John Brisson, Fix Your Gut Health and Slide-rule Science |394|

Well there is, but somehow it never seems to amount to anything. I mean once they have said that all matter is conscious to some degree ..... then what?

David

And they do it to trivialize consciousness. They can't explain subjectivity so they claim a light switch is conscious and ignore the hard problem. It is just another misdirection like giving a fancy latin or greek name to something they can't explain somehow makes people (including scientists) think it is a scientific explanation.
 
And they do it to trivialize consciousness. They can't explain subjectivity so they claim a light switch is conscious and ignore the hard problem. It is just another misdirection like giving a fancy latin or greek name to something they can't explain somehow makes people (including scientists) think it is a scientific explanation.

Probably. I suspect they also do it because -- like I said earlier -- in their eyes, panpsychism is preferable because it's bottom-up, just like materialism. Perish the thought that it might be top-down, that the universe might be the result of intention on the part of a conscious entity.

It probably also enables some of them to hang on to materialism, because they can make consciousness just another property of matter, like spin or charge. But you're right, it's all hand-waving and there's no obvious mechanism by which particles with tiny amounts of consciousness can get together and gradually evolve into organisms with comparatively enormous amounts of consciousness.

I suppose they could argue that the other properties of matter, such as charge, are what facilitate chemistry, and that with complexification in chemistry, complexification in consciousness could hitch a ride. James Tour, a renowned organic chemist, however, dispels the hand-waving, often very humorously. Just search for him on YouTube -- and ignore his Christian beliefs if you're not sympathetic to them. What he says about chemistry in particular and biology in general is still very valid.
 
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so, it just seems a little off when folks don't acknowledge how powerful and potentially addictive weed is. daily use? come on, that's a prob.

For some weed is very addictive. I don't think there is any doubt about that. For me modern weed is awful garbage - a manufactured kick in the head that has none of the finesse and spirit of what I was used to in the 60s and 70s. Once the spiritual component of weed is sidelined its all about 'getting out if it' in a stupid and vulgar way. I quit smoking in the late 90s because the quality of the stone was ugly and brutish. It became like getting drunk on cheap high potency liquor compared to savouring a good wine or whiskey. The same way some alcoholics just go for the stone on cheap and nasty stuff so I think that a lot of weed smoking has gone the same way. I would like to see a craft beer approach to weed. This may now be possible in countries with the wit to legalise the stuff (not good old Oz where politicians have the brains of boiled eggs, the imagination of empty shoes and insufficient integrity to even formulate a simile.

BTW it strikes me that in the USA legalisation of weed has far more to do with policing costs than any awakening to civil liberties. Just as soon as revenues are strong enough again to support a corrupt justice system it will profit sufficient to change the laws.
 
Taking health information from a guy who's fat and bald? Insulting

Yes, I am balding, haha. I started to lose my hair when I was eighteen after taking Accutane as a teenager. Accutane permanently interferes with the telogen phase of hair regrowth, which is why I am still losing it today. Testosterone and DHT levels are normal.

As far as the weight I am down to 170 from 250. I still need to lose another 20 pounds or so which I am working on it.
 
Welcome to this forum John!

Yes, I am balding, haha. I started to lose my hair when I was eighteen after taking Accutane as a teenager. Accutane permanently interferes with the telogen phase of hair regrowth, which is why I am still losing it today. Testosterone and DHT levels are normal.

I am guessing that when you were given accutane by your doctor, he didn't even mention hair loss! It seems particularly regrettable to swap a temporary problem for a permanent one!

I suppose I feel a lot of drugs are prescribed like that. I was caught by the side effects of statins, and I was amazed that what were described as 'muscle pains' on the leaflet that came with the tablets, turned out to be really unpleasant cramping that made it nearly impossible to exercise, and just generally made life miserable. The effects in me were temporary, but you don't have to look far on the internet to discover that some people never recover properly - just as, it would seem, not everyone regrows lost hair after they stop taking accutane! The medical profession is particularly reluctant to admit permanent effects.

David
 
Yes, I am balding, haha. I started to lose my hair when I was eighteen after taking Accutane as a teenager. Accutane permanently interferes with the telogen phase of hair regrowth, which is why I am still losing it today. Testosterone and DHT levels are normal.

As far as the weight I am down to 170 from 250. I still need to lose another 20 pounds or so which I am working on it.

Ignore Baccarat, John. He's a brainless troll who lacks even a hint of good manners. You're very welcome here and I look forward to your contributions.
 
