I have recently started reading a book called This is Your Brain on Music: the Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin. I have been in love with music for as long as I can remember, just as long as I have been in love with science. So when I came across a book that fused the two, I absolutely had to purchase it and moved it to the top of my 'to read' list. I have only just begun and already I am finding it to be everything I had hoped it would be and more. Having an understanding of music theory has made much of it a bit easier to digest, though even a musical layman would be able to understand what is presented as the author takes his time to explain the concepts quite well without being deprecative towards the reader. The author is both one of the more renowned musical producers alive as well as one of the leading researchers in the field of cognitive neuroscience. For anyone with a passion for music, this book is a must read. It goes about answering questions such as: what is music, does listening to music make us intrinsically smarter, when do musical preferences form, how does our brain process music, and many other questions.
But what I really wanted to mention (other then a laudatory reference to the book and a quick review) was an experiment mentioned within this tombs pages. An experiment that asked the question 'do other organisms perceive sound as we do?' as well as 'how does the brain process sound?'.
The experiment was conducted by a then graduate student by the name of Petr Janata (He is now an Associate Professor at UC Davis in the Psychology Department and at the Center for Mind and Brain). Other then being a student of biology, Petr is a lover of music. He is a pianist with a preference leaning toward rock and jazz and currently uses music as a model for a neural basis of auditory attention, imagery, and memory as well as working on the relationship between music, emotion, and memory.
The experiment revolved around a phenomena that occurs when a listener hears music with the fundamental frequency removed. Every note we hear is composed of multiple pitches. The base pitch is the 'fundamental frequency'. Often, every other pitch is an integer of the fundamental frequency, these other pitches are known as 'overtones'. An example being, if a note has a pitch of 110Hz, then the overtones will have a pitch of 220Hz, 330Hz, 440Hz, etc. When ever we hear a sound, our brains look for the fundamental frequency. It is so key to how we perceive sound that, if you were to remove the fundamental frequency from a tone, your brain would create it for you.
In Petr's experiment, he was curious as to whether other animals perceive music as we do. So he placed electrodes on the inferior colliculus (a portion of the brain responsible for auditory comprehension) of a barn owl (Tyto alba). He then proceeded to play Strauss's "The Blue Danube Waltz", but with a significant change. The fundamental frequency was removed from the piece.
So a computer recorded the firing of neurons in the brain of the barn owl as it listened to that piece of music made famous to my generation thanks to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. After the waltz was over, Petr sent the recorded data through an amplifier and a loudspeaker. Confirming Petr Janata's suspicion and amazing everyone who was within earshot, the sound that came out was the melody of The Blue Danube Waltz, complete with its own fundamental frequency. The barn owl's brain had restored the missing pitch just like any human brain would.
This confirmed that music, the arrangement of pitches in time, was not a human invention, but something that has been with us for a very long time. Considering the last common ancestor between a human and an owl is the reptiles that divulged into the anapsids (the turtles and tortoises), diapsids (the dinosaurians and, later on, the avians), eurapsids (the line that led to the ichthyosaurs) and the synapsids (which a branch of, the therapsids, became mammals). Sound in time, music, has been a part of life, it seems, for at least many millions of years.
So it seems that my obsession with music is not only healthy, but something that is ingrained within us, coded in our deep genetic past. The experiment further proves that we are just another animal species amongst many, living on this tiny rock of ours. And that those other species, the ones that many of us look down upon, also comprehend the world around them. That they perceive it in a fashion quite similar to our own. That they hear music as we do...and their minds process it just as we do. By seeing this, there really is not much separating us from them. Though, there never was much barricading us away. We just wished it were so, to feed our egos, to make us seem more important. But by understanding our connection, we find that our importance is not lost, but strengthened, and so is the meaning behind every other living organism.
-----------------------------
Reference:
Daniel J. Levitin. (2006). This is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obession. London, England: Penguin Group
Janata, Petr. (August, 1994, last change April, 2010). Petr Janata's home page. http://atonal.ucdavis.edu/~petr/
University of California at Berkeley. (last change, July, 2010) One subset of Gnathostomata is Osteichthyes, bony vertebrates. http://locolobo.org/Clades2.html
Friday, July 2, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
A hero of mine
I would like to talk a bit about a personal hero of mine. For most of my life, I have not found another with a mind that worked even remotely similar to my own. I have lived, for far to long, in an area where deep though and inquiry have been mostly shunned or seen as a distant dream at best. When I would talk about my passion for understanding, how it allowed me to feel connected to the ideas I was learning about, I never once came across another who felt this way or truly understood what this feeling was like. Many were interested, yes. They were intrigued by my passion and almost in awe of my understanding and how I could break down the complex and seemingly unattainable into something they could grasp and know for themselves. But I could not find another mind that saw the universe as I did.
