Forbidden Knowledge (page 2)

Tiny babies recognize dogs with alacrity. They fix their little faces on them and point their tiny fingers. Why? There is nothing else I can think of that attracts them so readily. Do humans have a symbiotic gene that considers dogs a part of the family? Readers are invited to submit any information they can find on this fascinating phenomenon. Send it to thosholzel@aol.com with a header of "Kids and Dogs."

Two Things You Can't Not Do

First you can't not exercise. Second, you can't not floss. Especially as your get over 40.
On a New Way to Floss: First brush your teeth with a toothpaste containing "triclosan" a chemical that Consumer Reports says is good for your gums. Colgate "Total" is one such toothpaste. When you are finished brushing DO NOT SPITE THE TOOTHPASTE FOAM OUT. The, with your mouth full of foam, floss your teeth. The flossing will bring tricolsan up into the dark crevices of your gums where the toothbrush never gets. This will make that vulnerable part of your mouth much healthier. And, when you finally spite out the foam, you'll see all the many little particles your toothbrush missed.

Stuttering: One man's cure

A reader writes: If you remember I stuttered all through MHS, then continued in the USAF, and on into the business world. I can't tell you how embarrassing and utterly frustrating this was. To know an answer to a question, have the solution to a problem, want to speak up at a business meeting. It is a life-changing problem, subject to ridicule by asshole peers, and actually determines ones life path if you allow it to. Example--While in the Air Force I was appointed by NJ's Senator Case to the Air Force Academy (or actually any of my choice--West Point, Annapolis). I started at the USMAPS (military academy prep school) and my stuttering became a very real problem. Subsequently I resigned and completed my regular tour.

The interesting part/solution: I worked with an advertising account exec, a woman, who stuttered very badly. She didn't let it bother her and stuttered her way to a successful career. I said to myself, "If she can ignore it, so can I." Almost immediately, I stopped stuttering! The fact that I was determined to 'not worry about it anymore' must have triggered something in my brain. I still had an occasional word that was difficult to speak, but 99% of the problem was gone. (I was 35 years old at the time.) This was an earthshaking personal change.

The biggest benefit was that I could order a Scotch without saying"Scot-scot-scot, aw hell, lemme have a beer."

Gore-Tex Fabric--Is It Any Good? Here is the original (1984) article questioning the far-fetched claims of "keeping you dry" made over the years by the manufacturers of this miracle material. It resulted in calls from Gore-Tex lawyers which mysteriously evaporated when I pointed out I had a hand-annotated reply from their chief scientist writing "We don't say that"--their own advertising claims not withstanding!!

Eat chocolate, Live Longer? (Oct 10, 2004 by John Gertner)
(Excerpt)

"Ratcheting up … expectations are the latest studies from Norman Hollenberg, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine. In 2003, Hollenberg and an assistant professor, Naomi Fisher, published a paper in The Journal of Hypertension offering exactly the kind of evidence Schmitz dreamed about: cocoa flavanols appear to stimulate the production of nitric oxide in blood vessels, which in their subjects had the effect of relaxing the endothelial lining and increasing blood flow to the extremities. Hollenberg and Fisher both believe this has positive implications for diabetics who suffer from a range of afflictions tied to poor circulation. This month, a paper that Hollenberg wrote with Schmitz for The British Journal of Cardiology assembles the most recent data to bolster the case that cocoa flavanols may have therapeutic potential for those afflicted with various cardiovascular diseases.

"When I visited Hollenberg in June, in his cozy book-lined office tucked away on the ground floor of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, he said he was even more encouraged by a pilot study he concluded a few weeks earlier. The project measured whether subjects who drank a cup of high-flavanol cocoa had an increased flow of blood to the brain ; on average, participants registered a 33 percent increase in blood flow. Hollenberg called the results "a grand-slam home run." And he sees potential applications for the vascular (non-Alzheimer's) dementia that afflicts millions of Americans and is believed to be caused by poor cerebral blood flow. No drug on the market, Hollenberg added, appears to do what high-flavanol cocoa has done in his initial studies."

[Ed note: Let us not forget why we eat chocolate: not for putative health benefits, but because it tastes so good.]

