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Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Jared Diamond on the Colbert Report
Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997) and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005), was on the Colbert Report Monday night.
Best Selling Books of All Time
From the Mental Floss blog:
In case you want more lists of books, here are a few more, also courtesy of Mental Floss:
The All-Time Best-Selling Books
We’ve discussed the top rated TV shows, most popular video games, best-selling albums, and the albums that topped the charts the longest. Today, let’s talk about the all-time best-selling books. If you’re a budding author, it looks like books outlining some sort of religious doctrine would be the way to go. Boy wizardry is another area rich with potential.
1. The Bible (6.7 billion copies)
2. Quotations from Chariman Mao, Mao Tse-Tung (900 million)
3. The Qur’an (800 million)
4. Xinhua Zidian (400 million — a Chinese dictionary, first published in 1953)
5. The Book of Common Prayer, Thomas Cranmar
6. Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan
7. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, John Foxe
8. The Book of Mormon, Joseph J. Smith, Jr. (123 million)
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling (107 million — UK title was …and the Philosopher’s Stone)
10. And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (100 million)
11. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (100 million)
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling (65 million)
13. The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown (65 million)
14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling (60 million)
15. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger (60 million)
The other three Harry Potter titles are 16, 17 and 18. The list continues at Wikipedia.
In case you want more lists of books, here are a few more, also courtesy of Mental Floss:
A few weeks ago, I posted a link to early reviews of the all-time best novels. In that case, the novels were chosen by the editorial board of the Modern Library. But there’s no shortage of ‘Best Books’ lists. Here are a handful.
• The Guardian’s 100 Best Books of All Time. “Full list of the 100 best works of fiction, alphabetically by author, as determined from a vote by 100 noted writers from 54 countries as released by the Norwegian Book Clubs. Don Quixote was named as the top book in history but otherwise no ranking was provided.”
• BBC – The Big Read – Top 100 Books. Results of a BBC search for the country’s most-loved novel. The Lord of the Rings edged out Pride and Prejudice for the top spot.
• The Book List (Or the 778 Best Books of All-Time). The 778 best books of all-time, as ranked by readers, visitors, friends, and the creator of the Blue Pyramid. To Kill a Mockingbird defeats Hamlet for the gold.
• The Sports Illustrated Top 100 Best Sports Books of All Time. The Sweet Science tops a list that includes Ball Four, Paper Lion, The City Game, North Dallas Forty and Whatever Happened to Gorgeous George?
• The 100 Best Children’s Books of All Time. Parenthood.com names 100 stories that will “excite your kids and remain in their memories for years to come. This list represents the views of parents, children’s literature experts and our own readers.”
• National Geographic Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time. The Worst Journey in the World was named best book of the adventure genre.
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Satire: Study: 38 Percent Of People Not Actually Entitled To Their Opinion
From The Onion:
Study: 38 Percent Of People Not Actually Entitled To Their Opinion
May 23, 2007 | Issue 43•21CHICAGO—In a surprising refutation of the conventional wisdom on opinion entitlement, a study conducted by the University of Chicago's School for Behavioral Science concluded that more than one-third of the U.S. population is neither entitled nor qualified to have opinions.
"On topics from evolution to the environment to gay marriage to immigration reform, we found that many of the opinions expressed were so off-base and ill-informed that they actually hurt society by being voiced," said chief researcher Professor Mark Fultz, who based the findings on hundreds of telephone, office, and dinner-party conversations compiled over a three-year period. "While people have long asserted that it takes all kinds, our research shows that American society currently has a drastic oversupply of the kinds who don't have any good or worthwhile thoughts whatsoever. We could actually do just fine without them."
In 2002, Fultz's team shook the academic world by conclusively proving the existence of both bad ideas during brainstorming and dumb questions during question-and-answer sessions.
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Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Daily Om: Hope in Hardship
This picture is a good example of overcoming adversity. And today's Daily Om is a good message for anyway going through a tough time, or who has had a rough life.
Hope In Hardship
Anything Can Be Overcome
The journey that each human being makes through earthly existence can have hardship as often as it is touched by joy. When we encounter adversity, the stress we feel can erode our optimism, eventually convincing us that the issues we face cannot be overcome. In truth, there is no situation so dire, no challenge so great, and no choice so bewildering that it cannot be overcome. Though we may believe that all avenues have been closed to us or that our most conscientious efforts will come to naught, we are never without feasible options. The best course of action may be veiled in doubt, but it is there. When we are honest with ourselves with regard to this simple fact, we can overcome anything because we will never stop looking for a solution to the challenges before us.
Self-trust coupled with a sturdy plan is the ultimate antidote to adversity’s tendency to inspire disillusionment in the human mind. As difficult as the obstacle plaguing you seems, it is no match for the love of a supportive universe that has been a part of your life since the day of your birth and will be with you forevermore. Try not to be misguided by your fear as this gives rise to the notion that there are problems without solutions. If you believe in your capabilities and dedicate yourself to the creation of some form of resolution, you will be surprised to discover that paths that were once closed to you miraculously open. Even if all you can do is change your perspective to turn an impediment into an opportunity to grow, you will have found the hope that is an inherent element of all hardship.
Remember that your destiny is a product of your own creation. Even when it seems you have nowhere left to turn, there is a solution waiting for you. The only insurmountable obstacles are the ones you create in your own mind—and these can only exert power over you if you let them. Uncertainty will always be a part of your existence, but perseverance and mindfulness will never fail to see you through to the other side of hardship where joy can thrive. Try and remember that no matter what life places at your feet, there is absolutely no situation that cannot be resolved with time, love, and friendship.
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Speedlinking 5/22/07
Quote of the day:
"The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments."
