Bionics and Biophysical Future

Would you support the development of a “bionic” person?

I completely support the development of a bionic person. I can’t imagine having to live life without arms, or legs or being paralyzed. I think if bionic body parts could be created and give these people back their body parts or ability to move that would be such an outstanding accomplishment. I really hope one day this can be accomplished and that the bionic parts are very advanced. This would make people with these limitations able to do so much more. It would give them their lives back to some extend. It would take away a lot of pain for the disabled and the hurting family members. Horrible sudden accidents where someone loses a limb or gets paralyzed would not be as tragic if we had an answer like this. Also people that are paralyzed or have lost limbs have been waiting long enough for a solution. It is time we give them one.

What is your opinion of the issues raised in “How EEG Devices Will Read Your Brain Waves And Change Your World?

I think that this is a concerning issue. Low says, that he only wants his EEG device to be used for medical purposes but yet it is being made available to anyone. There are also EEG devices being made for video games. I think this can become dangerous. This is another example of how our information can be given away without our knowledge or consent. In my opinion sometimes our advancement in technology can be too much and have consequences. This is an extreme example of this. I think this could have extreme consequences. This type of program should not be made available to just anyone but yet that is what is happening. 

Energy Medicine and Energy Fields

Acupuncture as effective energy medicine

I think acupuncture is an effective energy medicine. It has positive results but the methods cannot be fully proved. We can try to explain them but it does not go past that. We do not have a machine to show that the chi in the meridians is in a balanced flow. So people have to believe in something that they cannot be showed results on paper. This is hard for people that have been raised in Western belief. It can be especially hard for Western doctors. For me I have personal experience that Eastern Medicine works. In fact it is the only method I use when I start to get physical pain from my very physically demanding job. But if it were not for that experience I would probably be skeptical myself.

What conclusions can you draw from Kirlian photography?

The conclusion that I can draw from Kirlian photography is that these photographs are picking up on some type of energy. It seems like there are different energies that the photographs are picking up. But like acupuncture and other aspects of biophysics it has it critics. I was very intrigued when I read about the healers photographed while performing healing and there were flares of light streaming from their fingertips. This shows me that they are giving off a healing energy from their hands. I think there is really something to this energy stuff. I am interested in the future to see if they start using this type of photography in the medical fields. If it could be used in more cases instead of things like x-rays and CAT scans I believe this could be a big medical advancement.

Human intent as it affects health

I believe human intent has a big affect on a clients health. When the practitioner believes he can heal his patient and that is his passion and goal he has a much better chance of healing. When someone truly believes they can do something they usually can accomplish it. I remember when I used to play tennis. I was very confident. There were many times I went into a match and I had already decided that I was going to win. I could feel it. My intention was to win and I had already made up my mind. I can tell you that when I had this attitude I very very rarely lost. If a doctor has this type of belief that he can heal I think he will have better results. Also when you really want to heal and that is your intention I think you put a positive energy into it and that helps also. I also think when your intention is to heal you will put in that extra effort for you patient. 

Biophysics Week #1

I know I am a living system because…

I can think of many reasons I am a living system. First of all I am able to reproduce and I was reproduced by my mother. From when I was first born to now my features have constantly been changing, I have been growing. I breath and I move. As a living being I need water and food to survive and keep living.

Biophysics and Oriental Medicine

One correlation that I can see between biophysics and oriental medicine is the application of many different theories. In biophysics there are many different departments and they are not inclusive. Each individual department chooses how much mixing they would like between departments. I can see this similarity in TCM. There are many different routes each practitioner can go and it is the practitioners choice on which routes they would like to mix or use. I see more freedom in both biophysics and oriental medicine to choose your way of practice then in Western practice. I believe that having this freedom there is much more possibility for success. 

Physics Week 9

My E-Prime Day

I opened my eyes and stepped out of bed at 6:15 AM on Monday morning in California time. I believe I then walked to the kitchen and ate my breakfast. After breakfast I undressed from the clothes I slept in and dressed myself in the clothes I was going to work in. I drove my car to work. At work I believe I taught tennis for 8 hours. When I had completed my last lesson by teaching the client for a full hour I appeared to look tired to others. The way I felt was tired. When I left work I drove home and ate dinner. I believe I talked on the phone and watched television that night.

