Talking to Serendip

These remarkable social structures in male dolphins and the ensuing behaviors may have arisen for purely selfish evolutionary reasons (he who sires the most progeny gets his genes' survival assured), but I note with some interest that it has driven affiliation and associative relationships in the male dolphins. It would be interesting to study how the females respond to this, especially in light of my own personal experiences with a semi-captive female dolphin who vigorously and enthusiastically courted me for 6 months. For instance, Emma Berdan uses the word "rape" to describe how the males interact sexually with a female under their "control," but what I experienced shows that females can make individual (even remarkable) mating choices with no possibility of offspring. It seems to me that female dolphins have a lot of control over who they mate with. Perhaps the first-order alliances of male dolphins pick females in estrus not because they are more likely to produce offspring (the Darwinian explanation) but because a female in estrus is more likely to be responsive to sexual advances (the Skinnerian explanation)? Furthermore, as this article shows, using the word "rape" to describe dolphins normal sexual relationships trivializes the word and the severity of the crime it describes (it is a legal term, and women are not female dolphins. Take it from me, I know the difference.)

While these long-term associations may be unique to males, I would assume there is some equally complex social process at work in females that remains undiscovered. These enduring relationships, and the need to form ever-larger social structures, may have been a prime driver in the formation of dolphin intelligence and communications. Nature appears to have produced two pinnacles of self-awareness on this planet, and the toothed whales are by far the elder. We need to learn from them not as research subjects, but as our equals, and our betters in their own environment.

The correct term in "extraversion" (with an "a"). Please use the correct terminology in deference to Carl Jung who coined the term and besides, it's the correct prefix to use!!!
Thanks

Langtons ant now has a wave equation.

If all mammals have a neo cortex, where is the part that suddenly appeared in humans about 200,000 years ago? Where and what is the newest part of the human neo cortex, the part that made us humans? It cannot be the whole neo cortex, because all mammals have this. did it simply get a little bigger? If so, in which direction did it grow? Where are the new cells?

Up to August, 2015, my two kids ages 11 and 6 years old have been having round-robin colds, coughs and culminates in asthma attacks. I am very cautious that I do not catch the cough because it really does not allow me to sleep at night. Despite precautions I end up being sick too. Our bills for medicines has always been high which covers Tempra, cough syrups, Virlix, nebules, Decolgen and pain relievers not to mention the professional fee of their pediatrician. In September last year, I came across a blog that mentions the good attributes of Colloidal Silver. I searched the Philippine on-line market but sadly no one is selling it. I researched how it is being made and proceeded to make my own. I used Canadian Maple leaf coins 99.99% Ag and distilled water and produced 10 ppm just for our family use. From then on, the colds, cough, flu/asthma round-robin completely disappeared from our household. To make sure we are always protected, I dosed 50 ml of 10 ppm CS solution into our 20 liters hot/cold water dispenser where everybody gets his/her drinking water. Since I am making my own, we started using it in scalp sprays after shower, skin sprays, table, dishes and kitchen spray disinfectant, mouth wash and in feet hygiene and deodorizing our shoes and sandals. I gave it away to friends and they too experienced wonderful results. I started to manufacture it using free solar energy and I am now able to sell it to friends and acquaintances at a fraction of the market price at USD 6.25/liter.

Hi All,
I am teaching biology at a new urban charter and with funding and political issues, have not received books or supplies for my students. Your site has been a life saver, and I like it's academic authenticity much better than the standard text companies. I also appreciate your theoretical orientation on complex systems.
Cheers,
Kathy von Duyke

I was a flabbergasted reading this so called article on Why is Diabetes an Epidemic in the African American Community? By Ramatu Kallon. Is this a research finding or opinion? If Diabetes was really prevalent in African American wouldn’t their ancestor have it too? Hence Africa should be the hot bed for Diabetes but it is not. Africa is the region with the lower prevalence of diabetes (4.9%), having Réunion (15.4%), Seychelles (12.1%) and Gabon (10.7%) as the top three countries with higher prevalence and 10 out of 48 countries with prevalence of diabetes higher than the upper quartile (6.3%) prevalence. So genes should be at play here right?
http://healthintelligence.drupalgardens.com/content/prevalence-diabetes-world-2013

Next time do your research and tell the truth. The truth is doctors are getting paid more money for these noncommunicable diseases, so they labeled African American with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Stop the name calling and labeling! Stop poisoning the water and selling the African population food high in fake sugar…

Any credence to the term "muscle memory"? Sure, it's in common parlance as an "explanation" of learning physical skills and of coördination, but if you cut the nerve which connects to a muscle, you totally disable the muscle--where has the "musicle's memory" gone?

My thinking is that it's due to ganglion development from conscious practicing of a physical skill that gives athletic ability, musical dexterity, and computer texting rapidity (and finally, automatically) to anyone good at these things.

