Deja Vu: A Magical Phenomenon?

What is it?

-Deja Vu: the phenomenon where one feels like something that one is experiencing currently previously occurred in the past.

-Very common for people suffering from Epilepsy.

-About 60% of people claim to have experienced deja vu at least one time in their lives.

Magical Explanations versus Scientific Explanations.

What is Déjà Vu?! - YouTube

-We never actually experience the things that give us the phenomenon of deja vu

-We "remember" things that never actually happened

-We have the same exact experience "again"

-Scientific explanations include: Dual Processing (having two very similar experiences that are not quite the same, but regardless give you deja vu), Retrieving Past Memories, Overall Familiarity.

-However, there is not a definitive scientific answer for why we experience deja vu, there are only theories

The Australian Bearded Lizard: Sex Change

The Australian Bearded Lizard, usually found basking in the sun on boulders in Australia, has amazed scientists and challenged the concepts of sex.

Over recent years the males of this species, which have the ZZ chromosome (similar to a human male's XY chromosome), have experienced natural sex changes. Causing the alteration of their chromosomes, resulting in the once male lizards becoming genetically and biologically female. 

Although this specific case has just recently been discovered, this sex reversal has also been seen in other species including the clown fish, hawk fish, parrot fish, and reed frog

Through observation, it has been determined that this ability to change sex is not natural magic, but rather a reaction to warmer temperatures due to numerous biological factors. Also, temperatures also determine sex of offspring, therefore, high temperatures produce female offspring

As a result, both this reaction to warmer temperatures and global warming has threatened the species as it there is a large imbalance between males and females, leading to an inability for the species to reproduce at a healthy replacement rate. 

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The Power of Expectation

The Power of Expectation

We go through our daily lives constantly living with expectations of what will happen in the future, oftentimes predetermining our behavior and reactions to the events before they even occur. Hume talks about our innate habit of linking cause and effect through experience and memory. When we go into situations expecting negative outcomes, chances are high that you won't have an enjoyable time. On the flip side, we spend so much time looking forward to specific events that our mental image of the event becomes unrealistic, leading to disappointment and dissatisfaction. 

There is a strong and undeniable connection between expectations and medicine. The placebo effect is a phenomena in the pharmaceutical world where the human mind naturally cures the body without any real medication. Examples of medical placeboes include sugar pills and saline injections, both substances with no intended therapeutic effects. A placebo injection works better than a placebo pill, and pills that are imprinted with a logo or name are more effective as placebos than blank pills. Even a long talk with the doctor before taking the placebo can boost its effectiveness.

Does the mind possess self-healing powers, and if so, are they comprehendible through science? It is evident that there must be an external catalyst to prompt this "magic". Science has yet to come to clear conclusions regarding the placebo effect, but there are some interesting theories in circulation. 

• Subject-expectancy effect
• When people already know the expected result of a pill, they might unconsciously change their reaction to match the projected result
• Expectation of pain relief has been shown to naturally activate the brain’s opioid centers
• Classical conditioning
• Stimulus=medicine (placebo)
• Response=relief of symptoms
• The prefrontal cortex plays critical role in placebo effectiveness
• Memory appears to contribute to a major role in placeboes
• Alzheimer patients on a whole do not respond well to placeboes

Sources:

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/placebo-effect-depression-treatment

http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/the-placebo-phenomenon

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3055515/

https://www.google.com/search?q=expectation&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiflYCq5Y7TAhVojVQKHUHxBc8Q_AUIBigB&biw=1276&bih=610#imgrc=jl22ZlJ_OSxSaM

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The Connection Between Mind, Music, and Body

The Connection Between Mind, Music, and Body

The human body has amazing connections to music- proven by psychology

Benefits of Music

•Movement skills (with the help of dance)

•Coordination and Rhythm

•Sleep quality, happiness, and immune system

•Reduces depression and anxiety

(http://www.collective-evolution.com/2017/04/19/google-confirms-that-their-contractors-suppressed-alternative-media/)

Why do we tap our feet to music?

•There is a connection between sound and body motion

•Simulate body movements to produce the sound we hear

•People physically react to the same music in similar ways

(Taylor & Francis. "Why do we tap our feet to a musical beat?." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 July 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160708082033.htm>.)

Music Preference

•Theory 1: Acquired through senses

•Familiarity and Connection

•Musical preference is about more than lyrics

•Gender, Age, Situation

•Culture

•Unlikely to enjoy music that we have never heard before. (Cannot relate to it)

•Theory 2: Musical Preference is innate

•Individual personality has an effect on music preference

•Some siblings have different music preference despite similar upbringing

•Major chords sound “happy” while minor chords sound “sad”

(http://themodernape.com/2014/06/18/different-tastes-music/)

Sailing Stones

Sailing on the Racetrack: Stones in Flight

Death Valley National Park, located in and on the border of Nevada and California, is a location of impressive geological and climatic phenomena, ranging from the lowest point in the continental United States and North America (Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level), to the hottest recorded temperature on Earth (134 degrees on July 10, 1913). However, the Park is also home to a decidedly more peculiar type of phenomena-the Sailing Stones of Racetrack Playa.

