The Nature of Life

How do you distinguish between living and nonliving systems?

I guess that I have always thought of living things as organisms that take from their environment and give back.  I guess I was never really forced to give a distinction before.

What do you feel is the significance of the use of language and tools in chimps?

I feel that the significance is simply that we are not as smart as we thought we were (or that Chimps are smarter then we thought they were).  

Chinese Medicine gaining respect in the West?

I think that it is great that people are more accepting of this medicine.  I think that a majority of people still use Chinese Medicine as a last resort and I'm looking forward to the day that people think of Chinese Medicine first.  I'm not saying that someone should go to an acupuncturist if they break their arm, I'm just saying that it should have the same respect and understanding as western modalities.  

Complexity of Life

Can Diversification Save a Species?

I would think that the answer to this is yes.  If there are a bunch of green and blue bugs and a bird comes around who only eats the green bugs, then the fact that there were blue bugs may have saved the species.  

Do you vote for the Chicken or the Egg?

I would think that the Chicken came first.  I would think that at some time chickens gave live birth and something happened to their environment that caused them to start laying eggs instead.  Makes sense in my mind...

I always eat my broccoli...

I hate to admit that I don't always eat my broccoli.  I think it is awesome if broccoli really does help prevent cancer, but I still think that everything should be eaten in moderation and part of a well balanced diet.  It is so hard to determine the factors that cause of EVERY kind of cancer and it would be impossible to eat EVERY food that supposedly prevents it.  

Pattern of Life

Is there a drug around for just about everything?

It sure seems like there is!  It's kind of scary to think about all of the stuff that there are drugs for.  There are drugs for losing weight, to quit smoking, to avoid pregnancy, to get pregnant, to get an erection, etc.  Then, there are the drugs that counteract the side effects of all these drugs.  I think the drugs that scare me the most are the drugs that are kind of unnecessary.  For example, I saw an ad for a drug that lengthens eye lashes.  One of the side effects of this drug was a change in eye color!  If it has the ability to change your eye color...what else is it doing to your body?

Can we raise our levels of dopamine ourselves?

Since Dopamine is naturally occurring in our body, I do believe that we can raise our levels ourselves, especially if a placebo has the ability to raise levels.  I think it is unfortunate that people look at placebos so negatively.  Since starting my training in acupuncture, one of the most common question or statements I've received is "How do you know it's not just a placebo?" or even worse "I think the only reason it works is because it's a placebo."  My answer is always the same, if it works without any side effects, does it really matter whether or not it's a placebo?  If it were just a placebo(I believe there is much more to it then that), would that reduce it's effect?  

I went on a tangent with that question...

How do you think chimps and humans diverged as a species?

I honestly don't know how to answer this question.  I totally believe in evolution, but it's still hard to imagine humans being close enough to chimps to get it on.  I guess at some point one of them decided that the other wasn't intelligent or attractive enough.