From "The User Illusion" to "Enriching the Brain"

"What is done by what is called myself is, I feel, done by something greater than myself in me." -- James Clerk Maxwell

I took advantage of the long weekend to polish off Tor Norretranders' The User Illusion, and what a book it was. I bogged down for a while mid-week, but got my second wind Monday, and after re-reading a couple of passages that I'd spaced out on, was able forge all the way to the end. Ahh, the finish line!

This book is far more than a neuroscience tome. Among the variegated science topics covered and called upon are Information Theory (Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver), the limits of science and knowledge (Zeno of Elea and Kurt Godel), physics, entropy (James Clerk Maxwell), computer science (Alan Turing), the Big Bang theory, cosmology, the Gaia hypothesis, evolution, emergence, complexity, chaos, fractals, gestalt theory, religion, endosymbiosis, genetics, consciousness, the bicameral mind, and more. Fortunately, I'd already read much about many of these topics. What an accomplishment by Norretranders to attempt to tie it all together. Bravo!

One of the main themes is that our consciousness operates by using a compressed amount of information bits (exformation), and thus our view of reality is actually an expected simulation based on much, much larger numbers of information bits experienced (and discarded) by the senses. This conscious "I" is only a very small part of the entire body's "me" and it requires a half-a-second delay (Benjamin Libet) to produce its unconscious simulation.


Now, just in time for the start of the school year, it's on to:

Enriching the Brain: How to Maximize Every Learner's Potential by Eric Jensen 

"Eric Jensen—a leading expert in the translation of brain research into education, argues in Enriching the Brain that we greatly underestimate students’ achievement capacity. Drawing from a wide range of neuroscience research as well as related studies, Jensen reveals that the human brain is far more dynamic and malleable than we earlier believed. He offers us a powerful new understanding of how the brain can be “enriched,” across the board to maximize learning, memory, behavior and overall function. The bottom line is we have far more to do with how our children’s brains turn out than we previously thought. Enriching the Brain shows that lasting brain enrichment doesn’t occur randomly through routine or ordinary learning. It requires a specific, and persistent experiences that amount to a “formula” for maximizing brain potential. Parents, teachers and policy-makers would do well to memorize this formula. In fact, the lifelong potential of all school age kids depends on whether or not we use it. Offering an inspiring and innovative set of practices for promoting enrichment in the home, the school, and the classroom, this book is a clarion call. All of us, from teachers to parents to policymakers must take their role as ‘brain shapers’ much more seriously and this book gives the tools with which to do it."

"Organic Food Study" News Article: More Double-Speak

It's interesting, the headline for this Reuters Health article promotes a different conclusion than what I arrive at from reading the whole article. Although the nutrients and vitamins may be the same in both types of food, aren't the issuee of the antibiotic-resistamt bacteria and pesticides really the key reasons to buy organic? It seems clear from article below that the organic route is healthier! How Orwellian and double-speak-ish this headline is.

Organic food no healthier than non-organic: study

New York (Reuters Health) - Organic produce and meat typically isn't any better for you than conventional varieties when it comes to vitamin and nutrient content, according to a new review of the evidence.

But organic options may live up to their billing of lowering exposure to pesticide residue and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, researchers from Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System found.

"People choose to buy organic foods for many different reasons. One of them is perceived health benefits," said Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler, who led the new study.

"Our patients, our families ask about, ‘Well, are there health reasons to choose organic food in terms of nutritional content or human health outcomes?'"

To try to answer that question, she and her colleagues reviewed over 200 studies that compared either the health of people who ate organic or conventional foods or, more commonly, nutrient and contaminant levels in the foods themselves.

Those included organic and non-organic fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, poultry, eggs and milk.

Many of the studies didn't specify their standards for what constituted "organic" food - which can cost as much as twice what conventional food costs - the researchers wrote Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

According to United States Department of Agriculture standards, organic farms have to avoid the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics. Organic livestock must also have access to pastures during grazing season.