Synthesizing my view of Physics with my own practice of medicine

Physics to me seemed very complex and many concepts were hard to understand. Physics did seem a lot different then the Western view though. The Western view is much more straightforward and their solutions are limited. In Physics like I feel in Eastern medicine there is a lot more room for questioning, looking at different approaches and trying different methods. Physics is always trying to look for different theories. Eastern medicine is the same way. If one method does not work we try to find a method that does work. 

Physics Week 8

Newton’s Three Laws and Me

I do not really know how Newton’s Three Laws pertains to me but I did try to understand them. It makes sense to me that an object stays in motion at a constant velocity until a force is placed on it. Like if we are putting in golf. The ball rolls until inertia stops the ball from rolling. A car will be going at a speed until we apply the break being the force or if we take our foot off the gas inertia will be applied. Also if something is at rest like a chair it will remain at rest unless a force is applied like someone moving it. Also Law number 3 showed me why high-speed head on head collisions can be so powerful. This is because both forces match each other. This can also be the same if 2 people run into each other. The faster the people or cars are going the bigger the force and the bigger the collision.

Our “Energy Efficient” Culture

I think our culture is working a lot harder to become more energy efficient and it makes me very happy. Right now energy efficient technology is usually more expensive then less energy efficient technology but it will save money in the long run. Switching over to becoming more energy efficient is a transition and will take many years but thankfully we are in the process. It kind of reminds me of Chinese medicine in the US. TCM was not well known and not highly accepted in medical fields but slowly over time we have creped our way in. Some medical insurances and hospitals are now accepting TCM. This is a big success and I believe it will keep becoming more widely accepted!

Descartes has a lot to answer for!

I think that for being in the 19^th century Descartes accomplished a lot and at the time his notions made sense. Without these notions I think it would have been harder for other physicists and scientists to progress. This is because physicists are always trying to disprove a theory and come up with a better theory. I do not think Descartes was a failure but in fact a very big figure in time. I can see how he came up with some notions, like “thought is a product of brain activity”. A statement like that does make sense to me until I read the disapproving contrary statement. 

Physics Week 7

“Ordered chaos”- does that sound familiar?

Ordered chaos in my life does sound familiar. My life is very chaotic and I barely have a second to myself. I am always on the go and have something I need to get done. I will have a plan for the day but then something unexpected will come up and I will have to deal with that. But although I live such a chaotic busy life and unexpected things come up I am able to keep it in order well and usually I am able to get everything done that I need to.

Fractals as patterns of complex systems

I was confused by fractals but they seemed to be complex mathematical equations trying to figure out different things, one being weather. They seem very complex but at the same time it sounds like they may be too complex. For example, with these so complex equations we cannot predict the weather accurately 6 days out, even though 400 million calculations are being done per second. This makes me think the calculations are trying to be very complex but they are not as accurate.

Consciousness out of chaos

I think this is an interesting topic. I think during chaos it can be very hard to be present and conscious. If I want to do this I have to be very focused on staying in the now. When I am focused on that I can be conscious but I can quickly forget I am doing that and go right back into the autopilot chaos. I think trying to stay in the now is something that is always good to work on.

Experiment- Screen Dimmer

I chose the screen dimmer experiment. I had to have my computer open 6 feet away and I was supposed to turn off the lights and look at the screen and then turn on the lights and look at what I saw. What I saw was that when I when I turned off the lights the screen dimmed. Then when I turned the lights back on the screen brightened up.

Physics Week 6

Are all vibrations “good”?

I think that vibrations can be good and bad. I had a friend that when she wears an outfit that she likes she will refer to it as her vibration. She feels the colors and style vibrates at her vibration level. I can also feel vibrations a lot with other people. I can get a good or bad vibration from them. This can be thought of as intuition. I will gravitate more to people with a positive vibration. Someone was also writing about violence and that being a bad vibration and I agree. I think many actions can have a good or bad vibration in this world.

Resonance in my world

Resonance is a big part of the world today. Architects and physics need to make sure that the resonance in structures being built are correct or we will continue to have disasters. I guess the way resonance pertains to me is my interactions with others. What I have found a lot of times is that I am closer friends with people that are different them me.  A lot of my friends are very talkative and will interact with people immediately that they do not even know, while I can be more quiet at the beginning. That is just an example, I have noticed a lot more differences. But when I interact with someone a lot like myself I usually do not have as great of a connection. This could be because our energy levels are too close to the same. It seems like I have better, more interesting and fun relationships with people that vibrate at a different energy level then myself.  

