The 100th Monkey Effect: A Critical Mass

In the 1950′s Scientist began a study with Japanese Snow Monkeys that spanned more than 30 years. Their results seem to point to the idea of a critical mass being able to change the consciousness of all. This study is known as 100th monkey effect.  (Video Included Below)

The Snow Monkeys of Japan were studied by scientists for a period of over 30 years on the island of Kosima. Beginning in 1952 scientist began to drop Sweet Potatoes  in the sand. The monkeys liked the Sweet Potatoes but didn’t care for the unpleasant taste of the sand. That was until a 19 month old female found that she could solve the problem by washing the sand off in the salty ocean water, improving the taste of the potato.

She then taught this trick to her mother and soon after her playmates learned this, who in turn taught it to their mothers as well. This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by numerous monkeys on the island. Between 1952 and 1958 the younger Monkeys would figure out this technique and would teach it to their elders. The adults who did this with their children themselves learned this Cultural Improvement, however some older adults did not right away.

Here’s where is starts to get interesting…

In the autumn of 1958 something startling took place, a massive increase of snow monkeys began washing their sweet potatoes. The exact number was not known, however the hypothetical number given was 99, as to when the 100th monkey learned how to wash their sweet potatoes a critical mass of innovation accrued. This added energy of the hundredth monkey somehow created a conscious break through, to where almost everyone in the troop were washing their sweet potatoes.

Here’s the REALLY interesting part…

Something even crazier that the scientist were not expecting to happen accrued.THE CULTURAL INNOVATIONS JUMPED ACROSS THE SEA!!!

The monkeys across the other islands started washing their potatoes in the ocean as well, and in great number almost as if it was understood on a higher level of consciousness.

This experiment brings to light the idea of a Collective Consciousness, where as if it is only a few number of individuals know a new idea or way of life, then it remains the conscious property of those individuals, but at the critical mass of the “100^thIndividual” the awareness becomes the conscious property of all.

video: http://youtu.be/Moy6tz6Ubps

source: http://www.mindopenerz.com

Meet Rex: the $1m bionic man with working heart, set of lungs and human face

 

When Luke Skywalker received a perfect bionic replacement for the hand that was cut off in Star Wars Episode V, the idea of replicating human organs and body parts seemed far-fetched.

Thirty years later, the idea is no longer just science fiction. Scientists, among them the creators of “Rex” – the world’s most complete bionic man, unveiled in London this week – believe they can now replicate about two-thirds of the human body.

“We were surprised how many of the parts of the body can be replaced,” said Rich Walker, managing director of the robotics team Shadow, who built Rex. “There are some vital organs missing, like the stomach, but 60 to 70 per cent of a human has effectively been rebuilt.” This is heralded, then, as the dawn of the age of bionic man – although specialists caution that we are still feeling our way.

Social psychologist Bertolt Meyer, who also worked on Rex, has an interesting perspective: he was born without his left hand and has a prosthesis. “I have looked for new bionic technologies out of personal interest for a long time and I think that until five or six years ago nothing much was happening,” he said. “Suddenly we are at a point where we can build a body that is great and beautiful in its own special way.”

Not everyone in the field believes the recent progress, impressive as it is, places us on the road to complete replication of human limbs, organs and tissue. “We have motors which can lift things but, if you want to mimic the dexterity of a hand, we are not there yet,” said Professor Steven Hsiao of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

“What we are beginning to achieve is building prostheses which look like human body parts, but we are a long way away from making ones which relay sensory information the way the human body does.”

Professor Hsiao drew the comparison between Star Wars and real life, saying: “The goal is the scene in the film where Luke Skywalker gets his new hand tested and is able to feel pain: we are not there. In 10 years, we will be able to build a robot which has the dexterity to pick up a pen and write with it, but it will not be able to send back sensory information.”

Rex, billed as the pinnacle of robotics achievement to date, will meet his public from tomorrow at the Science Museum in London. Dubbed the Million-Dollar Man (that’s how much he cost to make), he consists of a prosthetic face, hips, knees, feet and hands, all of which are commercially available. Other off-the-shelf items include an artificial retina, cochlea and heart.

Rex’s other internal organs, among them a pancreas, a set of artificial lungs and bladder, are still in development. Some of the technology cannot work without human input; bionic hands, for example, need muscles and signals from the brain to function. Other parts, such as the heart and pancreas, are designed to work on their own.

