This is actually a light read for such a weighty topic – quantum physics. Chown does an admirable job of presenting complex issues in an easy to comprehend manner so you can appreciate the insight of the discoverer.
It is a remarkable fact that 99.9999999999999999% of the volume of ordinary matter is empty space. If there were some way to squeeze all the empty space out of the atom (making everything into neutrons), humanity could be squeezed into the space occupied by a sugar cube. P3
A proton is about 2000 times more massive than an electron. According to Heisenberg uncertainty principle, if a proton and an electron are confined in the same volume, the electron will be moving about 2000 times faster… But atoms atoms aren’t just 2000 times bigger than their nuclei, they’re more like 100,000 times bigger. Why? The electron is held by the relatively weak electric force, while the protons and neutrons in the nucleus are held together by the strong nuclear force, which is 50 times stronger. P45 For those keeping score at home: 50x2000=100,000
The Bose-Einstein helium superfluid can flow through impossibly small holes that no other liquid can flow through. It is also the only liquid that can flow uphill… All the atoms in the superfluid move together or they don’t move at all. Consequently, if superfluid is put in a bucket and the bucket is spun, it has no means open to it to attain the spin of the bucket. Instead it stays stubbornly still while the bucket spins around it… It has no viscosity. P81
Surely you’re aware that gravity accelerates all objects equally regardless of their mass, right? So if you drop a small stool and a heavy fridge together, they will strike the earth simultaneously (ignoring air resistance). What happens, however, if you place these items on an icerink surface, and then try to push them with exactly the same force? Won’t the stool shoot off much faster than the fridge? So despite the wildly different masses, why do the stool and fridge accelerate to the ground at exactly the same speed? Now, perhaps you appreciate the central peculiarity of gravity. A big mass must therefore experience a bigger a force, and that force must be in direct proportion to its mass. [Okay, genius, this is about as far as Newton got.] But how does gravity adjust itself to the mass it is acting on? To figure that out, you’d have to be a real genius, like Einstein. P120
Gravity only arises when a body is prevented from following its natural motion. Our natural motion on the Earth is free fall towards the center of the planet. The ground thwarts us, so we feel its force on our bodies… Most people therefore assume that astronauts orbiting earth are weightless because there is no gravity in space. However even at 500km above the earth, gravity is still 85% of that on the surface. So why are the astronauts weightless? The real reason is that their spacecraft is in free fall, and never hits the ground because their orbit allows them to move in a circle at the same rate as they fall. Gravity is still there (85% of it), they just can’t ‘feel’ it. P127
Believe it or not, the cosmic background radiation created at the birth of universe during the Big Bang epoch accounts for an astonishing 99% of light in today’s universe… That means that 1% of the static on your TV, is actually coming from the Big Bang! P141
If the universe were infinitely large and old, and evenly populated with stars, then one very obvious fact that would come from this, would be the fact that the night sky would be infinitely bright and blinding. Why? Because when we look up at any point in the sky, we would eventually see a star, no matter how far away, and the light from this star would eventually hit the earth (since the universe is infinitely old, the star’s light has been traveling forever already to reach us), so every point in the sky will be radiating light. The way out of this paradox is the fact that the universe cannot in fact exist forever and be infinitely large. P148
Friday, May 18, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
**** The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille
This book is bold and will probably have you shaking your head both in agreement and in opposition. Of course Rapaille is speaking in generalizations of a large population, and individual mileage may vary, so please keep that in mind. In any case, it is a new lens to view the world. The book should be dedicated to the reptile in all of us.
“The sun” in French is le soleil, a masculine noun… The French perceive the sun as male, and by extension, see males as brilliant and shining. Women, on the other hand, are associated with the moon, la lune. The moon, of course, doesn’t shine by herself; she reflects the light of the sun. We can learn much about the relationship between French men and women through this observation. P10
For Germans, the sun is die sonne a feminine word. Germans believe that women are the ones who bring warmth to the world, make things grow, and raise children. German men are the night, the dark, the moon side. Der mond. P10
OK, if these kinds of gross generalizations make you want to puke, then you should skip the rest of this listing. If they pique your interest, then you’ll have a bit of fun reading Clotaire Rapaille’s (don’t ask me how to pronounce his name) book on his methodology for teasing out the meaning behind what we want and do.
Even the most self-examining of us are rarely in close contact with our subconscious… Therefore, we give answers to questions that sound logical and are even what the questioner expected, but which don’t reveal the unconscious forces precondition to our feelings. This is why polls and surveys are so often misleading and useless. They simply reflect what people say, rather than what they mean… The answers they give now come from their reptilian brain, the place where their instincts are housed. P15
In France, when the first son in a family reaches 7, his father takes him out to the land the father owns and walks him to each corner of the property. At each corner, the father beats the child. While this practice is repellent and probably doesn’t do much for the father-son bond, it does create a very strong emotional connection for the child to the boundaries of the property. The father knows that having this experience will cause the child to remember forever the bounds of the land he will someday inherit. P18
Faisandee is a French food preparation that involves hanging a pheasant (source of the name) or some other gamebird on a hook until it ages – literally until it begins to rot. While most Americans would think this alarming, French chefs utilize this method because it dramatically improves the flavor of the bird. Safety is not nearly as much of concern for them or the people for whom they cook. Of course such culinary explorations come with a price. There are far more food-related deaths in France every year than there are in the US, even though there are 5 times as many people living in the US. P26
American Code for CARS = IDENTITY
Americans want cars that are distinctive, that will not be mistaken for any other kind of car, and that trigger memories of Sunday drives, the freedom of getting behind the wheel for first time, and the excitement of youthful passion…