Connections I make between energy and Qi

From the reading it seemed to me that energy and qi were one in the same. I think that qi is more of an Eastern term and energy is a more Western term. Even though calling a human an energy being is considered unscientific, I definitely believe that we have energy/qi running through our body. That is the whole point of acupuncture to release the blockage of qi in our meridians. 

Physics Week 5

My (a)symmetrical world

I see the world as much more asymmetrical then symmetrical. It is much more rare for 2 sides of something to be exactly symmetrically the same. When you look at something like a face it seems symmetrical if you divide it down the middle. There are an eye on each side, an ear one each side, etc. But when we look closer there will be differences in the 2 sides. I think this is with a lot of things. Something seems symmetrical but when we take a closer look there are actually not. I do not think the world would be as beautiful of a place if everything was perfectly symmetrical.

Just what does CP violation really mean?

I was very confused when reading about CP violation. From the reading what I got was that it was a theory that is potentially flawed, like the uncertainty principal. Scientists had assumed that all particles would decay at the same rate whether time ran forward or backward. There was a flaw when experimenters changed the charge and parity of the particles in the koan system. What happened was the koan’s decay rate changed when the theory said that this would not happen. Therefore the theory was violated.

Are there connections between Sacred Geometry and Physics?

I think that Sacred Geometry is more mysterious and uses more spiritual practices while physics tries to figure out the mysteries of the universe. While reading it seemed to me like Sacred Geometry as future went on showed to have a lot of mathematical value that physicists could use. There is many similarities between sacred geometry and newer discoveries in science. They are just presented and discovered in different ways.

Week 4

How has E=MC²  affected me?

Energy affects me everyday. I feel it in my energy level and am affected by it with all the matter filled with energy that I encounter. Every single thing I touch is matter and filled with energy. I would not be able to live without matter and energy. So I would say it affects me a lot!

How would I compare the four sources?

Gravity: weakest of the forces but has unlimited range. Every object in the universe has a gravitational force on everything else. Gravity is always attractive.

Electromagnetism: second strongest force but it’s strength is less then 1% of the strong force. Has unlimited range. Comes in 2 charges of positive and negative.

Weak Nuclear Force: Force is limited and functions only on short scales found in the atomic nucleus. Responsible for radioactive decay.

Strong Nuclear Force: the strongest force. It’s range is limited to subatomic distances. It keeps quarks together inside protons and neutrons and keeps protons and neutrons inside atomic nuclei.

I think that all the forces have their different functions and responsibilities. Them being the way they are keeps the world in balance and in existence. If one of the forces was different we might not exist.

What is the function of gravity?

The function of gravity to me is to keep objects grounded. If we did not have gravity we would all be floating away and not be able to do our daily activities. The world would not be the way it is today without gravity. 

Week 3

What evidence can I find of synchronicity?

I have had many synchronistic events in my life. Just 2 mornings ago I had a friend call me who I had not talked to for a couple months. The night before I was thinking how I was going to call her tomorrow and she called me that morning. I have had many times also when I have been thinking about somebody and I see them driving or I run into them.

How would I explain connectivity?

It is easiest for me to explain connectivity between people. There is a certain connectedness with family, especially when you grow up with them and have many bonding moments. I think connectedness between people grows with more time spent together. I think that we have more connectedness with some people then others. Most of my close friends the first time I met them I felt close and comfortable. I felt connected. I could hang out with them all day even though we had just met. But with some other people it can be very awkward the first time I meet them and it can stay that way. I do not know why I feel more connected to some people them others. A lot of times the people I feel most connected to have very different personalities them me.

Quantum Mechanics Answers

My reflections on uncertainty:

I like the example of uncertainty pertaining to light. I think this example makes sense. Light can be seen as a particle or wave depending on how it is being measured but not both at the same time. This can be hard for people to comprehend. Not till then end of class and looking over the articles again did I start to understand the uncertainty principle. To me the principle is saying the light can be a wave or a particle it just depends on what we are measuring at the time. I am interested if it can be both at the same time but I think that would be impossible to measure. If it was possible I bet it would have already been measured. I like Schrodinger's Cat example. This example makes the physical versus the subatomic clearer to me. We cannot have this same uncertainty at the physical level as we can at the subatomic level. I liked the uncertainty discussion. It really got me thinking hard and wanting to understand. It is a different way of thinking than I am used to. Uncertainty does not make sense but at the same time it does. 

