Wikipedia Article of the Day

[Mr. Not]

July 13th 2014

 

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder

 

Delayed sleep-phase disorder (DSPD), also known as delayed sleep-phase syndrome (DSPS) or delayed sleep-phase type (DSPT), is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder affecting the timing of sleep, peak period of alertness, the core body temperature rhythm, hormonal and other daily rhythms, compared to the general population and relative to societal requirements. People with DSPD generally fall asleep some hours after midnight and have difficulty waking up in the morning.

 

Prevalence

About 0.15% of adults (3 per 2000) have DSPD. Using the strict ICSD diagnostic criteria, a random study in 1993 of 7700 adults (aged 18–67) in Norway estimated the prevalence of DSPD at 0.17%. A similar study of 1525 adults (aged 15–59) in Japan estimated its prevalence at 0.13%.

[Mr. Not]

July 14th 2014

 

John Tyler Bonner

 

John Tyler Bonner (born May 12, 1920) is an emeritus professor, now lecturer with the rank of professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. He is a pioneer in the use of cellular slime molds to understand evolution and development over a career of 40 years and is one of the world's leading experts on cellular slime moulds. Arizona State University says that the establishment and growth of developmental-evolutionary biology owes a great debt to the work of Bonner’s studies. His work is highly readable and unusually clearly written and his contributions have made many complicated ideas of biology accessible to a wide audience.[2]

 

http://paw.princeton.edu/issues/2013/04/24/pages/0789/NB-Bonner9936new.jpg

[Mr. Not]

What we have here is a full story. Consider this an indefinite multi-parted entry so you don't have to read alone / all at once (unless you truly have the time and are truly interested)

 

July 15th 2014

 

Battle of Passchendaele Part I: Synopsis

 

The Battle of Passchendaele (or Third Battle of Ypres or "Passchendaele") was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the British and their allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, between July and November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders, as part of a strategy decided by the Allies at conferences in November 1916 and May 1917.Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres, five miles from a railway junction at Roeselare, which was a vital part of the supply system of the German Fourth Army.The next stage of the Allied strategy was an advance to Torhout–Couckelaere, to close the German-controlled railway running through Roeselare and Torhout, which did not take place until 1918. Further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuwpoort, combined with an amphibious landing, were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. The resistance of the German Fourth Army, unusually wet weather, the onset of winter and the diversion of British and French resources to Italy, following the Austro-German victory at the Battle of Caporetto (24 October – 19 November) allowed the Germans to avoid a general withdrawal, which had seemed inevitable to them in October. The campaign ended in November when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele. In 1918 the Battle of the Lys and the Fifth Battle of Ypres, were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast and reached the Dutch frontier.

A campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. British Prime Minister Lloyd George opposed the offensive as did General Foch the French Chief of the General Staff. The British commander Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July.Matters of dispute by the participants and writers and historians since the war have included the wisdom of pursuing an offensive strategy in the wake of the failed Nivelle Offensive, rather than waiting for the arrival of the American armies in France; the choice of Flanders over areas further south or the Italian front; the climate and weather in Flanders; Haig's selection of General Hubert Gough and the Fifth Army to conduct the offensive; debates over the nature of the opening attack between advocates of shallow and deeper objectives; the passage of time between the Battle of Messines and the opening attack of the Battles of Ypres; the extent to which the internal troubles of the French armies motivated British persistence in the offensive; the effect of mud on operations; the decision to continue the offensive in October once the weather had broken and the human cost of the campaign on the soldiers of the German and British armies.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Mr. IsNot

[Mr. Not]

July 16th 2014

 

Battle of Passchendaele Part IIa: Background, Flanders

 

The Treaty of London (1839) recognized Belgium as an independent and neutral state. The German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914, in violation of Article VII of the treaty, was the reason given by the British government for declaring war. British military operations in Belgium began with the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at Mons on 22 August. On 16 October the Belgians, with some French reinforcements, began the defence of the French channel ports and what remained of unoccupied Belgium at theBattle of the Yser. Operations further south in Flanders commenced, after attempts by the French and German armies to turn their opponents' northern flank through Picardy, Artois and Flanders, (the 'Race to the Sea') reached Ypres. On 10 October, Lieutenant-General Erich von Falkenhayn, Chief of the General Staff ordered an attack towards Dunkirk and Calais followed by a turn south to gain a decisive victory.When the offensive failed, Falkenhayn ordered the capture of Ypres to gain a local advantage. By 12 November, the First Battle of Ypres had failed (at a cost of 160,000 German casualties), and was stopped on 18 November.

