Man's Best Friend's Brain at Work

In the 30,000+ years humans and dogs have lived together, man's best friend has only become a more popular and beloved pet. By 2016, dogs are a fixture in almost 50% of American households.

From the way dogs thump their tails, invade our laps and steal our pillows, it certainly seems like they love us back. But since dogs can't tell us what's really going on inside their furry heads, can we ever be truly certain how they feel about us?

Actually, yes. Thanks to recent developments in brain imaging technology, we're starting to get a better picture of the happenings inside the canine cranium.

Scientists are studying the dog brains and how they react to different stimuli. And what the studies show is welcome news for all dog owners: Not only do dogs seem to love us back, they actually see us as family. It turns out that dogs rely on humans more than they do other dogs for affection, protection and food - and this translates into a very strong emotional bond. They see humans as the alpha leaders of a pack, and thus consider humans to be family.

The most direct dog brain-based evidence showing that they are hopelessly devoted to humans comes from a recent neuro-imaging study about odour processing in the dog brain. Animal cognition scientists at Emory University trained dogs to lie still in an MRI machine and used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to measure their neural responses to the smell of people and dogs, both familiar and unknown. Because dogs navigate the world through their noses, the way they process smell offers a lot of potential insight into social behaviour.

The scientists found that dog owners' aroma actually sparked activation in the "reward center" of their brains, called the caudate nucleus. Of all the wafting smells to take in, dogs actually prioritized the hint of humans over anything or anyone else.

These results jibe with other canine neuro-imaging research. In Budapest, researchers at Eotvos Lorand University studied canine brain activity in response to different human and dog sounds, including voices, barks and the meaningful grunts and sighs both species emit. Before this study, we had no idea what happens inside canine brains when humans make noise.

Among other surprising findings, the study revealed marked similarities in the way dog and human brains process emotionally laden vocal sounds. Researchers found that happy sounds in particular light up the auditory cortex in both species. This commonality speaks to the uniquely strong communication system underlying the dog-human bond.

Thus we have learned the following: Dogs don't just seem to pick up on our subtle mood changes - they are actually physically wired to pick up on them. They have evolved to be able to sense human mood changes.

"It's very interesting to understand the tool kit that helps such successful vocal communication between two species," Attila Andics, a neuroscientist and lead author of the study, told Mic. "We didn't need neuro-imaging to see that communication works [between dogs and people], but without it, we didn't understand why it works. Now we're really starting to."

Behaviour research supports the recent neuroscience too. According to Andics, dogs interact with their human caregivers in the same way babies do their parents. When dogs are scared or worried, they run to their owners, just as distressed toddlers make a beeline for their parents. This is in stark contrast to other domesticated animals: Petrified cats, as well as horses, will run away from a threat.

Dogs are also one of the few non-primate animals to look people in the eyes. This is something Andics, along with other researchers, discovered about a decade ago when he studied the domestication of wolves, which he thought would share that trait. They endeavoured to raise wolves like dogs. This is a unique behaviour between dogs and humans — dogs seek out eye contact from people, but not their biological dog parents.

"Bonding with owners is much more important for dogs than other pets," said Andics.

Scientists have also looked at the dog-human relationship from the other direction. As it turns out, people reciprocate dogs' strong feelings. In a study published in PLOS One in October, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers measured human brain activity in response to photos of dogs and children. Study participants were women who'd had dogs and babies for at least two years. Both types of photos sparked activity in brain regions associated with emotion, reward, affiliation, visual processing and social interaction. Basically, both furry and (typically) less-furry family members make us equally happy.

Dog-lovers have committed a few notable gaffes in interpreting dogs' facial expressions, e.g., assuming the often-documented hangdog look signifies guilt, an emotion that, most behaviour experts agree, requires a multifaceted notion of self-awareness that dogs probably don't have.

But, as with family, our instinctive hunches about dog behaviour are often correct.

"Sometimes our intuition about what's going on inside dogs' heads is dead-on," said Laurie Santos, the lead researcher at Yale's Canine Cognition Center. "Like, that dogs are seeking out help from us — and that's true based on studies — which is different from even their closest relatives, wolves."