Grafitti on the wall of a London Subway station:

CONFORM
OBEY
CONSUME

I do not take aspirin (or any anti-pyretic drug) to reduce the simple fever of a cold. Viruses are very sensitive to heat. Fever is an elevation of the body's temperature to kill viruses. By taking aspirin, you reduce the body's temperature and permit the virus, and the drug industry, to thrive. (Of course if your temperature gets too high, taking aspirin is a good idea. But a cold bath works quicker.) When you have a cold, dress as warmly as possible (wear a sweater to bed). Wear a ski hat and sweat it out. If this sweat cure were bad for you, it wouldn't feel so good. [Aha--Forbidden Knowledge strikes again. Although this theory has been espoused by me for decades--often to smirks of disdain--now we learn from the NY Times that it may soon become a mainstream practice.] To wit:

"The Mystery of Fever, Unsolved," by Sandeep Jauhar, M.D. New York Times, 8/26/03
"Recent surveys show that about 40 percent of parents and others providing care regard fever as harmful to children. Nothing else appears to be so firmly staked in their minds to disease. Surveys show that health care workers also seem to fear fever. But is fever so bad? The answer is probably no. The fever response appears to be ubiquitous among animals, and evidence suggests that it confers a survival benefit. For example, rats and rabbits that have fevers suppressed die faster after exposure to bacteria. Fish injected with microbes swim to warmer water.
"In humans, fever suppression appears to prolong the course of some infections. For example, Tylenol delays the crusting-over of chickenpox lesions. Febrile pneumonia patients have a better survival rate than those with normal or low temperatures. In medieval times, spiking fevers caused by deliberate infection with malaria were used to treat syphilis. In 2001, Dr. David Aronoff and Dr. Eric Neilson, infectious disease specialists at Vanderbilt University, wrote in The American Journal of Medicine: "Despite the pervasive application of antipyretics by physicians, nurses, pharmacists and parents, it remains unclear whether reducing the core temperature benefits febrile patients." (All emphasis added. It means: Despite doctors giving asprin to everyone with a fever, it is unclear withether reducing the fever does any good at all.) "

5. The most effective treatment for athletes foot is to apply an anti-fungal cream followed by a drop of DMSO. Tinius cureas hides from treatment under the scales of skin its presence creates. DMSO takes the anti-fungal medication right through the skin. [Question: Would liquid ibuprofen mixed with DMSO work when applied directly to sore muscles?] DMSO is still available in the US at your local Vet, and on the internet.

6. Tachycardia (rapid/irregular heartbeat) can be stopped by eating a raw or dried pear. (Thanks to MJ, of Didcot.) But-- exculpatory evidence --Tachycardia often only lasts a few minutes. Does it stop on its own just as you're swallowing that pear morsel? (Would it have stopped anyway?) Still Forbidden Knowledge.

6B. Aerobic Fitness: How do you know when you’re “in good shape”?

Aerobically, the answer is simple: You’re in good shape when two-easy-to-measure events occur.

1. Your basal (resting) pulse is low—or at least lower than it was before you started exercising a few months ago.
2. Your exercise pulse rates drops 10% in one minute after you stop exercising.

Your basal pulse rate is an excellent measure of your physical condition. In peak aerobic athletes (e.g. runners, X-C skiers) it can be in the 40s. (Some unusually gifted athletes have a basal pulse rate in the mid 30s—but that is very unusual.) Women’s basal pulse rate is generally higher than men’s. But don’t worry about other people’s, concentrate on your own.

My lowest pulse rate was 42 in college as a quarter-miler. (At the end of a 48-second quarter-mile run, my pulse rate was 124.) Running up four flights of stairs barely changed the pulse rate, but inhaling a cigarette (I’m a non-smoker) caused my pulse to accelerate to 110.

But the real measure is how fast your pulse rates drops after exercise stops. Fortunately, many exercise machines have pulsometers on them.

Here is how to measure it. Using (say) the elliptical runner, get your pulse up to some elevated rate. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get my pulse above 125—usually its around 120--even when running at 225 strides per minute. When I stop, my pulse keeps going up for 15-17 seconds. So my pulse might be 124 when I stop running as fast as I can. Then, walking slowly on the elliptical runner (just fast enough to keep the pulse rate meter going), I watch my pulse rise a few beats to, say, 125. As soon as the pulse starts to go down—back to 124 in this example, I note the time—say 20:15. I then continue walking and note the pulse rate one minute later at 21:15. Today, it had dropped to 109 bpm. That’s a drop of 13 bpm. Divided by the maximum rate gives me the percentage of drop in one minute: 13/122 = 10.6% That’s decent (although not great) shape for a 63-year old armchair athlete.

By “as fast as I can,” I mean this routine: Get on the elliptical runner, drop the elevation of the ramp (if your machine has one) to it slowest setting (we’re trying to simulate running rather than climbing) and start “running” at a reasonable rate. For me that’s around 185 strides per minute. Find your own rate. Do this without holding on. You’ll get a much better work-out, and work many more small muscles in your legs that control balance. It may take a few days to get the hang of running hands-free on the elliptical, but persevere.

