I have been reflecting about how often during my life I have made ‘wrong’ decisions which have resulted in me pursuing the wrong course / career path, living in the wrong country, choosing the wrong partner / husband, having less than optimum treatment for an illness, moving / selling my house and so on. The list of possibly wrong decisions over a lifetime is endless. I have not been alone in making stupid decisions; just contemplate the countless ill-judged decisions for nations to go to war, including the First World War on its 100th anniversary, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya to name but a few examples.

Numerous global health issues are steadily progressing which may boil over and potentially overwhelm and threaten our ability to overcome infection / diseases and maintain good health. Several of these include bacterial, viral (HIV) and parasitic (malarial) resistance to antibiotics and antiviral medicines, resulting in our inability to withstand infection, which could possibly threaten  some of the miracles of modern medicine including surgical operations.  Other equally devastating burgeoning epidemics include those of diabetes, obesity and cancer and their sequelae.