Sunday Quote Special

Among all my patients in the second half of life ... there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life.
--Carl Jung

Yes folks, I'm getting maried.

This is a decision that has not been done lightly, nor hastily.

We've been at this since a couple of months at least, but until now I hadn't had the chance to express it freely...

About a year and a half ago Caro and me got involved into a relationship that has evolved quite beautifully. We love each other, respect each other. We like close enough, thankfully, and have similar interests in all the important stuff, and some mixed opinions in other areas, like tastes for movies and books... but it all adds to the fun, the mutual growth and learning.

We decided to give a step further, and get married. And as her family is a bit more conservative than mine (and anyways, we live in Mexico where most parents are conservative to a degree or another) we first talked it with our respective parents... before telling the world (and now that I'm blogging, it will be the whole world).

Next week it's going to be the formal request (my parents present) of the hand of the bride to be, and all that stuff. That promises to be fun: My dad is atheist as I am, and I come from a divorced household. The Bride's family is, as stated earlier, very conservative. And Catholic.

My dad knows already about this, and the last weekend he promised to behave as a gentleman, and I trust his word. And for me, they already know me as a nice good boy, of honorable intentions and with no problem whatsoever. It all looked perfect until yesterday night.

Caro told me that her mom isn't quite happy with the idea of receiving not just my parents in two different visits, and specially the fact that my father is going to bring Olga, his 2nd wife, with him. It looks like she has the particular opinion that Olga has no place there, as she is not my mom and in fact my mother is alive. It is even possible that my future father-in-law will phone me to try and solve this issue with me. I hope I won't receive his call, because if I don't it probably means he convinced her to change her mind.

Let's see what happens next... Wish me luck, or pray to the FSM if you wish.

Sunday Quote Special

Quotes are back! yeeah!

I do not believe in the immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern without any superhuman authority behind it.
-Albert Einstein

Down with the acupuncture

I'm posting here only partial notes of the article, but I recommend you reading it in full. It's quite good. Or devastating, depends on your views. Found thanks to Richard Dawkings site.

By definition, “alternative” medicine consists of treatments that have not been scientifically proven and that have not been accepted into mainstream medicine. The question I keep hearing is, “But what about acupuncture? It’s been proven to work, it’s supported by lots of good research, more and more doctors are using it, and insurance companies even pay for it.” It’s time the acupuncture myth was punctured — preferably with an acupuncture needle. Almost everything you’ve heard about acupuncture is wrong.

Puncturing the Acupuncture Myth

by Harriet Hall, M.D.

By definition, “alternative” medicine consists of treatments that have not been scientifically proven and that have not been accepted into mainstream medicine. The question I keep hearing is, “But what about acupuncture? It’s been proven to work, it’s supported by lots of good research, more and more doctors are using it, and insurance companies even pay for it.” It’s time the acupuncture myth was punctured — preferably with an acupuncture needle. Almost everything you’ve heard about acupuncture is wrong.

The earliest accounts of Chinese medicine reached the West in the 13th century: they didn’t mention acupuncture at all. The first Westerner to write about acupuncture, Wilhelm ten Rhijn, in 1680, didn’t describe acupuncture as we know it today: he didn’t mention specific points or “qi;” he spoke of large gold needles that were implanted deep into the skull or “womb” and left in place for 30 respirations.

Through the early 20th century, no Western account of acupuncture referred to acupuncture points: needles were simply inserted near the point of pain. Qi was originally vapor arising from food, and meridians were channels or vessels. A Frenchman, Georges Soulie de Morant, was the first to use the term “meridian” and to equate qi with energy — in 1939. Auricular (ear) acupuncture was invented by a Frenchman in 1957.

The Chinese government tried to ban acupuncture several times, between 1822 and World War II during the time of the Chinese Nationalist government. Mao revived it in the “barefoot doctor” campaign in the 1960s as a cheap way of providing care to the masses; he did not use it himself because he did not believe it worked. It was Mao’s government that coined the term “traditional Chinese medicine” or TCM.

There were originally 360 acupuncture points (loosely based on the number of days in a year rather than on anatomy). Currently more than 2000 acupuncture points have been “discovered”, leading one wag to comment that there was no skin left that was not an acupuncture point. There were either 9, 10, or 11 meridians — take your pick. Any number is as good as another, because no research has ever been able to document the existence of acupuncture points or meridians or qi.

Does acupuncture work? Which type of acupuncture? And what do you mean by “work”? There are various different Chinese systems, plus Japanese, Thai, Korean and Indian modalities, most of which have been invented over the last few decades: whole body or limited to the scalp, hand, ear, foot, or cheek and chin; deep or superficial; with electrified needles; with dermal pad electrodes and no skin penetration.

Studies have shown that acupuncture releases natural opioid pain relievers in the brain: endorphins. Veterinarians have pointed out that loading a horse into a trailer or throwing a stick for a dog also releases endorphins. Probably hitting yourself on the thumb with a hammer would release endorphins too, and it would take your mind off your headache.

Psychologists can list plenty of other things that could explain the apparent response to acupuncture. Diverting attention from original symptoms to the sensation of needling, expectation, suggestion, mutual consensus and compliance demand, causality error, classic conditioning, reciprocal conditioning, operant conditioning, operator conditioning, reinforcement, group consensus, economic and emotional investment, social and political disaffection, social rewards for believing, variable course of disease, regression to the mean — there are many ways human psychology can fool us into thinking ineffective treatments are effective. Then there’s the fact that all placebos are not equal — an elaborate system involving lying down, relaxing, and spending time with a caring authority can be expected to produce a much greater placebo effect than simply taking a sugar pill.

