Everyday Junglist
Bio
About me. You know how everyone says to be a successful writer you should focus in one or two areas. I continue to prove them correct.
Stories (714)
Filter by community
Sorry But DNA Sequence Data Cannot Be Used to Design a Personalized Fitness or Nutrition Plan
As a practicing research microbiologist/molecular biologist it pains me to constantly be the naysayer when it comes to claims that some of my own colleagues have made and continue to make with respect to the “power” of DNA sequence data. To hear these people tell it with DNA sequence data alone we can cure virtually any disease, have perfectly optimized diets, and maintain ideal weight with minimal effort. Moreover by following our DNA optimized fitness plan we can expect to live in perfect health to the ripe old age of 300 at which point we will die peacefully in our sleep.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Longevity
The Last of All Redundant Essays
The Most Redundant Words to Delete From Your Writing Advice on extraneous words from the Random House copy chief The consensus of opinion these days seems to be that redundancy in writing is bad. While it may be the general consensus it is not an absolute certainty that this is the case. In fact it might possibly be the case that redundancies are more superior to other methods of emphasis when it comes to getting and keeping your readers attention, despite what Random House copy chief Benjamin Dreyer says in the above linked piece.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Journal
Miracles and Free Will
Way back in the dark ages of January 2018 I wrote a piece in which I attempted to explain why I believe free will would be impossible if we lived in a simulated universe. As part the argument I wrote “if any intervention collapses free will than miracles do.” If you agree with that position it follows that in most (one could say all or almost all) major religions we do not have free will. My reasons for believing this are really quite simple. If any choice/act/decision we make can be “over-ruled” by the actions of a more powerful being or beings we do not have free will because the natural course of events has been altered and we had/have no choice in the matter. We have lost the ability to freely choose and thus we have lost free will. A “positive” miracle like raising of the dead might seem a great thing, and it certainly is for the revived dead man, but what about for the men that chose to kill him? They lost their choice. Their choice was revoked and thus they lost free will. If one or any lose free will, all do. The situation is identical for a simulated universe, except in place of God or Gods we have a Simulator or Simulators that intervene. If they alter the code to make something occur that would not have occurred in the natural or simulated but unmodified course of events, free will is lost for all. Even if it only happens one time, to one person, or even to one animal, or plant, or rock, or atom, or subatomic particle. Any intervention results in the total loss of free will for all things for all time. Since I find it very hard to believe that simulators would create a universe and then never intervene in any way in its evolution I find any simulated universe extremely unlikely to have free will. This same argument holds for any ‘real’ universe, including the one we (likely) live in.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Futurism
A Brush With Greatness
Every once in a while I come across something truly great. I see something, or hear something, or read something, in other words experience something so awesome, so unique, so powerful that I must stop and acknowledge that thing’s greatness. Mostly this acknowledgement is done only with myself in my own mind, like a silent applause, an imagined bow, or a mental gasp. I usually take a note of the thing and perhaps later mention it to a friend, or do a quick Google search when I have the time. Almost never does it go beyond that. Recently (many years ago now) however I came across something so great that I cannot remain silent. I must acknowledge in public the utter and complete awesomeness of it.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in 01
The Sexual Repression Hypothesis
Author's preface: I will admit this one is going to be a tough call for the censors..oops...I mean moderators to judge. On the one hand it is full of graphic material, on the other hand it really isn't all that graphic. More importantly, it is intended and I believe does make a very salient point which is that the "theory" espoused by Umair Haque in the linked article is absurd and ridiculous just like my made up "sexual repression hypothesis" in this article. The fact that it can be made to sound so appealing and so sensical is a tribute to the ease with which words that play into our preconceived prejudices and biases lull us into agreement with them even when they are outrageous, unjustified, and just plain stupid. Umair is a master at that game. That is why he is so popular. Playing into people's prejudices, biases, and fears is a sure fire winner when it comes to popularity contests. Intellectually challenging satirical rebuttals of such material are massive losers in those contests which is why I continue to linger in obscurity while Umair enjoys massive online readership. But you know what, Frack him. I don't play the fear and prejudice game and I never will, but I will call out those who do, every single time I get a chance.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Filthy
The 7-Day Workweek
How to Pitch a 4-Day Workweek to Your BossAnd how to make the most of that extra dayforge.medium.com I have seen several articles like the one linked above describing how one can go about bargaining with their workplace for a shortened workweek. While I take no issue with the desire to “work” less, I dislike the dichotomy it implies between “work” and everything else in one’s life. For myself, and no doubt for a great many others the differentiation between work and home has become so blurred as to be almost meaningless. I do have an office at my workplace and I also have a lab. I also have an office at home. As a research scientist I don’t believe I could ever fully abandon a workspace because of this need for a laboratory. Despite what so called “biohackers” might have to say about it, building a lab in your garage or basement will never approach the level of sophistication of anything you will see in a fully stocked corporate or academic research laboratory. So, for me at least, there will likely never come a time when I could disconnect entirely from a physical workspace.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Journal
Science Retires
Author's preface: Because this story did not meet Vocal's ludicrous 600 word count minimum I am forced to add yet another annoying author's preface. This is in addition to the author's postscript at the end of the story which contains my anti-censorship statement and which I intend to attach to every story I publish on Vocal until such time as those policies are eliminated. Vocal refers to these policies as "community standards" but please let's call a chicken a chicken, or is it let's call a duck a duck? I actually don't think it is either of those but whatever, it is censorship plain and simple. See my article here which defines four of my biggest problems with them, but there are many more. In any event the big question now is exactly how many words am I at? Have I made it to the magic number of 600? If only Vocal's editor provided a word count for me so I did not have to waste 2 minutes cutting and pasting into Microsoft word to check. But alas, they do not. I am going to cross my fingers on this one, roll the dice and say, yes, I have now hit at least 600 words. Here's hoping! By the way the post is a humor classic from my vast library of The Onion style satirical news articles.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Futurism
Quit Trying to Remember Stuff
Recently a friend mentioned that she was frustrated at work by her inability to remember some important details about a key aspect of a project she had been working on for months. She described how she had spent the past few days hunkered down with textbooks and on the computer, but the right connections needed to form a lasting memory of the material had still not materialized. After hearing her out I gave her some (non asked for) advice and said “memorizing stuff is a waste of time.” I quit trying to memorize or even remember most things soon after I got out of the hospital almost three years ago now, and my overall cognitive abilities have never been better (in my estimation). Moreover, my scientific pursuits have not suffered in the least, nor have any personal relationships been strained as a result. In many ways I consider my decision to stop trying to remember or memorize things one of the best decisions I have ever made. It feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off my mind and I am able to focus on the parts of my job and life that are important. Things like problem solving, abstract thinking, creative pursuits, and building and improving interpersonal relationships. I can do these things without the fear of forgetting a name or not remembering any particular equation or procedure because I now consider the concomitant tradeoff in efficiency one I am willing to make. In the end no matter how painful or time consuming it might be to have to look something up, the overall benefits far outweigh the negatives.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Psyche
