Increasing the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy with hypnosis

7 Jul 2015  |  Print

Increasing the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy with hypnosis

Pain often requires multimodal treatment, with pharmacotherapies frequently supplemented by non-pharmacological approaches.[1] Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a good example; hypnosis is another, albeit less commonly used.

CBT is a form of ‘talking therapy’ that can help patients to manage their pain by changing the way they think and behave. It can involve a wide variety of techniques, including psychoeducation about behavior and mood, strategies for relaxation, effective communication, and cognitive restructuring for distorted and maladaptive thoughts about pain.[1] CBT has improved a variety of outcomes in chronic pain populations, including reductions in pain and disability, as well as improvements in functioning.[1]

In the past, CBT might have been considered somewhat unorthodox, perhaps even ‘alternative’. However, its positive effects are now well recognized, and CBT has moved into the mainstream of pain management.

But hypnosis?

In truth, hypnosis remains a relatively unconventional therapy, and not one that many physicians would regularly advocate.

However, there is a substantial body of the evidence to show that hypnosis can be an effective treatment for chronic pain. Indeed, a meta-analysis of 13 trials found that hypnosis consistently produced significant decreases in pain. It was also found to be generally more effective than many other interventions, such as physical therapy or education.[2]

Until recently, there was relatively little data regarding the combination of hypnosis with CBT. This is now changing, with evidence emerging that hypnosis can be effectively used as an adjunct to CBT in the management of pain.[3,4]

CBT combined with hypnosis

The first data on the use of hypnosis as an adjunct to CBT came from non-pain-related therapy areas. A meta-analysis of results from 18 studies showed that CBT plus hypnosis substantially improved outcomes compared with CBT alone across a variety of medical conditions – particularly in the treatment of obesity.[5]

In the past few years, the combination of CBT and hypnosis has also been studied in pain. For example, Jensen and colleagues recently published a report on the effectiveness of cognitive restructuring (a key element of CBT) and self-hypnosis in 15 multiple sclerosis patients with chronic pain.[3] All of those enrolled received four sessions of each of four different treatment modules: (a) an education control intervention; (b) self-hypnosis training; (c) CBT; and (d) combined hypnosis and CBT.

They found that hypnosis was more effective than CBT with regard to reducing pain intensity, and that the combination of hypnosis and CBT had beneficial effects greater than either therapy alone.[3] The combined approach also had a greater effect on pain interference and catastrophizing than either therapy alone.[3]

A larger study was subsequently conducted to compare the effectiveness of CBT plus hypnosis with CBT alone in 93 patients with fibromyalgia.[4] Patients were randomly assigned to one of three therapies: (a) multicomponent CBT; (b) multicomponent CBT combined with hypnosis; or (c) standard care (control group). Various outcome measures were assessed, including pain intensity, catastrophizing, psychological distress, functionality and sleep disturbances.

The study found that patients who received CBT alone or in combination with hypnosis showed greater improvements than patients who received only standard care. Furthermore, the addition of hypnosis enhanced the effectiveness of CBT.[4]

How does hypnosis work?

Given the positive data now available for the use hypnosis in pain management, it will be important to better understand the underlying physiological mechanisms.

It has been suggested that the effectiveness of hypnosis could at least partly result from alterations in brain states.[6] In particular, hypnotic suggestions for reducing pain – for example, based on relaxation, decreased negative response to pain, and imagined analgesia – have been associated with increases in brain theta-wave activity.[6] Furthermore, individuals with greater baseline theta-wave activity may be more responsive to hypnosis.[7] This implies that theta activity, which is strongly associated with learning and memory,[8] may facilitate responses to hypnosis.

Given that responsiveness to other neuromodulatory treatments, such as biofeedback and meditation, is associated with different brain states compared with hypnosis, it is possible that variations in brain activity could be used in future to match patients to appropriate treatments.[7]

In safe hands – the use of appropriate practitioners

When referring pain patients for psychological therapy, including CBT and hypnosis, it is important to select an appropriate caregiver. The use of these therapies – particularly when performed by non-traditional practitioners – can show variable effectiveness unless treatment approaches are appropriately managed.[1]However, well-designed psychological interventions can be effectively administered by a wide variety of healthcare professionals. This may include physiotherapists, physical therapists, nurses, and occupational therapists.[1]

The likelihood is that these therapies will continue to grow in popularity with both patients and practitioners as further supporting data become available. Increased use of psychological treatments may result in significant reductions in the emotional, physical and financial burdens of pain.

  1. 1. Sturgeon JA. Psychological therapies for the management of chronic pain. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2014;7:115-124.
  2. 2. Elkins G, Jensen MP, Patterson DR. Hypnotherapy for the management of chronic pain. Int J Clin Exp Hypn 2007;55:275-287.
  3. 3. Jensen MP, Ehde DM, Gertz KJ, et al. Effects of self-hypnosis training and cognitive restructuring on daily pain intensity and catastrophizing in individuals with multiple sclerosis and chronic pain. Int J Clin Exp Hypn 2011;59:45-63.
  4. 4. Castel A, Cascón R, Padrol A, Sala J, Rull M. Multicomponent cognitive-behavioral group therapy with hypnosis for the treatment of fibromyalgia: long-term outcome. J Pain 2012;13:255-265.
  5. 5. Kirsch I, Montgomery G, Sapirstein G. Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy: a meta-analysis. J Consult Clin Psychol 1995;63:214-220.
  6. 6. Jensen MP, Sherlin LH, Askew RL, et al. Effects of non-pharmacological pain treatments on brain states. Clin Neurophysiol 2013;124:2016-2024.
  7. 7. Jensen MP, Sherlin LH, Fregni F, et al. Baseline brain activity predicts response to neuromodulatory pain treatment. Pain Med 2014;15:2055-2063.
  8. 8. Bastiaansen M, Hagoort P. Event-induced theta responses as a window on the dynamics of memory. Cortex 2003;39:967-992.


Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Top 5 Myths/Reality

#1 Myth: I am at your school to fix technology...full disclosure, I'm to blame for this mindset

Reality: I am not a technician. When I first entered this position, I pigeon holed myself into the perceived technician role. When teachers had Promethean boards that didn't work or had a slight glitch with a computer or an iPad in distress, I did my best to remedy the problem. After all, I couldn't assist with technology integration if it didn't work. My thought process was in order to serve my educators, I had to ensure the technology worked. That being said, my favorite part of my career (and what it's really about) is to work with educators to utilize technology to support classroom learning goals, infuse technology tools into the curriculum and enhance student learning in a blended learning environment. I still occasionally fix technology because I want to be helpful but my primary goal is to infuse technology integration as a seamless part of the curriculum, not as option or as a reward.

#2 Myth: I expect educators to use technology all the time, for every activity...

Reality: I l
ove technology tools and devices! I get so excited that sometimes it enthusiastically leaks out! BUT I want educators to use technology to support learning goals, not because it's a shiny new toy. I firmly believe technology should enhance learning and support curriculum goals. Technology opens up the world to students!
My goal is to infuse technology into the curriculum because it enables student to complete projects in a way that is inconceivable with traditional methods. Yet, I truly believe you need a balance between traditional classroom pedagogy and technology integration. I feel strongly that all students need technology to function in today's technological world but that doesn't mean I think it's exclusive. If I mention 15 technology tools, I'm really hoping that at least 1 or 2 will work for you. My goal isn't to overwhelm you, it's to make sure that I am suggesting a variety of option because I want to meet your need.

#3 Myth: My students can't do...because of...

Reality: Students can achieve more than we can imagine. We are often the resistors and it's not because students lack the ability to achieve. It's because we lack a mindset to embrace change to step out of our comfort zone, especially when that change is scary. I started suggesting new tools and techniques for use with the kinderpups...the teachers ran with it. My thought, if kinders can do it, anyone can...I was surprised at how well they did!

Then the unforeseen happened. I believe in encouraging teachers and I was surprised when I heard teachers say, "that's not a tested subject so they have time to explore technology." I want to say, have you tried logging 25...age 5...students onto a computer when they not familiar with keyboards and have only recently learned to read. I refrain and smile while devising a plan of action to use technology with their content. Don't get me wrong, I take exception to these thoughts. BUT I understand they really stem from a lack of comfort and an uncertainty within the educator. The reality is that kindergarten is the foundation for all learning and we could learn from them. We have wonderful students that keep trying, they get frustrated but don't give up, they give honest feedback, they don't let a lack of access to technology or a lack of understanding the tool hold them back, and they ask for help. All of this would not be possible if I didn't have teachers who are open to infusing technology while embracing a growth mindset. These teachers are a blessing because they are Wonder-Woman style educators who transform education before my eyes!

#4 Myth: Learning has to be serious which requires lecture & book work...

Reality: A student having fun is participating in engaged learning. An engaged student takes an interest in learning and is less likely to be side tracked. Engagement can easily be accomplished with technology but also with group work, STEM projects and maker-space areas. As educators, we need to remember how to have fun with teaching and ask ourselves if we'd (realistically) want to sit through our own class. Chances are if you only use handouts and you are doing all the talking, this is a teacher centered class and not a blended learning environment. The positive, it's super easy to add infuse technology and it only takes you.

