Would You Support the Development of a Bionic Person?
As I understand it, bionics is meant to replace and/or enhance anatomical structures or physiological processes. I don't have an issue with replacing an anatomical structure or physiological process that is either missing or not working properly. It is easy for me to accept this position when I imagine having a disabled child. I think I would want to do everything possible to restore his or her full capabilities.
However, enhancing normal functioning of the human body seems to contradict nature. It scares me to think about what could result from this. It's bad enough that athletes use steroids to enhance their performance. It’s the same with cosmetic surgery (and I'm not talking about the variety that is done to repair burn damage or some grotesque feature which makes life exceedingly difficult). Cosmetic surgery is becoming more and more commonplace because our society is so attached to looking a certain way. This mentality leads to more insecurity which leads to more surgery. I think there is a point when artificial intervention of any kind becomes pointless and even counterproductive because it does not allow us to accept our natural limitations. Of course everyone's definition of extreme is different and that is one of the things which makes this issue so complicated.
How Would You Rate the Control of Artificial Limbs by Thought Alone?
I support more scientific research in the area of implants. Obviously this technology is still in its infancy, but I think there is great potential for it to help many people who would be otherwise unable to function. It's exciting to think that a person's brain may have the potential to assimilate an artificial limb, making it his or her own. It’s also promising that parts of the human brain, given the right stimulus, can be awakened after being unused for a long time.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Energy Medicine and Energy Fields
Acupuncture As Effective Energy Medicine
Acupuncture is an effective Energy medicine. Acupuncture treats disharmony in the body. It balances the flow of qi through the meridians to restore and maintain health. It is especially effective for treating pain and a variety of other health concerns. There are many well-established uses for the application of acupuncture, despite the lack of clinical studies to support its efficacy.
What conclusions can you draw from Kirlian photography?
I am not sure what to make of Kirlian photography. Some of the research I've conducted indicates that stress, fatigue and environmental factors such as humidity, air pressure, voltage, frequency and time exposure influence the Kirilian picture. Even some vendors of Kirlian equipment claim that the corona discharge is due to variable physical parameters. One of the sites I visited made it very clear that Kirlian photography has nothing to do with auras and that many people make this erroneous connection. I think I need to learn more about Kirlian photography before I can conclude anything definitive.
Human Intent As It Affects Health
I absolutely believe that intention affects health. We all know from studying TCM that the mind and body are inextricably linked. They do not a function separately and are intricately connected and influenced by each other. When we are frustrated and unhappy it affects our physical health. So, despite life's challenges, it is important to focus on those things which make us feel happy and healthy. Also, healing is more effective when we believe in the treatment. I have, however, experienced certain treatments to be effective even though I didn't believe in them (Chinese medicine included).
Acupuncture is an effective Energy medicine. Acupuncture treats disharmony in the body. It balances the flow of qi through the meridians to restore and maintain health. It is especially effective for treating pain and a variety of other health concerns. There are many well-established uses for the application of acupuncture, despite the lack of clinical studies to support its efficacy.
What conclusions can you draw from Kirlian photography?
I am not sure what to make of Kirlian photography. Some of the research I've conducted indicates that stress, fatigue and environmental factors such as humidity, air pressure, voltage, frequency and time exposure influence the Kirilian picture. Even some vendors of Kirlian equipment claim that the corona discharge is due to variable physical parameters. One of the sites I visited made it very clear that Kirlian photography has nothing to do with auras and that many people make this erroneous connection. I think I need to learn more about Kirlian photography before I can conclude anything definitive.
Human Intent As It Affects Health
I absolutely believe that intention affects health. We all know from studying TCM that the mind and body are inextricably linked. They do not a function separately and are intricately connected and influenced by each other. When we are frustrated and unhappy it affects our physical health. So, despite life's challenges, it is important to focus on those things which make us feel happy and healthy. Also, healing is more effective when we believe in the treatment. I have, however, experienced certain treatments to be effective even though I didn't believe in them (Chinese medicine included).
Monday, July 23, 2007
Life and Living Systems
I Know I Am a Living System Because….
I'm organized as a living being . I am composed of living cells which continually replicate themselves. I am constantly transforming as a person. I am different from who I was one year ago, and am vastly different from who I was 20 years ago. I get sick and get better. I am continually self producing and am responding to my environment. I am a living being because I think I am.
Biophysics and Me
Biophysics is a diverse field crossing over many different disciplines such as biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, mathematics, computer science, chemistry and physiology. I relate mostly to Biophysics as it explains how living organisms function. For example, it explains the function of cells and tissues, as well as the behavior of DNA, hormones, enzymes and antibodies. It also explains the biological properties of cell membranes. I studied these molecular structures in anatomy and physiology. I think this stuff is fascinating. Biophysics has allowed scientists to directly observe the biological behavior and physical properties of DNA. I think it's amazing that the behavior of a single molecule can influence the biological functioning of an organism.
I'm organized as a living being . I am composed of living cells which continually replicate themselves. I am constantly transforming as a person. I am different from who I was one year ago, and am vastly different from who I was 20 years ago. I get sick and get better. I am continually self producing and am responding to my environment. I am a living being because I think I am.