Other body parts remain out of the reach of scientists. Mr Walker says: “The only artificial stomach we have seen is very large and generates electricity, so you couldn’t use it to replace a human stomach, but I am sure there are people in the regenerative medicine community working on that.”

And replication of the human brain, the most complex structure known to man, was not even on the radar, Mr Walker said. “This is a showcase for prosthetic parts, it shows exactly where we’ve got to in being able to replace parts of a human.”

Bertolt Meyer adds: “I’d say it’s highly unlikely that, in our lifetimes or in that of our grandchildren, we will see a fully articulate human body with an artificial intelligence.”

Mr Meyer said there would be ethical issues surrounding prostheses if they began to outperform human body parts. “Should I be allowed to cut off my real hand and replace it with something, does that gives me an unfair advantage over people who cannot afford this? I’m not saying that is going to happen but these are questions that should be on the table before that technology becomes available.”

source:  http://www.independent.co.uk

What is a sannyasin?

 

What is a sannyasin? A sannyasin is one who has come to understand the futility of so-called worldly life. A sannyasin is one who has understood one thing – that something needs to be done immediately about his own being. If he goes on drifting in the old way, he will lose the whole opportunity of this life. A sannyasin is one who has become alert that up to now he has lived wrongly, has moved in wrong directions. has been too concerned with things and not concerned with himself, has been too concerned with worldly prestige and power and has not been concerned about who he is. A sannyasin is one who is turning towards himself, parabvrutti. A sannyasin is a miracle – the energy is moving back towards oneself.

Ordinarily, the energy is moving away from you – towards things, targets, in the world. The energy is moving away from you, hence you feel empty. The energy goes away, never comes back; you go on throwing away energy. By and by you feel dissipated, frustrated. Nothing comes back. By and by you start to feel empty. The energy is just oozing out every day – and then comes death. Death is nothing else but that you are exhausted and spent. The greatest miracle in life is to understand this, and to turn the energy towards home. It is a turning-in. This turning-in, parabvrutti, is sannyas.

It is not that you leave the world. You live in the world – there is no need to leave anything, or go anywhere else. You live in the world, but in a totally different way. Now you live in the world but you remain centered in yourself; your energy goes on returning to yourself.

You are no longer out-going: you have become in-going. Of course you become a pool of energy, a reservoir, and energy is delight, sheer delight. Just energy there, overflowing, and you are in delight, and you can share, and you can give in love. This is the difference. If you put your energy into greed, it never comes back; if you put your energy into love, it comes back a thousand-fold. If you put your energy into anger, it never comes back. It leaves you empty, exhausted, spent. If you use your energy in compassion, it comes back a thousand-fold.

So now I will tell you what a good sannyasin is. I don′t mean a moral or immoral sannyasin. My word ′good′ has nothing to do with morality. It is something to do with what Buddha calls Aes Dhammo Sanantano, what Buddha calls the eternal law of life.

A good man is an understanding man. A good man is alert, aware – that′s all. Awareness is the only value for me – all else is meaningless. Awareness is the only value for me. So when I say a good sannyasin, I mean a sannyasin who is aware. Of course, when you are aware, you behave according to the law, the fundamental law. When you are unaware, you go on destroying yourself – you go on being suicidal.

If you behave according to the fundamental law, you will be enriched tremendously. Your life will become richer and richer every moment. You will become a king. You may remain a beggar in the outside world, but you will become a king, a pinnacle of inner richness. What Jesus calls the kingdom of God will be within you. You will become a king of the kingdom that is within you. But more awareness is needed.

So don′t misunderstand me. When I say a good sannyasin I don′t use the word in any moralistic sense. I use it in a more fundamental sense, because to me, morality is just a by-product of awareness, and immorality is a shadow of unawareness. I am not concerned with shadows and by-products; I am concerned with the fundamental, with the essential. Be aware and you will be good; be unaware and you will be bad.

~ Osho

Nymphaeum of Temnin

Today I was visiting my village in the Bekaa and decided to take some photos so I can share them with you guys. It is basically a small temple high in the mountain at nearly 1200m.

Here are the photo, I could tell you more about it but instead at the end of this post you’ll find the ministry of tourism’s information imprinted on a board near the site.