German Code for CARS = ENGINEERING
German manufacturers pride themselves on the quality of their engineering, and this pride is so ingrained that people raised in that culture think of engineering first when they think of cars. P26
Many cultures act out their rebellion by killing their leaders, after which their period of rebellion ends and adulthood begins. We (the US) never killed our king because we never actually had one. We rebelled against the only king who ever tried to rule us, and threw him ‘out of our room’, but we didn’t behead him. For this reason, our rebellious period never really ended. Rather than moving on from it, we hold onto it and reinforce it when we welcome immigrants to our shores. These immigrants have left a country that was forced upon them at birth. Coming here is a huge act of rebellion. They leave their old culture behind rather than finishing the job by killing the king. Therefore they remain rebels, and this constant influx of new adolescents helps keep our entire culture adolescent. P31
Consistently, participants related their first experience of love to their mother’s care… After all, for 9 mos, our mothers provide us with the most perfect resort hotel imaginable, with first rate room service available on demand, climate control that this neither too hot nor too cold, free transportation, and a musical backdrop (her heartbeat) for entertainment! And even though we ultimately must leave this vacation paradise, our mothers are there to guide us through the transition, feeding us with their bodies, keeping us coddled and warm, and taking us out into the world. P37
Adolescents flit from pressing for independence to acting like children, when they seek succor of their mothers. When striving for independence, the reject home and seek the right to make one’s own mistakes. P38
American Code for LOVE=FALSE EXPECTATION
Losing love is an international experience. Tales of forbidden love and of the consequences when that love dies abound. In older cultures though, the unconscious message about expectations for love are very different than those here in the US. The French consider the notions of true love and Mr. Right irrelevant. The refinement of pleasure is paramount, and romance is highly sophisticated. Love means helping your partner achieve as much pleasure as possible, even if this requires finding someone else to provide some of the pleasure (fidelity is not nearly as important to them)… Italians believe that life is a comedy rather than a tragedy and that one should laugh whenever possible… If love becomes too dramatic or too hard, it is unsatisfying. Their culture centers on family, and to them true love is maternal love. Men romance women, but seek true love from their mother. Women believe the best way to experience love is by becoming mothers… The Japanese call love the ‘temporary disease’ and therefore it is foolish to base something as important as the creation of a family on something so temporary… While Japanese teens might date more often than their parents did, most marriages are still arranged, and few have anything to do with romance. The Japanese divorce rate by the way is only 2%. P39-40
Diamond peddlers deal with the consequences of false expectations in a clever manner: by highlighting the investment and resale value diamonds, and by emphasizing the eternal quality of the diamond as well. This addresses the underlying belief in the permanence of romantic love and providing a useful benefit when that belief fails to pan out. P41
Unlike American women, who try to change what nature gave them though plastic surgery, liposuction, endless hours at the gym, etc., French women seek to enhance their NATURAL appearance. In France, a woman will spend 2 hours in front of a mirror trying to appear as though she hasn’t spent any time on her make at all. In fact, if a French woman appears obviously made up, there a good chance she’ll be mistaken for a prostitute… The French word ‘negligee’ comes from neglect. Even though French woman might look especially appealing in a negligee, her intent is to appear as though she doesn’t care at all about what she’s wearing. P42
English men have a remarkably strong bond, and they truly believe that only other men can understand their feelings, all of their meaningful friendships are with other men… This leads to a real disconnection from English women, who feel left out of the party… Because they feel unnoticed and unacknowledged, young English women prepare seduction in a way almost precisely the opposite of French women. They dress outrageously to gain attention. They’ll wear miniskirts barely bigger than a belt, they’ll expose their midriffs adorned with navel jewelry, they’ll dye their hair often with a variety of colors at the same time. Yet English men remain detached. This simply cause English women to ratchet up their efforts. Given the direction this is heading, one can only imagine what the fashion trends will be in London a couple of decades from now. P44
Italians see seduction as an elaborate and joyous game… The men are more in touch with their feminine side than any other culture. In fact, the men spend more time beautifying themselves than the women. They use cosmetics, baby shampoo to make their hair soft, apply creams, and take tremendous care in the way they dress. Because of this feminine side, they connect with women easily, and Italian women love them for it. In fact, foreign women respond differently to Italian men than they do to men of other cultures. While in their home country, women might be offended if men whistled at them, but they are often charmed if the same thing happens on an Italian street. This is because Italian men make it clear that their attentions are in fun and neither threatening nor salacious in any way. P45
Because arranged marriage is so common in Japan, seduction takes on a different meaning. Men go to bars where they pay ‘hostesses’ huge amounts of money to pour whiskey and listen to them while they get drunk, and maybe even have sex with them when they’ve become drunk enough. They seem utterly incapable of courtship. This comes directly from a culture that teaches that love is trivial and is even a dangerous ‘temporary disease’. P46
American code for SEDUCTION=MANIPULATION
There is a negative association with seduction. When American think of it, they think of being forced to do things that they don’t want to do or that they believe they shouldn’t do.
American code for SEX=VIOLENCE
This illustrates the extremist thinking of an adolescent culture. Since we are uncomfortable with sex, we equate it with the extreme opposite of pleasure, something that causes pain and death. It is also clear that as a culture we are more comfortable with violence than with sex… The FCC fines TV stations for a 1 second glimpse of a breast, but on any given night those same stations will broadcast simulations of murder and mutilation without penalty… Our culture is filled with the sex/violence connection… How many times have we seen that film cliché where couples fight and slap each other before falling into each other’s arms?.. Men talk about ‘banging’ and ‘nailing’ a woman. Women joke about castrating a man if he cheats. We refer to singles bars as meat markets. P52 And Lorena Bobbit was an all American woman after all.