John, I've just been reading bits of your website and came across Roemheld's syndrome. It occurs to me it might explain some of the symptoms I outlined in an earlier post on this thread. You say it's better known in Europe (presumably than in America), but no medic has ever raised it as a possibility with me.

The fact that a low FODMAP diet can help is a clue for me, because people who need such a diet have to avoid not only fructose, but related compounds generally found in many vegetables, not just fruits. As I mentioned, I think I have fructose malabsorption rather than full-blown fructose intolerance, but it might be a continuum rather than strictly one or the other.
 
Totally off topic here, so apologies for intrusion, but didn't see anywhere to post the information (Other Stuff forum being closed). Newly released Rupert Sheldrake audio in which he talks about his view of Jesus and associated matters: Rupert Sheldrake - What Does Jesus Christ Symbolize?

Haven't listened to it all yet myself but the first five minutes or so seem promising.

P.S. Many thanks to Michael Larkin for point me towards James Tour. Looks very promising, though I'll take the advice to overlook the Christian aspect if it's over the top and too dogmatic.
 
Welcome to this forum John!



I am guessing that when you were given accutane by your doctor, he didn't even mention hair loss! It seems particularly regrettable to swap a temporary problem for a permanent one!

I suppose I feel a lot of drugs are prescribed like that. I was caught by the side effects of statins, and I was amazed that what were described as 'muscle pains' on the leaflet that came with the tablets, turned out to be really unpleasant cramping that made it nearly impossible to exercise, and just generally made life miserable. The effects in me were temporary, but you don't have to look far on the internet to discover that some people never recover properly - just as, it would seem, not everyone regrows lost hair after they stop taking accutane! The medical profession is particularly reluctant to admit permanent effects.

David

Thank you for the welcome David.

No, not at all, neither did my grandfather who was a pharmacist. It also epigenetically influences SOD2 expression so now when I get extremely stressed my mitochondria are weaker to oxidative stress, I get tinnitus sometimes. Some medications may cause life-lasting consequences. Propecia, Accutane, fluoroquinolones, bisphosphonates gadolinium, etc.

Statins cause a reduction of coenzyme q10 production by the mitochondria and increased oxidative stress can reduce muscular energy output including our heart over time which will further the progression of heart disease, heart failure, and cause muscle weakness and pain. Dehydration and poor mitochondrial function might be why statin use is associated with rhabdomyolysis, a condition that is a medical emergency and may lead to kidney failure, injury, and death. Statins weakening muscles like the heart are known as the statin paradox because statin medications are supposed to lower your risk of developing or worsening heart disease, not increase it, which it does for some people.
 
John, I've just been reading bits of your website and came across Roemheld's syndrome. It occurs to me it might explain some of the symptoms I outlined in an earlier post on this thread. You say it's better known in Europe (presumably than in America), but no medic has ever raised it as a possibility with me.

The fact that a low FODMAP diet can help is a clue for me, because people who need such a diet have to avoid not only fructose, but related compounds generally found in many vegetables, not just fruits. As I mentioned, I think I have fructose malabsorption rather than full-blown fructose intolerance, but it might be a continuum rather than strictly one or the other.

Yes, Michael reducing fermentation reduces hydrogen, methane, and hydrogen sulfide that is produced and it doing so some people may get relief. However, being on the diet for more than a few weeks can cause further dysbiosis because just like many opportunistic bacteria like FODMAP's so do many probiotic bacteria. A healthy microbiome produces more nitrogen and carbon dioxide then the other gases. The body can convert nitrogen into nitrous oxide or eliminate it easily, carbon dioxide enters the bloodstream and we exhale it.
 
Statins weakening muscles like the heart are known as the statin paradox because statin medications are supposed to lower your risk of developing or worsening heart disease, not increase it, which it does for some people
Just to expand on that - because this is something that has obviously interested me after my experience, there are two kinds of heart disease:

Heart attack - which is supposed to be made less likely by taking statins but where the gain is slight, for example the NNT for statins even if you have had cardiovascular disease is 83! That means a doctor has to treat 83 patients over 5 years, for one to benefit!

http://www.thennt.com/nnt/statins-for-heart-disease-prevention-with-known-heart-disease/

And for those without heart disease (my case) is much less:

http://www.thennt.com/nnt/statins-persons-low-risk-cardiovascular-disease/

The other kind of heart disease is heart failure - where the muscles become incapable of pumping enough blood.

In this case there are medical experts on the internet suggesting - not unreasonable - that since statins damage muscles, they may well damage heart muscles. Coincidentally, there has been an increase in heart failure in recent years when more statins have been prescribed!

David
 
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