Why does this misnomer of a term hang on so strongly? Because we can't see the spark giving the command, but we only see the resultant movement from the spark's orders. It's just as Ptolemy stated that loops in orbits observed in planetary movements really happened, and now are explained as a visual aberrance caused by the fact that the earth was also moving in ITS orbit, and made it look as if the observed planet movements looped at times. (See http://www.polaris.iastate.edu/EveningStar/Unit2/unit2_sub1.htm from Iowa State University, for a visual illustration of this phenomenon that Ptolemy tried to explain and can be noticed from this excellent explanation which shows what an observer sees from his own planet when tracking another planet's movements.)

I learned about this abberative visual phenomenon 'way back in high school in the middle of the last century, yet the term "muscle memory" still seems to maintain currency with many intelligent persons today, despite advances in understanding of the brain and the nervous system's actual operations.Oh well, urban legends are comfortable and that's why they persist…

Thinking that you can't control automatic functions within the human body is not very bright. If the young lady who wrote the article had done just a little research into the knowledge base on such things she would not have claimed that it was all placebo effect. As a person who practices both Qigong and T'ai Chi I have used both to lower my BP and slow my heart rate. Just a week ago I had taken all of the Coreg and other heart meds that my body could accept without having serious side effects. My heart felt like it was racing so I strapped on an electronic device to measure my BP and pulse. The reading was 212/102 with a pulse of 73. Since I couldn't take any more drugs, I did the seated postures of Qigong and T'ai Chi. After completing the movements, I measured again and the device reported 122/63 with a pulse of 46.

Was this a placebo effect? Hardly. My medical friends told me that I shouldn't slow my heart beat that low, but it was an effective way of getting quickly out of "stroking territory". My ICD would have taken over if my pulse had become erratic or gone above 100, but getting a shock that feels like a mule kicked you in the chest would not be fun.

There are Buddhist Monks who can slow their hearts even to the point of their hearts going into cardiac arrest, which definitely would not be a placebo effect.

Posted a comment on here about 'German New Medicine' (GNM), just to cut through the BS that lies at the basis of our so called 'health care system' (read: sickness industry). Of course my comment(s) don't get published here, nor hardly anywhere else, but in spite of years of experiences of getting my posts not published/deleted, now and then I still feel the urge to help people. So, instead of letting myself be frustrated by this global collaboration with Big Money, I prefer to keep doing my best for others. It's healthier that way...

Cheers

your list of web sites used for you paper is probably unreliable because all websites could not be found or there is no access to them.

I.ve been suffering social phobia when I was 5 years. At 16 some girl pushed me to face it. Selling things at street. I.ve done that. 2 days and changes my life. But today I have 38 years and 2 kids and im smart and I have no reasons to be cured. So i start thinking that's something wrong in my biology that is not working fine. I'm thinking what part of the brain drives fear or welt cause I have everithing in mi life to be happy. And I have no welt to control it. I've changed a lot. But in mi country then don't know what to do. How to handle. We are rats of laboratory. Ir a medication works then. They solute the problem. But I think they don't know nothing. I asked psiquiatrist what didn I have. He couldn't say. There are three posibilities about i was reading. Social phobia, bipolarity, or mayor depression disorder. But if he doesn't im lost.

Hi...
I am 26 years old girl and i am fighting with ocd from 4-5 years. I am unable to find out a specialist in my city who is good to understand my problems. Actually before couple of months i am fighting with unwanted thoughts. My family always used to say that i am a diffrent thinker but i knew it i was right but now a days i feel very guilty due to u.wanted thoughts because it is related to religion and my loving people. I always think bad and dirty however i was not this type of girl. I alwayd afraid of to harming people and germs too. I think many things again and again. I feel bad when i think dirty aftr seeing a boy and i doubt on.my boyfriend. He is very loving and trustable guy and i trustt him but i make him feel that i dont trust him. Sometimes he feels irritated. I m scared to loose him but i can.not control on.my brain. I am fed of myself. I dont know how to treat ocd. I know about CBT but i think it is very.costly so is any othr option to treat this. I always feel that it is result of my shocks that i experience in my life from childhood to youngerhood. And i think it is result of excess thinking about every matters. Plz help me to live life normal n.beautifully. I am eagerly waiting for your response.

i just want to say that i'm depressed...and i hope you can help me... you know that feeling of like an overflowing sadness in your heart, longing for something, i've been sick for almost 8 years..physically, since i was 15 years old up to now. it's a chronic illness...it really affects my whole life...and really lower my self confidence,....
i don't think if this is the right place to say this... but thank you for listening..

