Our modern world is full of engineering marvels crafted with great precision. Science seems to have the answer to everything, but at a fundamental level, science cannot give us absolute answers.

Science is the systematic study of natural phenomena. The scientific method, which is the foundation of science, is an iteration towards perfection without ever achieving it. The scientific method has basically four steps consisting of 1) observation and description, 2) formulation of a hypothesis to explain the observation, 3) use of the hypothesis to predict other phenomena, and 4) perform new experiments to verify the predictions. This is a never-ending cycle that gets us closer and closer to the truth.

The reason that science cannot give us absolute answers is that there are limits to what we can observe and measure. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle is a mathematical formulation that describes the limits of our ability to perceive. The inability to measure with absolute precision means that science cannot give us absolutely precise answers. Another obstacle to our pursuit of absolute answers is that the scientific method only applies to reproducible events. Events for which it is not possible to formulate a hypothesis will forever remain outside the domain of science.

The scientific method, which has its origins in the 17th century, has served mankind well. Our modern civilization would not exist without it. Modern humans have been around for around 60,000 years, but the greatest advances in science have been made only in the last 400 years as logical thinking has gradually replaced mysticism and obscurantism.

Overactive Imagination

Akashic Records, whose name is derived from the Sanskrit word “Akasha” meaning “space”, are supposed to contain all knowledge from all human experiences in the Universe. The Akashic Records are frequently described as a library that is constantly updated whenever any person anywhere thinks a thought. The mystic Edgar Cayce (March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) claimed to be able to answers questions about health, astrology, and reincarnation by accessing the Akashic Records when he was in a state of self-induced trance. The Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) based in Virginia Beach, offers a variety of therapies in keeping with the spirit and philosophy of the Edgar Cayce readings. Edgar Cayce Centers are now found in 25 countries and each year attract thousands of curious people, scholars, researchers, philosophers, and even health care professionals.

Interest in mysticism and paranormal phenomena seems to fulfill a human need for absolute knowledge which science cannot provide. Some companies are running very profitable businesses by encouraging people to explore the power of their subconscious by tapping into the Universal Energy which is within the reach of enlightened individuals. There is a web site that for $98 Dollars will sell you six cassette tapes to teach “remote viewing”, a technique to access subconscious and universal mind information in space and time so that present, past, and future events are revealed.

Akashic Records, Collective Consciousness, and Remote Viewing are philosophies for which there is no proof and which cannot be scientifically verified. Remote viewing (the current version of “clairvoyance”) is a fancy way of doing thought experiments, or brainstorming about something that you know nothing about. Any findings produced through remote viewing or access to Akashic Records without physical observations or background knowledge cannot be much better than wild guesses. We can have a greater awareness of our surroundings and can even make some insightful predictions by paying close attention to our perceptions and by using our power of deduction.

One Million Dollar Challenge: The James Randi Educational Foundation, a not-for-profit organization which was established in 1996 to promote critical thinking, offers a prize of one million Dollars to any person who can demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability of any kind under mutually agreed conditions. To date, the prize remains unclaimed.

Clementina Rivera

Clementina Rivera, noted for her realistic paintings of coastal sea creatures, visited the Washington, D.C. area recently.  Clementina has won many artistic awards for her portrayal of wild life along the East shore of the United States.  Her studio in Rockport, Texas is located just minutes from the sea and provides magnificent opportunities to observe the migration of birds and the activities of the local fishermen.

Click here to see Clementina Rivera’s Paintings 

Is this a front view or a back view of the lady?

Silhouettes and shadows are two-dimensional images that can confuse us. We live in a three-dimensional world which provides us with depth-perception clues that disambiguate what we see. Much of our visual input today comes from movies, television, and computer screens that give us just a two-dimensional focal plane that can result in ambiguities which cannot be resolved by our brain.

Ever since fire was invented, we have used the shadows formed on walls for entertainment. Here are some books that show you some simple tricks.

Coccus Bacteria

Unwittingly, mankind has created a superbug that is hard to kill. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that drug-resistant staphylococcus bacteria are causing over 94,000 serious infections and 18,600 deaths each year. This figure now surpasses the 12,500 estimated deaths from AIDS in 2005.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) became prevalent by surviving a multitude of antibiotics that doctors prescribed indiscriminately for many years. It was not uncommon for a doctor to prescribe antibiotics for viral infections, which are unaffected by these drugs, as a prophylactic measure to prevent co-occurring bacterial infections. The resistant bacteria have proved capable of surviving exposure to what were once powerful antibiotics. The rise of MRSA illustrates the principles of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution very clearly.