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Image of the day:
BODY
~ Blood on the Barbell: Waterbury -- "Blood on the Barbell is our new series describing workouts to do when your woman left you, your momma' don't love you, and even your dog doesn't care much for you. This time it's Chad Waterbury who's unloved." This series comes at the perfect time.
~ Grocery Cart Makeover -- "Find out the best foods for your diet."
~ FDA approves period suppression pill (AP) -- "The first birth-control pill meant to put a stop to women's monthly periods indefinitely won federal approval Tuesday. Called Lybrel, it's the first such pill to receive Food and Drug Administration approval for continuous use. When taken daily, the pill can halt women's menstrual periods indefinitely and prevent pregnancies."
~ Keeping Weight Off in Youth Pays Off in Old Age (HealthDay) -- "Staying trim and healthy in younger years can lead to a healthier, more mobile old age, U.S. researchers say."
~ Tims don't look anything like Bobs -- "Names tend to be associated with certain facial features — Bobs have rounder faces than Tims, for example — and it's easier to learn a person's name if his face matches it." Weird.
~ Diet pill isn't magic bullet, company says -- "You won’t lose weight in your sleep or shed pounds while eating anything you want — that’s the sobering message from the maker of a weight-loss pill poised to hit shelves next month."
~ Retinol reduces age-related wrinkles -- "Treatment with retinol lotion can smooth the fine wrinkles that occur with age, and can also make the skin better able to withstand injury and resist ulcer formation, new research indicates."
PSYCHE
~ Are Food Addictions Real? -- "The Today show contributor Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom gives you the scoop on food addictions."
~ Men more prone to depression after a divorce, study finds -- "The stereotype might be that a man relishes trading his wife for a fast car or a younger woman, but a new study finds that men appear to take separation harder than women."
~ Achieving Rapport: Expressivity, Coordination and Flow -- "Rapport is important. We need rapport to influence others, to teach and learn, to achieve difficult tasks in groups and even to mate. The latest research reveals gaining rapport is not just about matching body language and being positive, the picture is actually much more complicated."
~ The Excesses Of Eating Disorders -- "We may feel inspired to shed a few pounds, but most of us don't take these media messages too seriously. For the small minority of people with eating disorders, however, the relentless pursuit of an ideal body can have dire or even deadly consequences."
~ Brain Scan Can Help Predict Antidepressant Efficacy -- "One of the real challenges in treating depression can be finding the right prescription for each patient. Once a physician and client have decided that antidepressants will be useful in the treatment process, they must then begin to identify which of the nearly 20 FDA approved antidpressant compounds will be best for that particular case."
~ The Prince of Reason -- "Albert Ellis tackles irrational beliefs."
~ The Summer of Self-Acceptance -- "By self-acceptance, I do not mean a passive ability to congratulate and praise oneself unconditionally. Instead, a positive psychology version of self-acceptance should be defined as a positive self-regard or a general sense of happiness or satisfaction in oneself."
CULTURE/POLITICS
~ Another "Bushie" Takes the Fifth -- "The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has issued an announcement: At a deposition earlier this month, Susan Ralston, the former executive assistant to Karl Rove, responded to questions in a number of areas but would not answer questions about White House contacts with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and her lawyer said Ms. Ralston would assert her Fifth Amendment privilege if compelled to testify."
~ Why Lebanon Is Erupting Again -- "Syria may once again be the instigator behind the turmoil, but al-Qaeda and its allies are likely to reap the benefits."
~ 4 Presidential Hopefuls Agree on Climate Policy -- "At the Brookings Institution this morning, a panel of policy advisers to four leading presidential contenders engaged in what one jokingly called "violent agreement" on issues of climate change."
~ Staunch Or Deluded? Bush Is Both -- "'Is He Resolute—or Delusional?' That was the question on the cover of the May 14 issue of U.S. News & World Report. Tough call, but I'm going with resolute and delusional. President Bush is resolute about Iraq, delusional about America."
~ James Dobson, Drama Queen -- "In last week's episode of The Bachelor, also known as the GOP presidential debates, we learned that the tough-talking, sassy little cross-dressing firecracker from Manhattan [Giuliani] was too racy for Dr. James Dobson."
HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ NYC's Taxi Fleet Going Green by 2012 -- "New York city's yellow taxi fleet will go entirely hybrid within five years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday."
~ Smokies to Rid Areas of Nonnative Plants -- "Privet, multiflora rose bushes and Japanese honeysuckle all have their place in the suburban landscape, but not in the wetlands of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park."
~ Denver Zoo monkey dies of plague -- "A hooded capuchin monkey at the Denver Zoo has died of the plague, which officials suspect was transmitted by a squirrel."
~ Study: Climate Change May Imperil Plants -- "Climate change could drive many wild relatives of plants such as the potato and the peanut into extinction, threatening a valuable source of genes necessary to help these food crops fight pests and drought, an international research group said Tuesday."
~ Group: European Mammals Face Extinction -- "Dozens of European mammals, including the Iberian lynx, the Saiga antelope and the Mediterranean monk seal, face extinction unless immediate measures are taken to protect them, a conservation group said Tuesday."
~ House Approves Bill to Combat Spyware -- "The House passed legislation Tuesday to combat the criminal use of Internet spyware and scams aimed at stealing personal information from computer users."
INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ The Radical Secularist Agenda -- "Usually by the time I get a chance to post, so many things are piled up that I don't know where to start. I find that a perfect moment to practice. Right before plunging in, as it were, into the abyss. But Newt Gingrich's speech against “radical secularism” at Liberty University has been on my mind, and I'd like to add a few comments to what's already being said here and there on the blogosphere."
