patrick.net

The Original Bankster says

its important not to get carried away with career and money otherwise you ignore the important things.

Or get to a stage where career and money do not affect you anymore. I think initially it is good to stay away for periods to build your inner strength. but attaining the skill of being in the center of all the action and still not being affected/carried away by any of it-is a very nice skill to have. When strength and sense of well being comes from that core inside of you, rather than beliefs or passing fancies-it is indeed a joyous/but very still place to be .

The Original Bankster says

what does that have to do with chakras?

Both are silly nonsense.

New Renter says

The Original Bankster says

what does that have to do with chakras?

Both are silly nonsense.

In Asian martial arts, even soft forms like Tai Chi, the idea is to build a strong concentration with the Dantien a.k.a 2nd chakra, to enhance one's strength & fluidity w/o necessarily only depending upon strength exercises like squats and pushups. So far, this has resulted in health benefits in Tai Chi & Qigong practitioners throughout China for a number of decades. So if it's a placebo effect, as many doctors believe it is, well, it's a rather reliable one.

Ceffer says

I am glad there is no telepathy. Otherwise, I would be beaten and imprisoned on a daily basis.

Imagine the havoc on the legal profession!

Rin says

So if it's a placebo effect, as many doctors believe it is, well, it's a rather reliable one.

All of my MD friends dismiss the validity of alternative medicine. I do not blame them.

It is all too human to glorify a specialized education, especially one that costed so much to acquire. After all, the human existence is heavily influenced, if not driven, by cognitive biases.

Rin says

New Renter says

The Original Bankster says

what does that have to do with chakras?

Both are silly nonsense.

In Asian martial arts, even soft forms like Tai Chi, the idea is to build a strong concentration with the Dantien a.k.a 2nd chakra, to enhance one's strength & fluidity w/o necessarily only depending upon strength exercises like squats and pushups. So far, this has resulted in health benefits in Tai Chi & Qigong practitioners throughout China for a number of decades. So if it's a placebo effect, as many doctors believe it is, well, it's a rather reliable one.

Right up there with tiger dong Viagra;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_penis_soup

Does it work? As a placebo maybe for some. Bad for tigers though.

Peter P says

All of my MD friends dismiss the validity of alternative medicine. I do not blame them.

Well, in Boston, Herb Benson is actually trying to change that ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Benson

New Renter says

Right up there with tiger dong Viagra;

The former is a series of physical exercises, the latter are a bunch of contaminated weeds or wasted meat products, where the medicinal components haven't been isolated & compartmentalized, much like the active ingredient of garlic, allicin, which is an effective antibiotic.

Rin says

active ingredient of garlic, allicin, which is an effective antibiotic.

So while taking activated-stabilized Allicin has been effective in controlling MSRA infections in the UK, eating garlic bulbs will never do the trick.

This is why one needs real STEM folks, studying folk medicine and Qigong practices, not religious types. But unfortunately, if one's not independently wealthy, chances are, one's grant money will be rescinded in time.

Vicente says

Imagine the havoc on the legal profession!

actually having a profession that requires lying such as Lawyer basically destroys these faculties completely.

Rin says

This is why one needs real STEM folks, studying folk medicine and Qigong practices, not religious types.

IMO organized religion would be turned inside-out, once parishioners found out what their leaders REALLY thought about them, or about the money-grubbing aspects of what they do.

Vicente says

IMO organized religion would be turned inside-out, once parishioners found out what their leaders REALLY thought about them, or about the money-grubbing aspects of what they do.

Your opinion is contrary to observable evidence: religious leaders have been exposed countless times, but parishioners continue to pay.

curious2 says

Your opinion is contrary to observable evidence: religious leaders have been exposed countless times, but parishioners continue to pay.

There's a difference between suspecting your leaders think you are fools and KNOWING as a fact.

Witness for example recent events with NSA. Nearly everyone grew up thinking the alphabet-agenices are probably listening to everything everywhere. But once it was rubbed in all our faces by Edward Snowden it suddenly became a Big F#$king Deal.

curious2 says

religious leaders have been exposed countless times, but parishioners continue to pay.

There is a difference between illusion and delusion.

Vicente says

But once it was rubbed in all our faces by Edward Snowden it suddenly became a Big F#$king Deal.

Did it? Can you name anyone who lost a job over it, whom most people have even heard of? Has anything changed?

Peter P says

There is a difference between illusion and delusion.

Yes, but the issue is people's indifference to objective reality. As a member of Romnesia's cult explained, it doesn't matter whether the underwear are really magic, what matters is you agree to believe they are, and thus you become part of a community of faith.

Rin says

New Renter says

Right up there with tiger dong Viagra;

The former is a series of physical exercises, the latter are a bunch of contaminated weeds or wasted meat products, where the medicinal components haven't been isolated & compartmentalized, much like the active ingredient of garlic, allicin, which is an effective antibiotic.

Very true. The benefits of exercise are obvious. The chakra's however are less so.

Now if someone can put up scientifically verifiable evidence of the authenticity of chakras I'm perfectly willing to alter my opinion.