When I come across something new, I examine it, I pick it up in my mind and roll it around a bit. I see how it looks from all sides and how it might connect with what I already know. A good example is when, many years ago, I first learned about probability waves. The idea that a particle does not exist at any point, but has a probability of existing. That this probability might be highest around a point but it also flows out around it, spreading to infinity, always at a non-zero chance of being here or there. When I first learned of this, things became so clear for me. Suddenly I understood how electrons could exist in specific energy levels around an atomic nucleus while also forming a 'cloud'. I understood how a photon could be a particle, a single quanta of electromagnetic energy while also being a wave. I was able to apply this concept to things I had leaned before, such as the famous light slit experiment that proved the particle wave duality of light as well as how, if left untouched, a photon will go through two slits equally. Before, the idea of one thing going through two places at once seemed wrong. I knew it was true, but I couldn't fully comprehend it, I couldn't make it my own. But as soon as I learned about probability waves, it all fit. It was a cascade of connections in my mind.
When this happens, it is almost euphoric. The concept I am understanding and myself are no longer separate entities but become intertwined. I experience the idea not as a thought but as if it is a part of me. This connection is, well, spiritual. I use that word reluctantly as I know it has quite a bit of baggage attached to it. That many see it within the domain of religion and myth. But here, I mean it as an experience where you develop as a being, where you connect with something on a fundamental level, almost becoming that thing. There isn't another word in the English language that fits well enough other then spirituality.
For the longest time I could not find another who thought like this. I heard about people who had done so or did so. But I never met them, they were just distant stories. For so long I felt truly alone. That there was not another who felt as I did, who saw the universe as I saw it. Who loved the world as I love it.
But then I read a book. A book written by a man I already greatly respected and wished I had a chance to meet. The book was A Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. When I read the opening pages, I suddenly found the mind I had sought for so long. I read his words, his explanation of how he saw the world and I saw my own views, I saw what could have been my very own words. I read about how he was in love with science, how he wanted to share this love with the world and how his heart ached with joy at the understanding science granted him. And for the first time in my life, I felt as if I was no longer alone. I read on, seeing more of my inner thoughts written out by someone else, as if they had seen into my mind and pulled the thoughts out to use for their own.
From that day on, I no longer felt alone. But I also knew that the mind I had finally found that was similar to my own, was gone. That Carl Sagan had died many years ago and that the book I had read was published only two years before he left us. Part of me grieved. I had never met Carl Sagan, but I felt I knew him better then most ever could have, because I felt our minds were so alike.
Part of me felt cheated. That I did not known more about Carl Sagan when he was alive. That if only someone had shown me some of his non-fiction writing I could have at least reached out to him while he was alive and thanked him. That I wouldn't have spent so much time feeling alone. That I could have told him how much it meant to me to know that another feels the same as I do. But I will never get that chance.
One of Carl Sagan's life long ambitions was to spread knowledge as far as he could. To reach out and share his love of the universe with others. To make others fall in love as he had. And he did this well. He touched so many lives. He inspired an entire generation of scientists. There are few people who have done more to change the world, to help sculpt future minds and societal views. To leave humanity, as a whole, in a better state then when he first entered it.
Carl Sagan accomplished much in his life time. In my own life, I have created a few purposes. One of the most important ones is to spread what knowledge I have. I came to this conclusion on my own, long before I read about Carl Sagan's views. I would like to think, if he were to be able to read this, that he would have preferred that. That I was able to come to this realization on my own. As he was always for letting people understand and develop. I do not hope to emulate Carl Sagan, I could not do that if I tried. He was a great person, one of the greatest our species has ever known. But what I do hope to do is continue his legacy. To spread forth his ideals and his wisdom. To take it in and make it a part of me, just as I have with everything else I have learned. In this manner, I hope to honor his memory. And while I know you will never be able to read this, thank you, Carl Sagan, for helping me understand and be happy with who I am.
When I come across something new, I examine it, I pick it up in my mind and roll it around a bit. I see how it looks from all sides and how it might connect with what I already know. A good example is when, many years ago, I first learned about probability waves. The idea that a particle does not exist at any point, but has a probability of existing. That this probability might be highest around a point but it also flows out around it, spreading to infinity, always at a non-zero chance of being here or there. When I first learned of this, things became so clear for me. Suddenly I understood how electrons could exist in specific energy levels around an atomic nucleus while also forming a 'cloud'. I understood how a photon could be a particle, a single quanta of electromagnetic energy while also being a wave. I was able to apply this concept to things I had leaned before, such as the famous light slit experiment that proved the particle wave duality of light as well as how, if left untouched, a photon will go through two slits equally. Before, the idea of one thing going through two places at once seemed wrong. I knew it was true, but I couldn't fully comprehend it, I couldn't make it my own. But as soon as I learned about probability waves, it all fit. It was a cascade of connections in my mind.
When this happens, it is almost euphoric. The concept I am understanding and myself are no longer separate entities but become intertwined. I experience the idea not as a thought but as if it is a part of me. This connection is, well, spiritual. I use that word reluctantly as I know it has quite a bit of baggage attached to it. That many see it within the domain of religion and myth. But here, I mean it as an experience where you develop as a being, where you connect with something on a fundamental level, almost becoming that thing. There isn't another word in the English language that fits well enough other then spirituality.
