Monday, June 19, 2006
what "bugs" me about obesity
researchers varied the composition of the microbiota in mouse digestive systems and subsequently fed them the same diet. it turns out that one particular combination increases calorie intake: m. smithii and b. thetaiotaomicron. without these species, carbohydrate digestion would slow significantly.
the new issue of the journal also has an interesting study on obesity, suggesting that there is an enzyme that predisposes towards lower body weight, yet increases susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. this provides further evidence for my theory that life just isn't fair!!
Labels: neuroscience
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Saturday, June 17, 2006
hayek and the pope: the harmony of the spheres
this week some i had the pleasure of attending acton university. i thought i'd share with you (i.e., try not to butcher) an interesting concept i learned from catholic social thought: subsidiarity.as i understand it, this concept contends that a number of spheres surround each individual. the closest sphere consists of your most intimate acquaintances, such as the immediate family. this is followed by spheres with less and less familiarity, from friends and extended family to the spheres of the church, community, and finally government.
subsidiarity suggests that when problems arise, it is best to consult the sphere closest to you and move outward if that sphere is unable or unwilling to help. this continues until you reach the outermost sphere which presumably consists of the highest level of government. in a society that took subsidiarity seriously, i wonder whether we would ever reach those outermost spheres.
pope leo XII, who developed the concept developed in the encyclical rerum novarum of 1891, seems to have beat hayek to the punch with the concept of local knowledge. or, perhaps, hayek received his early understanding of this concept from his catholic upbringing. we'll never know, i suppose!
- - -
we also had the pleasure of hearing the former prime minister of estonia, mart laar. you can listen to it here in MP3.
Brian Doherty brought up subsidiarity in one of my favorite articles at Reason back in the fall of '04.
By 
, at
Sun Jun 18, 06:31:00 PM
what a great article! that's what i get for not being as loyal a reason reader as i should. a great quote:
"One of government's most pernicious effects is the way it colonizes our consciousness, in a manner deeper and more significant than advertising or markets ever manage. I would call upon my fellow citizens to loosen the mental bondage government has over them, to ignore it rather than engage in pointless and hopeless efforts to change it..."
By 
ns, at
Sun Jun 18, 07:59:00 PM
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Friday, June 09, 2006
happiness on the left
the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has long been implicated in emotion modulation. activation patterns in the right PFC seem most activated under situations of threat, anxiety, and stress.
so what does this mean - can we just figure out how to quiet the right brain to find happiness? no, causation goes the other way. this just tells us which areas of the brain are being used to handle unpleasant states such as stress and anxiety. what it may do, however, is help avoid some of the survey biases that occur when simply asking someone what they feel. one crux of survey analyses is that few tell the truth, and it would be much simpler just to see it on a brain scan.
but some, unlike our lady peace, think that eating fish may be a link to happiness. a recent study correlate fish consumption to happiness, citing omega-3 fatty acids as the likely culprit. others say that boredom (and its oft-associated depressed affect) is a cleverly devised evolutionary tool, so perhaps happiness isn't the goal anyway. but as this north carolina government site says, it's all about the attitude - whatever that means (yes, tax dollars created that!). and we all know that uncle sam knows best.
Labels: neuroscience, well being
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Thursday, June 08, 2006
monkeys!
People come to the monkeys for support, zoo director Zhanetta Kochenovskaya told Interfax. "Anyone can come into the room where the monkey family lives and tell them of their troubles and problems. You can whine, tell your secrets and even cry out loud."
Labels: personal
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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
just wanted to say...
Labels: personal
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Tuesday, June 06, 2006
quote on intertemporal choice
It may be said that pure abstinence, being a mere negation, cannot produce positive effects; the same remark might as well be applied to intrepidity, or even to liberty; but who ever objected to their being considered as equivalent to active agents? To abstain from the enjoyment which is in our power, or to seek distant rather than immediate results, are among the most painful exertions of the human will. It is true that such exertions are made, and indeed are frequent in every state of society, except perhaps in the very lowest, and have been made in the very lowest, for society could not otherwise have improved; but of all the means by which man can be raised in the scale of being, abstinence, as it is perhaps the most effective, is the slowest in its increase, and the least generally diffused -- Nassau W. Senior
from decision science news archives.
Labels: decision making, well being
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Sunday, June 04, 2006
brain scans and ice cream
so does this mean some of us are doomed to give in to cravings? not necessarily. answer: brain plasticity! although our original make-up or behaviors that have been hard-wired through years of social influence are strong, we can significantly effect the functioning of our brains. case in point is the arrowsmith school, which my friend debi pointed out to me a few weeks ago. a PhD student who herself was learning-disabled constructed brain "exercises" to work the deficient areas. according to reports, this has been a dramatic success. her technique is being adopted in other canadian schools as well. what i would love, love, love to see is a fMRI study comparing students before and after the school's lessons.
so, in summary, you're not stuck with what you've got. you've just got to really want what to change and figure out how to do it. perhaps someday we'll have brain exercises for self-control.
Labels: neuroscience, well being
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Saturday, June 03, 2006
being pollock
Labels: personal
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Friday, June 02, 2006
hardship, education, and gullibility
this counterintuitive study reminds me of a recent survey that found that the more education one has, the more likely s/he is to believe in the possibility of paranormal activity. this is interesting, esp. given the inverse relationship between education and religiosity.
the relationship makes me wonder the cause of the alleged correlation between education level and ideology. it doesn't necessarily take smarter people to appreciate the nuances of theories on paranormal activity (although mulder was quite
but can we relate this study to the belief that an earthly "higher power," i.e. the government, almost paranormal in capability, can solve society's woes?
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Thursday, June 01, 2006
the way i like my democracy
(from a land far, far away in the delicious bureaucrash archives)
Labels: personal
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