Stuff to Think About

Stressed Out? Visit a Forest

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:40:38 -0700

(via Psych Central)

New research in psychological science supports what many of us have known for a long time — that being outdoors, enjoying nature, is beneficial for mental health and psychological development.

“Many people,” says Dr. Eeva Karjalainen, of the Finnish Forest Research Institute, Metla, “feel relaxed and good when they are out in nature. But not many of us know that there is also scientific evidence about the healing effects of nature.”

Forests — and other natural, green settings — can reduce stress, improve moods, reduce anger and aggressiveness and increase overall happiness.

Forest visits may also strengthen our immune system by increasing the activity and number of natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells.

Many studies show that after stressful or concentration-demanding situations, people recover faster and better in natural environments than in urban settings.

Blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the level of “stress hormones” all decrease faster in natural settings.

Depression, anger and aggressiveness are reduced in green environments and ADHD symptoms in children reduce when they play in green settings.

In addition to mental and emotional well-being, more than half of the most commonly prescribed drugs include compounds derived from nature – for example Taxol, used against ovarian and breast cancer, is derived from yew trees, while Xylitol, which can inhibit caries, is produced from hardwood bark.

Dr. Karjalainen will coordinate a session on the health benefits of forests at the 2010 IUFRO World Forestry Congress in Seoul.

“Preserving green areas and trees in cities is very important to help people recover from stress, maintain health and cure diseases. There is also monetary value in improving people’s working ability and reducing health care costs,” she says.

Source: IUFRO World Forestry Congress

Do we really need a research study to figure that out?

Are Humans inherently good or evil?

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:09:00 -0700

natural-is-beautiful:

…Good question.

I think neither.
I think people are inherently Ignorant.
What do you think?

My answer:

I think people will to do what they think is right, whether or not what they do is actually good. More than often, what people think is right will depend on what they believe is right, which is a problem.

Thoughts?

The Cure for Creative Blocks? Leave Your Desk.

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:10:13 -0700

The Cure for Creative Blocks? Leave Your Desk.

"How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and..."

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:56:48 -0700

“How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?”

- Paul Sweeney

Photo

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:14:51 -0700

In Praise of Tough Criticism

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:07:27 -0700

In Praise of Tough Criticism

The Perils of Positive Thinking

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:04:57 -0700

The Perils of Positive Thinking

"Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their..."

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:55:00 -0700

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”

- Plato

Jake Lodwick’s Blog: Vortex

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:54:38 -0700

Jake Lodwick’s Blog: Vortex:

The purpose of studying ethics was to accumulate a stockpile of theories, memes, and anecdotes which emphasize the premise that one never really knows for sure. What’s wrong for one person is right for someone else. The senses can’t be trusted. Whether something is ‘ethical’ can be determined by studying trends and seeing what others implicitly consider ethical, or by testing its consistency with the legal framework. And so on — any question I raised to challenge her (“So is it wrong to enslave a human?”) was met with an immediate, automatic response — in this case, that “Someone, somewhere” could explain why their particular agenda was ok, and hey, since we all experience the world from our own unique perspective, who can really say something is ‘wrong’ for sure?

I’m interested in ethics and am currently studying both philosophy and sociology in college with an emphasis on social issues and ethics. One of the reasons I’m interested in studying these subjects is because they can help, at least in my opinion, to understand problems better—societal, environmental, technological, philosophical, theoretical, or whatever.

One of the main reasons why morality differs so much from culture to culture and from person to person is that people have different beliefs about morality— just look at any religion. One of the reasons for this is that a lot of people grow up believing in whatever they happened to be exposed to early on. Of course there are several factors affecting what children are likely to believe, factors like religious indoctrination, familial influence, peer pressure, and social norms. Regardless of source, any dogmatic belief about morality needs be questioned.

It’s really no wonder why ethics can seem so unclear or arbitrary, there are so many thoughtless opinions and conflicting ideas to wade through in order to make sense of it all.

If you are interested, there is a thought-provoking book called “The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values” by Sam Harris which goes into a lot of detail about this kind of stuff. He can explain it way better than I ever could.

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, Richard Feynman Interview...

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:23:15 -0700

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, Richard Feynman Interview (1981)

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out was filmed in 1981 and will delight and inspire anyone who would like to share something of the joys of scientific discovery.

Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:17:29 -0700

Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind:

In the past, daydreaming was often considered a failure of mental discipline, or worse. Freud labeled it infantile and neurotic. Psychology textbooks warned it could lead to psychosis. Neuroscientists complained that the rogue bursts of activity on brain scans kept interfering with their studies of more important mental functions.

But now that researchers have been analyzing those stray thoughts, they’ve found daydreaming to be remarkably common — and often quite useful. A wandering mind can protect you from immediate perils and keep you on course toward long-term goals. Sometimes daydreaming is counterproductive, but sometimes it fosters creativity and helps you solve problems.

I can attest to that. Mind-wandering, daydreaming, or other cogitative states are especially beneficial in everyday situations where one might otherwise be ‘bored’, such as while walking or sitting for long periods of time with nothing in particular to do (happens to me a lot). When you think randomly about stuff, there is real opportunity to unleash your creative potential, instead of just allowing yourself to be bored.

Some of the most interesting ideas that people can have come to exist by building themselves up from random thoughts. That is, the more you think about something— no matter how insignificant— the more you will have to think about. One thought leads to another, leads to another, and so on, until you begin to form interesting ideas, opinions, etc. Of course, the enemy of creativity is distraction— which I’ll try to write more about later, but in the meantime here’s a quote by Richard Feynman, from The Pleasure of Finding Things Out:

“When you’re putting ideas together which are vague and hard to remember… it’s very much like building a house of cards and each of the cards is shaky, and if you forget one of them the whole thing collapses. You don’t know how you got there and you have to build them up again, and if you’re interrupted and kind of forget half the idea of how the cards went together – your cards being different parts of the idea – it’s easy for it to slip, it needs lots of concentration – that is, solid time to think.”

I need a new graphic header, any suggestions?

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:16:43 -0700

I need a new graphic header, any suggestions?

Photo

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:09:48 -0700

"The road to success is always under construction."

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:08:14 -0700

“The road to success is always under construction.”

- Jim Miller

I have no question. I am just in love with the information on your page and I want to thank you. So thanks. (:

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:58:08 -0700

Thanks :D

Photo

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:55:52 -0700

[Been on vacation]

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:28:00 -0700

[Been on vacation]

Michael Shermer: The pattern behind self-deception Michael...

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:49:00 -0700

Michael Shermer: The pattern behind self-deception

Michael Shermer says the human tendency to believe strange things — from alien abductions to dowsing rods — boils down to two of the brain’s most basic, hard-wired survival skills. He explains what they are, and how they get us into trouble.

What is the most important question there is? After exploring...

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:57:51 -0700

What is the most important question there is? After exploring the phenomenon of STAR TREK fans in the acclaimed documentary TREKKIES, filmmaker Roger Nygard is taking on THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE, traveling the globe to the source of the world’s philosophies, religions, and belief systems, interviewing spiritual leaders, scholars, scientists, artists and others who have influenced, inspired, or freaked out humanity.

Sounds like an interesting film. There are 85 questions asked in the film, 170 interviews, and many different/differing answers.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest..."

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:21:21 -0700

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson