It's a culture guaranteed to cause a clash - Opinion - smh.com.au
Miranda Devine makes pretty much the same point as someone in The Guardian recently. (I posted about it here.)
That is, Muslim reluctance to "blend in" to Australian society may be partly put down to Australian values (in terms of sexual behaviour, especially amongst the young) taking somewhat of a dive in recent years.
Given my revulsion of all things "Big Brother" (and the puzzling idea of "raunch culture" as being some semi-legitimate form of feminism,) I have some sympathy to the argument.
As I said in the previous post, one would think that the political consequence could be that conservative parties get the Muslim vote. But the conservatives don't seem to play the politics of it the right way. (Or they simply figure the Muslim vote is not worth worrying about given the population size here.)
All very interesting.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
The Empire staggers on
The Japan Times Online - Princess Kiko gives birth to a boy
So, finally there is a male grandchild for the Emperor in the Japanese royal family, so the pressure is off Crown Princess Masako to have to have another child. (Her story of stress caused by marrying into a suffocating royal lifestyle is a bit like that of Princess Diana; apart from Masako being academically very smart, successful at a challenging career before marriage, and having a husband who supports her still. OK, almost no resemblance at all really.)
A brief history of the problems caused by having only male heirs to the emperor is set out in this article. Some extracts:
Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) had no male heir with his wife but had 15 children, including five males, with five concubines. Of the five, four died before reaching adulthood, and the one who survived became emperor.
Here's a photo of Meiji. Doesn't look too happy; maybe choosing which concubine to sleep over with gets you down. (Or maybe it's just that it wasn't fashionable in that century to smile for photos.)
Back to the article:
But Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989), known posthumously as Emperor Showa, refused to have a concubine, which led to the postwar abolition of the system. According to Otabe, Emperor Showa wanted to have a close family atmosphere such as might be found in a Western royal family.
And how's this for a let down in your status:
Soon after Japan's 1945 defeat in World War II, 11 families on the collateral line, which served as a safety net to produce male heirs for the Imperial family, lost their Imperial status and became ordinary citizens.
I wonder what happened to those families. Down to the unemployment office?
So, finally there is a male grandchild for the Emperor in the Japanese royal family, so the pressure is off Crown Princess Masako to have to have another child. (Her story of stress caused by marrying into a suffocating royal lifestyle is a bit like that of Princess Diana; apart from Masako being academically very smart, successful at a challenging career before marriage, and having a husband who supports her still. OK, almost no resemblance at all really.)
A brief history of the problems caused by having only male heirs to the emperor is set out in this article. Some extracts:
Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) had no male heir with his wife but had 15 children, including five males, with five concubines. Of the five, four died before reaching adulthood, and the one who survived became emperor.
Here's a photo of Meiji. Doesn't look too happy; maybe choosing which concubine to sleep over with gets you down. (Or maybe it's just that it wasn't fashionable in that century to smile for photos.)
Back to the article:
But Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989), known posthumously as Emperor Showa, refused to have a concubine, which led to the postwar abolition of the system. According to Otabe, Emperor Showa wanted to have a close family atmosphere such as might be found in a Western royal family.
And how's this for a let down in your status:
Soon after Japan's 1945 defeat in World War II, 11 families on the collateral line, which served as a safety net to produce male heirs for the Imperial family, lost their Imperial status and became ordinary citizens.
I wonder what happened to those families. Down to the unemployment office?
Cosmology time
ScienceDaily: Big Bang's Afterglow Fails Intergalactic 'Shadow' Test
Interesting story with unclear implications. Do other scientists think it is a measurement problem? If not, what could explain it?
Interesting story with unclear implications. Do other scientists think it is a measurement problem? If not, what could explain it?
Australian academics need not apply
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran's liberal lecturers targeted
From the above:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for liberal and secular university lecturers to be removed.
He told a group of students that they should organise campaigns to demand that the liberal teachers be sacked.
Mr Ahmadinejad said it was difficult to alter secular influences that had been in place in Iran for 150 years, but added that such a change had begun.
The move echoes campaigns of the 1980s, when hundreds of liberal university teachers and students were sacked....
Last year, an ayatollah was appointed to run Tehran University, sparking protests by students.
From the above:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for liberal and secular university lecturers to be removed.
He told a group of students that they should organise campaigns to demand that the liberal teachers be sacked.
Mr Ahmadinejad said it was difficult to alter secular influences that had been in place in Iran for 150 years, but added that such a change had begun.
