My Current Library..

Books to read by 2014!! CHECKLIST

(Descriptions are from www.waterstones.com; reviews will be added as I conquer them!)

The Serpent's Promise, Steve Jones 

The Bible was the first scientific textbook of all; and it got some things right (and plenty more wrong). Steve Jones' new book rewrites it in the light of modern science. Are we all descended from a single couple, a real-life Adam and Eve? Was the Bible's great flood really a memory of the end of the Ice Age? Will we ever get back to Methuselah given that British life expectancy is still rising by six hours a day, every day? Many people deny the power of faith, many more the power of science. In this ground-breaking work, geneticist Steve Jones explores their shared mysteries - from the origins of life and humankind to sex, age, death and the end of the universe. He steps aside from the noisy debate between believers and unbelievers to show how the same questions preoccupy us today as in biblical times - and that science offers many of the answers. Erudite and accessible, The Serpent's Promise is a witty and thoughtful account of the ability and the limits of science to tell us what we are.

Delusions of Gender, Cordelia Fine

Are men from Mars and women really from Venus? Gender inequalities are increasingly defended by citing hard-wired differences between the male and female brain. That's why, we're told, there are so few women in science, so few men in the laundry room - different brains are just suited to different things. Not so, argues cognitive neuroscientist Cordelia Fine. Whether you've found yourself frustrated by the gender straitjacket that still constrains us, or failed to notice it, Fine's sparkling yet vehement attack on 'neurosexism' will be essential reading.

In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, John R. Gribbin

Quantum theory is so shocking that Einstein could not bring himself to accept it. It is so important that it provides the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no nuclear power or nuclear weapons, no TV, no computers, no science of molecular biology, no understanding of DNA, no genetic engineering. In Search of Schrodinger's Cat tells the complete story of quantum mechanics, a truth stranger than any fiction. John Gribbin takes us step by step into an ever more bizarre and fascinating place, requiring only that we approach it with an open mind. He introduces the scientists who developed quantum theory. He investigates the atom, radiation, time travel, the birth of the universe, superconductors and life itself. And in a world full of its own delights, mysteries and surprises, he searches for Schrodinger's Cat - a search for quantum reality - as he brings every reader to a clear understanding of the most important area of scientific study today - quantum physics. In Search of Schrodinger's Cat is a fascinating and delightful introduction to the strange world of the quantum - an essential element in understanding today's world.

Permanent Present Tense: the man with no memory and what he taught the world, Suzanne Corkin

In Permanent Present Tense Suzanne Corkin tells the incredible story of the amnesiac Henry Gustave Molaison - known only as H.M. until his death in 2008 - and what he taught medical science, neuroscience and the world. In 1953, at the age of twenty-seven, Molaison underwent an experimental psychosurgical procedure intended to alleviate his debilitating epilepsy. The outcome was devastating - when Molaison awoke he was unable to form new memories and for the rest of his life would be trapped in the moment. But Molaison's tragedy would prove a gift to humanity, illuminating functions and structures of the brain and revolutionizing the neuroscience of memory.

5 Things you didn't know you were addicted to

An addiction is a habitual or compulsive physiological or psychological need for something. It is often characterized by a yearning that affects daily routine and severe withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms can vary depending on the addictive stimuli, but frequently include low mood states and low energy levels. The stigma of an addict is often a washed out drunkard, and you couldn’t possibly fall into the same category as them, could you? Yes, you can and do. Evolution has meant that most humans are innately geared or conditioned to be addicted to certain things quite simply because it helps us survive.

