Biophysics: Bionics and our Biophysical Future

I think if a  fully bionic person were created, it would be a very bad use of natural resources and many ethical issues would follow. In short, more problems would arise rather than be resolved. Even if it was for medical reasons, such as a paralyzed person controlling the bionic person, I still feel a lot of psychological issues would develop. This may allow the person to improve their quality of daily functions, but I don't see how it would improve the pycho-emotional stress. I think the future of bionics should stay as appendages because these options allow people to improve their daily lives.  As for how as to distribute who gets a bionic prosthetic, that is a problem all on its own.  The way I would dissolve this problem would be to have people keep in mind that humans are not immortal and cannot escape death. With this in mind, I hope people would only consider improving their daily functions instead of abusing the technology.

I would be even more against the creation of a bionic person due to military reasons.  Having a bionic person operating on artificial intelligence, just terrifies me.  With hackers being able to access to anything placed on the web or in a computer, I just see a very big risk and a gigantic disaster over head.  This makes me think of all the sci-fi movies where artificial intelligence takes over the world and decides to kill off humans.  A few that came to mind were the Terminator, the Matrix, I Robot, and RoboCop are just a few.

I won't deny the possibility that having the bionic technology is awesome and the possibilities for improving the quality  of life of humans is tremendous.  However, as I have experienced for myself, having the internet can be more distracting than watching a television. A couple of other movies came to mind that use a different combination of artificial intelligence and technology.  Avatar and Interstellar are great examples of how our technology could change our lives.

Biophysics: Energy Fields and Energy Medicine

Energetics can be found in many types of medicine such as traumatic medicine, allopathic medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is an effective energy medicine for a few reasons.  There is a 4,000 year old history backing the etiology, physiology of organs and organ network vessels, pathology of these organ and organ network vessels.Acupuncture uses  the natural energy field of the body to help itself begin healing.  I like to think of it a knitted sweater.  If there is a tangle in a shoulder of the sweater, you mend it by going to distant areas and pulling and tugging to get the threads back into order.  Acupuncture is very similar to this metaphor. The needle mends the energy field of the body by causing interactions between physical body and energetic body.Human intention plays a role  all types of medicine.  The intention of the practitioner and the patient can make a big different in the results that could be achieved.  Human intention plays a very important role in acupuncture.  Even if the patient has no faith in the treatment, the patient can still get results. This usually causes patients to come back for more acupuncture even if they don't understand the principles behind the medicine.  The results can be immediate, especially with relieving pain.  I believe this is what makes it a very effective energetic medicine. People who have to faith in the medicine can obtain results.  The stronger the patient believes in the medicine, a stronger reaction occurs, creating a very satisfying result. Kirilian photography would be a great tool to use to record the before and after treatments from acupuncture. Kirilian photography  is a technique for recording photographic images of corona discharges and hence, supposedly the auras of living creatures. A corona discharge would be the glow surrounding the object captured on film. The glow is created when a electric field is generated by a spark between a electrically grounded object and electrode.

Biophysics: Life and Living Systems

I know I'm a living system because I am constantly rediscovering myself through my daily actions and reorganizing myself according to what I learn.    The process of continually rediscovering myself is an act of autopoietic organization.  One way of looking at this process is that my constant remodeling of myself allows me to be the producer  and the  product. This example also proves  I am a living being.  Just the fact that all my actions have an impact on my internal world as well as my external world are reflected in how I present myself on a daily basis. My flection of myself is proof that I am a living system.

I am very glad that technology is continuously advancing, allowing us to measure if a brain damaged person has more consciousness then what we were previously aware.  Sometimes our discoveries bring more questions rather than resolve a question.  I believe the main issue with this technology is the ethical problems.  Who is to say what is the brain response from the brain dead person may be instinctual, instead of consciousness. even more terrifying is the thought of that person has been kept alive for 5 years having no communication externally.If his or hers consciousness still remained, who much would be left.  It is a fact that the human body is a very resourceful, like if you don't use your cells, you lose the function of those cells.  The biggest question of all is, when is the "proper" time to determine the consciousness is active. Is it 3months, 6months, or 2 years.  I think there is no good answers to any of these very reasonable inquiries.  My hope for this technology that if we could use it to help the person to communicate, this technology could also improve the quality of life for people who have paralysis.