~ The Radical Spirituality of Generation X, Part 4: Committed Love in Action -- "The energy hit me in a wave. Gripped by the spirit of the forest, I dropped to my knees and began to sob. Surrounded by these ancient giants, I felt the sensory film caused by our fast-paced, technologically dependent society melt away. I could feel my whole being bursting forth into new life in this majestic cathedral."
~ 33 New Ways To Overclock Your Brain -- "You have, contained between your ears, an extraordinary potential that contemporary neuroscientists believe is “virtually limitless”. The brain is medicine’s final frontier and no one knows all there is to know, but you’re better off believing that, like muscles, motors and mainframes, your brain needs to keep moving to stay in top form."
~ Reformulating -- "I want to explore how to reformulate the usual ways of talking about the bodywork I am doing, as the standard terminology does not quite work for me… how can I talk about it in a way that is close to the recommended way, yet also true for me?"
~ No mind but Mind? Or are minds incorporated in Mind? -- "One thing that struck me when reading an online discussion on Chan recently is the old conundrum over words like "mind" and "heart" as well as "arising". I think when many people hear "mind" they think of an individual unit, such as your mind or my mind. The same with "heart". Moreover, the word mind is used to refer to cognitive processes involving perception and intellect, which combine to produce phenomena such as imagination and memory. On the other hand, the word heart is often taken to mean desire and emotional attachment/response. So with such thinking I can show the form of someone's heart by getting them to reveal their desires, their hopes, their fears, etc. Similar we can do the same with someone's mind."
~ Conversations: Albert Einstein vs. a Crow -- "How smart are we humans? The answer obviously depends on how one wants to define the word 'smart.'"
"The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments."
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Image of the day:
BODY
~ Blood on the Barbell: Waterbury -- "Blood on the Barbell is our new series describing workouts to do when your woman left you, your momma' don't love you, and even your dog doesn't care much for you. This time it's Chad Waterbury who's unloved." This series comes at the perfect time.
~ Grocery Cart Makeover -- "Find out the best foods for your diet."
~ FDA approves period suppression pill (AP) -- "The first birth-control pill meant to put a stop to women's monthly periods indefinitely won federal approval Tuesday. Called Lybrel, it's the first such pill to receive Food and Drug Administration approval for continuous use. When taken daily, the pill can halt women's menstrual periods indefinitely and prevent pregnancies."
~ Keeping Weight Off in Youth Pays Off in Old Age (HealthDay) -- "Staying trim and healthy in younger years can lead to a healthier, more mobile old age, U.S. researchers say."
~ Tims don't look anything like Bobs -- "Names tend to be associated with certain facial features — Bobs have rounder faces than Tims, for example — and it's easier to learn a person's name if his face matches it." Weird.
~ Diet pill isn't magic bullet, company says -- "You won’t lose weight in your sleep or shed pounds while eating anything you want — that’s the sobering message from the maker of a weight-loss pill poised to hit shelves next month."
~ Retinol reduces age-related wrinkles -- "Treatment with retinol lotion can smooth the fine wrinkles that occur with age, and can also make the skin better able to withstand injury and resist ulcer formation, new research indicates."
PSYCHE
~ Are Food Addictions Real? -- "The Today show contributor Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom gives you the scoop on food addictions."
~ Men more prone to depression after a divorce, study finds -- "The stereotype might be that a man relishes trading his wife for a fast car or a younger woman, but a new study finds that men appear to take separation harder than women."
~ Achieving Rapport: Expressivity, Coordination and Flow -- "Rapport is important. We need rapport to influence others, to teach and learn, to achieve difficult tasks in groups and even to mate. The latest research reveals gaining rapport is not just about matching body language and being positive, the picture is actually much more complicated."
~ The Excesses Of Eating Disorders -- "We may feel inspired to shed a few pounds, but most of us don't take these media messages too seriously. For the small minority of people with eating disorders, however, the relentless pursuit of an ideal body can have dire or even deadly consequences."
~ Brain Scan Can Help Predict Antidepressant Efficacy -- "One of the real challenges in treating depression can be finding the right prescription for each patient. Once a physician and client have decided that antidepressants will be useful in the treatment process, they must then begin to identify which of the nearly 20 FDA approved antidpressant compounds will be best for that particular case."
~ The Prince of Reason -- "Albert Ellis tackles irrational beliefs."
~ The Summer of Self-Acceptance -- "By self-acceptance, I do not mean a passive ability to congratulate and praise oneself unconditionally. Instead, a positive psychology version of self-acceptance should be defined as a positive self-regard or a general sense of happiness or satisfaction in oneself."
CULTURE/POLITICS
~ Another "Bushie" Takes the Fifth -- "The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has issued an announcement: At a deposition earlier this month, Susan Ralston, the former executive assistant to Karl Rove, responded to questions in a number of areas but would not answer questions about White House contacts with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and her lawyer said Ms. Ralston would assert her Fifth Amendment privilege if compelled to testify."
~ Why Lebanon Is Erupting Again -- "Syria may once again be the instigator behind the turmoil, but al-Qaeda and its allies are likely to reap the benefits."
~ 4 Presidential Hopefuls Agree on Climate Policy -- "At the Brookings Institution this morning, a panel of policy advisers to four leading presidential contenders engaged in what one jokingly called "violent agreement" on issues of climate change."
~ Staunch Or Deluded? Bush Is Both -- "'Is He Resolute—or Delusional?' That was the question on the cover of the May 14 issue of U.S. News & World Report. Tough call, but I'm going with resolute and delusional. President Bush is resolute about Iraq, delusional about America."