Americans may abhor real violence, but we find simulated violence enthralling. This is another offshoot of our cultural adolescence: we feel immortal, indestructible, and we are drawn to violence to test our invincibility. When marketers use sex in advertising, they connect with this fascination of violence as well. P53
The French way of life is aristocratic: the notion that working is bad and beneath any person of worth. Though there are few aristocrats left in France is no matter, the undercurrent of privilege still exists, as exemplified by as system where your receive more money in unemployment benefits than you can in many jobs, and where they strictly enforce a 35 hour work week and 6 weeks of vacation. P56
An American judge decided a rape victim provoked her attacker with her appearance, or the slashing of a model’s face because her assailant thought she was too perfect; American women navigate an axis of between beauty and provocativeness… One of the reasons why Victoria’s Secret is so successful is because it offers women an easy way to navigate this axis; they can be as feminine and sexy as they want underneath their clothes. P57
Men are programmed for sex; the average man is willing to have sex with just about any willing woman. But if a man stops to notice a woman’s beauty to admire her physical magnificence, rather than simply throwing her over his shoulder, his soul his elevated to another level. If a woman can impress her beauty upon a man permanently, if she can stay beautiful in his eyes, she can make him a better human being. The Code for BEAUTY= MAN’S SALVATION. P60
In Arab nations, if a woman is skinny it suggests that her husband doesn’t have the means to feed her, therefore Arab men want their women to be obese, the better to serve as walking billboards for the men’s wealth. P61
Nearly 1/3 of French women are overweight, though that is still dramatically less than the 62% rate of overweight American women, it is a far cry from the title “French Women Don’t Get Fat”. P65
A woman might stay thin in the early years of the marriage, but after her second or third pregnancy does not lose the weight. Why? Because she’s unconsciously disconnecting from her husband in order to concentrate on the children. A man who struggles at work as a middle manager, then puts on 30 lbs while complaining that he has been passed over for a promotion. People balloon up after a bad breakup, the loss of a job, or the death of a family member. The Code for FAT=CHECKING OUT. Getting fat is the most common available unconscious way to check out of the rat race, to adopt a strong identity without having to fight for it, to move from active to passive… Fat is not the problem, it is the solution… We unconsciously think if we get fat enough, perhaps others will take care of us as they did when we were [fat] babies. P68-9
Americans believe that if they are strong enough to act, then they are healthy. Their greatest fear about being sick is the inability to do things. The code for HEALTH=MOVEMENT. Why do we fill up our free time? Why do retirees begin second careers? Why do we become devastated if we lose our license when we become elderly? Movement makes us feel healthy, confirming that we are alive. P81
The Japanese view good health as an obligation. They feel a powerful sense of guilt if they fall ill. Japanese children will apologize to their parents for getting sick, for they know that illness may cause them to fall behind. You wash your hands and cover your coughs as a servant of the culture to prevent someone else from getting sick because of you. P82
The code for DOCTOR=HERO. The code for NURSE=MOTHER. Therefore, we must have a positive impression of every component of the medical field right? The code for HOSPITAL=PROCESSING PLANT. Hospitals inspire a sense of foreboding by filling their halls and rooms with scary equipment in a sterile, impersonal environment, with antiseptic air. Hospitals inhibit movement (stay in bed). P83
When one calls GMAC insurance after an accident, the first question is, “can you move?” The next is, “how do you feel?” And the 3rd is “Tell me the details of the accident.” The unconscious connection between movement and health is strong, so if you can move, you’re probably not too badly injured. P84
The code for HOME=RE[Experience]. Home is where we want to experience our lives again, surrounded by people who mean the most to us… In the American home the kitchen is the central room where the family gathers. The kitchen is the heart because an essential ritual takes place there; the preparation of the evening meal. This is a ritual filled with repetition and reconnection that leads to replenishment… In France, houses are designed differently. The biggest rooms are the stage areas: foyer, living salon, and dining room. The guests will never see the kitchen. P100
GMAC discovered that people will pack a box of stuff during a move, put it in the basement, and then move that same box – never opened – from new home to new home. The content of the box is not important – and is often unknown. What is important is that the box contains ‘stuff’ and ‘stuff’ has a great value in making Americans feel at home. P102
Americans put little premium on gourmet quality or on long preparation time, even though the evening meal is very special to them. Pizza, take out, frozen food, etc. eaten while the family gathers together and the TV is off (or on perhaps) is on Code. P109
The code for WORK=WHO YOU ARE. What do you do? In essence when we ask this question, we want to know what they do for a living. Why are unemployed people often depressed? Because they are unsure how they will pay the bills, certainly. Also, at a deeper level, it is because they believe that if they are doing nothing, then they are nobodies. P116
Since the code for health is movement, this extends to professional health. Our job has to present new challenges and promotions, otherwise we think of ourselves as stuck in a rut. P118
A common mistake by employers is looking at a team as a homogeneous group that rise and falls together. Offering a group bonus or a vacation trip to a team is off code because it fails to acknowledge who an individual is. While teamwork is important in a corporation, the team should be regarded as a support group that allows individuals to become champions… Sending an entire team to the Bahamas for a job well done actually blunts an employee’s efforts to do his best work. He only needs to perform well enough to help achieve the team objective. If on the other hand, the employee knew that individual rewards were possible, he would be more likely to strive to outperform expectations. P121
The code for MONEY=PROOF. Money isn’t a goal, but we rely on it to show us that we are good, that we have true value in the world. Money is our barometer of success. Americans find it nearly impossible to feel successful if they are underpaid… Because we money as proof, we see a very strong connection between money and work. Money earned via hard work is proof that you are a good person. We have little respect for those who inherit money. We see interest income and capital gains as ‘bad money’ because we didn’t earn it ourselves, unless we take an active role in managing our money. P125
Americans expect their most fortunate to share what they’ve earned… Studies show that Americans are the most charitable people in the world. We have an entire system of laws in place for giving one’s money away. P127
It is off code to preach profitability to one’s employees. Money is the proof of goodness, but not the goal. Instead, management must inspire employees to be the best they can be, and to make the company as strong as it can be. If done effectively, this will lead to profitability. P127