Week Nine: Synthesis

The sun began to rise into the sky as I awoke from my slumber due to the nudging from my dog. She may be known as Nami. Her and I stroll around the block so that she may relieve herself of her morning dues. Her and I determine how to wake up our third family member, who is  known as Emil. We partake in our breakfast meals. To prepare for school, I search for my book bag and school supplies and take the bicycle to school.  there TCM teaches me how chinese medicine is applied to humans and how it may interact with western medicine.  Around sunrise, I began the journey home with my bicycle.  Nami greets me with a warm welcome home and we share our final meal of the day together.  We take another stroll around the block, so that Nami may be prepared for sleeping through the night.  By nightfall Emil returns home to discover Nami and I sleeping soundly.


By synthesizing physics with pictorial language, we stand to gain a great wealth of knowledge.   The English language  is based off a sound based writing system.  This system doesn't have enough room to supporting consciousness within knowledge, communication between and among generations, and in time the accumulation of knowledge is unable to develop. English restricts our freedom to clearly express our thought. Meanwhile Chinese uses a pictorial writing system.  This system allows images to represent and retain the original meaning of a Chinese character.  Chinese is able to retain consciousness in knowledge, makes communication among generations possible, and the accumulation of knowledge is able to proceed.  Chinese supports and  allows many different meanings to be interpreted just from a character. this thought process helps to stimulate the mind. By combining a pictorial writing system with physics, physicists are able to clearly reflect their ideas without constraint.

week 8: Classical Physics

Newton's Three Laws and Me


The first law states that a body remains at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by a force.
I really understood this theory when playing with silk worms dangling from the tree in the neighborhood.  They would stand still until you blew on them or pushed their web into a direction.


The second law states that a body's rate of change of momentum is proportional to the force causing it. 

What came to mind was comparing my walking  stride to jogging to the running start when you ride a zorb ball. Each one came at different speeds but the most exciting was the zorb ball because the faster you run the more momentum you carry down the launch off.

The third law states that when a force acts on a body due to another body, then an equal and opposite force acts simultaneously on that body
My memories of learning how to ride a bike came crashing back to re-illustrate this third principle.  I don't miss those scraped elbows, knees, or chins.

Our Energy Efficient Culture

This topic brings up many concerns for me.  Yes our culture has the potential to stop using fuel and transfer to a more clean energy that would benefit the environment. There are three countries currently operating the MagLev train, and they are China, Japan, and South Korean.

Decartes has a lot to answer for!!

In all respect, I admire Descartes for going against the mass culture.  He made in error in trying to compare the humans biological system to the mechanical working of a clock.   It is true the the human system a some mechanical quality in some areas such as the organs doing their routine to make the whole digestive system work. Due to Descartes instance that you could possible interchange organs like clock work pieces and still have the human body function unchanged seems unlikely.  Organ transplants today prove the Descartes theory untrue.  Many recipients of the organ transplants of remarked on picking up habits they never had before and finding out their new habits were that of their donor.

Week 7:Chaos Theory

Ordered Chaos

I find ordered chaos through out my life.  As a child, I really liked how my room looked with thinks strewn here and there, and I knew exactly where everything was. When I had to organize my room, I could never find things as quickly as when it was messy.  I have also tested the theory of ordered chaos in the checkout line at the grocery store  I purposely chose the longest line in the grocery store and was out of there faster.  This event occurred during peak hours and I was astonished it was still faster than if I had chosen the shorter line.  Amazing!! I am of the mind that if a enough chaos interacts with more chaos, some form of organization is bound to occur to make the most efficient use of the energy available.

Fractals as patterns of complex systems?

My thinking is that a fractal is a microcosm of a complex system. A fractal of itself is a very complicated pattern proven through complicated mathematical terms.  Thanks to fractal geometry, geometry has expanded greatly. Fractals may give us an insight into chaos.  Fractals  have a rough or irregular quality on a geometric object  part which can be divided evenlyno matter how scaled down or magnified.

