the evolving mind

“Wild female chimpanzees copulate more frequently with males who share meat with them over long periods of time.” (21)

Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. (Exodus 1:4-5)

When working at my desk I sometimes listen to Internet radio. This moment it is a blues station: KOQX out of San Jose, CA. Just a few moments ago the lyrics to one song “rang a bell.” The female voice sang the chorus, “You can take my husband, but please don’t take my man.” In the verses I learned that while the husband only fed the wife rice and beans, her lover, her “man,” took her out for lobster and such.

Is the way to a woman’s heart through her stomach? Or, perhaps, is through her stomach the way to a woman’s womb? Proximally, the male interest in females is all about sexual pleasure. Just as eating feels good. But is that “the” reason we eat? Similarly, we allegedly sexually-obsessed primates are this way not for purely hedonistic reasons. Unseen behind the observable events are the evolutionary pragmatic drives and reward. Via sex, a male plants his “seed” in a womb. And a womb is the only place that seed will grow. (Yes, semen is not seed. At least not to the modern mind).

Until a Petri dish will do the trick, and perhaps a sufficient number of generations pass, males will likely continue to be obsessed with females. For their wombs. Why? A womb is THE door to human life. The same door serves both males and females. It is the only portal to the continued prosperity of your genes. And while females can exert more direct control over the portal to the next generation, males will do what they can to influence and control the gate-keeper.

Why do religions in general and the Bible particularly seem so preoccupied with sex? Because it matters. Perhaps more than anything. But sex is only one element of the real issue — procreation. But not all procreation is acceptable. That is why you will find seemingly contradictory passages in the Bible.

Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. (Genesis 1:28)

For the LORD had closed up every womb in Abimelech’s household. (Genesis 20:18)

Examining Bible teachings as they pertain to sex we find -

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Technorati Links: bible, primates, religion

I sometimes think of “alternative medicine” as hunch-based medicine. Typically there is no scientific superstructure supporting the claims. Folklore, ancient dogma, yes. Hunches about how to treat illness get clothed-in or justified-by pseudoscientific reasoning.

That said, hunches have their place. They are one of the first steps of discovery. But for something to prove effective it has to be tested. And once tested it would be nice if the mechanisms of action were understood and disclosed.

Alternative medicine also tends to take small finds and speculate wildly, blowing them up to ridiculous proportions. In effect, a pretty little truth become a grotesque falsity. For instance -

A few decades ago Norman Cousins wrote of his self-treatment of an auto-immune disease. He chose laughter as his medicine. And got better.

One person getting better is a very small tidbit of data. From his experience Cousins wrote a best-selling book: Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. Suddenly there was a grotesque ground swell of healers professing the power of laughter and positive attitude.

You might call his “laughter is good for your overall health” hypothesis a hunch. Perhaps it was even an educated hunch. And it turns out to have had some merit. Some. A recent, very-well conducted study has indeed shown that laughter has healthful effects on humans. As good science will do, details were shared:

The patients in the laughter group (Group L) had lower epinephrine and norepinephrine levels by the second month, suggesting lower stress levels. They had increased HDL (good) cholesterol. The laughter group also had lower levels of TNF-a, IFN-?, IL-6 and hs-CRP levels, indicating lower levels of inflammation.

At the end of one year, the research team saw significant improvement in Group L: HDL cholesterol had risen by 26 percent in Group L (laughter), and only 3 percent in the Group C (control). Harmful C-reactive proteins decreased 66 % in the laughter group vs. 26 percent for the control group.

Woo hunches and treatments are not always wrong. Yes, laughter is good for you. But to claim it is a cure-all and/or that stress is thus the cause of disease is to venture far into the land woo.

Technorati Links: alternative medicine, critical thinking

This is your brain.

These are your brain chemicals.

This is your brain high on brain chemicals:

Of course results may differ depending on the unique cocktail each brain cooks up.

Okay, more seriously now, a new study has re-discovered what I thought had already been discovered. The human brain makes its own marijuana-like substance. Endocannabinoids, I believe they are called. Which makes sense, because for exo-cannabinoids to work — i.e., why smoking marijuana does more than irritate the lungs — they need receptors to bind to. And certainly Gawd didn’t diabolically create us so that modern generations would get stoned in a new and different way.

Of the article I liked this sentence the best -

Now, we see that our brain has been making proteins that act directly on the marijuana receptors in our head.

“In our head?” Why not go with noggin? And “marijuana receptors”? Isn’t this a bit like calling an ear canal a Q-tip receptor?

Technorati Links: liberalism, neurology

Years ago I visited a dentist for a general cleaning and to ask a personal question. My wife had awakened me a few times during the previous month, whispering that I was grinding my teeth. I worried I was going to wear them down to stumps.

After the hygienist’s cleaning, the dentist inspected my teeth. He said I was “doing a good job.” I told him my concern, and he took a long look into my mouth. He grabbed individual teeth and tried to shake them. “Hmm. Yes.” There was evidence of bruxism. Of tooth-grinding. “What can I do?” I asked.

He inquired about my marriage. Did we get along? This seemed to be quite a change in subject, but he was the expert. I said, “fine.”

How about work? Any problems there? Your in-laws? He kept fishing. Because I looked confused, he informed me that tooth-grinding is often a sign of unexpressed anger. People unable to outlet their anger during the day will do it at night in private, in their sleep.