#5 Myth: Adding rigor means I need to add worksheets or book work...

Reality: Higher order thinking (HOT) comes from questions that require thinking (not a cookie cutter response), student discussion, project based learning, researching ideas, trial/error, and realizing that there is no such thing as failure if students are learning in the process. None of this requires a handout and technology integration can enhance the learning experience. I challenge each of you to be HOT educators!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Role as an Instructional Technology Specialist

Instructional Technology Specialist

I'm not Wonder Woman but I am empowered by growing educators!


Americans Much Less Likely to Identify as Middle Class

Social Class Identification

Guns Make Us Less Safe. That’s a Fact.

David Hemenway, a Harvard professor and director of the Harvard Injury Control Center, writes in the L.A. Times that his polling to determine scientific consensus with respect to the relationship between firearms and death rates “won’t please the National Rifle Assn. ”

For example, “one survey asked whether having a gun in the home increased the risk of suicide. An overwhelming share of the 150 people who responded, 84%, said yes.”

“Of course it’s possible to find researchers who side with the NRA in believing that guns make our society safer, rather than more dangerous. As I’ve shown, however, they’re in the minority.”

“Scientific consensus isn’t always right, but it’s our best guide to understanding the world. Can reporters please stop pretending that scientists, like politicians, are evenly divided on guns? We’re not.”

The Irrelevance of Independents

Washington Post: As the chart below suggests, it’s somewhat meaningless to “talk about how the ranks of independents, those famously fickle people without a preferred party, are growing in every state as people sour on the traditional bifurcated model of elections.”

Conservatives Hold Out on Global Warming

Gallup: “While notable majorities of all other political party/ideology groups say the effects of global warming will happen within their lifetime, fewer than four in 10 conservative Republicans (37%) agree, a sign of that political identity’s strident skepticism on this issue.”

Americans' Views on Global Warming, by Party and Ideology

“This stable consensus belies the sharp political divisions that have paralyzed the national government’s ability to grapple with this issue, at least in a way that both Congress and the president approve of. While Obama may pursue international accords aimed at combating greenhouse gases, the Republican Congress unabashedly opposes these endeavors. In what amounts to a perfect summation of the distance between the two parties, Obama recently identified global warming as the biggest threat to future generations, while the Republican Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, James Inhofe, has previously called global warming a ‘hoax.’ Inhofe, considered by the National Journal as one of the most conservative U.S. senators, undoubtedly represents an extreme viewpoint, just as Obama’s heightened language may not accurately capture how many Americans interpret the consequences of global warming.”

Republican States Trump Democratic States in Voting Their Party

Philip Bump: “One of our favorite metrics gauges partisanship in a state’s presidential voting by comparing it to the national vote margin.”

“Since the 1990s, the margin by which states have been more Republican has indeed grown, while the margin by which states vote more Democratic has been relatively flat. This reinforces the idea that partisan loyalty has strengthened — but only on one side of the split.”

Bump asks: “How much more or less partisan have states been of late? Let’s create four ranges: States that voted more than or less than five points more Democratic or Republican than the nation on the whole.”

“There’s a solid block visible: States that have voted more than five percentage points more Republican than the nation on the whole in the last several elections. Democratic states have been closer to the national margin — in part, because that margin has favored the Democrats.”

“States that vote more Republican than the rest of the country have voted increasingly more Republican. States that vote more Democratic haven’t changed as much.”


Ravna Gora

Ravna Gora first aired in April 1972. This program consists an audience of men and women over the age of 30. It attracts different religions such as Orthodox, Catholics, Muslims, and different nationalities such as Serbs, Croats, Macedonians, and Slovenians. Ravna Gora consists of community and world news, history, literature, and music. It features interviews with Canadian politicians and religious and community leaders. The program also broadcasts from various locations throughout Toronto.


Battle to save Chicago's Gropius architecture has preservationists and city at odds

Grahm Balkany's mood lurches from admiration to anguish as he strolls among a group of small, flat-roofed hospital buildings on Chicago's South Side.

"Look how progressive that is," he exclaims, pointing to where slatted awnings filter sunlight that falls on patients' rooms. A moment later, he gazes mournfully on scattered trash, uncut grass, and other signs of neglect. "I can't tell you how beautiful this was at one point," he says.

Recently, while studying engineering and architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Mr. Balkany discovered that one of the great minds of modern architecture, Walter Gropius, lay behind many of these buildings, built in the 1950s and early '60s in a great gust of urban renewal on the South Side. But what began as a triumph for scholarship and Chicago's architectural history has quickly soured. The city intends to tear down at least 28 buildings on the Michael Reese Hospital campus, including those linked to Gropius, to make room for the 2016 Olympics. Architectural preservationists have so far protested in vain.

"There's no question that Walter Gropius was instrumental in the overall master planning of the campus and in designing many of the buildings," says Jonathan Fine, executive director of Preservation Chicago, a group that tries to bring attention to important buildings that are imperiled. "On that basis alone, at least the buildings he designed should be preserved."

Chicago is famous for its modern architecture. Incorporated in 1837 and destroyed by fire in 1871, the city was a clean slate on which architects could invent the new. The first skyscrapers went up in Chicago. From his studio on the city's outskirts, Frank Lloyd Wright revolutionized the American home. Later, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a refugee from Nazi Germany, built the spare, glass-and-steel structures that made Chicago a center of modernism.

Kevin Harrington, a professor of art and architectural history at IIT and coauthor of "Chicago's Famous Buildings," says the city's architecture stands out not only for its compressed history but also for its richness and stylistic continuity. "People from all over the world recognize it," he says. "It's kind of a coherence of form and material and vocabulary."

Until recently, Gropius was thought to have played only a minor part in this history. The omission was significant. Together with Mies van der Rohe and the French architect Le Corbusier, Gropius is considered one of the pioneers of modernism, the style that transformed architecture in the middle of the 20th century. He founded the Bauhaus school in Germany after World War I, left the country in the 1930s, and later taught at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Beginning in the mid-1940s he drew up a master plan to enlarge Reese Hospital, which local architects filled in with individual buildings. At least that's what everyone thought.

But he and others say that the buildings have increased importance because they belong to a larger group of buildings on the South Side that illustrate in a small space the birth of modern architecture. These buildings include nearby works by Wright; Louis Sullivan; and Mies van der Rohe, who designed the IIT campus, an acknowledged masterpiece of modernism.

To Harrington, Gropius's buildings also hint at an effort more subtle than simply bringing Bauhaus to Chicago. Views of Lake Michigan and careful attention to orientation and landscaping suggest that Gropius was trying to adapt an architectural style conceived in Europe to the conditions of America. "The response to the natural world is, I think, somewhat more American than European," he says. "It's an understanding that nature is there first and we insert ourselves. The European model is that we're in a cultural landscape and adjusting it to our purpose."

Balkany had hoped to write a book about the buildings. Instead, since winter he's been leading the fight to save them. Even as the city prepares for demolition, he's still trying to rouse public opinion, organizing meetings, handing out leaflets, and appealing to architectural preservationists for help. He's succeeded, at least in part. A growing number of architectural preservation organizations have come out in defense of the Gropius buildings. But his efforts have produced no outpouring of sympathy from either city officials or the public.

That doesn't mean everyone is indifferent. Adrienne Stanley was walking her dog recently through the shade-covered grounds when Balkany approached and handed her a leaflet. "It's so sad," she says. "I loved coming over here and looking at the buildings. Why can't they use them?"

A security guard sitting in his car on the far edge of the campus echoed her sentiments. "Nobody wants them torn down," he says.

Recently, Illinois Landmarks, an organization that tries to save important buildings from demolition, offered a compromise plan that would preserve eight of the Reese hospital buildings, including four "codesigned" by Gropius. Balkany's own Gropius in Chicago Coalition plans within the month to advance a compromise of its own that would save all the Gropius buildings.

The city has talked to architects and preservation groups, but so far it has shown little willingness to compromise. Publicly, at least, it has not wavered from its contention that the requirements of an Olympic village demand the destruction of all the Gropius buildings. Molly Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the city's planning department, says the city has had to move quickly to prepare the site for new construction because "we were dealing with a tight timeline."

Indeed, contractors have already cut down trees around the buildings. They have begun demolition of the interiors. On Aug. 6, the city's Landmarks Commission, while expressing support for the preservationists, voted down a proposal that it recommend placing the buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We want to be supportive of the city," says Balkany. "But time is running out."


Boston Gas Company, "Illuminations"

The Boston Gas Company archives are a collection of documents, memorabilia, and photographs dating from the company’s founding in 1822 until today. Housed at Boston College’s Burns Library, the collection’s most impressive aspect are the photographs, hundreds of which date from the dawn of photography, and provided the inspiration for the book “Illuminations.”

“Illuminations” tells the story of the company that literally laid the foundation for much of what is modern Boston. But it also illustrates much more. The photography captures a city emerging from the era of gaslight, while the text traces the social and economic progressions of a predominantly immigrant working class as it moves from the sidelines to center stage in America.


