We have a long way to go before we fully comprehend the nuanced complexities of the human brain, but we are learning that the analogy comparing our brains to computers is not anywhere close to the truth. In fact, our brains are much more agile and flexible than we give them credit for. Consider the phenomenon of “blindsight”, which allows some blind people to naturally perceive visual obstacles and even facial expressions. Researchers believe that the brain has built-in redundancies that allow it to continue processing information despite significant trauma to other regions. I’d like to see a silicon wafer perform that trick.

If you’re thinking of seeing a movie over the holiday weekend, I recommend both The Wrestler and Milk. The Wrestler is an unblinking portrait of a has-been professional wrestler who now finds himself trapped in a lonely hand-to-mouth existence. Mickey Rourke brings a lot of pathos to the title role, playing the part with just the right combination of dickishness and goofy charm. Marisa Tomei is equally great as the small-town stripper who falls for the big lug. You know this story isn’t going to end well, but there are moments of sweetness to be found as these two damaged characters try to find some comfort in each other.

Milk is the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold elective office in the United States. One of the dangers of biopics like this is the actor will work a little too hard to convince the audience of the subject’s importance, but Sean Penn keeps those tendencies in check. The audience sees Milk as both a leader and a flawed, somewhat narcissistic person in private. The film is particularly resonant given the recent passage of Prop 8 in California and it reminds us that, despite slow and incremental progress on the civil rights front, our society continues to excel at treading water.

There are a lot of barriers to the adoption of a single-payer health care system, but one that doesn’t get much attention is our tendency to view health care as something we need to earn. To see what I mean, take a look at articles like this one about growing enrollment in Medicaid. People interviewed for the story express guilt at accepting government “handouts”. That’s the problem with the peculiar historical development of public health care programs in this country. When Medicare and Medicaid were passed four decades ago, they were explicitly framed as programs for the aged, poor, and disabled. That made political sense at the time, but it also had the unintended consequence of setting the terms for future health care debates. Any reliance on government health care programs meant that you were part of the underclass; that you had failed as a self-sufficient provider for yourself and your family.

Most other Western countries never fell into this trap. When it came to health care access, they enfranchised everyone from the start. I’d like to think that this economic crisis, combined with the breakdown of modern conservatism, might push us to a point where we no longer associate government health care with personal failure or inadequacy. But old prejudices die hard.

I often joke that I’m eagerly awaiting the day when robotic nurses can assume responsibility for my daily cares. And should that day ever arrive, I’m willing to pay a little extra to have my nurse programmed with pole-dancing capabilities. I realize this isn’t a medical function in the strictest sense, but I’m a firm believer in a holistic approach to health. However, I would like my robot to look a little less like a CCTV camera and a little more like Summer Glau.

Technology competitions are an increasingly popular way to spark innovation in areas like robotics and space exploration. Now, the concept is being used to foster development of adaptive software for people with disabilities. Project:Possibility is a nonprofit corporation that is dedicated to creating open-source software applications that address a variety of disabilities. So much of the adaptive software currently on the market is proprietary and expensive. The on-screen keyboard that I use for writing tasks retails for about $300. I’d love to see an open-source keyboard that is maintained and updated by a strong user community.

And I will gladly bequeath my life savings to the organization if they can come up with a way for me to play Fallout 3 independently.