Hi! First of all, thanks so much for your wonderful piece on stress - /bb/neuro/neuro02/web3/jsteiner.html. I have been under a lot of stress myself, after recently moving countries and changing jobs, and this article really struck a chord. I especially liked the author's focus on the adrenals, how important they are in the stress response, and how they can become fatigued. I've done a lot more reading, and I now realize that the whole HPA axis actually becomes depleted in the face of long term stressors. The road to recovery involves lots of dietary changes, possibly some hormone replacement (I'm discussing this with my ND), and some serious willpower! Thanks again for your article, and all the work that you do :) Best, Annabel

Good to have this posted. My, my the revolutionary possibilities here.

What next? We can distinguish between the appropriate meanings and uses of words as part of the English language (for which there is indeed a standard of correctness, even if we view the "standard" as a set of multiple standards), and the issue of how words are used to make up the story that the words are telling. In the story we can expect the listener/reader to imagine things in his and her own way, with the results that multiple experiences of the workappear after the story-making process is triggered by the reading or listening to the work.

It seems we have three processes here: (1) a correct use of English, (2) a writing (or telling) through which an effort is made to say something, and (3) a listening or reading by another person, resulting in the intake of a story, formed partially by the words (the correctly written or spoken English as I just mentioned) and formed partially by the understanding, imagination, and gap-filling procedures of the reader/listener. These three processes would occur in the case of every piece of literature, every piece of writing or storytelling. These three processes shoot down the out-dated notion that there is a "correct" interpretation of the writing/telling. There remains, however, one or more "correct" understandings of the words used for the writing/telling. So it is useful to parse the "story" which is a co-creation of writer and reader, teller and listener, distinguishing it from the "words" which are a reflection of language use together with all its rules and customary idiosyncrasies (and historic uses of the same word and all the rest).

We'd still be upsetting those English literature teachers who "believe" in one correct interpretation, but on the other hand we'd be allowing for a further development of the contribution of the reader/listener. At least at high school and college levels of sophistication the art of reading and listening should be taken seriously. How these relate to the art of writing and speaking is a fascinating subject, and useful.

It shows up in my ESL (English as a second language) classes for kindergarteners too. My students are quite confused as to the correct meanings of words, most of the time. Yet, confused as they may be, they form very definite ideas of how the English language story I just told them goes. A clear story develops from barely understood words. Isn't that an interesting phenomenon! Trying to help the students' parents understand that their kids understand the story even though they "say" they can't remember/recognize/articulate/repeat a single word of it -- well that's part of my daily challenge as a teacher. Of course what the young kids say they have learned and what really did sneak into their minds has never had to be the same...

As long as we are talking about the story, the kids can articulate and even retell the story in their own language (Chinese, in my case). So that has to mean that those "way too difficult" English words slipped in somehow. I try to explain it all to the parents, suggesting that the next time they encounter that word, the child will recognize it from the previous story, accept it as a "familiar" word, and allow the fuller meaning of the word to blossom in the brain. Gee, the extent to which a humble ESL teacher has to "make up" the science of learning as she goes along -- that's what's really mind boggling. So I'm glad I came across this post, which seems to add the weight of some serious scholars to a phenomenon I tackle with daily. Keep it up.

Hi! I would like to know who wrote this article and the year in order to use for a paper. Thank you so much for answering!

I read the article and I am almost totally in agreement with it's author except that I don't believe in evolution except in the sense that all growth is in an evolutionary manner to the betterment of the organism.
The idea of nasal sensory glands that receive from external and send signals to our brains to activate a response to
our senses seems very plausible to me. I have often thought this myself that we actually attract like charges of our own
seed and recognize that which is us causing the closeness or connection we often view as the sixth sense. I feel that
this is also the manner of attraction of the sexes to specific types in the sexual realm. To sum it up, I feel we have a sense of ourselves for the purpose of recreating our own kind and that therefore when we sense this it activates an elevated emotional
response and causes the hormones to step into a higher state of activity due to the perception we have received. I feel this is why some people get along better than others, citing the natural attraction of sameness from a DNA standpoint.

Hi Serendip, and Thank you so much for the great job that you are doing here,
actually, I do have OCD, with compuslions and unwanted thoughts etc,
but what you said at the end of your paper seemed to make so much sense, about the amygdala playing the part
actually mine started after a period of an inward and very intense fear and anxiety about something that I really loved to do but thought was wrong, I remember being very stressed and very emotionally entangled then, the symptoms started from then, and only, only times when I try to be in peace, and be my former self again, and try to think that none of my thoughts are normal or true, for those moments my compulsions completely, COMPLETELY disperse, I really think it should be the amygdala, it's all a saved emotive reaction of my brain and no thoughts interfering in it anymore...
I still believe in and pray for peace, for me and for all the others like me out there....
Z

Hello; Your report on Epilepsy coment on how modern we are, then the odd injuries to the tongue and mouth are backwards. These injuries are caused by ones, as fools, sticking spoons in the mouth and injuring then! Sometimes even ripping the tongue out. They still think one will swallow their tongue and then not be able to breath. They, normal people, are too dump to realise 1. We have noses! 2. The throat can Not be blocked! If they pushed they own tongues back and even stuffed their fingers in, the throat area can Not be blocked!

