01.30.06

Listening and understanding

Posted in Buddhism, Religion/Philosophy at 9:07 pm by site admin

I was talking to elisa earlier today and near the end she stated that she felt that I really understood and listened when we were talking (I can’t say I completely agree with this pov). Fast foward one hour to me reflecting on the conversation. I think that she genuinely listens and strives to find truth and understanding in not only our conversations, but in her overall life. Thus our conversations concerning our daily happenings, experiences, and thoughts can be quite interesting at times. In this regard, I was reminded of an interesting quote of Gotama Buddha I happened to come across.

In Buddhist tradition, It is said that soon after his enlightenment the Buddha passed a man on the road who was struck by the Buddha’s extraordinary radiance and peaceful presence. The man stopped and asked, “My friend, what are you? Are you a celestial being or a god?”
“No,” said the Buddha.
“Well, then, are you some kind of magician or wizard?”
Again the Buddha answered, “No.”
“Are you a man?”
“No.”
“Well, my friend, then what are you?”
The Buddha replied, “I am awake.”

01.27.06

New brain cells!

Posted in health at 4:41 pm by site admin

The common theory is that as we age brain cells slowly die off without ever being replaced. More recent research (found on this article at Scientific American: New Neurons Go with the Spinal Fluid) shows that the brain continues to produce new neurons throught life. This neurogenesis (generation of new nerve cells) occurs in a few specific places, such as where the brain and spinal column meet. They they get moved around in the spinal fluid by the cilia lining the walls.

This reminds me of normal bone growth. If I remember correctly, during puberty our bones become fully developed, proceeding from the middle of the bone toward the ends. It is in these final stages that bone growth is limited to this small active region in the bone. While I am short on specifics, I came across this while watching a documentary on a modern medical procedure to increase a person’s height. Over a period of several months, the doctors maintain an small artificial gap in the end of the tibia, a little bit below the knee cap. Of course, in the end the procedure results in a disproportionate limb size. But in China, and probably the rest of the world, height does have its advantages.

Sifu ants

Posted in Humor at 4:28 pm by site admin

There is an interesting article at Scientific American on: Teacher Ants Show Students the Way to Food. The teacher ant leads the way and the student ant taps the leader with a hair periodically.

So why is this considered teaching? 1. Biologists define a teacher as any individual who sacrifices some potential gain in order to educate a naïve counterpart, and 2. The pupil signals the teacher when the “lesson” has been assimilated.

01.26.06

Posted in Environment at 4:56 pm by site admin

Wow. China to build a tokamak fusion device. Surprisingly I’ve heard of a tokamak fusion device before – not from school, but rather from video games. A tokamak device uses a magnetic field to confine a plasma. The most interesting point of the article is:


It will require a total investment of nearly 300 million yuan (37 million U.S. dollars), only one fifteenth to one twentieth the cost of similar devices being developed in the other parts of the world.

01.23.06

Laughter is good

Posted in Humor, health at 8:53 pm by site admin

Ok, so I guess one of the few sources of info I check is Scientific American. Well they just have interesting articles. Here is a short one regarding laughter. To summarize the article: Laughter is not only good for the soul, it is also good for the body. Scientists have found that blook vessels dialate from laughter (which improves blood flow, yada yada)