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

Hi, Xyroth:

I never got around to reading your articles on intelligence
before you hid them. The search for signs of intelligence
in the universe is trickier than it sounds--or so Trudy the
Bag Lady/Lily Tomlin has said.

I am growing less optimistic about the chances that the
conditions you've set will be met. How can there be
a full discussion of the circumstances surrounding the
lifetime suspension of a researcher if the researcher
in question is unable to be part of the discussion?

I think anger has become something of a problem
at this site, though most researchers do a good job
of being civil. I've heard that President Harry Truman
was in the habit of writing angry letters to the music critics
that panned his daughter's performances. Truman would
give the letters to his aides for mailing, and the aides
would discreetly see to it that the letters were destroyed.
Truman benefitted by getting the anger out of his system,
and no one was hurt by having to read the letters he wrote.
Holding anger in, while socially beneficial, can backfire
and cause a whole list of problems: heart disease, depression,
yadda, yadda, yadda. . The trick is to find devices that
allow you not to get angry in the first place. Disengagement
from stressful situations can be useful. Of course, when a
person has a lifetime's worth of stress to carry around, things
can get out of control. I think there's some of that in the
current situation.

Given a choice between high intelligence and great
wisdom, I think I would choose wisdom.

Happiness is not bad, either, though it's tricky to
maintain if you haven't got a clear sense of what's
important to you. The Dalai Lama wrote a whole
book about happiness, but I never got around to
reading it. When I was studying the subject
of depression some years ago, I read that one of the
pillars of mental health (i.e. happiness) is having the
sense that you are realizing your potential. If your
path to self-realization is seriously blocked, you're
going to have some problems.

Good luck, and best wishes. Paul

P.S. I read somewhere that expelling someone from
a group often has the effect of increasing anxiety
for the remaining group members--even if the group
members supported the expulsion. Human nature
has its share of quirks, doesn't it?

Well, the intelligence project is now back up, apart from the animal intelligence page which was not worth reposting, so drop by and have a look.

The problem that I had was not due to anger, but due to the seemingly arbitrary way thet lekz was thrown of, and the events that undoubtably lead to it.

I responded to the lifetime ban thread not to vent my spleen (unlike some), but to say "look, we have a serious problem here, and if we don't look at it properly, we will hemorage exactly the researchers that we can least afford to loose.

Due to the improved attitude on that thread, I changed my name back to stop drawing attention to the problem, and as there is now a discusion of what happened, what lead up to it, and how we stop it happening again, as stated in my journal, the intelligence project is now back.

Thanks.

I enjoyed your articles, and look forward to seeing
them when they appear in their edited form.

I plan to add some comments on the Genius
article, but they will be anecdotal (no, I am
not the genius the comments will be about ).

Right at the moment, my main concern with
intelligence is the adaptations that people must
make in the late stages of their lives. Propping
up a flagging memory, for instance. Looking
desperately for ways of delaying or preventing
Alzheimer's, particularly if one has had older
relatives who have suffered from it.

Take care.

Alzheimer's is a special case, as the problems are caused by a disease. the main solution in these cases is to spot it easly, as a lot of diseases now are getting medications that can slow down the advancement of the symptoms. I think I remember altzheimer's being one of the diseases that is actively being worked on, so check the net for results.

For the general case of memory, it is like anything else, if you don't use it, you get out of practice, and it get's harder to use.
The old arguament of "I'm getting old so my memory is getting bad" is complete hogwash. Although you lose brain cells at so many per day, the critical factor is the interlinking of the (dendrites?) that connect the individual neurons together.

If you use your brain, do puzzles, crosswords, learn new stuff, the increase in new connections more than makes up for the few brain cells you have lost. So if you find your memory getting worse, use your brain, and if after a short time you don't see some improvement, go see your doctor about it, as it is usually a sign of something else (sometimes poor diet!).

Hi, Xyroth:

If I continue writing articles for H2G2, my brain will
get plenty of exercise . Ditto for reading the new
articles that come along, and the stimulating
threads that develop from them.

My main concern about Alzheimer's is that my mother,
who is 81, fears she will get it. One of her older brothers
was diagnosed with senile dementia at age 90. I can
see her concern, but I think she had an uncle who made
it to 94 without Alzheimer's. As long as her doctor keeps
an eye out for symptoms, she's got a chance of doing
reasonably well.

My memory is pretty variable. I have good tonal memory,
and reasonably good memory for smells. However, I was
never much good at remembering people's names.
Lately, my schedule has been so hectic that I have
forgotten a couple of appointments--one was with my
shrink, and I got a scolding letter from the HMO about it.
I'll be eating crow for some time to come .

The researchers who are working on Parkinson's Disease
seem to feel that they'll get it solved before very long.
One tantalizing clue is that a former villain--nicotine--
may be useful when applied properly to Parkinson's
patients. Or, so I've read in the newspapers. If the
Parkinson's riddle gets solved, it may open the door for
Alzheimer's researchers. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.