For a few years ago I had a vision, like a flash on the
Retina. I saw a very detailed image of jesus with a crown
Of thorns. It happened during a prayer and up to
That day it was the only vision I can remember ever
Having. Last week I was scared and prayed for
Protection. Only a few seconds later I saw a vision
Of an angel with wings, cross and a bow. Apart from
These two events I have never had any visions.

I have never seen another face, image, food, sky, tree or
Anything on my retina or I am awame.

Can my brain make up these images and why have I
Not seen other things?

You can see your blind spot "in action" by staring at the test diagrams and moving your computer cursor (the little arrow) around in the area that has disappeared. You can make your cursor disappear and reappear!

Im trying to access this link to do my psych assignment and it is not working. /bb/kinser/int3.html
i have tried to access this multiple times, and it is not working. Please help.!

There is another culprit in the story of lead in our water: the lead industry. For decades after the lead companies knew that lead pipes could cause lead poisoning they continued to sell and promote lead pipes. (see The Lead Industry and Lead Water Pipes: "A Modest Campaign"; Am J Public Health. 2008;98:1584–1592)

Hi,

My name is Kathryn and I'm the author of a new book called Crochet Saved My Life. The book is about the mental and physical health benefits of crochet (and some other crafts). It includes my personal story of crocheting to cope with depression as well as the stories of many other women who healed from a diverse range of ailments thanks to crafting.

I just wanted to let you know that your site was mentioned in passing (with proper reference of course) in this book. I referred to some of the information that was shared in the article on your site titled "An Incomplete List of Cognitive Skills".

Have a great day,
Kathryn

I just read your article on veganism. I am a vegan, and I would have concluded from your article that it is a healthy way to live, so I was surprised by your conclusion that it is not. The reason you gave was that it takes careful planning to be successful. I would offer that it should take careful planning to be successful on any diet. Most of our diseases come from the way we eat. American diets are notoriously bad and there is rampant obesity in our society. I take a daily regimen of probiotics to keep up my immunity and one of the benefits of that is a healthy vitamin B12 level that my body provides me. I don't do fads like all fruit or all anything. I eat mostly green and colorful vegetables, some fruit, beans, nuts, and seeds. I supplement my diet with plant based protein powders, vitamins, and minerals and antioxidants to stay young. I am 69 years old and feel better than I ever have in my life. I am sensitive to a lot of foods so have to be careful about what I eat as well. I stay away from processed foods as much as possible and eat as close to nature as possible with the exception of the protein powder. Most of my food is organic as well. I never get sick anymore either. Finally, my weight is what it was in my 20s, another benefit.

Hi. This is for anybody on Serendip, but specifically to Caroline Feldman. This is a video mini-documentary I made about my possible experiences of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome. I was motivated to make it because my recent experience did not meet really any of those listed by AiWS's Wikipedia article, so it's puzzling. I just wish for scientists who are knowledgeable about the condition to see this nine minute video and share their opinions. (and subscribe to my channel, if you care to.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfR1I0t-Buo

Thanks, and take care.

Christopher Haydu

Please check out a Facebook page called "Sexual Attraction - What it is" for a radically new viewpoint one what the composition of sexual attraction is.

Hi I just want to drop a few words I been waching that video of tranquility for a month now and gues what I been divorce for 14 years and I would never think about getting together with some one guess what I was rong I found the most gorgeous girl and she change my mind so for something that I thought never happen again getting in love is all ways nice and I have to thank all for give live again I'm so exited I found that girl I all ways dream of with in a period one month that's strong staff xxx

I am 45 male I lost my hand I would like to know if there is a clinic or study I could get in that would lead me in having another hand? How much are these procedures? I have no money. If you can't help who might?

I have always had to controll my balance and I would walk with a cane. When Im stressed or have the flu become tired and walking is off balance. I have never taken any meds for this. My surgeon said get used to it very sternly. I always earch for new cures to this problem. The stem cells give you energy and balance. Let me read about the procedure.