New Renter says

Now if someone can put up scientifically verifiable evidence of the authenticity of chakras I'm perfectly willing to alter my opinion.

The only chakra I know off, is the 2nd one, or the Dantien in Chinese internal martial arts.

I've been waiting for Benson's group to conduct the research, since many of them have trained in Tai Chi and Qigong but it appears that like a lot of ppl, who're not independently wealthy, they can't do the real work which is needed here.

So I'm afraid you'll have to wait for me to do that work, and show, whether or not, Tai Chi/Qigong actually improves nervous, lymphatic, and endocrine system functions, via using exercises that stimulate the region around the Dantien.

Science is too slow. Sometimes, speculative knowledge is just as useful.

Peter P says

Science is too slow. Sometimes, speculative knowledge is just as useful.

It's not the science, it's that ppl can't work on what they want.

They need to pander to grant committees, with group think like nano-catalysis, which was surface/applied chemistry in the past or green energy, which means generating an inefficient supply of H2.

If I recall my earlier days in Boston, that Benson team had met with tons of Qigong and Tai Chi instructors and practitioners. Many of these ppl have every good health and joint flexibility, into their 60s and 70s. Yet, in place of studying how/why the so-called 2nd chakra based exercises and visualizations have ppl feeling healthier, they fallback onto this alpha brain waves, as the reason why hypertension is lower in ppl who meditate. Ok, well that was so 1980s, that it's not even worth mentioning anymore.

So instead of waiting for scientists to do their jobs, I simply practice these exercises, before/after weight lifting, aerobics, or martial arts, and so far, so good.

Peter P says

Science is too slow. Sometimes, speculative knowledge is just as useful.

Yes, just ask Steve Jobs

New Renter says

Peter P says

Science is too slow. Sometimes, speculative knowledge is just as useful.

Yes, just ask Steve Jobs

Positing that he could have been saved by other methods is itself speculative.

Rin says

So instead of waiting for scientists to do their jobs, I simply practice these exercises, before/after weight lifting, aerobics, or martial arts, and so far, so good.

Smart choice. It is all down to downside/upside or risk/reward. :-)

Peter P says

New Renter says

Peter P says

Science is too slow. Sometimes, speculative knowledge is just as useful.

Yes, just ask Steve Jobs

Positing that he could have been saved by other methods is itself speculative.

I believe Jobs did some normal meditation, which has minimal impact outside of hypertension, whereas the Qigong practioners, who'd lasted much longer than their doctors had predicted, typically do moving exercises for a couple of hours per day. At the same time, if they're getting radiation or chemotherapy, it also assists in their general resilience.

All and all, it's better to do it than to either succumb to the disease or to the complications of treating it.

Peter P says

New Renter says

Peter P says

Science is too slow. Sometimes, speculative knowledge is just as useful.

Yes, just ask Steve Jobs

Positing that he could have been saved by other methods is itself speculative.

I never said he could have been saved although he likely could have been, as his cancer was caught early and was not normally fatal with conventional treatment. I did however imply his relying on unproven holistic mumbo jumbo did him no good when he needed it most.

http://www.quora.com/Why-did-Steve-Jobs-choose-not-to-effectively-treat-his-cancer

New Renter says

I never said he could have been saved. I did however imply his relying on unproven holistic mumbo jumbo did him no good when he needed it most.

That was a trade he chose to make, which may have helped or hurt.

Anyone with an invested science or medical background would never approve anyway. To them, it was a forgone conclusion.

Meditation and exercise are great and certainly worth doing. They should not however be used exclusively to treat cancer, especially when effective medical treatments areavailable. In conjunction with such treatment I can see they can help.

Peter P says

New Renter says

I never said he could have been saved. I did however imply his relying on unproven holistic mumbo jumbo did him no good when he needed it most.

That was a trade he chose to make, which may have helped or hurt.

Anyone with an invested science or medical background would never approve anyway. To them, it was a forgone conclusion.

First of all, Jobs went for some Vegan diet with meditation. I mean WTF?

If he took let's say 20x of Allicin pills (the MSRA plus dosage, tested in Britain, along with curcumin) or some other anti-tumor therapy, ok, then he's a pioneer in trying new things, but his approach was that of an idiot.

But sure, before even starting the above, he should have done the minor surgery in removing a few of the Pancreatic tissue which was out of control.

Rin says

First of all, Jobs went for some Vegan diet with meditation.

Are you sure? Back then I saw him at my favorite sushi restaurant every other time. Was he just having Kappa Maki?

Peter P says

Rin says

First of all, Jobs went for some Vegan diet with meditation.

Are you sure? Back then I saw him at my favorite sushi restaurant every other time. Was he just having Kappa Maki?

I never said that he didn't cheat on it.

Well, I qualify as a part-time Vegan. I eat animal products only during meals.

Peter P says

New Renter says

I never said he could have been saved. I did however imply his relying on unproven holistic mumbo jumbo did him no good when he needed it most.

That was a trade he chose to make, which may have helped or hurt.

Anyone with an invested science or medical background would never approve anyway. To them, it was a forgone conclusion.

