Friday, December 21, 2007

Blue Prints For Costco

spinach and other banana

There was once an inconspicuous vegetables with the beautiful name was spinach. It was as long as normal, until 100 years ago, a researcher in the measurement of its iron content underwent a comma errors, which led to the myth , the delicious green was an iron bomb. For generations, the idea persisted, after three spoons spinach could you pull with your left big toe trees. This spinach is at least in this respect it is not healthier than chocolate. Amazing how such a legend for so long - even after their disenchantment! - Has survived. Or maybe not so amazing?

I remember because of the removed from here following story about an experiment (where unfortunately only in Russian, so free translation by me). .

"Four monkeys sitting in a cage from the cage ceiling is - delicious, but unattainable -.. A bunch of bananas in the corner is a head after a while, the monkeys get the idea that the ladder under the banana could push the same climb. The boldest of them ventured the first attempt and climb the ladder towards the sweet fruit. But before he reached it, he will by the experimenter, who, unbeknownst to the monkey is on the alert, from a hose doused with icy water jet, and by the way the other three monkeys from getting what. Tumult, shouting. As the beam ends and the monkeys come halfway up, she take after a while, courage, and another's trying again - with the same wet-cold "success" for him and all. Then there is a monkey overlapping consensus - the bananas are taboo!

is now embarked on a wet monkey from the cage, and a dry, put into it unsuspecting. He is astonished about the delicious banana not been touched and begins to climb the ladder, but stop! - The other three long-suffering want to avoid another shower and beat the brave one, so that he desist from his stupid idea. This means only station - since when one may have to eat any more bananas? - But it fits. Apparently it is the custom here. Another Monkey first generation is replaced. When does the second new dry monkey to the bananas, he is from the two ends remained wet and beaten also the first dry without the first dry even know why you have to beat. Well, deduced the second newcomer razor sharp, well here it is tradition that we polish anyone who reaches for the banana, the face.

is After two further substitutions are now no monkey of the first, wet generation more in the cage - but go to fisticuffs on to each Bananengrapscher, even though the experimenter has squashed with the tube long ago and in the monkey with a coffee observed by the hand of the page.

created their tradition. "

apes - and humans - seem to be so eager to follow the rules of society that once rehearsed practice so long on" autopilot "is running until it is disproved obvious. Unfortunately, this happened not only with spinach or bananas, but at a much more important things. Even under memes are an evolution with the survival of the Er successful - but not always the right one. Therefore, the age-old recipe for a remedy, the belief in a religious revelation, the conventional wisdom about the creation of the world, etc. is often worth nothing - either they were from the beginning of complete nonsense or have become obsolete with time. Was it earlier, perhaps even justifiable, not to eat the dirt rolling as bacteria and trichinentriefende pigs, this prohibition is due to the advanced understanding of the origins of diseases and better methods of preparation completely unnecessary. Was it advantageous because of rampant sexually transmitted diseases and primitive methods of contraception that a bride was a virgin in marriage, today there are really no more reason to see it that way. Considering the fact that today's graduates on average far more than they used to know about the world of the smartest thinkers, critical questioning of traditional knowledge has become more important. Not for nothing is one of the here proposed new ten commandments: "Question everything".

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Sports Therapist Major

The Exorcist

The left here is Mr. James Randi. He worked 30 years as a conjurer and magician and knows so wonderfully with the current methods and tricks that allow one to deceive people, to deceive, to dupe them and what fool. He became famous when he realized in 1972 that the alleged psychic Uri Geller talented Israeli , who scored at that time with his "skills" considerable TV success with the same tricks worked as himself, he challenged him publicly, and threw him plan to have no paranormal talents. The whole thing ended in an action for damages Geller, especially after the "Tonight Show" after a modification of the proposed recommended by Randi "Paranormal" demonstration in front of an audience of millions miserably failed . No wonder, because for Geller's "Parade" effect of the spoon, there is more known for years, "conventional" methods - as shown here , here and here .

This gave Randi the incentive to make it his life's mission to debunk charlatans, quacks and frauds who claim to possess psychic powers, and earn good money with this tale. With the help of an unknown donor, he established a foundation, the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF ). The Foundation has only one purpose - that of immediately pay $ 1,000,000, which can demonstrate under controlled conditions before and jointly agreed a paranormal ability or a psychic phenomenon. The money is there, anyone can apply. Together is discussed beforehand, and each contract determines what the outcome should be considered as "success."

The fact that been going around the "1.Mio. Dollar Challenge" in the circles a lot, apply several people a week, and has still won since its founding in 1996, not one gives a critical spirit . think What have not signed up for because figures : aura-seer, diviner, People who talk with spirits of the dead read, thought, or transferred to someone who claimed to have invented a device for keeping the horrors of a measure in the near future in boiling water to throwing chicken ice cream, or a lady, people qua can bring spiritual force allegedly to pee in your pants (video of her failed attempt at a demonstration here ). No one had a chance. This is the exorcist Randi not closed or ruthless - the rules of the experiment to determine the candidates together with him.