If you haven’t run much, begin by running for at least five minutes. Increase your time at least by one minute a week. As you get close to your total running time, begin to run faster—say 200 strides per minute—all the time not holding on to the pulse rate handles. (I think they harm your sense of balance.) A few seconds before the last minute, grab onto the pulse rate handles and put on a final, one-minute burst of top speed. My running rate for that last minute is around 225 strides per minute, and my pulse rate slowly climbs from around 115-118 to 118-125—depending on a lot of different things. When you hit your time limit, slow to a slow walk and watch the pulse rate antics, as described above.

Before you begin this exercise program, check your pulse when you wake up and before you get up. Check it over a period of 30 seconds. With me, my basal pulse was 70 before I started my exercise program. (And my blood pressure was 160/106.)

At first, when your in poor aerobic shape, your pulse will hardly drop at all in one minute. And it will remain unnaturally elevated for hours afterwards. If it does not return to normal in 24 hours, it means you have “strained” your heart. But, after a few weeks of running three-to-five times a week, you will see progress. After 4 months of religiously working out five days a week, my basal pulse dropped from 70 to 47. (My college pulse--as an elite runner 40 years ago--was 42.)

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Jet lag cure. The best method is active interdiction.
Here is my foolproof method for 11-hr flights to Japan

In tourist class, ask for a window seat (to be able to lay your head against the wall, and not be wakened by people crawling over you t to go to the loo).
After the airplane meal, and having had a bottle or two (they are tiny) of wine-- [Ed Note: The NY Times reports. 08 Mar 06, that drinking any alcohol with Ambien causes bizarre behavior in a tiny minority of people.]
--take 10 to 15mg of Ambien (a relatively hang-over-free sleeping pill). You will need to find your own dose, but the noise and discomfort of sleeping while sitting generally requires a bit more drug than you would take a home, sleeping in bed. Don't do this for any flights less than 6 hours.
Put on ear plugs and an eye mask. Take off your shoes, loosen tie and belt. For me, 10 mg of Ambien gives me 7 hours of sleep in bed; 5 hours on a plane.
Upon arrival, immediately convert yourself to the new time, forcing yourself to stay up until at least until 8PM.
If you aren't tired by 10PM, take an Ambien.
If you wake up early (i.e., 2AM) take another 5 mg Ambien.
Keep using Ambien to assure you get 6-9 hours of sleep each night.
Do not get too much sleep--especially at the wrong time of day.
On the 4th day, you should be on the local schedule without drugs--and never have felt tired.

The trick is to immediately force your body into the new time frame by means of this wonderful drug, and get the right amount of sleep. An important caveat is: while getting enough sleep, avoid getting too much sleep -- because then you won't feel tired the next evening -- and want to take another Ambien to get to sleep. This system has completely eliminated the drowsy feeling I used to get at 2PM the day after arrival. Works great for me going to Japan and Silicon Valley-- both 11-hr flights and 8-9 hrs time different from London.

(However, drinking alcohol and taking Ambien can sometimes knock out the next day an hour of your memory after taking the pill. Halcyon, used by mountaineers at high altitude was famous for that effect -- some times knocking days out of a drinker's memory banks.)

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T.M.W. of NYC writes : "I used to get sieges of very bad breath which, because they seemed to coincide with stomach upset, made me feel the odors were coming from the stomach. Listerene and the rest did nothing to help the situation. The source of the problem are Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSCs). And while there are many solutions that neutralize these, and they all work to some degree or another, when I tried a gargle containing chlorine dioxide, I achieved astonishing results. Not only did my death-ray disappear completely and all day long, but the gargle seemed to prevent stomach upset. My tongue became pink (instead of coated -- no more tongue-scraping) and I lost the heavy accretion of tartar I have always developed on my teeth. Sounds like a miracle, I know. But it worked splendidly for me."

(Ed note: I tried this remedy based on TMW's suggestion, and got equally good results. However, I was left with a slightly saline taste in my mouth. Not a major objection, but it might interfere with wine tasting... The British brand (a version of the US brand CloSYS II at $16 for 16 oz.) is called Retar-DEX available at Boots. Chlorine dioxide mouthwash is sold in the US on the web for $6.00 for 16 oz at http://natures-domain.com/Oradentics/eliminator_mouthwash.htm , and I have found it at my veterinarian as a wash to help clean my dog's teeth ($16 for 16 oz.) --but--amazingly--not on any drug store shelves. [Why the only mouthwash that really works is not sold at drug stores, while the cosmetic Listerine that barely work at all, are--is a deep mystery.]

[New note: "Dentek" brand mouthwash is available at CVS and Walgreen drug stores, and works very well.]

