“In order then that the social compact may not be an empty formula, it tacitly includes the undertaking, which alone can give force to the rest, that whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be compelled to do so by the whole body. This means nothing less than that he will be forced to be free…”
-- Rousseau, the Social Contract (italics added)
Introduction
Vaccines are considered a major public health achievement by the overwhelming majority of the scientific, medical, and political communities around the world. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States keeps statistics on the number of infectious diseases reported each year. The CDC has determined that the rates of infection for many diseases which formerly plagued Americans, such as smallpox, diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio, rubella, and tetanus have decreased 98-100% since the policy of widespread vaccination against these diseases was declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the 1930s, and adopted in the 1960s. Among this group of eradicated and nearly eradicated diseases are the deadliest and the most contagious pathogens known to man: smallpox and measles.
Smallpox has a mortality rate of up to 90% in virgin populations during outbreaks, such as Native American populations after European contact, and measles is so contagious that during the pre-vaccination era all Americans were infected at least once during their lifetime, and the annual morbidity in the 20thcentury was over 500,000(Roush, 2007). The total number of deaths in America attributed to measles in 2005 was 66, a 99% decrease from the 20th century average. However, measles continues to claim the lives of 345,000 around the world annually in areas such as Africa and south-east Asia where vaccinations are not available (Campos-Outcalt, 2010). Other diseases for which vaccines have been developed include pertusis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, invasive pneumococcus and varicella. Significant decreases (ranging from 73-84%) in the number of cases of these diseases have also been reported since the beginning of widespread vaccination (Achievements in Public Health: Impact of Vaccines Universally Recommended for Children, 1999).
These diseases, which had previously claimed the lives of millions of Americans during outbreaks, have now been brought within clinically manageable levels. No other public health campaign (improved sanitation or access to clean water, etc.) can account for the observed decrease in infection rates and deaths. However, despite the overwhelming evidence in favor of universal vaccination, a significant percentage of the American population continues to resist a mandate that all receive vaccinations against preventable infectious diseases in order to attend public school, travel internationally, join the military, work in health care, etc. In this paper I will explore some of the reasons for this resistance and attempt to show that mandatory public vaccination has been thoroughly supported as a sound policy by the medical establishment, and is morally acceptable when considered within a modern bioethical framework.
Thimerosal Controversy
The controversy behind mandatory childhood vaccination and the potential link to autism, and other neurodevelopmental diseases (NDDs), has been an area of heated debate since the publication of an article by Dr. Andrew Wakefield in the British peer-reviewed medical journal Lancet in 1998, which first supported this linkage (Wakefield, 1998). The controversy centered on a chemical called thimerosal, a mercury-based organometallic, formerly used as a fungicide and preservative in many vaccines, including the vaccine for mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR). The theory held that repeated vaccinations in childhood amounted to excessive heavy metal (mercury) exposure, the effects of which could be seen clinically in the rise of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs), multiple sclerosis, and other NDDs. This article was published near the time that a joint investigation by the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had recommended removing methyl-mercury from all consumer products. As a precautionary measure, the CDC required vaccine manufacturers to remove thimerosal, which contains ethyl-mercury (different and significantly less toxic than methyl-mercury), from all vaccinations, except some strains of influenza (FDA, 2010). Although purely a precautionary measure, this was perceived by some in the media, the medical field, and alternative medicine as “evidence” that vaccinations were responsible for the rise in reported cases of autism (Baker, 2008).
This claim was picked up by a group of independent scientists in the United States, Drs. David and Mark Geier, who published several articles in the following decade in attempt to establish a link between heavy-metal exposure, hyperandrogenism (elevated levels of testosterone) and autism. Using this premise, they developed and patented a treatment using the drug Lupron® (a gonadotropin agonist used to treat precocious puberty, and to chemically castrate sex offenders) together with chelation therapy (used to increase excretion of heavy metals in the urine) to treat autism. They offered this “miracle” therapy to the parents of dozens of autistic children, who paid tens of thousands of dollars on average for several weeks of doses high enough to leave their children permanently sterile, but reported marked improvements in the children’s cognition and behavior (Geier et. al., 2006).
The Geiers have also been called as expert witnesses in hundreds of federal court cases seeking damages from vaccinations (Stewart, 2009) through the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). However, their work has been thoroughly rebuked by the scientific community as containing serious methodological flaws, and being impossible to interpret or reproduce (Parker et. al., 2004). Also, their testimonies in federal court have been stricken from the records due to their conflict of interest and lack of required expertise in the neurological field (de los Reyes, 2010). Other studies done in the fields of epidemiology and pharmacokinetics which seek to establish a link between vaccination and autism have shown similar discrepancies and been wholly discredited by the scientific community (Parker et. al., 2004). Later, better designed studies, published in journals such as Lancet, employed case-control methods to compare 1294 cases and 4469 controls from populations of the same sex, age, and general practice to establish a link between the MMR vaccine and an increased risk for autism and other NDDs, but found no association (Smeeth et. al., 2004).
In short, no proposed evidence for a link between autism and childhood vaccinations has withstood scientific scrutiny, and earlier this year Dr. Wakefield’s 1998 paper was formally retracted from the Lancet and his medical license was revoked after it was discovered he had fabricated the results of his study and committed other serious acts of academic dishonesty. These are examples of demagogues who preyed upon the distrust and anxiety of the public, in particular the vulnerable parents of autistic children, for personal monetary gain and fame. While a lack of evidence for a link between vaccinations and autism does not necessarily make such a link impossible, it does appear highly improbable. However, the link between vaccinations and improved public health is a fact that has significant evidence, a broad consensus, and a good track record. Given this evidence, one may well ask, “Why does the debate persist?”
Evidence Based Medicine
A strong trend in modern medicine, especially in primary care, is to incorporate the findings of current scientific studies into clinical practice in order to improve patient outcomes and health. However, physicians who seek to implement therapies and practices supported by evidence often encounter resistance among their patients, who do not understand the need for the prescribed therapy, or the science behind it. This disconnect between the physician and the patient can exacerbate the distrust the patient may already harbor for the medical establishment, including insurance companies and pharmaceuticals, which they may consider elitist or having ulterior motives (Slowther et. al., 2004). Alternative practitioners such as chiropractors and naturopaths, however, often recommend more “natural” remedies to their patients, which make more intuitive sense and in which the patient may feel more confident of success. Tapping into this vein of mistrust, some alternative practitioners have begun actively campaigning against childhood vaccination and modern medicine to varying degrees. In response to these campaigns against vaccination, immunization rates have dropped in recent years to 80%, by some estimates (de los Reyes, 2010). In connection with this, the rates of some preventable diseases, including pertusis, have climbed in recent years. It is believed this is a direct result of the anti-vaccination campaigns, and many public health officials worry that an outbreak of a more virulent pathogen, either by natural causes or by the enemies of the United States, may find us unprepared and cause considerable harm (Achievements in Public Health: Control of Infectious Diseases, 1999).
Physicians trained in modern medicine hold the position that to recommend a therapy not based upon scientific evidence, or to recommend forgoing an appropriate therapy based on such evidence is morally irresponsible. On the other hand, alternative practitioners have a broader definition of “evidence” which includes personal experience and intuition. While considering this debate, it is important not to lose sight of the social context in which it exists. Americans in general are a libertarian people. Their fierce defense of personal liberty has presented in the past with the side effects of severe paranoia and distrust of government, academia, and big business. In this context, a physician has a great responsibility to educate and persuade his/her patients, and the public, to follow sound medical advice, and to gain their trust; however, this is not always possible. It is apparent that, to a large percentage of the population, scientific evidence is irrelevant. This begs the question, “If someone does not believe in the efficacy of evidence, how can they be persuaded that they should?”
Ethics of Mandatory Vaccination
It has been said the definition of reality is that it exists whether or not it is believed. In the case of immunization, the jury is in, and has found that, despite what the plaintiffs may say or the public may feel, mandatory vaccination is a good idea. The preponderance of evidence for the benefits of universal vaccination exceeds the needed 51%, and has moved into the realm beyond reasonable doubt. Thus, this is a case where paternalistic action on the part of the government and medical establishment is justified, needed, and morally acceptable. Three systems of moral theory support this claim: utilitarianism, the Rawlsian theory of justice, and virtue ethics.
From a utilitarian perspective, individual autonomy must yield when the good of the many requires it. Dissenters on mandatory vaccination often appeal to the idea of “herd immunity”—that their exempt status will not affect the overall robustness of the population in an adverse way. However, studies have shown that even rates of 5-8% who opt-out of immunization put the entire population at significantly higher risk for outbreaks (de los Reyes, 2010). “Herd immunity” requires that the entire herd, to use that analogy, be immunized. If too many come to feel they are an exception, then, as Rousseau elegantly put it, the program becomes an “empty formula” for protecting the population.