Research in Geophysics

Research in Geophysics is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online-only journal publishing researches about Earth's internal structure, physical properties, processes and evolution. Manuscripts can be submitted in the following subjects: geodesy; seismology; geodynamics; tectonophysics; geomagnetism; paleomagnetism; mathematical geophysics; geophysical surveying; marine geosciences; rheology; volcanology; geological and geophysical engineering.

Time dependent seismicity along the western coast of Canada Tsunami intensity mapping: applying the integrated Tsunami Intensity...

Table of Contents

Original Articles
Katerina-Navsika Katsetsiadou, Emmanuel Andreadakis, Efthimis Lekkas

Abstract views: 1245 | PDF: 208
Evangelos V. Christou, George Karakaisis, Emmanuel Scordilis

Abstract views: 324 | PDF: 203


Speech Camp

Western Academy’s Speech Camp trains students to dramatize works of prose and poetry for school bard competitions as well as speech tournaments. Participants will learn how to: select and cut prose passages and poems; prepare a memorized introduction; pace their performances; enunciate and pronounce words correctly; imbue pathos and expressiveness into their performance through the intonation, pitch, and tone of their voice as well as targeted body language; and bring to life memorable characterization. Some attention will also be given to improvisational performances and impromptu speaking, too. Finally, advanced students will be encouraged to write and memorize an original oration for performance. The week will culminate with a mini-festival competition on Friday.

(Lower school and upper school speech campers will have separate tracks.)

June 5-9 (12:30p - 3:30p)

AGE   Boys age 7 - 14
COST   $200 (or $300 for Football & Speech)
STAFF   Adam Thompson
CONTACT   adam.thompson@westernacademy.net


Some detailed methods to help you in memorizing acupuncture points

Founder’s Note: Here’s the second part of Sunjae’s brief series on memorizing acupuncture points, Chinese herbs and anything else you need to memorize. He starts here by jumping into some specific techniques. In his third and final post, he’ll offer some examples that any student or practitioner of Chinese medicine will recognize. Enjoy – and feel free to comment on Facebook to let Sunjae know you enjoyed the post.

I’ll extend my discussion by illustrating some examples of specific aspects of the broad memorization methods, and how they work to help you memorize acupuncture points or just about anything else. If you missed the first article you can read it here.

There is a basic rule of thumb that governs the effectiveness of the association method, and this is that the amount that your imagination, senses, and emotions are engaged during the encoding/decoding process determines the effectiveness of the technique. Let’s consider two different scenarios in the previous example. One person uses minimal effort in encoding; after coming up with Finland, 3 coins, and Wednesday, they encode into an image of 3 Finnish coins next to a calendar that has Wednesday circled on it.

Another person uses the same information to come up with a story: a superhero comes to Finland in a post apocalyptic future, finding the country in desolation, except for a lone arcade game in the middle of a square which only takes 3 coins, only on Wednesdays. Every Wednesday all the surviving children, having long ago formed tribal gangs, come to play the game, the only source of joy in their life.

The second person has completed the encoding step properly; coming up with a scene or image that conjures up a powerful emotional and internal sensory experience.

This type of information is easy to recall because of how we are emotional and sensory beings, and therefore when going to decode the information, it is that much more natural. The first person, by not using the technique to completion, is just adding the extra burden of additional dry information to memorize– this does nothing and in fact is totally counterproductive. Thus, the more one engages the senses and imagination, the more effective the technique will be.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Struggling to memorize #acupuncture points? Here’s part 2 of a series that will help you.” quote=”When encoding into a story or scene, for example, don’t just imagine a blue car; imagine the biggest, fanciest blue car with shiny rims that blind you.” theme=”style4″]

Don’t just imagine a boring piece of chicken, imagine the most delicious chicken in the world, that makes people faint as soon as they have a taste. The more ridiculous, outlandish, or striking the image/scene, the more likely it is to be remembered.

Another principle that guides these techniques is the power of story.

We are hardwired to respond to characters in stories and this can be used to your advantage of while using the association technique. Oftentimes information needs to be memorized in multiple discrete sets; for example 20 drugs that have a random name, mechanism of action, side effects. Encode the name of drug as a person, and then make up a story about that person that involves the properties of the drugs (each associated with something else, as described above). Picturing someone you know, or even a celebrity, in a story or scene with imaginary or ridiculous proportions is an almost foolproof way to tie something down in short term memory– as long as you go to completion and practice decoding the information several times.

This brings us to the elaboration of the last step, decoding – and the importance of rhythm and repetition.

From a musician’s standpoint, when learning a new piece of music, rhythm is used, in a way, as a diagnostic tool to show where the weak spots are in a memorized piece. For example, the piece is played back at a slow tempo, along with the metronome, and when the musician stumbles on the notes and can not keep up the rhythm at a certain point, they stop and focus on that particular phrase, and then go back to the whole section. When the entire section can be played at a steady rhythm, the piece is played at a slightly higher tempos, which will again reveal new stumbling spots which can then be improved upon.

This same principle can be used to solidify the piece of information in the mind after the encoding/decoding process is complete; the importance of rhythm and repetition as a diagnostic tool. For example, let’s say you encode a few random bits of information into a scene, and then practice decoding it once. The entire process takes about 3 minutes to encode, and then 30 seconds to practice decoding the information.

It is easy and tempting to just move on at that point; after all, you just proved to yourself once that you locked away the information in a new mnemonic. However, the most effective way to solidify the information is to then repeat the decoding process in looping fashion with increasing tempo– until it gets to a natural, consistent rhythm where you don’t have to think about it so much.

Most people have a resistance to doing this, I think because it seems redundant and they underestimate the power of rhythm. This is probably even more the case when memorizing acupuncture points or other Chinese medicine related information. We have so much to learn, so much to take in, it’s hard to think about engaging in time consuming memorization techniques. But it is worth pondering; the question of how well you know something if you can’t smoothly recite it? Spending an extra 20 seconds per item to achieve this effect enhances the process exponentially as well as reveals where your weak spots are.

Some tricks to have in your bag when memorizing acupuncture points (or anything else)

1. Repetition. Similar to what we talked about in terms of rhythm, but on a larger scale. After the initial encoding / decoding / solidifying session, it’s important to come back to the information later; later that day, the next day, the next week. Each time it gets easier to decode and soon the mnemonic just fades like a biodegradable scaffolding, and the original knowledge remains.

2. Location. Another “trick” is using another hardwired aspect of our beings; our highly developed skills for navigation and spatial awareness. When you are faced with a long list of things to memorize, imagine walking through a very familiar place like your apartment. Encode each item to memorize into an image or object and imagine it in a certain place in the apartment (again following the rules that the more fantastical or disgusting or otherwise engaging images / objects do best), and when you are decoding, in your minds eye “walk” through the apartment, see the images / objects in the various places you put as cues.

3. Numbers. This is an added layer of complexity, but there is a way to memorize numbers that takes advantage of the ideas in this article. Basically it involves encoding each number into a consonant sound:

  • 1 = t/d
  • 2 = n
  • 3 = m
  • 4 = r
  • 5 = L
  • 6 = J, soft g
  • 7 = K, hard g
  • 8 = f, ph
  • 9 = b, p

From there, a number like 5234 would then become L, N, M, R. This letter combination can be then filled in with vowels and turned into words: Lean Moray, Lone Mare, etc. The words can then be turned into images, and if a longer string of numbers is used, then the images can be combined into stories. I memorized 300 digits of pi using this method and it was not nearly as difficult as it sounds.

The number to consonant system and the letter to word technique takes a bit of practice to get used to, but it’s a worthy investment if you have to deal with numbers on a regular basis.

4. Details and summary. So far these techniques have dealt more with rote memorization techniques, and not necessarily the process of learning new concepts, which is much more difficult in general. I don’t have much to say on this topic (mostly because it is much more challenging, and personalized), except one thing: to not underestimate the power of summarizing. Much like using rhythm and repetition as a diagnostic tool to reveal weak links in information chains, summarizing can be used to ensure that you actually know what you just learned. It can and should be done on many scales; after a sentence, after a paragraph, after a chapter, etc. Organizing the information hierarchically as you take it in only serves you in the long run.

This is just a preview into the vast world of memory techniques, but the ones I’ve introduced here are the ones that I found most helpful while in school.

They can be creatively applied to anything that needs rote memorization in Chinese Medicine, in particular points and formulas. There were many instances when we needed to memorize entire databases of information, whether in pharmacology classes on the Naturopathic side, or herbal medicine on the Oriental Medicine side. By combining the techniques of storytelling, association, encoding, and the other techniques when necessary, taking in vast amounts of information becomes considerably more efficient and allows one to focus more on the actual processing and learning that is required in our education.

In my next article, I’ll discuss a few concrete examples of memorizing acupuncture points and Chinese herbal information using some of these techniques. If you’ve enjoyed this series and want to get  the latest notification of articles – sign up for our newsletter. You’ll also receive access to our free, growing, library of Chinese medicine resources with your sign up.