Many conventional farms in the U.S., in contrast, use pesticides to ward off bugs and raise animals in crowded indoor conditions with antibiotics in their feed to promote growth and ward off disease. The Food and Drug Administration has been examining that type of antibiotic use and its contribution to drug-resistant disease in humans.

Same Vitamins

Smith-Spangler and her colleagues found there was no difference in the amount of vitamins in plant or animal products produced organically and conventionally - and the only nutrient difference was slightly more phosphorus in the organic products.

Organic milk and chicken may also contain more omega-3 fatty acids, they found - but that was based on only a few studies.

There were more significant differences by growing practice in the amount of pesticides and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in food.

More than one-third of conventional produce had detectable pesticide residues, compared to seven percent of organic produce samples. And organic chicken and pork was 33 percent less likely to carry bacteria resistant to three or more antibiotics than conventionally-produced meat.

Smith-Spangler told Reuters Health it was uncommon for either organic or conventional foods to exceed the allowable limits for pesticides, so it's unclear whether a difference in residues would have an effect on health.

But Chensheng Lu, who studies environmental health and exposure at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said that while the jury is still out on those effects, people should consider pesticide exposure in their grocery-shopping decisions.

"If I was a smart consumer, I would choose food that has no pesticides," Lu, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health. "I think that's the best way to protect your health."

He said more research is necessary to fully explore the potential health and safety differences between organic and conventional foods, and that it's "premature" to conclude organic meat and produce isn't any healthier than non-organic versions.

"Right now I think it's all based on anecdotal evidence," Lu said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/PShmuj Annals of Internal Medicine, online September 3, 2012.

Cat Eye Makeup, Cat Eye Sunglasses and Cat Ears- Love It, . . . But hate cats :)

Heyyy..dear stylebookers...I love cat eye makeup, cat eye sunglasses and cat ear headbands...But hate cats :)) they are only nice when they want something :) ok, Now I wanna share little bit information about cat eye makeup and cat eye sunglasses..

CAT EYE MAKEUP

Cat eye makeup is a dramatic style of eye makeup that relies heavily on eyeliner. The outer corners of the eyes are designed to look pointed, like a cat's. It was a common look in the 1950s, but is now experiencing a resurgence of popularity. Cat eye makeup can be a great, glamorous look for evening, and with practice, it is relatively simple to do. But I love to do every day :)

CAT EYE SUNGLASSES

The Cat Eye trend is merely a revival of the ’50s and ’60s trends, first modeled by  Marilyn Monroe in ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’ and more recently, elegantly worm by actress Kerry Washington in the movie, Lakeview Terrace (2008). 

These glasses can either be 50s inspired vintage look or excessively modern sharp black frames with silver detailing. Depending on the statement you want to make, try a soft diamond shape lenses that point out at the sides for a less subtle, more retro look.

CAT EARS 

Cat eyes very actually in these days, and cat ears headbands too. But also I love cat ear crowns with laces..it looks so sweet.. And here crown that I made..Just Look and Enjoy..Bye

XAVER

Spiritual Impotence

Its Tuesday.. For millions of Americans its back to work after a three day Labor Day vacation.

Perhaps the holiday should be renamed Happy Part-Time Labor Day, or more accurately Happy Temp Day!

Of course for tens of millions of Americans, there is no job to go to; just another day of dreariness as they submit resumes, wait for call-backs that never come, and wonder how they're going to make it another month.

Those people really don't get talked about much on TV.

You don't see the news coverage of people living in their cars; living on the streets.  The stories about how lower-middle class families are surviving when their wages have dramatically decreased or disappeared entirely; what its like to live in a world with zero savings and little to no hope things are getting better..

Nah, Too dreary-- hard to sell and push 'Recovery' if those people are given a voice; hard for advertisers to counter reality with their fake-cheeriness.  Plus if you see too much suffering, you're likely to blame the current administration and dare to vote the opposition, which is really not what the media wants.

So instead, the media presents success stories and focuses on the market.

Ahh.. That worthless stock market.  Funny how something so impotent keeps rising.  We guess you can lift just about anything with long enough puppet strings.