The Rawlsian perspective places great emphasis on the “Liberty principle,” but also requires that one step behind the “veil of ignorance” to determine what is just. By performing this thought experiment in the case of vaccination, one may imagine a scenario in which another person, who chooses not to be vaccinated against a preventable disease, then contracts it, and also passes that disease to one’s self. Since the other person’s use of liberty impinges on the liberty of the self, this is unjust. In order to keep both free of disease, the other must be “forced to be free” (i.e. coerced vaccination), or must be kept away from the self, and all other vulnerable people. Rawls also makes room for differences in liberty and equality (the “difference principle”), as long as those differences benefit the worst off. Universal vaccination, even in spite of some individuals’ personal liberty, would bring needed medical services to vulnerable populations who are more likely to suffer in the case of an outbreak, and thus would benefit them.
Finally, virtue ethics holds that societal roles are imbued with values and responsibilities that are unique and essential to the fulfillment of the role. Important roles to consider in this context are those of physician and patient, parent and child. In the case of the physician, the dictum “primum non nocere” (First, do no harm) demands that they themselves be vaccinated so as not to put their patients, who may be vulnerable to disease, in harm’s way. This extends to all who work in the medical field (van Delden et. al., 2008). In the case of a parent, whose duty is to love, protect, and nurture their child(ren), personal liberty and political views must not interfere with the safety, health, and well being of their child(ren). To put them at risk, simply to make a political point, goes against their responsibility and nature as a parent. To bring in deontology to the debate, Kant might say here that, in such a case, the parent is using the child as a mere means, and not as an end. Perhaps even Kant, the champion of personal liberty, would question the morality of such an act.
This raises an interesting question, that of moral agency. If, as Kant argued, children are not moral agents but subjects to their parents, what right does society have to tell the parents how to treat their children? But, ultimately, this is not a question of rights, but of values—communitarian vs. individualist. The difference between the two value systems is where the stress falls, on the whole or on the self. Once seen in this way, the decision to opt-out is exposed as egotistic, the decision to be vaccinated as altruistic. To return to the example of parent and child, we have already determined this is a case where society must act as parent. It is known that there are various parenting strategies—some effective, others ineffective—and the question is which to use? Instead of the permissive strategy often used, i.e. allowing the subject (child) to act at will and remove or reduce the consequences of those actions, consider the authoritative strategy; to allow for personal choice, but to inform the subject of the consequences and to be consistent in carrying them out. Agency cannot exist without accountability.
If a parent insists on opting their children out of vaccination, allow this, but inform them that their children will not be able receive the full benefits of citizenship: attend public school, travel outside the country, serve in the military, work in a service industry (especially health care), etc., and then follow through with those consequences. I doubt that parents, after being informed of this, would continue their opposition to this policy, knowing that by doing so they would be closing so many doors for their children. If persuasion and education are not sufficient to influence the entire public to accept universal vaccination, then society is not under the obligation to convince those who continue to dissent. The most important priority must be the protection of the whole, and this can be achieved via the gentle form of coercion described above. Freedom from disease is comparable in impact to freedom from tyranny, and sometimes members of society must be forced to remain free of both.
References
Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Control of Infectious Diseases. MMWR 1999; 48(29): 621-629. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4829a1.htm
Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999 Impact of Vaccines Universally Recommended for Children -- United States, 1990-1998. MMWR 1999; 48(12):243-248. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056803.htm
Baker, J. P. (2008). Mercury, vaccines, and autism: One controversy, three histories. American Journal of Public Health, 98(2), 244-253.
Campos-Outcalt, D. (2010, October 20) Vaccines: a Major Public Health Achievement, Presentation given during the Mini-Med School lecture series at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, Arizona.
de los Reyes, E. C. (2010). Autism and immunizations: Separating fact from fiction. Archives of Neurology, 67(4), 490-492.
Geier, D. A., & Geier, M. R. (2006). A clinical trial of combined anti-androgen and anti-heavy metal therapy in autistic disorders. Neuro Endocrinology Letters, 27(6), 833-838.
Parker, S. K., Schwartz, B., Todd, J., & Pickering, L. K. (2004). Thimerosal-containing vaccines and autistic spectrum disorder: A critical review of published original data. Pediatrics, 114(3), 793-804.
Roush SW. Historical comparisons of morbidity and mortality for vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. JAMA 2007;298:2155-2163.
Slowther, A., Ford, S., & Schofield, T. (2004). Ethics of evidence based medicine in the primary care setting. Journal of Medical Ethics, 30(2), 151-155.
Smeeth, L., Cook, C., Fombonne, E., Heavey, L., Rodrigues, L. C., Smith, P. G., et al. (2004). MMR vaccination and pervasive developmental disorders: A case-control study. The Lancet, 364(9438), 963-969.
Stewart AM. When vaccine injury claims go to court. NEJM 2009;360:2498-2500.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2010) Thimerosal in Vaccines. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228
van Delden, J. J. M., Ashcroft, R., Dawson, A., Marckmann, G., Upshur, R., & Verweij, M. F. (2008). The ethics of mandatory vaccination against influenza for health care workers. Vaccine, 26(44), 5562-5566.
Wakefield, A. J., Murch, S. H., Anthony, A., Linnell, J., Casson, D. M., Malik, M., et al. (1998). Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet, 351(9103), 637-641. (Retracted, 2010)
Monday, December 6, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
To Boldly Go: 'Fearless' Research Seeks to Introduce New Investigative Techniques
(This is a story that ran in my college newletter last month. The full story with pictures can be accessed by following this link)
It should come as no surprise that Arizona State University senior Jordan Roberts is “fearless.” After all, he played both ways as a lineman on the Lakeside (AZ) Blue Ridge High School state championship football team in 2001 and 2002. But it’s not between the white lines that the life sciences major fears not; it is in the laboratory at ASU’s West campus where he is working diligently on the construction of a research setup that could introduce a new set of investigative techniques into the field of heart physiology.
“Fearless” is how Francisco Solis, a New College associate professor in the Division of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, describes Roberts. He says it is the unknown that Roberts tackles with vigor.
“In my lab, we seek opportunities where there has been little work done before,” says Solis, who has worked on a wide variety of research projects alongside undergraduate students since his arrival at the West campus seven years ago. “This means we have to start a lot of things from scratch, which is a challenging situation where the student cannot simply come and use the techniques that already appear in textbooks.
“Jordan has been willing to jump in and learn what needs to be learned. He has had to learn how machines connect to each other and to think through the modifications that need to be done to apparatuses so as to make them do what we want. He has been fearless in tackling the project, not intimidated by it.”
The project that has Roberts’ attention is an apparatus called the luminometer, which measures light output from chemical reactions. It is not an uncommon piece of research equipment, and is relatively inexpensive to operate; however off-the- shelf commercial luminometers cannot perform complex environmental changes. So, Roberts is building his own luminometer that will allow him to continuously change the environment around cells and assess their cellular changes. Roberts specifically will use his newly developed machine to discover how yeast cells react to continued exposure to variable calcium concentrations over a period of minutes to hours. He knows when yeast cells are exposed to calcium that, within a fraction of a second, they sequester it. What he wants to know is how the yeast sequester calcium, what proteins are involved, what signals they watch for, and why and when the yeast release it back into the watery center of the cell, or the cytoplasm.
“The point of the research isn’t the machine itself, or any of its future applications, although I’m certain it will be useful in other applications,” Roberts clarifies. “It’s about how the machine will increase our ability to manipulate the environment of the yeast cells and observe their response.
“It’s all about the yeast.”
From the football field to the laboratory has been a journey that has featured more twists, turns and side trips than a country road. In high school, he won debate honors and was a nationally ranked member of his math club. As an Eagle Scout, his troop helped the U.S. Forest Service reseed the area burned by the infamous Rodeo-Chediski Fire of 2002 that consumed more than 450,000 acres of east-central Arizona woodland. Following his graduation from Blue Ridge, Roberts pursued a two-year mission for the Latter Day Saints Church, travelling to southern Brazil where he served as a minister at a local church, helped rebuild houses, visited the sick in hospitals, built and distributed wheelchairs and more. Upon his return to Lakeside and the White Mountains, he eyed a return to school.
“I was interested in medical school, but I was enrolling at Northland Pioneer College, and the college didn’t have pre-med courses, but did have a rigorous nursing program,” says Roberts of the Show Low-based community college. “I started in the nursing program and took as many science classes as I possibly could. I transferred with 70 credits and lots of science.”
His transfer wasn’t so matter-of-fact. He was hesitant to jump into a “big-time” college environment, but knew that ASU was “strong in science across the board.” He overheard his wife, Shauni, talking with a friend about the West campus and the availability of pre-med coursework. Heasked questions and liked the answers he was receiving – small campus, student-friendly classes, a learning environment with accessible faculty.
“I came down off the mountain (Lakeside) and talked with some of the New College faculty and staff,” Roberts remembers. “I looked around and I got real excited. I moved down here and got started.”