For the longest time I could not find another who thought like this. I heard about people who had done so or did so. But I never met them, they were just distant stories. For so long I felt truly alone. That there was not another who felt as I did, who saw the universe as I saw it. Who loved the world as I love it.
But then I read a book. A book written by a man I already greatly respected and wished I had a chance to meet. The book was A Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. When I read the opening pages, I suddenly found the mind I had sought for so long. I read his words, his explanation of how he saw the world and I saw my own views, I saw what could have been my very own words. I read about how he was in love with science, how he wanted to share this love with the world and how his heart ached with joy at the understanding science granted him. And for the first time in my life, I felt as if I was no longer alone. I read on, seeing more of my inner thoughts written out by someone else, as if they had seen into my mind and pulled the thoughts out to use for their own.
From that day on, I no longer felt alone. But I also knew that the mind I had finally found that was similar to my own, was gone. That Carl Sagan had died many years ago and that the book I had read was published only two years before he left us. Part of me grieved. I had never met Carl Sagan, but I felt I knew him better then most ever could have, because I felt our minds were so alike.
Part of me felt cheated. That I did not known more about Carl Sagan when he was alive. That if only someone had shown me some of his non-fiction writing I could have at least reached out to him while he was alive and thanked him. That I wouldn't have spent so much time feeling alone. That I could have told him how much it meant to me to know that another feels the same as I do. But I will never get that chance.
One of Carl Sagan's life long ambitions was to spread knowledge as far as he could. To reach out and share his love of the universe with others. To make others fall in love as he had. And he did this well. He touched so many lives. He inspired an entire generation of scientists. There are few people who have done more to change the world, to help sculpt future minds and societal views. To leave humanity, as a whole, in a better state then when he first entered it.
Carl Sagan accomplished much in his life time. In my own life, I have created a few purposes. One of the most important ones is to spread what knowledge I have. I came to this conclusion on my own, long before I read about Carl Sagan's views. I would like to think, if he were to be able to read this, that he would have preferred that. That I was able to come to this realization on my own. As he was always for letting people understand and develop. I do not hope to emulate Carl Sagan, I could not do that if I tried. He was a great person, one of the greatest our species has ever known. But what I do hope to do is continue his legacy. To spread forth his ideals and his wisdom. To take it in and make it a part of me, just as I have with everything else I have learned. In this manner, I hope to honor his memory. And while I know you will never be able to read this, thank you, Carl Sagan, for helping me understand and be happy with who I am.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Wicked Witch of the Preschool. A Parousia
The comments on the previous post about child witches brought up how the situation relies on certain biblical text. While I agree with this observation I would like to look deeper into it. I believe that, in this situation, the bible is not the source of the atrocities, but just a tool used by missionaries. That it is more an accelerant tossed on an already burning fire and the people who are throwing around this incendiary are doing so for their own gain and know full well what they are doing and why.
While I certainly agree that the bible has had quite a large influence on the most recent trend of child witch accusations we are seeing and is being used as a prime tool by these con artists to gain money in any way they can. I think that this issue goes much deeper then just the bible. The concept of child witches and other superstitions is nothing new to most African cultures. There has been evidence of this fear in most regions in even the oldest legends and tribal stories.
Had such African tribal lore not contained such a plethora of stories of witchcraft and, more specifically, the power of child witches, then the missionaries would have simply latched on to another fear inducing myth that just happened to bear a slight resemblance to some Christian belief or story.
But African myth does hold numerous stories and beliefs of child witchcraft. The common theme amongst these various legends and myths is that a child has quite a lot of power as their mind is new, open and free to be used. Used by, in many myths, any god or demon or spirit that wishes to attach itself to such a mind. Such legends include the belief that twins have immense power and if they remain together they can do much good, or great evil. That the relatively common birth abnormality of syndactyly, or webbed toes, is interpreted as the child having killed its twin in the womb and stole its power. Another persistent myth is that child witches can be 'penis snatchers', that is, they are said to shrink or steal the penis from a man in the night to gain its power, as, in many cultures, the phallus is seen as a thing of power. In fact, it has not been uncommon for a man, if he finds himself unable to 'perform' sexually for whatever reason, to blame it on a penis snatcher. When this accusation is made, it is not uncommon for there to be a literal witch hunt to find a child to be used as a scapegoat for the man's incontinence.
What we are seeing now is just Christian missionaries seeing a local legend and claiming that it also falls under the doctrine of their religion. This way, the regions inhabitants will easily buy into what the missionaries are selling, as they are already familiar with it and have grown up believing it. The people who espouse this disgusting concept are doing so only to profit for themselves. The more flagrant the stories and sermons, the more people will listen and the more money they will bring. There are so many different missionaries that it has become competitive to see who can get the largest congregation. And they've found the best way is by stirring up the most hatred and fear. It is just another example of Christians using any means possible to win over 'souls' and gain money and glory for their deity. Of the ends justifying the means.
