h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Has any research been done on its effectiveness in restoring brain cells lost through excessive drinking?

Nice yarn, but do trees really become extinct? Surely they die out.

I will try to find out if that research has been done. Speaking for myself I hope it is possible to restore brain cells lost through drinking as I am definitely missing a few million here and there due, I am sure, to that very cause.

As to whether trees can become extinct - I think it would be correct to say that a species of tree can become extinct. I don't think that the term 'extinct' only aplies to animals - we talk of extinct volcanoes - but I could be wrong - and very often am!!!

I believe missing brain cells should be part of the terms and conditions of belonging to h2g2. I definitly qualify

From Webster's dictionary. Extinct -
1 a : no longer burning b : no longer active
2 : no longer existing
3 a : gone out of use : SUPERSEDED b : having no qualified claimant

Ah! I see the problem! In my Oxford Wordfinder (190 000 definitions and over 300 000 synonyms) it states:

extinct
1 (of a family, class or species) that has died out
2a (of fire etc.) no longer burning
2b (of a volcano) that no longer erupts
3 (of life, hope etc.) terminated, quenched
4 (of an office etc.) obsolete
5 (of a title of nobility) having no qualified claimant

It is obviously a question of cross cultural semantics with which my dwindling brain cells cannot cope. I intend to investigate this further, however! I will keep taking the Gingko Biloba in the hopes of a cure.

Ah! I see the problem! In my Oxford Wordfinder (190 000 definitions and over 300 000 synonyms) it states:

extinct
1 (of a family, class or species) that has died out
2a (of fire etc.) no longer burning
2b (of a volcano) that no longer erupts
3 (of life, hope etc.) terminated, quenched
4 (of an office etc.) obsolete
5 (of a title of nobility) having no qualified claimant

It is obviously a question of cross cultural semantics with which my dwindling brain cells cannot cope. I intend to investigate this further, however! I will keep taking the Gingko Biloba in the hopes of a cure.

Hello there,
sorry if this is a bit of a late addition to the coversation (which appears to have digressed somewhat....possibly the original of the original posting is now extinct ?)
I've only just found this entry and is on a subject that interests me greatly, ie. potential to improve the state of ones mental fitness (possibly damaged by unknown quantities of brain-cell damaging liquids ?).
I hope you are still monitoring replies to your entry, as recently I read an article in the paper about research into gingko and ginseng being taken together with positive results (more than taking either individually)But since then I've been unable to find any information concerning both substances, only on ginseng OR gingko.
Have you seen anything about this ?
Good article, anything else around here I should check out ?

Hi Dirk G

I havn't seen any writing about combining Gingko and Ginseng, but I have seen the product on sale here in Malaysia. Unfortunately I din't keep the container, but I do remember that it said that one shouldn't take the combination for more than three months at a time without a break. I have no idea why. Next time I buy a Gingko Supplement I will see if it gives any explanation. Thank you for motivating me to research further into this. I am keen to preserve my mental faculties for as long as possible, and, indeed to improve on them. I think my short-term memory is already shot as I am forever hunting for my keys, my spectacles and my pen; and all too often I walk into a room and wonder why I am there. If you find any more info I would be grateful to hear from you.

best wishes

elico

Hi elico
How are you. Thanks for the response, I'm glad you're still maintaining this coversation ( you have'nt reached the point where you have the attention span of a goldfish thank goodness....how do they Know how long a goldfish's memory is ??...sorry I digress)
I too read that you shouldnt continue taking both longer than 3 months
but as with you ,do not know why.
I think there's a lot we dont know about things like this so we tend to err on the side of caution,ie. too much of a good thing can be bad for you.
my local healthfood/herbalist has a very good data base running that you can look up just this sort of thing, I'll check it out when I'm next there and see if I can discover anything else and let you know.
As for the losing items , I have a theory on this and that is micro-wormholes in the fabric of space & time through which everyday items fall only to reapear at a slightly later time or even in a different place. I work as an electronics engineer and frequently I'll be working away when I wont be able to find one of my tools, for instance a screwdriver.I'll search my workbench, around the bench, on the floor, basically any where it should be but to no avail.Then I'l walk across the room and then back and there right infront of me, right where I would have seen it is my screwdriver(displaced by time )
Or it will turn up somewhere I've not even been to(displaced in space)
Anyway thats my theory and I'm sticking to it,much better than saying
I'm losing it up top.
what do you reckon.
I'll let you know about anything else I discover on the subject of mental regeneration/improvement and look forward to hearing from you again.
Take care.
Regards
Dirk G

Dear Dirk G

This week I read that scientists have discovered an ingredient in daffodil bulbs that can reverse alzheimers but the article didn't specify what the ingredient was. I wonder if one can get the same effect by eating the whole bulb - or is there a poisonous element that should be avoided. Care to try? The only problem with eating daffodil bulbs is that one could find oneself committed to a secure unit, but with a superbly functioning brain!!

elico