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I read "Rare but Real: People Who Feel, Taste and Hear Color" by Ker Than, Live Science Staff Writer, posted:
22 February, 2005 (www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050222_synesthesia.html).
It details the rare neurological condition known as synesthesia. I knew a little about this subject from an online community
called Myspace.com. There are thousands of groups on Myspace ranging in various interests such as science, religion, art,
politics, etc. I don't recall how I came across the group dedicated to people with synesthesia, but was instantly interested
and began to imagine what it would be like to experience two or more senses entwined. I had read reports of people using psychedelics
and being able to visualize sound or feel a color. In the article, a woman named Ingrid Carey is examined. To her, "numbers
and letters, sensations and emotions, days and months are all associated with colors. The letter N is sienna brown; J is light
green; the number 8 is orange; and July is bluish-green." I have been long fascinated with how the brain works and how
different levels of consciousness can be accessed by chemical means. Whether it be a mystic doing yoga and fasting to change
the naturally produced chemicals in his brain or a teenager taking LSD, I believe the future of human evolution largely resides
in the study of how these substances interact with neurons in our most valuable possession.
"According to one idea, irregular sprouting of new neural connections within the brain leads to a breakdown of the
boundaries that normally exist between the senses. In this view, synesthesia is the collective chatter of sensory neighbors
once confined to isolation." The idea of the left and right hemispheres of the brain opening up new lines of communication
between each other is, for me, the most interesting aspect of this article. I am aware of methods for increasing awareness
and creativity by stimulating the right brain and have practiced one in particularly. I am right handed and have taken to
the habit of writing in my journal with my left hand to put my right brain to use. I learned about this technique through
Robert Anton Wilson, who learned from studying Aleister Crowley. Has it worked? Has it changed my reality tunnel? I can't
answer that question as there are other techniques I've adopted and would be unable to pinpoint such a catalyst for the numerous
ways I've changed in the past few years. But I certainly can attest that the changes have been imminently positive. I don't
see colors or hear numbers, but I am open to more avenues of understanding how people think and am constantly becoming more
patient with my fellow humans.
Another theory mentioned in the article is that this may be the way infants experience the world before maturing to form
a compartmentalized dualistic brain. They don't just hear their mothers voice, they see and taste and feel it. Instead of
five distinct senses, they have one. One filter that lets in billions of bits of information per second. So, I suppose, we
are born enlightened and then slowly slip away from the true reality of the universe as we develop a more functional mind
to acquire stable survival instincts. Some of us recognize the loss and strive the rest of our lives to reacquaint ourselves
with the miracle of an all-encompassing awareness. Most of us go to sleep and stay asleep unto death, when we are jolted back
awake. No wonder we fear death. An avalanche of information that society fights to suppress suddenly floods in and we either
drown in confusion ("Hell"), understand and accept ("Heaven"), or wander the illusionary state known as
"Samsara" before rebirth to start all over and try again. Depending on your "beliefs" ofcourse.
This condition, synesthesia, and the article itself seem to be another piece of the puzzle to validate a connected universe
of one. Nothing metaphysical about such a statement. Nothing religious, poetic, or romantic about such a notion. That's physics.
That's biology. That's science! Some people's minds have mutated and reached a level ahead of their time. Most with the condition
consider themselves lucky and would not accept a "cure" if given the choice. Neither would I.
Paper #2
"A Man Needs A Mushroom"
Thank you for pointing out the amanitas. "Don't eat them..." you warned. I only wish it was followed by "...what
you want is the psilocybe mushroom. And those grow out of cow dung." (Not that I would eat those--that would be against
"the law." Ahem, but amanitas are legal. I almost raised my hand to protest and declare that I have eaten several
of these beautiful, fun guys. "Don't eat too many of them" is certainly good advice, or "Don't eat them without
drying them out first." Even just one large one could be too much. I ate a large cap about seven inches in diameter once
and sweated with chills for three hours on my couch, with blankets and the heat turned all the way up in Southern California.