This recent influx of missionaries into Africa and the using of old myths has just been a potential launching ground to spread their tendrils of hatred and greed into fresh minds and is in not a new tactic in the least. It is no different then how Christianity adopted whatever the local culture had to offer in any other situation that it wanted to spread into, such as its take over of the 'pagan' festivals of Easter and what would be come known as Christmas and symbols like the Celtic Cross. Fear is quite the motivating factor to get people to your side, especially if it is an old fear that everyone in a society already has known about in one fashion or another.
That these people who claim to represent a just and loving god are actively seeking to use fear, hatred, blood, and tears for their own personal gain and satisfaction is one of the more disdainful and reprehensible parts of the whole situation.
While I certainly agree that the bible has had quite a large influence on the most recent trend of child witch accusations we are seeing and is being used as a prime tool by these con artists to gain money in any way they can. I think that this issue goes much deeper then just the bible. The concept of child witches and other superstitions is nothing new to most African cultures. There has been evidence of this fear in most regions in even the oldest legends and tribal stories.
Had such African tribal lore not contained such a plethora of stories of witchcraft and, more specifically, the power of child witches, then the missionaries would have simply latched on to another fear inducing myth that just happened to bear a slight resemblance to some Christian belief or story.
But African myth does hold numerous stories and beliefs of child witchcraft. The common theme amongst these various legends and myths is that a child has quite a lot of power as their mind is new, open and free to be used. Used by, in many myths, any god or demon or spirit that wishes to attach itself to such a mind. Such legends include the belief that twins have immense power and if they remain together they can do much good, or great evil. That the relatively common birth abnormality of syndactyly, or webbed toes, is interpreted as the child having killed its twin in the womb and stole its power. Another persistent myth is that child witches can be 'penis snatchers', that is, they are said to shrink or steal the penis from a man in the night to gain its power, as, in many cultures, the phallus is seen as a thing of power. In fact, it has not been uncommon for a man, if he finds himself unable to 'perform' sexually for whatever reason, to blame it on a penis snatcher. When this accusation is made, it is not uncommon for there to be a literal witch hunt to find a child to be used as a scapegoat for the man's incontinence.
What we are seeing now is just Christian missionaries seeing a local legend and claiming that it also falls under the doctrine of their religion. This way, the regions inhabitants will easily buy into what the missionaries are selling, as they are already familiar with it and have grown up believing it. The people who espouse this disgusting concept are doing so only to profit for themselves. The more flagrant the stories and sermons, the more people will listen and the more money they will bring. There are so many different missionaries that it has become competitive to see who can get the largest congregation. And they've found the best way is by stirring up the most hatred and fear. It is just another example of Christians using any means possible to win over 'souls' and gain money and glory for their deity. Of the ends justifying the means.
This recent influx of missionaries into Africa and the using of old myths has just been a potential launching ground to spread their tendrils of hatred and greed into fresh minds and is in not a new tactic in the least. It is no different then how Christianity adopted whatever the local culture had to offer in any other situation that it wanted to spread into, such as its take over of the 'pagan' festivals of Easter and what would be come known as Christmas and symbols like the Celtic Cross. Fear is quite the motivating factor to get people to your side, especially if it is an old fear that everyone in a society already has known about in one fashion or another.
That these people who claim to represent a just and loving god are actively seeking to use fear, hatred, blood, and tears for their own personal gain and satisfaction is one of the more disdainful and reprehensible parts of the whole situation.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Wicked Witch of the Preschool
There has been much written recently about the lunacy that is the accusations of child witches throughout Africa (well much written by the atheosphere at least). Recently one of these 'witch hunters' came back to the US to talk to American church congregations. Her name is Helen Ukpabio and at a Houston church she talked about the 'good' she was doing. In Nigeria, her home country, she has been going around telling people of the dangers of child witches. She espouses such idiocy as "if a child under the age of 2 screams in the night, cries and is always feverish with deteriorating health, he or she is a servant of Satan." Wait...so if a young child is sick and in pain...that means they have the devil in them? Unless I'm mistaken, wasn't there some talk a while back about this germ theory of disease?
What is sad is that people over here in America are just eating it up as if she is doing some good. After all, there have been many missionaries from the states to parts of Africa who have fueled other such child witch hunts. I just have to ask how deluded does a person have to be to think that convincing families to abandon, torture and kill their own children and then get all the neighbors in on it is a good thing. When people do stand up to her and call her out on the atrocities she is enacting, she waves the criticism of by saying that it simply doesn't happen. Despite the fact that people have video and photo documentation of these events and recorded statements by the families who have abused or killed or allowed for the abuse or killing of their own children. When pushed to answer for this she simply answers that the reason she knows that it doesn't happen is "because I am an African!" and "family ties are too strong to have a child on the street.” Thankfully because of international outrage at such events, the Nigerian government has enacted laws against anything that fuels the hunt for child witches. What might be Helen Ukpabio response to these laws? Well, she has decided to sue the government for infringing on her freedom of religion. I'll wait now for the the readers to finish with the requisite facepalm.