As important is to floss your teeth with a tablespoon of anti- VCS mouthwash in your mouth, so it can slosh between the tooth and gum to neutralize that source of bacteria-causing mouth odor lodged there. Use unwaxed floss. The waxed flosses (and especially the plastic bands sold in Europe) are not as effective in scraping up plaque. The most effective (scrapes and doesn't fray or break easily) floss brand I have found is Johnson & Johnson's unwaxed "Reach." (But, try getting it nowadays. All that's on the shelves is the waxed type.)

Another excellent way to floss is to use a toothpaste with triclosan as an ingredient (e.g., Colgate "Total"). After brushing, don't spit out the toothpaste foam. Then floss and you will get triclosan deep into the gum crevices. Consumer Reports thinks triclosan is helpful in reducing gum disease--the major dental problem with adults.

The visco-elastic foam mattress "Temper-Pedic" really does eliminate early morning tossing and turning, and gives a longer, deeper, more ache-free sleep. I often wake up lying the same way I started -- on my back. But it ain't cheap. However, CPS of England +44 (0)20 7231 5432 sells the straight foam in 2-inch thickness for £80 ($120) for a 60 X 78-inch size. Since the $830 3-inch Temper-Pedic mattress topper was great but not quite enough, I am using two of the cheaper spread for a 4-inch layer. Works well, but not as good as the TemperPedic foam, which is much denser (and very heavy--it's like open-cell foam filled with water--and probably works the same way) while the cheaper brand is not. (Now back in the US, I am back to using my Temper Pedic topper--and it's much better than the cheapo version.)

Brain storm: Buy a cheap six-inch thick open-cell foam mattress, put it inside a waterproof sack, and fill with water. I'll bet it gives the same excellent performance as a TemperPedic--and at MUCH less cost. (But the water may require a heater on cool nited.)

The Placebo Effect. This greatly misunderstood phenomenon is thought to mean you can fool people into getting well by making them believe the medicine you are giving them is highly effective. Disorders such as warts, scrofula, eczemas and other often quite disfiguring skin afflictions have been cured countless times -- often with miraculous speed -- by the placebo effect. Descriptions of religious miracles abound, and even in recent times, instances of astounding cures of skin diseases have been well-documented. What interests physicians is that there is obviously a powerful and totally unknown physical mechanism that is able to cure these diseases, and it is triggered by belief in efficacy of the "cure." Just what is going on -- and how could this mechanism be harnessed without requiring the faith of the patient?

Because the medical establishment -- like all scientists -- are highly suspicious of problems being solved by methods they do not understand, this is a study in its earliest stages. Placebo Pills won't be on the market any time soon (except where they have always been--in the back pages of men's magazines, selling for years as "genuinely spurious penis enlargement tablets," etc.).

Buying shoes that are too small. Why do we continue to do it? Time and again? Because the price is right. Because they're a bit tight now, but they'll loosen up with wear. Because they look fabulous and don't come in the next larger size. My new unbreakable rule: If there is THE SLIGHTEST DOUBT, ask to try the next larger size. If the store doesn't have it, STOP--the shoe is too small. It is MUCH BETTER to buy a shoe that is one-half size too large than one that is 1/4 size too small.

(Theory) Mankind's mental and emotional make-up is not one wit different than it was 4000 years ago -- he only lives longer and knows more. Thus, all the same ancient foibles exist -- the lust to believe in the supernatural, belief in superstitions, the appeal of magic potions (think vitamins), all topped by the smug belief -- never once evidenced -- that he is much smarter, IQ-wise, than his ancient forefathers.

Craziness. I've never met anyone who does not have a streak of craziness in him. So we might as well admit that--hidden or open -- nuttiness can be found in us all in one form or another. (Isn't it odd that the when the craziness of our friends is pointed out, we point to their strengths; when the craziness of our enemies is mention, we agree with it and ignore their strengths.) The question is, how does one disguise it?

Naturally, no one wants to admit to craziness. Here are some of the clever ways to hide it in plain sight.