Roberts enrolled in time for the spring 2009 semester and met with Pam Marshall, who was recently recognized by ASU President Michael Crow as a university exemplar for her dedication to helping undergraduates participate in her research, particularly non-traditional, first-generation and minority students. A New College mathematical and natural sciences associate professor, she has mentored more than 30 undergraduates since coming to the West campus seven years ago, many of whom have gone on to medical school. She received a university-wide faculty excellence award for undergraduate mentorship in 2008 and a New College teaching award in 2009.
“Between Professor Solis and Professor Marshall, they got me interested in research and got me started,” says Roberts, who, with Marshall’s support, received a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant through ASU’s SOLUR (School of Life Sciences Undergraduate Research) program. “I am working with Professor Solis to build the luminometer, then I will work with Professor Marshall to further the yeast cell research.”
“Jordan exemplifies the opportunities that exist at ASU and New College,” says Marshall. “He is embedded in the knowledge-driven enterprise of ASU, and the research he is doing helps to hone his observational and critical thinking skills.”
The skills Roberts is developing could have far-ranging consequences.
“The end result of the project Jordan is working on is the construction of a research setup that will allow us to investigate a much larger variety of calcium signals,” says Solis, who Roberts describes as “the go-to guy.”
“We are seeking to introduce a new set of investigation techniques into the field,” adds Solis. “If we accomplish this, there could be a cascade effect, as the research will be available to other researchers. We thus hope to contribute to the more distant but important goal of understanding calcium responses; such knowledge and its applications are important in medical contexts, especially in relation with the activity of cardiac muscle.”
Roberts says an exciting aspect of his research is the fact little has been done in the area of how different cells treat different ions, such as calcium.
“There just isn’t a lot out there to fall back on,” he says. “This isn’t duplicate research. It is meticulous, methodical, and it can be impactful.
“The heart relies on calcium to contract, to perform its regular motion, in and out. We suspect that the same protein pumps that move calcium in and out of cells in yeast are also present in human heart muscles.
“One day, our research will lead to better drugs for heart disease and a better understanding of overall heart physiology.”
There’s another consideration when it comes to the research, says Roberts, who has his sights set on a career in medicine, perhaps as a doctor of osteopathy.
“The research is rewarding because it ‘proves’ to me that all the stuff I’ve been trying so hard to learn is actually real and useful,” he says. “In addition to one day translating into better medical science, the research opportunities we have here show that normal college kids can make a difference, can do something amazing. You don’t have to be ‘lucky’ or ‘brilliant’ to help the cause of science along, you just have to be persistent, look for opportunities, and know who to ask for help.”
- Stephen Des Georges (steve.dg@asu.edu)
It should come as no surprise that Arizona State University senior Jordan Roberts is “fearless.” After all, he played both ways as a lineman on the Lakeside (AZ) Blue Ridge High School state championship football team in 2001 and 2002. But it’s not between the white lines that the life sciences major fears not; it is in the laboratory at ASU’s West campus where he is working diligently on the construction of a research setup that could introduce a new set of investigative techniques into the field of heart physiology.
“Fearless” is how Francisco Solis, a New College associate professor in the Division of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, describes Roberts. He says it is the unknown that Roberts tackles with vigor.
“In my lab, we seek opportunities where there has been little work done before,” says Solis, who has worked on a wide variety of research projects alongside undergraduate students since his arrival at the West campus seven years ago. “This means we have to start a lot of things from scratch, which is a challenging situation where the student cannot simply come and use the techniques that already appear in textbooks.
“Jordan has been willing to jump in and learn what needs to be learned. He has had to learn how machines connect to each other and to think through the modifications that need to be done to apparatuses so as to make them do what we want. He has been fearless in tackling the project, not intimidated by it.”
The project that has Roberts’ attention is an apparatus called the luminometer, which measures light output from chemical reactions. It is not an uncommon piece of research equipment, and is relatively inexpensive to operate; however off-the- shelf commercial luminometers cannot perform complex environmental changes. So, Roberts is building his own luminometer that will allow him to continuously change the environment around cells and assess their cellular changes. Roberts specifically will use his newly developed machine to discover how yeast cells react to continued exposure to variable calcium concentrations over a period of minutes to hours. He knows when yeast cells are exposed to calcium that, within a fraction of a second, they sequester it. What he wants to know is how the yeast sequester calcium, what proteins are involved, what signals they watch for, and why and when the yeast release it back into the watery center of the cell, or the cytoplasm.
“The point of the research isn’t the machine itself, or any of its future applications, although I’m certain it will be useful in other applications,” Roberts clarifies. “It’s about how the machine will increase our ability to manipulate the environment of the yeast cells and observe their response.
“It’s all about the yeast.”
From the football field to the laboratory has been a journey that has featured more twists, turns and side trips than a country road. In high school, he won debate honors and was a nationally ranked member of his math club. As an Eagle Scout, his troop helped the U.S. Forest Service reseed the area burned by the infamous Rodeo-Chediski Fire of 2002 that consumed more than 450,000 acres of east-central Arizona woodland. Following his graduation from Blue Ridge, Roberts pursued a two-year mission for the Latter Day Saints Church, travelling to southern Brazil where he served as a minister at a local church, helped rebuild houses, visited the sick in hospitals, built and distributed wheelchairs and more. Upon his return to Lakeside and the White Mountains, he eyed a return to school.
“I was interested in medical school, but I was enrolling at Northland Pioneer College, and the college didn’t have pre-med courses, but did have a rigorous nursing program,” says Roberts of the Show Low-based community college. “I started in the nursing program and took as many science classes as I possibly could. I transferred with 70 credits and lots of science.”
His transfer wasn’t so matter-of-fact. He was hesitant to jump into a “big-time” college environment, but knew that ASU was “strong in science across the board.” He overheard his wife, Shauni, talking with a friend about the West campus and the availability of pre-med coursework. Heasked questions and liked the answers he was receiving – small campus, student-friendly classes, a learning environment with accessible faculty.
“I came down off the mountain (Lakeside) and talked with some of the New College faculty and staff,” Roberts remembers. “I looked around and I got real excited. I moved down here and got started.”
Roberts enrolled in time for the spring 2009 semester and met with Pam Marshall, who was recently recognized by ASU President Michael Crow as a university exemplar for her dedication to helping undergraduates participate in her research, particularly non-traditional, first-generation and minority students. A New College mathematical and natural sciences associate professor, she has mentored more than 30 undergraduates since coming to the West campus seven years ago, many of whom have gone on to medical school. She received a university-wide faculty excellence award for undergraduate mentorship in 2008 and a New College teaching award in 2009.
“Between Professor Solis and Professor Marshall, they got me interested in research and got me started,” says Roberts, who, with Marshall’s support, received a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant through ASU’s SOLUR (School of Life Sciences Undergraduate Research) program. “I am working with Professor Solis to build the luminometer, then I will work with Professor Marshall to further the yeast cell research.”
“Jordan exemplifies the opportunities that exist at ASU and New College,” says Marshall. “He is embedded in the knowledge-driven enterprise of ASU, and the research he is doing helps to hone his observational and critical thinking skills.”
The skills Roberts is developing could have far-ranging consequences.
“The end result of the project Jordan is working on is the construction of a research setup that will allow us to investigate a much larger variety of calcium signals,” says Solis, who Roberts describes as “the go-to guy.”
“We are seeking to introduce a new set of investigation techniques into the field,” adds Solis. “If we accomplish this, there could be a cascade effect, as the research will be available to other researchers. We thus hope to contribute to the more distant but important goal of understanding calcium responses; such knowledge and its applications are important in medical contexts, especially in relation with the activity of cardiac muscle.”
Roberts says an exciting aspect of his research is the fact little has been done in the area of how different cells treat different ions, such as calcium.
“There just isn’t a lot out there to fall back on,” he says. “This isn’t duplicate research. It is meticulous, methodical, and it can be impactful.
“The heart relies on calcium to contract, to perform its regular motion, in and out. We suspect that the same protein pumps that move calcium in and out of cells in yeast are also present in human heart muscles.
“One day, our research will lead to better drugs for heart disease and a better understanding of overall heart physiology.”
There’s another consideration when it comes to the research, says Roberts, who has his sights set on a career in medicine, perhaps as a doctor of osteopathy.
“The research is rewarding because it ‘proves’ to me that all the stuff I’ve been trying so hard to learn is actually real and useful,” he says. “In addition to one day translating into better medical science, the research opportunities we have here show that normal college kids can make a difference, can do something amazing. You don’t have to be ‘lucky’ or ‘brilliant’ to help the cause of science along, you just have to be persistent, look for opportunities, and know who to ask for help.”
- Stephen Des Georges (steve.dg@asu.edu)
Monday, June 21, 2010
To those who wait...
