Well, after the usual guessing game and scavenger hunt concerning where Smiths in Stockport chose to shelve FT this month, I found my copy... first thoughts: the"liquid breathing" thing sounded alarming, revolting, and somewhat Frankensteinian. At first. then I moved on from "artificially induced drowning" and had the big thought.
EVERYBODY on this planet has done liquid breathing. No exceptions. We all spent a period where the only thing to breathe was a water-based liquid. And we all survived it - to be born. And to, very abruptly, have to re-learn how to breathe air. So - what changed in that relatively brief period in between being in the womb, breathing liquid, to being out of the womb breathing air. The foetus an hour before birth is still breathing liquid. Nothing changes, physiologically, in that hour, to the underlying physical systems. The baby in the womb is essentially the same baby that emerges from it. Yet we all manage to make the transition. The possibly insane and over-simplified thought is - why can't we flip the coin and change back? Is there anything to prevent that and how can it be done? Not that I'm volunteering to attempt this, of course...