The move echoes campaigns of the 1980s, when hundreds of liberal university teachers and students were sacked....
Last year, an ayatollah was appointed to run Tehran University, sparking protests by students.
Scaring the scientists
Scientists angered by telephone telepathy study - Britain - Times Online
A fascinating story from the Times about scientists being upset that pro telepathy research was presented at a science forum without adequate scepticism tagging along.
I like this bit in particular:
Sir Walter, a geneticist and cancer researcher, said: "I’m amazed that the BA has allowed it to happen in this way. You have got to be careful not to suppress ideas, even if they are beyond the pale, but it’s quite inappropriate to have a session like that without putting forward a more convincing view."
The "more convincing view" is presumably that telepathy is obviously impossible.
Read the article for details of the research. It's interesting.
A fascinating story from the Times about scientists being upset that pro telepathy research was presented at a science forum without adequate scepticism tagging along.
I like this bit in particular:
Sir Walter, a geneticist and cancer researcher, said: "I’m amazed that the BA has allowed it to happen in this way. You have got to be careful not to suppress ideas, even if they are beyond the pale, but it’s quite inappropriate to have a session like that without putting forward a more convincing view."
The "more convincing view" is presumably that telepathy is obviously impossible.
Read the article for details of the research. It's interesting.
More scepticism on emissions trading
Emissions trading is not the answer - Opinion - theage.com.au
Four Corners last week was all about this too, and there are many small "eco" companies in Australia making money out of trading schemes that critics say are of dubious efficiency.
As with wind power, I suspect that the true effect of such schemes is to give false confidence that something effective is being done.
Four Corners last week was all about this too, and there are many small "eco" companies in Australia making money out of trading schemes that critics say are of dubious efficiency.
As with wind power, I suspect that the true effect of such schemes is to give false confidence that something effective is being done.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
One question
BBC NEWS | Health | Autism risk linked to older dads
This article indicates that the rate of autism in children rises quite sharply when the father is over 40.
This seems an easily identified trend. Why is it only coming to attention now?
This article indicates that the rate of autism in children rises quite sharply when the father is over 40.
This seems an easily identified trend. Why is it only coming to attention now?
Some detail on the prisoners
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Who are the Mid-East prisoners?
I've been waiting some time for the details in this article. Surprisingly, there really are only a handful of Lebanese prisoners involved.
I've been waiting some time for the details in this article. Surprisingly, there really are only a handful of Lebanese prisoners involved.
On conservation and conservatism
Niall Ferguson: Conservative Doesn't Mean Anti-Conservationist - Los Angeles Times
This column makes some valid points:
The idea that there is something fundamentally unconservative about protecting the environment is, of course, a canard. At the very core of British conservatism since the time of Benjamin Disraeli has been a romantic reverence for the land and a desire to mitigate the damage done by industrialization. It was Marx and Engels who sneered at "the idiocy of rural life." It was Lenin and Stalin whose mania for smoke-belching steelworks turned huge tracts of Russia into toxic wastelands.
It's worth reading it all.
This column makes some valid points:
The idea that there is something fundamentally unconservative about protecting the environment is, of course, a canard. At the very core of British conservatism since the time of Benjamin Disraeli has been a romantic reverence for the land and a desire to mitigate the damage done by industrialization. It was Marx and Engels who sneered at "the idiocy of rural life." It was Lenin and Stalin whose mania for smoke-belching steelworks turned huge tracts of Russia into toxic wastelands.
It's worth reading it all.
More Adams rubbish
Hero to pols who were left right out | Phillip Adams | The Australian
Phillip Adams has yet another reality challenged column in the Australian today.
He has repeated the theme many times recently: that John Howard's Liberal Party has become solidly right wing, not the "broad church" of old. He also claims that, unlike in the 1960's, there is no cross party co-operation or friendships any more.
Nice theory, but only if you ignore the following examples:
* Howard withdrew his recent migration law changes to avoid the defeat they obviously faced because of the number of Libs (and probably National Barnaby Joyce) would made it clear they would not vote for it.
* Liberal women are not shy of supporting their own legislation for particular "womens' issues" such as the availability of the "abortion drug" and on stem cell research.
* Warren Entsch, of all people, speaks out on gay law reform all the time. (Although it is clear that there is no strong move to support gay marriage type laws in the Liberals.)