In December 1914, the Admiralty began discussions with the War Office for a combined operation to occupy the Belgian coast to the Dutch frontier, by an attack along the coast combined with a landing at Ostend. Eventually the British were obliged to participate in the French offensives further south. Thus large British offensive operations in Flanders were not possible in 1915, due to the consequent lack of resources. The Germans conducted their own Flanders offensive at the Ypres (22 April – 15 May 1915), making the Ypressalient more costly to defend. Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF on 19 December 1915. A week after his appointment Haig met Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, who emphasised the importance of obtaining control of the Belgian coast, to end the threat from there by German naval forces. Haig was sceptical of a coast operation, believing that a landing from the sea would be far more difficult than anticipated and that an advance along the coast would require so much preparation that the Germans would have ample warning. Haig preferred an advance from Ypres, to bypass the flooded area around the Yser and the coast, before a coastal attack was attempted, to clear the coast to the Dutch border.

In January 1916, Haig ordered General Plumer to plan offensives against Messines Ridge, Lille and Houthoulst Forest. General Rawlinson was also ordered to plan an attack from the Ypres Salient on 4 February. Planning by Plumer continued but the demands of the Battles of Verdun and the Somme absorbed the offensive capacity of the British Expeditionary Force. On 15 and 29 November 1916, as the Battle of the Somme paused, Haig met Général d'Armée Joffre and the other Allies at Chantilly. An offensive strategy to overwhelm the Central Powers was agreed, with attacks planned on the Western, Eastern and Italian Fronts, by the first fortnight in February 1917. A meeting in London of the Admiralty and General Staff urged that the Flanders operation be undertaken in 1917, and Joffre replied on 8 December agreeing to the proposal for a Flanders campaign after the spring offensive. The plan for a year of steady attrition on the Western Front, with the main effort in the summer being made by the British Expeditionary Force, was scrapped by Nivelle and the French government for a decisive battle, to be conducted in February by the French army, with the British army's contribution becoming a preliminary operation, the Battles of Arras.

Nivelle planned an operation in three parts, preliminary offensives to pin German reserves by the British at Arras and the French between the Somme and the Oise, a French breakthrough offensive on the Aisne, then pursuit and exploitation. The plan was welcomed by Haig with reservations, which he addressed on 6 January. After repeated insistence on Haig's part, Nivelle agreed to a proviso that if the first two parts of the operation failed to lead to part three, they would be stopped so that the British could move their main forces north for the Flanders offensive, which Haig argued was of great importance to the British government. Haig wrote on 23 January that it would take six weeks to move British troops and equipment from the Arras front to Flanders and on 14 March he noted that the attack on Messines Ridge could be made in May. On 21 March he wrote to Nivelle that it would take two months to prepare the attacks from Messines to Steenstraat but that the Messines attack could be ready in 5–6 weeks. On 16 May Haig wrote that he had divided the Flanders operation into two phases, one to take Messines Ridge and the main attack several weeks later. British determination to clear the Belgian coast took on more urgency after the Germans resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on 1 February 1917.

Small operations took place in the Ypres salient in 1916, some being German initiatives to distract the Allies from the preparations for the offensive at Verdun and later to try to divert Allied attention from the Battle of the Somme. Other operations were begun by the British, to regain territory or to evict the Germans from ground overlooking their positions. Engagements took place on 12 February at Boesinge and on 14 February at Hooge and Sanctuary Wood. There were actions on 14–15 February and 1–4 March at The Bluff,27 March – 16 April at the St Eloi Craters and the battle of Mount Sorrel 2–13 June.

