Lasers

There are many ways to measure how cool you are in life (and it's obviously very important to know where you fit in the cool spectrum).  Apparently one way is based on what color laser pointer you have.  Now I would argue that anyone who owns a laser pointer probably isn't very cool to begin with - but what do I know, I'm just a med student.

so old school

I didn't even realize that there was a hierarchy of laser pointers until during an EKG training session, a cardiology attending pointed out to me that green lasers (one of which he just happened to have) were way cooler than the red lasers.  This is apparently because the green ones came out more recently and are more expensive (oh em gee - it's the same reason the iphone 4s is so much cooler than the iphone 4!).  To show how much cooler cardiology is than the other specialties, he asked our small group if we've ever seen anyone with a green laser pointer besides a cardiologist.  Apparently our other professors are all Luddites who insist on using their clearly outdated red laser pointers.

cardiology cool. already outdated.

Soon though, the green laser pointer will also be outdated because now there are PURPLE lasers which became commercially available in 2010.  Right now they are a bit expensive, but I imagine that by the time I'll need one they will be more affordable.  Or, if anyone was looking for a very very early birthday or Hanukkah gift for me, I would accept a purple laser pointer.  Although the one time I taught a lecture as a TA during my undergrad, I was so excited to finally use a laser pointer - but because I was nervous, my hands were shaking slightly uncontrollably, and using the laser pointer made it so obvious that my hands were shaking that I had to stop using it.  SHOW NO FEAR.  So first, confidence.  Then, purple laser pointer.

what all the cool kids are using (and apparently purple lasers are also patriotic)