* It is clear that there still are cross party friendships, if you watch Sunrise and see the amiable exchanges every week between Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey. (They also did the Kokoda track together recently.) I get the feeling that Lindsay Tanner might have the respect and (possibly) friendship of a few on the other side as well. It was pretty clear that Christopher Pyne and Mark Latham were friendly enough at a personal level when they used to do their Lateline stuff. I recall Jacki Kelly talking recently of inviting Labor women to some private party of hers.
Actually, I have found it encouraging that polite and friendly personal contact across the parties appears to have been a feature of the current government.
Adams seems not only wrong about this, but quite hypocritical, in that his great political hero Paul Keating gave every appearance of a politician who could in no way tolerate having a personal friendship with someone from the other side. (And who from the Liberals would want to be be close to him, given the highly personal and nasty character of his parliamentary attacks.)
Give it up Phil, this is a stupid argument.
Phillip Adams has yet another reality challenged column in the Australian today.
He has repeated the theme many times recently: that John Howard's Liberal Party has become solidly right wing, not the "broad church" of old. He also claims that, unlike in the 1960's, there is no cross party co-operation or friendships any more.
Nice theory, but only if you ignore the following examples:
* Howard withdrew his recent migration law changes to avoid the defeat they obviously faced because of the number of Libs (and probably National Barnaby Joyce) would made it clear they would not vote for it.
* Liberal women are not shy of supporting their own legislation for particular "womens' issues" such as the availability of the "abortion drug" and on stem cell research.
* Warren Entsch, of all people, speaks out on gay law reform all the time. (Although it is clear that there is no strong move to support gay marriage type laws in the Liberals.)
* It is clear that there still are cross party friendships, if you watch Sunrise and see the amiable exchanges every week between Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey. (They also did the Kokoda track together recently.) I get the feeling that Lindsay Tanner might have the respect and (possibly) friendship of a few on the other side as well. It was pretty clear that Christopher Pyne and Mark Latham were friendly enough at a personal level when they used to do their Lateline stuff. I recall Jacki Kelly talking recently of inviting Labor women to some private party of hers.
Actually, I have found it encouraging that polite and friendly personal contact across the parties appears to have been a feature of the current government.
Adams seems not only wrong about this, but quite hypocritical, in that his great political hero Paul Keating gave every appearance of a politician who could in no way tolerate having a personal friendship with someone from the other side. (And who from the Liberals would want to be be close to him, given the highly personal and nasty character of his parliamentary attacks.)
Give it up Phil, this is a stupid argument.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Steve Irwin and the speed of Wiki
Steve Irwin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steve Irwin's unusual death was reported here (Brisbane) at around 2.30pm. It looks like Reuters and AP reported it after 4 pm. It is now 4.35 pm and his Wikipedia entry is up to date, referring to him in the past tense, and giving some detail about his death.
Looking at the history of his entry, there have been many people checking and posting today following news of his death.
History gets written very quickly these days.
As for his death, everyone's reaction on talkback radio here goes like this: "a stingray can kill you? I mean, I knew they could sting and hurt, but kill you?"
Steve Irwin's unusual death was reported here (Brisbane) at around 2.30pm. It looks like Reuters and AP reported it after 4 pm. It is now 4.35 pm and his Wikipedia entry is up to date, referring to him in the past tense, and giving some detail about his death.
Looking at the history of his entry, there have been many people checking and posting today following news of his death.
History gets written very quickly these days.
As for his death, everyone's reaction on talkback radio here goes like this: "a stingray can kill you? I mean, I knew they could sting and hurt, but kill you?"
Mao's reputation continues its dive
China | Big bad wolf | Economist.com
This is a short review of a new book that continues the revisionism of Mao's reputation (in a downwards direction.) This latest book sounds more scholarly and less obviously partisan than the recent one co-authored by Jung Chang. (Not that I have read it either.)
From the article:
The heart of the book is a detailed chronicle of how Mao cynically twisted ideology and manipulated those around him, setting off hysterical and murderous attacks on everything from Confucian morals and bourgeois culture to intellectuals, “capitalist roaders” and “class enemies”.
Using sources that range from official party and government documents to letters, diaries and interviews with surviving participants and victims, the authors document the orders that went out, the mayhem that resulted and the fear it all struck in the hearts of people across the country. And it is chilling stuff. In August and September of 1966, for example, as thousands were being murdered in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere, Mao put out the word that the police were not to interfere. Faithfully relaying Mao's instructions to the Beijing police force, the public security minister assured them that, “After all, bad persons are bad, so if they're beaten to death it is no big deal.”