Human interaction – As social animals, we depend on one another for financial, emotional and materialistic gain. Very few people would be able to survive without assistance from farmers, shopkeepers, or electricians. To ensure our survival, our brain has evolved certain mechanics to keep us socialising. Every time we talk o someone or make physical contact, our reward system is activated, causing a release of dopamine, essentially making us feel happy. This association between happiness and humans conditions us to seek out human interaction to emotionally fulfil us. Being deprived of human interaction, especially in childhood, can have massively adverse effects mentally and emotionally, and sometimes even physically as some abandoned children are reported to unconsciously rock themselves, and spontaneously hit themselves as an unintentional form of self harm. The seeking of human behaviour is evident in our daily routines as we go to a club or chat with others for seemingly no profit, and withdrawal symptoms can be detrimental. Human interaction is the biggest addiction of all.

Sugar – Sugar is a carbon compound that we cannot live without. Glucose (sugar) is essential for cells to respire, and therefore is responsible for all of our actions, including moving and thinking! It is also the trigger of a dopamine reward system that means when we consume sugary food, like when we socialise, we become happier. It is the reason we comfort eat when we’re sad and the reason maintaining a restricted diet is so hard – we crave the high concentration of sugar found in chocolate bars. A sudden decrease in sugar levels can cause people to become slightly moody. Although we are essentially addicted to sugar, too much is very bad for you (for example, causing diabetes) and must be eaten in moderation, and from a healthy source such as fruit.

Laziness – Even in this day and age where we know exercise is beneficial, we still elect to drive to work and are constantly developing technology to do work for us, such as the un-manned vacuum cleaner. This is another evolutionary hangover, as our ancestors did not always have a constant food supply or heated homes, and therefore it was essential to find a short cut for everything to restrict energy expenditure. Now, despite having an abundance of nearly everything and knowing that mental and physical exercise is essential, we often still strive to do minimal and expect reward or recognition when we choose to do anything above that. If we do not get rewarded or are forced to do more, we become stressed and often angry. It would appear that we are in fact addicted to laziness. 

Tanning – As UV rays damage skin cells, your body produces beta endorphins, neurotransmitters created to numb pain and deal with stress. This probably occurs because your body thinks it is being harmed (which it is!). You then get addicted to the pleasurable sensation induces by sun-bathing. Furthermore, sunlight that is detected by the eyes inhibits the production of melatonin, which causes an increase in cortisol levels as they work antagonistically. The increased cortisol levels increases alertness. These effects can also help form an addiction.

Pop Music – 

The Devolution of Man

Are we in fact becoming less and less intelligent? Has our increased dependence on technology and telecommunications made our minds less imaginative or resourceful? Could it now be argued, that we are causing the devolution of mankind...

The Beauty Delusion: it's soo last milennia

‘Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder’. If that is the case, then beauty ideals are far too subjective to be given definition, and are therefore non-existent. Some prefer blue eyes to brown, some prefer pale skin to tanned. However, there seems to be some universal agreement in what people find beautiful, and thus a set of objective criteria that make someone beautiful. But mankind in Western societies seem to be deviating from traditional beauty, and even promoting images that directly defy historical ideals. I therefore propose that a political and social revolution is occurring – we are omitting the beauty delusion.

Granted, there are innate preferences for the archetypal attractive person. In females, this is generally large eyes and a small nose and chin, which shows youth and thus fertility. It’s also an hourglass frame, also indicating fertility. From an evolutionary perspective, the increased desire for youth and fertility is seen as a male’s desire for successful reproduction, and passing on heir genes. It has been shown that each time a male remarries; he marries a woman younger than the last.  In men, attractiveness is translated as muscular with prominent features, like jaw and brow. This implies high testosterone levels, and therefore an increased chance of survival amongst our ancestors, as they will be successful huntsmen and protectors. Symmetry of facial features is a universal trait of attractiveness as it indicates either good genetics or successful resistance from harmful things; both being good traits in a partner.

prominent brow, jaw and cheekbones are a sign of high testosterone levels in men, and therefore increases survival chances