About Sunjae Lee

Sunjae Lee graduated from NCNM with a dual degree in Naturopathy and Oriental Medicine and currently practices in Seoul, Korea at a clinic for foreigners in the Itaewon neighborhood, Create Wellness Center. In his free time he also practices Oriental brush painting and jazz saxophone-- find out more at his personal website, Fermata Wellness

View all posts by Sunjae Lee - Website:

Discuss this article in one of these places below.

Discuss This on Our Forum


14 Olympic Sports You Do Not Watch, But Should

As American Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who cleaned up four years ago in Beijing, barely classifies for the next round of competitions in the London 2012 Olympics, the simmering rivalry with fellow American swimmer Ryan Lochte -- who classified in third place while Phelps placed in the eight position -- has taken a new turn.

Phelps, who despite the amazing performance that awarded him eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has been criticized for controversial behavior involving drugs and alcohol, as well as for drawing to much media attention away from other American Olympians who are not as "sexy" but just as brave, is starting to be perceived as "overrated" by Olympic fans who think big Olympic disciplines and athletes (e.g. Phelps and Lochte in swimming, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in basketball) suck up all the Games' oxygen -- making fans to often overlook other awesome sports.

Here are the 14 sports you don’t watch, but should:

1) Greco-Roman Wrestling:

Greco-Roman wrestling is the ultimate test of upper-body brawn. Named after the style of wrestling played in ancient civilizations in the Mediterranean, it forbids below-the-waist holds. This forces players to use more throws, arm drags, bear hugs, and headlocks, since they cannot trip others or grabbing the opponent’s leg. Check out this sport if you miss the true Grecian spirit of the Olympic Games.

2) Modern Pentathlon:

The modern pentathlon is a contest of five events: pistol shooting, fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, horse show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run. The contest has roots in the 19th century, when father of the modern Olympics Pierre de Coubertin decided to update the ancient pentathlon (long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, a short foot race, and wrestling). In the modernization, he focused on skills required by 19th-century soldiers and designed a points system. Basically, the contest is a throwback to the Napoleonic Wars. Nice.

3) Triathalon:

Triathlons, which many Americans participate in for fun, are also Olympic events. The event challenges men and women to a swimming, cycling, and running race. Live vicariously through these professional triathletes.

4) Weightlifting:

Weightlifting is mesmerizing. While much skill and strategy are involved, the clean and jerk looks just like a demonstration of pure strength.

5) Taekwondo:

Taekwondo, or Korean martial arts, is a combination of strength, discipline, skill, and artistry. Blocks, kicks, punches, open-hand strikes, and leg kicks characterize the sport. Some versions target the opponents’ pressure points. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the South Korean military practiced the martial art. Translating as “way of the hand and foot,” taekwondo taught primarily as self-defense, though it also functions as meditation and philosophy and symbolizes Korean history and culture.

6) Canoe Slalom:

The kayaking event requires athletes to navigate through hanging gates on river rapids as quickly as possible. They paddle upstream and downstream. How intense is that?!

7) Rhythmic Gymnastics:

Rhythmic gymnastics require athletes to manipulate rope, clubs, hoops, ball, ribbon, or nothing. The sport combines dance, ballet, gymnastics, and object manipulation an artistic and athletic way.

8) Trampolining:

Trampolining features athletes who perform acrobatics in the air while jumping on a trampoline. It’s a less creepy circus act!

9) Archery:

The bow-and-arrow sport, recently popularized by Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, is an elegant test of aim and accuracy. Archery in the London 2012 Olympics has already made a rousing start; South Korean male archers set a world record in the opening day - Im Dong-hyun shot 699, breaking the previous record he had set.

10) Badminton:

Think badminton is a lame sport? Well, professional athletes will be whacking the shuttlecock like you’ve never seen.

11) Biking:

Cycling will have an equal number of men’s and women’s events for the first time ever. BMX, mountain biking, road cycling, and track cycling have added more women’s events to give equal opportunity to both sexes.

12) Water Polo:

Water polo began in 19th century England and Scotland, so it’s worth watching in its birthplace. I never understood why water polo hasn’t been as popular as other sports -- it’s basically soccer + water. The caps may look silly, but these athletes are serious players.

13) Athletics:

Athletics is an event of running, jumping, throwing, and walking. Track and field, road running, and race walking are common events. It’s another way to watch unbelievable racers.

14) Sailing:

The U.K. dominates sailing with number of Olympic medals. We should watch the Brits rule their sport.


Positive And Negative Impacts That Ict On Education Education Essay

Published: Last Edited:

ICT stands for Information Communication Technology. ICT is widespread and essential to play a meaningful role in changing and modernizing educational systems as well as the way of learning. It is part of many aspects of our daily lives.

ICT refers to the technology that access to information. It includes any product that will store, restore, operate, or receive information in a digital form. ICT is similar to IT that ICT focus more on communication which includes internet, wireless network and other communication mediums. There are some examples of ICT tools, such as computing industry, telecommunications, and electronic display.

The computing industry includes Internet, computer hardware and software. Internet means a worldwide system of interconnected networks and computers. As we know that it is very useful for everyone today. For example, there are 5 out of 10 students using their iPad to search information while teacher is teaching. It is general and easy to have internet in the 21st century.

Then, software is the various kinds of programs to operate computers and devices. It is often divided into two different types of software which is application and system. Application software is a program designed for users. It also called and-user programs includes database programs, word processors, communications, games, graphics and spreadsheets. In contrast, system software consists of programs that interact with the computer at a very basic level. This includes assembler, debugger, compilers, file management tools, operating system and utilities for managing computer resources. Nonetheless, hardware is the physical aspect of computers and other devices. This could be monitor, CPU or memory chip. The item is something you can touch. The examples of hardware including the computer we touch and the mouse we use to click on this page.

Another example of tool is telecommunications which it means communication by electronic as through cellular phones, radio, video and others. We always get the latest news and information from all these media. For example, when we are driving to somewhere that very emergency, we usually open the radio to listen about the situation whether jam or not.

Last but not least, electronic display that include calculator is one of the tool of ICT. Electronic means operating, produced, or done by the action of electrons. Calculator helps people to solve the problem a lot and also in the society especially for the accountant. For example, calculator in the computer helps to solve the problem for every company.

As a result, modern information and communication technologies make a way for people to communicate with others across the world. For this reason, ICT is often affects the education today. Moreover, ICT in education can also be broadly categorized in the following way as a subject (computer studies), a tool to support traditional subjects (computer- based learning, presentation, research) and as an administrative tool (education management information systems). ICT is not only has great impact on education but also provided some bad impact to the educators. Similarly, ICT also has some great impact on practitioners and schools.

Great Impact on teaching, learning and attainment

For education, the purpose of ICT is generally to familiarise students and teachers with the use and workings of computers, related social and ethical issues. It is generally believed that ICT can empower both teachers and learners. It promotes change to education in 21st century. ICT not only transforms teaching but also the learning processes. The transformation gets to increase learning gains for students that provide learners an opportunity to develop creativity, communication skills, and other thinking skills. Besides, smart solutions for the future including laptop learning, e-learning, smart classrooms, didactic equipment and stimulations is the key to education today. An entire learning environment is needed in which students, teachers, administrators, and parents can easily communicate and collaborate with each other, share secure information around the clock, and, ultimately, access a world of knowledge beyond classroom walls.

Referring to the picture above, we can see that ICT is very useful to society, especially to students in colleges. According to ICT adviser Harriet Price, an ICT-rich educational experience brings benefits to the students. She says that technology is an important part of student's everyday lives. She makes sure that the necessary software and hardware is available for students to use, while also helping them develop their own ICT skills. More than half of the students in the groups have a computer or laptop at home as well as access in College so that they can search for information regardless of time and place.

As we know, ICT making all schools "smart". That means everyone get different information and knowledge from ICT. For example, when we have difficult in the study, this is the way to search the definition online immediately. Computers are also provided in every area of different country in the schools, colleges or labs. It helps students to get the chance to do assignments or group projects by saving a lot of time. It also increases students' knowledge at the same time. Besides, students who have laptops themselves can bring their machines with them. ICT make everyone comfortable by using it.

Based on the research of internet, training is provided in some of the college in Europe as well as to make students to learn to become more independent in their work. Therefore, ICT is provided for the students to have quick and easy ways in doing research, and to train society. It has a great impact for students to have an easier way for research and information compared to the earlier period. For example for our assignment in the previously, we have to go to the library to collect or gather information. It is not only a waste of our time but also there is a limit to the information we can get. And now, ICT is saving our time in doing the work and there is no limit to the information.

On the other hand, we can have our self-test before the exam. Besides buying the books for exercise, we can get the question from the Internet. It makes students more comfortable to have a test. ICT is also like a learning centre that could help to share ideas and understanding to the students. It teaches us the grammar and improves our English by ourselves. For example, when we are working in pairs and yet by using ICT that students can experience with collaborative learning. ICT represent as the local champions. It supports local needs for the learners which mean social information can be found easily.