In January 1917, the Second Army (II Anzac, IX, X and VIII corps) held the line in Flanders from Laventie to Boesinghe, with 11 divisions and up to two in reserve. There was much trench mortaring, mining and raiding by both sides, and from January to May the Second Army had 20,000 casualties. In May, reinforcements began moving to Flanders from the south, II Corps and 17 divisions had arrived by the end of the month.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Mr. IsNot

[Mr. Not]

^ sorry, I was too busy reading through that to make a post for yesterday!

[Mr. Not]

July 18th 2014

 

Battle of Passchendaele Part IIb

 

Strategic background

Several British and French operations took place beyond Flanders during the 3rd Ypres campaign, intended to assist Allied operations at Ypres, by obstructing the flow of munitions and reinforcements to the German Fourth Army in Belgium and to exploit opportunities created by the German need to economise elsewhere. German offensives in Russia and against Italy were postponed several times as the demand for men and munitions in Flanders left little available for other operations and the French army was able to continue its recuperation after the Nivelle Offensive.

[len(songs)]

This thread must live

[len(songs)]

Keep this damn thread going!

[Mr. Not]

I dug my own grave with the WWI series I wanted to do.. History has always been a strange subject for me; I find it astounding when people who are historically knowledgeable share stories, but whenever I try to study it myself I just get bored

 

Also, why did I date my entries here? Isn't that already an in-board function?

[Mr. Not]

Avoidant personality disorder

 

Signs & Symptoms

People with avoidant personality disorder are preoccupied with their own shortcomings and form relationships with others only if they believe they will not be rejected. Loss and rejection are so painful that these individuals will choose to be alone rather than risk trying to connect with others. They often view themselves with contempt, while showing an increased inability to identify traits within themselves which are generally considered as positive within their societies. Childhood emotional neglect—in particular, the rejection of a child by one or both parents—has been associated with an increased risk for the development of AvPD, as well as rejection by peers.

 

http://dynamic.pixton.com/comic/b/j/6/w/bj6whcfzrae1c93m.png

 

Causes

Causes of avoidant personality disorder are not clearly defined and may be influenced by a combination of social, genetic, and psychological factors. The disorder may be related to temperamental factors that are inherited. Specifically, various anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence have been associated with a temperament characterized by behavioral inhibition, including features of being shy, fearful, and withdrawn in new situations. These inherited characteristics may give an individual a genetic predisposition towards AvPD. Childhood emotional neglect and peer group rejection are both associated with an increased risk for the development of AvPD.

 

See Also

 

• Attachment theory
  
• Counterphobic attitude
  
• Highly sensitive person
  
• Inferiority complex
  
• Experiential avoidance
  
• Avoidance coping
  

• Hermit
  
• Hikikomori
  
• Loner
  
• Recluse
  
• Solitude
  
• Taijin kyofusho

 

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7y2SnHZfnOc/U5YxIUR49rI/AAAAAAAAdr4/IR32G342f8c/s1600/H1%2Bpumpkin%2Bglowing.gif

[Mr. Not]

Dental Carries

 

Teeth

There are certain diseases and disorders affecting teeth that may leave an individual at a greater risk for cavities. Amelogenesis imperfecta, which occurs between 1 in 718 and 1 in 14,000 individuals, is a disease in which the enamel does not fully form or forms in insufficient amounts and can fall off a tooth. In both cases, teeth may be left more vulnerable to decay because the enamel is not able to protect the tooth.

In most people, disorders or diseases affecting teeth are not the primary cause of dental caries. Approximately 96% of tooth enamel is composed of minerals. These minerals, especially hydroxyapatite, will become soluble when exposed to acidic environments. Enamel begins to demineralize at a pH of 5.5. Dentin and cementum are more susceptible to caries than enamelbecause they have lower mineral content. Thus, when root surfaces of teeth are exposed from gingival recession or periodontal disease, caries can develop more readily. Even in a healthy oral environment, however, the tooth is susceptible to dental caries.