~ James Dobson, Drama Queen -- "In last week's episode of The Bachelor, also known as the GOP presidential debates, we learned that the tough-talking, sassy little cross-dressing firecracker from Manhattan [Giuliani] was too racy for Dr. James Dobson."
HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ NYC's Taxi Fleet Going Green by 2012 -- "New York city's yellow taxi fleet will go entirely hybrid within five years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday."
~ Smokies to Rid Areas of Nonnative Plants -- "Privet, multiflora rose bushes and Japanese honeysuckle all have their place in the suburban landscape, but not in the wetlands of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park."
~ Denver Zoo monkey dies of plague -- "A hooded capuchin monkey at the Denver Zoo has died of the plague, which officials suspect was transmitted by a squirrel."
~ Study: Climate Change May Imperil Plants -- "Climate change could drive many wild relatives of plants such as the potato and the peanut into extinction, threatening a valuable source of genes necessary to help these food crops fight pests and drought, an international research group said Tuesday."
~ Group: European Mammals Face Extinction -- "Dozens of European mammals, including the Iberian lynx, the Saiga antelope and the Mediterranean monk seal, face extinction unless immediate measures are taken to protect them, a conservation group said Tuesday."
~ House Approves Bill to Combat Spyware -- "The House passed legislation Tuesday to combat the criminal use of Internet spyware and scams aimed at stealing personal information from computer users."
INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ The Radical Secularist Agenda -- "Usually by the time I get a chance to post, so many things are piled up that I don't know where to start. I find that a perfect moment to practice. Right before plunging in, as it were, into the abyss. But Newt Gingrich's speech against “radical secularism” at Liberty University has been on my mind, and I'd like to add a few comments to what's already being said here and there on the blogosphere."
~ The Radical Spirituality of Generation X, Part 4: Committed Love in Action -- "The energy hit me in a wave. Gripped by the spirit of the forest, I dropped to my knees and began to sob. Surrounded by these ancient giants, I felt the sensory film caused by our fast-paced, technologically dependent society melt away. I could feel my whole being bursting forth into new life in this majestic cathedral."
~ 33 New Ways To Overclock Your Brain -- "You have, contained between your ears, an extraordinary potential that contemporary neuroscientists believe is “virtually limitless”. The brain is medicine’s final frontier and no one knows all there is to know, but you’re better off believing that, like muscles, motors and mainframes, your brain needs to keep moving to stay in top form."
~ Reformulating -- "I want to explore how to reformulate the usual ways of talking about the bodywork I am doing, as the standard terminology does not quite work for me… how can I talk about it in a way that is close to the recommended way, yet also true for me?"
~ No mind but Mind? Or are minds incorporated in Mind? -- "One thing that struck me when reading an online discussion on Chan recently is the old conundrum over words like "mind" and "heart" as well as "arising". I think when many people hear "mind" they think of an individual unit, such as your mind or my mind. The same with "heart". Moreover, the word mind is used to refer to cognitive processes involving perception and intellect, which combine to produce phenomena such as imagination and memory. On the other hand, the word heart is often taken to mean desire and emotional attachment/response. So with such thinking I can show the form of someone's heart by getting them to reveal their desires, their hopes, their fears, etc. Similar we can do the same with someone's mind."
~ Conversations: Albert Einstein vs. a Crow -- "How smart are we humans? The answer obviously depends on how one wants to define the word 'smart.'"
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Al Gore -- The Assault on Reason
Gore's new book, The Assault on Reason, was released today. AlterNet has a good look at the book, with lots of links. Time has an excerpt from the book. The New York Times reviewed the book, as did the LA Times, among many others.
From the LA Times review:
In his introduction, the former vice president acknowledges that while assessing our contemporary ills, it would be "too easy — and too partisan — to simply place the blame on the policies of President George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes." Yet although he clearly identifies other culprits, placing special emphasis on the baneful hypnotic power of television and the irresponsibility of the networks, he provides in this book one of the most comprehensive indictments of the Bush administration that has ever appeared in print. He goes so far as to hint that, in their abject service to power and their quest for dominance both at home and abroad, the president and his associates have imperiled their souls.
Gore generally prefers facts and analysis to metaphysics, however. Characteristically, he reviews anew the history of duplicity and incompetence that led to the administration's downfall in both the Iraq war and the Hurricane Katrina disaster. He refuses to assume that we already know what we ought to know (and what most of his readers in fact almost certainly do know). He is more compelling when he brings to bear his experience and knowledge on crucial issues that rarely receive sufficient coverage, such as nuclear proliferation and media concentration.
His insistence on detail and thoroughness, which may seem like a personal tic in an era of sound bites, is rooted in his conviction that most Americans have little understanding of the world in which they live. He worries that mass alienation from politics and immersion in the entertainment culture along with poor civic education have created a population that is woefully uninformed.
From the NY Times review:
This volume moves beyond its criticisms of the Bush administration to diagnose the ailing condition of America as a participatory democracy — low voter turnout, rampant voter cynicism, an often ill-informed electorate, political campaigns dominated by 30-second television ads, and an increasingly conglomerate-controlled media landscape — and it does so not with the calculated, sound-bite-conscious tone of many political-platform-type books, but with the sort of wonky ardor that made both the book and movie versions of “An Inconvenient Truth” so bluntly effective.
Mr. Gore’s central argument is that “reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions” and that the country’s public discourse has become “less focused and clear, less reasoned.” This “assault on reason,” he suggests, is personified by the way the Bush White House operates. Echoing many reporters and former administration insiders, Mr. Gore says that the administration tends to ignore expert advice (be it on troop levels, global warming or the deficit), to circumvent the usual policy-making machinery of analysis and debate, and frequently to suppress or disdain the best evidence available on a given subject so it can promote predetermined, ideologically driven policies.