This is a short review of a new book that continues the revisionism of Mao's reputation (in a downwards direction.) This latest book sounds more scholarly and less obviously partisan than the recent one co-authored by Jung Chang. (Not that I have read it either.)
From the article:
The heart of the book is a detailed chronicle of how Mao cynically twisted ideology and manipulated those around him, setting off hysterical and murderous attacks on everything from Confucian morals and bourgeois culture to intellectuals, “capitalist roaders” and “class enemies”.
Using sources that range from official party and government documents to letters, diaries and interviews with surviving participants and victims, the authors document the orders that went out, the mayhem that resulted and the fear it all struck in the hearts of people across the country. And it is chilling stuff. In August and September of 1966, for example, as thousands were being murdered in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere, Mao put out the word that the police were not to interfere. Faithfully relaying Mao's instructions to the Beijing police force, the public security minister assured them that, “After all, bad persons are bad, so if they're beaten to death it is no big deal.”
Medical marijuana wars
TCS Daily - The Straight Dope on 'Medical Marijuana'
Also from TCS, an article about the "medical marijuana" wars in the USA.
This tactic (of encouraging a limited legalisation of the drug for medicinal purposes) has not been promoted strongly in any jurisdiction in Australia, as far as I can recall. This article confirms, from a medical point of view, why it is a dubious thing to do.
Also from TCS, an article about the "medical marijuana" wars in the USA.
This tactic (of encouraging a limited legalisation of the drug for medicinal purposes) has not been promoted strongly in any jurisdiction in Australia, as far as I can recall. This article confirms, from a medical point of view, why it is a dubious thing to do.
IEDs in Iraq
TCS Daily - Roadside Bombs: The Hydra Effect
This article at Tech Central goes into technical detail about how roadside bombs in Iraq are made and why it is so hard to stop them. Interesting, even though pessimistic.
This article at Tech Central goes into technical detail about how roadside bombs in Iraq are made and why it is so hard to stop them. Interesting, even though pessimistic.
An odd comparison
Martyrs' widows wait outside doors to paradise - World - theage.com.au
This short story about how Hezbollah looks after the widows of "martyrs" in Lebanon contains this:
The community believes martyrs go directly to heaven and their wives are venerated because of their sacrifice. "The wife of a martyr is like Jennifer Lopez to us," said Mohammed Husseini, spokesman for Hezbollah's Martyrs' Association illustrating how widows are admired.
Well, perhaps "Paris Hilton" would have been a less apt comparison, but only just.
This short story about how Hezbollah looks after the widows of "martyrs" in Lebanon contains this:
The community believes martyrs go directly to heaven and their wives are venerated because of their sacrifice. "The wife of a martyr is like Jennifer Lopez to us," said Mohammed Husseini, spokesman for Hezbollah's Martyrs' Association illustrating how widows are admired.
Well, perhaps "Paris Hilton" would have been a less apt comparison, but only just.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
About Iran and Iraq
Crime boss brokered nuclear-delivery missile sale to Iran - Sunday Times - Times Online
Further to the concerns about Iran:
THE British government was warned more than two years ago that Iran had illegally acquired a missile system capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
It has emerged that a foreign government delivered the warning to Britain in early 2004.
Separately, it has been disclosed that the system was sold to Iran by a former senior member of the Ukrainian security service. The deal was brokered by an organised crime boss and, it is feared, contributed to the Iranian nuclear programme that is now the subject of an international confrontation.
The Times report also notes this:
It has also emerged that in 2004 the Ukrainian government was investigating the transport of weapons from Iraq to Syria and Iran before the war to topple Saddam Hussein.
I still suspect that the complete story of WMD in Iraq is not yet known.
Further to the concerns about Iran:
THE British government was warned more than two years ago that Iran had illegally acquired a missile system capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
It has emerged that a foreign government delivered the warning to Britain in early 2004.
Separately, it has been disclosed that the system was sold to Iran by a former senior member of the Ukrainian security service. The deal was brokered by an organised crime boss and, it is feared, contributed to the Iranian nuclear programme that is now the subject of an international confrontation.
The Times report also notes this:
It has also emerged that in 2004 the Ukrainian government was investigating the transport of weapons from Iraq to Syria and Iran before the war to topple Saddam Hussein.