My comments on causality:

The thought of us causing a result by observing and measuring is an odd thought. I had always thought before that the same result would happen if we were observing or not observing. But I had only thought of this at the physical level not the subatomic level. From what I have read it seems like with particles and momentum or light being a particle or wave we can only measure one thing at a time. So in measuring that specific thing we get that specific result. With the light measurement examples given it seems to me that we are causing by measuring. Therefore I like the theory of causality at the subatomic level with particles and momentum.

Is the Universe weird?:

I would not say that the Universe is weird, I would say that it is mysterious. It is amazing to me how detailed we have become with science and physics. The Universe is such a complex place and there is so much to discover. I do not think we will ever unravel everything. There will always be different theories and new discoveries. What I always do wonder about is how this Universe came to be and all its creatures, nature, elements, etc. I am also very curious about afterlife and what happens when we leave the universe. This to me is where the mystery lies. This is a mystery that will never be fully explained. 

Response to Jaime

I am very impressed with what Jaime has done with her professional career thus far. I think that she could not be making a better decision then incorporating Chinese Medicine in her practices. The techniques that she does right now sounds very interesting and different from a lot of practices I hear about today. I like her practice of releasing the overcompensated muscle and the strengthening the muscles around. In my experience once the overcompensated muscles are released I feel a lot better and my body is in better alignment. I agree that with using a needle she would not have to use her hands as much. I think it would be a good advantage to have both technique and then see which technique she thinks would suit the client the best. A wider range of knowledge and techniques is a lot better to have then just to be so specialized in one thing that that is all you can do.

Reflections of last weeks class

I found the class last week to be interesting. I was expecting for the Physics class to be more math based but I think we will probably learn more intellectually if we have discussions and not only do equations. The comparison of time between American/N. Europeans and Latin America/Middl East was interesting to me. I can definitely see how I fall into the Western category in this area. I tend to be very prompt and can be obsessive in having everything scheduled. I liked the idea of having wider knowledge in different areas then being too specific. One of the things we talked about was in Western Medicine we can almost be too specialized. In my experience even the people that are so specialized in an area still cannot always get down to the cause of the problem. I would like to be able to have my hands in a lot of different aspects and be able to treat the body all over. I like seeing the comparisons of Eastern and Western. It is helpful to see the difference in view points and how they do things. This is good for us to see to determine if we would rather the Eastern approach then the Western approach. It proves to me more and more I am like the Eastern approach better.

Week 1 Quiz Answers

1. I am attracted to Chinese Medicine because I have first hand experience it works. This method of medicine has had better results for me with my lower back pain then any doctor, chiropractor or athletic trainer ever has. In fact, Chinese Medicine has almost cured my back pain 100%. I will feel my back maybe once or twice a month for a couple minutes or hours but that is far better then having the pain chronically. And I have noticed when I do have the pain a lot of the time it is hormonal or I am very stressed out. Chinese medicine has also helped with many other injuries or aches and pains that I have come across as an athlete. Today TCM is the only type of treatment I use for my bodies pains. So for me I only want to pursue a career in something I believe in and for me that is TCM. When I became interested in TCM I started researching it more and reading books. The more I learn the more interested and excited I become. I am very interested in the herbal aspect. I like the thought of herbs a lot more the medications. Also the method of getting down to the cause and curing that instead of the band affect is my favorite part. I feel in Western Medicine we do not get down to the root of the problem. We do not try to figure out what is causing the pain enough. If we do not fix the cause the pain is never going to go away and we are just going to be left to a lifestyle of pain or of taking pills daily.

2. I took Physics in High School and I liked it a lot. This class was more math based and I liked that. I was surprised to hear that we will not be learning much math in this Physics class but that is ok with me. I like learning about the earth and things like time and the Big Bang theory. It makes me very curious and I think it will be good class conversation. In my Physics and other science classes I have never heard the concept about people hiding behind that numbers and equations. I found this interesting and I could relate because math is easier for me. So I think this will be more of a challenge but in the long run I think I will learn more.

3. I can think of many examples of time slowing down and speeding up. A lot of my thoughts were already spoken about in class. My biggest example for myself is probably as I get older time seems to fly by a lot quicker. For example, it feels like I just recently turned 25 and that was already 6 months ago. I am 25 and a half and it feels like I just turned 25. When I am excited for things today but I know they are farer away in the future I do not get sad because I know the time will go by so fast and that event will be here before I know it. Also I agree with the comment about when you are having fun time goes by faster. When I am on a fun trip or having a good night the time goes by so fast. Or another example is I got a massage the other week and that went by so fast. It was because I did not want it to end. But on the other hand when I am at work and really want to get off every minute feels so long.