Thankfully more and more people are seeing Ukpabio's actions for what they are, money scams. Religion is big money in Africa. Even though the continent is wracked by poverty, people will put what little money they have at the feet of people promising salvation and religious answers to their problems. The populous is already used to accepting superstition as is seen in any region with a low education rate. So the spread of religious superstition is only natural. Missionaries have found that the more they grandstand, the more horrible and aggressive their message, the larger their congregation will be. With larger congregations comes more money. It is all about competition for the most money in an environment where churches and roving preachers are popping at every turn. Fear sells and in the game of religion the most terrifying talk and proselytisations are the most successful social parasites. This is exactly what they are, parasites, draining the poor of what little funds they have and only doing harm in return. There is no mutualism in this relationship, it is strictly about who can take the most.
But as long as religion is given a special place and people flock to it out of fear and ignorance, such atrocities as burning children alive, burying the beaten but still breathing, the maiming with knifes and acid, or just the simple abandonment of children onto the uncaring streets will continue to be commonplace. Only when enough people, freethinkers and theists alike, stand up to the voices of unreason and fear mongering can we even begin to hope to live in a world where such vile people as Helen Ukpabio are not only ignored by the masses but receive a retaliatory volley in response to their venomous lies.
What is sad is that people over here in America are just eating it up as if she is doing some good. After all, there have been many missionaries from the states to parts of Africa who have fueled other such child witch hunts. I just have to ask how deluded does a person have to be to think that convincing families to abandon, torture and kill their own children and then get all the neighbors in on it is a good thing. When people do stand up to her and call her out on the atrocities she is enacting, she waves the criticism of by saying that it simply doesn't happen. Despite the fact that people have video and photo documentation of these events and recorded statements by the families who have abused or killed or allowed for the abuse or killing of their own children. When pushed to answer for this she simply answers that the reason she knows that it doesn't happen is "because I am an African!" and "family ties are too strong to have a child on the street.” Thankfully because of international outrage at such events, the Nigerian government has enacted laws against anything that fuels the hunt for child witches. What might be Helen Ukpabio response to these laws? Well, she has decided to sue the government for infringing on her freedom of religion. I'll wait now for the the readers to finish with the requisite facepalm.
Thankfully more and more people are seeing Ukpabio's actions for what they are, money scams. Religion is big money in Africa. Even though the continent is wracked by poverty, people will put what little money they have at the feet of people promising salvation and religious answers to their problems. The populous is already used to accepting superstition as is seen in any region with a low education rate. So the spread of religious superstition is only natural. Missionaries have found that the more they grandstand, the more horrible and aggressive their message, the larger their congregation will be. With larger congregations comes more money. It is all about competition for the most money in an environment where churches and roving preachers are popping at every turn. Fear sells and in the game of religion the most terrifying talk and proselytisations are the most successful social parasites. This is exactly what they are, parasites, draining the poor of what little funds they have and only doing harm in return. There is no mutualism in this relationship, it is strictly about who can take the most.
But as long as religion is given a special place and people flock to it out of fear and ignorance, such atrocities as burning children alive, burying the beaten but still breathing, the maiming with knifes and acid, or just the simple abandonment of children onto the uncaring streets will continue to be commonplace. Only when enough people, freethinkers and theists alike, stand up to the voices of unreason and fear mongering can we even begin to hope to live in a world where such vile people as Helen Ukpabio are not only ignored by the masses but receive a retaliatory volley in response to their venomous lies.
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Dragon is in orbit
19:30 UT: Space X successfully launched their Falcon 9 rocket with the qualifying version of their Dragon capsule (which, in the real version, will be manned). Not only was Space X the first independent company to design their own solid state rocket without a government contract and successfully launch it, they are no...w the first independent company to have a proven rocket system for manned space flight. Welcome to the beginning of independent space exploration and competitive development. For too long we have turned our gaze away from the stars. Now it is time to take hold of our evolutionary future and step into the great void that has overseen our birth, our trials, our falls, our triumphs. It is time to take our next great step out into this glorious universe of ours.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Evolution of religion
The question of how religions have developed is one that has been thought through for as long as people have been questioning religion. Why do religions seem to develop in similar patterns and support similar social structures? As of now, the best hypothesis is that religions developed out of our naturally formed social structure. It developed as a meme to explain the various occurances of the natural world.