http://www.frot.co.nz/sift/images_cocacola/afro_tooth_decay_coke.jpg

Most importantly, whether the carious lesion is cavitated or noncavitated dictates the management. Clinical assessment of whether the lesion is active or arrested is also important. Noncavitated lesions can be arrested and remineralization can occur under the right conditions. However, this may require extensive changes to the diet (reduction in frequency of refined sugars), improved oral hygiene (toothbrushing twice per day with fluoride toothpaste and daily flossing), and regular application of topical fluoride. Such management of a carious lesion is termed "non-operative" since no drilling is carried out on the tooth. Non-operative treatment requires excellent understanding and motivation from the individual, otherwise the decay will continue.

http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/content/en_GB/health/AM_706x264_dentist.jpg

[Mr. Not]

Regress Argument

 

According to this argument, any proposition requires a justification. However, any justification itself requires support. This means that any proposition whatsoever can be endlessly (infinitely) questioned, like a child who asks "why?" over and over again.

 

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/intro/Epistemology3_files/image001.gif

 

 

Coherentism

Coherentism is the belief that an idea is justified if and only if it is part of a coherent system of mutually supporting beliefs (i.e., beliefs that support each other). In effect Coherentism denies that justification can only take the form of a chain. Coherentism replaces the chain with a holistic web.

 

Common Sense

The method of common sense espoused by such philosophers as Thomas Reid and G. E. Moore points out that whenever we investigate anything at all, whenever we start thinking about some subject, we have to make assumptions. When one tries to support one’s assumptions with reasons, one must make yet more assumptions. Since it is inevitable that we will make some assumptions, why not assume those things that are most obvious: the matters of common sense that no one ever seriously doubts.

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41-kNnGkECL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Edited November 3, 2014 by Mr. IsNot

[Mr. Not]

Ackermann Function

 

In computability theory, the Ackermann function, named after Wilhelm Ackermann, is one of the simplest and earliest-discovered examples of a total computable function that is not primitive recursive. All primitive recursive functions are total and computable, but the Ackermann function illustrates that not all total computable functions are primitive recursive.

After Ackermann's publication of his function (which had three nonnegative integer arguments), many authors modified it to suit various purposes, so that today "the Ackermann function" may refer to any of numerous variants of the original function. One common version, the two-argument Ackermann–Péter function, is defined as follows for nonnegative integers m and n:

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/0/a/e/0ae4053de098cc9554752b190a38bc56.png

Its value grows rapidly, even for small inputs. For example A(4,2) is an integer of 19,729 decimal digits.

 

Expansion

To see how the Ackermann function grows so quickly, it helps to expand out some simple expressions using the rules in the original definition. For example, we can fully evaluate A(1, 2) in the following way:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/9/7/f/97f1bec3cc025321efb263394ca62957.png

 

See Also

• Computability theory
  
• Double recursion
  
• Fast-growing hierarchy
  
• Primitive recursive function
  
• Recursion (computer science)

 

Edited November 4, 2014 by Mr. IsNot

[Mr. Not]

Persecution of people with albinism

 

Albinism is a genetically inherited condition which is very rare and worldwide affects approximately one in twenty thousand people Although rare in the western world, albinism is quite common in sub-Saharan Africa, likely as a result of consanguinity.” Both parents who may or may not be albinos themselves must carry the gene if it is to be passed on to the child and is common both in male and female and is not specific to any race or ethnic group. Statistics prove that fifty percent of albinos in Tanzania have an albino relative which they know of although very few understand or are educated about the medical and genetic causes of this condition. Most people believe it is a punishment from God or bad luck and that their “disease” could be contagious which is often the view of even members of the medical and professional community. These misconceptions, coupled with the lack of education are some of the key reasons that albinism is so heavily persecuted.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Albinisitic_man_portrait.jpg/220px-Albinisitic_man_portrait.jpg

 

 

Origins of myths and superstition causing persecution of people with Albinism (PWA)

It is clear that “the main driving forces underlying these profiling crimes are ignorance, myth, and superstition, such as the belief that individuals with albinism possess superpowers or that their body parts bestow fortune and health.” It is commonly known that in many communities, predominantly in Tanzania and parts of east Africa, that superstitious views designed by ancient spiritual beliefs reinforced by local witch doctors which have been carried through centuries of ritualistic practices and mythical beliefs. This creates a serious risk to the lives of persons with albinism as the people believe it will bring them wealth, power, success or health depending on the variances of interpretation. Senior police officers claim that these body parts may be sold for as much as $75,000 on the black market for a set of arms, legs, ears, and genitals from an individual with albinism. Therefore there has been an extensive amount of albino murders in the past decade especially in Burundi and Tanzania, where in 2007 more than seventy documented killings and one hundred and fifty body parts of albinos have been chopped off. Now this number is well over one hundred, with low conviction rates and adding to that figure more albinos which have had limbs severed and left many crippled or severely maimed, traumatized and tortured in the process.