The precise wish or worry lurking in a dog's doleful look may not always be clear. But we can relish the fact that we know our dogs love us as much as we hoped, maybe even more.

Now if we can just figure out how to herd cats, the world would be a better place.

People with a Low Sex Drive at Work

I cannot understand men or women who have a low or basically non existent sex drive.

To me having a sex drive is part and parcel of being human - it is the driving force behind our need to fall in love, get married, have a family and procreate. Without our sex drive the human species would have died out long ago due to sheer lack of procreation.

Thus to me people who have no apparent sex drive - or are basically not interested in sex - there must be something WRONG with them. Either hormones wise or something in their head psychologically that prevents them from becoming aroused during romantic / sexual situations.

Now I am not a neuroscientist but I am confident there has been a fair amount of research into this topic so lets see what I can find out by doing a quick Google search on the topic...

Here are my findings.

#1. There are many pharmaceuticals that have "low sex drive" listed as a side effect. This suggests to me that it is very easy to create a chemical imbalance which causes a low sex drive. However that doesn't explain people with "no sex drive" whatsoever.

#2. Dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin levels play a huge role in sexual desire for both men and women. A depletion in these three chemicals (or even just 1 of them) can result in a lower sex drive. Someone with a lowered amount in two of the chemicals or even all three would have a tiny or possibly even non existent sex drive. Each of these hormones play a different role in the body, but block any one of them and you can get some weird results.

Dopamine for example is critical for motivation and desire: if it’s depleted or blocked (with a medication like an antipsychotic, for example), people may lose the will to strive, even the ability to move. But boost it with a drug like cocaine and people feel capable, excited, empowered, overconfident.

Which begs the question, could synthetic cocaine or a similar drug be used as an aphrodisiac?

Dopamine doesn't just affect sexual desire either. It is also connected to our desire for food, sleep, social interaction and connected to addictions to everything from gambling to exercise addiction.

Oxytocin meanwhile is called the "love hormone" and is responsible for those feelings we get affect watching romantic movies, having sex and cuddling, or even consuming large amounts of chocolate. On the flip side, a lack of oxytocin is connected to social disconnection disorders like autism and aspergers. Oxytocin is largely involved in feelings related to intimacy, social bonding, and even concentration / awareness on your surroundings. Thus a person with a shortage of oxytocin will be more of a social outcast and lack interest in developing intimacy with other people.

Serotonin is actually weird. Low and high amounts can actually have different opposite effects on sex drive. A low amount can actually trigger a high sex drive sometimes, but the person will be more depressed and less choosy about their sexual partners - in other words they will sleep around a lot because their serotonin levels are so low and they have a correspondingly low self esteem. Really high serotonin levels can still be attached to a high sex drive too, but the person will be more choosy about who they are sleeping with and are more likely to have only one sexual partner.

Thus a person with low dopamine and low oxytocin will likely be anti social and lack sexual desire. Coupled with a "calming" amount of serotonin in their system and they won't feel the need to have sex at all.

#3. Not all low sex drives is caused by hormones. Sometimes it can be something as simple as a pinched pelvic nerve in the wrong spot which prevents orgasm and even arousal in some people. Such physiological problems however can now be solved with elective surgery.

#4. Other non listed physiological reasons. I am not going to list them all, but basically it can be a physiological defect - such as having one's clitoris removed in a clitoridectomy (an operation popular in some Muslim African countries where women are treated rather poorly and they don't want women to enjoy sex that much).

#5. Mental trauma, such as sexual abuse or rape in the person's past which has since caused them to be unable to become aroused.

Now with respect to this last one - 33% of women in North America are sexually abused at some point in their lifetime. While this doesn't always result in severe trauma, it does indicate that such abuse is far too commonplace and that in the extreme cases it is really no surprise if the trauma is so severe it causes permanent damage to the woman's psyche.

I don't know what percentage of men are abused, but we can assume it is probably a larger number than we would normally guess because men are too afraid of being stigmatized by admitting that they were the victim of such abuse.

#6. Stress.

Yes, stress can be a factor in low sex drive. But it doesn't erradicate sex drive entirely because stress induced low sex drive is just temporary. People going through high and low bouts of stress eventually learn to cope with their stress and then use sex as a release to reduce their stress levels.

#7. General Dislike.

A couple who are going through problems such as communication or compatibility problems will have a reduced sex drive - and that reduced sex drive may eventually be the lynch pin which drives them apart permanently. Disliking the person you are with - for whatever reason - means you are going to start resenting having sex with them, like it is some kind of obligation or chore you have to do to maintain the relationship. Once sex is reduced to a chore it is no longer fun and you lose interest in it.

This happened to me once when I was in university. True story. During my 4th year of university I moved into an apartment with a girl and we got a lease. NEVER GET A LEASE! Due to the lease I ended up maintaining the relationship, but near the end I was withholding sex because I had grown to dislike her so much that I had lost all interest in her sexually. (That and she was insatiable anyway and I was tired of the chore it had become to keep her satisfied 24/7.)

But again, like stress this doesn't mean the person has a low sex drive so much. It just means they'd rather break up and find someone new. Which I eventually did once the lease was done.

CONCLUSIONS

I must admit people with very low sex drives still seem alien to me. I can't even imagine having a low sex drive and not wanting to have sex regularly (especially with someone I feel deeply and passionately about).

Note: I think personals websites would be wise to include a Sexual Compatibility Survey so people can check to see if they are compatible with people they meet online before they meet in real life. This way if someone is into things you aren't into that you can ensure you are getting into a relationship that has potential to last on the sexual level. A woman with a high sex drive meeting a man with a low or non existent sex drive will be sorely disappointed. And vice versa. Likewise a person who is into nudist colonies and kama sutra will be disappointed when they meet someone who is a conservative prude beneath the sheets.

Lack of sex / sexual incompatibility is one of the driving forces behind the divorce rate in many countries.

The Perfect Male Body at Work

I've been meaning to write this particular blog post for awhile.

Partially because I have a strong interest in exercise and being fit, but also because its interesting in terms of what people actually consider attractive... And lastly because one of my previous blog posts, The Perfect Female Body at Work, is the most popular blog post on this site.

So in the interest of doing the reverse of that post I decided I should research the topic of the Perfect Male Body... and just see what scientists and experts on the topic have to say.

On the right is a photo of male fashion model Marcus Schenkenberg. Widely regarded to be one of the most attractive men in the last century - beating out people like Sean Connery, Burt Reynolds and even Tom Selleck.

According to one poll I came across in my research Tom Selleck in his younger years, when he was Magnum PI, was ranked by women as the most attractive male actor. Suck on that Sean Connery.

Symmetry

First, according to an article in Psychology Today women seek out relationships with handsome men for their genes - and handsomeness is largely determined by symmetry. Symmetry is effected by having a healthful body and thus the level of a man's health correlates directly to his physical attractiveness.

Symmetrical physical healthiness form part of the equation for the perfect body for men. Genetic mutations, abnormalities and environmental factors can reduce symmetry in human body development. Symmetry provides an evolutionary symbol for mating. According to another article, this one in Live Science, men with higher degrees of symmetry on the face and body will have more sexual partners than men with lower degrees of symmetry. Even men who are overweight or skinny will be considered more attractive if their face is symmetrical and thus garner them more women.

Above Right - A photo of arm wrestling champion Matthias Schlitte with his one freakishly large arm. He only exercises the one arm... and is an example of what NOT to do if you want to have a symmetrical body.

Getting a symmetrical body is really just a matter of exercising ALL your body parts evenly combined with a healthy diet. Various genetic abnormalities will decrease the level of symmetry, but most of it can be corrected. Even a crooked nose can be partially corrected by doing Nose Exercises.

Upper Body

The perfect body for men features a broad torso. According to several sources physical attractiveness for men also depends on broad shoulders. The human male evolved a broader torso to support larger lung capacity and better distribution of oxygen. This supports running and exercising.

Even today leaders of tribal civilizations tend to have a broad torsos. Likewise women are more attracted to a male body that features broad shoulders and a strong chest with muscular arms, but those factors are not the be all - end all, because again those things should be symmetrical.

Having broad shoulders and a broad chest likely is a visual factor in voting for leaders too, although not for women obviously.

Lower Body

Small, firm buttocks are another feature of the perfect body for men. Sexual intercourse involves thrusting motions that are supported by muscles in a man's upper legs and buttocks and thus a nice muscular butt that is the right shape for thrusting suggests a man who is virile in bed. A Psyduction magazine article suggests that women prefer men with small and firm rear ends because it suggests they are more powerful lovers.

Thus for men wearing a kilt which covers up a shapely butt is a big no-no. If anything men with a nice ass should be making an effort to show off their goods by wearing skin tight clothing. Like the shot of Batman's (Val Kilmer's) butt below from "Batman Forever" which they did as lewd joke within the film while hs is strapping on his armour/costume.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio

The perfect body for men has a waist-to-hip ratio of approx. 0.9. The Royal Society published a study that says that women prefer men who have a torso with an inverted triangle shape. This shape corresponds with a man that has a narrow waist, and a broad chest and shoulders.

Meanwhile a Live Science article says that women prefer men who have a waist-to-hip ratio between 0.8 and 1.0. The article notes that men within this range are less susceptible to certain diseases, such as cardiovascular and blood sugar problems or cancer - whereas men who are overweight and have large bellies / asses are more likely to have health problems. The Royal Society study states that this ratio is related to the distribution of fat between the upper and lower body and obesity correlates with higher waist-to-hip ratios.

Men with pot bellies thus just aren't sexy. Pot bellies are due to malnutrition (too much sugar and carbs) and are a sign of someone who just doesn't eat properly. So again, that is something that can be fixed through exercise and healthy eating.

Volume Height Index / BMI

The perfect body for men also has a volume height index that corresponds with higher levels of health. The volume height index is a man's volume divided by the square of his height. According to various sources the volume height index is the best indicator of male attractiveness and that the volume height index is a more reliable measure of male attractiveness than the waist-to-hip ratio. Whether this is true or not is questionable.

All volume height index is really just a different way of calculating BMI (Body Mass Index), a tool typically used for measuring whether people are obese, overweight, healthy or anorexic.

Except under the VHI system, anorexic men would be considered attractive, which we know is not true. Therefore I don't think the VHI system is reliable. A better system is BMI, wherein the healthy middle ground for BMI is the obvious choice for attractiveness.

Hair

According to my research most women prefer men with lots of hair - a la Burt Reynolds.

According to sources the reason is because lots of healthy looking hair is a sign of virility. Men with lots of chest hair / etc = a sexy beast in the sack, which will produce similarly healthy babies.

In contrast baldness or lack of hair suggests a deformity or genetic inferiority. However this isn't true for all women however. Some women prefer men who are bald, as per Sean Connery or Bruce Willis.

But for the vast majority of women body hair is considered to be an attractive feature.

So what do women like best?

According to a poll done in the London Sunday Times here is a list of 11 attributes British men imagine women admire most about them.

Muscular Chest and Shoulders 21%
Muscular Arms 18%
Penis 15%
Tallness 13%
Flat Stomach 9%
Slimness 7%
Hair 4%
Buttocks 4%
Eyes 4%
Long Legs 3%
Neck 2%

And here is the real results of what physical attributes British women found most attractive:

Buttocks (described as "small and sexy") 39%
Slimness 15%
Flat Stomach 13%
Eyes 11%
Long Legs 6%
Tallness 5%
Hair 5%
Neck 3%
Penis 2%
Muscular Chest and Shoulders 1%
Muscular Arms 0%

So evidently what men think is attractive vs what women really want are two worlds apart. The buttocks are, according to the poll of women, 19.5 times more important than the penis for example.

