The Art of Meditation - Matthieu Ricard

Matthieu Ricard received a Ph.D. degree in molecular genetics from the Pasteur Institute in 1972 He then decided to forsake his scientific career and turned instead to practice Tibetan Buddhism. Ricard is a board member of the Mind and Life Institute, an organisation dedicated to having meetings between scientists and Buddhist scholars who collaborate and share their research. He is engaged in research on the effect of mind training on the brain, at Madison-Wisconsin, Princeton and Berkeley. He makes the subject not only entertaining to listen to but brings back the practical origins of Buddhism aligning what some would call spiritualism with common sense. 

Alien Worlds, Extraterrestrial Life. The Universe. Creation.

Venus!

The Cheese Grates It; Genetics, Infections, Correlation, Causation and The Blame Game

After reading this article, I'm thinking that all kinds of brain problems could be caused by a combination of infections and drawing the genetic short straw, which is why some people have these problems and some don't, even in the same family. 

The problem is, a lot of the time there seems to be finger pointing, such as when it's stated that people with depression are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. There is this attitude that if you just stop being depressed (wow, wouldn't that be nice) you'll become less prone to Alzheimer's disease, so pull yourself up by the boot straps, you pudding, and stop being such a Debbie or Donnie Downer. 

Well, what if the same genetic trigger is what causes both depression and Alzheimer's in some unlucky people? Also, note that not everyone with a mood disorder ends up with Alzheimer's disease. Correlation is not causation.

According to the article, "it is known that people with a gene called ApoE2 have brains that are good at sweeping out plaque, and have a low risk of Alzheimer’s in old age. Those with a different version, ApoE4, are inefficient in removing plaque and have a high risk of Alzheimer’s."

These men are brothers. The fellow on the left side of your monitor was 57 years old when this picture was taken. The one on the right side of your screen was 59. 

The fellow on the left presents as a healthy older adult man. The older brother does not look well, and he isn't. He was diagnosed with dementia two years previously. Before I was aware of this, I surmised that he was either having endocrine problems (hyperthyroidism), or he was developing Parkinson's disease. His facial expression and his stance look similar to those of a person with Parkinson's. I had also seen several photos of him in which he had spilled food or drink on himself, which would be another indicator of neurological problems. We all do it sometimes, but when such occasions become frequent, it's a red flag.

Breaking things down:

Both of these men come from a family that is prone to cancer and cardiovascular disease. Both of their parents died at age 74. (I am unsure of the reason for their deaths.) Their eldest brother died at age 57 from lung cancer. Both of these men developed an addiction to nicotine. 

The older brother had more health problems than the younger over the years. He was prone to depression and anxiety, including social anxiety, and developed an addiction to alcohol. He was one of those people who seemed to come down with whatever "bug" was making the rounds. Overall, he seemed to be of less hardy stock than his younger brother, who had no issues with addiction to alcohol or drugs, no issues with major depression, tended to be socially gregarious, and seemed to be in good health most of the time.

It would seem likely that the younger brother possesses the APOe2 gene, where the elder brother drew the short straw and ended up with the APOe4. 

My theory is that such a gene may also leave people who have it prone to psychological disorders, which I postulate are also triggered by infections. Someone with "good" genes will be able to fight off such infections and clear the resulting residue from their systems without issue. Someone who drew the genetic short straw will not be similarly blessed.

Viral infections are also theorized to trigger a tendency to obesity in people with a certain genetic code. Obesity gets blamed for everything, but here again, correlation is not causation and if shaming people worked, we would have no addicts, no one with psych disorders, and no fat people. Clearly, shaming people doesn't cure any of the world's ills, so it would be nice if we could stop doing it and instead look for solutions. 

TL:DR

Science explains physical anomalies. Go science!

Brain diseases suck and are probably caused by bad microbes and mutated genes.

One bad gene is all it takes to perma-fuck your life.

Look for solutions rather than pointing the Finger of Shame and Blame.

Be compassionate. You never know when it may be your turn to draw the short straw. 

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Go GI Joe! 

(If you weren't a child of the 1980's, you probably won't understand this last reference.)

~The Cheese Hath Grated It and Blinded You With Science~

Video: The Search for Dark Matter

Brief Movie Review: The Man from Earth

This 2007 American film by Jerome Bixby is a dialogue-based dramatization of a story by Gordon R. Dickson about a man claiming to be a 14,000 year old caveman. While his friends/former colleagues initially believe that John is pulling their legs and go along for the ride just for fun, they eventually begin to believe that what he says might be true. This causes anger in several of his guests as they are forced to question the validity of the things they have always believed to be absolute truths.

Questions are raised about the validity of both science and religion. Things that are thought to be absolute truths one day may be refuted the next, replaced by new beliefs. People want something that they can believe in and when it seems that one's comforting belief may be taken away, a person can have irrational, even violent reactions.

I have had discussions about belief with my son, who is, in my opinion, one of the wisest people I have known, although he is only 23 years old. He said that while he has certain spiritual ideas which he on some occasions holds to be true and on other occasions hopes are true, in general he feels that the only way to be a true scientist and a true seeker is to conduct oneself as an agnostic. Thus, one does not reject possibilities, nor embrace anything as absolute. One is always open to discovery and change.

As to the nature of questions such as life, death, and salvation of the soul should there be a soul, we are not in a position to know the absolute truth in these matters. This being the case, it is best to keep an open mind and an open heart. We must, as Dr. Martin Luther King Junior said, learn to disagree without becoming violently disagreeable.

~Cie~

Cross-posted to:

One Love

Sly Fawkes

Theme Thursday: Magical

 

It is very difficult to believe that anything can be magical in a world which is so full of pain, suffering, and inequality.

It is hard to believe that there is anything magical when one is feeling psychological pain.

It is hard to believe that there is anything magical when some people have so much and others have nothing.

Yet in spite of being mentally ill, being betrayed time and again because I trusted the wrong people, and realizing that I will never amount to anything worthwhile.

I still have to believe that somewhere, somehow, there is something magical.

Because without this belief, there is no reason to go on.

 

Magic does exist.

Scientifically speaking, there is no such thing as magic, there is only science that we don't yet understand.

I don't say this sneeringly to belittle the idea of magic.

I'm not that sort of person.

 

The fact that the Universe exists is magic.

Being scientific does not believe that one can't believe in things that we can't yet understand.

In fact, it's rather unscientific not to believe in possibilities.

 

Peace,

Lily

 

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