Nonlinearity and Future Shock

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I stumbled on the post I quote below via the interesting Technoccult blog. It makes some points I've been wanting to get to, as touched upon in this recent post and this one and others. Specifically, I've been working toward some synthesis based on Alvin Toffler's Future Shock and Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine. I heard Klein lecture at the University of Illinois about a year ago, but since her book hasn't risen to the top of my reading list yet (it's very close, though), I've avoided referencing her thoughts directly. But here's an author named Charlie Stross, with whom I'm not familiar, that neatly draws connections between themes from those two books and the nonlinearity I've started trying to understand:

The term Future Shock was coined by Alvin and Heidi Toffler in the 1960s to describe a syndrome brought about by the experience of "too much change in too short a period of time". Per Wikipedia (my copy of Future Shock is buried in a heap of books in the room next door) "Toffler argues that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an industrial society to a 'super-industrial society'. This change will overwhelm people, the accelerated rate of technological and social change leaving them disconnected and suffering from 'shattering stress and disorientation' — future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems were symptoms of the future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock, he also popularized the term information overload."

It's about forty years since "Future Shock" was published, and it seems to have withstood the test of time. More to the point, the Tofflers' predictions for how the symptoms would be manifest appear to be roughly on target. They predicted a growth of cults and religious fundamentalism; rejection of modernism: irrational authoritarianism: and widespread insecurity. They didn't nail the other great source of insecurity today, the hollowing-out of state infrastructure and externally imposed asset-stripping in the name of economic orthodoxy that Naomi Klein highlighted in The Shock Doctrine, but to the extent that Friedmanite disaster capitalism can be seen as a predatory corporate response to massive political and economic change, I'm inclined to put disaster capitalism down as being another facet of the same problem. (And it looks as if the UK and USA are finally on the receiving end of disaster capitalism at home, in the post-2008 banking crisis era.)

My working hypothesis to explain the 21st century is that the Toffler's underestimated how pervasive future shock would be. I think somewhere in the range from 15-30% of our fellow hairless primates are currently in the grip of future shock, to some degree. Symptoms include despair, anxiety, depression, disorientation, paranoia, and a desperate search for certainty in lives that are experiencing unpleasant and uninvited change. It's no surprise that anyone who can offer dogmatic absolute answers is popular, or that the paranoid style is again ascendant in American politics, or that religious certainty is more attractive to many than the nuanced complexities of scientific debate.

I'll quibble about the last clause in this quote, because there are also conflicts between "scientific certainty and the nuanced complexities of religious debate" (to use Stross' construct), and also between dogma versus open-mindedness in both "communities." But his working hypothesis, as his post is entitled, corresponds to key points of my own, so I'm happy to have him do some heavy lifting to help me progress on my own synthesis.

Incidentally, these Stross bon mots are extracted from a more specialized question that his post directly addresses: is religious tolerance beneficial? And his answer, similar to mine, is mixed. Yes, religious tolerance is beneficial because the opposite of tolerance never is. But tolerance should not venture up to the point where a "religion" adopts dogmas that dehumanize women, children, and The Other; or where religious proselytizing becomes intrusive, coercive, or mandated by law.

Wise sayings

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If you must take drugs while having sex, use Ritalin.

Somatic delusions

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From the Mind Hacks blog, here is an excerpt from the case history of a somatic delusion I'd prefer never to experience:

From September, [the patient] felt that “there is another lower jaw with teeth between the real upper jaw and real lower jaw, and there is another tongue between the false lower jaw and the real lower jaw”; “the teeth on the false lower jaw are growing steadily”; “I try to cut the false teeth off with the real teeth, but the false teeth do not stop growing”; “the false teeth melt into holes in the false lower jaw, but later grow again from those holes”; “something like spaghetti is coming into and going out from the holes” and “the false lower jaw rolls up and is coming into the throat.”

