Cures

Cures for things are hard to come by. Usually, nowadays, it happens by accident. Penicillin is a good example.

In the beginning, I imagine, people just had to experiment with whatever was handy. "Let's see, what happens if I rub some of THIS on there?"

"Oh...he died. Hey everybody, don't use this stuff when you have that thing on your arm..."

Cures of that sort rely heavily on a direct observation of cause and effect.

What we do now is "investigate." Called, "the scientific method." We observe causes (symptoms) and effects (diseases). Then we try to recreate causes (symptoms) that make those effects (diseases) (in an isolated laboratory environment). Once we can do that, we can try to find a way to stop those causes (symptoms), thereby stopping the effect (disease).

But is that what we're really doing? Could we really be recreating effects (diseases) to search for causes (symptoms)?

Let's look at heart disease:
By the time a disease appears, the appearance of the disease is an effect. We search for deeper causes, like cholesterol levels, salt intake, etc. But those things themselves are diseases. They are effects. High cholesterol is an effect of low-exercise levels, improper nutrition, and, at times, genetics (though I feel we like to use genetics as a scapegoat these days).

Well, what is the cause of low levels of exercise? Maybe it's simply not doing anything (though I tend to think there are causes that underlie a lack of desire to do anything - complacency is a disease). We can try to treat this disease with movement. And if that doesn't work...look for a deeper cause.

What is the cause of improper nutrition? Do this one on your own.

I think this goes beyond the difference between "analytic" medicine and "synthetic" medicine. What I'm asking for is ecological medicine.

This blog entry came about because I subscribe to the CNN.com Money Alerts (I know, right?). I received one today that said - "Drug companies are set next week to unveil their latest weapons in war on cancer, but there's still no cure in sight."

And I had a sudden, terrible realization.

Why would any drug company actually want to find a true cure for anything? It would make their business obsolete. Instead, wouldn't they want to do what they seem to be doing - which is to create drugs that offer long-term (i.e., hopefully a full human lifetime of) relief from symptoms...but not CURES?

In "The Apology," Socrates explained to his students that he was about to take the cure for this ailment he'd had. In other words the cure for life is death. And this guy (and his "student") are considered two of the founders of Western thought? I think we need to keep our eyes open...

PS - This entry is in no way intended to make light of serious illnesses, the people who have them, or the folks searching for cures. It's just a bunch of questions.

Corn.

Are you familiar with it? You're familiar with one type of corn.

My interest in this wonderful-tasting vegetable was aroused recently by the recurring commercials touting ethanol engines in American cars using "American corn." They've been called "flex-fuel" vehicles.

Check it out in Google.

Then turn your brain on.

Who stands to profit here? Is it the foundering corn industry? The foundering American car industry? Both? Yes. You're right. It IS both.

Corn is one of the most heavily subsidized crops in the US. It is subsidized mostly for the great fields of beef we like to grow here (which is an entirely different entry).

Something happens when you offer a reward for people for doing a particular thing. THEY START DOING IT!

Hence the farmers of our great land, who were increasingly being edged out by big corporate farms, and terrible business practices on behalf of our USDA, began growing CORN (or soybeans...or wheat...). Then we had an over abundance of the stuff. What to do...what to do?

I have a good idea. Let's turn it into sugar, and put it in absolutely every food we can. Yes. Check your labels.

Recent diet crazes, and real nutrition experts, have been blaming High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) for the obesity of America. Really, it should be a game of "Follow the Corn..." - the high beef intake of our nation doesn't help its waistline or health. Or maybe, "Pin the Tail on the Subsidy..." - our addiction to wheat-based products is equally as fattening.

So now, subsidized corn is in danger. What to do? Well, there's this fuel thingy. Let's use that!

Instead of taking a look at the absurdity of the situation, and changing it, we just find a different outlet for our bad behavior. I think this is actually just human nature. Look at your own bad habits. Don't you do the same thing on a personal level? You just find a new way to explain your bad behavior. "Oh, I have to do it like this, my doctor said I'm ADHD" (and prescribed you expensive and essentially un-tested mood-altering drugs).