I still suspect that the complete story of WMD in Iraq is not yet known.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Modern annoyances
Here's a few things I have been saving up to complain about:
* It seems impossible to buy a simple set of plain Lego blocks anymore. (Duplo, yes, but not older kids' basic Lego.) As anyone with children is probably aware, Lego seemingly went totally "themed" many years ago, as if a corporate decision was made that all kids' imaginations must come prepackaged. I'm sure I read somewhere in the last year or two how the Lego company was not doing well. Here's a tip: stop paying for movie tie-in's and overly specialised fiddly pieces and start selling basic sets again. I could live with the little figures (although they do sully the "purity" of the Lego of my childhood,) if basic kits could be found again.
* A pharmacy I was in recently was selling "Hopi ear candles". If I ruled the world, there would be some minimum standard of vague utility for what a pharmacy could sell, and Hopi ear candles would never reach that threshold.
* The twee obsession that ABC Radio National listeners have with fonts irritates me. The Saturday morning show recently did a segment on Microsoft changing the font for (I think) Outlook, and sure enough the following week the host noted how much response that segment received. Oh for God's sake. If you are 95 and live alone on a mountain, maybe an undue interest in default fonts is half justifiable. If you are under 50 and you are worrying about default fonts, you really, really need another interest in life.
* Talking about fonts reminds me: I still occasionally find people who still think Wordperfect stopped at DOS version 5.1. In fact, the Windows based versions are up to X3, which is what they named version 13 in order to avoid the unlucky number. Ironically (if that is the correct use of the word for this example), this latest version lets you run it in DOS 5.1 emulation.
It drives me crazy when I have to sometimes use Word instead of WP. My long held belief that formatting anything in WP is always easier than in Word (which continually tries to guess my intention and 9 times out of 10 gets it wrong) seemed to have been confirmed this week when I showed a Word only user how to do indents and edit codes in WP. He seemed genuinely surprised, and I am sure this could be true of many Word users if only they had exposure to WP.
By the way, I do not own shares in Corel.
* It seems impossible to buy a simple set of plain Lego blocks anymore. (Duplo, yes, but not older kids' basic Lego.) As anyone with children is probably aware, Lego seemingly went totally "themed" many years ago, as if a corporate decision was made that all kids' imaginations must come prepackaged. I'm sure I read somewhere in the last year or two how the Lego company was not doing well. Here's a tip: stop paying for movie tie-in's and overly specialised fiddly pieces and start selling basic sets again. I could live with the little figures (although they do sully the "purity" of the Lego of my childhood,) if basic kits could be found again.
* A pharmacy I was in recently was selling "Hopi ear candles". If I ruled the world, there would be some minimum standard of vague utility for what a pharmacy could sell, and Hopi ear candles would never reach that threshold.
* The twee obsession that ABC Radio National listeners have with fonts irritates me. The Saturday morning show recently did a segment on Microsoft changing the font for (I think) Outlook, and sure enough the following week the host noted how much response that segment received. Oh for God's sake. If you are 95 and live alone on a mountain, maybe an undue interest in default fonts is half justifiable. If you are under 50 and you are worrying about default fonts, you really, really need another interest in life.
* Talking about fonts reminds me: I still occasionally find people who still think Wordperfect stopped at DOS version 5.1. In fact, the Windows based versions are up to X3, which is what they named version 13 in order to avoid the unlucky number. Ironically (if that is the correct use of the word for this example), this latest version lets you run it in DOS 5.1 emulation.
It drives me crazy when I have to sometimes use Word instead of WP. My long held belief that formatting anything in WP is always easier than in Word (which continually tries to guess my intention and 9 times out of 10 gets it wrong) seemed to have been confirmed this week when I showed a Word only user how to do indents and edit codes in WP. He seemed genuinely surprised, and I am sure this could be true of many Word users if only they had exposure to WP.
By the way, I do not own shares in Corel.
Reasons to worry about Iran
Lateline - ABC
The link is to a transcript of an interview on last night's Lateline that was about particular intelligence from 2004 that indicates definite military involvement in Iran's nuclear program. (Iran claims it is a fabrication, but it would seem most European nations think it is genuine.)
Worth reading in full.
The link is to a transcript of an interview on last night's Lateline that was about particular intelligence from 2004 that indicates definite military involvement in Iran's nuclear program. (Iran claims it is a fabrication, but it would seem most European nations think it is genuine.)