Yeesh. The Mind Hacks article indicates that a "somatic delusion" is a persistent distorted perception or awareness of one's own body. Through a brain scan, the patient was found to have reduced blood flow in the parietal lobe, which helps to provide a person's own "body image." The Mind Hacks writeup can be found here.

More exoplanets!

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The other day, Wired reprinted this picture of two exoplanets photographed at the Keck Observatory at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The picture was first published earlier the same day, 13 November, in Science Express. The image actually depicts part of a three-planet exo-solar system hosted by the unglamourously named HR 8799, about 130 light years from Cafe Kopi. Planet "a" is not visible in this image. The Wired article provides some technical background on the photographic technique used as well as the planetary system. It was taken in the nonvisible infrared spectrum, which to me is not as cool as the visible-light Fomalhaut b picture I reproduced the other day. But it's still a direct observation rather than an indirect, inferred one, and it's a real, live exo-solar system!

I think the highest priorities relating to this discovery should be (1) assigning a cool name to HR 8799 and (2) developing new extraterrestrial markets for American automobiles and toxic financial assets.

I await our new overlords from Fomalhaut b

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This is pretty big news in the world I inhabit. The false-color image below documents the first direct photographic observation of a planet circling a star outside our home solar system. The planet, thought to be a ringed gas giant along the lines of Jupiter, orbits Fomalhaut (pronounced foam-uh-low, I think). It's located about 25 light years distant from good old Sol. All previously announced planetary discoveries outside our solar system have been made through supportable inferences based on astronomical spectral observations. (I'm oversimplifying here because I'm currently too tired not to.)



The planet has been named Fomalhaut b, although I have little doubt that it will some day be named after the prime contractor for the Hubble Space Telescope, which was used to make the discovery. An informed interpretation of the image can be found here.

I first became aware of Fomalhaut in one of the more obscure Philip K. Dick novels, but I can't remember which one at the moment. The Dickian future continues to take shape approximately on schedule. This discovery is really cool, and big, big news. I have spoken. Long Live StuporMundi.

Chronicles of VapoRub bioavailability 1(2)

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As promised in a previous comments thread, this post presents my latest datum on VapoRub from the night of 8 - 9 November 2008. The investigation attempts to verify the rumored utility of VapoRub as a cough suppressant during sleep when it is applied to the soles of a person's feet and covered with socks.

Immediately before retiring last evening, I once again slathered a moderate amount of Vick's VapoRub on the soles of my feet. As in the experimental run of 7 -8 November 2008, I began with the left foot, using my right hand, then carefully drew on a clean, lightweight cotton sock (black/brown houndstooth check if you must know). I took care not to wipe any VapoRub off the foot onto the sleeve of the sock. I then repeated the same sequence on the right foot, this time applying the medicated goo with the left hand. The sensation, as in the previous experimental run, was both comforting and slightly annoying; the moisture felt a bit sloppy, but not to any extent that should dissuade your own experimentation. Also, to preserve my original methodology, I used the Vick's inhaler thingy before conking out.

The result of this run was that I had even a better night's sleep than during the first run, which itself was of a very high quality. For background purposes, it should be noted that I typically awaken briefly once or twice a night at the conclusion of one or two 90-minute sleep cycles. These awakenings are either used for (1) voiding or (2) confirming that it's not time to wake up yet, immediately heralding the start of a fresh sleep cycle. I judge sleep quality by how well rested I feel in the morning; normal interruptions do not detract from good basic sleep quality, but fewer interruptions do enhance the quality significantly. [Editor's note: StuporMundi provides this personal sleep information to document the metrics for sleep quality used in this study, not because he's a lifestyle exhibitionist.]

Without knowing the mechanism of the cough-suppressing effect, I have become confident that there is a direct correlation between this medical application and my enjoyment of a restful sleep despite my being gruesomely ill. Without hesitation, I will repeat the application until I have recovered.