 

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/cf/56/cf/cf56cf8f69197aa15b66f013a11c029b.jpg

A Witch Doctor

 

 

Under the Same Sun (UTSS)

Under the same sun is a Canadian organisation with support focussed on Tanzania and located in Dar es Salam, founded in 2008 by Peter Ash with a vision to “promote via advocacy and education, the wellbeing of persons who are often marginalised or misunderstood. We are driven by the belied that all persons have intrinsic value and since they are created in the image of God.” Therefore they are acting upon the moral and human rights values to support victims to end the discrimination and persecution of innocent albinos. According to Under The Same Sun, To eradicate attacks against Albino’s, “it is necessary to focus on eliminating reliance on witchcraft beliefs by strengthening the provision of infrastructure such as schools and hospitals while enhancing the sense of fairness by improving on the system of justice.” Therefore regaining albinos their rights to being treated as human, fairly as functioning members of society who may look different and suffer severe vulnerabilities die to their physical condition, but do not deserve to be murdered or hurt in any way because of ancient myths claiming sacrifice of these people will create future benefit for another person.

 

 

http://shirleyjackson.org/images/Shirley_Jackson_Portrait.jpg

 

^ Shirley Jackson, author of the horror short story "The Lottery" which examines superstitious sacrifice

[Mr. Not]

Video Game Addiction

Video Game Addiction is an excessive or compulsive use of computer games or video games, which interferes with a person's everyday life. Online game addiction has a negative image and is becoming a public concern. Video game addiction may present as compulsive game-playing; social isolation; mood swings; diminished imagination; and hyper-focus on in-game achievements, to the exclusion of other events in life.

 

Governmental Concern

The first video game to attract political controversy was the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders. In 1981, a political bill called the "Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill" was drafted by British Labour Party MP George Foulkes in an attempt to ban the game for its "addictive properties" and for causing "deviancy". The bill was debated and only narrowly defeated in parliament by 114 votes to 94 votes.

 

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/221/e/3/space_invader_by_tagahrim-d5aihgr.gif

 

"Don't tread on me!"

 

 

Possible Causes

Some theorists focus on presumed built-in reward systems of the games to explain their potentially addictive nature. In reference to gamers such as one suicide in China, the head of one software association was quoted, "In the hypothetical world created by such games, they become confident and gain satisfaction, which they cannot get in the real world."

A high prenatal testosterone load may be a risk factor for the development of video game addiction in adulthood.

 

http://cbsla.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/video-game-addict.jpg

 

 

Prevention and Correction

 

China

The Chinese government operates several clinics to treat those suffering from overuse of online games, chatting and web surfing. Treatment for the patients, most of whom have been forced to attend by parents or government officials, include various forms of pain or uneasiness. In August 2009, Deng Sanshan was reportedly beaten to death in a correctional facility for video game and Web addiction.

 

United States

Computer gaming addicts anonymous cgaa.info, formed in 2014, is a recovery fellowship offering twelve-step support and fully following the Twelve Traditions. They have daily chat meetings at stepchat.com for support and recovery from computer gaming addiction of all kinds: video, console, PC, online, tablet, phone, arcade, etc.

McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts has set up Computer Addiction Services. Elsewhere, gamers may seek services at generalized addiction support centers.

Online Gamers Anonymous, an American non-profit organization formed in 2002, is a twelve-step, self-help, support and recovery organization for gamers and their loved ones who are suffering from the adverse effects of excessive computer gaming. The organization provides a variety of message boards, daily on-line chat meetings, a Saturday and Wednesday Skype meeting, and other tools for healing and support.