The human mind is geared towards seeing patterns as a survival technique. A good example of this is that it allowed our early ancestors to pick out the panther from the background visual 'noise' of tall grass and thus get away before becoming someone else's lunch. This reinforced the pattern seeking tendency and it began to be applied everywhere. This pattern defining 'software' was applied especially towards unknown events such as natural disasters, death, disease, social structure, and any other natural phenomenons they could not explain or understand. Religion reinforced a hierarchical social system that was useful as populations grew in number. It also out competed opposing belief systems through normal memetic evolution)
Many characteristics of religion can be directly traced to how our early ancestors naturally formed social groups as populations increase. Observer any small group of humans and there generally will be no clear leaders. People will take on roles based on skill and chores are passed around on a basis of need and ability and not through command from a central authority
This can be seen whenever we observe any small surviving tribes of humans, we see that the population generally does not exceeds approximately 150 individuals. In fact if the population increases, the tribe will splinter, a section moving off to live elsewhere. In these limited population groups, every person is required to stockpile the necessary supplies to sustain the group. Thus every person is of equal standing to everyone else for survivals sake. The superstitions and religions that are held by these groups mirror this as they are invariably polytheistic with mostly equal power between the various deities. Any variation is based solely on the importance of the role that the individual deity has (the deity for fertility will be more important then the deity for something more obscure like the night sky). To further support the idea of 150 as a limiting number we can look to recent developments in Neuroscience. Here, studies and experiments on how the brain stores information has shown that the region of the human brain responsible for remembering individual faces has a limit on average around 150. Thus giving more evidence that humans initially evolved to be in communal groups no larger then this size.
But if we increase the number past the 150 mark, we find that there are more then enough people to gather food and other resources, creating even a stockpile. Suddenly we find individuals who actually have some free time away from general hunting and gathering. This extra time allows individuals to become specialists. Such specialists would include artisans, storytellers/historians, dedicated child rearing groups and much more. Each of which creates greater efficiency and allowing for more specialization.
As these independent skill groups develop another task oriented group naturally arises through emergence, this is the governing class. A group who starts by acting as a central processing to allow the burgeoning society to run more smoothly and effectively. This development of this new class adds an extra boost to the rate of development within the other individual skill classes as well as streamlining food production and availability, thus reinforcing its own existance.
This process is actually quite similar to the emergence that is seen in nerve tissues. As neural nets become more complex, densely packed regions of nerve tissue develop to allow for processing of the now expanding regions of complex nerve nets. These clusters are known as ganglions, and as evolution presses forward they too begin to arrange themselves into distinct control systems. These control systems start out as multiple ganglions converging into a single structure. A structure that eventually will become the central nervous system.
Just like in the case of nerve tissue developing complex systems, societies develop a ruling group that will become more influential as the population increases. With more people comes the need for strong central authority. This is then reflected in the belief systems held by the society. Before the population explosion there was an anarchic-commune of individuals with equal purpose. There was also a general equality in their religious beliefs. But as the population increase and one group of humans becomes more influential over the others, so too does one group of deities become more influential.
This places even more power and influence in the hands of the governing body and often allows for a schism. A split between the classes that controls the daily functions within the community and the group that keeps track of the beliefs.
The governance side dictates what is to be done within the community and the clergy keeps up the superstitions and beliefs that have developed, often forming a belief system where the governing body is in place at the will of the deities, or even that the head of the governing body is a deity or otherwise connected to them in some way. By doing this, they solidify the governing bodies place in society as the head of society instead of just a managerial system. This symbiosis allows for both groups to raise in power.
This leaves us with a belief system that enforces the status quo, explains away natural phenomenons as well as keeping the people in line. Looking at it from this angle it seems completely natural for such a system to form. Therefore religion seems to be nothing more then an evolutionary process to allow for survival under new conditions.
The human mind is geared towards seeing patterns as a survival technique. A good example of this is that it allowed our early ancestors to pick out the panther from the background visual 'noise' of tall grass and thus get away before becoming someone else's lunch. This reinforced the pattern seeking tendency and it began to be applied everywhere. This pattern defining 'software' was applied especially towards unknown events such as natural disasters, death, disease, social structure, and any other natural phenomenons they could not explain or understand. Religion reinforced a hierarchical social system that was useful as populations grew in number. It also out competed opposing belief systems through normal memetic evolution)
Many characteristics of religion can be directly traced to how our early ancestors naturally formed social groups as populations increase. Observer any small group of humans and there generally will be no clear leaders. People will take on roles based on skill and chores are passed around on a basis of need and ability and not through command from a central authority
This can be seen whenever we observe any small surviving tribes of humans, we see that the population generally does not exceeds approximately 150 individuals. In fact if the population increases, the tribe will splinter, a section moving off to live elsewhere. In these limited population groups, every person is required to stockpile the necessary supplies to sustain the group. Thus every person is of equal standing to everyone else for survivals sake. The superstitions and religions that are held by these groups mirror this as they are invariably polytheistic with mostly equal power between the various deities. Any variation is based solely on the importance of the role that the individual deity has (the deity for fertility will be more important then the deity for something more obscure like the night sky). To further support the idea of 150 as a limiting number we can look to recent developments in Neuroscience. Here, studies and experiments on how the brain stores information has shown that the region of the human brain responsible for remembering individual faces has a limit on average around 150. Thus giving more evidence that humans initially evolved to be in communal groups no larger then this size.