I want to make a quick soybean note, since this is exactly what happened when tofu rose in popularity within the US. There was a massive soybean overstock, and the industry needed to figure out what to do with it. Let's make tofu popular. Suddenly, you see "scientific" reports touting the health benefits of tofu. You see the sht in everything - tofu ice cream, tofu chicken wings, tofu water.

You see it on the tube, and you get sucked in. You're trained to believe what you see. You're trained to do that, not just from your upbringing, but from evolution. What happens to the monkey that doesn't believe its eyes when it sees a tiger? It doesn't pass its genes on. That's what.

I implore you, the next time you hear a "scientific" study, to put it into Google and look for a refuting study. 9 times out of ten, you'll find one.

You may think I'm getting off topic, but this is exactly what I'm referring to, in all of these entries. Use your brain friends. Use it for good. For truth, justice, and the American way.

Vitamins, Diets, and Fortune-tellers

FUD is a term we use in sales. It means "Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt." It is our goal to instill this in our customers when they are considering a competitor's products.

It is the goal of any salesperson, to instill this feeling in its target audience.

It is what television is feeding you, in the form of commercials, every day.

Even the "positive" commercials, that don't come right out and call you an idiot for not buying their product, are doing this. Pay attention. They are saying "You need this." And in your head it sits. "Do I need that? I don't think so. But they said I do. Maybe I do. How do I know? Whom can I trust? Maybe I should just try it. It's only $xxx."

Is "The Ultimate Driving Machine" different from other vehicles, ultimately? Well, no. Not really. I've been passed by people, who are in a rush to get to the next red light. Where they then stop and wait for me to catch up. Perhaps if our roads were built like racetracks, your cornering would be very important. Perhaps if my goal was to race you to a destination, your 0-60 time would be important.

But it is not.

So watch with a different eye, the one in your brain. And listen to what commercials are saying to you. In fact, this applies to "friends" as well. But that's a different entry.

The C-Level

I never tire of the incredible shadow-thing of corporate industry, of the capitalist "economy."

We've been exposed to how much CEO's COST, but not to how much the CONTRIBUTE. I've seen various authors recently calling for a scientific inquiry into this question. However, it would reveal too much.

The job of the CEO, or the VP, or whatever you want to call your "upper-level management," is not to manage anything but appearances. It is the same job our federal government undertakes on a regular basis. Appearances are maintaned, and the public is happy.

It's like the athlete who uses steroids. On the outside, the picture of perfection in form and function. On the inside, a war is taking place.

I don't want it to stop. I just want you to admit it.

Lawns.

Lawn-care.

Grass. Lawn mowers. Hedge trimmers. Clippers. Edgers. Leaf blowers. Mulchers. Seeders. Seed. Fertilizer. Sod. Perennials. Flamingos.

Some folks spend incredible amounts to get their lawn looking like the crewcut of a green US Marine. Tight. Crisp. My neighbors, for example.

They go about it in the strangest way, cutting the grass before it's had a chance to go to seed, then fretting over the holes and dead spots. Filling them with seed and fertilizer. Watering twice a day on a timer. Installing underground watering systems that invariably burst a pipe or joint and need repair. They mow religiously every week, then edge, then trim the shrubs, then weed the flower beds. Or, alternately, they pay a team of landscapers to do it for them.

They get new mulch. Which invites termites. Which eat their home.

In the fall they rake and mulch. Or just cut the damned trees down. Then complain when their yard burns under the sun in the summer - as they do when the birds and bats aren't around to help out with the bugs.

I'm not saying a well-manicured lawn isn't appealing. Order (or the appearance of order) is always interpreted as "beauty" by the human brain. It's instinctive. Disorder means danger.

However, there are more than one kinds of order.

There are very elegant types of ground clover that grow to a certain height, and never beyond, that are soft to the touch, and never need mowing. (see here - http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-a-Clover-Lawn)

What would you do with all of that time? And money? And effort?

As a side note, you could probably plant a nice vegetable garden. Using cumulatively less (over the course of a season of lawn-mowing) time effort and money, and get a nice little crop of fresh veggies to boot.

Not a sermon, just a thought.