insights gained from a mind lost

I was sitting in the hospital and looking at the limestone wall. I started thinking about the time when this wall was probably some part of a much alive sea floor, buzzing with little creatures in a long-gone world without consciousness.  And then I looked at me, at my hands, at the people queuing up in front of Starbucks, or concentrating on their smartphones, in our world of consciousness. If you lose your eyesight, your other senses will awaken, take over and become much sharper, more accurate; your awareness shifts. What happens if you 'lose' your most dominent sensory organ - your mind; what happens if you cannot think anymore. What would you awaken to, what world would you discover if you lose your consciousness - if you lose your self?

The American Dream #5: Freedom to be shot

In the US, people murder each other with guns at about 20 times the rate in other nations - amounting to about 1 firearms-death per hour. Despite this intriguing fact, the US National Rifle Association (NRA) - through proxies in Congress - has been able to push for language that prohibits governmental agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH, the US largest funding agency) from spending any money "to advocate or promote gun control". In other words, to assure the profit of a few NRA-associated gun-dealers, Congress has been made it impossible to obtain government funding for research that would evaluate the huge human cost resulting from the current easy access to guns, and, for example, uncover that guns do not protect gun owners from being shot in an assault. (see Branas et al.  Am J. Public Health, 2009). The most astonishing thing is that a big part of the US population truly thinks that owning guns is an expression of their personal freedom - rather than of the freedom to be shot by some random madman for the profit of a few.

If you think that obviously gun control does not work, watch this.

Post-Climategate Science - name me and I can die

Recently, Costello et al. have put forward the reassuring news that we can name (i.e. discover) most species on earth before they go extinct. Others however disagree, saying that Costello et al. fail to take into account synergistic effects that will lead to collapse of species populations, rather than to a gradual decline.

Scientists have published the reassuring news that we can now cryo-preserve tissues of species that are about to go extinct (currently about 40,000 per year). Although extinct in the wild, these species could be stored for the future. Others wonder of what value this would be, since the habitat and ecosystems of these species will not exist anymore in the future.

Global warming is only one dimension of climate change, and climate change is only one facet of the accelerating destruction of our planet, cause by us. And the destruction is visible, measurable, real.

Post-climategate science appears to have resigned itself to simply observe and document how we destroy our planet, and hence, inexorably, us.
Is it only me who thinks that this is all desperately sad?

Quo vadis Homo sapiens? -- running towards the abyss!

Taken from the recent book review of SW Running (Science 15 March 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6125 pp. 1276-1277) 

"Scholars around the world have been asking roughly this same question [about the sustainability of human development] since 1972, when the landmark Limits to Growth book appeared (3). More recent analyses—such as the global human footprint, planetary boundaries, and Gaia—address the question from various angles. Each has indicated that another half-century of the current trajectory of human development, consumption, and economic aspirations does not appear possible (4–7).

Smil's final recommendations [in 'Harvesting the Biosphere'] echo others: global population must be stabilized at or below 9 billion; agriculture has to become sustainable, no longer relying on fossil-fuel–based fertilizers and mining groundwater for irrigation; meat consumption must be moderated; and food storage and processing must be improved and wastage minimized. Crucially, the rich nations have to share global resources more equitably with emerging countries, as simply growing more does not appear possible.

Full of recent references and statistics, Harvesting the Biosphere adds to the growing chorus of warnings about the current trajectory of human activity on a finite planet, of which climate change is only one dimension. One can quibble with some assumptions or tweak Smil's calculations, but the bottom line will not change, only the time it may take humanity to reach a crisis point. Systems ecology teaches that the human population and consumption trajectories need a stronger feedback control than currently exists. Either we are smart enough to craft that feedback mechanism ourselves, or the Earth system will ultimately provide it. Unfortunately, the tragedy of the commons suggests that collective international actions to voluntarily reduce consumption are contrary to human nature."

In other words: we know what we'd need to do to save us, but we won't do it.

Homo sapiens is smart enough to know that he's running towards the abyss, but not smart enough to stop running.

Multi-Me: who am I / who are we?