But if we increase the number past the 150 mark, we find that there are more then enough people to gather food and other resources, creating even a stockpile. Suddenly we find individuals who actually have some free time away from general hunting and gathering. This extra time allows individuals to become specialists. Such specialists would include artisans, storytellers/historians, dedicated child rearing groups and much more. Each of which creates greater efficiency and allowing for more specialization.
As these independent skill groups develop another task oriented group naturally arises through emergence, this is the governing class. A group who starts by acting as a central processing to allow the burgeoning society to run more smoothly and effectively. This development of this new class adds an extra boost to the rate of development within the other individual skill classes as well as streamlining food production and availability, thus reinforcing its own existance.
This process is actually quite similar to the emergence that is seen in nerve tissues. As neural nets become more complex, densely packed regions of nerve tissue develop to allow for processing of the now expanding regions of complex nerve nets. These clusters are known as ganglions, and as evolution presses forward they too begin to arrange themselves into distinct control systems. These control systems start out as multiple ganglions converging into a single structure. A structure that eventually will become the central nervous system.
Just like in the case of nerve tissue developing complex systems, societies develop a ruling group that will become more influential as the population increases. With more people comes the need for strong central authority. This is then reflected in the belief systems held by the society. Before the population explosion there was an anarchic-commune of individuals with equal purpose. There was also a general equality in their religious beliefs. But as the population increase and one group of humans becomes more influential over the others, so too does one group of deities become more influential.
This places even more power and influence in the hands of the governing body and often allows for a schism. A split between the classes that controls the daily functions within the community and the group that keeps track of the beliefs.
The governance side dictates what is to be done within the community and the clergy keeps up the superstitions and beliefs that have developed, often forming a belief system where the governing body is in place at the will of the deities, or even that the head of the governing body is a deity or otherwise connected to them in some way. By doing this, they solidify the governing bodies place in society as the head of society instead of just a managerial system. This symbiosis allows for both groups to raise in power.
This leaves us with a belief system that enforces the status quo, explains away natural phenomenons as well as keeping the people in line. Looking at it from this angle it seems completely natural for such a system to form. Therefore religion seems to be nothing more then an evolutionary process to allow for survival under new conditions.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
American Academy of Pediatrics and female genital mutilation
I had read of this event first at PZ's blog then again saw it written about by the Skepchick Chelsea. I am disgusted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This is not some exaggeration or hyperbole, I am truly disgusted, reviled, angered and quite a few other things. What has this group done to invoke such ire and contempt? They have established a loophole allowing pediatricians to perform female genital mutilation.
Recently, a piece of legislation has been put through the federal government. It is called The Girls’ Protection Act. This act makes it illegal for any person to take a child outside of the United States or any United States territory to have the act of female genital mutilation performed on a child. This was a major piece of legislation that will hopefully put a halt to the previous legal act of sending a child out of the country for a barbaric practice that can be seen as a form of sexual enslavement and torture.
What the AAP has done is essentially an act of defiance against this humanitarian legislation. Under this new loophole of theirs, they claim to allow for what they call a 'little nick'. When it comes to this kind of act, it does not matter how big or small the 'nick' is, it is the very fact that it is done. There is no ethical or medical reason for it to happen. It is entirly about the control and oppression of females. There is no benefit to the victim of this procedure. What the AAP has done is essentially to tell doctors that they do not need to follow the Hippocratic Oath when it comes to some backwards cultural concept. It tells doctors they can do harm as long as that harm makes some parents with everted, damaging and idiotic beliefs happy.
By creating this loophole the AAP has declared themselves hypocrites who would rather appease some barbaric ancient custom designed to keep females 'in line' then actually stand up for human rights. The AAP has violated the Hippocratic Oath, an act that is seen within the medical community as one of the most loathsome and detestable acts possible. It is seen within the medical field as grounds for the revoking of a doctor's medical license. So why does the AAP think that doing this was right? What makes them think that they now do not deserve legal retaliation, the very kind that any independent doctor would receive for such an act?
Do they believe in the idea of cultural relativism? That there is no right or wrong, just different morays put forth by different cultural establishments? If that were true, then the Hippocratic Oath would be meaningless. If all views, as long as they were held be enough people, were equally valid, then there would be no point in requiring doctors to swear to this doctrine and be held accountable if they violate it.
Then it must be that they are they just cow towing to certain cultural and religious beliefs*. The idea that certain concepts, no matter how horrible or vile they may be, should be allowed, for the sake of culture or religion is, to be blunt, idiotic. Any person who does so is not just being 'understanding' of a belief as they say, but actively allowing for an act that they would otherwise fight against.
By creating this loophole, any doctor who might be sympathetic to this 'tradition' can now perform it. It could even cause cases where a doctor who would otherwise not perform or wish to perform it, to be pressured by the parents under the concept of cultural relativism into performing it.
