The Duane Reade at 79th and Amsterdam in New York City is a typical American drugstore, aisle after aisle stocked with items that have been cloned and tweaked to fit our list of ever-growing physical needs.

It’s no different from CVS in Stoughton, or Walgreens in Canton, or Rite-Aid in Sharon. They are all mega-stores packed full of things to eat, to read, to write with, cosmetics that are supposed to make us look better, and drugs that are supposed to make us feel better.