In fact, ICT empowers students to engage in the learning process and give them an interest in their personal education. By integrating ICT into the classroom, students have the ability to learn more effectively, collaborate with each other, and explore the world around them. Anytime, anywhere access to internet-based tools is necessary to encourage learning inside the classroom and beyond. For example, students who are always online or having facebook, they will always explore something and share with their friends. It unknowingly makes them more collaborate with each other, However, ICT provided e-learning to the learners. It is a flexible learning to those who are busy in their own things. For example, they have some people working since they are young. They work because of the family financial. Indeed, they are the people who want to work and study at the same time. E-learning is a way for them to study at home. It is useful and benefit for them. Other than that, hints and tips are the best practice for them to share their knowledge and opinion if they have their own ideas.

Today, ICT brings many benefits to the younger generation especially for students. For example, some of the students who work part-time also can find some time to do their College work. In addition, most of the time students like to use word processing from the computer itself. It is also quick and easy to edit their work and improve their presentation by using ICT. For example, we always use computer as the resources to get our work done in a time. Similarly like now, I using Microsoft Word to do my individual assignment. Besides, the Worldwide Web is the only way to have quick and easy access to information on any topic. ICT gives easy access to a world of knowledge and ICT which including quick guide is to learn 'the basic' of how to use the functions or applications. For example, printer is the one machine that will always show us the quick guide before we press start.

Referring to the information from the internet that I know with a range of ICT equipment, it improved the behavior management through better tracking of students. It helps not only to gain in understanding but also analytical skills which include improvements in reading comprehension as well as increase knowledge. For example, we have to read and understand the essay from the web-sites before we choose the article. It improves our understanding by reading. Moreover, ICT unknowingly help students improve in their development of writing skills such as spelling, punctuation, editing and grammar. Students can become more fluent and original in their work. For instance, when we always read the article from the internet, we will get influence by the way the writer writes on the article.

Based on the research of Software and Information Industry Association 2000, students who used educational technology in colleges are more successful because they are more active in learning and in increasing their self-esteem. ICT then enhances and extends the possibilities of learning across the curriculum. Thus, ICT provides more opportunities to show their hard work to audiences or teachers as well as it is within 24 hours. For instance, we always see some students' work on the internet and it actually written by the writer himself. ICT help to show the ability of the students. ICT would be important to their future career or to employment. Students get to gain confidence because they could do things and show things they had not been able to do before, that students could explore more and share more ideas with others.

In fact, ICT also gives educators the opportunity to transform the way learning happens, and enable student development. ICT present a range of tools that teachers or lecturers use to present and display as part of their teaching and help educators interact with students as well as engage them in a more meaningful way. These technological tools can be purposefully designed for education, for example, software or hardware used in the context such as word processors and spreadsheets. Computer tools help students and teachers manipulate complex data-sets. This then provides the context for effective discussion that help to develop subject understanding. ICT is beneficial for teachers to share resources, expertise and advice. It is also easier to plan and prepare lessons and design materials for students. Sometimes, ICT helps teachers to access up-to-date students and school data, anytime anywhere. Teachers can enhance their professional image by using ICT.

Negative impact on teaching, learning and attainment

On the other hand, there is some negative effect of the ICT on education. In college, computer is not enough for teachers to make the best use of ICT in the classroom. Based on the research of Sandhoitz, it will take a lot of time in the classroom even up to a year with the support of experienced teams. Teachers always depend on the information that searched from the web. It may make a mistake. Information from the web or internet that mostly came or wrote from personal's opinion. It is not all facts by the way. Teacher who depend more on the ICT do not perform well as a teacher. For example, they may not check through the details of the work that searched from the web.

Students, however, feel lazy to attend the class if they can easily get the study material from the web. It will change their behavior to become more irresponsible. Let's say lecturer give an assignment to the students, they may not understand if they never attend that class. The technological reliability was important and yet the students could respond negatively to a resource, both of teaching and technology. Across the school or colleges, students might not value ICT that spent too much time on presentation needs and copying without reading and understanding. At the same time, students will search the information from the web and caught by "cutting and pasting". Through this type of behavior, reliability of the students will be affected. By then the students will access the internet for other things, for example, facebook, MSN, Yahoo, Twitter and others. While the lecturer having the lesson in front, they will not pay more attention to the lecturer.

Then, it had created severe problems to the students. To those who always play computer games and use instant messaging, they will choose online communication rather than having real life conversation with the teachers. For example, when they are having flu and will not be attending the class or lesson, they might e-mail the lecturer rather than call the teachers. When the problem deteriorates, students will become less confident when they meet outsiders. Furthermore, the students sitting in front of the computer for a long time may cause health problem. Health problem such as stress and eyes strain can affect a student in their education. By then ICT may also created some illegal act such as pornography. Those students who are affected by pornography may suffer in their studies. The students will waste time by using ICT better than study on their work. Overall, the evidence on the impact on attainment of learning through ICT remains inconsistent.

Great impact on practitioners and schools

The introduction of ICT into schools has had an impact on teachers in terms of their overall workload that including planning, lesson preparation as well as on the ways in which these are coordinated and managed within the school and wider educational context. The availability of ICT itself has sufficiently enhanced learning and teaching. Teachers have to be confident in their own ICT capacity and understand the potential benefits of using ICT in education area.

In addition to that, using ICT is to support teacher development for e-learning. Like students, teachers learn in different ways and they need to be able to access support when needed. The provision of improved connectivity, among other developments, has allowed teachers to take advantage of online access to resources. For example, lecturers always give example of mass communication from the internet. As a result of access to resources at a time, teachers have greater control over the planning and preparation. By then teachers have expressed concern about knowing which resources are worthwhile and more research on the impact and availability of online resources. Such case studies provide evidence of changes in the ways in which teachers are approaching their role within the classroom. It is a better understanding of how teachers interact with the online environment.

Then, there is an impact of ICT in the classroom on the teacher's role. While gaining confidence and competence in the use of the technologies is to support e-learning, evidence is on the impact of using ICT on other aspects of the teacher's role. Some forms of learning through ICT, the use of shared resources and collaborative learning, where the teachers facilitates rather than direct learning, might be difficult for some to accept. For instance, teachers and students open the same page from internet is easier for teachers to explain. Teachers will not waste their time on giving their own example.

Next, it is an impact of ICT on administration and overall workload. Once teachers have brought the technicalities involved with classroom- related hardware and software resources, they can enhance their teaching. This can be used to create additional teaching resources. Use of ICT for assessment purposes can also release valuable teacher time. Within schools, those specific technological developments such as connectivity via broadband access to internet will regard to the personalization of the learning experience. A key strand to embed ICT in schools has been and that of networking within schools and also across the education sector. Broadly speaking, schools recognize that systems can improve effectiveness and reduce costs. Across schools, using ICT to manage data was found to promote teaching and learning by facilitating more effective timetabling. The most effective tools were found to be school- devised systems and the use of Excel spreadsheets. As we know, school data was in forming the setting and in compiling reports to parents. For example, after teachers complete the report of students on the Microsoft Word, teachers get to save and print out at a time. Hence, teachers can have more time to prepare the work for the students.

Improved access to ICT, schools networks for teaching and planning were also identified as potential strategies. Use of ICT in schools tended to be raising the quality of the work produced by teachers such as presentations and reports, rather than saving time. For instance, after typing a report, teachers get to print out that one report as many as they want. ICT was also the key factor to improving efficiency, along with staff by using the software and hardware.

Furthermore, teachers also perceived benefits in managing, storing and other work such as preparing reports with the time saved. Looking ahead, ICT would make teachers more effective in their work over 12 months. To use ICT to support learning and teaching, schools need to be 'e-confident'. That means displaying a number of characteristics at a level.

Thus, the Internet has increased significantly the range of resources to support and stimulate learning and teaching across the curriculum and at all levels. It has also provided the means by which access to range of services, including libraries and careers' services, can be brought together in one place. As ICT becomes part of the everyday life of the schools, there is a need to ensure the participation in the learning opportunities provided. Here, teachers can identify their own professional development needs and find solutions.

In today's interconnected world, information and communication technology (ICT) is widely used by our nation and it affects our lives everyday. It gives great impact in education for the learners and teachers. ICT has become a key driver in education way as well as it has been identified by a range of important wider benefits of ICT on learning. The positive impact of ICT on students' skills and teamwork are included.

ICT also help student and teacher with activities that are provided in the websites. That kind of activities gives ideas to the teachers in their teaching, so that students enjoy the class. Students learn more independently at the same time. They will take more responsibility for learning process. As seen from the information above, ICT can benefit both strong and weak students with their special needs. By the way, they especially improved the performance in students' English and on writing skills.

ICT is a part of a social system integrating meaningful communication within an education system. We can use it for analyzing the processes, meanings and functions of ICT in education. ICT also provided the research for us when we have to do the assignments. ICT is also one of the tools that have easy communication with others in foreign countries. It saves cost and time.