With this instinctive checklist tainting our judgements, it can be argued that beauty can be defined, and affects our interactions with others. To some extent, this is true. It takes as little as 0.7 seconds to determine if you find someone as attractive or not, and if someone who falls into these ideas of beauty come within a certain proximity of us, we unknowingly change our behaviour. Therefore, we cannot deny the influences of biologically inbuilt mechanisms. However, we are not primitive organisms controlled solely by endogenous behaviours; we have a high degree of social conditioning which, particularly in recent years, encourages us to be inclusive and non-judgmental of someone’s looks. So even if beauty could be defined, modern people will try not to let it corrupt their judgements. Gone are the ages of physiognomy and assuming the deformed are devil possessed; people are resistant to let someone’s looks affect their interactions with them, whether it is their level of beauty or a visible disability. Humanity is, now more than ever, conscious of others’ feelings and aware that personality can often overrule looks in sexual selection.

  

Furthermore, there has been a shift in beauty ideals that contrast our innate tendencies. As seen in the urns of Ancient Greece, the painted portraits of the Renaissance and the starlets of the twentieth century such as Marilyn Monroe; feminine beauty has been epitomised by a curvaceous figure and youthful features for millennia, but in the last few decades, thin physiques and strong bone structure have dominated media ideals. As seen in the world of high fashion, beauty trends are often about making a statement or standing out rather than trying to enhance historically stereotypical beauty or to impress potential mates.

Historical beauty ideals still influence our behaviours, but so does our attraction to abnormality and uniqueness. Similarly, people are enforcing new, unconventional beauty ideals, as well as people overlooking physical appearances altogether. This shows that in this age where desire for uniqueness, originality, equality and sensitivity has risen, changing the face of beauty so that it is not only unrecognisable, but unidentifiable. 

Science versus Religion: two of the same?

For years the debate of sciences versus religion has been central to many social reforms, scientific research and political divide. But what if the two were born of the same human instinct, or even further, had a causal relationship.

One of the main differences believed to exempt humans from other primates is pursuit of knowledge. This is something that goes beyond casual curiosity; it is the need to explain and justify events and theories.  This trait has been largely attributed to the complex relationships between anterior pituitary, the caudate nucleus and precuneus grey matter in the brain (among others), some of which are known to be responsible for memory, arousal and learning. As these areas of the brain developed with the evolution of man, so did the desire for knowledge and understanding.

With the limited knowledge of the Neanderthals, whereby community settlements were in their early stages, their conclusion for the changes of seasons, weather and death was that they were all controlled by a higher being or higher beings like themselves. This created the first belief in a deity, or deities.

With their new found knowledge, rituals and prayers were quickly developed as a solution to problems that the ‘gods’ were thought to control. These included various sacrifices, material offerings and the construction of temples in their honour.  The belief of omnipotent deities resulted in the formation of religions; worshipping the divine for promise of reward such as rainfall, or the promise of an afterlife.

All the while, the philosophical and imaginative cognitions of early humans exercised the various regions of the brain, furthering its development, which would be either inherited or equally trained in their offspring. Simultaneously, advancing civilisations meant that more factual elements of the universe previously unknown to humanity were being discovered. These vary between the ages, ranging from planetary, anatomical, agricultural, pharmacological and geological discoveries.

Science had taken off as an independent discipline, with people being more preoccupied with the pursuit of empirical evidence, rather than denoting phenomena to a higher power that could not be proven. For millennia, scientific research and religious doctrines lived in harmonious conjunction. Although many scientific discoveries had debunked popular religious beliefs, generally, people still practised a religion. It wasn't until the sixteenth century where there was a rise in atheism and open questioning of religion in Western cultures, although it was made illegal in many states. The most notable change of mass division between the ‘scientific’ atheist community and the religious was after the publication of Darwin’s ‘The Origin of Species’.

Although there are many conflicts between religious, scientific and religious-scientific communities, it would appear that science and religion, two doctrines exclusive to humans, appear to stem from the same brain area, and the same human desire to understand and act upon knowledge. Furthermore, there is time scale evidence to show that religion perhaps nurtured humans’ scientific abilities, changing the way mankind perceives the relationship between science and religion forever.