Café Inquiry (Online) – Anesthesia:What Is It Really?

This event is held online. (Click the button to join the Zoom meeting.)

Most of us have probably had anesthesia at some point in our lives.  But do we actually know how it works? We say that we were asleep during our operations, yet anesthesia is nothing like sleep! Anesthesiologists are expert at keeping us safely unconscious but also don’t really know how anesthesia works. Some recent research has provided some important insights about the answer to this question. At the next Café Inquiry, we will talk about anesthesia – what we know, what we don’t know, and what goes on while we are “asleep”, presented by retired anesthesiologist! Here are some links to check out if you’re interested in exploring this topic beforehand:

This 11- minute YouTube video talks about how anesthesia works, why it is not the same as sleep and also describes some scary aspects of anesthesia. This brief article discusses the difference between sleep and anesthesia. This article from Science Alert gives an overview and describes some recent research findings. And finally, this article from Wired describes some exciting new discoveries about what goes on in the brain under anesthesia. Join us to learn about anesthesia from an actual subject-matter expert!

Café Inquiry starts with a short introduction of the day’s topic, followed by casual discussion.

This event is free and open to the public. Donations appreciated, but not expected.

Attendees are able to future propose topics which would align with Michigan Humanist’s purpose: from atheism, agnosticism, humanism, secularism, and freethinking to broader subjects in science and humanities, such as religion, philosophy, social issues, politics, evolution, morality, ethics, and psychology.

Café Inquiry (Grand Rapids) meets each month on the second and fourth Sunday.

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Michigan Humanists values the participation of all guests — requests for reasonable accommodation may be made by contacting the event host at least three days prior to the event.

Michigan Humanists expects all guests to engage in respectful discussion. Critiques on views and claims based on merit are allowed, but not attacks on individuals who hold other perspectives.

Any person engaging in disruptive behavior or harassment will be asked to leave, and may be banned from future events pending the severity of the action. Please speak to the event host or contact info@michiganhumanists.org if you feel these expectations are being violated.