Biophysics and Me
Biophysics is a diverse field crossing over many different disciplines such as biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, mathematics, computer science, chemistry and physiology. I relate mostly to Biophysics as it explains how living organisms function. For example, it explains the function of cells and tissues, as well as the behavior of DNA, hormones, enzymes and antibodies. It also explains the biological properties of cell membranes. I studied these molecular structures in anatomy and physiology. I think this stuff is fascinating. Biophysics has allowed scientists to directly observe the biological behavior and physical properties of DNA. I think it's amazing that the behavior of a single molecule can influence the biological functioning of an organism.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Assignment 9
My E-Prime Day
According to certain medical specialists my mother appears to have bleeding in her brain. They also claim she appears to have a blood clot in her heart. Based on my impression of her when I visited her on the weekend, she seemed extremely weak and sick. Her doctors seem to think that she will die of a stroke or a heart attack. At this present time, it appears there is nothing they can do about it. Due to the circumstances I feel sad, worried and distracted.
Can I synthesize East and West?
The first thing that comes to mind is a recent exercise I learned in my Qi Gong class. It was a tonification exercise in which we brought Qi into our bodies. While doing this exercise, we visualized that various parts of our bodies were glowing with white light, like a light bulb. Each time we brought more Qi into our bodies, we visualized that we were turning up the electricity, so to speak, in order to make our light glow more brightly. This may be an obscure example, but I thought it was interesting that we were doing an Eastern exercise while visualizing Western concepts such as light bulbs and electricity.
Eastern and Western influences are often combined in cuisine. I am reminded of a horrible example of East/West fusion that I experienced in a restaurant in Maine last year. I ordered a salad with Cajun chicken, black beans and raw greens. When I tasted it, I discovered it had soy sauce on it. I called it “Asian-Cajun fusion”. Needless to say, it wasn’t good. Of course there are plenty of wonderful examples of cuisine which blends flavors from the East and the West. This was just not one of them.
Another example of how the East and West come together is in music. There are several artists both Western and Eastern who combine elements of various cultures into their music. One example that comes to mind is Asha Puthli. She synthesizes jazz, disco, rock and Indian music into an exotic and original musical style.
According to certain medical specialists my mother appears to have bleeding in her brain. They also claim she appears to have a blood clot in her heart. Based on my impression of her when I visited her on the weekend, she seemed extremely weak and sick. Her doctors seem to think that she will die of a stroke or a heart attack. At this present time, it appears there is nothing they can do about it. Due to the circumstances I feel sad, worried and distracted.
Can I synthesize East and West?
The first thing that comes to mind is a recent exercise I learned in my Qi Gong class. It was a tonification exercise in which we brought Qi into our bodies. While doing this exercise, we visualized that various parts of our bodies were glowing with white light, like a light bulb. Each time we brought more Qi into our bodies, we visualized that we were turning up the electricity, so to speak, in order to make our light glow more brightly. This may be an obscure example, but I thought it was interesting that we were doing an Eastern exercise while visualizing Western concepts such as light bulbs and electricity.
Eastern and Western influences are often combined in cuisine. I am reminded of a horrible example of East/West fusion that I experienced in a restaurant in Maine last year. I ordered a salad with Cajun chicken, black beans and raw greens. When I tasted it, I discovered it had soy sauce on it. I called it “Asian-Cajun fusion”. Needless to say, it wasn’t good. Of course there are plenty of wonderful examples of cuisine which blends flavors from the East and the West. This was just not one of them.
Another example of how the East and West come together is in music. There are several artists both Western and Eastern who combine elements of various cultures into their music. One example that comes to mind is Asha Puthli. She synthesizes jazz, disco, rock and Indian music into an exotic and original musical style.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Two Ball Bounce Experiment
Sorry I forgot to post this to my blog on chaos theory...
I did the experiment on bouncing two balls together. The results turned out exactly as expected. I put a small ball on top of a large ball and dropped them together. The bottom one hit the ground first and rebounded. On its way up, it hit the top ball, which was on its way down. The energy from the large ball was transferred to the small ball, which made an especially big bounce. This was really interesting and especially fun for my dog. We did it many times.
Assignment 7
Ordered Chaos - Does This Sound Familiar?
Yes it does. This reminds me of the process that I undertake when writing a paper. I am always overwhelmed by too many ideas and a feeling that I simply will not be able to organize them in a way that will result in something intelligible. My process is very unstructured. I simply start writing. I get a few paragraphs which come together until I am moved to follow a certain direction. Then, I write some more and sometimes my direction changes. I write a lot of stuff down, reorganized it and re- read it. I do this over and over again. I simply cannot rest until the thing is finished. By the time I have completed it, I feel good.
Fractals As Patterns of Complex Systems
As I understand it, a fractal is a geometric shape they can be divided into parts, each of which is a reduced size copy of the whole. They are inordinately complex because at all levels of magnification they appear the same. In nature, fractals appear in clouds, mountain ranges, and snowflakes. Straight lines are not fractals even though one part of the line is just like the whole. I think the reason for this is because it is one-dimensional. Not sure.