Not fun, but I survived. I suppose it is possible to die, but you can overdose on any drug: aspirin, alcohol, tobacco... The
worst part of that night was I DIDN'T hallucinate. The other times, when I have eaten less amounts, it was mildly psychedelic
and an enjoyable escape from mundane day-to-day "reality." Nothing mindblowingly intense or life-changing. Maybe
that's why they're legal. I haven't damaged my mind or any other part of my body. I'm a straight-A student. I'm an intelligent
young man interested in my environment and the chemicals provided to us by nature to learn about ouselves. I want to explore
my mind and should be allowed to do so without government sanction. I am performing science. I believe a scientist himself
should be the first test subject for any substance. At least for substances that have psychological affects. How can a person
talk to me about a drug without having experienced the drug themselves? "I am a scientist, I seek to understand me/All
of my impurities and evils yet unknown...And I know what's right, but I'm losing sight of the clues/For which I search and
choose to abuse/To just unlock my mind/Yeah, and just unlock my mind"--Robert Pollard. I ordered some amanitas over the
internet when I lived in California. Now they're free!
Anthropologist Gordon Wasson "found hints of psychedelic or entheogenic ('god-releasing') mushrooms in Genesis,
in the Eleusinian Mysteries, and in the Hindy sacred text, The Rig Veda...he became convinced that the essential entheogen
of the ancient world was Soma--Amanita muscaria, which contains the psychoactive element muscarine, rather than psilocybin."
This is from Breaking Open The Head by Daniel Pinchbeck. It goes on to suggest that the amanitas basically catalyzed man's
evolution. Because we ate these mushrooms, we had these moments of enlightenment, epiphanies, whatever, and different circuits
in our brains started connecting and we slowly developed higher consciousness and went on to develop language, art, and so
on. And here we are now, blindly discouraging the young from using consciousness-expanding substances and probably doing a
disservice to the human race, attempting to stall evolution in it's tracks. Luckily for us, nature cannot be controlled and
evolution will NOT be hampered by the ignorance of certain authority wielding humans. Others suggest that it was NOT the amanita,
but the psilocybe that was the catalyst and I agree with that assessment, as those mushrooms have proven to have a greater
affect in changing the chemistry of human brains, and increasing awareness and empathy. It explains why cows are considered
sacred in India. The tool that sprouts from the dung of the cow connects you with "god" and makes everything in
the universe shine with intense radiant joy. Well, ofcourse your gonna be thankful for that animal and, um, not eat it. Or
that may just be a bunch of bullshit. Then there's the theory that the psilocybe mushroom spores traveled here from another
planet (which has been shown to be theoretically possible), because when we look at the DNA of the mushroom it says "not
from here" or "alien." But we're not here to talk about those little fellows.
Amanitas are found in Alice In Wonderland, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and many other stories, movies and
cartoons. There's another segment from Mr. Pinchbecks wonderful book about how Christmas and Santa Claus and reindeer are
tied in with the red and white amanitas. In Siberia the mushrooms were very rare and valuable and could cost as much as a
reindeer. "Ibotenic acid and the other active ingredients of the mushroom concentrate in urine, and up to seven or eight
people can share the intoxication by passing along their piss. Many siberian tribesmen even preferred ingesting the piss as
it caused less gastric distress. Reindeer also love to drink the mushroom-scented piss. All a Siberian nomad had to do was
pour a bit of the piss on the ground and reindeer would come galloping over from miles around. This archaic, symbiotic relationship--reindeer,
red and white-capped beings bringing gifts from the other world, the frozen tundra--was incorporated, consciously or not,
into the story of Santa Claus." I also read that a certain tribes, including Vikings, would eat amanitas before going
to war. Upon intoxication, they would fy in to a rage and destroy their enemy (see www.erowid.org/plants/amanitas/amanitas_info5.shtml).
BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION
Family : Amanitaceae
Genus : Amanita
Species : cothurnata; gemmata; muscaria; pantherina; regalis
COMMON NAMES
Fly Agaric; Ibo Tengutake
EFFECTS CLASSIFICATION
Deleriant; Psychedelic
DESCRIPTION
Psychoactive Amanitas are mushrooms which contain the psychoactive chemicals ibotenic acid and muscimol. They have a long
history of use in Asia and Northern Europe. They are best known for their distinctive appearance (bright reds and yellows
with white spots).
CAUTION
There are many species of mushrooms in the Amanita genus which are not psychoactive. Some are deadly poisonous while others
are edible.