Schools use ICT to make it easy for both students and teachers of their work. Different information and opinion can be found from the web-sites. In addition, ICT provides wide array of information and effective lessons. That is also easy for students to do their work by using word processing. It makes our projects or assignments more neat and tidy. From the education system point of view, "e-" could mean "enhanced" education rather than "electronic" education. Consequently, ICT has a great impact on society especially on education.

On the other hand, ICT also has a bad impact on education system. Teacher who always show the example of the work from the internet and copy the information, will not show a good example for the students. That may cause the students follow the action of the teacher and start to copy and paste. At the same time, the information and knowledge which come from the internet are not necessary correct. We have to more careful when doing research from the web.

Students who generally communicate with friends by the ICT will cause a problem when communicating face to face. It not only has an impact on character but also their attitude. Somehow, they will become more rebellious when influenced by the negative material. Today, we can see that have many teenagers use two or three phones. It will cause them not to pay attention in the lesson time.

In conclusion, ICT can give both advantages and disadvantages to education. We have to be careful when using it. Internet, TV, radio and others are the ICT that provide the news and information to us. We can increase our vision when we have it. But, when we are too focused on these things, we may suffer health problems by using them. We have to be wise in using the tools of ICT.


The Biology of Behavior

Dr. Williams is professor of chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin and consultant to the Clayton Foundation’s Biochemical Institute. His latest book, The Environmental Prevention of Disease (Pitman Publishing), will appear in April. This article is reprinted by permission from Saturday Review, January 30, 1971. Copyright 1971, Saturday Review, Inc.

The prevalence of student rebellions throughout the world makes one wonder just how effectively modern education relates to real human problems. To approach the problems of generic man from a biological standpoint may be far too superficial in this scientific age with its tremendous advances in technology; yet, could not the general weakness of human science be the basis for the comment by Robert Frost: "Poets like Shakespeare knew more about psychiatry than any $25-an-hour man"? Biologically, each member of the human family possesses inborn differences based on his brain structure and on his vast mosaic of endocrine glands—in fact, on every aspect of his physical being. Each of us has a distinctive set of drives—for physical activity, for food, for sexual expression, for power. Each one has his own mind qualities: abilities, ways of thinking, and patterns of mental conditions. Each one has his own emotional setup and his leanings toward music and art in its various forms, including literature. All these leanings are subject to change and development, but there is certainly no mass movement toward uniformity. No one ever "recovers" from the fact that he was born an individual.

When a husband and wife disagree on the temperature of the soup or on the amount of bed coverings, or if their sleep patterns do not jibe, this is evidence of in-born differences in physiology. If one child loves to read or is interested in science and another has strong likings for sports or for art, this is probably due to inborn differences in makeup. If two people disagree about food or drink, they should not disregard the fact that taste and smell reactions often widely differ and are inherited. If we see a person wearing loud clothing without apparent taste, we need to remember, in line with the investigations of Pickford in England, that each individual has a color vision all his own; some may deviate markedly from the pack.

The inborn leanings of Mozart were evident by age three, and he began composing when he was four. Capablanca was already a good chess player—good enough to beat his father—when at age five he played his first game. For many centuries, Indian philosophers have recognized innate individuality, which they explain on the basis of experience in previous incarnations.

Inborn Individuality

Biology has always recognized inborn individuality. If this inborn distinctiveness had not always been the rule in biology, evolution could never have happened. It is a commonplace fact in biology that every living organism needs a heredity and a suitable environment. Unfortunately, in the minds of most intellectuals biological considerations have been pushed aside.

Professor Jerry Hirsch, a psychologist at the University of Illinois, has protested in Science that "the opinion makers of two generations have literally excommuni-cated heredity from the behavioral sciences." This neglect of the study of heredity has effectively produced a wide gap between biology and psychology. Biology deals with living things, and psychology is logically an important phase of biology.

Bernard Rimland, director of the Institute for Child Behavior Research in San Diego, in reviewing my book, You Are Extraordinary in American Psychologist, wrote: "Since between-group differences are commonly a small fraction of the enormous, important, and very interesting within-group (individual) difference, psychology’s focus on average values for heterogenous groups represents, as Williams indicates, a chronic case of throwing out the babies with the bath water. ‘Throwing out the babies’ is bad enough, but we psychologists have the dubious distinction of making this error not only repeatedly but on purpose."

Social solidarity exists and social problems are pressing, but we cannot hope to deal with these successfully by considering only generic man, that is, average values for heterogenous groups. We need a better understanding of men.

A Firm Foundation

The basic problem of generic man is how to achieve "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The writers of our Declaration of Independence were on solid ground, biologically speaking, when they took the position that each human being has inalienable rights and that no one has, by virtue of his imagined "royal blood," the right to rule over another. In their emphasis on mankind as individuals, Jefferson and his co-authors were closer to biological reality than are those of our time who divorce psychology from biology and center their attention on that statistical artifact, the average man.

Because each of us is distinctive, we lean in different directions in achieving life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Happiness may come to individual people in vastly different ways, and so the human problem of achieving life and the pursuit of happiness resolves itself, more than it is comfortable to admit, into a series of highly individual human problems. We need to take this consideration into account in attempting to build an advanced society.

In understanding the scope of human desires, it is worthwhile to consider briefly the problems that real—as opposed to theoretical—people face. These may be grouped under four headings:

1) Making a livelihood;

2) Maintaining health;

3) Getting along with others; and

4) Getting along with one’s self.

These four categories, singly or in combination, cover most of the familiar human problems—marriage and divorce, crime, disease, war, housing, air and water pollution, urban congestion, race relations, poverty, the population explosion, the all-pervading problem of education, and the building of an abundant life.

Making a Livelihood

The importance of approaching the problem of making a livelihood from the individual’s standpoint lies in the fact that in our complex society a multitude of ways exist—an estimated 23,000—in which people can make a living. People are not by any means interchangeable parts in society. While some might function well in any one of a large number of capacities, many others might be highly restricted in their capabilities and yet be extremely valuable members of society. The idea that it is all a matter of education and training cannot possibly be squared with the hard biological facts of inborn individuality. This perversion of education perpetuates the banishment of heredity—an ever present biological fact—from our thinking. Fitting together people and jobs is just as real and compelling as fitting shoes to people. People sometimes suffer from ill-fitting shoes; they suffer more often from ill-fitting jobs.

The maintenance of health—both physical and mental—involves individual problems to such a degree that it is difficult to exaggerate their role. Ever since the days of Hippocrates it has been known in a vague way that "different sorts of people have different maladies," but we are only beginning to learn how to sort people on the basis of their inborn individual characteristics. When we have become expert in this area, vast progress will result, particularly in the prevention of metabolic and psychosomatic diseases, i.e., those not resulting from infection. As long as we dodge the biological fact of inborn individuality, we remain relatively impotent in the handling of diseases that arise from within individual constitutions.

The problem of getting along with others is a very broad one, in which individual problems are basic. If husbands and wives and members of the same family always get along well together, we would have some reason to be surprised when squabbles break out within business, religious, or political groups. If all these kinds of squabbles were nonexistent, we would have a basis for being surprised at the phenomenon of war.

Distinctive Qualities

While self-interest and differences in training are vital factors in these common conflicts, another factor should not be overlooked: the inborn individuality of the participants. There is a mass of evidence to support the thesis that every individual, by virtue of his or her unique brain structure and peripheral nervous system, is psy-chologically conditionable in a distinctive manner. Thus, a person’s unique nervous system picks up distinctive sets of impulses, and because his interpretive apparatus is also unique he learns different things and interprets the world in a distinctive manner. Even if two individuals were to have exactly the same learning opportunities, each would think differently and not quite like anyone else. This is the basis for the observation by Santayana: "Friendship is almost always the union of a part of one mind with another; people are friends in spots."

In spite of our attempts to do so, individual minds cannot be compared on a quantitative basis. The minds of Shakespeare and Einstein cannot be weighed one against the other; there were many facets to the minds of each. At birth the two minds were equally blank, but as they matured, each saw, perceived, and paid attention to different aspects of the world around it. Each was conditionable in a unique way.

Each Mind Unique

The recognition of the uniqueness of human minds is essential to human understanding. By developing expertness in this area, psychology will eventually become far more valuable. In an advanced society with a growing population and closer associations, it is obviously essential that we learn better how to get along with each other. When we are unaware of the innate differences that reside within each of us, it becomes very easy to think of one who disagrees with us as a "nitwit" or a "jerk," or perhaps as belonging to the "lunatic fringe." When we appreciate the existence of innate differences, we are far more likely to be understanding and charitable. Strife will not be automatically eliminated, but tensions can be decreased immeasurably.

Individual problems are at the root of the problem of crime. Many years ago, James Devon placed his finger on the crucial point. "There is only one principle in penology that is worth any consideration: It is to find out why a man does wrong and make it not worth his while." The question, "Why does a particular man commit crime?" is a cogent one; the question, "Why does man turn to crime?" is relatively nonsensical.

