RATING THE CONTROL OF ARTIFICIAL LIMBS BY THOUGHT ALONE:
On a scale on one to ten, where one is scary and ten is amazing; I would give the fact that human science continues to awe me with its advancements a "10" and by the unknown of what could come from such an advancement, I would give it a "0". My dear friend was hit my a wave a paralyzed from his neck down when I was 12. Through the years I have watched him both suffer and overcome living in a culture where being able is required. When I think of an advancement like this in which he could get some movement back, a chance to hug his children or walk to get his wife a coffee, I am thrilled. I know these technologies have scary variables and warfare is always a concern, but when you love someone that could have their life changed by this, it is much easier to accept it and just hope that while it helps millions of people it will hurt few. Nothing in life comes without its side effects.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A "BIONIC" PERSON:
This one scares me a bit more. Trying to move limbs on a human body that already exists is one thing, but creating a whole new "person" seems useless. Don't we have enough issues of overpopulation? Don't we already have enough people that are unemployed? Is the arguement about sending these bionic people to war so we don't hurt soilders, but we will hurt who we are at war with. Sending them to mars, is that the plan? And what happens when this science gets in the hands of someone with Hitler mentality.....we will have no control. I support advancements in science more when I think it will greatly improve the life of a human, animal, or help the earth. Granted, if I had a robot here that was willing to offer me a massage every hour during final studying, I may have to get back to you.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
week #11
ACUPUNCTURE AS EFFECTIVE ENERGY MEDICINE
The more I study acupuncture, the harder I find it to explain to someone who is not learning about it. In a nutshell, it is energy medicine as it works to balance the flow of Qi in our bodies. When I try to explain it to my family (who are firm believers in western medicine), I ask them to envision a cadaver, with all its veins and organs in tack. Then I tell them that Qi is what moves everything around in a body while it is alive, so my needles would have little effect on the cadaver (I don't go into the fact that there is still Qi in everything dead or alive). But I find myself shying away from calling acupuncture "energy medicine" as it often gets pegged as "new age" medicine, when it is perhaps one of the oldest aged medicine there is.
CONCLUSIONS FROM KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY
I understand it to show that living things have an aura that can be somewhat showed through photography. It seems this technology can help show people what acupunture is going for when it is trying to manipulate this aura. It is also important to note that the photography shows that auras are always changing which is so important for us to know as future doctors. When a patient comes in with similar symptoms as the week prior it does not mean that the treatment will be the same. It is possible that the last treatment was effective, but Qi shifted somewhere else causing similar discomfort. It is important for us to honor the ever changing flow of Qi.
HUMAN INTENT AS IT AFFECTS HEALTH
Last night I stumbled on an article that brought together several expert practioners of acupunture. Each was asked to locate and treat a specific point on a woman's body to help with a backache. The point of the study was to see if these experts all had the same precise spot for the specific point. Well, the outcome was surprising. Not one of the doctors put a needle in the same spot, and the furthest distance was over a foot apart from each other. The amazing part was that the pain was greatly diminished when each practioner incerted the needle and the woman could not pick one treatment as better than the other. The conclusion of the study talked about that although the points themselves are important, it was the intent of the doctor that made the results happen with the back pain. Perhaps what makes these doctors experts is their ability to find intention in every insertion.
The more I study acupuncture, the harder I find it to explain to someone who is not learning about it. In a nutshell, it is energy medicine as it works to balance the flow of Qi in our bodies. When I try to explain it to my family (who are firm believers in western medicine), I ask them to envision a cadaver, with all its veins and organs in tack. Then I tell them that Qi is what moves everything around in a body while it is alive, so my needles would have little effect on the cadaver (I don't go into the fact that there is still Qi in everything dead or alive). But I find myself shying away from calling acupuncture "energy medicine" as it often gets pegged as "new age" medicine, when it is perhaps one of the oldest aged medicine there is.
CONCLUSIONS FROM KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY
I understand it to show that living things have an aura that can be somewhat showed through photography. It seems this technology can help show people what acupunture is going for when it is trying to manipulate this aura. It is also important to note that the photography shows that auras are always changing which is so important for us to know as future doctors. When a patient comes in with similar symptoms as the week prior it does not mean that the treatment will be the same. It is possible that the last treatment was effective, but Qi shifted somewhere else causing similar discomfort. It is important for us to honor the ever changing flow of Qi.
HUMAN INTENT AS IT AFFECTS HEALTH
Last night I stumbled on an article that brought together several expert practioners of acupunture. Each was asked to locate and treat a specific point on a woman's body to help with a backache. The point of the study was to see if these experts all had the same precise spot for the specific point. Well, the outcome was surprising. Not one of the doctors put a needle in the same spot, and the furthest distance was over a foot apart from each other. The amazing part was that the pain was greatly diminished when each practioner incerted the needle and the woman could not pick one treatment as better than the other. The conclusion of the study talked about that although the points themselves are important, it was the intent of the doctor that made the results happen with the back pain. Perhaps what makes these doctors experts is their ability to find intention in every insertion.
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