CONCLUSIONS

What women really want, and consider perfect, is a tall man with long legs who is slim, has nice abs, nice eyes and hair, a nicely shaped neck and penis (WTF is with the neck stats???) and if he is muscular that is a nice bonus. Basically a man who is fit and has a nice butt and abs.

So how does a man get a nice butt and abs?

Cardio exercises. Lots of cardio. Plus sit ups once you've lost the necessary weight. Doing ab exercises won't do anything if its under a layer of fat except make your stomach bulge out more. You have to lose the weight via cardio first, then start focusing on ab exercises and core strengthening exercises. Weightlifting will help a bit, but its better to target the core muscles (abs, obliques and back muscles) first.

You can't do much about the genetic factors of long legs and tallness. You are what you are. But exercising to look better certainly helps. This poll now shows why Marcus Schenkenberg and Tom Selleck rank so high. They are both tall, slim, nice abs / butt, good eyes, hair, and I am guessing neck too.

Why would women find a man's neck so important? I am guessing it is due to symmetry.

The Male Brain on Internet Porn

Watch this TED Talks presentation about the effects of internet porn addiction on the male brain.

Oooo!




The presentation is in response to Philip Zimbardo's "The Demise of Guys?" TED talk and in this presentation Gary Wilson asks whether our brains evolved to handle the hyperstimulation of today's Internet enticements. He also discusses the disturbing symptoms showing up in some heavy Internet users, the surprising reversal of those symptoms, and the science behind these 21st century phenomena.

More About Gary Wilson

Gary is host of www.yourbrainonporn.com. The site arose in response to a growing demand for solid scientific information by heavy Internet erotica users experiencing perplexing, unexpected effects: escalation to more extreme material, concentration difficulties, sexual performance problems, radical changes in sexual tastes, social anxiety, irritability, inability to stop, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

As a physiology teacher with a particular interest in the latest neuroscience discoveries, Gary was aware that their symptoms might be the result of addiction-related brain changes. Applying the website's concepts of brain plasticity, many former users have braved withdrawal, reversed their symptoms and restored normal sexual responsiveness.

The site has been linked to from hundreds of threads in forums from over thirty countries, with posts numbering in the thousands. Gary blogs for "Psychology Today" and "The Good Men Project" on the extreme plasticity of adolescent brains, the evolutionary context for today's flood of novel cyber "mates," and the neurochemical reasons why superstimulating Internet delivery has unexpected effects on the brain.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Males can't remember things when sex is involved

According to a new study, men have difficulty remembering things when distracted by sex.

Really?

Tell us something else we already know.

According to the study men are less likely to retain the information relayed to them by sexually attractive news anchors than those deemed less sexually attractive, the new research says.

Basically what is happening is that men are more likely to watch a sexually attractive news anchor - but are less likely to remember what she actually said because he will start daydreaming about sex.

Writing in the journal Communication Research, Indiana University telecommunications professor Maria Elizabeth Grabe and doctoral candidate Lelia Samson explored how the appearance of a female news anchor affects the audience of a news program.

Grabe, a former journalist herself, recalls how in the 1980s female anchors weren’t sexualized the way they are today. Instead it was all about being "as androgynous as possible."

"It was the golden rule: Don’t let the physical - the femininity - don’t let it get in the way of the news," says Grabe. "That was the old way of thinking. And now Lelia and I are watching the news and we’re going, 'Whoa, babes!' "

During their study, the researchers recruited 386 participants: 193 men and women. They used one news anchor (a 24-year-old brunette of “average” weight) and dressed her up in two different ways: as a sexualized anchor, giving her a fitted jacket and skirt to wear, and putting bright red lipstick on her and a necklace; and as an unsexualized anchor, wearing a shapeless, loose-fitting jacket, and no lipstick or necklace.

The rest of the female anchor’s appearance (hair, makeup, etc.) remained the same for both. She read the same five stories as the sexualized anchor and as the unsexualized anchor.

Men were so affected by the physical characteristics of the sexualized anchor, they were unable to retain much of the information she relayed. Grabe and Samson were not surprised.

And frankly who would be?

We all know men's brains turn to mush when they see things that are deemed sexually attractive to them. We don't need any new research to confirm what we already know.

Saying Sorry at Work

SEX - When it comes to saying sorry most men don't do it unless they actually think they've done something wrong.

And now we have scientific proof of what goes on inside a man's brain.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have finally determined why your husband or boyfriend won’t apologize. It’s because men don’t think they've done anything wrong, whereas women think everything that everyone else does is untrustworthy or sketchy at best.

In the study by Waterloo psychologists Karina Schumann and Michael Ross they asked 66 people (33 women & 33 men) to keep track of how many times they apologized or said sorry for anything over a 12-day period.

What they discovered was that men and women both apologize about 80% of the time. And we're talking general apologies, like you bumped into them, stepped on their foot, etc... not necessarily the big traumatic apologies like "I'm sorry I got you pregnant five years ago!" or "I'm sorry I dropped the baby down the stairs and we had to take it to the hospital for surgery."

So men and women apologize equally as often... but the difference lies in the fact that women feel they apologized more often and felt that they caused more offence.

Men in contrast, even though they apologize just as often, felt they had caused less offence and that it wasn't that serious.

It should also be noted that both sexes apologized as graciously and just as effusively if they believed an apology was actually owed.

So there. The myth that men don't apologize has been busted. Men DO apologize just as often as women, but the difference is their perception about the seriousness of what they apologizing for.

Now we might chalk some of this down to the fragile male ego and why they don't think some things are that serious.

ie. Lets say a man and a woman are in the heat of the moment and he doesn't put on a condom until halfway through the sexual activity. The man later ejaculates into the safety of the condom, but in the morning the woman gets upset that they had unprotected sex. At the time she didn't fuss about it so he thought she wasn't that concerned about it. Turns out she was, so he apologizes, explaining that he didn't know it was such a big deal to her.

Now obviously a woman is going to take pregnancy a lot more seriously. Even the threat of it can send a woman into a panic (unless she wants kids).

In contrast the male response is "no harm done" and "what's the big deal?"

Perception is a tricky thing.

The Schumann & Ross study found that the "I'm Sorry" discrepancy was “heightened” when it comes to romantic partnerships. Women perceived many more offences from their boyfriend/husband, than their husband/boyfriend perceived from them. We might be able to draw the conclusion that women are more picky, but there's no proof of that. All we know is that women perceive the things men do as wrong and are more insistent that those perceived wrongs should be apologized for.

ie. When I was 18 I went out with a girl (Kristin Greniaus) and she cut the date short early on because apparently I didn't compliment her on her dress and her hair enough. Please note that I did compliment her, but apparently it wasn't enough of a compliment... Go figure. She had apparently put a lot of effort into her hair and the dress and even though I did compliment her she believed the compliment wasn't particularly special. (Personal Note: I sent Kristin a message on Facebook informing her of this blog post. I hope she doesn't mind me using her as an example. I've told this story to hundreds of people because it epitomizes the whole ridiculousness of relationships.)

The researchers give us the following advice:

“(T)hese discrepant perceptions might have unfortunate consequences for mixed-gender interactions.”

Which basically is code for men to apologize even when they don't think they've done anything wrong.

As fragile as male egos go, if you really want to maintain the cohesiveness of the relationship, its worth it to assuage the female's perception of a wrong by giving the apology even if you don't think its worth an apology.

HOWEVER!

Sometimes (and many men will attest to this fact) sometimes women demand an apology and don't tell men what they've done wrong... this apologize-or-else ultimatum is combined quite subtly (and is very childish) with the refusal to tell the man what they have done wrong.

"If you don't know what you've done wrong then maybe we should just break up."

Its one part silent treatment and one part ultimatum. (As proven in previous blog posts we've already determined that the silent treatment is a childish methodology which ultimately damages relationships and causes unnecessary stress. See Being Wishy Washy at Work.)

“Apologies go a long way in promoting forgiveness and relationship well-being,” says Schumann. “So if people think a partner isn’t apologizing for selfish reasons or they don’t want to admit they’re wrong, it really does make the initial offence worse.”