I have some wonderful news! Two days ago, my biological father emailed me to explain that after 24 years of keeping my existence a secret from his other children, he had decided to tell them abou me this Father's Day! What prompted this was the deteriotating health of his wife, who was diagnosed with ALS a little over a year ago. While visisting their recently married daughter (my little sister), in Colorado, she developed a respiratory infection, which can be deadly to people with ALS or other degenerative neuromoter diseases. After several near death experiences, she finally recovered and was discharged from the hospital. My father explained to me that shortly thereafter, he had a moment of epiphany and told his wife, who had encouraged him since my birth to introduce me to his other children, that he was finally ready to do it.
I waited impatiently for Sunday, and went down for my post-church nap with no news. I woke up to a beautiful dinner of salmon, rice and brocolli prepared by my wonderful wife, and a touching Father's day card. After dinner, I checked my email, but still nothing. Then, at about 8:30 pm, I recieved a message via Facebook from my oldest brother, who I have known about and admired for years, saying that he had just been given the news, and wanted to talk to me. I called him, and he was very emotional on the phone. He wanted to see me, and asked if he and his 9 month pregnant wife, could come over as soon as possible. So Shauni and I scampered to clean up the house, and they arrived shortly after 9:00.
The first thing that struck me was how similar in appearance we are: we have the same face, eyebrows, head shape, chin, mannerisms, and he swears that I have the "Family nose," which I don't deny. He is much taller than me, about 6 feet 5 inches compared to my 5 feet 11 inches, but surprisingly I didn't feel dwarfed in his presence. I felt like his brother. It was incredible! His wife is also a very interesting and good person. I am looking forward to knowing them both much better.
He took the opportunity to tell me everything he possibly could in the space of an hour and a half about himself, the family, the meeting where our father broke the news to them, and asked about me and my life history. He talked about politics and our family genealogy, and I kept thinking to myself, "I have so much in common with this man! He is certainly my brother!" We had to cut our meeting short because it was getting late, but my father invited us over to dinner tomorrow to meet him, his wife and my sister for the first time, as well as my brother and his wife again. I am very excited! This is unbelievable. I have been truly troubled about what to do for months, no, years to get in touch with this side of my family, and now the wait is over. My prayers have been answered! I am thankful to God tonight for this amazing blessing, and I hope that whatever happens next, I can take it, and make room in my heart for a family I always knew I had, but never had the chance to love, until now.
I waited impatiently for Sunday, and went down for my post-church nap with no news. I woke up to a beautiful dinner of salmon, rice and brocolli prepared by my wonderful wife, and a touching Father's day card. After dinner, I checked my email, but still nothing. Then, at about 8:30 pm, I recieved a message via Facebook from my oldest brother, who I have known about and admired for years, saying that he had just been given the news, and wanted to talk to me. I called him, and he was very emotional on the phone. He wanted to see me, and asked if he and his 9 month pregnant wife, could come over as soon as possible. So Shauni and I scampered to clean up the house, and they arrived shortly after 9:00.
The first thing that struck me was how similar in appearance we are: we have the same face, eyebrows, head shape, chin, mannerisms, and he swears that I have the "Family nose," which I don't deny. He is much taller than me, about 6 feet 5 inches compared to my 5 feet 11 inches, but surprisingly I didn't feel dwarfed in his presence. I felt like his brother. It was incredible! His wife is also a very interesting and good person. I am looking forward to knowing them both much better.
He took the opportunity to tell me everything he possibly could in the space of an hour and a half about himself, the family, the meeting where our father broke the news to them, and asked about me and my life history. He talked about politics and our family genealogy, and I kept thinking to myself, "I have so much in common with this man! He is certainly my brother!" We had to cut our meeting short because it was getting late, but my father invited us over to dinner tomorrow to meet him, his wife and my sister for the first time, as well as my brother and his wife again. I am very excited! This is unbelievable. I have been truly troubled about what to do for months, no, years to get in touch with this side of my family, and now the wait is over. My prayers have been answered! I am thankful to God tonight for this amazing blessing, and I hope that whatever happens next, I can take it, and make room in my heart for a family I always knew I had, but never had the chance to love, until now.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
My Personal Statement
One of the reasons I began this project about a year ago, was to prepare myself for writing the most difficult thing I would ever have to write: a personal statement.
Medical school applications require a 5,300 character (spaces included) statement that summarizes your entire life, and convinces them why you would make a fine doctor. Of course, seeing as how they read thousands of these every application cycle, they want to be entertained, intrigued, and touched as well. 5,300 characters works out to about 1.5 pages, not very much space to do justice to a lifetime of experience, or to sell yourself to a skeptical audience. That's one reason it's so difficult to write.
Below is my rough draft, and my purpose for posting it is that, hopefully you who read it can give me some valuable feedback about how this could be better arranged, better spoken, and better illustrated. It's too long, that I know, so I'd also like you to let me know what things can be let go. But don't worry, it's not THAT long. Like some of my other posts...
Here it is!
I was born in Mesa, AZ, to a young single mother. When I was still small, we moved to the White Mountains of Arizona. My first white Christmas was also hers, and we shared many other “firsts”. We moved often, over 30 times by my eighteenth birthday, but lived mostly in rural, northern Arizona. I attended a different school every other year, and I never saw the same doctor twice. Whenever I was sick, which was often, we went to the emergency room. That was our only option. During one of those emergency room visits, I met a kind doctor who told me fun jokes, and made me feel comfortable and forget my illness, but I never saw him again. Sometimes I wonder how my childhood might have been different, healthier, and more secure had I been under the ongoing care of a doctor like him.
When I was 5 years old, my mom began schooling to become a nurse. She was the first person in her family to receive any post-secondary education. During her first year at the community college, I often asked her what she was reading. She would then teach me, in simple terms, about biology, anatomy, and medicine. I began to feel wonder about the unseen world inside the body for the first time, and I surprised her by saying, very seriously, “I’m going to be a doctor.” For the remainder of my childhood, whenever I thought about the future, I never wondered what I would be. I already knew.
During her nursing career, my mom worked in hospice, and frequently brought me along on her home visits. At first I was afraid of her patients, older people who were missing teeth, spoke loudly, smelled badly, and were often grumpy. But sometimes they were delighted to see me, asked my name, and told me their stories. I came to see them as surrogate grandparents, and I grew to love them. One of my friends, a woman named Martha, had large, expressive, sometimes frightened eyes. She lived in a floral print recliner with her cats. When my mom told me she had died, I thought of her empty recliner and lonely cats. I didn’t cry because I was content that I had known her and been her friend. As a current CNA in hospice, when my patients and friends die, I am glad I was able to know and serve them.
At age 14, I developed a pre-cancerous lesion on my chest, the result of severe sunburns. We didn’t have insurance or access to modern medical treatment, so we settled upon an alternative method using a salve. The treatment hurt terribly. I became an invalid, suffering pain and boredom for an entire summer. We took a gamble with my life, but happily the treatment removed the lesion, which hasn’t resurfaced, leaving me with a large keloid scar. This gave me an appreciation for alternative healing, and an understanding of suffering; however, I wish I had been given the choice to receive traditional treatment instead of being obligated to the alternative path. As a physician, I would work to make traditional health care more available and affordable for those who have financial problems, as my family did.
After high school, I served a two-year religious mission in southern Brazil (2005-2006), where I took the opportunity to do humanitarian work. I taught English to adults and school-aged children, I rebuilt burned homes, delivered handmade linens to local hospitals, and helped assemble and distribute 250 wheelchairs to disabled adults and children. During my first summer in South America, I developed a severe ear infection and was treated at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo. The doctors and the care I received there were on par with any hospital in the United States. My church paid the bill. Over those two years, however, I realized that most of the medical care available to the poor in Latin America is woefully inadequate. I stood in crowded waiting rooms in summer with sick kids (a feast for diseased mosquitoes) carried by helpless parents. I have witnessed the need for medical services in under-served areas of the world, similar to where I grew up, and want to alleviate some of that need.
Upon returning home to northern Arizona, I found work at a small mortuary serving the White Mountain Apache Tribe. This provided my first real test at comforting and serving people (the families of the deceased) who are in the midst of difficult times, and learned about cultural issues surrounding death. Embalming the dead, I learned first hand the anatomy of the cardiovascular system.
I lost sight of my childhood dream, began my higher education at the local community college as a nursing major instead, and married my sweetheart in the summer of 2007. I began working as a psychiatric aide in the local behavioral hospital, where I met people afflicted with serious mental illnesses, and people struggling with substance abuse. That summer, I took a course to become a CNA, to gain clinical experience and test my desire to work in health care. I am glad I did!
During my first week as a CNA in hospice, we got a frantic call in Spanish from the wife of Eduardo, one of our patients. I helped save Eduardo's life by giving his wife translated directions from the nurse over the phone. Because I can speak and understand Spanish, I have been able to serve immigrant families in rural Arizona, and in downtown Phoenix at the Maricopa County Hospital. I have also served the upper-class as a CNA on the campus of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ.