Thank you,
Pat

MY name is Allie and I have many problems due to the drugs that my parents took while she was pregnant with me in her tummy my teeth did not grow properly my cells in my brain did not form properly my mom smoked weed and did drink and more other drugs doctors did not know the real cause of which drug did what damage to me. I am now 38 my knees are that of a 90 year old because i have been diagnosed with tmj in my joints not just in my jaws i have joint, ligaments and tendons that are slowly not working properly you say weed is good or it don't harm any one but it does if you take while your having a baby sure the baby looks normal but when they grow up its harder for them to learn to keep information in apply their there smarts they are different in the way they think to them its rational to those around them they are considered weird and different. its hard to make friends when my teeth did not grow right they said i needed braces but come to find out i have teeth in my nose cavity and still have baby teeth because the adult teeth behind them are laying side ways in my facial structure you would not know this if you looked at me you would just see me smile and wonder why my teeth are broken and bucked but exrays wow even i was surprised I have no idea what it would take for me to just have a pretty smile to much money that i don't have i did get a quote one time to have them pull my teeth and replace them but my smile would still not be straight teeth and no thank you they cant just pull the baby ones because the adult teeth are laying side ways on top of the babies its really hard to explain but here is the deal all drugs are bad especially if you think you may be come a parent it is the child that suffers and is the child that is going to have an abnormal life and looked at stupid because she or he thinks different looks normal for the most part but suffers from many complicated ailments like depression anxiety A D D Adhd all together and when they take pictures of your brain it never grew normal Now i don't want sympathy from any one it is no ones fault but my parents thc levels in the sperm and thc levels in my moms blood all played a role in how i developed and my brain is still not right I am a mother of 2 kids both girls I did not drink nor smoke nor do drugs and to this day I do not do any of those things because i live the consequences of someones choices on a daily basis. what you do with your life is your choice but when you are having to be part of someone else your life no longer belongs to you it belongs to the one inside that you are responsible for. I have been trying for many years to find out what drugs and what kinds of drinking did this to me but I am not a statistic I have not had a family but the one i created my mom let me be raised by the state because she was to busy being selfish and not caring towards me but I have one question that no one can answer why would you risk your life and the quality of the life one has inside what does one gain by making these choices its not fun any more its more of a chore then any thing my whole life i have ended up being friends with drug users trying to make them change their mind on getting high drunks trying to get them to a point in their life where being sober is more productive but I have yet to suceseed in this problem. for all the ones that drink and smoke weed and do hard drugs no one in your life benifets from your choices it hurts the ones that care for you the most and eventually you will have nothing to show for the life you lived for in the end you will own nothing have nothing because for what you thought was a good time turned into a really bad habbit that has consumed your life and the life of those around you. and in the end no one wins kids loose parents that they really need in their young life and parents loose kids due to the abuse and lies and demons that they have chased and found and now they belong to them not you any longer when in reality as parents we do our best to love them guide them show them but when in due time it becomes their choice of what they are going to do and were all accountable for our own actions its just sad when it s the kids in the middle that suffer the most because we did not ask to be born in to it

I am a third year Psych student and wanted to say how very much I enjoyed Jill McCain's paper written on Language Acquisition. It was written in a clear and concise manner and offered further insight of a different perspective on this subject.

Very interesting idea - Women in Walled Communities, 360 course cluster: But imagine my surprise when I discovered that colleges and prisons are the communities in question! Notably missing are women's monasteries, many of which are indeed homes of silence, voice, and vision, certainly as much as and maybe more than the above. They also are in a deep sense “penitential” communities, not in the sense of punishment but in the sense of perfecting the heart/mind. Although religious traditions (Quaker, Mennonite, Buddhist) are mentioned, walled contemplative communities are not. Study of these communities would I think offer very interesting and useful insight.

I realized this is an old post (1991), but I just stumbled upon it..and I must say I loved it and related to every bit of it! It was thought provoking and articulated nicely. I find it relevant and to the point, maybe even more so today than in 1991. In the same way "telling the truth is a revolutionary act!", thinking is vigilantly discouraged. In my experience, many people--sometimes your own family, really get "put off" when you bring up things that make them think. I admire and respect you PAUL GROBSTEIN [ DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY BRYN MAWR COLLEGE ], for your honesty, integrity, and perseverance in the face of adversity; as well as your insight and wisdom. Thanks for pointing out the 'elephant in the room'...and thanks for "thinking so much" and writing this great article. It is now on StumbleUpon. :) love and blessings! ~ Linda

Who is Marla McConnell, author of "Media and Gender Stereotyping" that appears on this web site? I am a student writing an annotated bibliography and I would like to cite him/her as a source for my project. Please help with any possible info! Thanks!

It seems that your contact page is not working. Can you provide contact information?
/serendip/contact/

thankyou very much this infomation has helped me alot with my health and social care work as you have talked about all of the aspects about downs syndrome. thanks

I did play The Prisoners' Dilemma by not playing it. I choose not to choose. It seemed to be the most rational option.

HI I SEEN A POST FROM A GIRL CALLED VALERIE FROM DUBLIN, MY DAUGHTER IS 5 MONTHS OLD AND WAS DIAGNOSED WITH OPTIC NERVE HYPOPLASIA, COULD I BE PUT IN CONTACT WITH THAT GIRL PLEASE AS I AM FROM DUBLIN TOO PLEASE

I would like to make a comment about the free will experiment. Let me begin by talking about flipping a coin - something that seems "random", but in truth is entirely predictable. The coin is subject to the laws of physics, and will follow them - the result of the toss is directly a byproduct of the particular way it was flipped.

