DR. JOHN'S CASE NOTES................................... As yet the great man is not yet back in full swing, leaving me ....his humble assistant ( Neil ) to publish on the net another one of his astounding pieces of research. One good bit of news is that Dr. John has finally rejected the notion that there are fairies at the bottom of the garden. But it took a great deal of persuasion by the King of the Potato People to convince him otherwise. Anyway, let's move on to one of the most perturbing syndromes ever to be associated with bridge players : THE DOCTOR STRANGELOVE SYNDROME. This is a common name given to a disorder, where a player becomes acutely aware that one of his hands has a mind of its own. It acts in a manner beyond the victim's voluntary control, as if possessed by a malevolent force or spirit. The physical symptoms are easy to see. Victims will inexplicably, and involuntarily, (a) pull out the wrong bid, or bid out of turn, (b) pull out the wrong card, or play out of turn, or ( c) hit out at partner and/or opponents without any justification whatsoever. Dr. John's research indicates that this syndrome has a possible link with a split personality....a Jekyll and Hyde conflict which only seems to surface during a game of bridge. In every case Dr. John has looked at, the victim clearly develops a split personality, where as it seems the malevolent one occasionally wrestles control from the other just for a few fleeting seconds. In that short time frame, he will commit random, mischievous, unpredictable and insane acts, which inevitably prove contrary to what the other would choose. Strangely, when the evil personality is in control, only one part of the body responds......the hand.