Religion in horror and America

Came upon this essay accidentally this morning. The irony is that this (growing up in religious schools) was a topic in three conversations last week* (different people who lived it; one called it the "school of hypocrisy"). While I can't really contribute to the conversation because I didn't have that experience, I've known many who did live it. Including my father.

As author C. J. Leede comments, the roots run deep, perhaps a thousand years ago. Although, my limited experience in Europe suggests that perhaps it's influence may no longer be as strong in many places there. A French colleague once mentioned that many hundreds of years of religious wars there makes people weary and wary of religious repression and control (have heard similarly of Asia). Obviously, some countries are still willing to kill and maim in the name of their gods, such as many places in the Middle East. And treat women like property and dogs. I find this tantamount to extreme hypocrisy and excuse for patriarchal control. 

Regardless, the bad vapors of religion manifest in various ways. Many times permeating and fusing with capitalism, and, as the US is a perfect example of current times, politics. Some mistake religious piety for greed. As I mentioned in our conversation on Friday, the demon in the box pulling the strings is power. Greed and power seem to be twins, so can't delineate where one begins and the other ends. They are joined at the hips. Or, perhaps, the brain. 

"When I ask myself why I wrote 'American Rapture,' why I read religious horror or watch it on the screen, when I really stop and think, what do I wish more than anything I had known when I was a young girl trying to step into herself?

It’s this: Repression—religious or otherwise—is the horror. Ignorance is what we should fear. What makes us all ill-equipped for moving through life as humans in natural human bodies.

And maybe little girls aren’t born into more sin than little boys. Maybe sin is just an idea we’ve created for control. A powerful little beast that preys on all of us every day, in and outside of fiction. And maybe it’s one we just don’t need to feed anymore. - C. J. Leede"  

* These people whom I had these conversations with were unconnected, nor did I initiate the aforementioned topic. This suggests people may actually be thinking about such subjects. I interpret that as a good sign, aka maybe hope?

Speaking Out

What convinces me that our species is 'doomed' (I wish I could avoid using that term, but can no longer deny the applicability) is the global pathological denial of the train wreck. Additionally, human civilization has already dragged down other species, and continues to do so at alarming rates.

As a scientist, I intellectually understand that denial is a defense mechanism to help cope with anxiety (coupled with explaining away problems and blaming others). Denial enables ignoring or refusing to believe an unpleasant reality, protecting psychological well-being in any situation that produces anxiety or conflict including challenges to one's standard of living or power status quo. But when one is looking into the jaws of a lion ready to bite off your head, or staring at the giant wall looming before the speeding train, denial no longer serves as a defense mechanism. Here I lose understanding, and I blame my science colleagues as much as the politicians and financiers that perpetuate the fuel of denial.

Most of the scientific community, including medical, is either in denial, or running to look for technological solutions rather than evaluate the root origins of our problems and address 'how we got from there to here.' Our politics, economics, policy, and, many times science are based on 'bandaid' cures. Put a bandaid on it, cover it up, and it will go away. Ignore the festering wound underneath; its origins, the process and interrelated changes of its development. Ignore the peripheral interacting relationships and far-reaching impacts. "Let's amp up production; don't pay any attention to consumption." "Give them a pill; who cares about prevention?" "Collect the species DNA and we can ignore life extinction."

At this rate, our civilization will collapse. As history teaches us, it will also arise again like the Phoenix. But perhaps a Phoenix with a limp. My sympathies and grief are for the non-human species on this planet. Their collapse and extinction is finite. And they have no concept of denial. The ubiquitous law of supply and demand is a part of population dynamics. The changing supply of resources -water, food, shelter- will trigger changes in population. I suspect that without modern industrial sustainment of large scale food production, water collection and long-distance distribution, human population everywhere will decline, possibly quickly collapse. Earlier civilizations, even other species, have experienced these cycles; we are not immune.

Sometimes I have to look beyond the doom and gloom and find specks of hope that we can change this trajectory. But my brain isn't convinced.

The Mental Health Crisis

I read an announcement this morning and associated media release about a NYS senator supporting introduced legislation to help recruit more mental health professionals to state counties that lack them. Which is most of NY state and nearly all rural counties.

One of her comments reflects public attitudes and policy regarding mental heath in this country (let alone the state). And it "stoked my fire" enough to type and send her an email (see below). 

Writing the email was easy. What's less easy is posting it here with my identification added to it. It's like stepping out on a public street naked with a sign, "See us, help us," where the typical reaction is that most other people will turn away or pretend they didn't see. That is the stigma all with mental health issues carry. 