In the summer of 2008, my wife and I had a son. As a defining moment in my life, this gave me pause to consider what my true desires and goals in life really were. I realized that my reason for changing career paths from medicine (my original goal) to nursing was based on a lack of confidence in myself, not aptitude or even convenience. Holding my newborn son reminded me that I was once as small as he, and one day, like Martha, I too will die. This gave me the courage and urgency to change my plans, and the resolve to pursue my dream, until I can hold it in my hands.
Medical school applications require a 5,300 character (spaces included) statement that summarizes your entire life, and convinces them why you would make a fine doctor. Of course, seeing as how they read thousands of these every application cycle, they want to be entertained, intrigued, and touched as well. 5,300 characters works out to about 1.5 pages, not very much space to do justice to a lifetime of experience, or to sell yourself to a skeptical audience. That's one reason it's so difficult to write.
Below is my rough draft, and my purpose for posting it is that, hopefully you who read it can give me some valuable feedback about how this could be better arranged, better spoken, and better illustrated. It's too long, that I know, so I'd also like you to let me know what things can be let go. But don't worry, it's not THAT long. Like some of my other posts...
Here it is!
I was born in Mesa, AZ, to a young single mother. When I was still small, we moved to the White Mountains of Arizona. My first white Christmas was also hers, and we shared many other “firsts”. We moved often, over 30 times by my eighteenth birthday, but lived mostly in rural, northern Arizona. I attended a different school every other year, and I never saw the same doctor twice. Whenever I was sick, which was often, we went to the emergency room. That was our only option. During one of those emergency room visits, I met a kind doctor who told me fun jokes, and made me feel comfortable and forget my illness, but I never saw him again. Sometimes I wonder how my childhood might have been different, healthier, and more secure had I been under the ongoing care of a doctor like him.
When I was 5 years old, my mom began schooling to become a nurse. She was the first person in her family to receive any post-secondary education. During her first year at the community college, I often asked her what she was reading. She would then teach me, in simple terms, about biology, anatomy, and medicine. I began to feel wonder about the unseen world inside the body for the first time, and I surprised her by saying, very seriously, “I’m going to be a doctor.” For the remainder of my childhood, whenever I thought about the future, I never wondered what I would be. I already knew.
During her nursing career, my mom worked in hospice, and frequently brought me along on her home visits. At first I was afraid of her patients, older people who were missing teeth, spoke loudly, smelled badly, and were often grumpy. But sometimes they were delighted to see me, asked my name, and told me their stories. I came to see them as surrogate grandparents, and I grew to love them. One of my friends, a woman named Martha, had large, expressive, sometimes frightened eyes. She lived in a floral print recliner with her cats. When my mom told me she had died, I thought of her empty recliner and lonely cats. I didn’t cry because I was content that I had known her and been her friend. As a current CNA in hospice, when my patients and friends die, I am glad I was able to know and serve them.
At age 14, I developed a pre-cancerous lesion on my chest, the result of severe sunburns. We didn’t have insurance or access to modern medical treatment, so we settled upon an alternative method using a salve. The treatment hurt terribly. I became an invalid, suffering pain and boredom for an entire summer. We took a gamble with my life, but happily the treatment removed the lesion, which hasn’t resurfaced, leaving me with a large keloid scar. This gave me an appreciation for alternative healing, and an understanding of suffering; however, I wish I had been given the choice to receive traditional treatment instead of being obligated to the alternative path. As a physician, I would work to make traditional health care more available and affordable for those who have financial problems, as my family did.
After high school, I served a two-year religious mission in southern Brazil (2005-2006), where I took the opportunity to do humanitarian work. I taught English to adults and school-aged children, I rebuilt burned homes, delivered handmade linens to local hospitals, and helped assemble and distribute 250 wheelchairs to disabled adults and children. During my first summer in South America, I developed a severe ear infection and was treated at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo. The doctors and the care I received there were on par with any hospital in the United States. My church paid the bill. Over those two years, however, I realized that most of the medical care available to the poor in Latin America is woefully inadequate. I stood in crowded waiting rooms in summer with sick kids (a feast for diseased mosquitoes) carried by helpless parents. I have witnessed the need for medical services in under-served areas of the world, similar to where I grew up, and want to alleviate some of that need.
Upon returning home to northern Arizona, I found work at a small mortuary serving the White Mountain Apache Tribe. This provided my first real test at comforting and serving people (the families of the deceased) who are in the midst of difficult times, and learned about cultural issues surrounding death. Embalming the dead, I learned first hand the anatomy of the cardiovascular system.
I lost sight of my childhood dream, began my higher education at the local community college as a nursing major instead, and married my sweetheart in the summer of 2007. I began working as a psychiatric aide in the local behavioral hospital, where I met people afflicted with serious mental illnesses, and people struggling with substance abuse. That summer, I took a course to become a CNA, to gain clinical experience and test my desire to work in health care. I am glad I did!
During my first week as a CNA in hospice, we got a frantic call in Spanish from the wife of Eduardo, one of our patients. I helped save Eduardo's life by giving his wife translated directions from the nurse over the phone. Because I can speak and understand Spanish, I have been able to serve immigrant families in rural Arizona, and in downtown Phoenix at the Maricopa County Hospital. I have also served the upper-class as a CNA on the campus of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ.
In the summer of 2008, my wife and I had a son. As a defining moment in my life, this gave me pause to consider what my true desires and goals in life really were. I realized that my reason for changing career paths from medicine (my original goal) to nursing was based on a lack of confidence in myself, not aptitude or even convenience. Holding my newborn son reminded me that I was once as small as he, and one day, like Martha, I too will die. This gave me the courage and urgency to change my plans, and the resolve to pursue my dream, until I can hold it in my hands.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Premature review of "Guns, Germs, and Steel."
In a previous post, I mentioned that I had attended a lecture/book promotion by a resident philosopher of ASU, about his new book which dealt with the rise of agriculture and its effects on the advancement of human civilization, society, and philosophy. I also mentioned that I wasn't particularly swayed by his thoughts, but found them interesting, none the less. Later that month, I had the chance to meet up with an old friend from high school that I hadn't seen in several years, who also happens to be a philosopher, or quite nearly, lacking his PhD by less than a year of study. I brought up the subject, which reminded him of a book he had heard of, Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond. He explained that the thesis of the book centered on the unequal, natural distribution of cereal grains and domesticable animals througout the habitable world, and how this natural distribution, along with other geological, geographical, biological and human variables, determined the outcome of modern history once human beings became reliant on agriculture.
It sounded very interesting, but I didn't get around to checking out the book until a few weeks ago. Seeing as this behemoth work of non-fiction (about 500 pages in all) would take me months to read, being the begining of the Spring semester and all, I decided to check out the book and audio book together, and take turns listening as well as reading. It was a success! I am now through the body, and have only the short epilogue to the 2003 edition left to read after only a few weeks.
It may be premature to write a review, seeing as how I'm not really finished yet, but I think I can already say, with some confidence, that I have found a new favorite book and author. In substance, his work reminds me of Darwin's: plain, unequivocal, well-researched, well-supported, and ground breaking, possibly even revolutionary. But his style is much more readable even than Darwin, which is quite an achievment! To bring so many strains of science and history together, spanning such a length of time (from aprox 11,000 b.c. to the present), and doing so in plain and simple speech, and in the relative brevity of only 500 pages, is remarkable!
I learned a myriad of new and useful information about the native plant and animal species of the different continents which are useful to humans, the broad natural and human histories of those continents, the birth of writing, metallurgy, and agriculture (including their independent arrivals as well as the spread of existing technologies), and the oft times tragic consequences of the collisions between populations seperated by millenia of differential development (eg. Native American and European contact in the last 1,000 years). His theory is so simple and yet profound, I really have to wonder why it is not already taught by every teacher of history to young children. I can imagine how this knowledge, in the public mind, would do wonders to solve the social and racial problems of the world, not to mention lending a useful, workable theory to anthropologists, human biologists, sociologists and historians alike. Imagine if all these fields could be merged into one! It sounds lofty, but after reading this book, I don't think it would be all that difficult.
I don't wish to rob anyone of the great satisfaction of reading GG&S by summarizing its points here, but I can assure you that my lame attempts to condense his theory to a few paragraphs will not do it justice, and are only meant to serve as incentive to the prospective reader, and as a personal test to see if I really understood his intent.
Firstly, as I mentioned, cereal grains are not uniformly distributed over the surface of the earth. Most of our main sources of carbohydrates today, about 80%, come from three types of grain: wheat, corn, and rice. These three grains are all "grasses" native to temperate and tropical grasslands. Interestingly, these three were all domisticated independently in pre-history: wheat in the Fertile Crescent about 11,000 years ago, rice in south-east Asia (China) about 8,000 years ago, and corn in the MesoAmerica about 4,000 years ago. Other important sources of carbs include barley and its relatives (grasses), millet, bananas (asian origin), sorghum (an african crop), quinoa (a peruvian pseudocereal) and tubers such as potatoes and yams (domesticated in South America, and Polynesia respectively).