My body is made out of about 70 % water, from diverse sources. The biomolecules that remain have been accumulated and derived from food coming from all over the world. My body contains about 10 times more non-human cells (bacterial & other microbes) than human cells. And there are about ten times more viruses in my body (mostly against bacteria) than bacteria. There are more then 100 x more non-human than human genes in me. Even each human cell contains an ancient bacterium (mitochondria) that gives me all my energy. The non-human organisms in me and on my skin govern what diseases I get, how fat I become, and what food I crave. It is known that biomolecules produced by my body's microbes affect my brain. In fact, we only begin to understand how much of my life & actions are largely determined by my microbes. For example, animal studies (in fruit flies) have shown that microbes also determine the choice of partner...
Moreover, most of my actions and reactions are heavily influenced by non-verbal communication (mostly unnoticed by me) between me and fellow humans, and - through epigenetics - also by strong life events experienced by my parents and even their parents. Typically, my brain only justifies a posteriori an action that has been decided beforehand, elsewhere.
Who am I - who are we?

The paradox of religions

Most new religions are created by persons who did not simply and blindly believe the precepts of their current religion. Rather, they spend much time and effort searching, questioning and meditating (on the human condition, existing religious customs, the mind, thoughts etc). This quest leads to a spiritual mystical experience, profound happiness and peace. Instead of concluding that searching, questioning and meditating leads to god, happiness and peace, the mystical experience is (poorly) translated into yet another religious framework, and followers are told to simply and blindly believe – or face hell and death.

“Seek me. Don’t stop until you find me. When you find me you will be disturbed; and when you are disturbed you will rule. And when you rule, you will rest.

Don’t look for me in the sky. Don’t seek me in the ocean. I am inside you and outside you.

I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attains.

Split a piece of wood: I am there. Lift up the stone and you will find me there.

One who seeks will find, and for one who knocks will be opened.”

(compiled & streamlined from a number of Gospels, including Gospel of Mary, Thomas, Q. see the Complete Gospels, edited by Robert J Miller)

The ultimate freedom: work in progress

First, be truly indifferent to, and independent of
- other's opinions about you (your actions, cloths, opinions, success, humor, intelligence, ...)
- your own body's and mind's illusionary desires and needs (chocolate, smart phones, jealousy, laziness, ...)

And then simply choose your actions according to what you evaluate to be the best rational option, given the best of your current knowledge, capacity, and moral standards.

Having thus chosen honestly what you considered best, given the data, simply do it.
Then sit back, stop worrying, and accept the results. Learn from the results, but don't worry about them. Worrying certainly won't improve things you can't influence. Worrying will only clutter your mind, and make you unhappy. If you are going to fail, lose or die, you may as well do so happily and with serenity, knowing you did the best you could.

The beginning of the way is love and goodness.

The American Dream #4: Burgers and Games - the wasted brain

The time and energy that Americans typically spend watching, analysing and memorising sport-related issues is gargantuan. Concerning sport, their analytic and predictive capacities, and their in-depth knowledge are stunning - yet completely useless. I wonder what could be achieved if all this time, energy and knowledge would be invested, instead, into a national think tank for improving issues that are central to our current situation: sustainable development and energies, poverty and inequality, geopolitics.
'Bread and Games' kept the Roman population manageable, but did not prevent the fall of the Roman empire - and so won't Burgers and Games.

wisdom

Wisdom does not come from reading wise people's books, but by understanding and thus eliminating one's own stupidity.
And spirituality does not come by listening to other's sermons, but by finding god within you.
In all cases, reading & listening will never lead to genuine wisdom and spirituality; reading and listening can only be an encouragement and motivation for analysing, understanding and finding yourself.

The knowledgeable animist

People now believe that animism arises from an absence of knowledge in the uncivilised man, whereas civilization and knowledge advanced us to believe in monotheism (especially with an elderly Caucasian man as god) or atheism. Funnily, exactly the opposite is true; animism comes from knowledge whereas as most of this understanding became lost, we had to invent monotheism and atheism.

Definition of God

God is the ensemble of (non-physical) connections that exist (between things).
only if we have a calm mind, and examine the present moment, can we experience god, can we understand the connections between things.

The American Dream #3

I found myself staring at the ESC key on my computer for a long long time.

Is this funny only for Europeans?

