasted for weeks and nearly drove me insane. Low-intensity pain that won’t leave can make a person much more miserable than 10 out of 10. Being disabled can really crush an ego. Regular visitors to The Clinic of Doctor-Patient Relational Awesomeness are likely aware that Doctor D has a very healthy self-esteem. 3 weeks of lying on my back absolutely helpless and unable to do anything had me at the lowest place I’ve every been. One night I—a generally tough dude—cried myself to sleep. I’m up and moving better now, but I will likely have a limp the rest of my life. My whole life I’ve been able to do everything physical I wanted to do. Now I’m one of the broken people. It’s going to take some getting used to. ETA: And you know what, I wish I could assign this article to the writers of House MD, just to remind them of the situation of the character they're dealing with, and the fact that he doesn't necessarily have to be written as 'just a jerk'.

From The Twenty Vicodin thread: He had that fearful thing that House gets when he's physically attacked. When else has he displayed that? When he provoked the father to attack him in an early episode, he seemed to relish being able to "strangle" the man with his cane. In the service of the diagnosis. In his hallucination in "Reason" (?) he punched out Wilson, and he displayed no fear when Moriarty was going to shoot him. Enlighten, please. I know that House looked terrified when he he first hallucinated Amber and when he realized that he truly could not trust his mind in "Both Sides Now" Also he looked pretty frightened when Chases and Wilson were about the preform the Deep Brain Stimulation on him. ETA: On rereading the post I realize this was not what you were asking. On the physical side House look ed pretty afraid of Vogler after he has defied him @ the drug conference and Vogler comforted House in his office the next day. Also House looked afraid when he thought the guy who electrocuted himself was going to attack in "97 Seconds."

Thanks for this. It doesn't seem like an all around behavior for House, but I can understand his being scared when the guy pulls the knife out. Re: Vogler. I love the dream where Vogler is diagnosed with cancer and House is going to order an extra-large coffin. :)

From the 8.02 – Transplant thread: Just me, or did the Epiphany of the Week feel more like Epiphany of the Weak? Birthday candles --> cigar smoke? Seriously, House? There have been so many episodes over the years where a lot of thought went into that OMG! moment. This was not one of them. I think the point with House is that everything he sees and hears gets fed into that “rat’s maze” he calls a mind. He notices and remembers little things that others would ignore and he adds them to the information he has about the puzzle. As a result, it’s often the little things that provide the epiphanies: Season 1: Pilot – Foreman mentioned that he ate ham in Rebecca Adler’s apartment. Paternity – Clinic patient isn’t vaccinating her kid and he tells her that infants have their mothers’ immune systems. Quite some time (days?) later, Dan’s parents say they gave genetic mother’s medical history. (I always thought this one was reaching because no one ever asked whether the supposed-mom had been vaccinated.) Occam’s Razor – House picks up the wrong bottle when getting Vicodin at the pharmacy. Maternity - no major epiphany. They knew it was a virus and had to identify it. Closest was remembering that newborns have their mothers’ immune systems (as we learned two weeks earlier in Paternity). This allowed them to narrow it down. Damned If You Do – The Mother Superior gave House a cup of herbal tea. The Socratic Method – no real epiphany. He decided that schizophrenia was a mis-diagnosis and the team came up with diseases that could mimic it. Fidelity – A clinic patient’s blood work shows that husband is dosing her to reduce her sex drive. (Epiphany while telling her to have extra-marital affairs he remembers that all diseases can be transmitted through sex.) Poison – While searching Chi’s and Matt’s houses, Foreman and Cameron find the same laundry detergent. (When he learned that neither boy had done laundry the morning in question he had the epiphany that they had absorbed the toxin through their skin.) DNR – Hamilton asks what meds House took John Henry off. This results in the epiphany that something has changed and House orders a new MRI for John Henry. Histories – no real epiphany with Victoria. The fact that the Taser didn’t immobilize her made House realize that there was localized numbness. The epiphany was about Wilson’s interest in homeless people. Detox – The “Jules” that Keith thought was talking to him had really existed. Ephiphany that it therefore wasn’t psychosis and whatever killed Jules was killing Keith. Sports Medicine – Lola can’t smell urine therefore Hank has been smoking a lot of pot. Cursed – Jeffrey asked about two obscure Asian diseases. He therefore had lived in India and he didn’t have carpal tunnel; his ulnar nerve was damaged because he had leprosy. Control – no major epiphany. Once he considered a psychiatric problem, all the symptoms fit. (Chase recognized it as soon as he saw the bottle of ipecac.) This was fun. I don’t have time to continue it right now. But I think the point is that House’s epiphanies aren’t from big things. They come from him noticing little things that others would consider insignificant and from his putting seemingly unrelated things together.

So House thinks all parents screw up their kids. So how does he think his mother screwed him up? Or does he believe only his father played a role? You heart said he needed to know. Your brain knew he was better off without it. Following your heart is easy. Following your brain is tough Do you think this relates back to House's parents?

So how does he think his mother screwed him up? He did note that his mother had an affair while married, so he doesn't think she's perfect. Also, back in "Daddy's Boy," his mother makes a comment that she thinks he's "absolutely perfect the way you are." By the end, Wilson tells Cameron that House hates being a disappointment to his parents. I think that in the case of his mother, she sees him as something he believes himself incapable of being, and that he can never be happy because he believes he's failed her. (Note that he never brought her up in relation to his father's "discipline" techniques, so I don't think he blames her for a failure to step in for whatever reason -- regardless of what we as outsiders may think. I'm merely speaking here as how "he thinks his mother screwed him up.")

I think that in the case of his mother, she sees him as something he believes himself incapable of being, and that he can never be happy because he believes he's failed her. That is an interesting thought. It makes sense. (Note that he never brought her up in relation to his father's "discipline" techniques, so I don't think he blames her for a failure to step in for whatever reason This is true. He never did bring her up in relation to his father's discipline. So, he probably doesn't blame her. Which is a contrast to the patient's mom feeling guilty for failing to protect her son. House's parental issues fascinates me. I would've loved to have had a deeper exploration on them. This episode would've been perfect for it.

This article http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.Where-Would-Dr-House-Live.16840.html concerns the question, which special accommodations have to be made so that an apartment will be handicap-accessible and suitable for House’s special needs as a disabled person.

I just wanted to let you know that New Orleans PBS is using Hugh Laurie's "Let Them Talk" Great Performance special run on the pledge run drive. Great compliment for Mr. Laurie's talent.

A very interesting article about House´s leadership philosophy and teaching methodology: http://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2012/03/28/a-leadership-prescription-not-vicodin-from-dr-house/