Alan Watts and George Carlin on Modern Society

 (1) The Sad Reality Of This World - You Have No Choice ft George Carlin - YouTube

Irrational Symbolism in Australia

 The proposed change to the national anthem from "young and free" to "one and free" is another example of how symbolism dominates proposed solutions to indigenous issues. It is ridiculous to think that removing the word "young" from the song will result in any improvement for indigenous people but obviously Scotty from Marketing thinks it is a great way to kick of 2021. 

2020 be gone!

 

This Epic Space Cloud Is Nicely Summing Up Our Farewell to 2020

Is Belief in God a Delusion?

 Is Belief in God a Delusion?

The problem with the idea is that delusions in the pathological sense are typically fearful and often involve irrational beliefs. For example believing one has supernatural powers. For a working definition think "Scientologist" and "Tom Cruise". The definition of delusion in the article is:

Delusion: A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly held despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person’s culture or subculture (i.e., it is not an article of religious faith).

My emphasis. 

There is no incontrovertible evidence for or against the existence of God. 

There is incontrovertible evidence that Dawkins is not a student of human perception and cognition so he is deluded when he rants about faith in god being a delusion. He has confused belief in God with religious belief. Freeman Dyson believed in God and he was regarded as the smartest man in the world. Many people from all walks of life believe in God but do not have religious beliefs. 

One could argue that many economists suffer from the delusion that they are scientists. 🤣

If sustaining a belief impairs your daily functioning and disrupts your social relationships, then your belief is more likely to count as a delusion.

That is the critical issue about delusions. Religious belief reinforces social relationships within the group however religious belief can also break social relationship beyond the group. Belief in God, which is a separate question from religious belief, does not intrinsically disrupt social relationships and does not impair daily functioning. 

 

Problematic Psychiatric Diagnosis

 As both a psychiatrist and a patient, I know how slippery a diagnosis can be

At the outset I must make this perfectly clear. Psychiatric disorders exist, have as yet an undiscovered physical substrate which may have a genetic and environmental components, typically a result of the gene and environmental interaction. Psychiatric drugs have made huge improvements to society and individuals. My focus on this post is where psychiatry and psychology needs to change. 

 The controversies surrounding psychiatric diagnosis are decades old. Thomas Szasz is the seminal figure on the issue and his work, "The Myth of Mental Illness"(1961), began a debate that continues today. Today the problem is worse. The above article is another example of how psychiatry as a profession and our culture needs to seriously reevaluate how psychiatric diagnoses are made and how psychiatric conditions are treated. 

Evolution is Depressing.

 

New Antidepressants Can Lift Depression and Suicidal Thoughts Fast, but Don’t Expect Magic Cures

Ketamine is an NMDA antagonist. I've long had concerns about using it for depression treatment because the NMDA receptors play a cardinal role in activating the CREB pathway which in turns is important for synaptic consolidation. So the long term use of ketamine, which will be required because the effect only lasts a few days, raises troubling questions about synaptic density. 

Motorcycling Macho Millennials

A Youtube channel I occasional watch is Max Wrist. The name says it all. He is a motorcyclist who likes to twist the throttle to the red line. Max Wrist is an excellent rider but he takes some dangerous risks. So it was inevitable that his recent video has been posted. He's lucky though, while his leg is smashed up the other riders involved in the accident have fared much worse, one with dangerous brain swelling that will most probably result in brain damage. 

The Removal of Dead Neurons

A remarkable video of how dead neurons are removed from the brain.

For The First Time, Scientists Have Captured Video of Brains Clearing Out Dead Neurons

A Mix of Antioxidants is Best for the Brain.

Antioxidant cocktail key to preventing Alzheimer's

No surprises here and the study linked below provides good details on how to optimise our nutrient and especially antioxidant intake to protect the brain. If it protects the brain it will confer benefits to the whole body. 

Full Text at link:

Role of antioxidants and a nutrient rich diet in Alzheimer's disease

Transcend

Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization  By Scott Barry Kaufman

SBK was a Facebook friend. I have long left Facebook. SBK was at Pennsylvania University where he lectured in Positive Psychology. He was also the founder of the Imagination Institute. So it is not surprising he is still firmly in the humanistic psychology tradition because Positive Psychology is the logical extension of many themes in humanistic psychology. 

