The drawbacks to editing.

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Larry and I exchanged numerous versions of this column before this "final", posted edition. I became rather attached to some of my asides (originally intended as links), only to discover that as Larry responded to my editorial comments and tightened his text, these lost their context, and no longer had any place in this column.

For example, rather than "in one clinical center", Larry had originally written "in one place", which offered me the opportunity to question whether "one place" referred, perhaps, to only the heart, or only the liver. These first reactions to the text were a somewhat new experience to me, since when I was the only person writing a column, I could choose my words, or construct my sentences, in such a way that various links seemed logical, even invited. When working in tandem, however, some of my projected links led instead to greater clarity in Larry's writing - something that on the one hand certainly makes for a better column, but on the other constrains my ability to play around. I have no doubt that in this case, my loss is the column's gain.

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Go to: Virtual worlds, and real health.