The code for QUALITY=IT WORKS. This standard falls quite a bit short of zero defects (the Japanese code). The code for PERFECTION=DEATH; something that defines the end of a process, after which no further movement is possible. Americans understand the concept of getting it right the first time, but deep down they don’t want to do it, and might even fear doing it. We want to discover things and learn how to do things our own way… Learning from our mistakes has helped us grow into a powerful and successful country. We were rewarded for our ability to pick ourselves up and do things better the second and third times… Perfection is boring. You’re stuck with it for life. We want a new car every 3 years, a new TV every 5, and a new house every 10. Perfect would be useless because we wouldn’t have the alibi that our item doesn’t work well enough anymore and we need to change it. We want things to become obsolete so we have the excuse to buy something new. P137
Because QUALITY=IT WORKS, we expect our products to break down, but we expect problems to be resolved quickly and with a minimum of disruption. We are far more responsive to good service than we are to perfection. Crisis is a great opportunity to create loyalty. If a customer comes to you with a problem and you solve that problem quickly and minimize customer inconvenience, you will likely earn that customer’s dedication. Ironically if your product never breaks down, you never have the opportunity to develop this relationship with the customer. When the customer seeks to replace the product, he is likely to look elsewhere because he hasn’t formed a bond with you. Bottom line: Great service is more important to Americans than great quality. P138
Though we are the richest country in the world, at the reptilian level we consider ourselves poor… Poor people eat as much as they can when they can, because they don’t know whether they will have the opportunity to eat the next day… We do same. While our higher brain tell us that the food will be available at the buffet all night, our reptilian brain aren’t taking any chances. In this battle between the brains, as in all such battles, the reptilian wins. P143
The avg American spends 6 minutes eating dinner. The code for FOOD=FUEL. Americans say “I’m full”. Their mission has been to fill up their tanks; when they complete it, they announce they’ve finished the task… One might argue that fast food isn’t particularly good fuel to put into one’s tank, but then again, how many of us put regular gas in our cars even the manufacturer tells us to use premium? P147
Forbidden to drink alcohol as children, and learning little about it other than that it is bad, Americans end up imprinting alcohol at a rebellious age. When they gain access, usually underage which enhances the taboo, they nothing of its pleasures, subtleties, role as an enhance of food, but they quickly discover its intoxicating qualities. What matters is that this substance can get you drunk. P151
The code for ALCOHOL=GUN. Alcohol has a very powerful effect with the ability to change circumstances and alter lives… When we drink to excess, on some level we feel as though we are toying with a loaded gun. We abhor drunken driving because we fear what can happen if the gun goes off. Teenagers are fascinated with alcohol. At that age, flirting with danger is especially appealing because you feel invulnerable. What better way to prove your invincibility than to play with guns? P151
The code for SHOPPING=RECONNECTING WITH LIFE. Shopping (for women) is a social experience. It is a way for us to get out of our homes and back into the world. It is a way for us to encounter a wide variety of people and learn what’s new in the world… We all want to ‘go out and play’. P158
The code for LUXURY=MILITARY STRIPES. We show our rank in society through our luxury items. Americans attain proof through money, and they use luxury items to show it off. P166
The French code for AMERICANS=SPACE TRAVELERS. The French see us as intergalactic voyagers because they can’t relate to us, or understand our motivations… In their minds, we’ve landed on their world and are trying to impose our culture and values on them; and because we’re travelers, we don’t have the same commitment to the well being of the planet… The German code for AMERICANS=JOHN WAYNE. We’re a strong, friendly stranger who helps save a town from trouble, and then moves on with expectation of thanks or remuneration… Our actions in Iraq are off code to the Germans, because John Wayne never shoots first. P173-4
The English code for AMERICANS=UNASHAMEDLY ABUNDANT. The English see us a big, loud, powerful, extreme, determine to win at any cost. We lack restraint, tradition, and class, while they admire our confidence, passion, track record of success, and can-do attitude. Their first imprint of America spoke of vastness – size of the country, skyscrapers, huge influence on the world. P176
French Code for FRANCE=IDEA. French children imprint the value of ideas as paramount and refinement of the mind as the highest goal.
English Code for ENGLAND=CLASS. They believe that they are of a higher social stratum than other people, and they get this message passed down to them from generation to generation that being English is a special privilege that one receives at birth.
German Code fro GERMANY=ORDER. Over many generations, Germans perfected bureaucracy in an effort to stave off chaos that came to them in wave after wave. Children dutifully reach for instructions while Americans toss them aside and dive in. p177
The American code for AMERICA=DREAM. The dream of explorers finding a new world, the dream of pioneers opening the west, the dream of founding fathers creating a new nation, the dream of entrepreneurs forging new industries, the dream of immigrants coming to a new land of hope… We are the product of dreams and we are the makers of dreams. P195
“The sun” in French is le soleil, a masculine noun… The French perceive the sun as male, and by extension, see males as brilliant and shining. Women, on the other hand, are associated with the moon, la lune. The moon, of course, doesn’t shine by herself; she reflects the light of the sun. We can learn much about the relationship between French men and women through this observation. P10
For Germans, the sun is die sonne a feminine word. Germans believe that women are the ones who bring warmth to the world, make things grow, and raise children. German men are the night, the dark, the moon side. Der mond. P10
OK, if these kinds of gross generalizations make you want to puke, then you should skip the rest of this listing. If they pique your interest, then you’ll have a bit of fun reading Clotaire Rapaille’s (don’t ask me how to pronounce his name) book on his methodology for teasing out the meaning behind what we want and do.
Even the most self-examining of us are rarely in close contact with our subconscious… Therefore, we give answers to questions that sound logical and are even what the questioner expected, but which don’t reveal the unconscious forces precondition to our feelings. This is why polls and surveys are so often misleading and useless. They simply reflect what people say, rather than what they mean… The answers they give now come from their reptilian brain, the place where their instincts are housed. P15
In France, when the first son in a family reaches 7, his father takes him out to the land the father owns and walks him to each corner of the property. At each corner, the father beats the child. While this practice is repellent and probably doesn’t do much for the father-son bond, it does create a very strong emotional connection for the child to the boundaries of the property. The father knows that having this experience will cause the child to remember forever the bounds of the land he will someday inherit. P18