We thought what happened Friday was an absolute farce and proof-positive of how much it Deserves a fierce market crash (hopefully this autumn).

So here's what happened:  The bottom feeders had their plates out for some 'meat'; some QE3... 'This is going to be It!  We're going to get it boys!'.. and they waited for the bearded Bastard to speak... and he said things aren't great and needs to improve, blah blah...

Then by the time his speech was concluded, there was no commitment to QE3 coming... NONE...

And the plates were empty; meatless.  The roaches and rats were upset... BUT... something remarkable (and disingenuous) happened..

Some of the filth who make their living in this field said 'Heyy... Don't you rats get it??  Bernanke tipped his hand.. Yesss!!  He's saying that QE3 is coming in a couple weeks...  Let's keep the Rally going!!'

And from absolutely Nothing real or encouraging, came a 100pt rally within the first hour of his speech.

And that's how this finance con game is played.  The average American imbecile knows nothing about finance..they just see the market and if it rises, then its a good day for America, and if it drops, not so much.

Yesterday's market news was "Global shares gain on central bank hopes, eyes on ECB" -- Reuters.  In other words... all it takes for markets to rise is someone in a position of power simply making an empty promise or infer of help on the way..

All someone from Europe or the US has to say is 'We're monitoring the situation closely' or 'We have plenty of tools left at our disposal'  or 'We will do what is necessary..' and that's good enough...

No one expects real action so no one seeks it..

Profits and dividends always come first to the bottom feeders

When the stock market crashes (hopefully) in a couple months, that will knock down this illusionary house of cards fraud called the global economy.

And perhaps if the crash is serious enough and the scum-investors finally admit that the governments and central backs are completely impotent to fix the economy solely by focusing on benefiting those at the top, maybe... just maybe governments will start enacting public policy that seeks to bring up all classes of people, and not just the well-to-do.

Remember, as horrible and 'depressing' the Great Depression was,  without it, there'd be no unemployment welfare, no Social Security, no Medicare...  and there would have been no impetus to get millions of people of every walk of life and educational background working..

It would have continued to be a pre-FDR government policy of 'Live or Die.. you're on your own'.  And while many heartless fiscal conservatives would prefer it be that way, trust us, its not ever going to go back to that without a major fight on their soft, pampered hands.

This is how we see America--as a "home" that is more and more inhabitable due to devastation, rot and intentional neglect.  Its making the inhabitants sick.  Ultimately a new home needs to be built upon the foundation that is sturdy and lasts.  But one can not build something new upon something old and decrepit.

And as long as few to no one in the 'family' demand a better 'home', the longer everyone makes due living in squalor while some members of the family i.e. the decision makers, live in luxury.

People.. we luv ya lotz,  But you better wake up...

The reason you don't have a job (or a job as good paying today vs 2008) is because no one in political office has done a thing to make it so.  No one has passed any legislation or forced companies to hire you.   And no corporation will ever pay someone a fair wage when there's others more hungry and desperate who will do your job for less.

The reason your home values keep dropping is because no one really cares to pass legislation to stabilize the housing market.  Its more important the banks don't keep getting hit with losses.  Its more important new homes are built which simply glut the market and put buyers in the driver's seat to determine purchase price.

And the only reason most have not felt the true affects of this recession is because they have credit cards to buffer the pain, and a nest egg which is constantly dwindling.

Too many people simply sit on their collective asses, bitch and moan about things then perhaps get up just enough to vote every 4 years for the choices of 'crap' vs 'shit'.   Its less and less acceptable anymore.

If you think both parties are rotten to the core (as we do) you need to figure productive ways how to fight back..  Perhaps to support 3rd party candidates... Perhaps to gather like-minded people and create your own PAC (political action committee [and its shockingly easy to set one up]) and donate the bulk funds to the candidate who will be most likely to implement your ideas.

Or start your own blog.. or write comments to every newspaper and mainstream news source you find where you feel they are outright lying to you...

If you are happy with the status quo, then fine.  But if you're not and you do nothing but bitch and moan at the dinner table, you're spiritually impotent.