Mental health issues don't mean we are damaged or broken. For some, we are just different; some of us have managed to cope. For others, they live every day in a nightmare. Most of us also remain hidden and invisible; by our own choice, because we are ignored, or we can't get help. It's not just an individual's problem, or New York's problem, it is the entire country. 

We really are more alike than we are different. But the stigma pushes us away, and, in some cases, kills us. This country's perceptions and public policy has, in a minute quality and quantity, changed for the better. But not enough. And the population of the troubled have grown. Just as centuries ago, only the privileged have ensured access to help and care.

This needs to change. It is starts with each and every person.
_____________________________________________________________

Contents of my email:

"I read the announcement and media release about the effort to increase mental health professionals in New York state counties that need it. Which, judging from the map in the media, is 73% of all NY state counties. Most of the latter are rural.

Offering student loan forgiveness for MH “professionals” is a pittance to the epidemic of mental health issues in this state (and country). The offer appeals more to recent graduates than the experienced exerts and professionals that are sorely needed.

The comment in the media piece demonstrates the attitude of people in our society that others with mental health issues are only “an enormous burden on our society and economy as a whole, imposing millions of dollars in direct and indirect costs." Very little consideration of the personal pain of the afflicted, their families, and their loved ones. We are whitewashed, as we have been for centuries.

Increasing professionals will not lessen or solve the MH epidemic. Most of the afflicted cannot afford professional help, even with most insurances. And many do not have any insurance. This is why a high number of people with MH issues die (overdose or suicide) or end up incarcerated. This results from lack of support and help. Isn’t it ironic that the only time the public notices is when they are in jail or in obituaries?

A large % of people and families live paycheck to paycheck. They can’t afford professional help because they struggle to feed themselves, pay their rents, and make it to their jobs. They also fear the “system”, scared that their children will be taken from them, that they will lose input or control over their own lives, and, most of all , they fear the stigma. Which, as your comment demonstrates and perpetuates, is very real and alive.

Mental health acknowledges no social and economic boundaries. Society sets the boundaries. And the privileged can afford professional help and services. Especially in the cities, as the map demonstrates. Rural people are left to flounder through the nightmares in which they live.

Do better. Help bring the mental health crisis to the forefront of the ongoing overall health crisis. Help them by reducing the stigmas and fear. Help them by making MH care more accessible and affordable. Help the public understand that 1 in 5 people in this country experience MH issues. And that number may actually be higher because many people hide it or are undiagnosed. They are the invisible people that silently cry out for help.

I’m on the autistic spectrum, diagnosed late in life. Most of my life has been living in a “different world” that no one else knew or saw. I know others in worse situations that live moment to moment wondering how they will cope and make it to the next day. I see undiagnosed children with less awareness of their problems, and, most of all, their futures. Some may not have a future.

We are the 'I have no mouth and I must scream.' "

The world as a chocolate moose

I read the term "helicopter parenting" this morning and all I could picture was a helicopter and kids without connecting the maze of dots to the euphemism that it means.

Same with "ghosting" people. I didn't understand that until I got brave enough to ask last year what it meant. Recently, it was "gaslighting". (I don't look these things up with Google because I always think it's a social quirk that won't be found.)

Has anyone read the children's book, "Chocolate Moose for Dinner"? It's about homonyms. It may seem 'cute' and funny to most people, but it's actually a perfect description of literal thinking and communication for many people on the autism spectrum. (excellent article here) And why we don't understand most sarcasm and jokes.

I also think that may be why the overuse of 'like' in every sentence people speak makes me internally (and literally) cringe. Even my 6-yo grandson understands the meaning of the word 'like'.

Muscles don't have memories!!

Peeve: When the scientific community can't agree on a definition consensus for a term, such as 'muscle memory'. 

Muscles don't have memories. Brains do. 

Ask anyone in a gym and you'll get four or more interpretations of what 'muscle memory' is or means. Ask scientists and you'll get one of three; each thinking they offer the only correct definition. 

This was a frequent source of amusement in our lab (neuromuscular pathology); we agreed to avoid the term unless being sarcastic. We often used the general term 'muscle plasticity': the ability of a given muscle to alter its structural and functional properties in accordance with the environmental conditions imposed. That's what muscles do. 

Then, what IS muscle memory?

According to Wikipedia (and a more summarized definition in Oxford Dictionary), 'muscle memory' is:

"...a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition, which has been used synonymously with motor learning. When a movement is repeated over time, the brain creates a long-term muscle memory for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed with little to no conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems."

So, what is muscle plasticity? 

Phenotypic* plasticity allows single genotypes to express different phenotypes under diverse environmental conditions. Organisms, and tissues (some more than others), respond to different environments by changing how they act, look or function. Skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue. 