Since all human beings are individual by nature, they do not tick in a uniform way nor for the same reasons. Broadly speaking, however, many doubtless turn to crime because society has not provided other outlets for their energies. If we could find a suitable job for every individual, the problem of crime would largely vanish. The problem of crime is thoroughly permeated with individual problems; it cannot be blamed solely on social conditions, because as the studies of Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck have shown, highly respected citizens may come from areas where these conditions are the worst.

A Race of Individuals

Racial relations would ease tremendously if we faced squarely the biological facts of individuality. If we were all educated to know that all whites are not the same, that all Negroes do not fit in the same pattern, that all Latins are not identical, that all American Indians are individuals, and that all Jews do not fit a stereotype, it would help us to treat every member of the human race as an individual.

It is no denial of the existence of racial problems to assert that individual problems need to be stressed more than they are. For individual Negroes and individual whites, the pursuit of happiness is by no means a uniform pursuit. Doubtless, although there are whites and Negroes who would think they had reached utopia if they had a decent shelter and were assured three meals a day, this would not satisfy millions of others for whom striving and a sense of accomplishment are paramount. "The Negro problem" or "the white problem"—depending on one’s point of view—is shot through with a host of individual problems.

Learning to live with one’s self is certainly an individual problem, and will be greatly eased by recognition of inborn individuality. Much unhappiness and many suicides can be traced to misguided desire to be something other than one’s self. Each of us as an individual has the problem of finding his way through life as best he can. Knowing one’s self as a distinctive individual should be an important goal of education; it will help pave the road each of us travels in his pursuit of happiness.

Dangers of Oversimplification

Why have these facts of individuality not been generally accepted as a backdrop in every consideration of human problems? For one thing, many people, including scholars, like being grandiose and self-inflationary. To make sweeping pronouncements about "man" sounds more impressive than to express more limited concerns. Simplicity, too, has attractiveness; if life could be made to fit a simple formula, this might be regarded as a happy outcome.

One excuse for excommunicating inheritance from the behavioral sciences for two generations has been the fact that inheritance in mammals is recognized by careful students as being exceedingly complex and difficult to interpret. It is true that some few characteristics may be inherited through the operation of single genes or a few recognizable ones. But other characteristics—those that differ in quantity—are considered to be inherited in obscure and indefinable ways com-monly ascribed to multiple genes of indefinite number and character. These multiple-gene characteristics include, to quote the geneticists Snyder and David, "the more deep-seated characters of a race, such as form, yield, intelligence, speed, fertility, strength, development of parts, and so on." To say that a particular characteristic is inherited through the mediation of multiple genes is to admit that we are largely ignorant of how this inheritance comes about.

Identical Twins?

Recently, some light has been thrown on this problem by experiments carried out in our laboratories. These experiments involved armadillos, which are unusual mammals in that they commonly produce litters of four monozygous ("identical") quadruplets that are necessarily all males or all females.

By making measurements and studying sixteen sets of these animals at birth, it became evident that although they develop from identical genes, they are not iden-tical at all. Organ weights may differ by as much as twofold, the free amino acids in the brain may vary fivefold, and certain hormone levels may vary as much as seven-, sixteen-, or even thirty-twofold. These findings clearly suggest that inheritance comes not by genes alone but by cytoplasmic factors that help govern the size of organs (including endocrine glands) and the cellular makeup of the central nervous system. "Identical" twins are not identical except with respect to the genes in the nucleus of the egg cell from which they developed.

One of the most interesting suggestions arising out of this study is the probability that individual brain structures, which have been known to have "enormous" differences since the investigations of Lashley more than twenty years ago, are made distinctive by the same mechanisms that make for differences in organ weights. The size, number, and distributions of neurons in normal brains vary greatly; this is biologically in line with the uniqueness of human minds. The further elucidation of this type of inheritance should help to focus more attention on heredity.

If this line of thought is valid it makes even more ridiculous the invitation issued by the Ford Foundation to the biological sciences to stay out of the precinct of human behavior. The expression "behavioral science" came into being many years ago as a result of the formulation of the Ford Foundation-supported programs. Biochemistry and genetics, for example, were kept apart from the "scientific activities designed to increase knowledge of factors which influence or determine human conduct."

What can be done to bridge the gap between psychology and biology? More importantly, how can we develop expertise in dealing with the human problems that plague us but at present go unsolved?

Differential Psychology

A broad, long-range, and practical strategy for learning how to deal more effectively with human problems is to explore, problem by problem, the inborn human characteristics that are pertinent to each one. Differential psychology, for example, needs to be intensified and greatly expanded; this can probably be done most effectively in connection with a series of problem-centered explorations.

Some of the specific problem-areas that require study from the standpoint of how inborn characteristics come into play are: delinquency and crime, alcoholism, drug addiction, unemployability, accident proneness, cancer, heart disease, arthritic disease, mental disease, and broadest of all, education. Each of these problems could be vastly better understood as the result of interdisciplinary study of the influences of inborn characteristics. Such study would include differential psychology when applicable, combined with extensive and intensive biochemical and physiological examinations, for example, of blood, saliva, urine, and biopsy materials. To expedite these investigations, automated equipment and computer techniques would be used extensively to help interpret the complex data.

It is not likely that these explorations will find that some individuals are born criminals, others alcoholics, etc. Once we recognize the unique leanings that are a part of each of us, we will see how, by adjusting the environment, these leanings can be turned toward ends that are socially constructive. Every inherited factor can be influenced by an appropriate adjustment of the environment. All this should not be made to sound too easy; it may be more difficult than going to the moon, but it will be far more worthwhile.

One of these specific problems—alcoholism—has been of special interest to me. After about twenty-five years of study, I am convinced that inborn biochemical characteristics are basic to this disease, but that expert application of knowledge about cellular nutrition (which is not far off) will make it scientifically possible to prevent the disease completely and to correct the condition if the application of corrective measures is not too long delayed.

Inborn inherited characteristics have a direct bearing on the current revolt against the Establishment. If biology had not been banished from behavioral science, and if students and other intellectuals were well aware of the biological roots of their existence, it would be taken for granted that conformity is not a rule of life.

Recognizing Our Differences Can Lead to Harmony

If all that we human beings inherit is our humanity, then we all should be reaching for the same uniform goal: becoming a thoroughly representative and respectable specimen of Homo sapiens. There is rebellion against this idea. Revolters want to do "their thing." The revolt takes on many forms because many unique individuals are involved.

If nonconformity had a better status in the eyes of the Establishment (and it would have if our thinking were more biologically oriented), exhibitionism would be diminished and the desire of each individual to live his own life could be fostered in a natural way.

Human beings are not carbon copies of one another. Students and others who are in revolt have found this out. Perhaps without fully recognizing it, they are pleading for a recognition of inborn individuality. This is essentially a legitimate plea, but it can take the form of disastrous anarchy. A peaceful means of helping resolve the ideological mess we are in is to recognize heredity by having a happy marriage of biology and behavioral science.

* * *

Postscript: Agreement to Disagree

A "UNITED STATES" was only possible if men could agree to disagree about a great many things.

What was expedient for them is, however, an essential of liberty. Theoretically, it might be desirable for all men to agree on everything, though I doubt it. Practically, such agreement would only be possible if all individual wills were crushed and subjected to a single will. The effort to do this is always in the direction of the well traveled road to despotism. The alternatives are agreement to disagree or despotism. - CLARENCE B. CARSON, The American Tradition

April 1971

comments powered by Disqus

* indicates required

November 2014

Download Free PDF


Proxy IP List - Download Proxy List - USA Proxy List 3128

tixati proxy:

tixati proxy - use proxy on tixati: tixati tracker - tixati proxy anonymous - tixati how to use proxy


Karrer, Paul (1889-1971) was a Russian-born Swiss chemist acclaimed for his research on plant pigments and the chemical makeup of vitamins. He received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1937 for his investigation of carotenoids, flavins, and vitamins A and B2. He shared the prize with the British chemist Sir Walter Norman Haworth, who was then studying vitamin C and carbohydrates.

Karrer was born in Moscow, Russia, where his father was working as a dentist, but both his parents were Swiss, and the family returned to their homeland when Karrer was 3 years old. They first settled in Zurich and then moved to the northern canton of Aargau, where Karrer began his schooling. While he was in secondary school, Karrer became keenly interested in science. He entered the University of Zurich in 1908, where he studied chemistry with Nobel laureate chemist Alfred Werner. After completing his Ph.D. degree in 1911, Karrer remained at the university for another year to work as one of Werner's research assistants.

In 1912, Karrer published his first paper on organic arsenical compounds, which caught the attention of another acclaimed chemist, Paul Ehrlich of Germany. Karrer accepted Erlich's invitation to work as his assistant in Frankfurt-am-Main at the Georg Speyer Haus, a research institute, and stayed there until the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), at which time he returned to Switzerland and served a tour of duty as a Swiss artillery officer. He then returned to the Georg Speyer Haus and spent the next three years continuing to study the chemical makeup of plant products.

In 1918, Karrer returned to the University of Zurich to take the position of associate professor of chemistry, again working with Werner. After Werner's death the next year, Karrer became a full professor and also director of the Chemical Institute there. He remained at the University of Zurich for the rest of his esteemed career, serving as a researcher and a highly competent teacher and administrator.