Faisandee is a French food preparation that involves hanging a pheasant (source of the name) or some other gamebird on a hook until it ages – literally until it begins to rot. While most Americans would think this alarming, French chefs utilize this method because it dramatically improves the flavor of the bird. Safety is not nearly as much of concern for them or the people for whom they cook. Of course such culinary explorations come with a price. There are far more food-related deaths in France every year than there are in the US, even though there are 5 times as many people living in the US. P26
American Code for CARS = IDENTITY
Americans want cars that are distinctive, that will not be mistaken for any other kind of car, and that trigger memories of Sunday drives, the freedom of getting behind the wheel for first time, and the excitement of youthful passion…
German Code for CARS = ENGINEERING
German manufacturers pride themselves on the quality of their engineering, and this pride is so ingrained that people raised in that culture think of engineering first when they think of cars. P26
Many cultures act out their rebellion by killing their leaders, after which their period of rebellion ends and adulthood begins. We (the US) never killed our king because we never actually had one. We rebelled against the only king who ever tried to rule us, and threw him ‘out of our room’, but we didn’t behead him. For this reason, our rebellious period never really ended. Rather than moving on from it, we hold onto it and reinforce it when we welcome immigrants to our shores. These immigrants have left a country that was forced upon them at birth. Coming here is a huge act of rebellion. They leave their old culture behind rather than finishing the job by killing the king. Therefore they remain rebels, and this constant influx of new adolescents helps keep our entire culture adolescent. P31
Consistently, participants related their first experience of love to their mother’s care… After all, for 9 mos, our mothers provide us with the most perfect resort hotel imaginable, with first rate room service available on demand, climate control that this neither too hot nor too cold, free transportation, and a musical backdrop (her heartbeat) for entertainment! And even though we ultimately must leave this vacation paradise, our mothers are there to guide us through the transition, feeding us with their bodies, keeping us coddled and warm, and taking us out into the world. P37
Adolescents flit from pressing for independence to acting like children, when they seek succor of their mothers. When striving for independence, the reject home and seek the right to make one’s own mistakes. P38
American Code for LOVE=FALSE EXPECTATION
Losing love is an international experience. Tales of forbidden love and of the consequences when that love dies abound. In older cultures though, the unconscious message about expectations for love are very different than those here in the US. The French consider the notions of true love and Mr. Right irrelevant. The refinement of pleasure is paramount, and romance is highly sophisticated. Love means helping your partner achieve as much pleasure as possible, even if this requires finding someone else to provide some of the pleasure (fidelity is not nearly as important to them)… Italians believe that life is a comedy rather than a tragedy and that one should laugh whenever possible… If love becomes too dramatic or too hard, it is unsatisfying. Their culture centers on family, and to them true love is maternal love. Men romance women, but seek true love from their mother. Women believe the best way to experience love is by becoming mothers… The Japanese call love the ‘temporary disease’ and therefore it is foolish to base something as important as the creation of a family on something so temporary… While Japanese teens might date more often than their parents did, most marriages are still arranged, and few have anything to do with romance. The Japanese divorce rate by the way is only 2%. P39-40
Diamond peddlers deal with the consequences of false expectations in a clever manner: by highlighting the investment and resale value diamonds, and by emphasizing the eternal quality of the diamond as well. This addresses the underlying belief in the permanence of romantic love and providing a useful benefit when that belief fails to pan out. P41
Unlike American women, who try to change what nature gave them though plastic surgery, liposuction, endless hours at the gym, etc., French women seek to enhance their NATURAL appearance. In France, a woman will spend 2 hours in front of a mirror trying to appear as though she hasn’t spent any time on her make at all. In fact, if a French woman appears obviously made up, there a good chance she’ll be mistaken for a prostitute… The French word ‘negligee’ comes from neglect. Even though French woman might look especially appealing in a negligee, her intent is to appear as though she doesn’t care at all about what she’s wearing. P42
English men have a remarkably strong bond, and they truly believe that only other men can understand their feelings, all of their meaningful friendships are with other men… This leads to a real disconnection from English women, who feel left out of the party… Because they feel unnoticed and unacknowledged, young English women prepare seduction in a way almost precisely the opposite of French women. They dress outrageously to gain attention. They’ll wear miniskirts barely bigger than a belt, they’ll expose their midriffs adorned with navel jewelry, they’ll dye their hair often with a variety of colors at the same time. Yet English men remain detached. This simply cause English women to ratchet up their efforts. Given the direction this is heading, one can only imagine what the fashion trends will be in London a couple of decades from now. P44
Italians see seduction as an elaborate and joyous game… The men are more in touch with their feminine side than any other culture. In fact, the men spend more time beautifying themselves than the women. They use cosmetics, baby shampoo to make their hair soft, apply creams, and take tremendous care in the way they dress. Because of this feminine side, they connect with women easily, and Italian women love them for it. In fact, foreign women respond differently to Italian men than they do to men of other cultures. While in their home country, women might be offended if men whistled at them, but they are often charmed if the same thing happens on an Italian street. This is because Italian men make it clear that their attentions are in fun and neither threatening nor salacious in any way. P45
Because arranged marriage is so common in Japan, seduction takes on a different meaning. Men go to bars where they pay ‘hostesses’ huge amounts of money to pour whiskey and listen to them while they get drunk, and maybe even have sex with them when they’ve become drunk enough. They seem utterly incapable of courtship. This comes directly from a culture that teaches that love is trivial and is even a dangerous ‘temporary disease’. P46
American code for SEDUCTION=MANIPULATION
There is a negative association with seduction. When American think of it, they think of being forced to do things that they don’t want to do or that they believe they shouldn’t do.
American code for SEX=VIOLENCE
This illustrates the extremist thinking of an adolescent culture. Since we are uncomfortable with sex, we equate it with the extreme opposite of pleasure, something that causes pain and death. It is also clear that as a culture we are more comfortable with violence than with sex… The FCC fines TV stations for a 1 second glimpse of a breast, but on any given night those same stations will broadcast simulations of murder and mutilation without penalty… Our culture is filled with the sex/violence connection… How many times have we seen that film cliché where couples fight and slap each other before falling into each other’s arms?.. Men talk about ‘banging’ and ‘nailing’ a woman. Women joke about castrating a man if he cheats. We refer to singles bars as meat markets. P52 And Lorena Bobbit was an all American woman after all.