A really fun website I wanted to share with all of y'all

http://fractal.org/

Cool Experiments: Fun with Flatware--Knife experiement

This one by far my favorite because my dog, Nami chased the reflection around the house and made the experiment more endearing.  I found the reflection interesting in how it distorted the images.  Before the only experiment I tried with my silver was hanging a metal spoon on the end of my nose.

Week 6: Vibrations

Are all vibrations "good?"

Good is a subjective term, and the better term to describe vibrations is efficient. The way I interpret vibrations is that they are another form of communication felt. Vibrations provide a boundary for all objects in the universe to communicate.  One can tune in to the vibration that makes the object thrive or discover the vibration that will make the object  consume more tension than it can handle and disperse leaving behind a tattered vibration.

Resonance in my world

I don't think I truly appreciated resonance in my world until we discussed it in  class.  I realized there is a lot of potential to be had by understanding resonance.  We can prevent architectural disaster such as the Nimitz Freeway  or the Tacoma Bridge Narrows Bridge from collapsing.   Resonance can be used for healing purposes.  I'm really curious how sound healing fairs in TCM.  Research has shown that eleco-acupuncture has higher sucess rate than traditional acupunture treats.  I wonder what the comparision rate would be between tuning forks on acupuncture used through TCM diagnosis and treatmen.  I have yet to find any research comparing two.

Connections between Energy and Qi

In many respects, I think energy and qi are well matched.  Both words bring up a surge of inquiries.  For example energy has a physical manifestation such as electricity and a non-physical manifestation such as love.  Qi has many definitions in TCM and one of the physical manifestations of qi is air(wind) while a non-physical manifestation of qi is consciousness. I also think the words get misused also in the press and advertisement in an attempt to bridge the gap between eastern and western cultures, and this is where a lot of the debate stem from.

Week 5: Symmetry and Sacred Geometry

Eastern philosophy has been helping me to understand symmetry and asymmetry, especially the principles of yin and yang.  The four principles of yin and yang are opposition, mutual consumption, interdependence or  mutual reliance upon the each other, and  inter-transformation or mutually changing nature into the other. I  think of symmetry as yin and asymmetry as yang.  In order to define symmetry and asymmetry you would need to find extreme examples of the others nature. For Symmetry you need an object's relative position of parts  to be divisible across a dividing line, median plane, about a center, or axis.  Asymmetry would be the unequal divisibility of the objects relative position of parts. To create the world we live in now you would multiple interactions such as opposition, mutual consumption, interdependence, and inter-transformation between symmetry and asymmetry. There are times when asymmetry gives rise to symmetry such as the imperfections on tree bark but step away and look at the bark from a distance, the imperfections reflect a uniform tree bark with that imperfection repeated at consistent intervals. This would be an example of interdependence.


My understanding of CP violation is that there is more matter in the universe than antimatter. I think that the antimatter is constantly being transformed into matter.  I based this off the law of conservation of energy, no energy is created nor destroyed within a closed system. The closed sytem for this scenario is the conversion of antimatter into matter.  Humans haven't developed the right technology to measure this phenomenon yet.

I believe a fractal is one of the connections between sacred geometry and physics. I think a fractal is sacred geometry due to the fact the pattern of the fractal can be replicated at every scale.  Fractals role in physics would be to help give visuals of the atomic particles like quarks, protons, and neutrons.

this article is old but it did help me understand CP violation better.

http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/28092
 

Week 4: Energy, Matter, and Force

I know E=mc2 has provided many uses such as nuclear power plants, medical testing machinies, and open the doors for understanding atomic particles. For me, my favorite use for E=mc2 is the creation of science fiction story-lines such as Star-trek, World War Z, and the Avengers.