This is a must-read for me -- I've always liked Gore the thinker much more than Gore the politician. It's nice to see that he has put aside any concerns about being "political" in favor of speaking the truth as he -- and so many of us -- sees it.
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Two Short Videos of Crows
I found these at the Voltage Gate:
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The first [video] involves modified tool use and the second, from Attenborough's Life of Birds, shows how crows can use human landscapes to their advantage.
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A Dream Sequence from Salvador Dali
From Video Sift:
Via: VideoSift
This is the dream sequence from Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound which was designed by Salvador Dali. Hitchcock felt that nobody understood dream imagery better than Dali. He was right.
Via: VideoSift
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Monday, May 21, 2007
Speedlinking 5/21/07
Quote of the day:
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."
~ Rene Descartes
Image of the day:
BODY
~ Eating Apples, Fish During Pregnancy Protects Kids From Allergies, Asthma (HealthDay) -- "Filling up on apples and fish during pregnancy might protect your child from developing asthma and allergic diseases, a new study shows."
~ Diabetes drug linked to heart deaths -- "A new analysis links the widely prescribed diabetes drug Avandia to greater risk of heart attack and possibly death."
~ Chromium no help in controlling diabetes -- "People with type 2 diabetes often take chromium supplements to help keep their blood sugar levels under control, but new findings from a Dutch study raise doubts about the value of this approach."
~ The Top Five Things to Consider When Starting a Workout Program -- "Increase Your Chances of Success Through a Realistic Approach."
~ The Shoulder Training Bible -- "This is it, the most comprehensive shoulder-training article ever! Movements, routines, loading parameters, frequency, it's all here. Christian provides the perfect recipe for adding shoulder mass and strength. The only ingredient you need to add is good ol' fashioned sweat."
~ Low Glycemic May Be Better Than Low Fat Diet For High Insulin Secreters -- "A new US study on obese young adults showed that the ones who secreted a high level of insulin shed more pounds on a low glycemic diet than on a low fat diet. The results also suggest that a low glycemic diet is more beneficial to HDL (good) cholesterol and triglyceride levels in this group."
~ Yoga and elevated brain GABA levels -- "Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital have found that practicing yoga may elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels, the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. The findings, which appear in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, suggest that the practice of yoga be explored as a possible treatment for depression and anxiety, disorders associated with low GABA levels."
PSYCHE
~ Self-Compassion Helps You Deal Better With Negative Events -- "When a multitude of disasters arise, as they tend to do from time to time, why do some patients focus on the negative -- exaggerating their problems and their part in them -- while others deal with their problems more constructively? A new study reveals that it all depends on the amount of compassion a person has for himself or herself."
~ Laughter Yoga -- From Mumbai to the World -- "Stretching and Laughing Therapy Helps People Forget Hardships of Life."
~ The influence of thinking style on happiness—it really does matter -- "In my research about happiness, I frequently come across discussions of how people's happiness is affected by their ideas and assumptions about themselves and how the world works."
~ Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out … Get Well? -- "In the 1950s, research using hallucinogens could be broadly divided into two camps: psycholytic and psychedelic therapy."
~ Move to Boost Mood -- "Physical activity works well against depression."
~ The Key to Dying Happy -- "There are a million jokes that could be made with the above headline, half of them dirty. But this post isn’t one of them — it’s about what’s important in life, how you want to live, and how you want to die. It’s about living a life of purpose, and being remembered well after you move on from this life."
CULTURE/POLITICS
~ Michael Moore's New Diagnosis -- "With Sicko, the filmmaker takes on health care. He talks to TIME about HMOs, getting booed and loving France." See also: The critical buzz on Michael Moore.
~ Bush Stands by Gonzales -- "President Bush on Monday called an upcoming Senate vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales "pure political theater" and stood by his embattled friend."
~ Jerry Brown Slams Bush on Environment -- "He's already filed one lawsuit against the Bush administration over its environmental policies. As California's colorful attorney general arrives in Washington, he's threatening another."
~ Who's Afraid of Ron Paul? -- "The presence of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) in the Republican Party debates between presidential contenders this year has been treated as, at various time, a curiosity, a nuisance, and a springboard for scoring patriotic points—as when Rudy Giuliani accused him of blaming America for the September 11 attack."
~ SCOTT HORTON—Green Republicans and Bush Spar Over Global Warming -- "Arguably the two best-known Republican governors, California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger and Connecticut’s Jodi Rell, offer fighting words against the Bush administration’s policies on global warming."
~ The marriage industrial complex -- "Rebecca Mead, author of a new book on the out-of-control American wedding, discusses Disney brides, formalwear for pets, and whether hiring a wedding planner is ever a feminist act."
HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ Smithsonian Accused of Altering Exhibit -- "The Smithsonian Institution toned down an exhibit on climate change in the Arctic for fear of angering Congress and the Bush administration, says a former administrator at the museum."
~ Spirit Unearths Surprise Evidence of Wetter Past (on Mars) -- "A patch of Martian soil analyzed by NASA's rover Spirit is so rich in silica that it may provide some of the strongest evidence yet that ancient Mars was much wetter than it is now. The processes that could have produced such a concentrated deposit of silica require the presence of water."
~ Cicadas Swarm Over Midwest -- "Brood XIII has arrived in the United States."
~ City Use Seen As Key to Wi-Fi Projects -- "Utility workers armed with the latest wireless gadgets will be able to read electric meters remotely using Wi-Fi networks many cities are contemplating. Police and building inspectors can file and retrieve reports on the go. City employees carrying Wi-Fi phones can also reduce cellular phone bills."