There are some 50 odd types of grasses that could, in theory, be dometicated, but only a handful whose wild ancestors had sufficiently large enough kernels for proto-farmers to take an interest in. The vast majority of these useful grasses are native to the Fertile Crescent and other parts of Eurasia, with extremely few being native to the Americas or Australia. Also, Eurasia, besides being the largest landmass in the world, has by far the largest amount of land located in those temperate and tropical grassland biomes, whose particular climate and rainfall patterns are necessary for agriculture of these crops.
The next agricultural variable is domesticable species of wild animals. This turns out to be important for several reasons: 1, animals, when used for food, provide a dependable source of protein (a difficult nutrient to find in the wild), their skin, bones and fat have found many uses by humans as well (we still use them regularly); 2, the muscle power of larger animals can be harnessed to aid in farming (pulling a plow), transport (riding or pulling a cart), and warfare (chariots, cavalry, etc.); 3, their waste can be used as fertilizer for agriculture; and 4, exposure to their germs transmits diseases to dense human populations (influenza, tuberculosis, typhus, cholera, pox viruses, anthrax, and bubonic plague were all originally animal pathogens) that alternate between epidemics and latent periods, selecting for those individuals with immunity. In turn, these naturally selected populations spread their germs to vulnerable, non-exposed populations when they meet, either in conquest or trade, and the spread of disease has a huge impact on the outcome of such collisions.
As was the case with grains, domesticable wild mammals are also unevenly dispersed over the face of the earth. Of the 15 or so large species that have been domesticated, once again, the vast majority are natives to Eurasia. Large mammals and marsupials were prominent members of the pleistocene fauna of north/south America and Australia, when human colonization occurred on those continents, but they were quickly wiped out as a result of massive drought or over-hunting (most likely the latter), leaving few, if any, remaining candidates for domestication. In the Americas, the only large mammal to be domesticated was the llama/Alpaca of the Inca, and there were no large mammals domesticated in Australia. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are many large mammals, none of which have been successfully domesticated because of something the author refers to as the Ana Karenina principle. In contrast, Eurasian large mammals, including the sheep, pig, cow, camel and the horse became integral parts of the economy, and made up a food-producing-package that came to dominate nearly every civilization on earth with an appropriate habitat.
With a foundation of food producers in place, political organizations of increasing complexity (band-> tribe->chiefdom->state->empire) follow quite easily and predictably, in order to control the surplus of food and goods, and create roles for those not directly involved in food production: bureaucrats, priests, warriors, etc. This type of organization is necessary for the development and adoption of writing, which confers another huge advantage to that civilization. The independent development of writing only happened 3 times (possible only twice): among Ind0-Europeans in the Fertile Crescent, the Maya of Mesoamerica, and ancient China (this is up for debate).
I've only scratched the surface here. This book is packed with knowledge, and brings together so many strands of history into a single, concise perspective. When all taken together, his conclusions are irrefutable: the reason for the current state of the world, with Europeans and their descendants on the very top of the pile, has nothing to do with their superior ability, or some divine mandate that they should rule the world. It has everything to do with the relative timing that the different homelands of the world adopted agriculture as a way of life, abandoned hunting-gathering in the process, and where they were living on the globe. These plain facts totally destroy any and all supposed "evidence" for racism and divine favoritism, and tell the story of man in ecological terms. It is a fascinating, eye-opening, learning experience that sheds light on the vastness of human history, gives direction for the future, and finally puts aside the euro-centric world view that has tarnished our past for centuries.
I hope that in the years to come, we can take lessons like this to heart, and learn to share the wealth and abundance of the world, learn from the mistakes of history and rise above our primitive and selfish ambitions. If Human History was made into a science, this would be the textbook! And for once, I would enjoy doing my homework.
It sounded very interesting, but I didn't get around to checking out the book until a few weeks ago. Seeing as this behemoth work of non-fiction (about 500 pages in all) would take me months to read, being the begining of the Spring semester and all, I decided to check out the book and audio book together, and take turns listening as well as reading. It was a success! I am now through the body, and have only the short epilogue to the 2003 edition left to read after only a few weeks.
It may be premature to write a review, seeing as how I'm not really finished yet, but I think I can already say, with some confidence, that I have found a new favorite book and author. In substance, his work reminds me of Darwin's: plain, unequivocal, well-researched, well-supported, and ground breaking, possibly even revolutionary. But his style is much more readable even than Darwin, which is quite an achievment! To bring so many strains of science and history together, spanning such a length of time (from aprox 11,000 b.c. to the present), and doing so in plain and simple speech, and in the relative brevity of only 500 pages, is remarkable!
I learned a myriad of new and useful information about the native plant and animal species of the different continents which are useful to humans, the broad natural and human histories of those continents, the birth of writing, metallurgy, and agriculture (including their independent arrivals as well as the spread of existing technologies), and the oft times tragic consequences of the collisions between populations seperated by millenia of differential development (eg. Native American and European contact in the last 1,000 years). His theory is so simple and yet profound, I really have to wonder why it is not already taught by every teacher of history to young children. I can imagine how this knowledge, in the public mind, would do wonders to solve the social and racial problems of the world, not to mention lending a useful, workable theory to anthropologists, human biologists, sociologists and historians alike. Imagine if all these fields could be merged into one! It sounds lofty, but after reading this book, I don't think it would be all that difficult.
I don't wish to rob anyone of the great satisfaction of reading GG&S by summarizing its points here, but I can assure you that my lame attempts to condense his theory to a few paragraphs will not do it justice, and are only meant to serve as incentive to the prospective reader, and as a personal test to see if I really understood his intent.
Firstly, as I mentioned, cereal grains are not uniformly distributed over the surface of the earth. Most of our main sources of carbohydrates today, about 80%, come from three types of grain: wheat, corn, and rice. These three grains are all "grasses" native to temperate and tropical grasslands. Interestingly, these three were all domisticated independently in pre-history: wheat in the Fertile Crescent about 11,000 years ago, rice in south-east Asia (China) about 8,000 years ago, and corn in the MesoAmerica about 4,000 years ago. Other important sources of carbs include barley and its relatives (grasses), millet, bananas (asian origin), sorghum (an african crop), quinoa (a peruvian pseudocereal) and tubers such as potatoes and yams (domesticated in South America, and Polynesia respectively).
There are some 50 odd types of grasses that could, in theory, be dometicated, but only a handful whose wild ancestors had sufficiently large enough kernels for proto-farmers to take an interest in. The vast majority of these useful grasses are native to the Fertile Crescent and other parts of Eurasia, with extremely few being native to the Americas or Australia. Also, Eurasia, besides being the largest landmass in the world, has by far the largest amount of land located in those temperate and tropical grassland biomes, whose particular climate and rainfall patterns are necessary for agriculture of these crops.
The next agricultural variable is domesticable species of wild animals. This turns out to be important for several reasons: 1, animals, when used for food, provide a dependable source of protein (a difficult nutrient to find in the wild), their skin, bones and fat have found many uses by humans as well (we still use them regularly); 2, the muscle power of larger animals can be harnessed to aid in farming (pulling a plow), transport (riding or pulling a cart), and warfare (chariots, cavalry, etc.); 3, their waste can be used as fertilizer for agriculture; and 4, exposure to their germs transmits diseases to dense human populations (influenza, tuberculosis, typhus, cholera, pox viruses, anthrax, and bubonic plague were all originally animal pathogens) that alternate between epidemics and latent periods, selecting for those individuals with immunity. In turn, these naturally selected populations spread their germs to vulnerable, non-exposed populations when they meet, either in conquest or trade, and the spread of disease has a huge impact on the outcome of such collisions.
As was the case with grains, domesticable wild mammals are also unevenly dispersed over the face of the earth. Of the 15 or so large species that have been domesticated, once again, the vast majority are natives to Eurasia. Large mammals and marsupials were prominent members of the pleistocene fauna of north/south America and Australia, when human colonization occurred on those continents, but they were quickly wiped out as a result of massive drought or over-hunting (most likely the latter), leaving few, if any, remaining candidates for domestication. In the Americas, the only large mammal to be domesticated was the llama/Alpaca of the Inca, and there were no large mammals domesticated in Australia. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are many large mammals, none of which have been successfully domesticated because of something the author refers to as the Ana Karenina principle. In contrast, Eurasian large mammals, including the sheep, pig, cow, camel and the horse became integral parts of the economy, and made up a food-producing-package that came to dominate nearly every civilization on earth with an appropriate habitat.
With a foundation of food producers in place, political organizations of increasing complexity (band-> tribe->chiefdom->state->empire) follow quite easily and predictably, in order to control the surplus of food and goods, and create roles for those not directly involved in food production: bureaucrats, priests, warriors, etc. This type of organization is necessary for the development and adoption of writing, which confers another huge advantage to that civilization. The independent development of writing only happened 3 times (possible only twice): among Ind0-Europeans in the Fertile Crescent, the Maya of Mesoamerica, and ancient China (this is up for debate).
