Eric Topol

And you allude to this kind of neuroplasticity, the brain, and you advocate for chair work.

Can you tell us about chair work?

Because, you know, that's something I wouldn't have thought would help in this matter.

That's helpful, Bob.

I guess managing conflict, of course, I think we know you don't get emotional.

Okay, sure.

But yeah, there's kind of three parts to that, three components.

Self-awareness, we've been talking about that.

Deep listening, which, of course, when you're engaging in a discussion that's, you know, potentially leading to escalation of a conflict or amplification, that is really important.

And then effective assertion.

Now, that's where it seems to me things fall apart.

If you're making effective assertion, you know, then everything kind of blows up.

So tell us about how you can be assertive and still, you're not trying to win the argument, I get that, but how can you be assertive and still come out in a positive way?

Yeah.

Well, you know, in reading the book, it took me, interestingly, to an evening discussion I had with a very close friend.

And he was saying, we do need a randomized trial of the measles vaccine, MMR, for autism.

And I said, what?

And, you know, I started thinking about, well, I'm going to hear him out because there's so much evidence now that you would think this has been totally debunked.

And his view is, well, it can't hurt.

And I'm saying, well.