PHYSICS AND BALLET - And how PHYSICS can teach us lessons for a happier personal life

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I  have always loved classical ballet.  I took lessons as a youngster and still practice it daily.  It's the most beautiful and complete art form.  Although I did not have what it takes to be a decent ballerina, I loved ballet all the same.  It's been an unrequited love, just as my love for physics. 

I am no scientist and I could have never been one.  I'm absolutely terrible at math.  And I mean really, really terrible.  But among all subjects for reading and study, physics has always been the true love of my life, especially quantum physics and astrophysics.  The reason?   Physics is full of wonder, and sometimes offers tentative answers to the Big Questions of Life and the Universe - questions we usually ask from religion and philosophy. 

 

Physics is a lot cooler than religion because you can take pleasure learning about the mysteries of the universe with complete freedom to explore ideas, disagree, question, and imagine.

 

Britannica.com defines it like this:  Physics, science that deals with the structure of matter and the interactions between the fundamental constituents of the observable universe.   In the broadest sense, physics is concerned with all aspects of nature on both the macroscopic and submicroscopic levels.

 

In one sentence, physics is about everything in physical reality. It is the attempt to learn and understand how matter and energy work, from tiny invisible particles to the entire universe, and the still mysterious dark matter and dark energy. 

 

In science all answers are temporary, until the next discovery.  Aside from efforts by intellectually dishonest and politically-correct academics to cement their own dogmas, there should not be any dogmas in science.  Anything and everything should be open to question.  

 

Now a little personal anecdote:  Many years ago I came upon a passage in Beyond the Quantum by Michael Talbot, where the author explains the work of physicist Ilya Prigogine.  It was physics, all right, but what I read was pure poetry.  At the time I had some personal issues, and so I was touched by how I could see my own conflict symbolically reflected within a physics context.  

 

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DAYDREAMING CAN BOOST YOUR MENTAL PERFORMANCE

Engaging brain areas linked to so-called 'off-task' mental activities (such as mind-wandering and reminiscing) can actually boost performance on some challenging mental tasks, a new research led by a neuroscientist shows for the first.

 

“The prevailing view is that activating brain regions referred to as the default network impairs performance on attention-demanding tasks because this network is associated with behaviors such as mind-wandering,” said Spreng. “Our study is the first to demonstrate the opposite – that engaging the default network can also improve performance.”

 

To solve a mental puzzle, the brain’s executive control network for externally focused, goal-oriented thinking must activate, while the network for internally directed thinking like daydreaming must be turned down to avoid interference – or so we thought.

 

New research led by Cornell University neuroscientist Nathan Spreng shows for the first time that engaging brain areas linked to so-called “off-task” mental activities (such as mind-wandering and reminiscing) can actually boost performance on some challenging mental tasks. The results advance our understanding of how externally and internally focused neural networks interact to facilitate complex thought, the authors say.

BOOK BITS - THE ART OF LIVING, BY EPICTETUS - A ROADMAP FOR A WISE AND COURAGEOUS LIFE

Some years ago I came across a small volume with quotes from the best of Epictetus, a stoic Greek philosopher born a slave in the year 55 AD. 

 

The book The Art of Living is a translation of his ideas into contemporary language by Sharon Lebell.

 

About 100 pages long, it contains only a few paragraphs per page.  It can be easily digested in a couple of hours or less.  But not discarded.  Whenever the world and our lives seem too confusing or overwhelming, it's good to pick it up, read selected bits, and realign our lives to regain calm and a new direction. 

 

The following may seem like platitudes, but that's because deep concepts have been simplified to make them accessible to everyone, not just philosophers.

EXCERPTS

 

The worthiest goals are freedom, even-mindedness and tranquility.

 

If it's freedom what you seek, then wish for nothing that depends on others, or you will always be a helpless slave.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE SLOWS DOWN AGING PROCESS - SCIENTIFIC PROOF

Scientific proof at last.  It's all about telometers and a healthy lifestyle. 

A new five-year pilot study has shown that lifestyle changes, like an improved diet, exercise, and stress management, may help reverse aging processes at the cellular level.

 

But as exciting as this finding is, we’re still far from the proverbial fountain of youth.

 

The study, which now appears in The Lancet Oncology, was conducted by a pair of heavy hitting scientists, namely Dean Ornish — who’s made a career of demonstrating the benefits of comprehensive lifestyle changes in diet, exercise, stress management, and social support — and Elizabeth Blackburn, who won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of telomeres and their relation to the aging process.

 

And indeed, a key assumption of the study pertains to telomere length — the part of the chromosome that affects cellular aging — and its relation to lifestyle factors.

 

Telomeres appear at the end of chromosomes and provide protection. They’re often compared to how the tips of shoelaces prevent them from fraying.  In similar manner, telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes and help them remain stable.

 

But telomeres get shorter as we age, a contributing factor to cellular aging and decay — a process that we experience as aging.

 

The length of a person’s telomeres is typically determined by age; shorter lengths are associated with the onset of certain diseases, including cancer, heart disease, obesity, stroke, and diabetes.

 

Telomeres are not known for growing longer. But this is precisely what the University of California team has observed. And by virtue of this, they believe that they may have stumbled upon a technique that can literally reverse aging at the cellular level — albeit ever so slightly.

The study

Men in the intervention group followed a comprehensive program that involved significant lifestyle changes, including:

• A diet high in plant-based protein, fruits, vegetables, unrefined grains and low in fat and refined carbohydrates
• Moderate aerobic exercise for 30 minutes per day, six days per week
• Stress management activities like yoga-based stretching and meditation
• Attending weekly social support group sessions

The men in the control group had no such lifestyle change.

 

After five years, the researchers re-measured telomere length — and they were 10% longer for the men who followed the lifestyle changes. Control group participants, on the other hand, experienced a decrease, on average, of 3%. Telomere length was also correlated to adherence.