Scott Barry Kaufman is the dream psychologist for left wingers. Jordan Peterson is the dream psychologist for right wingers. Both have enjoyed huge popular support and are regarded by their respective fans are supremely intelligent and world leading psychologists. Fans are often stupid like that. 

Free Speech is a Double Edged Sword

Singleton High School teacher apologises after racist classroom rant

The two disturbing words in this headline are "apologises" and "racist". 

It's alleged the teacher made comments about Indigenous Australians living in state housing and taking money from the government.

In this sentence the word "alleged" is used probably to protect the publisher but it is incongruous with the use of the word "racist" in the headline. If you're going to call someone a racist I can't see why the qualification "alleged" is necessary.  

"Then the teacher's turned around and said the best thing to happen to Aboriginal people is the European colonisation," Ms Franks said.

Exercise and the Endocannabinoid Network

Waking up at 3.15am and realising trying to get back to sleep is a dream I wake up and decide to see if I can wake up the brain. It woke me up with this strange idea: exercise elevates the endocannabinoid network which is one avenue by which exercise inhibits inflammation. So off to pubmed and the available data supports my intuition but the data is very limited. Only in recent years has there been renewed interest in the endocannabinoid network. Because of government prohibitions and the typical knee jerk response to anything associated with marijuana until recently the research community has been prevented from deeper investigations; the result being we have neglected one of most important networks in modulating inflammation associated with aging and especially in the brain. That is now changing but in my country Australia the government persists with a perspective that based on ignorance and arrogance. Too many stupid politicians in Australia but of course on that matter the country is not exceptional.   

Land of Fire and Ice

The Arctic is on fire: Siberian heat wave alarms scientists

Iceland has been referred to as the land of fire and ice. Looks like that appellation needs to be more broadly geographically based. 

Does Toxicology Testing Need Improvement?

Effects from low-level concentrations of harmful chemicals preserved in three generations of fish

I've seen related findings going back many years but all too often we rely on short term high concentration toxicology testing. Increasing evidence is finding that persistent low level exposure to various chemicals can have important health consequences for the individual. This study finds that it is not only the individual that is affected but also the following generations. It is about endocrine disruptors, molecules which impact on hormonal functions. So the result isn't that surprising because hormones are very powerful molecules which are produced in relatively small quantities. 

A Promising Breakthrough for Treating Parkinson's Disease?

One-time treatment generates new neurons, eliminates Parkinson's disease in mice

Because Parkinson's disease is very much about the loss of dopamine producing neurons the great hope has always been stem cells to create neurons which produce dopamine. In a classic example of a accidental discovery this breakthrough found that many cell types will become dopamine producing neurons. 

In this serendipitous way, the team discovered that inhibiting or deleting just a single gene, the gene that encodes PTB, transforms several types of mouse cells directly into neurons. 

The abstract:

 Reversing a model of Parkinson’s disease with in situ converted nigral neurons

Nature volume 582, pages550–556(2020)

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra1. Similar to other major neurodegenerative disorders, there are no disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s disease. While most treatment strategies aim to prevent neuronal loss or protect vulnerable neuronal circuits, a potential alternative is to replace lost neurons to reconstruct disrupted circuits2. Here we report an efficient one-step conversion of isolated mouse and human astrocytes to functional neurons by depleting the RNA-binding protein PTB (also known as PTBP1). Applying this approach to the mouse brain, we demonstrate progressive conversion of astrocytes to new neurons that innervate into and repopulate endogenous neural circuits. Astrocytes from different brain regions are converted to different neuronal subtypes. Using a chemically induced model of Parkinson’s disease in mouse, we show conversion of midbrain astrocytes to dopaminergic neurons, which provide axons to reconstruct the nigrostriatal circuit. Notably, re-innervation of striatum is accompanied by restoration of dopamine levels and rescue of motor deficits. A similar reversal of disease phenotype is also accomplished by converting astrocytes to neurons using antisense oligonucleotides to transiently suppress PTB. These findings identify a potentially powerful and clinically feasible approach to treating neurodegeneration by replacing lost neurons.