I would compare the four forces in relation to how their size influences their actions.  Gravity, for example, is considered the weakest of the four forces because it takes a tremendous amount of mass to create a very powerful gravitational field.  Electromagnetism has similar properties to gravity such as infinite range but differs in that electromagnetism can  have attractive and repulsive attributes that will combine or cancel each others attributes. For electromagnetism, the stronger the attractive force field generated means a smaller overall mass, and the weaker repulsive force is generated by a larger overall mass.   For the nuclear forces, they are both very strong because they work on the atomic nucleus level.  Weak nuclear force is considered less strong because the messenger particles can not always transmit it's strength because the particles are very large and slow. Strong nuclear force has the responsiblity of keeping atomice particles organized within each other.  This takes a  great amount of force to keep quarks inside protons and neutrons.  Not to mention this same force must keep the protons and neutrons inside the atomic nuclei.

In my opinion, I think gravity's duty is to be the communicator between the remaining forces.  Gravity may act as the initiator or reactor depending on what the other forces need to create or maintain their force field. Another task of the communicator is to combine or separate the forces as needed for what the situation is called for.  The reason that gravity is considered the weakest may be so that it has a less invasive way of interacting with the other forces.

Week 2: Quantam Mechanics

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Week 2 Quantam Mechanics

I really struggled to apply and how to use the uncertainty principle.  My understanding is that part of the uncertainty principle  suggests the act of observing has an effect on what ever phenomena is being observed. The other part states that the observer cannot record an accurate measurement due to the fact that one person cannot simultaneously record the position and momentum of an object. Essentially this means the observer must choose between capturing a precise moment or  compromise by capturing the overall effect of the moment. 

The first example that came to mind was, could the crash of a tree still be heard if no one or nothing was there to observe the fall. My second thought was measuring the effects of drugs to the overall health of a person.


In my opinion, causality is a very natural and normal phenomena. Causality is the relationship between cause and effect. By placing tools to record the sound of a tree's crash, I have already changed the environment of the tree.  I will have directly or indirectly altered the tree's course. Since every person has a slightly different constitution, how can drug companies create a universal drug to fit everyone's constitution.

I believe the universe is very strange. How can the nature of the universe allow for so many disruptions to its nature, and still keep functioning. Perhaps the universe sees the disruptions as a way to keep evolving.  For example the tree falling, could be the first step in creating a home for an animal or a signal to warn others that the ground is not stable. Tinkering with drugs, allows for discovering how to extend life, what shortens life, and what reactions to expect from different constitutions.

Week 3: Synchronicity

My evidence for synchronicity is non-locality. Non locality is the ability of objects to instantaneously  exchange information at a distance. This can be proven in thought experiments such as the metaphorical sphinx viewer.

I think because of the interaction between non-locality and entanglement, all  objects are intimately connected. By intimately connected I mean by forces seen and unseen creating a relationship between   objects.

Week 1: Assignment 1

 I think time is a subjective experience.  It can easily switch from time dragging on so slowly, or it can go by so fast you wished the to experience could happen again, so you could savor it one more time. Dark matter can distort time through its halos.  Dark matter halos of galaxies can lag in time just by interacting and colliding with each other.  If we could harness and understand how dark matter works, I believe we could physically slow down time.  Until then we will have to experience time subjective.

Cultural implications of time make for a fascinating business or social meeting. Mono-chronic time is geared towards more of a capitalist and CEO world.  Tasks and meeting must be done asap, always be on schedule and individual growth.  Poly-chronic time places more importance on social well being of the individual and community. if a meeting is to be held,  the social niceties are taken care of first. Then the meeting will be held after everyone is taken care of. I think a combination of mono-chronic and poly-chronic could be the best way to lead a successful life.  There are times when as an individual you need to understand and concentrate on your goals so you can move forward. Then how your accomplish your goals could really contribute to a bigger cause.

Are parallel universes possible? I think it's possible.  Our universe is so large, it contains many secrets that are hard to comprehend for us humans.  One thought that came to mind were dreams.  Sometimes when I dream, I feel like i lived a whole different life in  a 2 hour  nap once. I believe the answer to discovering parallel universes depends on how we view the world.  If we can simultaneous hold a singularity view and a holistic view and hold both is true, we could definitely get closer to the truth. Or it could be a really simple answer that would be difficult to comprehend and believe.