Karrer's early research involved the study of complex metal compounds and moved gradually into investigation of the molecules of proteins, peptides, and amino acids. By the late 1920's, his interest was focused on plant pigmentation, specifically the study of anthocyanins, the red and blue pigments found in flowers and berries, and later crocin, the yellow pigment found in flowers. These substances had been discovered in earlier research by others, but Karrer's contribution was to identify their chemical makeup. He also studied the structure of the carotenoids, the pigments that give yellow-to-orange vegetables such as sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots their hue.

The German chemist Richard Kuhn had already isolated beta-carotene and was attempting to determine its molecular structure, but Karrer actually succeeded in doing so first in 1930. After he discovered from this important research that vitamin A is synthesized in the body from carotene, he began to investigate the chemical makeup of vitamins themselves, and by 1931, he became the first to explain the chemical structure of a vitamin.

Karrer's demonstration that vitamin A was nearly identical to half of a carotene molecule, containing a regular, ringlike formation of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon atoms, was especially significant because vitamins had previously been suspected to be colloids or some other unusual state of matter. This led to his study of other vitamins, particularly those in the B group. He was the first to successfully synthesize vitamins B, E, and others, and he became known as an authority on flavins.

After winning the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1937, Karrer continued to make important contributions to the field of chemistry, including synthesizing all the carotenoids and conducting research on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), an enzyme involved in energy transmission within cells. Additionally, he made important discoveries about curare, a poisonous resin derived from trees in South America, which is used today in general anesthesia and in treatments for muscle spasms.

Karrer's long and fruitful career resulted in scores of awards, prizes, honorary degrees, and memberships in prestigious chemical and biochemical societies. He was also a prolific writer, having over 1,000 publications to his name. In 1955, he was president of the 14th International Congress on Pure and Applied Chemistry in Zurich.


Generally, you cannot collect unemployment insurance if you are self-employed.

The purpose behind unemployment insurance is to provide assistance to workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own. The fact that your business is only breaking even may not really factor into the equation.

Becoming self-employed can be grounds for disqualifying you from benefits--but this can vary depending on state law. So it would make sense to consult with an attorney to get a clear sense of what you can and cannot do in your state.


 Excellence sayings | Excellence quotes | Excellence mottos
famous life mottos funny life sayings quotes

Excellence sayings | Excellence quotes | Excellence mottos

Whatever you do, don't do it halfway. - Bob Beamon

Resolve to make each day the very best and don't let anyone get in your way. If they do, step on them. - Ivan Benson

It is not from ourselves that we learn to be better than we are. - Wendell Berry

Good enough never is. - Debbi Field

If I play my best, I can win anywhere in the world against anybody. - Ray Floyd

The quality of expectations determines the quality of our action. - Andre Godin

Excellence is rarely found, more rarely valued. - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Much good work is lost for the lack of a little more. - Edward H. Harriman

One shining quality lends a luster to another, or hides some glaring defect. - William Hazlitt

People forget how fast you did a job, but they remember how well you did it. - Howard W. Newton

I am a writer because writing is the thing I do best. - Flannery O'Connor

If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just. - Anita Roddick

Do more than you're supposed to do and you can have or be or do anything you want. - Bill Sands

There never will exist anything permanently noble and excellent in the character which is a stranger to resolute self-denial. - Sir Walter Scott

Let each day be your masterpiece. - Source Unknown

The best is the enemy of the good. - Voltaire

You have to create a track record of breaking your own mold, or at least other people's idea of that mold. - William Hurt

It isn't by size that you win or fail -- be the best of whatever you are. - Douglas Malloch

If we want to make something really superb on this planet, there is nothing whatever that can stop us. - Shepherd Mead

Determine to become one of the best. Sufficient money will almost automatically follow if you get to be one of the "best" in your chosen field, whatever it is. - Don G. Mitchell

Recommended Quotes & Sayings :

Prediction mottos Prediction quotes sayings : Legends of prediction are common throughout the whole Household of Man. Gods speak, spirits speak, computers speak. Oracular ambiguity or statistical probabilit...

Appraisal mottos Appraisal quotes sayings : Appraisals are where you get together with your team leader and agree what an outstanding member of the team you are, how much your contribution has been valued...

Cleverness mottos Cleverness quotes sayings : A cul-de-sac to which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled. - John A. Lincoln Find enough clever things to say, and you're a Prime Minister; write them ...

Silence mottos Silence quotes sayings : Sometimes a whisper speaks volumes. - Scott Sheddan Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage. - Publilius Syrus Keep your mouth closed until y...

Mind mottos Mind quotes sayings : Don't let your mind go wandering, its too small to go out by itself. - Source Unknown If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, just what does an emp...

Insanity mottos Insanity quotes sayings : Insanity in individuals is something rare -- but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule. - Friedrich Nietzsche I became insane, with long inte...

Conventionality mottos Conventionality quotes sayings : Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but religiously follows the new. - Henry David Thoreau...

©2009-2013 | Excellence sayings | Excellence quotes | Excellence mottos | cell phone wallpapers | common useful phrases | famous life mottos | privacy policy | contact us

Valid CSS!


the remains of tropical storm isadore came through the area. wind and rain caused some trees to fall and power outages.
7000 beam road tree fell across the road and closed the road for an hour. vrews from steel creek vfd on scene and removed the tree. no injuries reported.
2505 charlotte ave tree on house. caller reported a tree fell on a house accross the street.units founf very large tree on a house causing damage to the home. all searches were negitive. city street crew called in to remove tree. fire units shut off gas and power.engines6,1, ladder 1 bc 1
w 10th street at adm plant(grain elevator) fire in belt and and wires kept full firat alarm busy for an hour in a 120 foot hugh silo. no injuries reported. damage is minor to plant.engines4,11,1 ladder 4 rescue 10 bc1
gas line break at shooping center. off of s. tryon street gas line in strip mall broke. closing somestores while repairs made. bc 5 with command had all effected stores saerched and were negitive. gas company on scene and repaires were quick. engines12,30,16,ladder 16 haz mat 1,2 . no one injuried


Augustus Frederick Goodridge, businessman, politician (b at Paignton, Eng 1839; d at St John's 16 Feb 1920). First elected as a Conservative in 1880, Goodridge moved into Opposition in the mid-1880s and became leader in 1884-85. He was a member of the Reform Party government led by Sir Robert Thorburn 1885-89. He became premier of Newfoundland in April 1894 when William Whiteway's government resigned after petitions alleging corrupt electoral practices against a majority of its members had been filed in the Supreme Court. Goodridge's Tory government clung to power for 8 months amidst growing political and financial chaos, resigning on December 12 after the collapse of the 2 local banks.


STRING 9.05
NTRK1 [ENSP00000351486]
neurotrophic tyrosine kinase, receptor, type 1; Required for high-affinity binding to nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-3 and neurotrophin-4/5 but not brain- derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Known substrates for the Trk receptors are SHC1, PI 3-kinase, and PLC-gamma-1. Has a crucial role in the development and function of the nociceptive reception system as well as establishment of thermal regulation via sweating. Activates ERK1 by either SHC1- or PLC-gamma-1-dependent signaling pathway
KIDINS220 [ENSP00000256707]
kinase D-interacting substrate, 220kDa; Promotes a prolonged MAP-kinase signaling by neurotrophins through activation of a Rap1-dependent mechanism. Provides a docking site for the CRKL-C3G complex, resulting in Rap1-dependent sustained ERK activation. May play an important role in regulating postsynaptic signal transduction through the syntrophin-mediated localization of receptor tyrosine kinases such as EPHA4. In cooperation with SNTA1 can enhance EPHA4-induced JAK/STAT activation. May play a role in neurotrophin- and ephrin- mediated neuronal outgrowth and in axon guidance during ne [...]
Evidence suggesting a functional link:
Neighborhood in the Genome:
none / insignificant.
Gene Fusions:
none / insignificant.
Cooccurence Across Genomes:
none / insignificant.
none / insignificant.
Experimental/Biochemical Data:   yes (score 0.846). In addition, putative homologs were found interacting in other species (score 0.115).
Association in Curated Databases:   yes (score 0.800).
Co-Mentioned in PubMed Abstracts:   yes (score 0.105).
Combined Score:
Evidence for specific actions:
Binding:yes (score: 0.621)


Paul Thomas Anderson
'Birdman' soars ahead in Independent Spirit Award nominations

Existential black comedy"Birdman" led the Independent Spirit Awards nominees on Tuesday,as thriller "Nightcrawler," coming-of-age chronicle "Boyhood"and civil rights drama "Selma" followed with five nods each. "Birdman," which follows the journey of a washed-up actor ashe embarks on a theater comeback, scored a Best Actor nod forMichael Keaton, Best Supporting Actor and Actress for EdwardNorton and Emma Stone and Best Director for Alejandro G.Inarritu. Fox Searchlight's "Birdman" joined four other contenders,IFC Films' "Boyhood," Paramount Pictures' "Selma" and SonyPictures Classics films...