Hey Bernhard,

I hope all is well. I was seeing if you still had your 2009 Jetta Sportwagen? It appears your current lease is maturing soon, and I wanted to see what your plans were? Are you thinking about getting another Jetta Sportwagen? Selection is becoming limited so I don't want you to miss the perfect vehicle. If you have made a different decision, please let me know that as well so I can update my records. I look forward to assisting you any way I can.

Respectfully, 

Anthony Walsh
Business Development Coordinator

Nel mezzo del camin de mia vita

That's it, Wednesday the 17th of October, I have decided that I have lived half of my life. THis will give me another 42 years, totalling a reassuring 84 years. That's fine. I was quite pleased with this observation. And here comes the second half!

Don’t be afraid of the OM

Suddenly the yoga teacher appeared ill at ease

            ‘Do you mind if we do a bit of chanting?’

Through the following seconds of silence, I felt suspicion rising in the class.

            ‘If that’s ok with you, we’ll chant “OM” three times’

Does she want us to sing praise to Shiva, Krishna or some kind of a blue elephant?

In case you wondered, here is what OM is not: a tribute to a pagan god.

In Asian traditions, such as the yogic, Buddhist and Hindu traditions, OM represents simply the frequency, the fundamental energy of Nature, our world, the universe. By chanting OM you try to connect to this energy, to fuse with it. ‘Yoga’ means ‘union’. The yoga practice, of which postural pretzel-bending is just a part (one of the eight ‘limbs’), has the aim of calming the constant chatter of the mind, so that we can feel that we are One. Chanting OM is one of the means to calm and focus the mind, and reconnect with your self.

Although this concept may not make immediate sense to our Western minds, the benefits of chanting OM are instantaneous. Probably nothing huge, at least not in the beginning, but focus and good vibrations. Try it out. Don’t be afraid of the OM (*).

* But if you still are, just chant A(O)MEN, or A(O)MIN

stop shouting into my eyes and ears

Driving our of Denver, CO, we both suddenly felt relaxed, even though still on the freeway. After some wondering, we found it to be caused by the absence of the usual myriad of billboards and advertisement panels along the street. It seems that the mental energy required for our brains every day to read all the panels along our ways and then discard the 95 % useless information from the few necessary ones (concerning directions and traffic announcements) is gargantuan. But we don't even notice it anymore - it just makes us tired. If ever you get to, say Finland, you'll notice how much our eyes constantly fly through our environment and overload our brain with all sorts of mostly useless information. You'll notice in Finland, because there, our eyes read the letters, but our brains can't make any sense of them, which bring this process to our consciousness.

Sitting at home in Houston on a Sunday, I suddenly feel stressed. It doesn't take much wondering to find out that again, one of those noisy planes is dragging a huge advertisement baner in agonising circles over our heads. Again and again, for hours. Will they ever stop?

I completely understand that advertisement is part of our economy. But if it is so much that it actually makes us sick and tired - how much does this advertisement hurt our economy?

Long term efficiency

Last week, I saw a woman taking a 1-hour yoga class with her cell phone in hand. The next day a colleague discussed his efforts to fit a 2-hour vacation into his work schedule. This prompted me to think about a scientific and controlled test:

For 40 years (the duration of our work life), Group A does the above, whereas Group B turns off their cell phones when focused on certain activities (including driving, seminars, sleep) and takes, say, 25 days of vacation per year. At the end, we will compare both groups for:

-total work output & achievements

- innovation at work (for that’s what our nation will most need to remain competitive)

- days of sick leave

- number of times the world has collapsed in off-times

- percentage of divorces

- financial burden to society due to medication (such as against high cholesterol, blood pressure, anxiety, but also days of hospitalization because of disease or (car) accidents, and medical consulting)

-   rating of person’s intelligence and social impact by others

- personal happiness

This comparison should allow maximizing our long-term efficiency with respect to the above parameters.

Are there any volunteers for Group A or Group B?

The American Dream #2

Male sport teams have female cheerleaders, and female sport teams have male cheerleaders.

The American Dream #1

You know you're living the American Dream when 'deadline' sounds much more like 'dead' than like 'line'.

Maths of war

Only a few people actually win a war; most lose, whatever side they are on.