I always recommend that a person should gather as much information about a drug before they decide to ingest it. Drug
education means knowing what a drug does inside your body, how it acts on your nervous system, what negative AND positive
results can be expected, and the recommended dosage. "Just Say No" is not educating. Informing a person about set
and setting is educational. By the way, you can also smoke them. The active ingredient is mostly found in the red skin of
the cap. Oh wait, I also just found this from the internet: "The European variety of A muscaria is hallucinogenic/intoxicating
while the North American variety will only make the eater very ill. If you live in North America, don't experiment with A
muscaria." There's tons more of fascinating info on amanitas and other mushrooms, but I've already gone way over a page.
See also: http://www.egodeath.com/amanita.htm, which contains a picture entitled "Amanita Holy Grail."
Paper #3
"Survive The Flu With Absinthe"
I read an article entitled Why an exotic fruit is the world's only weapon against bird flu by Jeremy Laurance, Health
editor of The Independent--a UK paper. Apparently, what the world needs now is...no, not love...but "star anise,"
the unusual fruit of a small oriental tree, which is sold in supermarkets in the UK to consumers seeking its pungent, liquorice-like
flavour. The herb has a vital function as the source of shikimic acid from which the drug Tamiflu is made, the only defense
the world currently has against the threatened flu pandemic. Isn't anise used to make absinthe? I chuckle at the idea of millions
of people getting drunk and hallucinating little green fairies to fight the flu. Maybe only the french will survive...and
take over the world.
I am interested in this article because I don't want to die. Not from the flu, at least. I would recommend this article
to classmates because, I'm assuming, they don't want to die, either. There is a documentary attached to the dvd of a movie
called 28 Days that is especially frightening. Indeed, we are overdue for a catastrophe. I have seen that documentary about
the link between survivors of the black plague and HIV you mentioned. Eventually we should be able to isolate and reproduce
that gene to insert in to everyone's code and there by "cure" AIDS. Which sounds good, except for the detrimental
effect it will have on population growth ofcourse. I believe there's a reason for viruses, disease, murder, and war. To keep
a balance. Otherwise, humanity would act as a cancer (this may already be) that is destroying all other life on earth. But
if we can educate the masses on the benefits of birth control, recycling, conservation, etc...perhaps then we will be ready
to achieve giant leaps in genetics, disease prevention, and life enhancement/prolongation. Not that we haven't done pretty
darn well so far!
Tamiflu cannot prevent infection with avian flu but it can reduce its severity. An effective vaccine has not yet been
developed. The article stresses the scarcity of star anise and that there is a patent on the drug produced. The company holding
the patent refuses to remove the patent and claims that even if it was removed, it would take well over a year to set up laboratories
and produce the drug. Something tells me, however, that the rich will have no problem attaining the needed medicine. I used
to be in The Navy and would receive a flu shot each year. I would get sick every time. When I returned to civilian life, I
went without a shot and avoided the flu. I rarely get sick. Instead of visiting doctor's offices, I wash my hands, take a
multi-vitamin, eat fruits and vegetables, and avoid crowds of people (except for school). I think I'll email a copy of this
paper to my best-friend. He is a hypochondriac interested in pursuing a career in biology.
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I read an article called Life's Building Blocks 'Abundant in Space' by Bjorn Carey, staff writer at SPACE.com. It concerns
the detection of copious amounts of nitrogen containing PAHs, which are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These molecules
are critical to all known forms of life. It's another step away from a geocentric perspective in that life could have originated
from and can possibly exist in other areas of space, not just Earth. We could all be aliens. In that case, I wonder where
"home" truly is. Thomas Wolfe was more correct than he could've imagined at the time he wrote You Can't Go Home
Again (except maybe if you figure out how to travel faster than the speed of light). These PAHs were found in a galaxy twelve
million light-years away. PAHs carry information for DNA and RNA and are an important component of hemoglobin. They also make
chlorophyll and, as the author of the article puts it "perhaps most importantly - they're the main ingredient in caffeine
and chocolate."
Organic compounds have been discovered in meteorites that have landed on Earth, but this is the first direct evidence
for the presence of complex, important biogenic compounds in space. So far evidence suggests that PAHs are formed in the winds
of dying stars and spread all over interstellar space. They rain down on planets and, if conditions are right, life will form.
