sábado, 29 de mayo de 2010

To make life alive - M.Scott Peck, M.D.

"If you move out to another human being, there is always the risk that that person will move away from you leaving you more painfully alone than you were before. Love anything that lives - a person, a pet, a plant - and it will die. Trust anybody and you may be hurt: depend on anyone and that one may lt you down. The price of cathexix is pain. If someone is determined not to risk pain then such a person must do without many things: having children, getting married, the ecstasy of sex, the hope of ambition, friendship - all that makes life alive, meaningful and significant."

- The road less travelled, M. Scott Peck, M.D.

martes, 25 de mayo de 2010

sábado, 15 de mayo de 2010

Tibetans developed genes to help them adapt to life at high elevations

Tibetans developed genes to help them adapt to life at high elevations


We are NOT the same series..

Savage VS Civilized - Bertrand Russell

The civilized man is distinguished from the savage mainly by prudence, or, to use a slightly wider term, forethought. He is willing to endure present pains for the sake of future pleasures, even if the future pleasures are rather distant. This habit began to be important with the rise of agriculture;

no animal and no savage would work in the spring in order to have food next winter, except for a few purely instinctive forms of action, such as bees making honey or squirrels burying nuts. In these cases, there is no forethought; there is a direct impulse to an act which, to the human spectator, is obviously going to prove useful later on. True forethought only arises when a man does something towards which no impulse urges him, because his reason tells him that he will profit by it at some future date. Hunting requires no forethought, because it is pleasurable; but
tilling the soil is labour, and cannot be done from spontaneous impulse.


*How does he know if bees and squirrels do not merely carry on instinctive forms of action, what if they do understand the concept of forethought

Thracian god, Bacchus - Bertrand Russell

Dionysus, or Bacchus, was originally a Thracian god. The Thracians were very much less civilized than the Greeks, who regarded them as barbarians. Like all primitive agriculturists, they had fertility cults, and a god who promoted fertility. His name was Bacchus. It was never quite clear whether Bacchus had the shape of a man or of a bull. When they discovered how to make beer, they thought intoxication divine, and gave honor to Bacchus. When, later, they came to know the vine and to learn to drink wine, they thought even better of him. His functions in promoting fertility in general became somewhat subordinate to his functions in relation to the grape and the divine madness produced by wine.

the GREEK/Natural law - Bertrand Russell

It must be admitted that religion, in Homer, is not very religious. The gods are completely human, differing from men only in being immortal and possessed of superhuman powers.

Morally, there is nothing to be said for them, and it is difficult to see how they can have inspired much awe. In some passages, supposed to be late, they are treated with Voltairean irreverence. Such genuine religious feeling as is to be found in Homer is less concerned with the gods of Olympus than with more shadowy beings such as Fate or Necessity or Destiny, to whom even Zeus is subject. Fate exercised a great influence on all Greek thought, and perhaps was one of the sources from which science derived the belief in natural law.


The Homeric gods were the gods of a conquering aristocracy, not the useful fertility gods of those who actually tilled the soil.

miércoles, 12 de mayo de 2010

Affection

People at work keep telling me that I don't love my kids enough. OK, they didn't say that but what they did say is that I don't show my kids enough affection.

The real question is this, do I truly not show the kids enough affection or do I not show the faculty members enough affection?

It's something for THEM to think about..

sábado, 8 de mayo de 2010

Marisol

Today I got a chance to talk to this Brazilian woman named "Marisol" on a language exchange website. When asked about her name, she said "Marisol" means Maria de Soledade - Mary of Loneliness.. Isn't that beautiful.


Color blind


Perception of color

THE MOST RETARDED PIECE I'VE EVER COME ACROSS

When surveyed, most people say they get tattoos or unconventional piercings to
express individuality. But could something more psychologically primal be afoot?


ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ADAM HADHAZY (I DON'T WANT TO BE AN ASS, BUT WHAT AN IRONIC NAME.. MR. HAZY HEAD)


Researchers at the University of Wroclaw in Poland measured about 200 men and
women—half of them inked or pierced in places other than their earlobes—for body
symmetry, or how similar their right and left sides are. (More similarity indicates
genetic health and is associated with sexual attractiveness.)
Among the research subjects, men with bodily decorations exhibited greater
symmetry than those without, whereas no differences emerged in women. Because
people who are less symmetric did not opt more often for tattoos and piercings,
researchers rejected one widely held hypothesis that suggested people use physical
graffiti to hide or distract from imperfections in their appearance.
(WHAT ABOUT THIS FOR A HYPOTHESIS, THESE "SYMMETRIC" MEN ACTUALLY CONSIDER THEMSELVES UNATTRACTIVE AND SUFFER FROM LOW-SELF ESTEEM? OR THAT THEY WANT TO DECORATE THEIR BODY MERELY FOR THE AESTHETIC REASON. HOW FUCKING STUPID OF THESE SO CALLED "RESEARCHERS" TO GENERALIZE HUMAN BEINGS BASED ON THE APPEARANCE COMPLETELY DISREGARDING INDIVIDUAL COMPLEXITIES AND PERSONAL MOTIVATIONS FOR THE ACTIVITIES THEY CHOOSE TO DO. AND EVEN IF IT WAS RELATED TO BIOLOGICAL IMPULSE(WHICH I'M SURE IS NOT), HUMANS ARE NOT UNCONSCIOUS ANIMALS, WE MAKE CONSCIOUS DECISIONS IN THINGS WE DO THE MAJORITY OF TIME. FOR INSTANCE, YOU DON'T GO AND TAKE A SHIT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD JUST BECUASE YOU GOTTA GO. HENCE, THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE VIEW THAT THESE SYMMETRIC MEN DECIDED TO GET TATTOOS BECAUSE OF THE BIOLOGICAL IMPULSE)

The results jibe with a different theory—getting stuck with needles can endanger
one’s health via infections, so the study supports the evolutionary “handicap” theory
that only those with high biological quality can afford such risky behavior.
OH I SEE SO NEXT TIME YOU SEE SOMEONE DEMONSTRATING A RISKY BEHAVIOR SUCH AS.. STICKING A NEEDLE FULL OF HEROINE INTO HIS/HER VEINS, PLEASE PRAISE THIS PERSON AND SAY "YOU ARE THE ONE WITH HIGH BIOLOGICAL QUALITY, THAT'S WHY YOU CAN AFFORD SUCH RISKY BEHAVIOR. GOOD FOR YOU!" NEXT TIME YOU SEE A BIPOLAR/SUICIDAL PATIENT CUTTING HIM/HERSELF, PLEASE SAY "YOU ARE THE ONE WITH HIGH BIOLOGICAL QUALITY, THAT'S WHY YOU CAN AFFORD SUCH RISKY BEHAVIOR. GOOD FOR YOU!"

The impulse to get inked may be a risk-taking behavior inherited from ancestors who were strong enough to endure injuries and survive—as opposed to those whose ancestors
survived by avoiding risk and injury. Therefore, at least in men, body art could serve as an “honest” signal of fitness in the Darwinian sense. So maybe that’s why
pierced, tattooed rock stars do so well with the ladies.(
OF COURSE, AGAIN WITH THE RISKY BEHAVIOR/HANDICAP THEORY NONSENSE AND COMPLETELY IGNORING THE SOCIAL/CULTURAL CONTEXT.. GOD, THIS PIECE MAKES ME SICK. SO LET'S TAKE A BREAK AND PLAY MAD LIBS.

FOLLOWING IS MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS ARTICLE:

*The impulse to ( ) may be a risk-taking behavior inherited from ancestors who were strong enough to endure injuries and survive—as opposed to those whose ancestors survived by avoiding risk and injury. Therefore, at least in men, body art could serve as an “honest” signal of fitness in the Darwinian sense. So maybe that’s why pierced, tattooed rock stars do so well with the ladies.