In other words the perceived wrong isn't the real issue here... its the perception that the male won't apologize, even if its a minor thing not worthy of an apology.

ie. The male forgets to take out the garbage + The male won’t apologize for forgetting = The male committed murder and must be punished.

So in other words males should just apologize all the time?

“Ummmm. Ahhhhh,” says Schumann. “Don’t put words in my mouth . . . If they find that their female partner is upset with them, they should inquire as to why, instead of brushing it off as the woman being overly emotional. They should also accept that their partner has a different experience of the event.”

So yeah... the basic concept is that you should listen carefully, apologize and hopefully the female will later realize it wasn't the male's fault in the first place.

So why does this happen?

It’s very scientific but here is the Coles notes version:

Women are emotional empaths and crave communication.

Men are hungry, sleepy or distracted and sometimes not in the mood for a big conversation.

Hopefully that wee bit of insight will help people in their relationships.

Beer Goggles at Work

ENTERTAINMENT/SEX - According to Professor Lewis Halsey and two colleagues from Roehampton University they've discovered that "Beer Goggles" doesn't just impair one's judgement, but also effects our sense of beauty.

The trio interviewed a long list of students visiting a local pub near the university and did a series of tests by showing them photos of people to see if they could tell the images had been altered to make them less symmetrical.

Symmetry is considered to be an important aspect of what makes a person beautiful. After dividing the people into two groups (drunk vs non-drunk) using a breathalyzer they determined that drunk people are unable to differentiate assymetry.



Thus "Beer Goggles" really does make people around you look more attractive, at least as far as your brain is concerned.

Tracking the results the researchers also discovered women are more prone to losing their sense of assymetry. Not because they get drunk easier, oh no, its because men pay more attention to appearance... or more precisely, men leer at women and are checking out their breasts/etc in detail.

In which case leering may actually be an evolutionary skill designed to pick out women which are more symmetrical and healthy looking. Whoddathunkit?

Exercise at Work

HEALTH - I have this horrible habit I do, its called exercise.

Let me explain... I was online chatting to a woman and I mentioned hurting my elbow lifting weights at the gym. To make a long story short she started giving me this whole attitude like "Oh, you're one of those people..." meaning people who exercise regularly. She wasn't referring to the muscle-bound professional weightlifters... or the people obsessed with working out every freaking day, she was referring to people "who believe in the value of exercise."

You see from her perspective exercise is a waste of time. You're either fit or fat and there's nothing you can do about it. "Its all genetics!" she argued.

If it was truly genetics how do explain the following?

#1. Obesity rates skyrocketing during the last 20 years in the United States. Is she saying Americans are genetically inferior? Highly doubtful.

#2. Obesity rates are only high in countries where people spend a great deal of time watching television and/or on computers, in contrast to spending time exercising. The average American watches 30 hours of television/movies per week and spends 14 hours per week on the internet. Combine that with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle in workplaces (and schools which have cut out Physical Education) its no wonder Americans are the fattest people on the planet. Please note that this has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with lack of exercise.

#3. Some people eat a lot but don't gain any weight. This is because they have an active lifestyle. The more active and energetic you are, the faster your metabolism, the more easily you can consume food without gaining any weight... indeed if you are weightlifting the only weight you do gain is muscle mass (as opposed to fat).

But you see none of these points seem to matter to the woman I was talking to. From her perspective exercise to lose weight is a myth, a hoax forced on us by the weight-loss industry. She is absolutely convinced its all one big grand conspiracy to suck money out of people by forcing us to pay for gym memberships and exercise equipment.

Which is silly because exercise is free... anybody can go jogging, do aerobics and various traditional exercises like push ups, chin ups, etc., lift heavy things (ie. buckets of water or stacks of books) as a form of exercise. Having a gym membership is more about convenience because then you don't have to worry about breaking things in your home, you can get advice and you have all the extra space and useful machines at your disposal. (Heck my gym even has TVs on the treadmills and internet access.)