Prenatal stress can cause long-term behavioral deficits in mice

Prenatal stress, especially maternal immune activation has long been strongly associated with behavioral changes in the offspring. Maternal immune activation is not just about a mild infection it typically involves a severe and persistent infection. It is a leading risk marker for schizophrenia and autism. This study goes one step further and finds that by simply blocking one molecule, CCL2, they could prevent the behavioral changes in the offspring. I'm a little suspicious of that and obviously that can't be extrapolated to human beings. Blocking CCL 2 might seem like a good idea for pregnant women experiencing stress but biological molecules typically have many different effects and we don't know what the consequences of blocking that molecule will have for the overall health of the women and the developing fetus. 

The findings suggest that the maternal microbiome or immune system could be good targets for developing preventive treatments for women who experience stress during pregnancy.

The problem though is that maternal immune activation is not enough, there is a genetic component to the emergence of these conditions. The genetic component involves some immune related genes but also involves genes relating to brain development. 

Nonetheless as a preventive strategy pregnant women should avoid potentially dangerous infections and generally manage their stress. This is one reason why I have concerns about pregnant women working in some roles where the risk of infection and high levels of psychological stress exist. I think our society has over stepped the mark on this matter and as research accumulates I hope more pregnant women, socioeconomic circumstances notwithstanding, are able to adopt the traditional approach of being nurtured through their pregnancy rather than being expected to perform as everyone else.

 

Is the USA a failing state?

Is America a ‘failing state’? How a superpower has been brought to the brink

At present it isn't a healthy state but it is hyperbolic to suggest it is a failing state. Nations go through periods of turmoil but democratic nations typically survive and adjust to the new realities. The problem for the USA is that it has a president promoting division, has handled the coronavirus pandemic in a poor fashion, and has threatened to send in the military to contain the street violence. 

The USA has a growing problem with economic inequality. The recent tax cuts only exacerbate that trend because those tax cuts support the top of the economic food chain. While unemployment is at record lows that doesn't appear to be addressing the economic inequality situation, possibly because most of those jobs are minimum wage jobs. There is some reason for optimism because wages have increased but that might be a function of various states raising the minimum wage. 

I don't think the USA is becoming a failing state but it would certainly help if the leadership adopting a more creative approach to reducing the street violence rather than just threatening to call in the military. The protestors have gone too far and at both the federal and state levels the authorities seem incapable to quell the unrest. 

Sweden's Coronavirus Strategy Failure

Public support for Sweden's controversial coronavirus strategy is plummeting

Sweden coronavirus strategy struck many as being unusual and dangerous. Initially conservatives praised Sweden for not falling prey to alarmism and sacrificing their economy to the boogeyman. Conservatives are quiet now because Sweden has paid a heavy price. It is worth noting that the Swedish government may have had no choice because the Swedish constitution doesn't allow the government to impose such onerous restrictions on personal behaviour as was adopted in many other advanced nations. 

Have You Heard Your Inner Voice Today?

New Study Shows There's A Reason Why We "Hear" Our Inner Voice

On Happiness

This health article from the Australian ABC website offers some good advice on how to generate happiness in our lives.

Get to work... on your happiness

Everybody Must Get Stoned?

This is a startling result and I have to wonder why it isn't being more widely publicised:

In the present study, we observed smaller brain weights and volumes in male macaque monkeys after 1.5–2.3 years of exposure to marijuana at plasma drug levels comparable to those in treated humans. Exposure to marijuana was associated with a similar reduction in mean fresh brain weight, as well as mean fresh weight and volume of the left cerebrum, compared to matched, placebo-exposed animals. For both drugs, the magnitude of these effects was in the range of 8–11%. The reduction seemed to be global (ie including all brain regions), but was most robust in the frontal and parietal lobes. In addition, both gray and white matter volumes appeared to be reduced to a similar degree.

Vaccines and Viruses- Not Good!

This article in Slovenian but the video clip on the page is in English. You will be shocked!

http://wearechange.si/znanstvenik-mercka-priznal-prisotnost-sv40-aids-a-in-virusov-raka-v-cepivih/

Chronic Cannabis Exposure Induces Cerebellar Inflammation?

The cerebellum, also known as the "little brain" is at the base of brain. Originally thought to be involved in the "fine tuning" of motor function we now know it plays an important role in wide variety of behaviors. This news item from Live Science highlights a potential risk from chronic cannabis exposure but after reading the full journal article I realise there are some important reservations about the claims made in the Live Science article.

Potassium or Die

VERY VERY IMPORTANT!

Reducing salt and increasing potassium will have major global health benefits

Cutting down on salt and, at the same time, increasing levels of potassium in our diet will have major health and cost benefits across the world, according to studies published in BMJ today.