 

 

 

Related videos:

 

Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (ok, semi-related :D )

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efsm6aJPybg

 

 

 

Escaping video game addiction: Cam Adair at TEDxBoulder (Independent TED event)

 

http://youtu.be/EHmC2D0_Hdg

 

Edited November 9, 2014 by Mr. IsNot

[Mr. Not]

Memory implantation

 

Memory implantation is a technique used in cognitive psychology to investigate human memory. In memory implantation studies researchers make people believe that they remember an event that actually never happened. The false memories that have been successfully implanted in people’s memories include remembering being lost in a mall as a child, taking a hot air balloon ride, and putting slime in a teacher’s desk in primary school. Memory implantation techniques were developed in the 1990s as a way of providing evidence of how easy it is to distort people's memories of past events. Most of the studies on memory implantation were published in the context of the debate about repressed memories and the possible danger of digging for lost memories in therapy. The successful implantation of memories in people’s minds has implications for therapy and legal settings.

 

http://www.dvice.com/sites/dvice/files/styles/content_panes_media/public/images/rat-brain-implant.jpg

 

 

 

Related article from The Guardian

[Mr. Not]

Endogamy

 

Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such a basis as being unsuitable for marriage or for other close personal relationships.

 

Population Genetics

The isolationist practices of endogamy may lead to a group's extinction rather than its survival, as genetic diseases may develop that can affect a larger percentage of the population. However, this disease effect would tend to be small unless there is a high degree of close inbreeding, or if the endogamous population becomes very small in size.

 

Antonym: Exogamy

[Mr. Not]

Sandstone Falls

 

http://www.patrickrossphotography.com/data/photos/20_1wv_sandstone_falls_sunburst_a.jpg

 

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/sandstone-falls-in-west-virginia--hdr-brendan-reals.jpg

[Mr. Not]

Dunning-Kruger Effect

 

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias wherein unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than is accurate. This bias is attributed to a metacognitive inability of the unskilled to recognize their ineptitude.

 

Supporting Studies

Dunning and Kruger set out to test these hypotheses on Cornell undergraduates in psychology courses. In a series of studies, they examined the subjects' self-assessment of logical reasoning skills, grammatical skills, and humor. After being shown their test scores, the subjects were again asked to estimate their own rank: the competent group accurately estimated their rank, while the incompetent group still overestimated theirs. As Dunning and Kruger noted:

Across four studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd

[Mr. Not]

Red pill and blue pill

 

The red pill and its opposite, the blue pill, are popular culture symbols representing the choice between embracing the sometimes painful truth of reality (red pill) and the blissful ignorance of illusion (blue pill).

The terms, popularized in science fiction culture, are derived from the 1999 film The Matrix. In the movie, the main character Neo is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill. The blue pill would allow him to remain in the fabricated reality of the Matrix, therefore living the "ignorance of illusion", while the red pill would lead to his escape from the Matrix and into the real world, therefore living the "truth of reality" even though it is a harsher, more difficult life.

[Mr. Not]

Kodokushi

 

Kodokushi (孤独死?) or 'lonely death' refers to a Japanese phenomenon of people dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time. The phenomenon was first described in the 1980s. Kodokushi has become an increasing problem in Japan, attributed to economic troubles and Japan's increasingly elderly population.

 

Causes

Several reasons for the increase in kodokushi have been proposed. One proposed reason is increased social isolation. A decreasing proportion of elderly Japanese people are living in multi-generational housing and are instead living alone. Elderly people who live alone are more likely to lack social contacts with family and neighbors, and are therefore more likely to die alone and remain undiscovered.

Economic reasons for kodokushi have also been proposed. Many incidents of kodokushi have involved people who were receiving welfare or had few financial resources. McDonald suggests that the "Japanese trait of uncomplaining endurance," or gaman, discourages people in need from seeking help from neighbors and authorities. Victims of kodokushi have been described as "slipping through the cracks" between governmental and familial support.

Additionally, the economic slump in Japan since 1990 has been cited as contributing to the increase in lonely deaths. Since 1990, many Japanese businessmen have been forced into early retirement. Many of these men have never married and become socially isolated when removed from the corporate culture.