Americans may abhor real violence, but we find simulated violence enthralling. This is another offshoot of our cultural adolescence: we feel immortal, indestructible, and we are drawn to violence to test our invincibility. When marketers use sex in advertising, they connect with this fascination of violence as well. P53
The French way of life is aristocratic: the notion that working is bad and beneath any person of worth. Though there are few aristocrats left in France is no matter, the undercurrent of privilege still exists, as exemplified by as system where your receive more money in unemployment benefits than you can in many jobs, and where they strictly enforce a 35 hour work week and 6 weeks of vacation. P56
An American judge decided a rape victim provoked her attacker with her appearance, or the slashing of a model’s face because her assailant thought she was too perfect; American women navigate an axis of between beauty and provocativeness… One of the reasons why Victoria’s Secret is so successful is because it offers women an easy way to navigate this axis; they can be as feminine and sexy as they want underneath their clothes. P57
Men are programmed for sex; the average man is willing to have sex with just about any willing woman. But if a man stops to notice a woman’s beauty to admire her physical magnificence, rather than simply throwing her over his shoulder, his soul his elevated to another level. If a woman can impress her beauty upon a man permanently, if she can stay beautiful in his eyes, she can make him a better human being. The Code for BEAUTY= MAN’S SALVATION. P60
In Arab nations, if a woman is skinny it suggests that her husband doesn’t have the means to feed her, therefore Arab men want their women to be obese, the better to serve as walking billboards for the men’s wealth. P61
Nearly 1/3 of French women are overweight, though that is still dramatically less than the 62% rate of overweight American women, it is a far cry from the title “French Women Don’t Get Fat”. P65
A woman might stay thin in the early years of the marriage, but after her second or third pregnancy does not lose the weight. Why? Because she’s unconsciously disconnecting from her husband in order to concentrate on the children. A man who struggles at work as a middle manager, then puts on 30 lbs while complaining that he has been passed over for a promotion. People balloon up after a bad breakup, the loss of a job, or the death of a family member. The Code for FAT=CHECKING OUT. Getting fat is the most common available unconscious way to check out of the rat race, to adopt a strong identity without having to fight for it, to move from active to passive… Fat is not the problem, it is the solution… We unconsciously think if we get fat enough, perhaps others will take care of us as they did when we were [fat] babies. P68-9
Americans believe that if they are strong enough to act, then they are healthy. Their greatest fear about being sick is the inability to do things. The code for HEALTH=MOVEMENT. Why do we fill up our free time? Why do retirees begin second careers? Why do we become devastated if we lose our license when we become elderly? Movement makes us feel healthy, confirming that we are alive. P81
The Japanese view good health as an obligation. They feel a powerful sense of guilt if they fall ill. Japanese children will apologize to their parents for getting sick, for they know that illness may cause them to fall behind. You wash your hands and cover your coughs as a servant of the culture to prevent someone else from getting sick because of you. P82
The code for DOCTOR=HERO. The code for NURSE=MOTHER. Therefore, we must have a positive impression of every component of the medical field right? The code for HOSPITAL=PROCESSING PLANT. Hospitals inspire a sense of foreboding by filling their halls and rooms with scary equipment in a sterile, impersonal environment, with antiseptic air. Hospitals inhibit movement (stay in bed). P83
When one calls GMAC insurance after an accident, the first question is, “can you move?” The next is, “how do you feel?” And the 3rd is “Tell me the details of the accident.” The unconscious connection between movement and health is strong, so if you can move, you’re probably not too badly injured. P84
The code for HOME=RE[Experience]. Home is where we want to experience our lives again, surrounded by people who mean the most to us… In the American home the kitchen is the central room where the family gathers. The kitchen is the heart because an essential ritual takes place there; the preparation of the evening meal. This is a ritual filled with repetition and reconnection that leads to replenishment… In France, houses are designed differently. The biggest rooms are the stage areas: foyer, living salon, and dining room. The guests will never see the kitchen. P100
GMAC discovered that people will pack a box of stuff during a move, put it in the basement, and then move that same box – never opened – from new home to new home. The content of the box is not important – and is often unknown. What is important is that the box contains ‘stuff’ and ‘stuff’ has a great value in making Americans feel at home. P102
Americans put little premium on gourmet quality or on long preparation time, even though the evening meal is very special to them. Pizza, take out, frozen food, etc. eaten while the family gathers together and the TV is off (or on perhaps) is on Code. P109
The code for WORK=WHO YOU ARE. What do you do? In essence when we ask this question, we want to know what they do for a living. Why are unemployed people often depressed? Because they are unsure how they will pay the bills, certainly. Also, at a deeper level, it is because they believe that if they are doing nothing, then they are nobodies. P116
Since the code for health is movement, this extends to professional health. Our job has to present new challenges and promotions, otherwise we think of ourselves as stuck in a rut. P118
A common mistake by employers is looking at a team as a homogeneous group that rise and falls together. Offering a group bonus or a vacation trip to a team is off code because it fails to acknowledge who an individual is. While teamwork is important in a corporation, the team should be regarded as a support group that allows individuals to become champions… Sending an entire team to the Bahamas for a job well done actually blunts an employee’s efforts to do his best work. He only needs to perform well enough to help achieve the team objective. If on the other hand, the employee knew that individual rewards were possible, he would be more likely to strive to outperform expectations. P121
The code for MONEY=PROOF. Money isn’t a goal, but we rely on it to show us that we are good, that we have true value in the world. Money is our barometer of success. Americans find it nearly impossible to feel successful if they are underpaid… Because we money as proof, we see a very strong connection between money and work. Money earned via hard work is proof that you are a good person. We have little respect for those who inherit money. We see interest income and capital gains as ‘bad money’ because we didn’t earn it ourselves, unless we take an active role in managing our money. P125
Americans expect their most fortunate to share what they’ve earned… Studies show that Americans are the most charitable people in the world. We have an entire system of laws in place for giving one’s money away. P127
It is off code to preach profitability to one’s employees. Money is the proof of goodness, but not the goal. Instead, management must inspire employees to be the best they can be, and to make the company as strong as it can be. If done effectively, this will lead to profitability. P127
The code for QUALITY=IT WORKS. This standard falls quite a bit short of zero defects (the Japanese code). The code for PERFECTION=DEATH; something that defines the end of a process, after which no further movement is possible. Americans understand the concept of getting it right the first time, but deep down they don’t want to do it, and might even fear doing it. We want to discover things and learn how to do things our own way… Learning from our mistakes has helped us grow into a powerful and successful country. We were rewarded for our ability to pick ourselves up and do things better the second and third times… Perfection is boring. You’re stuck with it for life. We want a new car every 3 years, a new TV every 5, and a new house every 10. Perfect would be useless because we wouldn’t have the alibi that our item doesn’t work well enough anymore and we need to change it. We want things to become obsolete so we have the excuse to buy something new. P137