Marianne Faithfull "As Tears Go By" (Hullabaloo London 1965)

Perhaps the most beautiful smirk on my blog yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf9w2hJIqUk

Brion Gysin: Dreamachine at the New Museum Youtube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7HeGWsnqAw&feature=related

Byron Gysin's Dreamachine

I seem to have gone a bit "New Age" nutty lately. I suppose it's the irresistible appeal of enriching my mind, sleep, and mood without the use of those bad, bad "Big Phrama" meds. Do "natural" supplements work? Does hypnosis? How about "New Age" mental training to expand memory, creativity, and feed neural growth and amp up neuroplasticity? My current thinking is that if chronic stress damages neural connections, intense learning, and deep relaxation should reinvigorate them to a great degree. Call me a gullible optimist (More snake oil, sir?). Thus, this "New Age" line of research for me. It's probably just a fad or phase.

Of course, a healthy diet, sound sleep, and regular exercise do most of the good health work. While you're busy at being healthy, you might as well throw in saving more than you spend, and avoid incurring debt.

Herbs, spices, and vitamins? Well, they should work, right? Many medical establishment folks insist they don't, or point out that there's little scientific evidence for any of the bold claims made by many of these supplements and antioxidants. True, but it seems many don't work, until they do work, and then the medical people warn you off. Don't abuse caffeine, weed, or achohol. Beware of Ephedra, tryptophan, and Kava Kava!

γ-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) could be purchased in health foods until it was unleashed as a "date rape" drug by some sickos. As Wiki notes, "GHB has been used in a medical setting as a general anesthetic, to treat conditions such as insomnia, clinical depression, narcolepsy, and alcoholism, and to improve athletic performance. It is also used as an intoxicant (illegally in many jurisdictions) or as a date rape drug." So now we only have access to the highly regulated synthetic drug version of GHB, Xyrem (sodium oxybate), a Schedule III drug.

So, it seems supplements could and do work at times. Be careful, though. Of course, that same advice goes double for any prescription drugs. As we all know, you could go broke fast, buying and experimenting with supplements (Amazon, here we come), and bear in mind they are not a wise substitute for "conventional Western medicine" for any serious medical problem. But for chronic, not-too-severe, "lifestyle" problems, they might just be more helpful than sleep or anxiety meds. I guess cautious trial and error is the only way to find out (and the placebo effect counts!).

Meanwhile, how about mental training such as meditation, autogenic training, guided imagery, relaxtion response, yoga, or self-hypnosis? It seems to me they too could work, and should be explored. They seem much lower risk than the supplements.

And what about training technology such as "bio feedback?" To that end, I watched a trippy documentary about a sixties "Dreamachine" this weekend, FLicKeR.

FLicKeR (2008)

Brion Gysin (Actor), Kenneth Anger (Actor), Nik Sheehan (Director) | Rated: NR | Format: DVD

This award-winning documentary about poet, artist, calligrapher and mystic Brion Gysin, portrays the life and legacy of an artist who believed art could revolutionize human consciousness. FLicKeR chronicles Gysin’s complex ideas, friendships and influence with some of the 20th century’s key counterculture figures, such as William S. Burroughs, Kurt Cobain and Marianne Faithful. Featuring greats like Burroughs (in archival footage), singer Marianne Faithfull, singer/artist Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV, poet John Giorno, punk rocker Iggy Pop, filmmaker Kenneth Anger and artist/turntablist DJ Spooky, FLicKeR is a hypnotic documentary. Taking the dream machine as the basis of its explorations, this film asks crucial questions about the nature of art and consciousness, and imagines humanity liberated to explore its creativity in complete freedom."

Brion Gysin's Dreammachine. Yes, it looks a bit like a cheesy lava lamp. With Ian Sommerville, Gysin built the Dreamachine in 1961. Described as "the first art object to be seen with the eyes closed", the flicker device is said to use alpha waves in the 8-16 Hz range to produce a change of consciousness in receptive viewers.