1. The impulse to (BE PROMISCUOUS) may be a risk-taking behavior inherited from ancestors who were strong enough to endure injuries and survive—as opposed to those whose ancestors survived by avoiding risk and injury. Therefore, at least in men, body art could serve as an “honest” signal of fitness in the Darwinian sense. So maybe that’s why pierced, tattooed rock stars do so well with the ladies.

2. The impulse to (BE SUICIDAL AND CUT ONESELF ) may be a risk-taking behavior inherited from ancestors who were strong enough to endure injuries and survive—as opposed to those whose ancestors
survived by avoiding risk and injury. Therefore, at least in men, body art could serve as an “honest” signal of fitness in the Darwinian sense. So maybe that’s why
pierced, tattooed rock stars do so well with the ladies.

3. The impulse to (SHOOT HEROINE) may be a risk-taking behavior inherited from ancestors who were strong enough to endure injuries and survive—as opposed to those whose ancestors survived by avoiding risk and injury. Therefore, at least in men, body art could serve as an “honest” signal of fitness in the Darwinian sense. So maybe that’s why pierced, tattooed rock stars do so well with the ladies

4. The impulse to (DRUNK DRIVE) may be a risk-taking behavior inherited from ancestors who were strong enough to endure injuries and survive—as opposed to those whose ancestors survived by avoiding risk and injury. Therefore, at least in men, body art could serve as an “honest” signal of fitness in the Darwinian sense. So maybe that’s why pierced, tattooed rock stars do so well with the ladies


OK, FOLLOWING IS THE HISTORY OF TATTOOS I CAME ACROSS ON THE INTERNET, READ AND LEARN.


"Chronological History of Tattoos - http://tattoos.iloveindia.com/tattoo-history/index.html
The art of tattoo has emerged along with the development the development of Human race. There is no specific time or place to be pointed out with evidence that it was where the tattoos came in being. One of the oldest tattoos was found to be engraved on the back of a man who was buried on the slopes of the Alps. The researches later suggested that his body was buried there 5 thousands years ago. It is from where you can understand that people long back in time were also fascinated by this art.

Many Egyptian Mummies found in the pyramids of Egypt also have tattoos engraved near their waists. It is said that these are basically the mummies of women longing for a child and the tattoos are the symbol of their goddess of fertility. There have been several reports that suggest that in past at some places tattooing was done for medicinal purposes. It is also said that the pigments used in tattooing had some curative or healing effect. The term 'tattoo' is derived from the Polynesian word 'ta' which means to strike something.

If traced chronologically, the history of tattoos can be traced back to both the era primitive and historic culture even before the birth of Christ. At these times this was an art exclusively reserved for either royal lineage or religious figures in the community. This art was also popular amongst Christians before the church edict forbade them on the pretext of some quotes in Bible. Tattoos have since then persisted in various parts of the world of various reasons. At some places it has been the symbol of power and courage and at other disgrace of exile and crime."



I HATE POP "SCIENCE".

Bipolar disorder - Clock function (AmericanScientificMind)

The Clock Is Off

Bipolar disorder may be linked to mutations affecting circadian rhythm.

An off-kilter body clock can throw off our sleep-wake cycle, eating habits, body temperature and hormones—and mounting evidence suggests a malfunctioning clock may also underlie the mood cycles in bipolar disorder. In a new study led by psychiatrist Alexander Niculescuof Indiana University, researchers found that children with bipolar disorder were likely to have a mutated RORB gene, which codes for a protein crucial to circadian clock function.