In much the same way, your brain is in a particular state, a very complicated one that is a result of your biology and your history, combined into a vortex of neuronal connections. The state it's in is predetermined to see the arrows pointing one way or the other - perhaps a result from being left or right handed, being color blind, growing up in a particular way, or any other factors, etc. Either way, the moment before you loaded the web page you were going to see the arrows pointing either left or right at first. Your brain has learned to parse through visual data coming from the eyes, and it will do as it has always done upon first glancing the arrow image. There was no free will, there was a brain that had learned to make sense of incoming data, and had learned to do it in a particular way. Back to the coin - it is a fallacy to assume that a complex manifestation of seeing an image is beyond the laws that made it happen.

And then you read the statement about whether they are pointing left or right, and you again look at this image, this time more closely. You notice the arrows pointing to the other direction from which you first noticed. Now we are beyond whether the arrows point left or right, and onto the second part. Do you choose the direction you originally saw the arrows pointing, or do you choose the new direction?

I still believe this is not free will. You have a particular history of being tricked on the internet, and probably didn't care too much about what you chose, as you just wanted to see the results of the experiment. However complex your thoughts, they too were a result of your raising and your particular state of mind at the moment before you loaded the page.

If you didn't feel like reading all of that, here's my two cents: you could go back in time, load the web page again, and you would choose the same things again. You have raised your brain a certain way, and it behaves as it does. To believe in a conscious choice that is "above" the physical domain is silly - the coin toss was not random.

This isn't to say your choice was predictable - quantum mechanics indicates that there ARE truly random occurrences, and so perhaps a theoretical perfectly reconstructed model of your brain would not make the same decision as you. But to mistake quantum randomness for free will is a bit of stretch, and certainly a fallacy of the human perspective

Hello, I was wondering if you are doing any clinical trials to cure diabetic retinopathy and/or any other treatments to repair or treat damaged retinas.

wondering if there is much work on memory loss through epilepsy and memory regeneration. Combined with ADHD and head injury...

What scientific articles support the notion that some people are predisposed to eating disorder due to biological components?

Hello, I visited the following web site http://all-science-fair-projects.com/project957_107.htm and l was interested in more information on the How much bacteria do our hands contain? science fair project. However when I click on the link for the project it sends me to the Senrendip site but i get the following error message: Web Page Not Found
/sci_edu/waldron/archive/pdf-old/Microorganisms_everywhere.pdf
We're sorry, but we couldn't find the file you requested on Serendip. It may have moved to a new location.
Please use our search facility to locate pages of interest to you, or try one of the categories listed above.

If you are contacting us about this error, please include the URL of the file you were trying to access: /sci_edu/waldron/archive/pdf-old/Microorganisms_everywhere.pdf
Please let me know if this information is still available. Thanks!

The Ataxia article from this site is one of the most accurate and heart-felt sources of information that I've read. My ataxia was diagnosed only 4 years ago, but I have a hunch it has been around far longer. Kudos to the authors and developers involved in creation of this piece. I think it deserves required reading status for all providers of health care.

I am a practicing artist of six years now in traditional realism. When I draw/paint I look at something and time seems to stop and I rely on an 'instinct' to tell me if my drawing/painting is accurate or not. I paint for hours and it feels like a very short period. In fact my feet often fall asleep from not moving. I am imagining this to be similar to blindsight. I experience a timelessness and I experience a discomfort when my image is incorrect spatially or in value. But color doesn't register and it must be consciously considered before hand. There is speculation that art is a right brain activity but I'm not sure I agree because I use both eyes to paint/draw. I feel certain there is an subconscious element to what I do. And perhaps the subconsciousness is unaware of time. I'm convinced the images I create have a subconscious origin and that much information in the image is 'unseen' but there all the same.

It isn't exactly a fair test of free will. There are four sets out rightward facing arrows and only 3 of left facing, our brains can more easily identify patterns in larger numbers. Try making the picture a bit more symmetric to appropriately test people.

Fellow Toastmasters & Guests, the words of René Descartes have remained to haunt thinking men and women like you and me for three and a half centuries. I say “haunt,” because many of us are still trying to come to terms with the meaning of this lofty, elusive expression. I must confess that it is intrigue that I feel – a compelling, fascinating curiosity to resolve abstract thought into tangible meaning. My purpose is to convince you that I think; therefore, I am...capable of cracking this one!

If I were to offer you a basic explanation of Descartes, it would probably go like this: “I am able to think, therefore I exist.” But there’s an instant shortcoming to this interpretation, because there are many entities in existence that do not enjoy the faculty of thought; there are even human beings who do not actually think (I pray that all toastmasters do!). Do they exist? If you insist that any claim to existence is dependent on the capacity to think, then I beg your pardon, but you must be sitting squarely on your heads right now, because those chairs do not exist – they are incapable of thought!

