Hummings of a Happy Hurkle

This article argues that an ageing society has a significant upside.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627550.100-the-shock-of-the-old-welcome-to-the-elderly-age.html?full=true

The Japanese will soon be the first where 50% of the population are 50 or older. It’s likely that 50% of all the humans who ever reached the age of 65 are alive now. But as we are now finding out an ageing population has more wisdom, more accumulated knowledge and skills, probably consumes less and puts less stress on the environment. Sure, they need more health care but most older people are fit and active, well able to look after themselves. In Europe and the UK less than 5% are in any kind of institutional care.

Imagine that the natural equilibrium for a human population with enough to eat and good health care turns out to be old and stable,  producing only just enough babies to maintain itself! Certainly some of our current concerns, including alcohol-fuelled violence, drug usage and indeed war would diminish greatly if there were simply far less young people around.

For really unusual vegetables you can actually buy, simply search out a suitable Asian grocery. You should easily find gai lan, sin qua, kang kong, the choy family, daikon (and other radishes), cucurbits such as bitter and fuzzy melon, kumara (and yam and other sweet potatoes), lotus root, cloud ear (and cepes and other fungi), cooking bananas, taro, plus a wide range of beans, peas and lentils.

If you find a friendly place, they can be very helpful with recipes too. I got a great recipe for borlotti beans from a Lebanese green grocer.

I’ve been thinking about alternative medicine.

A broad general review would likely find that alternative medicine is clearly superior to Western medicine in two specific areas: (1) its practitioners are more attentive and spend more time with their patients and (2) although Western medicine does rely to some extent on the placebo effect, alternative medicine seems to have better placebos and get more out of them.

(more…)

Have we been conned about cholesterol?
by MALCOLM KENDRICK

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_articl
e_id=430682&in_page_id=1774&in_page_id=1774&expand=true

A leading researcher at Harvard Medical School has found that women don’t benefit from taking statins at all, nor do men over 69 who haven’t already had a heart attack.

(more…)

I think there are two different paths by which people come to believe in things. I call them type E and type A beliefs.

(more…)

Astrology is bunk. Lots of people believe in astrology.

Not everyone is aware that an attempt to force creationism in the guise of Intelligent Design to be taught as science in a US public school has been soundly defeated in the US Courts.The judge was in no doubt, and he was scathing.Quote: "To briefly reiterate, we first note that since ID is not science, the conclusion is inescapable that the only real effect of the ID Policy is the advancement of religion."

I found this link: http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa011402a.htm. I have a completely open mind on this kind of stuff. I will immediately start believing in alien visitations, ghosts, telepathy and other paranormal phenomena some time right after I see my very first piece of direct, primary, incontrovertible, objective evidence.Each of the items described here sounds like it's trying to be that evidence, and yet they don't make it. Only the believers believe. Until then, believe me: this stuff is absolute bunk.