The team’s previous work identified alterations to this gene and other clock genes in animal models of the disorder. In the new study, the scientists compared the genomes of 152 bipolar kids with those of 140 typical kids. (Children were
studied because their moods cycle more rapidly than the moods of bipolar adults, and a quicker cycle suggests a stronger connection to the circadian clock.) The team found that the bipolar children were more likely to have one of four alterations to RORB, and the investigators suspect the mutations prevent the body from producing the correct amount of the protein to support normal clock function.

Previous studies had shown that strictly regulating a bipolar patient’s sleep schedule could improve extreme mood cycles, but experts weren’t sure why—until animal studies started showing a connection to circadian clock genes.
“Every time we investigate some [abnormality] of molecular machinery linked to the clock genes, we find an association with bipolar disorder,” says Francesco Benedetti, a neuroscientist at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, who was not involved in the Indiana research.

The ultimate goal, he adds, is to pinpoint the precise mechanism that links clock function with mood swings, in the hope of designing new drugs and treatments that will restore the clock to working order. —Monica Heger

viernes, 7 de mayo de 2010

Time to become an artist..

How do you know if you have high dopamine levels?

1. You have an excessively demanding sex drive.

2. You are an information and news junky.

3. You feel trapped when you do not have something risky and exciting to do. You may engage in dangerous risk taking.

4. You fear being alone and having nothing to do. You cannot tolerate relaxation or calm. Peace and quite bore you.

5. You are prone to violence and aggression. You may deliberately create conflict to get a thrill.

6. You feel a lack intimacy and you do not want to make deep connections with others.

7. You are a junk food junkie.

8. You feel insecure, paranoid and try to control your environment in overt and destructive ways.

9. You are chronically stressed, frustrated, and anxious. You are a workaholic, driven by success, and burned out.

10. You are overly competitive and determined to win at all costs. You are demanding and lack the trust of those around you





Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming schizophrenic.


(SOURCE) http://evenstaronline.com/articles/top10dopamine.html

inbreeding VS outbreeding

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/articles/emotions/faceperception1.shtml

jueves, 6 de mayo de 2010

High Education/Intelligence and Dementia

High Education or Intelligence
Better educated people are well known to perform better on dementia
screening tests like the Mini-Mental State Examination. However, there is
controversy about whether these people are protected against AD and other
dementing diseases or whether they are simply better at doing cognitive
tests. Several studies have found that better educated people have a lower
incidence of AD or cognitive decline, but this is not a universal finding [95±
97]. One hypothesis is that education does not protect against Alzheimer
brain changes, but rather allows the individual to compensate better for the
effects of these changes
[98]. In other words, better educated persons can
tolerate greater loss of brain cells before they begin to show the effects of
dementia in their everyday behaviour
. There is some evidence to support
this hypothesis [99]. Because education is correlated with intelligence, it
could be pre-morbid intelligence rather than education that is protective.
For example, one longitudinal study has found that pre-morbid intelligence
is a better predictor of dementia than education [100]. While the evidence on
education and pre-morbid intelligence is generally interpreted in terms of
compensation for brain pathology, a recent study of AD in American nuns
went further to suggest that higher verbal ability in early adulthood actually
protects against AD processes in old age [101]. Verbal ability was assessed
from samples of writing that the nuns had made as young adults. Among
the nuns who died and came to autopsy, all of those with confirmed AD had
low verbal ability, compared to none of those without the disease. Any
protective effects of education or intelligence could be mediated by brain
reserve [102]. Intelligence is known to be correlated with brain size, and
individuals who have a larger brain or head size appear to have reduced
risk of dementia.