What is your opinion; do you exist because you think? Or do you think, because you exist? I daresay, there are those who do neither, and so they neither exist, nor do they think. If you do not have a life of your own, you just as well do not exist, because you serve yourself no purpose. And if you do not have thoughts or opinions of your own, you certainly are short of a mental plane on which to perpetuate an existence. I put it to you that I think because I exist. In other words, “I exist, therefore I think.” Now that’s a complete reversal of “Descartesian” philosophy. It means that mind follows body, fattened by the assumption that wherever there is a body there should be a mind.

Let’s get personal: I look at this toastmaster’s audience, and I see you – or so I think; but what I really see are your shapes and forms (your bodies). It is mere assumption that, because your bodies are sitting in this room - on chairs that may not even exist, since they do not think - then your minds are also here. But it is not even a safe assumption; for some of you, while sitting here well-dressed in body, are mentally elsewhere planning tomorrow’s meal menu or wondering how to get the rest of your day’s work done after this meeting.

If we were to reverse the principle to its original state – “I think, therefore I am” – Descartes would be pleased, because, to him, the body was less real than the mind. According to his reasoning, "the mind and body were two separate and distinct entities, but even the body was not so certain a thing as the mind, because, like everything else in the world, the body could only be sensed because there was a mind to sense it." Shall we then reason that body follows mind, so that wherever there are robust minds there must be wonderful bodies?

I-don’t-think-so! Doesn’t Descartes himself insist that “the mind by which I am what I am, is wholly distinct from the body, and is even more easily known than the latter …”? It is neither ideologically logical nor conscientiously consistent to make truth of the notion that mind and body must always swoon in matrimonial bliss. After all, the body may very well be on the decline whenever the mind is on the uprising, because bodily emancipation must be the antithesis of mental liberation.

That’s brain and brawn fighting for supremacy. Descartes could scare find his own body, because the mind by which "he was what he was" had attained such sophistication and elegance that any other form of existence was, for him, immaterial. To be complete in mind was to have no need or care for a body: “I think, therefore I am.” It is enough to know that I think, because that makes me real. And as long as I can think, I can also conclude that this mortal shell, which I can sense by seeing light, hearing sound, feeling heat, smelling the roses, and tasting Jamaican jerk, is my body.

By extension, give me a mind, and I can “think” myself a body; but give me a body, and I may not necessarily be able to grow myself a mind. The body cannot do what the mind can accomplish. Descartes contends that the body could only be sensed because there was a mind to sense it. My contention is whether the one can exist without the other. Would you be happy with a mind that found no refuge in its own material tenement? Or would you find contentment in a physical frame that had no capacity to fathom whether it was a zombie or a corpse?

Where there are no bodies, I do not look for minds, for I perceive that the one must coexist with the other. According to Asian philosophy, Yin-Yang is the balance that coincides and coexists in all things to make life complete – dark and light, female and male, low and high, cold and hot, and, by the same token, body and mind. In truth and in fact, Descartes’ “I am” cannot be limited to mind only, but must embrace both mind and body, because we all exist on a physical as well as a mental/spiritual plane. For you and for me, it is a tripartite equation that may resolve this issue: body (b) + mind (m) ≡ behaviour (bh) or bh≡b+m. Body is the tangible, earthly, physical representation of my “I am”; mind is my perception of sensations that impact my body – the think symbol of my “I am”; and behaviour is change in me resulting from what I perceive as sensations impacting my body as well as my thoughts.

Let’s apply this formula to Descartes’ theory: I think (behaviour), therefore I am (body + mind, i.e., human). It then becomes an exclusive claim that only human beings can make. Body without mind makes me corpse or vegetable, and mind without body makes me spirit; but body with mind makes me human. “I think; therefore, I am [HUMAN].

© 2011 July 21, by Clyve A. Bowen

NB The above is the text of my Toastmasters Speech Project, "The Abstract Concept," from the "Speaking To Inform" Manual. I read your letter to Descartes only after I had finished writing my speech; but I was so fascinated by the similarities and difference between your interpretation and mine that I thought I had to share my speech with you and your readers.

I was wondering if the children on the island of Pingelap have a need for magnifying glasses or sunglasses. I have a source for both as well as reading glasses if they could use them.

Please write me back and let me know who I can communicate with on the island or on Pohnpei

THanks

John Gregory

I was wondering whether you might be interested in featuring some of the resources we have in our Virtual Genetics Education Centre (www.le.ac.uk/vgec) on your interactive biology page (/sci_edu/biosites.html). As well as featuring a collection of evaluated resources from other sites, the VGEC provides details of a number of activties we have developed ourselves http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/genetics/vgec/genie-resources . All of these activities are available under the creative commons license.