But regardless her mindset was clear she had a bit of a screw loose when it came to exercise. I did some checking online and there's a whole culture of people out there who think obesity is a genetic deficiency and on that basis they don't believe in exercise because they think its a waste of time and too troublesome.

At which point I am starting to wonder if the fat cells are blocking the flow of blood to their brains. Their arteries are so clogged with cholesterol their brain isn't receiving the proper amount of blood flow and its resulting in a brain malfunction. Its NOT genetic, its just a symptom of their condition.

Scientists have already proven that elderly people who exercise are less likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease and go senile. Regular exercise reduces the amount of cholesterol blocking their arteries, increases blood flow to the brain and results in the brain being healthier because it regenerates more.

Ergo people who exercise more often have less clogged arteries and healthier brains.

That might explain why some people can delude themselves into thinking exercise is a hoax... but I also think its part of their whole laziness mindset. They don't WANT to exercise, therefore they come up with reasons not to. Eventually all these reasons are combined until they've convinced themselves that exercise must be a complete waste of time because every time they do they never lose weight...

I think part of the problem is they expect instant results. Exercise is often combined with the word "regular" to imply regular daily exercise. Its not going to happen overnight. It will take months and years to achieve the final goal. That for some people is too long of a wait and they're simply too stubborn, stuck in their ways and lazy to make the prolonged effort.

Its like the people who say "Oh, I can't do art. I just don't have the talent." Bullshit. A baby has no talent. Talent is learned through practice and repetition. If you draw Charlie Brown 100 times by the time you get to number 100 you will probably be reasonably good at it. Artistic skill is learned ability. People aren't born with it. Some people might point out that other family members are also artistic, but thats because they also practiced their skill constantly. Their family values creativity and thus encourages it more, resulting in children who are better at it due to the amount of practice time.

The same thing can be applied to families of fat people. If the parents are lazy and spend all their free time watching television its guaranteed the children will do the same thing. Parents who are into exercise or sports are going to have active healthy children because they encouraged those activities.

And if you need further proof lets look at Type II Diabetes.

Type II Diabetes is caused by too much sugar (glucose) in the blood. Its not a genetic problem, its purely the result of overeating sugary foods. All that extra sugar results in hypertension, elevated cholesterol, various syndromes and will eventually kill the patient. Scientific studies have determined that the ONLY cure for Type II Diabetes is "consistent and continuing exercise" combined with healthy eating habits. In other words the patient needs to burn off all that extra sugar in their blood.

The human body isn't meant to eat large doses of sugar. We're meant to be outside hunting, fishing, foraging for food. We're supposed to be eating fruits, vegetables and meat. We're omnivores, not glucosevores. We're supposed to be outside, exercising, the wind in our hair... not trapped in a cubicle, eating prepackaged sugary foods and spending our evenings watching television or on the internet.

And now with much adieu I have to go to the gym now. Maybe I should take up archery? That sounds like fun.

The Teenage Brain at Work

HEALTH - The teenage brain is a stage of growth and cerebral reorganization. Teens see major changes in their frontal cortex, and this is equally true for both women and men.

The cortex is the outer layer of the brain and is the most sophisticated part of the brain. The frontal cortex is where our highest-level thinking and analysis take place.

During the teen years and early adulthood (up to the early 30s) this part of the brain grows lots of white matter in the form of myelin. Myelin is a fatty layer that insulates nerve fibres so they can communicate more quickly with less interference. The more myelin insulation the more efficiently the brain cells work.

Teenage brains also lose synapses (connections) among nerve cells. This pruning process is critical to making the brain's functions more swift and powerful. During this time the teenage brain develops the ability to think abstractly and discover how complex systems work. Thus teens and young adults learn both broadly and deeply, often mastering a topic they care and becoming an expert in it in a relatively short amount of time.

Thus these early years don't really benefit from memorizing meaningless facts (ie. history class), but learn faster by doing and becoming experts at making/fixing things. Its a more creative time in human development.

Thus teenagers often seek to express themselves and their unique identity. Social interaction and communication becomes very important, which explains the popularity of instant messaging, Facebook and cell phones amongst young people.