Dementia 2nd ed

Dementia 2nd ed - Alzheimer's disease and ethnicities

The incidence of AD could be different in other countries or
in other ethnic groups. This could be because of different environmental
exposures throughout life, including dietary patterns, or because of different
gene frequencies in the contrasted populations. A meta-analysis of
incidence studies found that East Asian countries had a lower incidence of
dementia, and a lower incidence of AD at younger ages, than countries with
predominantly Caucasian populations. Japanese studies have often
found that vascular dementia is more prominent than AD. However,
Japanese-Americans, who have oriental ancestry but have adopted American
culture, are more like Caucasians in having a preponderance of AD
. Recent studies in Japan indicate that the Japanese may have gradually
moved to the Caucasian pattern of dementia. although Hatada et al
attribute the change largely to different ascertainment practices in recent
years. Overall, the findings suggest that there may be some important
genetic or environmental factors which produce a different pattern of
dementing diseases. Possible factors are the higher intake of salt in the
Japanese diet (predisposing them to high blood pressure and vascular
dementia) and the lower frequency of the ApoE e4 allele in the Japanese
(lowering their risk of AD).
Another interesting study has compared the prevalence and incidence of
dementia in Black Americans and Nigerians [72,73]. Both groups are of West
African ancestry, but they have very different lifestyles. The Nigerians have
been found to have a lower prevalence and incidence of AD and of dementia
generally.
The Cree Indians in Canada have also been found to have a lower prevalence
of AD than White Canadians, but they did not differ in the prevalence
of all dementias because they had more alcoholic dementia [74]. It is important
to note, however, that the Cree study has reported a lower prevalence of
AD, not a lower incidence. The difference in prevalence could be due to a
lower incidence in the Cree or to shorter survival after developing AD.




- dementia 2nd ed

To become a great poet

If you ever stopped to listen, her fiancé had said, then you would understand.

She stood on a chair and pulled out some small paperbacks from the top shelf. Dante, “The Divine Comedy,” in a new translation. Boccaccio, “The Decameron,” Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales,” complete and unabridged. Dante again, “La Vita Nuova.”

“La Vita Nuova” explained how to become a great poet. The secret was to fall in love with a perfect girl but never speak to her. You should weep instead. You should pretend that you love someone else. You should write sonnets in three parts. Your perfect girl should die.
- La Vita Nuova - Allegra Goodman


Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/05/03/100503fi_fiction_goodman?currentPage=2#ixzz0n91zDmjv


miércoles, 5 de mayo de 2010

Why women find their parents unpleasant

Economix: Why Women Find Their Parents Unpleasant
By By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Published: April 23, 2010
Contrary to gender stereotypes of feminine domestic bliss, women are much more likely to report being in an “unpleasant state” when spending time with their parents and children.


Link - http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/why-women-find-their-parents-unpleasant/

domingo, 2 de mayo de 2010

GAD and ambiguity

Information Processing and Cognitive
Biases for Emotional Information
According to cognitive theory, anxious
individuals anticipate and interpret
ambiguous events in a negative
way. Compared to their peers, anxious
children interpret events more
negatively, tend to engage in selfblame
more readily, and focus on the
negative rather than positive aspects
of events (Silverman & Ginsburg,
1995).


*Although anxious children and children
with ODD share tendencies to
interpret ambiguous information in a
negative and threatening way, children
with ODD respond with aggression,
while children with Anxiety Disorders
respond with avoidance tactics
(Barrett, Rappee, Dadds, & Ryan,
1996).

sábado, 1 de mayo de 2010

la pendeja

Today I heard from little birdies that one particular person at the kindergarten I work for has been running her loud mouth about me to my agency and the principal.

She is LA PENDEJA (CONHO, asi la voy a llamar) that has constantly complimented me on my "good looks" since the day one.

She is la pendeja that likes to compliment me on my "fashion" sense, and make up skills.

Now it's all clear that this pendeja actually has been jealous of me the whole time. Or perhaps ESA VIEJA has been feeling hurt because I never reciprocated compliments for I did not want to LIE. (haha, ok this one is a joke. I didn't reciprocate because my Korean is not good)

Whatever the fucking reason is, this fucking fishwife been accusing me of being an odd ball, a druggie, a liar, a bad teacher, etc etc. and she has been feeding lies to the principal about me.

I feel hurt, humilliated, mortified, irritated, confused and upset.

I don't deserve this.