The biggest problem with acupuncture studies is finding an adequate placebo control. You’re sticking needles in people. People notice that. Double blinding is impossible: you might be able to fool patients into thinking you’ve used a needle when you haven’t, but there’s no way to blind the person doing the needling. Two kinds of controls have been used: comparing acupuncture points to non-points, and using an ingenious needle in a sheath that appears to have penetrated the skin when it hasn’t.

Guess what? It doesn’t matter where you put the needle. It doesn’t matter whether you use a needle at all. In the best controlled studies, only one thing mattered: whether the patients believed they were getting acupuncture. If they believed they got the real thing, they got better pain relief — whether they actually got acupuncture or not! If they got acupuncture but believed they didn’t, it didn’t work. If they didn’t get it but believed they did, it did work.

Considering the inconsistent research results, the implausibility of qi and meridians, and the many questions that remain, it’s reasonable to conclude that acupuncture is nothing more than a recipe for an elaborate placebo seasoned with a soupçon of counter-irritant. You can play human pincushion if you want, and you might get a good placebo response, but there’s no evidence you’ll get anything more.

It's so sad...

Right when I start having a regular, slowly growing number of readers, I had to stop writing for a while. Too much work lately... even my thesis has been slowing down, to the point it really isn't going anywhere right now.

I hope you all understand: being a Grad student, a nominal Epidemiologist, and planning a wedding, is not an easy task.

Going into a work meeting right now. More with you later!

.

Escribe el resto de la entrada aquí

Sun--- Tuesay Quote Special

Science is what you know. Philosophy is what you don't know.

--Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English philosopher, mathematician.

Sorry for these silences, but work has been tough lately. Also I traveled to Monterrey (NL, Mexico) where my mom doesn't have internet at home... So I was left with no connection whatsoever.

I'll post something later today or early tomorrow. An update on my life, and maybe a bit on whatever I read till then.

See you!

The goodwill of gamers: Answer from the Christian Charity

My latest post, the one before the quote, was about the issue with the Charity (then with name withhold) and the GenCon donation. I posted a mail I sent them, and I made public. I received a fast answer, and even if it seems a bit like it has been sent to more than one, and even if under the signature there's the typical nondisclosure message, the message itself says "spread the word". So here it is.

Para: Concerned Gamer
Asunto: Goodwill of Gamers
Fecha: Tue, 4 Nov 2008 09:58:31 -0500 (08:58 CST)

Dear Concerned Gamer:

Thank you for writing to Anne Goddard and sharing your concerns. Anne was traveling when she received your email. We discussed your concern and she asked that I respond on her behalf Please know that we take your email very seriously.

There appears to be a misunderstanding which I would like to correct. When Gen Con contacted CCF about its auction, we were pleased to accept donations. However, we couldn’t lend our name for publication because our policies have specific criteria for endorsements. We were unaware that this had caused any problem or concern for Gen Con until we began receiving emails. This decision was in no way intended to be a reflection on Mr. Gygax, gaming enthusiasts or the game Dungeon and Dragons. We have the utmost respect for the gaming community and were touched by the generosity expressed through your auction. We were disappointed that we were not the recipients of the donation but we were pleased that another worthy organization benefited.

We realize this has become a topic of discussion in the gaming community and we hope you will help us by sharing this response.

The needs of children are great and we welcome your support. Should you wish to learn more we invite you to visit our website at www.christianchildrensfund.org.

Again, I thank you for taking the time to voice your concern. Your passion for gaming and your support for children are admirable.

Sincerely,

C... D...
Vice President,
International Communications and Fundraising

(belated )Sunday Quote Special

It is a popular delusion that the scientific enquirer is under an obligation not to go beyond generalisation of observed facts...but anyone who is practically acquainted with scientific work is aware that those who refuse to go beyond the facts, rarely get as far.

--Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95) English biologist.

So gamers are too impure to accept their money?

Maybe some of you know, maybe none. I found out due to PZMyers to be brief: a Christian charity didn't accept money from the GenCon folks because it partially came from the sales of Dungeons & Dragons game. 17 thousand dollars for feeding children in need rejected for self-righteous reasons. I just couldn't stand it. So I wrote to them. Let's see if they answer.

Dear people:

I'd pray for your souls, for the moment when you finally get to be judged by God (and I hope it is in a long time from now), He will consider the limitations of your narrowed cognitive skills when He weights the consecuences of your actions.

To consider people that spend a weekend on their homes with their friends rather than on a park, a bar, killing animals in the wild for pleasure and not for need, or spending money at some casino, are in some ways untouchables or alternatively, consorting with demons, is ludicious.

To believe that a game that encourages teamplay and social relationships (among folks who usually lack social skills) taints a soul more than the unpure thoughts kept secret, more than actually hunting animals for real, or spending money on luxury, is sad.

But that's not the worst of it. To take upon yourselves that which is only God's right, is a sin. You take for granted the right to pass judgment of who is right and who is wrong; of who is evil and who is good. You actually feel right to judge others, as if it would have been right to take the Fruit of the Tree. May I have to remind you its full name?

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

God forbade us to take upon ourselves the judging of others. We're here to help each other find the way to God, not to punish others, not to look with contempt to others, but actually to find the way to God through both thought and actions. And I'm sorry to be the one to say this, but you're pushing yourselves away from God everytime you hurt others, directly or indirectly, and whenever you deny others the chance to do a good deed based on your self-rightneous tunnel vision.

Think twice the next time someone not so pure as yourselves approaches you trying to do something good. You may as well open the door for them to the Heavens, or you may actively promote the burning of their souls in hell.

Yours truly,

E... M...