Staph germs occur commonly on human skin. Pimples and minor abrasions are frequently infected with Staphylococcus. Severe infections are usually treated with penicillin derivatives such as methicillin or amoxicillin, but these treatments are ineffective against the resistant bacteria. Drug-resistant bacteria are turning up more frequently in institutional health-care centers, prisons, and sport facilities where people are in close contact. The term “Nosocomial Infection” is used for infections that are acquired as result of treatment in a hospital and which usually appear more than 48 hours after hospitalization. Hospitals are addressing the problem by forbidding doctors from wearing ties and jewelry that can harbor bacteria, and by disinfecting commonly touched surfaces more frequently.  The most effective technique for reducing hospital-acquired infections consists of identifying reservoirs of MRSA through culture of nasal swabs and treating and isolating the carriers.

The Social Security Act of 1935 established retirement benefits for workers, for the handicapped, and for victims of industrial accidents. Payroll deductions taken under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) provide the funding for Social Security. The age for retirement was originally 65 years of age, but as life expectancy in the United States continues to increase, and the sources of funding for Social Security continue to dwindle, the retirement age is being gradually extended. People born from 1943 to 1954 will qualify for retirement at age 66. Those born after 1960 will not get a full pension until age 67.

According to the Center for Health Statistics, the average life expectancy in the United States is approximately 78 years. This means that retirement income should be able to sustain you for at least 10 years if you were to die at the average age, but you are likely to live much longer than that with modern medical interventions. Social Security and individual retirement accounts (401K) are supposed to provide the funds to meet your expenses when you no longer work, but Social Security is in trouble.

One of the problems with Social Security is the uneven population growth known as the post-World War II “baby boom” between 1946 and 1964. The large population of boomers started using birth control and had fewer children who could fund Social Security. This means that Social Security will run out of money. The trustees of the fund estimate that by 2017 the revenue collected by Social Security will be less than what is needed to pay the beneficiaries. If Social Security then starts using its surplus reserves, the reserves will be exhausted by 2041. Medicare, which provides medical benefits to retirees, will start going negative in 2013 and will consume its reserves by 2019.

The United States is heading toward a crisis in social services and health care in ten years. The traditional services that serve our seniors today may not be available to those who were born after 1954. What are you going to do about it?

Chicago Marathon

It happened again. A Michigan police officer died during the 2007 Chicago Marathon. An autopsy showed that a heart condition, and not the record-setting heat and high humidity, was what killed him. The temperature was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31°C) by 10 AM, which broke the previous record of 84 degrees set in 1979. However, at least 49 people were taken to hospitals, while another 250 were treated onsite, many for heat-related ailments. The high heat index and the large number of casualties prompted director Carey Pinkowski to stop the race at 11:30 a.m., about 3 1/2 hours into the run, when the organizers became concerned they would not be able to cope with additional heat-related injuries as the temperature continued to soar. According to the organizers of the Marathon, approximately 45,000 runners registered for the race, but 10,000 did not show up. So, of the 35,000 who actually raced, about 300 required treatment or a hospital visit. That is about one percent.

Exercising during extreme heat and humidity causes a loss of body fluids as the body tries to keep cool by sweating. Drinking only water can be fatal because it results in hyponatremia, a sodium deficiency that may cause abdominal cramps and convulsions. Profuse sweating requires replacing sodium and potassium, two essential electrolytes. Drinking a glass of water with 1/4 teaspoon of salt or sports drinks helps to restore the electrolytes lost by sweating.

 Jellyfish bloom

Commercial fishermen use nets that may measure more than a mile in length.  These efficient fishing techniques have made it possible to bring cheap seafood to our table.  The sea was thought to be an inexhaustible source of food, but warmer ocean waters and overfishing have resulted in major changes in marine ecosystems.

Around the world, jellyfish populations are displacing fish and becoming the dominant form of marine life.  Jellyfish populations have become so dense that they have overwhelmed fishing nets along the coast of France and clogged the water intake pipes of nuclear power plants in Japan.  Jellyfish are consuming shrimp larvae and small fish thus reducing the population of species that are important to humans.  Jellyfish compete for the same kinds of prey as adult and young fishes, so we are promoting the expansion of jellyfish habitats by overfishing and polluting the waters.

Fish provide valuable sources of essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for human diets.  If our society continues to exploit natural resources without limits that guarantee renewal, we will wipe out the fauna and flora on which we depend.  Neanderthals managed to survive for over 230,000 years in Europe.  We, who have named ourselves Homo Sapiens, meaning “wise man”, have only been around for approximately 60,000 years.  Will we use our intelligence to outlive the Neanderthals?