Continuous Productivity

Vancouver Grizzlies

I've been meaning to post this pretty awesome video we took while in Vancouver- some grizzlies playing around on Grouse Mountain:

Dyscalculia

A very interesting learning disability that I knew nothing about:

Last November, Jill got herself screened for learning disabilities. She found that while her IQ is above average, her numerical ability is equivalent to that of an 11-year-old because she has something called dyscalculia. The diagnosis came partly as a relief, because it explained a lot of difficulties she had in her day-to-day life. She can't easily read a traditional, analogue clock, for example, and always arrives 20 minutes early for fear of being late. When it comes to paying in shops or restaurants, she hands her wallet to a friend and asks them to do the calculation, knowing that she is likely to get it wrong.

The disability is analogous to dyslexia and effects the same percent (5%) of the population. But, it clearly does not get the same level of care.

Chicago Depressed?

Kedrosky pointed me to a very interesting search on Google.

It seems that the search for "suicide methods" has increased over 50 percent in the last year. Which, although not justifiable, makes intuitive sense given the state of the economy.

But, what city searches for "suicide methods" the most? Chicago. As a Chicagoan I find this interesting given that we have largely weathered the real estate turmoil, are not overly dependent on any one industry (technology, finance, etc) like our coastal brethren, and don't seem to have the same sub-prime issues. I wonder what is driving our search for "suicide methods." My half-joking guess would be the weather.

Sleep Deprivation? Doesn't Exist

I always suspected that the various sleep deprivation studies were a bit spurious. Now, some proof:

Another line of evidence trotted out for chronic sleep deprivation is that we typically sleep longer on vacation and at weekends, often up to 9 or 10 hours a night. It is often assumed that we do this to pay off a sleep debt built up during the week.

However, just because we can easily sleep beyond our usual daily norm - the Saturday morning lie-in, the Sunday afternoon snooze - it doesn't necessarily follow that we really need the extra sleep. Why shouldn't we be able to sleep to excess, for indulgence? After all, we enthusiastically eat and drink well beyond our biological needs. Why shouldn't it be the same with sleep?

Most mammals will sleep for longer than normal if overfed, caged or bored. The three-toed sloth is a good example. Sloths kept in zoos sleep around 16 hours a day - yet in their natural, wild state they sleep less than 10. Niels Rattenborg and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Starnberg, Germany, recently found this out by using miniature EEG recorders attached to the heads of sloths in Panama, the first such experiment on a free-ranging wild animal. Why this difference in its sleep? The most likely explanation is that sloths simply sleep to excess when caged (Biology Letters, vol 4, p 402). This is seen in domestic animals too. Sheep in pens, horses in stables and cows in barns sleep much more than when in open fields, and pet cats sleep extensively compared with feral cats.

One of the favorite examples of these studies is that we sleep longer when we can. Wouldn't you know it, of course we do, it's like anything else we indulge in. I think sleep, like many things in life (alcohol, food, drugs), etc, is something we do when we have nothing better to do. Anecdotally, the most active, diverse, and inquisitive people I know sleep the least. And it doesn't seem to be just the socially active folks, but rather people with diverse interests whether they be sports or reading or even meditating.

Yes, You Can be a Hindu and a Muslim

A very interesting profile of a Rajasthani community that is, essentially, both Hindu and Muslim:

They are people with a mixed Hindu-Muslim identity. And left alone, that is how they would like to be.

Deepa, 60, has a Hindu name but he thinks he is a Muslim because he follows Muslim practices.

"In my family, we celebrate Hindu festivals such as Holi and Diwali. But we also offer namaz (prayers) at (the Muslim festival of) Eid. We worship both local gods and Allah. This has been a tradition in my family. I do not know whether my ancestors were Hindus or Muslims."

Another Mehrat member is Mahendra Singh who has a Hindu name.

"We don't care about being Hindu or Muslim. It is sheer politics," he says.

Barely, 15km (9 miles) from Byawar town, Rasool runs a tea shop. He says his great grandparents were Hindus. But somewhere along the line, they became Muslims.

"It wasn't such a big deal to be Hindu or Muslim," says Rasool. His son Shankar is named after a Hindu god but he says they consider themselves Muslims.

India, I believe, is at the forefront of these hybrid religions due to its history and general tolerance.

As an Indian-American, I have many Indian friends that are Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. It's always striking to go to weddings, or baptisms, or other events and notice the similarities in food, rituals, interactions, etc no matter the religion of the people hosting the event.

Perhaps, I'm biased, but I think it's a testament to India holding on to its culture and heritage above religious boundaries.

Financial Advice for Athletes

A very interesting post about athlete financial irresponsibility by Brian Cuban. Check out this nugget:

No one my age can forget Jack”The Ripper” Clark , star player for the Boston Red Sox who filed for bankruptcy in 1992 in the middle of his second year of a three-year, $8.7 million contract with Boston; he listed $6.7 million in debts. Jack was a master of financial planning and prudent asset acquisition. His bankruptcy petition listed assets such as 18 automobiles, including a 1990 Ferrari that cost $717,000 and three 1992 Mercedes Benz cars costing between $103,000 and $143,000. He owed money on 17 of the automobiles and was liable for about $400,000 in Federal and state taxes. He had also lost about $1 million in a drag-racing venture.

Albino Body Parts

The sun used to be his main enemy, but now he has others. Mr. Mluge is an albino, and in Tanzania now there is a price for his pinkish skin. “I feel like I am being hunted,” he said. Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicked twist: at least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed and mutilated in the past year, victims of what Tanzanian officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts.

A very interesting article outlining the plight of Albinos in Africa. It is absolutely appalling to think that this is happening:

But the killings go on. They have even spread to neighboring Kenya, where an albino woman was hacked to death in late May, with her eyes, tongue and breasts gouged out. Advocates for albinos have also said that witch doctors are selling albino skin in Congo.

The young are often the targets. In early May, Vumilia Makoye, 17, was eating dinner with her family in their hut in western Tanzania when two men showed up with long knives Vumilia was like many other Africans with albinism. She had dropped out of school because of severe near-sightedness, a common problem for albinos, whose eyes develop abnormally and who often have to hold things like books or cellphones two inches away to see them. She could not find a job because no one would hire her. She sold peanuts in the market, making $2 a week while her delicate skin was seared by the sun.

When Vumilia’s mother, Jeme, saw the men with knives, she tried to barricade the door of their hut. But the men overpowered her and burst in.

“They cut my daughter quickly,” she said, making hacking motions with her hands.

The men sawed off Vumilia’s legs above the knee and ran away with the stumps. Vumilia died.

The Various Forms of Civilization

One of the more fascinating articles that I have read recently reminded me that there are still numerous "indigenous" tribes that don't quite live a life like ours:

The photos were taken during several flights over one of the most remote parts of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil's Acre region.

They show tribe members outside thatched huts, surrounded by the dense jungle, pointing bows and arrows up at the camera.

Check out the pictures!

Failure the Pathway to Success?