One can not deal with "I need his million did not, I know I can's" excuses. Because first you can the money if it itself does not need to donate sick children or starving Africans. And second would be a controlled demonstration of such phenomena in such an archaic paradigm of modern science, as it has not been perhaps since Galileo, Bohr and Einstein. to deny the humanity of this knowledge and this progress is selfish and amoral.

it moves us out of this experience that is a conclusion on - there is simply no supernatural phenomena. No intangible world, no ghosts, no healing vibrations, no telepathy, telekinesis, no. The world is hopeless mechanically. Thoughts are merely electrical currents in the brain, who with other aura see, you should quickly on suspicion of a brain injury to the doctor, and stunning power, every fan can experience the supernatural, moreover, by itself misses an uppercut. Anyone who claims otherwise, may register for the controlled test - or "shut up", as they say on another occasion. breast enlargement by laying on of hands folded not yet. What a pity!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Can Acid Reflux Can Headaches

chance and luck

It's amazing what a huge influence of the accident has on our lives. The evolution of the ground for thousands of years human spirit is then applied precisely to control the environment to the chance to outwit and to cope with the unexpected. However, this applies when you look at the whole picture, only in the small, everyday. By contrast, the major premise that the world around us have allowed only the foundations of our existence have passed, - we were blessed without our help. If one makes present, you will soon humble, because so much undeserved luck has had.

First to the Essential: our universe just the right values for physical forces and constants that allow him has to endure so long, so that life can arise. If the force of gravity a bit stronger, the universe would be in soon after the Big Bang collapsed. Had the strong and the weak interaction to another value, the nuclear reactions in stars would have been different. Without long-burning stars, there would be no heavy elements like carbon, and therefore no carbon-based life. The force of the Big Bang could not have been too large, for then the matter would fly apart meaningless without forming galaxies and solar systems. The list could go on long. Often "tolerate" these values and sizes not even variations in the percentage range. There is even physical constants, that "fine tuning" with 1 to 1 with 120 zeros indicated . This fragile house of cards balanced on physical Underlying forces and makes the world as we know them, and ourselves possible.

we climb down to a smaller scale: the Earth and the solar system. The solar system is a just the right distance from the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way: Would it be closer, we would be roasted by the gamma radiation from the center of the galaxy, and flying around other stars would muddle up the careers of our sun and planets, and they collided . bring The Earth is in exactly the right distance from the sun, so that the essential water does not freeze (Mars), but also does not evaporate (Venus). We have a nice moon on our side, to look not only beautiful , but also stabilizes the Earth's axis. Otherwise, we could experience all four seasons within a week - no environment that would be stable enough to bring forth life. Equally nice is the giant Jupiter, the asteroids and comets from outside that are potentially dangerous, with its crushing gravity traps and so is the cosmic vacuum cleaner. A completely comfortable environment so.

So now we are finally emerged in a human with real constants provided in a tailor-made universe and solar system. Now we can exercise our discretion and in accordance with our razor-sharp mind make us subdue the earth, right? No, not true. If we think that we "westerners" and families of the First World only because of our boundless ingenuity are technologically advanced so far, then we are wrong - but it is not our merit. By pure chance there was, in the Middle East just the right combination of domesticated plants and animals that brought our ancestors to agriculture. Only agriculture provides enough food that is surplus to build cities and "specialists" to feed, who are concerned about the wheel, writing, politics and the Nintendo Playstation. Only she provides us with resistance to bacteria of animal origin, that We then infected the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa and Australia and terribly decimated, without lifting a finger. Purely by chance, the Eurasia continent in the stretched length, while Africa and America, extending from north to south, so that was the siegverheißende agriculture here in about the same climatic zone from the Mediterranean to China to spread. Not for nothing are there, rather than in Siberia or the Amazon Delta developed the first civilizations. So if we now in the nice warm home loll and stare at the computer monitor, and not in the bush fry worms, it is solely because 13,000 years ago in Palestine The right shrubs overgrown and herumpupsten the right potential farm animals. Primitive peoples kannibalismusfrönende it would have in Europe today can give, as they still are in Africa.

And finally: the individual himself, the number of possible combinations of genes is so incredibly huge that the chance for all of us, as it is to come into the world, microscopically small. And yet I am here and you who read this, too. Richard Dawkins brings it to the point :
"The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton . We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA is massively Exceeds the set of actual people . In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. "

all blind convenient coincidence elemental forces happiness that we have people. I know it is hard to think of it when the car will not start, the boss sucks and enter the hemorrhoids no peace. But maybe now helps and a brief thought of it that we, no matter how we are the winners of the lottery giant of the universe.