PAHs are flat, chicken-wire shaped molecules made up of carbon and hydrogen, which life on Earth is mostly composed of. However,
PAHs are not used in human biochemistry. In fact, they're better known as cancer-causing carcinogens and environmental pollutants.
But swap a carbon atom with a nitrogen and a PAH becomes a PANH, a class of molecules critical to humans. Without nitrogen,
it would be impossible to build amino acids, proteins, DNA, RNA, hemoglobin, and many other important molecules. On Earth,
Nitrogen makes up 78 percent of the atmosphere and is a key member of CHNOPS - carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus,
and sulfur - the group of ingredients most important for making life and staples of organic chemistry.
I was interested in this article because I'd like to believe we are not alone in the universe. I'd like to believe that
there are infinite universes, galaxies, solar systems, stars, and planets with a multitude of various beings to explore and
play out their destinies for eternity. Perhaps we'll contact extraterrestrial life someday, but I don't think that interstellar
travel is possible. We'll have to evolve and become beings of light and finally dispose of these crude material bodies...or
something like that. I wouldn't recommend this article to classmates, because it was kind of boring. I would, however, recommend
my review to classmates, because I made it interesting.
Modesty? What's that?
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"The Future of DNA"
I watched the documentary Unlocking The Mystery Of Life: The Case For Intelligent Design. I do not agree with some of
their viewpoints and pseudo-science practices, but there is some good factual information that matches what I'm reading in
the class textbook and in other less biased documentaries. They cover natural selection factually (I've take an anthropology
class) and they describe the process of DNA replication and protein synthesis correctly with lovely graphics. I just don't
like what they attempt to infer. The overlong section about the flagella motor and it's parts seemed ridiculously winded and
the graphic of what looked like a steal motor with gears appeared rather fragile and non-biological, non-organic. Attempting
to make a case that only a mind could design such an intricate machine. Even if that's so, my question is what designed it?
Who's mind? They never go so far as to utter the "G" word, but ofcourse that's what we're supposed to assume. And.....ah
hah! If a "mind" created this machine and came up with DNA, then who designed the mind? What could be more complex/intelligent
than the mind that created quarks, protons, neutrons, electrons, atoms, stars, planets, DNA, cells, plants, animals, humans?
Wouldn't it take an intelligent mind to create the mind that created the universe? We could continue down the line for eternity
while the snake busily swallows itself, but maybe we should focus instead on more immediate problems like bird flu, mad cow,
and sad trees. We need not hurry, tripping over our labcoats or vestments to figure out who we are and how we got here. That
will be revealed when we discover that our "Junk DNA" deserves a much more flattering designation. Unfortunately,
we won't know what it does 'til it starts doing it. What I think is that we'll start making new kinds of proteins and other
chemicals we haven't discovered yet, and that they are programmed to unlock certain doors that allow access to long dormant
parts of our brain and bring about changes, very rapidly, in the cells in our body. A huge leap in evolution through mutation
as time speeds up towards the new age of enlightenment that begins at midnight on December 21, 2012 (.http://www.levity.com/eschaton/finalillusion.html).
We will be completely unrecognizable compared to the entities we are today. Those of us not dead from the flu, that is. For
some, this will be a hellish, nightmare inducing experience. For others, bliss. Heaven and Hell simply depend on whether or
not the individual is ready for change.
One thing that bothered me was that the booklet that came with the video encouraged the viewer to share his views with
others about intelligent design. No producers of purely scientific data attempt to get their audience to spread the word.
They don't encourage people to form groups and discuss Darwin's finches. That is one clear indicator, to me at least, of dogma.
Alarms go off when I encounter such behaviour. Most subscribers of evolutionary theory don't go around converting people.
One gentleman in the video was labeled a "Philosopher of Science." What is that? I can understand being a philosopher/scientist.
They're both trying to figure out the same thing. But I don't understand what a philosopher of science is. They're just using
both terms in a misleading way to avoid the word "religion."
So, I would recommend this video for the pure biological information, but not to any one susceptible to other people's
B.S. (belief system). I think my idea about junk DNA is quite plausible, but then again I may also just be completely insane.
Only time will tell. At least I'm interested. Sometimes my mind becomes obsessed and exhausted with such theories, but it
beats rotting away in front of a television for 8 hrs/day.
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