h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Now that I look at it, I realize that I meant psychological...

Well, there's a couple of links to not-American organizations... The MGH one leads to some non-English sites, as well

Well, OK, so now that I actually look at the site, there's just the one not English site...But it's an Austrian site, so at least it's in German...(IIRC, there's quite a few German speaking researchers on h2g2, aren't there?)

Hi Amy, I'm joining this thread a little late I know but I do have a few suggestions to add to this already good article.

Firstly, as has already been mentioned, a section on treatment would be a worthwhile addition, however, I seem to remember that there are some options for brain surgery in certain types of epilepsy which might be worth including if you can find any information on them rather than just drug treatments.

Also, as much as I like the terms 'electrical overload' and 'short circuit' to describe the processes happening in the brain, it might be worth being a little more precise and talking about random uncontrolled electrical discharges or something along those lines.

Perhaps, since you do a good job of dispelling the myths about the things which don't cause epilepsy (daemons and the like) it might be worth mentioning that epilepsy can be aquired later in life as a result of conditions such as strokes or brain abscesses.

Feel free to ignore this lot as they are only suggestions, it's already a good article as it stands and certainly worthy of the edited guide.

Best wishes

Xuenyl

I notice two spelling/typo errors:
In the quote from Hippocrates, 'paticular' should be 'particular'
In the paragraph beginning, 'However, the fear of the unknown' you spell 'fortunately' as 'Fortuneately'

Good article, though!

OK, the sections on treatments and impact on life have been added, as well as a section on first aid. To be fair to myself, I think I should mention that when I wrote this paper in 1995 for college, the topic was how epilepsy has been seen through the ages, and why. I think I did a fair job on that ...

Hmmm...Maybe I should find someone who can check that Austrian site for me...

Hi, Amy!
I think the sections you have added have really balanced the entry very well indeed. The extra paragraphs on treatment and on everyday implications cover the points I raised very thoroughly. Putting the First Aid section at the end is a good idea, since it's more likely to stick in readers' minds that way.

I already liked the entry a lot, and I think the additions have really improved it. Congratulations on an excellent entry, and let's hope some scouts come along soon!


Azara

Thanks!

I'm amazed that I managed to fit those sections in without ruining the flow--normally I'm terrible at transitions...

I like the changes, but I still have a few problems with the entry.

You seem to dismiss the idea of epilepsy being contagious, with the response that it is obviously not. I would remove the obviously, and change this, as it sounds rather condesending. It is obviously not obvious to the people who ask the question.

Also, it might be worth saying how epilepsy itself is caused, and the nature of it. Is it passed on genetically(as in congenital symphilis, or a genetic defect(as in huntington's chorea), for example.

You seem to be quoting quite a bit. Perhaps it would be better to use your own words. Quoting Hypocrates seems appropriate, but quoting the single word 'No', seems unnecessary, and sometimes it is not clear when you are quoting, and when you are using your own words.

Where you talk about Epilepsy being contagious, I would avoid using the Question, instead saying something like 'Epilepsy is also never Contagious'.

I would also consider including Headings and subheading, to split up the text, and include more paragraphing. Long Paragraphs are generally harder to read, whereas, including a subheading or heading instead makes it clear what the theme of the section is, but allows you to break down the text.

For example, the first section appears to be about historical views of the causes of epilepsy. This could be brought together using a heading. Similarly, when talking about seizures, this could be one section under a heading, perhaps with subheading for grand mal, and one for partial seizures.

Well, I'm not sure about putting headings and subheadings in, but I might add causes...

If I do add causes, it will most likely be tomorrow...Which will still make my statement that I should be done by Wednesday true...

I've added causes.

I've had a look at the causes, and I think they are well described. However, there are a few comments I have on them.

I think it should be celebral palsy, rather than 'celebal' palsy.
Also, I think you could define lesions(perhaps a spelling mistake), and trauma.

Also, when you use quotes, you seem always to put the first letter of the first word in square brackets. I don't think this is neccesary.

Good points...I'll go fix the typos, and add some definitions. The square brackets are to indicate that, although the quote is at the beginning of my sentence, in the original, it comes somewhere in the middle. That of course means that I need to change the quote slightly, and square brackets are the convention for showing that a quotation has been changed.

And it's not *every* quote...

OK, fixed. Anything else?

I take the point with the quotes. I think if you are trying to make it clear that this is not the start of a quote that is fine. However, perhaps you could start with a lower case letter, and start with ...., so it is clear that this is not the start of the sentence.

The definitions of trauma and lesions are also a welcome addition.

When you compare epilepsy to a cold (the paragraph starting Just as a cold..', it is not clear what is the quote, and what is not. It looks as though the whole sentence is a quote, but not all of this is in quotes. However, if only the start of the sentence is a quote, then this is fine as it is.

I also still think that 'somnambulist' could be included with the more commonly used word sleepwalker, or could be replaced with sleepwalker. Either of these would make this clearer, as the more technical term is not really any better than the more commonly used word.

I can't see any other major problems, although I think sometimes you may want to replace dashes with commas, when you are using dashes to split up sentences.

I thought I *had* replaced somnambulist...I guess I just did it on my disk, and not here...

Yes, it *was* changed on the disk, but not here. Now it is.

Thanks everyone! I think the entry is much better now...

Don't mind me, I'm just bringing this off the second page of posts...OK, so I know I'm being impatient, and that some people have waited months...