I don't know if Big Otis was ribbing us about the feet being "conduits of health", but something like that idea is present in folk medicine. It is said that if you rub the bottom of your feet with garlic cloves, you will taste it in your mouth in about 20 minutes, even without sucking on your own toes. Or at least that's what I read in an email chain letter. I may try the garlic experiment at a later date.

BO, who is a trained and degreed scientist, also hypothesized that the cough-suppressing effect may simply be the same one you get by simply rubbing the stuff on your chest. Using the foot modality of delivery, I experienced no sensation of "mintiness" or "warmth" anywhere near the chest --- only in the nose tubes that sucked up the vapors from the inhaler. The onset of the effect must be slow or subtle; the last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep was to wonder if it was going to work, because I felt like I could start coughing at any time. Upon awakening in the morning, I had no impulse to cough, and no significant sensation of irritation in the lungs. And it is worth noting that, according to my memory, having VapoRub smeared over one's upper torso is quite annoying in terms of the "sloppiness" metric, and I also seem to recall that the torso application causes excessive sweating, which aggravates the discomfort of stewing in one's own mentholated, virus-infested sauce.

In this second run I added an observational phase in the morning. Checking the bottoms of my feet, there was absolutely no trace of greasy residue from the VapoRub. Assuming it had wicked into the socks, I checked. Neither sock felt the slightest bit greasy to the touch, and I smelled no hint of menthol. I did, however, smell the miasma of podobromidrosis, which I did not expect. No single mechanism cries out as an explanation for the conspicuous vanishing of all traces of the aromatic grease. Bioabsorption does not sound farfetched to this simple country editor, but as the scientific community always says, "more research is needed."

Socks full of Vick's VapoRub

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In a comments thread for the Lieberman post on 7 November Big Rock Head suggested that I fill some warm socks with VapoRub and wear them to bed, or something, to treat my chest cold. Matter of fact, earlier yesterday I got email from VAR Of The DAR who suggested the same thing. I was feeling so miserable, and couldn't breathe, that I saw no harm in trying. So I greased up the soles of my feet and put on some socks, then went night-night. The damp chemical warmth was a little weird, but not too weird for Science.

Guess what? I had the best sleep of my illness. My airway stayed clear for the duration. This was not a formal scientific study because I also used a Vick's inhaler shortly before bed, and there was at least one other variable I temporarily forget (probably B&B). But I'm trying it again tonight. Will publish results sometime tomorrow, maybe with an update on my shaving razor field research!

From a cave somewhere in the universe

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This photo is a found object from the Astronomy Photograph of the Day widget that Mac users can install for free. A week or two ago I clicked past it thinking that it was an artist's conception of how the sky would look from some cave on a rocky moon orbiting Saturn. But last night I read the caption that the widget serves up on demand: was astonished that this is a genuine single-exposure photograph of the night sky shot right here in the good old USA.

The short story is that the photographer, one Wally Pacholka, lugged his gear to a remote cave and archeological site called False Kiva located in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. He waited for Terra to revolve the central band of the Milky Way into view, with Jupiter tagging along near the upper left of the cave arch. It looks like he used a fairly wide lens --- probably no longer than 50 or 55 mm (photo has no metadata, so I can only guess). The cave appears to be facing almost due south, judging from the orientation of the galaxy edge. The exposure is long, which was necessary to get any detail at all from the band of stars. Pacholka "painted" the inside of the cave with light from a flashlight during the long expusure.

Speaking as a photographer, I can tell you that this guy knows his stuff. Plus, speaking as someone who has dabbled in astronomy, it must have been flurking cold on location, even if it was mid-July. The photo above is copyright Wally Pacholka and is used here only for nonprofit educational or research purposes. The photo below, from the web site of a guy named Eric Zelermyer, shows a more routine view of False Kiva as seen during the day. But getting there is not routine, evidently requiring a certain degree of physical conditioning and foolhardiness to find within Canyonlands. The Zelermyer picture is copyrighted by the photographer and is displayed here for nonprofit educational or research purposes.