~ In a first, scientists develop tiny implantable biocomputers -- "Researchers at Harvard University and Princeton University have made a crucial step toward building biological computers, tiny implantable devices that can monitor the activities and characteristics of human cells. The information provided by these "molecular doctors," constructed entirely of DNA, RNA, and proteins, could eventually revolutionize medicine by directing therapies only to diseased cells or tissues."
~ Polar Bears at Risk as Warming Thaws Icy Home -- "Time may be running out for polar bears as global warming melts the ice beneath their paws. Restrictions or bans on hunting in recent decades have helped protect many populations of the iconic Arctic carnivore, but many experts say the long-term outlook is bleak."
INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ Subscribe to The Woodshed Podcast -- "You can do so, through iTunes, if you click here. Definitely a great way to keep abreast of where our staff discussions explore."
~ Integral Metaphysics book update -- M. Alan Kazlev -- "Well, the first few chapters of my book Integral Metaphysics are finally almost ready, at least in rough manuscript form. If I keep going at this rate, the whole book will hopefully be ready in a few months! It's exciting to be making progress!"
~ Left or Right, You’re Partial -- Apollo at Frozen Truth looks at Wilber's Integral Politics—A Summary of Its Essential Ingredients.
~ Integral Politics: A Summary of Its Essential Ingredients -- So does ebuddha, and check this from him, too: To the Integral Color-Coders - What Color Is Al Gore? -- I'll be reading the new Gore book.
~ Buddha and the World (Part 2) -- Deepak Chopra -- "Buddha stood for peace, and one would think that he would praise us if we ended the present war (and all wars.) We are told that the American people have now woken up to the folly of the invasion of Iraq. Since wars are where illusions die the fastest, Buddha would also want us to end a war because we became more awake."
~ Buddhist Geeks 20: Leave the Pot on the Stove -- "In this final episode with Vince Horn, he continues to share his reflections and experiences of a two-month meditation retreat he recently completed. In this podcast, he discusses the relationship between dharma study and mindfulness practice."
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."
~ Rene Descartes
Image of the day:
BODY
~ Eating Apples, Fish During Pregnancy Protects Kids From Allergies, Asthma (HealthDay) -- "Filling up on apples and fish during pregnancy might protect your child from developing asthma and allergic diseases, a new study shows."
~ Diabetes drug linked to heart deaths -- "A new analysis links the widely prescribed diabetes drug Avandia to greater risk of heart attack and possibly death."
~ Chromium no help in controlling diabetes -- "People with type 2 diabetes often take chromium supplements to help keep their blood sugar levels under control, but new findings from a Dutch study raise doubts about the value of this approach."
~ The Top Five Things to Consider When Starting a Workout Program -- "Increase Your Chances of Success Through a Realistic Approach."
~ The Shoulder Training Bible -- "This is it, the most comprehensive shoulder-training article ever! Movements, routines, loading parameters, frequency, it's all here. Christian provides the perfect recipe for adding shoulder mass and strength. The only ingredient you need to add is good ol' fashioned sweat."
~ Low Glycemic May Be Better Than Low Fat Diet For High Insulin Secreters -- "A new US study on obese young adults showed that the ones who secreted a high level of insulin shed more pounds on a low glycemic diet than on a low fat diet. The results also suggest that a low glycemic diet is more beneficial to HDL (good) cholesterol and triglyceride levels in this group."
~ Yoga and elevated brain GABA levels -- "Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital have found that practicing yoga may elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels, the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. The findings, which appear in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, suggest that the practice of yoga be explored as a possible treatment for depression and anxiety, disorders associated with low GABA levels."
PSYCHE
~ Self-Compassion Helps You Deal Better With Negative Events -- "When a multitude of disasters arise, as they tend to do from time to time, why do some patients focus on the negative -- exaggerating their problems and their part in them -- while others deal with their problems more constructively? A new study reveals that it all depends on the amount of compassion a person has for himself or herself."
~ Laughter Yoga -- From Mumbai to the World -- "Stretching and Laughing Therapy Helps People Forget Hardships of Life."
~ The influence of thinking style on happiness—it really does matter -- "In my research about happiness, I frequently come across discussions of how people's happiness is affected by their ideas and assumptions about themselves and how the world works."
~ Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out … Get Well? -- "In the 1950s, research using hallucinogens could be broadly divided into two camps: psycholytic and psychedelic therapy."
~ Move to Boost Mood -- "Physical activity works well against depression."
~ The Key to Dying Happy -- "There are a million jokes that could be made with the above headline, half of them dirty. But this post isn’t one of them — it’s about what’s important in life, how you want to live, and how you want to die. It’s about living a life of purpose, and being remembered well after you move on from this life."
CULTURE/POLITICS
~ Michael Moore's New Diagnosis -- "With Sicko, the filmmaker takes on health care. He talks to TIME about HMOs, getting booed and loving France." See also: The critical buzz on Michael Moore.
~ Bush Stands by Gonzales -- "President Bush on Monday called an upcoming Senate vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales "pure political theater" and stood by his embattled friend."
~ Jerry Brown Slams Bush on Environment -- "He's already filed one lawsuit against the Bush administration over its environmental policies. As California's colorful attorney general arrives in Washington, he's threatening another."
~ Who's Afraid of Ron Paul? -- "The presence of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) in the Republican Party debates between presidential contenders this year has been treated as, at various time, a curiosity, a nuisance, and a springboard for scoring patriotic points—as when Rudy Giuliani accused him of blaming America for the September 11 attack."
~ SCOTT HORTON—Green Republicans and Bush Spar Over Global Warming -- "Arguably the two best-known Republican governors, California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger and Connecticut’s Jodi Rell, offer fighting words against the Bush administration’s policies on global warming."