While geological variation and climatic extremes are explainable and lack mystery, the Sailing Stones have traditionally defied explanation. Scattered throughout the Racetrack Playa (dry lake bed), these rocks somehow silently and extremely slowly glide across the bed, leaving behind them trails of disturbed sediment sometimes hundreds of feet long. The question immediately brought up by all who observe the rocks and their individual trails is “How is this possible?” Intervention by humans or weather are inadequate explanations, given decades of documentation and extremely low rainfall in the Park.

From the magical worldview, the rocks would’ve seemed divinely ordained to move in random, seemingly haphazard directions. Perhaps the rocks, being of earthly materials, were in sympathy with the ground since both are hard and of the same, muted color. Ultimately, the latest scientific viewpoint contends that the rocks move by a phenomena called “ice shove”. Essentially, thin ice sheets form on the dried river bed on breezy, sunny days and propel the rocks forward at a glacial pace-only a few minutes out of every million.

Regrettably, insensitive tourist-photographers have repeatedly desecrated the fragile soil and moved some of the rocks while trampling the paths of others. While speculative, it isn’t unreasonable to imagine that if people with magical worldviews were to observe the rocks, believing that they lived within a divinely integrated and purposefully endowed cosmos, they would treat them with a reverential caution, rather than blindly displacing them and their magical trails.

Resources:

Information on Death Valley's lowest point:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/22012/quick-10-10-extreme-points-united-states

Information on hottest recorded temperature:

https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/death-valley-extreme-heat

Information on Sailing Stones:

http://geology.com/articles/racetrack-playa-sliding-rocks.shtml

Information on Scientific Explanation:

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-28989520

Information on Desecration of Rocks:

https://digital-photography-school.com/is-visiting-the-racetrack-playa-in-death-valley-worth-it/

1'st and 2'nd Photos:

https://weather.com/sports-recreation/camping-parks/news/death-valley-sailing-stones

3'rd and 4'th Photos:

http://geology.com/articles/racetrack-playa-sliding-rocks.shtml

5'th Photo:

https://weather.com/sports-recreation/camping-parks/news/death-valley-sailing-stones

Formation and Uses of Amber

                                                                                                                      

Amber is a unique gemstone-esque material created from fossilized tree resin. It comes in mostly orange honey colored crystals, and often contains bugs or small creatures who were trapped in the hardening resin. Since Neolithic times, people have been using amber for decoration, however many believe that amber possesses natural healing properties. 

Process of Forming Amber: When trees (mostly pine tress) are damaged, they will secrete resin to cover the injuries and stop further damage. This process is similar to the human immune system. If a creature comes in contact with the flowing resin, then the creature will be trapped in the resin forever and form amber.

The Use of Amber: Amber has been used for decoration, jewelry, Talisman, and healing in a variety of cultures. In Eastern Europe, there is amber spa where hardened amber is placed on a person’s body to help them relax. In parts of Asia, people swallow powered amber in Chinese herbal medicine to cure failing eyesight.

Natural Magic Behind Amber: People believe that wearing healing amber jewelry for a long time will allow them to be in tune with the power and healing potential of amber. In western culture, people associate amber with the Sun, because of its sun-like color. In Greek mythology, people believe that when Phaeton was killed by the God Zeus, his three sisters turned into trees, and their tears turned into amber. In Eastern culture, there is an ancient Chinese saying that, “When the tiger dies, its soul enters the earth and transforms into stone”, or amber.

Scientific Magic behind Amber: In a study in 1877, people first found that Amber has 3-8% succinate (succinic acid). Multiple researchers have shown that succinic acid helps the human immune system. Succinic acid has been shown to help in tranquilizing the mind, relieving convulsions, promoting bloods circulation, and more. Research also suggests that succinate prevents the aging of human cells by slowing down the loss of potassium ions and acting as an antioxidant. For this reason, it has been used not only in medication, but also in anti-aging beauty products.

Reference:

Anashkina, Arina.” How is Amber Formed-A Fun Cartoon Comic.” The Russianstore. Web. <https://www.therussianstore.com/blog/how-is-amber-formed>.

“Amber and History.” Amber SOS. 9 Mar. 2017. Web. < https://www.ambersos.com/history-of-amber.html>.

Knuth,Bruce. “Amber Stories in Myth.” The Amber Lady <http://amberlady.com/stories.htm>

Dharmananda, Subhuti. “ Succinum (Amber) Use in Chinese Medicine.” Web. <http://www.itmonline.org/arts/amber.htm>.