Because QUALITY=IT WORKS, we expect our products to break down, but we expect problems to be resolved quickly and with a minimum of disruption. We are far more responsive to good service than we are to perfection. Crisis is a great opportunity to create loyalty. If a customer comes to you with a problem and you solve that problem quickly and minimize customer inconvenience, you will likely earn that customer’s dedication. Ironically if your product never breaks down, you never have the opportunity to develop this relationship with the customer. When the customer seeks to replace the product, he is likely to look elsewhere because he hasn’t formed a bond with you. Bottom line: Great service is more important to Americans than great quality. P138
Though we are the richest country in the world, at the reptilian level we consider ourselves poor… Poor people eat as much as they can when they can, because they don’t know whether they will have the opportunity to eat the next day… We do same. While our higher brain tell us that the food will be available at the buffet all night, our reptilian brain aren’t taking any chances. In this battle between the brains, as in all such battles, the reptilian wins. P143
The avg American spends 6 minutes eating dinner. The code for FOOD=FUEL. Americans say “I’m full”. Their mission has been to fill up their tanks; when they complete it, they announce they’ve finished the task… One might argue that fast food isn’t particularly good fuel to put into one’s tank, but then again, how many of us put regular gas in our cars even the manufacturer tells us to use premium? P147
Forbidden to drink alcohol as children, and learning little about it other than that it is bad, Americans end up imprinting alcohol at a rebellious age. When they gain access, usually underage which enhances the taboo, they nothing of its pleasures, subtleties, role as an enhance of food, but they quickly discover its intoxicating qualities. What matters is that this substance can get you drunk. P151
The code for ALCOHOL=GUN. Alcohol has a very powerful effect with the ability to change circumstances and alter lives… When we drink to excess, on some level we feel as though we are toying with a loaded gun. We abhor drunken driving because we fear what can happen if the gun goes off. Teenagers are fascinated with alcohol. At that age, flirting with danger is especially appealing because you feel invulnerable. What better way to prove your invincibility than to play with guns? P151
The code for SHOPPING=RECONNECTING WITH LIFE. Shopping (for women) is a social experience. It is a way for us to get out of our homes and back into the world. It is a way for us to encounter a wide variety of people and learn what’s new in the world… We all want to ‘go out and play’. P158
The code for LUXURY=MILITARY STRIPES. We show our rank in society through our luxury items. Americans attain proof through money, and they use luxury items to show it off. P166
The French code for AMERICANS=SPACE TRAVELERS. The French see us as intergalactic voyagers because they can’t relate to us, or understand our motivations… In their minds, we’ve landed on their world and are trying to impose our culture and values on them; and because we’re travelers, we don’t have the same commitment to the well being of the planet… The German code for AMERICANS=JOHN WAYNE. We’re a strong, friendly stranger who helps save a town from trouble, and then moves on with expectation of thanks or remuneration… Our actions in Iraq are off code to the Germans, because John Wayne never shoots first. P173-4
The English code for AMERICANS=UNASHAMEDLY ABUNDANT. The English see us a big, loud, powerful, extreme, determine to win at any cost. We lack restraint, tradition, and class, while they admire our confidence, passion, track record of success, and can-do attitude. Their first imprint of America spoke of vastness – size of the country, skyscrapers, huge influence on the world. P176
French Code for FRANCE=IDEA. French children imprint the value of ideas as paramount and refinement of the mind as the highest goal.
English Code for ENGLAND=CLASS. They believe that they are of a higher social stratum than other people, and they get this message passed down to them from generation to generation that being English is a special privilege that one receives at birth.
German Code fro GERMANY=ORDER. Over many generations, Germans perfected bureaucracy in an effort to stave off chaos that came to them in wave after wave. Children dutifully reach for instructions while Americans toss them aside and dive in. p177
The American code for AMERICA=DREAM. The dream of explorers finding a new world, the dream of pioneers opening the west, the dream of founding fathers creating a new nation, the dream of entrepreneurs forging new industries, the dream of immigrants coming to a new land of hope… We are the product of dreams and we are the makers of dreams. P195
Friday, May 04, 2007
** Fat Resistance Diet by Leo Galland MD
Further evidence about the damning effects of inflammation. And that you're own fat can trigger an inflammatory response, leading to a vicious cycle of inflammation, leptin resistance, increased appetite, making you even fatter, creating even more inflammation... ending finally when you're a 400lb tub of swollen, feverish, inflamed lard. I should also mention that there are some healthy recipes in the back of the book.
Is obesity caused by inflammation?
Inflammation triggers leptin resistance, which in turn contributes to a sluggish metabolism, unchecked cravings, and eventually unwanted pounds. P5
Fat doesn't just sit there
Fat is not an inert storehouse of calories. It is an active organ that produces its own hormones. In fact, our fat regulates itself. When we gain weight, our produces a hormone known as leptin that suppresses our appetite and speeds up our metabolism, causing us to lose the extra pounds we just put on… Scientists have discovered that overweight people have high levels of leptin – but their leptin isn’t working properly. This condition is labeled leptin resistance, and it is comparable to insulin resistance that occurs in adult onset diabetes. P25-6
Leptin isn’t the only hormone your fat produces. Another is adiponectin… Paradoxically the more fat you have, the less adiponectin you produce… High levels of adiponectin have all sorts of beneficial effects. They help your muscles turn fat into energy more efficiently. They fight inflammation. They help increase insulin sensitivity, helping prevent diabetes. It also appears to protect blood vessels, preventing hypertension, and heart disease. And finally, like leptin, it suppresses appetite… Losing excess weight will boost your stores of this key hormone… There’s another way to boost its levels – by eating Anthocyanins – pigments found in blueberries, raspberries, cherries, etc. p29
How inflammation leads to leptin resistance
Inflammation is your body’s response to an assault. If you are bruised, injured, or attacked by infection, the affected tissues produce cytokines which call for white blood cells to rush to the area and defend your body. This sudden influx of white blood cells and the related increase in blood flow is intended to be a healing response. But this process also brings with uncomfortable side effects: redness, swelling, heat, fever, pain; the hallmarks of inflammation… You don’t want to invoke this chemical process any more often than you need to – and you want to turn it off as soon as you can. Fortunately, our bodies are designed to offer a counter response, a flood of anti-inflammatory chemicals that is triggered by the inflammation itself (this is a negative feedback loop). Modern life has produced a new condition known as chronic or silent inflammation which is caused by poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, environmental toxins – and obesity. Each of these trigger a low grade inflammatory response that is small enough that we can’t experience the visible signs – swelling, fever, pain. But because the danger persists over months or even years, the inflammatory chemicals are constantly being released… Some research has shown that chronic inflammation is associated with heart disease , artherosclerosis, increased risk of stroke, and even cancer… This continuous presence of inflammatory chemicals calls forth the continuous production of anti-inflammatory chemicals as well. One of the effects of some anti-inflammatory chemicals is to disrupt your body’s response to leptin… Thus if you’re overweight, your fat should produce leptin to suppress appetite (which it does), but if the same fat is triggering an inflammatory response and a corresponding anti-inflammatory response, this will make you leptin resistant. P30-32
Research suggests that while a 4:1 ratio of Omega 6 to 3 fat improves the outcome of heart disease patients; a ratio of 5:1 improves asthma, and a ratio of 5:2 improves rheumatoid arthritis. P48
Fiber can have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. A study found that the less dietary fiber in a person’s diet, the higher the blood CRP levels (CRP is an indicator of inflammation). P62
Hey humpty dumpty, don't break your yolk!