~ The marriage industrial complex -- "Rebecca Mead, author of a new book on the out-of-control American wedding, discusses Disney brides, formalwear for pets, and whether hiring a wedding planner is ever a feminist act."
HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ Smithsonian Accused of Altering Exhibit -- "The Smithsonian Institution toned down an exhibit on climate change in the Arctic for fear of angering Congress and the Bush administration, says a former administrator at the museum."
~ Spirit Unearths Surprise Evidence of Wetter Past (on Mars) -- "A patch of Martian soil analyzed by NASA's rover Spirit is so rich in silica that it may provide some of the strongest evidence yet that ancient Mars was much wetter than it is now. The processes that could have produced such a concentrated deposit of silica require the presence of water."
~ Cicadas Swarm Over Midwest -- "Brood XIII has arrived in the United States."
~ City Use Seen As Key to Wi-Fi Projects -- "Utility workers armed with the latest wireless gadgets will be able to read electric meters remotely using Wi-Fi networks many cities are contemplating. Police and building inspectors can file and retrieve reports on the go. City employees carrying Wi-Fi phones can also reduce cellular phone bills."
~ In a first, scientists develop tiny implantable biocomputers -- "Researchers at Harvard University and Princeton University have made a crucial step toward building biological computers, tiny implantable devices that can monitor the activities and characteristics of human cells. The information provided by these "molecular doctors," constructed entirely of DNA, RNA, and proteins, could eventually revolutionize medicine by directing therapies only to diseased cells or tissues."
~ Polar Bears at Risk as Warming Thaws Icy Home -- "Time may be running out for polar bears as global warming melts the ice beneath their paws. Restrictions or bans on hunting in recent decades have helped protect many populations of the iconic Arctic carnivore, but many experts say the long-term outlook is bleak."
INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ Subscribe to The Woodshed Podcast -- "You can do so, through iTunes, if you click here. Definitely a great way to keep abreast of where our staff discussions explore."
~ Integral Metaphysics book update -- M. Alan Kazlev -- "Well, the first few chapters of my book Integral Metaphysics are finally almost ready, at least in rough manuscript form. If I keep going at this rate, the whole book will hopefully be ready in a few months! It's exciting to be making progress!"
~ Left or Right, You’re Partial -- Apollo at Frozen Truth looks at Wilber's Integral Politics—A Summary of Its Essential Ingredients.
~ Integral Politics: A Summary of Its Essential Ingredients -- So does ebuddha, and check this from him, too: To the Integral Color-Coders - What Color Is Al Gore? -- I'll be reading the new Gore book.
~ Buddha and the World (Part 2) -- Deepak Chopra -- "Buddha stood for peace, and one would think that he would praise us if we ended the present war (and all wars.) We are told that the American people have now woken up to the folly of the invasion of Iraq. Since wars are where illusions die the fastest, Buddha would also want us to end a war because we became more awake."
~ Buddhist Geeks 20: Leave the Pot on the Stove -- "In this final episode with Vince Horn, he continues to share his reflections and experiences of a two-month meditation retreat he recently completed. In this podcast, he discusses the relationship between dharma study and mindfulness practice."
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Two New Books on Consciousness
Two new books on consciousness that seem worth the read.
First up, Consciousness and Its Place in Nature: Does Physicalism Entail Panpsychism? by Galen Strawson and et al · Imprint Academic, 285 pp, £17.95. ($34.90 at Amazon)
Reviewed in the London Review of Books by Jerry Fodor:
The other book, Irreducible Mind, is reviewed by Jeffrey Mishlove at his Zaadz blog:
First up, Consciousness and Its Place in Nature: Does Physicalism Entail Panpsychism? by Galen Strawson and et al · Imprint Academic, 285 pp, £17.95. ($34.90 at Amazon)
Reviewed in the London Review of Books by Jerry Fodor:
Consciousness is all the rage just now. It boasts new journals of its very own, from which learned articles overflow. Neuropsychologists snap its picture (in colour) with fMRI machines, and probe with needles for its seat in the brain. At all seasons, and on many continents, interdisciplinary conferences about consciousness draw together bizarre motleys that include philosophers, psychologists, phenomenologists, brain scientists, MDs, computer scientists, the Dalai Lama, novelists, neurologists, graphic artists, priests, gurus and (always) people who used to do physics. Institutes of consciousness studies are bountifully subsidised. Meticulous distinctions are drawn between the merely conscious and the consciously available; and between each of these and the preconscious, the unconscious, the subconscious, the informationally encapsulated and the introspectable. There is no end of consciousness gossip on Tuesdays in the science section of the New York Times. Periodically, Nobel laureates pronounce on the connections between consciousness and evolution, quantum mechanics, information theory, complexity theory, chaos theory and the activity of neural nets. Everybody gives lectures about consciousness to everybody else. But for all that, nothing has been ascertained with respect to the problem that everybody worries about most: what philosophers have come to call ‘the hard problem’. The hard problem is this: it is widely supposed that the world is made entirely of mere matter, but how could mere matter be conscious? How, in particular, could a couple of pounds of grey tissue have experiences?
Until quite recently, there were two main schools of thought on this. According to one, the hard problem is actually very easy: the answer is that consciousness ‘emerges’ from neural processes. This succeeds in replacing ‘what is consciousness and how is it possible?’ with ‘what is emergence and how is it possible?’ But it doesn’t seem to get much further; many find it less than satisfactory. According to the other view, the hard problem is so hard that it can’t be real: consciousness must be some sort of illusion. Many of this persuasion tried hard to convince themselves that they are, in fact, not conscious, but few of them succeeded. Centuries ago, Descartes suggested, plausibly, that the attempt is self-defeating.