The AAP claims it is just a 'little nick' compared to the full procedure done in areas where female genital mutilation is acceptable. They claim it better to have just a small bit of damage done then the whole thing. This reasoning is moronic. It would be like arguing that if we allow just a little bit of rape, not the full thing, but just a smidgen of it, then it would satisfy the rapists and they wouldn't go through with the whole thing. Not only does it not work, not only is it stupid, but it still causes harm. There is no benefit here and none can be argued, because as I said, cultural relativism is just so much shite.
If the AAP really does want for this barbarism to be relinquished to the annals of history, then they should take a stand against it in its entirely. I can only hope that its members are vociferous enough to make it known that this loophole should be torn out and those who pushed for its creation adequately punished for their overstep.
___________________________________
*Yes, I am aware the act of female genital mutation is more cultural then religious. That as Islam spread over the area where this act took place, it merged with the culture perpetuating it. That no where in Islamic doctrine does it require for female genital mutilation, but that it is a cultural tradition that was enveloped and then spread alongside Islam. But the fact remains that the practice has grown alongside Islam long enough to become intertwined with it. That it is accepted under Islam and where ever it goes, the practice often follows. So while I acknowledge the fact that Islam does not require female genital mutilation and that the act is not even originally an Islamic practice, I do know that there is a link between the two. A link that has allowed the practice to spread with Islam, to become protected under Islam. To the point where many people who would not otherwise practice female genital mutilation do so because of some Islamic influence.
Recently, a piece of legislation has been put through the federal government. It is called The Girls’ Protection Act. This act makes it illegal for any person to take a child outside of the United States or any United States territory to have the act of female genital mutilation performed on a child. This was a major piece of legislation that will hopefully put a halt to the previous legal act of sending a child out of the country for a barbaric practice that can be seen as a form of sexual enslavement and torture.
What the AAP has done is essentially an act of defiance against this humanitarian legislation. Under this new loophole of theirs, they claim to allow for what they call a 'little nick'. When it comes to this kind of act, it does not matter how big or small the 'nick' is, it is the very fact that it is done. There is no ethical or medical reason for it to happen. It is entirly about the control and oppression of females. There is no benefit to the victim of this procedure. What the AAP has done is essentially to tell doctors that they do not need to follow the Hippocratic Oath when it comes to some backwards cultural concept. It tells doctors they can do harm as long as that harm makes some parents with everted, damaging and idiotic beliefs happy.
By creating this loophole the AAP has declared themselves hypocrites who would rather appease some barbaric ancient custom designed to keep females 'in line' then actually stand up for human rights. The AAP has violated the Hippocratic Oath, an act that is seen within the medical community as one of the most loathsome and detestable acts possible. It is seen within the medical field as grounds for the revoking of a doctor's medical license. So why does the AAP think that doing this was right? What makes them think that they now do not deserve legal retaliation, the very kind that any independent doctor would receive for such an act?
Do they believe in the idea of cultural relativism? That there is no right or wrong, just different morays put forth by different cultural establishments? If that were true, then the Hippocratic Oath would be meaningless. If all views, as long as they were held be enough people, were equally valid, then there would be no point in requiring doctors to swear to this doctrine and be held accountable if they violate it.
Then it must be that they are they just cow towing to certain cultural and religious beliefs*. The idea that certain concepts, no matter how horrible or vile they may be, should be allowed, for the sake of culture or religion is, to be blunt, idiotic. Any person who does so is not just being 'understanding' of a belief as they say, but actively allowing for an act that they would otherwise fight against.
By creating this loophole, any doctor who might be sympathetic to this 'tradition' can now perform it. It could even cause cases where a doctor who would otherwise not perform or wish to perform it, to be pressured by the parents under the concept of cultural relativism into performing it.
The AAP claims it is just a 'little nick' compared to the full procedure done in areas where female genital mutilation is acceptable. They claim it better to have just a small bit of damage done then the whole thing. This reasoning is moronic. It would be like arguing that if we allow just a little bit of rape, not the full thing, but just a smidgen of it, then it would satisfy the rapists and they wouldn't go through with the whole thing. Not only does it not work, not only is it stupid, but it still causes harm. There is no benefit here and none can be argued, because as I said, cultural relativism is just so much shite.
If the AAP really does want for this barbarism to be relinquished to the annals of history, then they should take a stand against it in its entirely. I can only hope that its members are vociferous enough to make it known that this loophole should be torn out and those who pushed for its creation adequately punished for their overstep.
___________________________________
*Yes, I am aware the act of female genital mutation is more cultural then religious. That as Islam spread over the area where this act took place, it merged with the culture perpetuating it. That no where in Islamic doctrine does it require for female genital mutilation, but that it is a cultural tradition that was enveloped and then spread alongside Islam. But the fact remains that the practice has grown alongside Islam long enough to become intertwined with it. That it is accepted under Islam and where ever it goes, the practice often follows. So while I acknowledge the fact that Islam does not require female genital mutilation and that the act is not even originally an Islamic practice, I do know that there is a link between the two. A link that has allowed the practice to spread with Islam, to become protected under Islam. To the point where many people who would not otherwise practice female genital mutilation do so because of some Islamic influence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)