Whenever you use eggs, keep the yolk unbroken. If the yolk is broken and then fried or cooked, the cholesterol in the yolk is oxidized. This oxidation produces toxic cholesterol by products that are far more dangerous than cholesterol itself. A study found that women who ate scrambled or fried eggs with broken yolks had an increased risk of ovarian cancer. P96
Studies indicate that people who slept 5 hours or less each night had higher levels of ghrelin, a hormone produced by the stomach that stimulates appetite. At the same time, sleep deprivation lowered the subject’s leptin levels – increasing appetite. So if you consistently deprive yourself of sleep you’ll find yourself hungrier and probably heavier. P136
Allergic sensitivity and leptin resistance appear to have much in common, and recent research indicates that environmental toxins can contribute to both. Researchers have demonstrated a correlation between pollutants and a slowing of the metabolic rate. Since many of these toxins are fat-soluble, they’re stored in your body’s fat cells –so when you start to lose weight, they’re release into your bloodstream. These pollutants promote inflammation. P149
Detoxification is BS
You don’t need to ‘detoxify’ your body as many of these fad diets and schemes propose. Why? Well because your body has to detoxify itself, naturally and automatically – all the time. If it didn’t you’d be dead in about 6 hours. P153
Is obesity caused by inflammation?
Inflammation triggers leptin resistance, which in turn contributes to a sluggish metabolism, unchecked cravings, and eventually unwanted pounds. P5
Fat doesn't just sit there
Fat is not an inert storehouse of calories. It is an active organ that produces its own hormones. In fact, our fat regulates itself. When we gain weight, our produces a hormone known as leptin that suppresses our appetite and speeds up our metabolism, causing us to lose the extra pounds we just put on… Scientists have discovered that overweight people have high levels of leptin – but their leptin isn’t working properly. This condition is labeled leptin resistance, and it is comparable to insulin resistance that occurs in adult onset diabetes. P25-6
Leptin isn’t the only hormone your fat produces. Another is adiponectin… Paradoxically the more fat you have, the less adiponectin you produce… High levels of adiponectin have all sorts of beneficial effects. They help your muscles turn fat into energy more efficiently. They fight inflammation. They help increase insulin sensitivity, helping prevent diabetes. It also appears to protect blood vessels, preventing hypertension, and heart disease. And finally, like leptin, it suppresses appetite… Losing excess weight will boost your stores of this key hormone… There’s another way to boost its levels – by eating Anthocyanins – pigments found in blueberries, raspberries, cherries, etc. p29
How inflammation leads to leptin resistance
Inflammation is your body’s response to an assault. If you are bruised, injured, or attacked by infection, the affected tissues produce cytokines which call for white blood cells to rush to the area and defend your body. This sudden influx of white blood cells and the related increase in blood flow is intended to be a healing response. But this process also brings with uncomfortable side effects: redness, swelling, heat, fever, pain; the hallmarks of inflammation… You don’t want to invoke this chemical process any more often than you need to – and you want to turn it off as soon as you can. Fortunately, our bodies are designed to offer a counter response, a flood of anti-inflammatory chemicals that is triggered by the inflammation itself (this is a negative feedback loop). Modern life has produced a new condition known as chronic or silent inflammation which is caused by poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, environmental toxins – and obesity. Each of these trigger a low grade inflammatory response that is small enough that we can’t experience the visible signs – swelling, fever, pain. But because the danger persists over months or even years, the inflammatory chemicals are constantly being released… Some research has shown that chronic inflammation is associated with heart disease , artherosclerosis, increased risk of stroke, and even cancer… This continuous presence of inflammatory chemicals calls forth the continuous production of anti-inflammatory chemicals as well. One of the effects of some anti-inflammatory chemicals is to disrupt your body’s response to leptin… Thus if you’re overweight, your fat should produce leptin to suppress appetite (which it does), but if the same fat is triggering an inflammatory response and a corresponding anti-inflammatory response, this will make you leptin resistant. P30-32
Research suggests that while a 4:1 ratio of Omega 6 to 3 fat improves the outcome of heart disease patients; a ratio of 5:1 improves asthma, and a ratio of 5:2 improves rheumatoid arthritis. P48
Fiber can have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. A study found that the less dietary fiber in a person’s diet, the higher the blood CRP levels (CRP is an indicator of inflammation). P62
Hey humpty dumpty, don't break your yolk!
Whenever you use eggs, keep the yolk unbroken. If the yolk is broken and then fried or cooked, the cholesterol in the yolk is oxidized. This oxidation produces toxic cholesterol by products that are far more dangerous than cholesterol itself. A study found that women who ate scrambled or fried eggs with broken yolks had an increased risk of ovarian cancer. P96
Studies indicate that people who slept 5 hours or less each night had higher levels of ghrelin, a hormone produced by the stomach that stimulates appetite. At the same time, sleep deprivation lowered the subject’s leptin levels – increasing appetite. So if you consistently deprive yourself of sleep you’ll find yourself hungrier and probably heavier. P136
Allergic sensitivity and leptin resistance appear to have much in common, and recent research indicates that environmental toxins can contribute to both. Researchers have demonstrated a correlation between pollutants and a slowing of the metabolic rate. Since many of these toxins are fat-soluble, they’re stored in your body’s fat cells –so when you start to lose weight, they’re release into your bloodstream. These pollutants promote inflammation. P149
Detoxification is BS
You don’t need to ‘detoxify’ your body as many of these fad diets and schemes propose. Why? Well because your body has to detoxify itself, naturally and automatically – all the time. If it didn’t you’d be dead in about 6 hours. P153
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