I've only scratched the surface here. This book is packed with knowledge, and brings together so many strands of history into a single, concise perspective. When all taken together, his conclusions are irrefutable: the reason for the current state of the world, with Europeans and their descendants on the very top of the pile, has nothing to do with their superior ability, or some divine mandate that they should rule the world. It has everything to do with the relative timing that the different homelands of the world adopted agriculture as a way of life, abandoned hunting-gathering in the process, and where they were living on the globe. These plain facts totally destroy any and all supposed "evidence" for racism and divine favoritism, and tell the story of man in ecological terms. It is a fascinating, eye-opening, learning experience that sheds light on the vastness of human history, gives direction for the future, and finally puts aside the euro-centric world view that has tarnished our past for centuries.
I hope that in the years to come, we can take lessons like this to heart, and learn to share the wealth and abundance of the world, learn from the mistakes of history and rise above our primitive and selfish ambitions. If Human History was made into a science, this would be the textbook! And for once, I would enjoy doing my homework.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
"The Living Christ," my testimony of the Savior
When I was a missionary in Brazil, my mission president, Lamonte Dansie, concentrated much of his effort during our monthly trainings, on helping us young men and women develop faith in Jesus Christ. One of the ways he did this, was to have us imitate the First Presidency of the Church, and the council of the Twelve Apostles, in writing our own version of "The Living Christ." It took me over a year, and lots of prayer, to write, in my own words, my testimony of Jesus, His plan and mission, and how we fit into it. When I wrote this, I was most certainly at the highest spiritual plain of my life, and I am glad I have a strong written reminder of the witnesses of the Spirit which I received daily at that time. It is humbling, and stirring to re-read it now at this time in my life, when I wish I had as much spiritual guidance as I did when I was a missionary. But it also gives me hope: that I can know now, as I knew then, that these things are still true, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
I, Jordan Russell Roberts, wish to bear my witness, which I have been given by the gift and power of the Holy Spirit of God, and by the light which shines in the soul of every child of God, which is the light of Christ, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God: that He was with God in the beginning, that He was chosen as the redeemer and mediator to a fallen world and race, to bring them back through the power of an atonement which He would make, exalted and glorified, pure and clean, to the presence of our Father to go no more out.
I know that all mankind was there when He and His plan were chosen, and that we shouted for joy as one! It was He who created this world and everything in it by the eternal power and authority of the Father; He who breathed life into our first parents, and from the beginning made it possible for us to know Him and His way with us, that we may not walk in darkness. It was He who, through the many dispensations, extended His arm to gather His people, even though many would not. It was to Him the house of Israel learned to offer prayer and give sacrifice in anticipation of a great and last sacrifice for the sins of all, which belief and hope separated them from the other peoples of the world. They knew Him as Jehovah, the great "I AM" and I testify that God Himself descended from Heaven and dwelt among us in flesh, that He might know how to help us.
He walked among men doing good. He never sinned, although He was tempted. He showed us the more exalted way, the law of love, and He was our example. He established a kingdom, not a worldly kingdom, but that of Heaven built upon apostles and prophets, He being the chief cornerstone. He edified it with the power of the priesthood of God, and the gifts of prophecy and revelation, and upon this foundation was it built by Him in His own day. He loved the church, and gave His life in the greatest act of selflessness in all history, to bring Eternal Life to those saints who would believe Him and keep His commandments.
His atonement began in the garden of Gethsemane, where the weight of the justice of God fell upon Him, in behalf of all mankind who had transgressed, or would so, and in that moment He faced all of its consequences: guilt, pain, sorrow, grief, suffering and death. And He did so alone. Praise be to God that He did, for had He not, all mankind would be lost! He did it because of His great love for his Father and for us.
The weight of the price of the broken law was so great that it drew blood from every pore, and thus, with blood, was the great and last sacrifice made. He was taken and crucified, but rose again, thus breaking the bands of death which bound His people. I testify that He showed Himself and was seen of His apostles and many others, and also of His people throughout the world who believed in Him.
I know He lives, and in our day He was seen also with His Father, our Eternal Father, by a modern prophet, Joseph Smith, to restore, in this dispensation, that blessed church which existed in His own day of earthly ministry. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth, in preparation for His return, when He shall come with power and glory, when every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that He is God. He shall reign as King of kings and Lord of lords, and under His blessed rule shall the earth, and all of its inhabitants enjoy a millennium of peace, prosperity and charity for one-another.
I know that He is the way, the truth and the life, and that no man goeth unto the Father, but by Him. I know that my redeemer lives, and that He shall save my soul, and the souls of all those who believe Him and keep His commandments, from death and hell, and that I shall dwell with Him and my Father in His kingdom with my family forever. God be praised for the greatest of all His gifts, Eternal Life, that we may receive through His Son, Jesus the Christ.
Jordan Russell Roberts, 2006
The Living Christ
I, Jordan Russell Roberts, wish to bear my witness, which I have been given by the gift and power of the Holy Spirit of God, and by the light which shines in the soul of every child of God, which is the light of Christ, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God: that He was with God in the beginning, that He was chosen as the redeemer and mediator to a fallen world and race, to bring them back through the power of an atonement which He would make, exalted and glorified, pure and clean, to the presence of our Father to go no more out.
I know that all mankind was there when He and His plan were chosen, and that we shouted for joy as one! It was He who created this world and everything in it by the eternal power and authority of the Father; He who breathed life into our first parents, and from the beginning made it possible for us to know Him and His way with us, that we may not walk in darkness. It was He who, through the many dispensations, extended His arm to gather His people, even though many would not. It was to Him the house of Israel learned to offer prayer and give sacrifice in anticipation of a great and last sacrifice for the sins of all, which belief and hope separated them from the other peoples of the world. They knew Him as Jehovah, the great "I AM" and I testify that God Himself descended from Heaven and dwelt among us in flesh, that He might know how to help us.
He walked among men doing good. He never sinned, although He was tempted. He showed us the more exalted way, the law of love, and He was our example. He established a kingdom, not a worldly kingdom, but that of Heaven built upon apostles and prophets, He being the chief cornerstone. He edified it with the power of the priesthood of God, and the gifts of prophecy and revelation, and upon this foundation was it built by Him in His own day. He loved the church, and gave His life in the greatest act of selflessness in all history, to bring Eternal Life to those saints who would believe Him and keep His commandments.
His atonement began in the garden of Gethsemane, where the weight of the justice of God fell upon Him, in behalf of all mankind who had transgressed, or would so, and in that moment He faced all of its consequences: guilt, pain, sorrow, grief, suffering and death. And He did so alone. Praise be to God that He did, for had He not, all mankind would be lost! He did it because of His great love for his Father and for us.
The weight of the price of the broken law was so great that it drew blood from every pore, and thus, with blood, was the great and last sacrifice made. He was taken and crucified, but rose again, thus breaking the bands of death which bound His people. I testify that He showed Himself and was seen of His apostles and many others, and also of His people throughout the world who believed in Him.
I know He lives, and in our day He was seen also with His Father, our Eternal Father, by a modern prophet, Joseph Smith, to restore, in this dispensation, that blessed church which existed in His own day of earthly ministry. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth, in preparation for His return, when He shall come with power and glory, when every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that He is God. He shall reign as King of kings and Lord of lords, and under His blessed rule shall the earth, and all of its inhabitants enjoy a millennium of peace, prosperity and charity for one-another.
I know that He is the way, the truth and the life, and that no man goeth unto the Father, but by Him. I know that my redeemer lives, and that He shall save my soul, and the souls of all those who believe Him and keep His commandments, from death and hell, and that I shall dwell with Him and my Father in His kingdom with my family forever. God be praised for the greatest of all His gifts, Eternal Life, that we may receive through His Son, Jesus the Christ.
Jordan Russell Roberts, 2006
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Comments on "Philosophy at the Field's Edge"
Before Thanksgiving last month, I had the opportunity to listen to a lecture about philosophy given by an ASU alumnus, Stephen Pluhacek, in regards to the thesis of his newest book, Philosophy at the Field's Edge, which he was promoting on my campus. He cited lots of esoteric, philosophical ideas unfamiliar to me: Epimethius, Heidegger's works, the Nihilism of Nietzsche, etc. But, in his speech, I was able to gather some of his intent. He posited that, perhaps, if human development had taken another turn 10,000 years ago, at the beginning of agriculture and domestication, that we might be a happier species. This is why he uses the metaphor of "the field."
Before agriculture, towards the end of the last ice-age, human beings were mostly hunter-gatherers, living in the stone age. It was with agriculture, that cities arose, and our paradigm of civilization was born. This is considered the "great leap forward" in human history: the beginning of philosophy, science, politics, religion, culture, etc. This happening has been held almost sacred by historians, and few thinkers have ever questioned the importance of it, or its causality to our current status as the most successful, and intelligent species on earth. His book is an exception.