For example, exercise initiates signaling pathways that modify muscle fiber metabolic, physiological and contractile properties of skeletal muscle (sometimes referred to as 'remodeling'). That is 'muscle plasticity'. Whereas exercise can also evoke memories (conscious and subconscious) in the brain of how movements are executed. It is a back-and-forth communication between muscles and the brain via the central nervous system. That is  'muscle memory'.

In language, adjectives connote specificity. In particular, 'neuromuscular plasticity' and pathology were the focus of our research. Muscle plasticity requires the coordinated interaction between neurons and muscles, but pathology narrows the focus. Disease or injury of motor system components, including responsive proteins in muscle fibers, can lead to muscular motor dysfunction. Like all tissues, biological/molecular processes are included. 

One example is muscular dystrophy: a disease in which one or more muscle proteins are absent or dysfunctional because of genetic aberrations that interrupt the signal between the motor neurons and the ability of the muscle to respond. It has little if anything to do with procedural memories, aka 'muscle memories', in the brain. A muscle group without dystrophin won't be able to contract, irrespective of any 'muscle memory' in the brain. 

Using the correct language is imperative for science communication within the scientific community. Incorrect** and vague terms are perpetuated throughout communication and education (formal and informal) outside of that community, such as with medical professionals, trainers, social media, etc. Yet confusion remains if members of the scientific community do not consistently use correct definitions of terms. This needs fixing.

Summarily, the use of the term 'muscle memory' should be restricted to the associations of movement and 'memories' established in the brain. Better yet, these terms are better:

• Procedural memory ( or 'Kinesthetic memory'): the automatic movements involved in throwing a ball, dancing, swimming, steering a vehicle, typing, or even squats.), or
• Motor memory:  process by which animals can adopt both persistent and flexible motor behaviors. 
  
  

MUSCLES DON'T HAVE MEMORIES!
Brains do.

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* Phenotypic is the observable traits of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genes (genotype) and its environment. 

** Many researchers have recently published papers in scientific journals and still use the term 'muscle memory' in the context of muscle biology/molecular biology and physiology without ANY reference to -'memories' formed and stored in the brain! 

As you think we know........

Thetis: “Why then, child, do you lament? What sorrow has come to your heart now? Tell me, do not hide it in your mind, and we shall both know.”

Achilleus: “You know; since you know why must I tell you all this?”

The Iliad, Book I

As a writer I really have few ‘pet peeves’. If you place a comma in the wrong place, if you use quotation marks instead of apostrophes, or other slights and ambiguities of punctuation, we still get your meaning. If you weren’t raised on the Strunk and White bible, “Elements of Style”, don’t stress it. Strunk be damned and White was a hypocrite (he himself advocated ignoring his manual). As long as you use appropriate periods and spaces, you can get your message across. We really don’t have to be style Nazis.

However, a pet peeve that I do have, or it has me, is overuse of “As you know.....” or “As you already know.....”. YES WE ALREADY KNOW! Or NO, STUPID; HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO KNOW?!

It’s a tropism used in writing fiction; a literary tool to give information or explain something to the reader that they don’t know otherwise, or have forgotten. But it has to be used carefully and not assuming that the reader (or audience) doesn’t know or does know where the lead in is going. But if the writer, or speaker, assumes that the reader or audience knows, and when that assumption has a high probability of being wrong, THEN DON’T USE IT! Recall that commonly used cliche! “‘Ass-ume’ makes an ass out of you and me.”? Well, it makes more of an ass out of the person that assumes, and it irritates the hell out of the ‘me’.

I see the use of this misplaced trope much too often on blogs and other social media, especially posts on FaceBook. “As you know, I moved across the country to this location.” I think to myself, ‘If you know we know, then why tell us that we already know?!’ It makes me want to shake the writer, or pull a Gibbs and smack the writer on the back of the head (TV series NCIS reference). Don’t use this trope unless you are writing a novel!

I have heard this trope used in some presentations, but it is placed well as a segue or to invite a question from the audience. Example: “As some of may know, not all grasses use the same photosynthetic pathway. Some species use the C3 pathway, others may use the C3 and C4 pathways.” Assumptions that all those in the audience know this is not implied, and the speaker explains a setting for the rest of his talk.

If you are writing a novel or short story, and a character needs to fill in a gap, this trope can be handy in dialogue, such as the example above of the speaker’s use, or to refresh the reader’s memory of an immediate and pertinent point. It can also be used to imply character personality, especially arrogance, such as with the famous character of Sherlock Holmes.

But if you don’t want to appear arrogant or pretentious, then DON’T USE IT!!