Week 14

If one were to ask me to discuss the topic of "to live is to know" is sort of like asking me what is the meaning of life?  I like the Santiago Theory of Cognition and its relation to autopoiesis.  Maturana and Varela are basically saying that "what we do not see does not exist" or that reality is an invention of observers.  The brain and nervous system expand in response to what we know, and there emotional coloring to every cognitive act. I found an interview with Fritjof Capra who says, "It says that cognition is not a representation of an objectively existing world but is a bringing forth of a world in the process of living. So the process of knowledge or the process of cognition ( that's what it means, the process of knowledge) is a creative process of bringing forth a world. There is no fixed world out there or fixed objects. This is a difficult subject because it does not mean there is nothing there."  I love that cognition brings forth a world in the process of living.  

After readying the article on magic, I don't think I can try to view things differently.  I do not think we can get used to magic; I am not particularly someone who wants to know how tricks are performed.  It's interesting to think how much our brain can comprehend and how "set in stone" it is--it is wired in a certain way.  I am not sure if our immediate responses would even change if we understood magic as quickly as a magician.  Wiseman points out how much we are influenced by our expectations and by what we think is important.  Otherwise we are exploited.  Using the words "exploited" and "misdirection" and "manipulates" tells us that that magic is trickery.  Magic makes us look the wrong way, tricking our perception. I also think our minds are amazing to adapt to new situations and absorb information. Magic is pretty fun--why break it apart?

Week 13-Living Diversity

Thinking about my own immediate environment for diversity of species, I just thought about the the Central Valley of California. California has the most species than any other state in the United States. "In the Central Valley, seasonal vernal pools evaporate quickly in the hot, dry summer conditions, leaving behind cracked and baking dry ground. Invertebrates like fairy shrimp species are adapted to this cycle, producing a tough casing that allows their eggs to remain dormant in desiccated conditions, only to emerge when rains refill pools the following summer.". The fairy shrimp caused a significant delay in the building of UC Merced because they are an endangered species. There are certain birds which travel substantial distances, such as South America, over the course of their seasonal migrations.
Chocolate...I eat some every day. I'm not so sure that it keeps me slim, but I eat it anyway. These findings don't really change what I eat, or how I view nutrition. The proportions of cocoa solids and butter vary from a 30-70 percent, which is a lot! I'm not sure if it would be worth the health benefits.
Reading and talking about how marine species are under threat reminded me of scuba diving. I love scuba diving and try to be conscious about marine life. It's easy to think that with the oceans being so vast and seemingly endless, we are causing just a little damage. Scuba diving has brought more awareness because I have seen how coral is easily damaged and how tourism of the ocean has affected living species.

Week 12-Cell Biology

I checked out the links on How Cells Divide, and the Citric Acid Cycle Animation. It eems like no matter how long I've been in school, I've always had a review of some sort on these cycle. I also read an article on running, and how to increase your performance with understanding how the Citric Acid Cycle works. These acids are intermediate compounds that are necessary to generate cellular energy for tissue fuel. This article points out that proper nutrition may benefit to athletes (as well as people who are aging). Our proteins, acids, hormones, cells, are pretty amazing in the way that they produce energy so that we function the way we do. Nutrition is a pretty large area we can control for optimum health.
I really enjoyed the article, "Ringing the Alarm for Earth". The botanist, Peter Raven, presents the earth as losing species due to population growth rates. He is portrayed as being very enthusiastic and matter-of-fact. It was a very nice article that didn't try to shame the reader into being a more conscious environmentalist. I do believe that we have a responsibility to share this earth with all species. The more information we have, the harder it is to turn away from this responsibility.

Biochemistry--week 11

I am a second trimester student at ACCHS. So far, I've really enjoyed my time in school. My bio is actually on my very first post, so I won't repeat it now. This is my second class with Larry Spears, and I am looking forward to reading recent news and current events, and how it relates to biochemistry.
I wish the Internet was as accessible when I first took chemistry. The animations on the periodic table and lab activities would have been helpful in high school and college. Some of the standard college chemistry experiments explained on the website would have also been useful--sometimes during lab, my classmates and I would wonder what our conclusions were supposed to actually be. Or TA never seemed to be around when we really needed him, so the steps and and expected outcomes would have been helpful.
The topic if doctors routinely prescribing placebos was interesting, however, it could have been better written. I am curious to see what kinds of medicine were replaced by placebos. When we see a doctor, we generally trust their medical opinion, which is why we turn to medication in the first place. If they decide to give a placebo instead, I hope that they are using sound medical judgement, which will benefit the patient. Hopefully they will not be prescribing a placebo in place of Amoxicillin or Vicodin. If placebos are effective for a depressed patient, then I think the doctor was correct in prescribing it. I suppose that one could also say that acupuncture can be looked at as being as affective as a placebo--many people say that it can't be proven that it actually works, and you can only measure the success rates on how people feel.

