Feb 16 2009
Archive for February, 2009
Feb 16 2009
Transcending Our Genes
I am so glad to learn that I am capable of transcending my genes. Whatever that means.
What does it mean? According to the science research news release, Mathematical Models Reveal How Organisms Transcend The Sum Of Their Genes, it means -
that genes alone do not make an organism. . . . simply shuffling the order of the [five] genes in the virus’s genome has a huge impact on how well the virus grows and how it interacts with its simulated host cell.
So it seems the ordering of genes is important. By way of analogy, it means that were I to throw 4 wheels, an engine, an auto frame, seats, a steering wheel and whatnot in a big pile, I wouldn’t have me a car. How surprising! A car transcends the sum of its parts! Wow. Not.
Feb 16 2009
Multivitamins — My Own Superstition
No, I am not rational in everything I do. A couple weeks ago over at skepticblog, Brian Dunning asked, WHAT’S YOUR SACRED COW? I don’t know if taking vitamins qualifies as a sacred cow, for I don’t revere them. A personal blind spot? No, not really. It is more of a superstition, for I am aware that the pills may do nothing for my health and longevity. And there is a chance they may even harm these. And yet, in a void of better reasons, I take them. Just in case.
Recent research has thrown an additional wet blanket on my hopes. How’s this for a shot to the body of a sacred cow (and a terrible mixing of metaphors) -
The largest study of its kind concludes that long-term multivitamin use has no impact on the risk of common cancers, cardiovascular disease or overall mortality in postmenopausal women.
Okay, I’m not a postmenopausal woman. Still.
Apparently, I am not alone in my superstitious behavior.
Dietary supplements are used by more than half of all Americans, who spend more than $20 billion on these products each year. However, scientific data are lacking on the long-term health benefits of supplements.
Of course, an important inquiry to make is into the nuts and bolts behind this recent study.
Feb 16 2009
Looking Farther (6): Stuff in Space
Look at all that cool . . . stuff . . . in space.
(Man, I’ve got to improve my vocabulary. Crack open an astronomy book maybe.)
[Photo thanks to NASA]
Feb 16 2009
How Bogus Beliefs Persist (III): There is a Crisis in the Road Through Mid-life
[This is the 3rd part in a 4-part series. Intro here.]
The concept of the mid-life crises provides a whopper of a belief-net. In the example discussed previously, at least one of the two variables — sugar — can be strictly defined. But both mid-life and crisis are sufficiently abstract as to allow all sorts of data to be caught,
whether it be genuine butterflies, or moths, locusts, sparrows and the occasional twin-engine Cessna. Does mid-life consist of the years between 40 and 60? That’s a lot of years. And what about crisis? What constitutes a crisis? If recently divorced Dave across the street buys a boat that he obviously can’t afford, is this evidence of a crisis?
Armed with the belief in a mid-life crisis, a person can readily notice and acknowledge those instances of mid-life-ish persons behaving in a crisis-ish manner. My own mother, at the age of 55, following three decades of driving a series of station wagons, bought a black, two door Trans-Am. A few relatives may have gossiped about my mother’s otherwise hidden crisis, using this inkblot of unusual behavior as evidence. Someone with graying hair doing something odd — must be going through a mid-life crisis. Meanwhile, opposing cases fail to register. We fail to pronounce, “Hey, there’s a person who is happy and sane during the middle years of their life.”
As for alternative cases, who, after observing Brad, twenty-nine years old and recently divorced, dating a much younger woman and bringing home a boat he obviously can’t afford, is going to reckon, “gee, I guess twenty-somethings have crises as well.”
In mid-life, male and female hormone levels do change. And thoughts about one’s mortality may increase. In fact, it is a normative experience to enter middle adulthood (the years 40 to 65) with two living parents, and to leave with none. So there may be some are good reasoning as to why there could be a mid-life crisis. But how heavily should we weigh “good reasoning.” What does heavier information reveal?
Feb 15 2009
Somebody Has to Study It
Imagine this cocktail-hour conversation -
Scientist 1 to 2: What do you study?
Scientist 2: The measurement of hadron spin when in an ultra-low energy plasma state.
Scientists 1 & 3: Cool. Fascinating.
Scientist 1 to 3: And you?
Scientist 3: Um, mumble mumble.
Scientist 2: Hey, didn’t you just publish your most recent research finding in the Journal of Biology? Let’s see, if I recall correctly, the press release was titled, Pubic Hair Provides Evolutionary Home For Gorilla Lice.
Scientist 1 chokes on a cracker. When coughing he spits a bit of Swiss cheese clear across the room.
-
[I predict a coming nomination for an Ig Nobel award.]
Feb 15 2009
Sunday, Lovely Sunday
While Sunday is not a holy day for me, it is a cherished day. For me it is a day to take time to unwind. And how do I do that? One of the ways is to walk around somewhere beautiful with a camera in hand. The minutes or hours spent absorbed in the perception of form and color provide an intellectual reprieve.
I recommend you try it. You might like it.
Feb 15 2009
Depressed About Bad Science Reporting
Bad science reporting gets me down. Not clinically, just slightly and momentarily. It’s more of a passing disappointment than depression.
The title to the latest head-shaker I’ve encountered reads this way:
Can you spot the contentious word in the above? Yes, it’s due. That word implies causation. Did the researchers uncover a causal link? From the report, we don’t know.
To undertake the research, a total of 1,959 young people between the ages of 12 and 23 from the Basque Country, Burgos and Rioja were studied. 48 of these were patients diagnosed with some form of EBD.
While the writer goes to the admirable length of providing precise details about the subjects, he or she then merely states that they “were studied.” How? Probed with needles, observed through two-way glass, surveyed, what? Minds curious about the overall validity of the finding want to know.
Here’s the study conclusion, a conclusion when given without specifics about what type of data was collected cries out to be taken with a large grain of salt -
Feb 14 2009
How Bogus Beliefs Persist (II): Kids Go Coo-coo After Ingesting Sucrose
[This is the 2nd part in a 4-part series. Intro here.]
Sugar makes children behave hyperactively. If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard a parent repeat this nugget of nonsense, I’d have a lot of dimes. But I can see how parents find evidence to fill this particular “belief-net.” Any moment they observe a child acting energetically (something children do with great frequency) following the consumption of a sugary food — bingo! Supporting information.
Meanwhile, the times a child eats sugar and continues to behave
as he or she was before the sugar, or even takes a nap, this instance lights up nothing in the parent’s mind. And just as opposing cases are neglected, so are alternative cases. When little Bobby does his Tasmanian devil imitation following the consumption of a slice of pizza, the parent does not think, “Gee, pizza can make kids hyper, too.”
An adult who holds the sugar-makes-kids-hyper belief could be accused of being less rational on two counts. First, he (or she) has fallen prey to the confirmation bias. Most likely not intentionally, but naturally. Second, he is probably relying upon personal observation and hearsay, which are weak sources of data. A better source would be scientific studies.
And the research clearly says it isn’t so.
Feb 14 2009
Looking Closer (23): Zooming Out for a Better View
Sometimes we can get better grasp what we are focusing on by stepping backwards. As in the case of the item above. If I had zoomed fully out, to 0x vs 60x, you would likely be able to identify the above item. What is it? The answer to this redundant item [200x view here] is below the fold.