Masaki Ichinose, head of the University of Tokyo's Institute of Death and Life Studies, hypothesizes that the increase in kodokushi is linked to Japan's contemporary culture which ignores death. Several hundred years ago, Japanese people commonly confronted death; for example, bodies were typically buried by family members. In contrast, in modern Japan, there are fewer opportunities to witness death and death is not readily discussed.

Hypothesized psychological reasons for the increase in kodokushi include social apathy and life stress. Social isolation is used as a coping mechanism to avoid stressful situations.

 

http://www.fortnightjournal.com/pub/editor/image/EDITION%202%20SH/EDITION%203%20SH/CD-lonely-death%20wee.png

[Mr. Not]

I've been thinking I'll be going back to posting near-daily, so consider this following post an entry for yesterday, December 15th.

[Mr. Not]

Kardashev Scale

 

The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement, based on the amount of energy a civilization is able to utilize. The scale has three designated categories called Type I, II, and III. A Type I civilization uses all available resources impinging on its home planet, Type II harnesses all the energy of its star, and Type III of its galaxy. The scale is only hypothetical, but it puts energy consumption in a cosmic perspective. It was first proposed in 1964 by the Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev (Kardashyov). Various extensions of the scale have been proposed since, from a wider range of power levels (types 0, IV and V) to the use of metrics other than pure power.

 

 

Theoretical Examples

 

Type 0

A Type 0 civilization extracts its energy, information, raw-materials from crude organic-based sources (i.e. food/wood/fossil fuel/books/oral tradition); pressures via natural disaster, selection, and societal collapse creates extreme (99.9%) risk of extinction; it is capable of orbital spaceflight; in fiction, societies that fail to improve social conditions, environmental and medical understanding concurrently with other advancements, frequently accelerated their own extinction.

 

Type I

A Type I civilization extracts its energy, information, and raw-materials from fusion power, hydrogen, and other "high-density" renewable-resources; is capable of interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary communication, megascale engineering, and colonization, medical and technological singularity, planetary engineering, world government, trade and defense, and stellar system-scale influence; but is still vulnerable to extinction.

 

Type II

A Type II civilization extracts fusion energy, information, and raw-materials from multiple solar systems; it is capable of evolutionary intervention, interstellar travel, interstellar communication, stellar engineering, terraforming, and star cluster-scale influence; the resulting proliferation and diversification would theoretically negate the probability of extinction.

 

Type III

A Type III civilization extracts fusion energy, information, and raw-materials from all possible star-clusters; it is capable of intergalactic travel via wormholes, intergalactic communication, galactic engineering and galaxy-scale influence.

 

Type IV

A Type IV civilization extracts energy, information, and raw materials from all possible galaxies; it is effectively immortal and omnipotent with universal-scale influence, possessing the ability of theoretical time travel and instantaneous matter-energy transformation and teleportation (their apparent abilities may include moving entire asteroid belts and stars, creating alternate timelines, and affecting universal states of nature such as the gravitational constant); in fiction, these civilizations may be perceived as omnipresent/omnipotent gods.

 

 

Concept art of a type II civilization

http://thezephyrlounge.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/typellciv.png

[Mr. Not]

Female Circumcision

 

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is the ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. Typically carried out by a traditional circumciser with a blade or razor, with or without anaesthesia, FGM is concentrated in 27 countries in Africa, as well as in Yemen and Iraqi Kurdistan. It is also practised elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East, and among diaspora communities around the world. The age at which it is conducted varies from days after birth to puberty; in half the countries for which national figures are available, most girls are cut before the age of five.

 

The procedures differ according to the ethnic group. They include removal of the clitoral hood and clitoris, and in the most severe form (known as infibulation) removal of the inner and outer labia and closure of the vulva; in this last procedure, a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual blood, and the vagina is opened for intercourse and childbirth. Health effects depend on the procedure, but can include recurrent infections, chronic pain, cysts, an inability to get pregnant, complications during childbirth and fatal bleeding. There are no known health benefits.

[Mr. Not]

^ sorry, no images for this one! :D

 

This practice is seen as primitive, deplorable, and insane by people in western civilization... I agree... But I hardly think higher of male genital mutilation (circumcision of the foreskin).