Week 11 Energy Medicine and Energy Fields

Acupuncture is energy medicine. I look at energy medicine as a complement to other approaches to medical care, addressing physical illness and emotional problems, and can also promote peak performances. There is article by Dr. Oz that says,"In therapies involving this form of medicine, believed that health is determined by the overall flow and balance of a person's vital life force energy. Imbalances or blockages in the natural flow of the subtle energy fields in the body cause illness." Energy Medicine deals with electromagnetic fields generated by the body. Even though we are not able to describe or measure the morphogenic fields, they exist. Regardless if acupuncture is considered Energy Medicine, it is certainly effective for countless conditions.
I believe that human intent may affect someone's health. Human intent is related to skill as well--if a western practitioner is highly skilled and has a bad attitude, it will eventually affect his work. If a practitioner has good intentions and is earnest with their work, the patient is comforted and I believe the healing process has already started. I have read that in some community acupuncture centers, the acupuncturist may place needles on a patient surrounding an area of pain, ignoring the actual meridian sites. He reported very positive results. The article we read in class, "Traditional Chinese acupuncture May Have No Point" could be misinterpreted. I believed it to be an article in favor for acupuncture even though they said that randomly placed needles were just as effective as "real" treatments. Granted that this was a very brief, non scientifically written article, I am happy that most of the patients responded well to the treatments. A college professor told me that playing violin is nothing if there is no intention and a gathering of energy right before producing any sound. As a future acupuncturist, I hope to be present and attentive to my patients. It is a pretty simple concept, and I believe that this is the first step in healing.

Week 10 Life and Living Systems

I know I am a living system because I am an organized living thing that depends on my environment. I am dependent on information, energy, and matter given to me by nature, my surroundings, my environment. I like the article we read in class, "Autopoietic Organization"--the comment of how when we speak of living things, we "presuppose something in common between them; otherwise we wouldn't put them in the same class we designate with the name living.". I know I am a living system by my interactions and confirmation with other and similar living beings. By western definition and a biological definition, I am living because I am composed by a network of cells and molecular life, and I have a heartbeat.

Biophysics and eastern medicine are related. Biophysics is composed of different fields of biology, physics, physiology, computer science; each academic institution makes its own rules and may place emphasis on a particular field. This is similar to Eastern medicine. Like biophysics, different acupuncture schools may place emphasis on certain historians or philosophers. Some people think Chinese herbs are more important than acupuncture. Some practitioners may emphasize bodywork instead of diet. There are so many doctrines which are based on yin and yang concepts, just like the way biophysics is based on biology and physics. This shows that Western concepts are not as easily defined as we like to generalize.

Week 9--Synthesis

My E Prime Day
Looking back on the series of events that occurred today, I think I remember my dog appearing happy that I was awake and that we could go on a run. If I'm remembering this correctly, I ate breakfast and I graded my college students quiz from last week. I think I was pleased that they seemed to understand my lectures from this semester. I practiced orchestra music to prepare for rehearsals this coming week. I have played Dvorak's New World Symphony before, and I think I recall playing this with my old roommate. In memory, I also recall certain passages that represent different scenes, birds, the rising sun. After I practiced today, I think I remember eating lunch with my sister and her husband. I think we went to Apple Hill and bought a box of Pink Lady apples and ate apple doughnuts. My sister seemed to really like some apple wine since she bought some for her friends. In memory, it was a nice Sunday, Pacific Standard Time, USA.

The Eastern ideas and Western ideas can be synthesized. Looking at the way I was raised is an example of how two cultures can combine. My mother is from Korea, and my father is American-Chinese. I don't know if I can say that any culture is completely independent or separate since we need to communicate. The idea that many if us were raised in a more western culture and studying acupuncture is another example of synthesis. Again, I don't think that western and eastern medicine is completely independent--I believe that Eastern beliefs and developments can marry and support Western ideas and scientific discoveries and visa versa.