Consciousness Out Of Chaos
I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go with this question, so I am going to talk about the way I personally relate to chaos. Well, I don't handle it very well. I have a very strong internal need for order. This started from a very early age. I can remember, as a young girl in first grade, planning how I was going to organize my desk or clean my room. I would actually have a premeditated plan for how I was going to go about it and then I would do it. I didn't need any prompting for my mom, I just liked to create organized spaces.
I still love to organize and throw things away. I don't like clutter because I find I can relax more easily without it. I don't need a lot of stuff. I don't like to have too many clothes in my closet, for example, because it makes it too complicated to get dressed. At least three times a year I give stuff away just so I can create more empty space in my home. This makes me feel lighter in my mind. I can think more clearly about things that matter to me when I don't have a lot of unnecessary stuff to contend with.
Yes it does. This reminds me of the process that I undertake when writing a paper. I am always overwhelmed by too many ideas and a feeling that I simply will not be able to organize them in a way that will result in something intelligible. My process is very unstructured. I simply start writing. I get a few paragraphs which come together until I am moved to follow a certain direction. Then, I write some more and sometimes my direction changes. I write a lot of stuff down, reorganized it and re- read it. I do this over and over again. I simply cannot rest until the thing is finished. By the time I have completed it, I feel good.
Fractals As Patterns of Complex Systems
As I understand it, a fractal is a geometric shape they can be divided into parts, each of which is a reduced size copy of the whole. They are inordinately complex because at all levels of magnification they appear the same. In nature, fractals appear in clouds, mountain ranges, and snowflakes. Straight lines are not fractals even though one part of the line is just like the whole. I think the reason for this is because it is one-dimensional. Not sure.
Consciousness Out Of Chaos
I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go with this question, so I am going to talk about the way I personally relate to chaos. Well, I don't handle it very well. I have a very strong internal need for order. This started from a very early age. I can remember, as a young girl in first grade, planning how I was going to organize my desk or clean my room. I would actually have a premeditated plan for how I was going to go about it and then I would do it. I didn't need any prompting for my mom, I just liked to create organized spaces.
I still love to organize and throw things away. I don't like clutter because I find I can relax more easily without it. I don't need a lot of stuff. I don't like to have too many clothes in my closet, for example, because it makes it too complicated to get dressed. At least three times a year I give stuff away just so I can create more empty space in my home. This makes me feel lighter in my mind. I can think more clearly about things that matter to me when I don't have a lot of unnecessary stuff to contend with.
Assignment 8
Newton’s Three Laws of Motion and Me
First law: Objects at rest will remain at rest, and objects in motion will remain in motion in a straight-line at constant velocity. A force must be applied to change the state of motion of an object. An example of this law is when I walk with a glass of water. When I stop short, the water comes spilling out of the glass. The water continues in motion and spills out of the glass.
Second law: the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force acting on it, and inversely proportional to its mass. When I drop something out of the second-story window the object falls to the ground at a rate directly proportional to gravity (the force acting on it).
Third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When I am out bear hunting, I can feel the recoil of my rifle against my shoulder (just kidding).
Our Energy-efficient Culture
Some improvements in energy efficiency have been made over the last few decades. For example we are increasingly using hydroelectric, solar and wind power. However, air pollution continues to be a serious environmental problem. Poor air quality has contributed to a staggering increase in respiratory illnesses. Average annual visibility has decreased in winter to an average of 25 miles, and in summer to an average of 12 miles. Petroleum prices are at record highs with no end in sight. The US is reliant on an outdated electric grid in which sufficient improvements have yet to be made. All of these issues add to growing concerns about global warming. I think the US has a long way to go before it can consider itself an energy-efficient nation particularly from the point of view of consumption of fossil fuel.
First law: Objects at rest will remain at rest, and objects in motion will remain in motion in a straight-line at constant velocity. A force must be applied to change the state of motion of an object. An example of this law is when I walk with a glass of water. When I stop short, the water comes spilling out of the glass. The water continues in motion and spills out of the glass.
Second law: the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force acting on it, and inversely proportional to its mass. When I drop something out of the second-story window the object falls to the ground at a rate directly proportional to gravity (the force acting on it).
Third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When I am out bear hunting, I can feel the recoil of my rifle against my shoulder (just kidding).
Our Energy-efficient Culture
Some improvements in energy efficiency have been made over the last few decades. For example we are increasingly using hydroelectric, solar and wind power. However, air pollution continues to be a serious environmental problem. Poor air quality has contributed to a staggering increase in respiratory illnesses. Average annual visibility has decreased in winter to an average of 25 miles, and in summer to an average of 12 miles. Petroleum prices are at record highs with no end in sight. The US is reliant on an outdated electric grid in which sufficient improvements have yet to be made. All of these issues add to growing concerns about global warming. I think the US has a long way to go before it can consider itself an energy-efficient nation particularly from the point of view of consumption of fossil fuel.
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