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Reducing salt intake is not enough, potassium intake amongst hunter gatherers is many times the potassium intake of modern diets and hunter gatherers typically have what we would regard as potentially dangerously low blood pressure.

Nutrition Myths

I was sent this link which provides some very interesting insights into the silliness of much standard nutrition advice. Unfortunately these myths still persist and in a couple of these I can see that I had once entertained the same ideas.

The Atheists are Coming!

It may seem contradictory but in Britain there is an Atheist Church and it is now setting up shop in Australia. The movement has rapidly grown in Britain and reflects a refreshing change from the all too often dour and sombre tone of traditional religions. Traditional religion is so bloody serious, like this life must be lived in subservience to some higher purpose. One reason I have always had a liking for Zen is because I regard it as the only religion capable of laughing at itself. Sadly though, at least in my experience, Buddhists also seem to suffer from "we're here for a higher purpose" and be lacking in humour.

While people like Dawkins presume the popularity of religion has something to with rationality the popularity of religion has as much to do with maintaining social cohesion, providing group identification, and socialising, as it does about rationality. I consider it one of the major flaws of the New Atheists that they focus far too much on the unsubstantiated beliefs of religions and fail to recognise the more non-rational drivers of religion. The non-traditional churches, pentecostals being the prominent example, focus much more on making religious observance a celebration rather than a sombre reflection upon life. These churches have boomed in recent decades but mainly by acquiring members from the traditional churches. Interestingly in advanced societies traditional religions have been declining for decades, this trend particularly noticeable from the mid-20th century onwards.

Atherosclerosis is an Ancient Problem

There are some who attribute modern degenerative diseases to the modern lifestyle. Some argue that cancer and heart disease were virtually non-existent in the good ol' days. This recent study (full text at link) found that 1/3 of all mummies examined had evidence of atherosclerosis. You can read the Australian ABC news release here. 

Rethinking Madness(Again?)

What is that old saying: that if you keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result then you are insane? Why do we need to keep rethinking madness? If we're going to do that then do it properly rather than using polemical literature which so often leads to polarised views.

As some of my recent posts indicate I am more than willing to criticize modern psychiatry for some of its excesses. The problems of modern psychiatry are not just within the domain of psychiatry. The situation is very complex and I cannot do full justice to that issue here. Nonetheless I do feel that modern psychiatry lacks sufficient numbers of iconoclasts, that psychiatrists, generally speaking, are too willing to adopt the medical model of mental illness in spite of a dearth of evidence supporting those models.

Learn Something, Always Be Learning Something

Free education video sites. 

RefSeek's guide to the 25 best online resources for finding free educational videos. With the exception of BrainPOP and Cosmeo, all listed sites offer their extensive video libraries for free and without registration.

The Creation of Psychopharmacology - David Healy(Review)

This is a very difficult subject to address. It is contentious, opinions are divided, and I'm sure David Healy has made more than a few enemies because of this text. Be warned, I have neither time nor inclination to fully assess the merits of his argument. So in the interests of fairness I provide these links for reviews of this work. Be clear, not just because of this text but also because of a longstanding interest in understanding behavior(not professionally) I have to concur with the main thrust of Dr. Healy's argument. As recent posts on this blog have indicated(Psychotherapy and Drugs: A Dangerous Combination? , Psychiatry, Psychology, and Philosophy) I am, like David Healy, challenging some of the fundamental assumptions driving modern psychiatry and psychology.

I cannot address all the issues raised by this text. That would take 10,000 words and this post is 2,000 words. I do strongly advise those who are interested in this matter to find this book, read it, and think very carefully about it. 

BTW, I become very angry at the end of this post.

Steve Wolfram on the Nature of Mathematics

A video clip where Wolfram argues for mathematics existing in many possible forms and types.

Don't Interrupt Me

Study: Brief interruptions spawn errors

Short interruptions – such as the few seconds it takes to silence that buzzing smartphone – have a surprisingly large effect on one's ability to accurately complete a task, according to new research led by Michigan State University.

In the good ol' days when I knew how to concentrate I also knew that maintaining concentration for extended periods often required the satisfaction in knowing I could continue uninterrupted for however long I chose to be focused on the task at hand. A small quiet place is one of the most important assets for good work.