On Warts: Lewis Thomas

 

Essay: On Warts by Lewis Thomas (1913 – 1993)

About the Essayist

Lewis Thomas

       Lewis Thomas was born in 1913 and passed away in 1993. He was an American physician, educator, and essayist. Thomas had a remarkable career in medicine and served as the dean of the Yale Medical School and the New York University School of Medicine. He was not only a prominent medical figure but also a gifted writer. Thomas wrote eloquent and accessible essays on a wide range of topics, including biology, medicine, and the human condition. His best-known work, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, won the National Book Award for Science in 1975.

The Main Gist of the Essay

In "On Warts," Lewis Thomas explores the curious nature of warts, delving into their origins and the body's immune response. He reflects on the body's intricate defense mechanisms and how warts, though seemingly insignificant, reveal the complexity of our immune system. Thomas suggests that warts may serve as a reminder of the body's constant vigilance against external threats. The essay underscores the marvel of the human body's ability to ward off various challenges, using warts as a lens to appreciate the intricate workings of our immune defenses.

Summary ‘On Warts’

Warts are non-cancerous skin growths that develop on different parts of the body and come in various forms. They are caused by viruses. Warts are contagious (spreadable) and very common: Most people will have one at some point in their lives. Although they can affect people of any age, warts are most common among children and teenagers.

Warts are wonderful structures. They can appear overnight on any part of the skin, like mushrooms on a damp lawn, full-grown and splendid in the complexity of their architecture. Viewed in stained sections under a microscope, they are the most specialized of cellular arrangements, constructed as though for a purpose. They sit there like turreted (small towers extending above a building) mounds (rises/mounts/hills) of dense, impenetrable (unsolvable) horn, impregnable (secure), designed for defense against the world outside. In a certain sense, warts are both useful and essential but not for us. As it turns out, the exuberant (excited) cells of a wart are the elaborate reproductive apparatus of a virus. (Thomas, 2021)

Dr Lewis Thomas was an American physician, poet, essayist, etymologist, teacher, and researcher. In his essay On Warts, Thomas sets forth what scientists know about warts, and speculating about both causes and effects, he probes (analyses) the mysteries of these odd growths. Warts can be cured, but what no one understands is exactly how the cure works. Is it by science or by magic? Most warts are harmless and will go away on their own within a few weeks or months. But they can be bothersome and unattractive, and some people feel ashamed. Several different treatments can make warts go away more quickly, but they don't always work. (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, 2019)

Many people associate warts with witches and other such unsavory (unpleasant) characters. However, warts are not limited to those who fail common hygienic practices and are, in fact, quite common among the human population. Warts are an interesting virus that can appear anywhere on your skin. The exuberant (vigorous/energetic) cells of a wart are the elaborate reproductive apparatus (tools) of a wart virus. These warts can be removed by many simple solutions. Thomas discusses the fact that these warts can be removed efficiently and effectively by hypnosis.  

The strangest thing about warts is that they tend to go away. Fully grown, nothing in the body has so much the look of toughness and permanence as a wart, and yet, inexplicably and often very abruptly, they come to the end of their lives and vanish without a trace. And they can be made to go away by something that can only be called thinking or something like thinking. This is a special property of warts, which is astonishing, more of a surprise than cloning or recombinant DNA endorphin acupuncture or anything else currently attracting attention in the press. It is one of the great mystifications of science: warts can be ordered off the skin by hypnotic suggestion. (Thomas, 2021)

Thomas states in his article, “If my unconscious can figure out how to manipulate the mechanisms needed for getting around that virus, and for deploying all the various cells in the correct order for tissue rejection, then all I have to say is that my unconscious is a lot further along than I am. I wish I had a wart right now, just to see if I am that talented.” (Thomas, 2021) The unconscious mind is powerful in the sense that you give yourself thoughts and listen to opinions from others on how to treat and get rid of warts. In the treatment of warts, it is not known whether the healing response to hypnotic suggestions is due to increased immunity functions, more or less blood circulation, some unknown chemical action, or other internal processes. How the unconscious mind can prompt warts to disappear when conventional treatments fail is still not fully known.

Thomas notes historic research in which several patients had warts that were destroyed after a hypnosis session, where the therapist made suggestions to the patient, and the warts eventually disappeared.

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