It is popularly held that agriculture gave way to leisure, which provided the time and energy necessary for deep thought, experimentation, and refinement of existing technologies and art, as well as the invention of new types. So, as I listened to this philosopher talk about the philosophical life in the absence of agriculture, it seemed to me that he was forgetting this premise for his own art: biting the hand that feeds him, so to speak. However, I was reminded that many of the Native North American groups I have studied were hunter-gatherers right up until European contact, and some of them had very profound thoughts about the world around them, very refined art, and impressive technology. The influence of possible contact with Native Central Americans, who did practice agriculture, cannot be ignored in these cases, though. I never heard him reference Native Americans directly, but his lecture brought them to my mind time and again, which made me ask myself, "are we [western cultures] better off because we know the 'truth' about the world around us?"
Too bad we can't simply do as the eye doctor, when, after trying all different thicknesses and shapes of lenses, asks, "which is better: with, or without?" It is difficult to make a prediction about happiness and quality of life, without all the baggage associated with modernity, in a self-imposed stone age. Would we be better off? How could we tell? Is it possible to satisfy our needs, live in peace and equilibrium with nature, and retain and nurture our humanity? Interesting question. My answer would be a conditional "yes," conditional on the direction we want our species to go: if we wish to continue to progress toward an inter-stellar, extraterrestrial, super intelligent species, then I would say "no;" however, if we wish to work in the matrix of the natural world for which nature has fashioned us, my answer is "yes." The former is destination-oriented, the latter, while not void of goals (happiness, peace, etc.), is less concerned with progress, and more with perfection.
Before moving on, let me set something straight: I am a western man, a budding scientist, and I like it that way. If you heard romanticism in my voice during the last paragraph, it was not intentional. I am not inclined to believe the human race was happier during the stone age than we are now. Perhaps the world was more simple, instincts and emotions were more important to our survival, but I believe, as Hobbes did, that life in prehistory was "nasty, brutish, and short." I would like to believe in the noble savage, but my knowledge of human history wont allow it.
I think the reason why such romantic notions as the noble savage appeal to us, is because of the amoral, meaningless nature of our society at present: Nietzsche's nihilism. We yearn for the childhood of our existence, because the teen years are void of the imagined securities of infancy. I am currently experiencing this personally. Perhaps I should have gone through this years ago, when I was a teenager, but I've always been a late-bloomer. Even though I didn't know what "nihilism" was until recently, I have been experiencing it for some time. Nietzsche did not, however, encourage the advent of nihilism for its own sake, but to hasten its departure: the sooner we went through that phase, the sooner we could be done with it. He predicted that after this time of amorality and meaninglessness, we would find something higher and more meaningful to live for, and would finally mature as a species.
Dr. Pluhacek contended against Nietzsche by insisting that his philosophy, along with that of nearly all philosophers, is locked in our current paradigm of civilization dependent on agriculture and city life: philosophy in the field, and that nihilism would not be necessary to our happiness and maturity in a philosophy at the fields edge, or beyond the field. He didn't elaborate on this point, but once again I was reminded of the animistic worldview of pre-contact Native Americans, who found "meaning" in everything around them: incorrect meaning, of course, but meaning all the same.
Aside from being overly romantic, and playing to the "good old days" fallacy, my other criticism of his presentation is what I saw as the complete disregard for the biological side of human development (ie. evolution), emotion, and well-being. Granted, he is a philosopher, not a biologist, but he mentioned nothing about the biological causes of human motivation (our evolutionary drives), which we know to be mostly responsible for our sense of well-being and happiness. In my opinion, any philosophy which proposes to make mankind happier, must not be so naive as to presume this can be achieved in the absence of the biological sciences.
In response to the question I posed toward the beginning, I believe we are better off because we know the truth about the material world, and our place in it. I don't think we made a mistake by learning to cultivate the earth, and domesticate other animals (and ourselves). In fact, I believe it is part of our place in the world. I agree, however, that life in the city is not the lifestyle most conducive to human happiness. In a perfect world, I think we would see a return to the field, and not abandonment of it. In other words, people should divide their time between social life in the city, and living close to nature (growing their own food, taking care of domestic animals, and observing other animals in the wild, etc.).
In all, it was a stimulating argument, which provided me with much food for thought, but I don't think I'll buy his book.
Before agriculture, towards the end of the last ice-age, human beings were mostly hunter-gatherers, living in the stone age. It was with agriculture, that cities arose, and our paradigm of civilization was born. This is considered the "great leap forward" in human history: the beginning of philosophy, science, politics, religion, culture, etc. This happening has been held almost sacred by historians, and few thinkers have ever questioned the importance of it, or its causality to our current status as the most successful, and intelligent species on earth. His book is an exception.
It is popularly held that agriculture gave way to leisure, which provided the time and energy necessary for deep thought, experimentation, and refinement of existing technologies and art, as well as the invention of new types. So, as I listened to this philosopher talk about the philosophical life in the absence of agriculture, it seemed to me that he was forgetting this premise for his own art: biting the hand that feeds him, so to speak. However, I was reminded that many of the Native North American groups I have studied were hunter-gatherers right up until European contact, and some of them had very profound thoughts about the world around them, very refined art, and impressive technology. The influence of possible contact with Native Central Americans, who did practice agriculture, cannot be ignored in these cases, though. I never heard him reference Native Americans directly, but his lecture brought them to my mind time and again, which made me ask myself, "are we [western cultures] better off because we know the 'truth' about the world around us?"
Too bad we can't simply do as the eye doctor, when, after trying all different thicknesses and shapes of lenses, asks, "which is better: with, or without?" It is difficult to make a prediction about happiness and quality of life, without all the baggage associated with modernity, in a self-imposed stone age. Would we be better off? How could we tell? Is it possible to satisfy our needs, live in peace and equilibrium with nature, and retain and nurture our humanity? Interesting question. My answer would be a conditional "yes," conditional on the direction we want our species to go: if we wish to continue to progress toward an inter-stellar, extraterrestrial, super intelligent species, then I would say "no;" however, if we wish to work in the matrix of the natural world for which nature has fashioned us, my answer is "yes." The former is destination-oriented, the latter, while not void of goals (happiness, peace, etc.), is less concerned with progress, and more with perfection.
Before moving on, let me set something straight: I am a western man, a budding scientist, and I like it that way. If you heard romanticism in my voice during the last paragraph, it was not intentional. I am not inclined to believe the human race was happier during the stone age than we are now. Perhaps the world was more simple, instincts and emotions were more important to our survival, but I believe, as Hobbes did, that life in prehistory was "nasty, brutish, and short." I would like to believe in the noble savage, but my knowledge of human history wont allow it.
I think the reason why such romantic notions as the noble savage appeal to us, is because of the amoral, meaningless nature of our society at present: Nietzsche's nihilism. We yearn for the childhood of our existence, because the teen years are void of the imagined securities of infancy. I am currently experiencing this personally. Perhaps I should have gone through this years ago, when I was a teenager, but I've always been a late-bloomer. Even though I didn't know what "nihilism" was until recently, I have been experiencing it for some time. Nietzsche did not, however, encourage the advent of nihilism for its own sake, but to hasten its departure: the sooner we went through that phase, the sooner we could be done with it. He predicted that after this time of amorality and meaninglessness, we would find something higher and more meaningful to live for, and would finally mature as a species.
Dr. Pluhacek contended against Nietzsche by insisting that his philosophy, along with that of nearly all philosophers, is locked in our current paradigm of civilization dependent on agriculture and city life: philosophy in the field, and that nihilism would not be necessary to our happiness and maturity in a philosophy at the fields edge, or beyond the field. He didn't elaborate on this point, but once again I was reminded of the animistic worldview of pre-contact Native Americans, who found "meaning" in everything around them: incorrect meaning, of course, but meaning all the same.
Aside from being overly romantic, and playing to the "good old days" fallacy, my other criticism of his presentation is what I saw as the complete disregard for the biological side of human development (ie. evolution), emotion, and well-being. Granted, he is a philosopher, not a biologist, but he mentioned nothing about the biological causes of human motivation (our evolutionary drives), which we know to be mostly responsible for our sense of well-being and happiness. In my opinion, any philosophy which proposes to make mankind happier, must not be so naive as to presume this can be achieved in the absence of the biological sciences.
In response to the question I posed toward the beginning, I believe we are better off because we know the truth about the material world, and our place in it. I don't think we made a mistake by learning to cultivate the earth, and domesticate other animals (and ourselves). In fact, I believe it is part of our place in the world. I agree, however, that life in the city is not the lifestyle most conducive to human happiness. In a perfect world, I think we would see a return to the field, and not abandonment of it. In other words, people should divide their time between social life in the city, and living close to nature (growing their own food, taking care of domestic animals, and observing other animals in the wild, etc.).
In all, it was a stimulating argument, which provided me with much food for thought, but I don't think I'll buy his book.
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