Worth reading in full.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Move on, nothing to see here
Former weapons inspector disappointed with handling of concerns. 31/08/2006. ABC News Online
ABC's 7.30 Report and Lateline tonight both featured this story at some length. I see that Marion Wilkinson had the story in The Age this morning.
Former weapons inspector John Gee, who did not look all that well in the interview, resigned from the Iraq Survey Group in 2004 and wrote to the government saying that the search for WMD in Iraq (after the invasion) was not being well run, and that he did not think anything would be found.
Foreign Minister Downer met him at the time and said, "well let's wait and see." Gee says to him "I can assure you they won't find any."
Apparently, a subsequent sense of (relative) vindication by the ISG's report isn't enough for Gee. He now complains that his letter was not distributed outside of Foreign Affairs to the Defence Department.
Scandal!
What is significant about this story? Extremely little, it seems to me.
ABC's 7.30 Report and Lateline tonight both featured this story at some length. I see that Marion Wilkinson had the story in The Age this morning.
Former weapons inspector John Gee, who did not look all that well in the interview, resigned from the Iraq Survey Group in 2004 and wrote to the government saying that the search for WMD in Iraq (after the invasion) was not being well run, and that he did not think anything would be found.
Foreign Minister Downer met him at the time and said, "well let's wait and see." Gee says to him "I can assure you they won't find any."
Apparently, a subsequent sense of (relative) vindication by the ISG's report isn't enough for Gee. He now complains that his letter was not distributed outside of Foreign Affairs to the Defence Department.
Scandal!
What is significant about this story? Extremely little, it seems to me.
Researchers with too much time on their hands
ScienceDaily: Brain Scan Of Nuns Finds No Single 'God Spot' In The Brain, Study Finds
I'm sure I've commented before about the highly dubious priorities that neuroscience seems to have now, at least with regard to what they do with MRI scanners. This one for example:
Fifteen cloistered Carmelite nuns ranging from 23 to 64-years-old were subjected to an fMRI brain scan while asked to relive a mystical experience rather than actually try to achieve one. "I was obliged to do it this way seeing as the nuns are unable to call upon God at will," said Beauregard. This method was justified seeing as previous studies with actors asked to enter a particular emotional state activated the same brain regions as people actually living those emotions.
This study demonstrated that a dozen different regions of the brain are activated during a mystical experience. This type of research became very popular in the United States in the late 1990s. Some researchers went as far as suggesting the possibility of a specific brain region designed for communication with God. This latest research discredits such theories.
I find it hard to imagine that anyone would think that the essential nature of a mystical experience would be capable of being explained by watching such scans.
Psychologist Jerome Kagan was interviewed on ABC radio recently and made the point:
Well the brain is the foundation of all mental phenomenon but the vocabulary we use for the brain - neurons, circuits, transmitters - that's not the language of thought or feeling. And so mind got put in the background under the assumption that if - an assumption I disagree with - that if and when scientists can understand exactly what's going on in the brain then they'll be able to predict and know exactly what your thoughts, feelings and intentions are.
The rest of his interview, which covers quite a few areas of psychology, is interesting too.
I'm sure I've commented before about the highly dubious priorities that neuroscience seems to have now, at least with regard to what they do with MRI scanners. This one for example:
Fifteen cloistered Carmelite nuns ranging from 23 to 64-years-old were subjected to an fMRI brain scan while asked to relive a mystical experience rather than actually try to achieve one. "I was obliged to do it this way seeing as the nuns are unable to call upon God at will," said Beauregard. This method was justified seeing as previous studies with actors asked to enter a particular emotional state activated the same brain regions as people actually living those emotions.
This study demonstrated that a dozen different regions of the brain are activated during a mystical experience. This type of research became very popular in the United States in the late 1990s. Some researchers went as far as suggesting the possibility of a specific brain region designed for communication with God. This latest research discredits such theories.
I find it hard to imagine that anyone would think that the essential nature of a mystical experience would be capable of being explained by watching such scans.
Psychologist Jerome Kagan was interviewed on ABC radio recently and made the point:
Well the brain is the foundation of all mental phenomenon but the vocabulary we use for the brain - neurons, circuits, transmitters - that's not the language of thought or feeling. And so mind got put in the background under the assumption that if - an assumption I disagree with - that if and when scientists can understand exactly what's going on in the brain then they'll be able to predict and know exactly what your thoughts, feelings and intentions are.
The rest of his interview, which covers quite a few areas of psychology, is interesting too.
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