Read more - http://io9.com/the-first-evidence-that-lifestyle-changes-can-reverse-a-1333609434

Further information and video - 
http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/09/108886/lifestyle-changes-may-lengthen-telomeres-measure-cell-aging

Other articles on youth on this blog - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Youth

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Link to this post - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/09/healthy-lifestyle-slows-down-aging.html

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HEALTH NEWS -

HOW CO-WORKERS, A POSITIVE ATTITUDE, AND MUSIC AFFECT YOUR HEALTH

 

 

A POSITIVE OUTLOOK BETTER THAN EXERCISE FOR YOUR HEALTH

A researchers says that it's a myth that emotions are uncontrollable, and that people can indeed have a degree of control and choose positive emotions that lead to better health.

It's a virtuous circle. As you appear more cheerful, you attract people with a similar attitude, and it becomes "an upward spiral into better health", as positive relationships improve the quality of your life and physical and mental well being.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2323054/Dont-bother-gym-today-Positive-outlook-life-making-friends-good-diet-exercise.html

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JOB STRESS RAISES YOUR CHOLESTEROL LEVEL

When people say "this job makes me sick", they may not know it but this may be literally true.

A stressful job can kill by raising a worker's cholesterol levels. Researchers found that stressful situations affect the metabolism of fat, leading people to accumulate too much bad cholesterol. It's not clear yet, but it's possible that stress weakens the body's ability to discard excess cholesterol, or maybe stress triggers inflammation, which also increases cholesterol production.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2326132/A-stressful-job-really-CAN-kill--raising-cholesterol.html

RELATED: Your co-workers are killing you - http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/are-your-co-workers-killing-you/
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FRIENDLY COLLEAGES CAN CUT YOUR RISK OF DIABETES IN HALF

Researchers have found that people who work in a stressful job with unfriendly collegues are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, even in workers who appear to be healthy. They also found that people who have supportive coworkers are 22 per cent less likely to develop this disease.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2322536/Friendly-colleagues-workplace-cut-risk-diabetes-A-QUARTER.html

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FRIENDLY COLLEAGUES CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IF YOU HAVE A STRESSFUL JOB

For busy office workers, particularly those with parental duties, the office can become their social club, an opportunity to confide in someone and to establish strong and enduring friendships. Researchers found that even if two colleagues have little in common, their shared experiences and mutual support at work can help them cope with challenges and difficult bosses.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2325428/Office-colleagues-best-friends-EVER-make--especially-work-stressful-environment.html

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LISTENING TO MUSIC CAN MAKE YOU HAPPY

Duh! Of course. But researchers now have the science to prove it. They have found that actively seeking happiness through music can improve your health.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2325004/Listening-happy-music-really-CAN-make-happier-researchers.html

The part that is not convincing is that scientists credit happy music with elevating a person's mood only if that person is actively trying to feel happy. But we all know that listening to upbeat music has a positive effect on us, whether we want it or not.

I was watching an old movie the other day, Adventures in Babysitting, and it starts with a very cstchy tune (And then he kissed me, with The Crystals), with great beat and energy, and it's impossible to have one single negative thought while listening. The viewer's impulse is just to dance and bounce along with the music.

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THE SECRET OF YOUTH IS IN YOUR MIND

THE TIME TRAVEL EXPERIMENT

 or the "Nursing Home Experiment" 

 

This may change your opinion about the concept of aging.

 

It dates from decades ago but it's quite amazing. Psychologist Ellen Langer assembled a group of men in their seventies and eighties for "a week of reminiscence".   She wanted to observe if there were physical changes as a result of thoughts, activities, and entertainment focused on issues current back in 1959, when the men were young and vigorous.

 

So she gathered these men and separated them from a control group that would be carrying on with their normal activities.  The time travellers watched movies from the Fifties, engaged in conversations about the political issues of that time, they dressed accordingly, and in general acted as much as they could in the way they did in 1959.

 

At the end of the week the time travellers were tested, and they had significantly improved in terms of vigor, dexterity, blood pressure, memory, and even vision.   The control group who stayed in the present, did not.
 

 

Ellen Langer:  Wherever you put the mind, the body will follow..... It is not our physical state that limits us.  It is our mindset about our own limits, our perceptions, that draws the lines in the sand.

 

Read more: 
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8498233.stm

http://harvardmagazine.com/2010/09/the-mindfulness-chronicles?page=all

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YOU ARE AS OLD AS YOU FEEL

Study:  Older adults who see themselves as old and frail will start to feel old and frail.  Participants described a cycle of decline where perceiving themselves as frail, led to stopping activities that would keep them fit and healthy, such as physical exercise.

Read more

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130409091219.htm

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And one extra item about the power of the mind over your body.

 



FEELING COLD?

MEDITATE AND RAISE YOUR TEMPERATURE

 

Study: 
Scientists prove that you can raise your body temperature through meditation.

Read more
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2306280/Feeling-cold-Why-try-meditating--scientists-prove-use-brain-increase-core-body-temperature.html

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UPLIFTING MUSIC CAN IMPROVE MENTAL PERFORMANCE

You always knew it, didn't you?   Listening to positive music increases our sense of well being, which improves our overall performance in everything we do.  On the other hand, certain music can really bring you down. 

 

Now it's been found that certain uplifting music can make you think smart.  In a test conducted to evaluate mental performance in relation to music, participants responded correctly and faster when listening to an uplifting piece of classical music.

Read more here:  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-uplifting-music-boost-mental-capacity.html

Not enough attention is paid to the relationship between music and health and intelligence.  There are books about the MOZART EFFECT,  showing how small children - even babies - regularly exposed to the music of Mozart tend to have higher IQs.

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