Denial. "No, how can you say I'm a control freak?" (This said while the speaker was clutching the arms of an airline seat with white knuckles because she was "not in control" of the plane.) Control freaks are sensitive to their plight, and have developed many clever techniques for disguising it. But the effort to disguise it -- to keep their hands off-- is often accompanied by visibly high tension.
Definition shift. "Politically, the NY Times is middle-of-the-road," says Dan Rather of a newspaper which has promoted every liberal cause to come down the pike in the last 30 years. Therefore, the implication is, so is he.
Ptolemaic fantasy. I am clearly learned and intelligent, and have thought of all aspects of the issue. Therefore, I must be in the center. Everyone who disagrees with me must therefore be less learned and/or less intelligent, and that is why they are all on the fringes.
Hidden Genius. Yes, I may be a little to the right of Attila the Hun, on this issue compared to the great unwashed, but if you could just look at it rationally...
The seamlessness of craziness. In 1962 our fraternity (XΦ) invited Bishop Homer Tomlinson, self-proclaimed "King of the World," to come up to Dartmouth for our Winter Carnival weekend. Sporting "Young Theocrat" armbands ( a sword in a shield), we toured the campus, he with his aluminum-foil covered crown and portable throne, and we with our armbands and huge grins. What was so interesting was that Bishop Tomlinson was completely rational and normal in every subject except his idée fixe, which was off the wall. But he was not loony; his conception of his role was described rationally and completely integrated into an otherwise normal life. Only the basis of his credo was completely irrational.
Therefore, let us posit that proof of normalcy in most areas does not mean that normalcy in all areas. A well-integrated personality can surround an utterly whacko sliver of belief that the holder will have integrated into his life so perfectly, it is completely immune to rational argument. And all of us have got such a sliver, hidden in one place or another.

Ration and emotional involvement. Surely a misplaced sex urge is one irrational component that has plagued men since the dawn of recorded history. Think Helene of Troy, think Cleopatra, think Delila and think of all the nut cases that stalk movie stars, and the thousands more that lust privately for them to the detriment (or exclusion) of relations with real women. Think of the $10 Billion porno industry which is not 10 guys each buying a billion dollars worth of sexual stimulation.

Why are we continually astonished to discover that logical, mature men, often at the highest levels of achievement, have listened to their little head telling their big head what to do. Thomas Jefferson, Dwight Eisenhower, FDR, JFK, William Jefferson Clinton -- is there any major macher who hasn't been seduced by the delicious prospect of dangerous extra-marital activity?

There can be no doubt that even the greatest (male) mind is easily clouded in the presence of pheromones. What may not be as appreciated is that there are other non-rational elements that also cloud men's minds. Other than lust, there is jealousy, envy, anger, fear, overwhelming ambition and greed. Why did the brilliant scholar Van Doren cheat in the $64,000 Question game show? (Probably not so he could seduce a student going after her Ph.D.) Why do captains of industry (think Enron, Anderson) lie, cheat and steal when they are often rich beyond any need or want. (Probably not to impress a movie starlette.)

It is not the point of this essay to examine the psychological basis for this defeat of ration over emotional desires, but rather to point out that no one is immune . Thus, everyone is a potential liar (as all juries learn) when he has something at stake to lose -- whether it is money, prestige, honor or reputation. And nearly every man has the potential to make a fool over himself over some hat check girl who catches his eye. The worrying aspect of this inbred loss of ration is that having a lot of brains doesn't help one whit.

Salesmanship 101. Because man's emotional needs are far more urgent than his rational side, the expert salesman recognizes that in all sales efforts, the prospect's emotional needs must be placated before any useful information can be transmitted. Engineers are the easiest prey, because they believe firmly in their rational nature. To do so, they suppress their emotional response -- or think they do. All they are really doing is hiding its operation from themselves -- which makes it much easier to manipulate.

Thus, the expert salesman must determine (or guess at) his prospect's emotional hot buttons. Is it football, golf, model airplanes, ham radio, women with big boobs, correct clothing, similar class status, your same racial type, gender, your bluff, jovial nature -- to name a few of the more common ones? Once determined -- which is the fencing process that goes on in the first few minutes of meeting-- a momentary emotional bond is formed on which a bridge of logical explanations can be built describing the product you have to sell.

Make no mistake: in today's world, you are wasting your time trying to fool a customer into buying something he doesn't need. In fact, your next essential task is to determine whether or not your prospect really needs your product or service at all. If you don't think so, spending any time to convince him otherwise is a waste of time, because (unless you are selling used cars off a lot) he will find out sooner or later -- and tell you to get lost. If you are particularly glib, you can waste a lot of time "selling" the prospect on your product, only to have him wake up a few months down the road and turn you off.

What you need to do while the emotional bridge is in place, is to find out what his real situation is. By quizzing him now, he is more apt to answer honestly and less evasively, so YOU can determine whether he is a real prospect. You should know more about that aspect of his business concerning your product or services than he does. And you know your product's strengths and weaknesses. Once you have determined that his need is real -- you can mount a full-scale offensive to get his business, safe in the knowledge that he really does need it, and your effort will not likely be wasted.

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(For trenchant business assistance, visit: www.velocityassociates.net)