I drove home and searched my mind for what could be angering me. My wife and I had been married a couple years and we were happy together. I thought. Did I resent her for stealing me away from my bachelor life? True, my bachelor life sucked eggs in comparison. But maybe I was mad because I was no longer free to suck those eggs if I wanted to.

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Technorati Links: mental health, psychotherapy

Here’s my first speculation: people can be tempted into speculating on some topic when 1) there is uncertainty and 2) the topic is personally and/or socially meaningful. We often speculate about matters to add meaning where there is none.

A recent psychological finding into the bi-directional link between culture and emotion brought me to the brink of recklessly speculating. But I’ll resist the temptation. For a moment.

It has been known from some time that a person’s culture can influence how, when and where they will express specific emotions. Additionally, cultural “attitudes” will influence human psychology as well. In the words of the article -

European cultures are known to value independence and individuality, whereas Asian cultures prize community and harmony. This fundamental East-West cultural difference is well established, and so offered the researchers an ideal test.

What did they test? How mood/feelings influenced cultural attitudes. What the researchers found breaks down this way:

Feeling bad . . .

reinforced traditional cultural stereotypes and constrained both Western and Eastern thinking about the world.

Feeling good . . .

did indeed encourage the volunteers — both European and Asian — to explore values that are inconsistent with their cultural norms. And elevated mood even shaped behavior, allowing volunteers to act “out of character.”

Fascinating. And here comes the wild speculation, despite the fact I know it is extremely unlikely to have an iota of merit. I just can’t resist. Would real change come to this country if the conservatives could ‘lighten up’?

Technorati Links: culture, emotion, psychology

What is it? This 60x microscope pic is of something I found in my house. Hint: “Who” is not the right word. For the answer, and another view of “it,” look below the fold.

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Technorati Links: microscope, puzzle

Last night I listened to the latest edition of the The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast. In one segment the crew discussed the recent study/meta-analysis of a homeopathic remedy I blogged about a couple days ago [Imperfect Research Into Homeopathic Remedies]. Much of their criticisms and concerns echoed mine. At the end of the segment the show host, Steven Novella, asserted, in so many words, that emphasizing evidence-based medicine is not sufficient. Rather, the issue should be whether or not medicine is science-based.

What’s the difference? As I see it, science-based medicine bases its hunches and hypotheses and theories upon a pre-existing body of scientific knowledge. The ideas and explanations that provide the superstructure for the data — if you will — rests upon the solid foundation of what we already know about human physiology and chemistry, etc. Not strictly and completely, but at least substantially.

Over the past few years there has been a trend for alternative treatments to start gathering data. Evidence. Which is good. Data is the most important element to doing science. But there is more to science than data.

In the past and still today there was/is precious little data to support the majority of claims about alternative treatments. Most of the data was of very poor quality — anecdotes and testimonials and trials lacking adequate controls. But that is changing. Which is good. If a treatment works, we should verify it does. Or in many if not most cases, if it doesn’t.

But there is more to medicine than that, if it is to be a science. In science we have data, but not just data. There are hypotheses and theories. Hypotheses will propose a relationship between variables. Theories will offer testable explanations of some class of events. A strong theory will reveal the actual real-world mechanisms the produce the phenomena in question. Testable mechanisms.

While the one study I criticized did provide some data, and hence partly qualified as science, the entire field of homeopathy fails in another regard: the theoretical superstructure of their “knowledge” appears to be bogus. For one, no principles or tests have shown that diluting a medicine actually makes it stronger. In fact, the opposite is true. And as for the like-curing-like idea central to homeopathy (the homo, “same” part), that, too, appears to be bogus.

So yes, encourage and applaud the gathering of data. But there is more to a robust understanding than that. But, in terms of combating pseudoscience and sham treatments, we have to start somewhere. So yes, start with tests. Good tests.

Proponents of “alternative medicine” may accuse we skeptics of “moving the goalposts” by asking for more than data that some specific treatment works better than placebo. But intellectual progress depends upon it. In a sense, by scrutinizing both the effectiveness AND supposed mechanisms of action, we are saying, “let’s take a closer look at this.”

Can taking a closer look be a bad thing?

Technorati Links: alternative medicine, critical thinking, science

Sitting by a small pond. Listening to the trickling of water. A warm breeze brushing over my skin. Life feels good. This moment, at least. Will the bubble of my pleasing experience burst? Yes. But there will be more. Not an infinite amount. But many.

Technorati Links: meaning

What do churches teach? I could certainly tell you what I think they tend to teach, but I’m sure my opinion would be slanted. It would reflect my thinking and experiences. Out of curiosity, on this “day of rest,” I decided investigate the matter more objectively. I conducted an online search for churches in my neighborhood and then looked over their websites. This is what I learned:

The Emmaus Lutheran Church does believe that “education” is part of its mission.

Our Vision is to be a community of God’s servant people who provide opportunities for God’s word and spirit to change lives through witness, worship, music, education and youth opportunities. Continue Reading »

Technorati Links: atheism, religion

Look into the night sky and you will see “the heavens:” planets, stars, galaxies. So far, no one has spotted a “heaven.” Though millions of people believe in one. The people who don’t may still be religious. Or not. To sample some blog postings of the nots, you may want to check out -

The 114th Carnival of the Godless

[photo source]

Technorati Links: cosmos, NASA