It was. As the link stated the cancer was caught early and it was a type not normally fatal when conventionally treated.

Can you point to any scientific studies or better yet medical cases in which the same type of cancer was sucessfully treated exclusively using the same methods used by Jobs?

Probably not. Why? Because few people are willing to restrict themselves to a placebo when they are staring death in the face. They will try anything and everything to keep from dying.

That affects medical research as well, however a good study will account for that as best as possible. Most alternative medicine folk just assume theirtreatment is what worked.

Jobs did not wait for scientific studies in which people would exclusively prefer the iPhone either.

Peter P says

Jobs did not wait for scientific studies in which people would exclusively prefer the iPhone either.

That didn't happen either. My android and millions more prove it.

New Renter says

Peter P says

Jobs did not wait for scientific studies in which people would exclusively prefer the iPhone either.

That didn't happen either. My android and millions more prove it.

The battery in my Moto X actually lasts the day! :-)

Peter P says

New Renter says

Peter P says

Jobs did not wait for scientific studies in which people would exclusively prefer the iPhone either.

That didn't happen either. My android and millions more prove it.

The battery in my Moto X actually lasts the day! :-)

Definitely an advantage.

I also like the combination of sliding keyboard and swapable battery in my Droid3. Too bad the newer models no longer have those :(

New Renter says

I also like the combination of sliding keyboard and swapable battery in my Droid3. Too bad the newer models no longer have those :(

The swiping keyboard works just fine. I no longer crave having a physical keyboard.

I usually carry both a Moto X and a Nexus 7 anyway. The phone is still too small for many things.

The Surface 2 Pro tablet is looking very attractive though.

New Renter says

I never said he could have been saved although he likely could have been, as his cancer was caught early and was not normally fatal with conventional treatment. I did however imply his relying on unproven holistic mumbo jumbo did him no good when he needed it most.

http://www.quora.com/Why-did-Steve-Jobs-choose-not-to-effectively-treat-his-cancer

From your link: "He outlived the median survival of his disease by a few years.

Whether he used alternative therapies or not had absolutely no effect on his survival or outcome -- that was dictated from day one by his tumor and its biology, and our current lack of effective therapies for this condition."

You chose to quote an M.D. candidate, but the above reply appears to have come from someone with more experience. (He writes that he is "a Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief of Medical Oncology at a major medical center with extensive experience in this arena.") Both are comments from quora, and by their own admission they did not have the patient's records. Neither of us knows what might have happened if Steve Jobs had chosen a different course of treatment, we don't even know the likelihoods.

Each of us has a 100% certainty of death, the only questions being when and how. Early detection is widely hyped based on 5-year survival statistics, for example Elizabeth Edwards was "saved" because she endured more than five years of costly/lucrative treatment before her cancer killed her. (And, we don't know if the cancer might have been caused or hastened by her early detection mammography, which kills about as many as it "saves.") Americans spend more than 2x more than the British, while dying sooner; contrary to Obamacare boosters, lack of access is not always or even usually the cause, as the American medical-industrial complex kills more than 100k Americans every year.

If Steve Jobs made a mistake in his treatment, it was most likely the decision to wait in America for a cadaver liver donor. He was accused of gaming the waiting list system to reduce the delay, but he could have got a liver even faster from a live donor, and it would have cost less if he'd gone to India for the procedure. Half a liver grows into a whole one within weeks. Spending more money does not guarantee better results; to the contrary, the opposite often occurs.

curious2 says

He was accused of gaming the waiting list system to reduce the delay, but he could have got a liver even faster from a live donor, and it would have cost less if he'd gone to India for the procedure.

Oh come on - If he really wanted to game the system he had plenty of healthy Chinese Foxconn livers to choose from. Or US based Apple employees for that matter.

curious2 says

Both are comments from quora, and by their own admission they did not have the patient's records. Neither of us knows what might have happened if Steve Jobs had chosen a different course of treatment, we don't even know the likelihoods.

The author published a table showing survival rates of what he believed were the most probably types of cancers:

You and I may not know the numbers but that does not mean there aren't piles and piles of stats which can predict very accurately what the outcome would have been.

Am I an expert? No. I have worked tangentially to oncology research (on new instruments for the research and rapid diagnosis of cancer) so I do have some understanding of how complex the problems are. If mice were prefect models for humans we would have cured cancer decades ago.

Do I think there are non-conventional treatments which conventional medicine ignores or just overlooks? Absolutely. I've written my opinion about the Budwig diet on this very forum; however I would have dismissed it as crazy mumbo jumbo had I not already been familiar with the HAMLET/BAMLET line of research which IMO is evidence that the claims of the diet have some validity. I should point out that I have yet to see any others making this connection.

So back to the OT. Is telepathy real? It could be IF there is an undiscovered mechanism by which humans can transmit information from one consciousness to another over long distances without the involvement of the conventional five senses (e.g. a radio transceiver). So far the only evidence has been pseudoscience. Lets see actual science yield some evidence and we can revisit this.

Peter P says

The swiping keyboard works just fine. I no longer crave having a physical keyboard.

I was happy with the swipe keyboard until I saw how much screen I lost to it.