There is, I should add, another way to respond to the hard problem. One might hold that the world isn’t made entirely of matter after all; there is also a fundamentally different kind of stuff – mind-stuff, call it – and consciousness resides in that. Notoriously, however, this view has hard problems of its own. For example, if matter-stuff and mind-stuff are of fundamentally different kinds, how are causal relations between them possible? How is it possible that eating should be caused by feeling peckish or feeling peckish by not eating? For this and other reasons, mind-stuff has mostly fallen out of fashion. I won’t dwell on it here.
That, then, sets the stage for Galen Strawson’s Consciousness and Its Place in Nature, which consists of a lead essay by Strawson, commentaries by 18 other philosophers, and Strawson’s extensive comments on the comments. The book is very rich. On the one hand, Strawson has the kind of expansive metaphysical imagination that used to be at the heart of philosophy, but which positivism and analysis succeeded for a long while in suppressing. Also, the commentaries are, almost uniformly, insightful, informative, sophisticated and excellently argued. It is very rare for a book with this sort of format to be so complete a success, or so much fun to read. I must warn you, however, that Strawson’s way with the hard problem is wildly at odds with the views current in most of philosophy and psychology. Many readers will find them too wild to swallow; I’m not at all sure that I don’t.
Read the whole review.
* * * * *
The other book, Irreducible Mind, is reviewed by Jeffrey Mishlove at his Zaadz blog:
One of the main problems with psychology, during the past 100 years, is its general failure to deal with the deepest and most important problems concerning the very nature of mind itself. Academia, instead, has almost universally operated on the assumption that the mind is a product of the activity of the brain and nervous system.
However, there are serious problems with this epiphenomenalist view. These issues were clearly understood – in the late nineteenth century – by such great thinkers as William James and F. W. H. Myers (author of the 1903 classic, Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death). But, for a century, in order to establish itself as a scientific discipline, psychology turned away from these profound issues – in favor of behavioralist, positivist paradigm of thought.
In recent decades, however, a new wave of interest within consciousness is swelling up – both within and without of academic. Certainly, for example, over a hundred books have now been published on the topic of physics and consciousness. In fact, it's fair to say that physics has been in the forefront of asking the deep questions concerning mind and body. Psychology and biology have been lagging behind.
Irreducible Mind addresses this lag. The authors bring to bear a wealth of empirical evidence from many disciplines: psychoneuroimmunology, psychopathology, studies of hypnosis and creativity, memory, near death experience, mystical experience, studies of genius, evidence for survival after death. They point out that the reductionist vision of the human mind is generally incapable of accounting for these observed and reported experiences.
They also point out that there is an interesting alternatives in which one views the brain, not as the originator of consciousness, but (like a radio receiver) a receiving, filtering and transmissing consciousness. In these models, consciousness arises from another source. In some models consciousness is as basic to the universe itself as is time, space, energy and matter. It is simply a given.
The authors suggest that psychology in the 21st century will be the further refinement of this second vision of consciousness. Their logic is compelling. Their scholarship is broad and inclusive. And, of great importance, this work is historically grounded. I consider it “must reading” for all serious students of consciousness.
This work, incidentally, originated from discussions sponsored by the Center for Theory and Research of the Esalen Institute. The primary authors, Edward and Emily Kelly, are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatric Medicine and the University of Virginia.
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The Cult of Scientology
I have long wondered how Scientology was ever given status as a religion when it is so clearly a cult. And why so many otherwise intelligent people could buy into it.
Anyway, AlterNet has a good article looking at the "Church of Scientology."
Here's a taste:
Read the whole article.
Anyway, AlterNet has a good article looking at the "Church of Scientology."
Here's a taste:
Scientologists do not like that word, so let me repeat it - CULT.
Hubbard, the man who created Scientology in 1952, has an unusual CV for a religious and spiritual leader. As well as being a writer, he was a congenital liar: quite simply a "charlatan".
That was the view of a High Court judge in 1984, who said Hubbard's theories were "corrupt, sinister and dangerous".
If nothing else, the movement's survival is proof that with money - Scientology is worth billions worldwide - you can make some people, even intelligent people, believe almost anything.
Stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta have given Scientology a profile and showbusiness gloss it simply does not deserve.
Indeed, those who are not familiar with its tactics and history regard Scientologists - who are convinced we are all descended from a race of aliens called thetans - as weird, not wicked.
Read the whole article.
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Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains
This song brings back a lot of memories . . . most of them bad. But right now, that seems fitting.
Via: VideoSift
Via: VideoSift
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Saturday, May 19, 2007
Dalai Lama Quote of the Week
Dalai Lama Quote of the Week from Snow Lion Books:
We feel money and power can bring happiness and solve problems, but they are not definite causes of those desired states. If that were so, it would follow that those who have wealth would necessarily have happiness, and those who do not have wealth would always experience suffering. Money and power facilitate, but it is clear that they are not the primary causes of, happiness and solving our problems. It is justified for us to make material and financial development for building our nation and providing shelter, etc. for ourselves; we need to do that. But we also need to seek inner development. As we can see, there are many people who have wealth and power who remain unhappy, due to which their health declines, and they are always taking medicines. On the other hand, we find people who live like beggars but who always remain peaceful and happy.
Therefore, in our daily life a certain way of thinking makes us happy, and a certain way of thinking makes us unhappy. In other words, there are certain states of mind which bring us problems, and they can be removed; we need to make an effort in that direction. Likewise, there are certain states of mind that bring us peace and happiness, and we need to cultivate and enhance them.
~ From Generous Wisdom: Commentaries by H.H. the Dalai Lama XIV on the Jatakamala translated by Tenzin Dorjee edited by Dexter Roberts
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