First I would like to say thank you for giving me the ability to ask this question and receive an answer! I am very worried about my husband. He is a 52 year old African American, approximately 155 pounds and was taken by ambulance to the hospital tonight for blacking out after drinking with his "friends". The doctor found his blood alcohol level to be 300.0. My question is how much alcohol did he have to drink for his level to be so high? I am in need of this information due to the fact that he is borderline "wet brain" and sclerosis of the liver. As you can see, I am in dyer need of your assistance at this time.

Thank you in advance
Mrs. Broadway

I tried to submit my post several times using names different from "E Williams," and always received a blurb saying that the spam filter was in effect and my post would not be accepted. Please tell me exactly how a different name can be used and the post accepted - mine certainly was not.

Why did you require my name in the first space above, and most of the comments and posts on the TGA board had names like "Doc", "Anonymous", and did not have names. I find this to be unfair.

Hi,

I am writing my Thesis on using American Sign Language with preverbal infants and toddlers. I included brain research in my literature review and included your picture of cerebral cortex. I need the OK from you saying I can use the picture and how it should be identified.

Please let me know if this is alright with you.

Thank you,
Terry

Thought that you might enjoy the new presentation, "Portraits in the Mind," - with mostly art -
showing the link between synaesthesia and co-consciousness.

If interested, please respond via e-mail, and a free copy will be send to your e-mail.

Kind regards,

Mark Singer
Professor, Communication
Author, "Guidelines for Communication"
Punim Publishing, U.S.A.
www.punimpub.com
punimpub@aol.com
231.719.0358

This site actaully publishes all of the papers right? So I don't get introuble for anything by useing a paper on GM food for my research paper.

In a blog I recently wrote, analyzing the meow of a cat, I noticed that there was a chance for me to prove my theories that Dogs, are in fact superior to cats, and that there might be non subjective data to prove such a theory. I do not believe it is up for interpretation. I believe dogs DO in fact have superior nervous systems to cats. They are a more evolved animal. They are social animals, which means they have need, and are capable of more intricate ways of expression, which they would need in a pack. Whether it be a dog/human pack, or the traditional dog pack. Cats are singular predatory animals that while being super efficient hunters, have much fewer social skills, and are much less capable of expression. I set out to find data to prove this. I first looked for size ratios of brain to body size, but as your data suggests, that proves nothing. so then I thought about the intricacy of the physical brain. Is is smooth, or does it look like a maze. I believe your cephalization, may be indirectly related to how intricate the surface and depth of the brain may be. I believe a more intricate brain, with more "channels" for lack of a better word, would be more dense, thus more cephalized.

I would like to get your thoughts on this for one, and two, I would like to ask permission to re-post your findings on cephalization along with some of my theories, and whatever data I can find, as I would like to set out to informally prove that dogs are in fact Superior to cats, using empirical data.
The original blog post that spawned the idea is below.

thank you!
Mark :)

It isn't exactly a fair test of free will. There are four sets out rightward facing arrows and only 3 of left facing, our brains can more easily identify patterns in larger numbers. Try making the picture a bit more symmetric to appropriately test people.

I love , I mean Love your post, the moment I see like minded people, especially in this regards, it gives me much Hope. Thank you for sharing this. I too am on a Mission to create a New Way for our Youth, and say GoodBye to Schools, or possibly just shift it to a more Creative ,independant Learning center.. Not sure how , but it will happen. I could talk about this forever, thank you so much for sharing. Would Love to connect on F.B.
Rhinda
Rhinda

I am a senior at Milwaukee Institute of Art&Design. One of my final classes to complete my BFA is Evolution. One major project is to present material related to evolution, and I decided on the topic of mammal brain size and how it relates to our concept of intelligence. Your information and resources have been invaluable to my course work. Thank you so much!

Good day,

My name is Danielle and for years I suffered nightly with sleep paralysis, only at the time I had no name for it and even consulted a neurologist about my condition. My friends and family, while sympathetic, could not understand what I was talking about at all. I had all of the classic symptoms, footsteps leading up to my door, awareness of my surroundings, having a dark creature/figure perch at the end of my bed. My paralysis and associated fear last anywhere from one minute to several, and if I didn't wake myself thoroughly, upon falling back to sleep I would fall right back in to the paralyzed state. After awhile I learned how to manage my fear, but I tell you, that first night it happened I was just a teenager and this scared me to no end. Eventually my it was dog who caught on to theses episodes and she became very protective and would lay with me very close at night, and when she noticed I was beginning to try to move, moaning and showing discomfort, she would come and pounce on me and wake me up. Eventually these episodes were witnessed by my family, and they came to watch over me if I should fall asleep beside them or on the couch.
These episodes resolved miraculously on their own about a year ago. I can't think of any factors that contributed to this. But I am glad that they have stopped. I am glad I wasn't 'losing my mind'. Thank you to researchers like you who take the time to investigate this strange and terrifying experience.

Thank you

Danielle