More intelligent than we thought?

Mitochondria Promoted to Information Processing Systems 

David Coppedge 

One way to infer the possibility of intelligent design is to judge whether an object grows more fascinating and inscrutable the more its details are revealed. Watch for the phrase, “more complex than thought” in scientific papers. One is sure to encounter that phrase often in biology, particularly in cell biology.

In a fascinating Perspective paper in Cell Metabolism, Martin Picard and Orian S. Shirihai tell about the “particularly exciting time for mitochondrial biology” going on right now. Figure 1 in their open-access paper illustrates historical landmarks in mitochondrial research on a chart, showing “the need for an integrative view of this multifaceted organelle.” It’s time to promote mitochondria to leadership positions. 

The analogy of mitochondria as powerhouses has expired. Mitochondria are living, dynamic, maternally inherited, energy-transforming, biosynthetic, and signaling organelles that actively transduce biological information. We argue that mitochondria are the processor of the cell, and together with the nucleus and other organelles they constitute the mitochondrial information processing system (MIPS).  

Mitochondria Are Beautiful 

How they integrate this new picture into evolutionary theory we will look at shortly. For now, notice their praise for the organelle that for so long was underappreciated. Mitochondria deserve better than to be dubbed “bean-shaped ATP-synthesizing chemiosmotic machines,” as marvelous as that description had been.  

In this perspective, we argue that as we move toward increasingly accurate mechanistic models of the role of mitochondria in human health, we need an understanding of mitochondrial behavior extending far beyond energetics. As echoed by others, the “powerhouse” analogy promotes an overly simplistic picture of this beautifully complex organelle. The outdated mechanical analogy is too unidimensional to guide integrative scientific thinking. The challenge ahead is to integrate current prevailing perspectives of mitochondria as inherited, dynamic, energy-transforming, signaling organelles whose influence extends to all cellular compartments, and to the whole organism. Here we propose that our existing knowledge of mitochondrial biology can be integrated under the common framework of mitochondrial signal transduction. Consequently, a more integrative and accurate analogy portrays mitochondria as the processor of the cell — or more precisely as the mitochondrial information processing system (MIPS). 

Figure 2 in the paper shows how mitochondria do far more than deliver ATP molecules (which they do abundantly, rapidly, and efficiently). They signal. They network. They participate. In some ways, they direct the flow of information around the cell — and not only within the cell, but between cells. Their expertise extends to tissues, organs, and to the whole organism. 

What Signal Transduction Requires 

Picard and Shirihai argue that signal transduction is a more accurate analogy for mitochondria’s role. Intuitively, signal transduction implies information flow from inputs to outputs. The authors indicate three requirements for any signal transduction system: (1) sensing, (2) integration, and (3) signaling. For an illustration, consider those functions on a navy ship traveling through a mine field. Sailors tasked with sensing danger need the tools to read the inputs, such as sonar. They must transfer that information to the ship’s captain and advisors to select the best course of action. If a submarine was detected, the captain then signals the navigators to implement the course change. These requirements are readily understood for any adaptive signaling system, be it implemented in a football game, a mathematical model, or a rover on Mars. Sense an input; integrate the information; signal the output.

It also becomes obvious that such systems are irreducibly complex and imply foresight. If any one of the three requirements is not met, the ship could be blown up, the receiver gets into the wrong position for the catch, the model fails to reflect reality, or the rover drives off a cliff. The system design, to be successful, must be aware of the potential risks. This implies foresight by an intelligent designer. Clinching the case for design, each one of the requirements (sensing, integration, signaling) is usually irreducibly complex in itself.  

Requirements, Precisely Met 

In mitochondria, all three of these requirements are met with precision:

Sensing: The ability of mitochondria to detect metabolic and hormonal inputs, and to transform these inputs into morphological, biochemical, and functional mitochondrial states.

Integration: The pooling of multiple inputs into common effectors driven by the exchange of information among mitochondria and other organelles, and influenced by the current state of the mitochondrial network and of the cell.

Signaling: The production of mitochondrial outputs, or signals, that transmit information locally to direct metabolic pathway fluxes and influence other organelles, including nuclear gene expression, and systemically to regulate the physiology and organismal behavior.

Those interested in the details will marvel at how many parts mitochondria need carry out these roles. So equipped, they regulate gene transcription and energy production, they switch on responses to toxins, and they respond to stress. In extreme cases, they can even throw the switch for programmed cell death, or apoptosis. The details of these integrated organelles are staggering. 

The MIPS engages in functional interactions with the ER lysosomes, peroxisomes, lipid droplets, and likely other organelles… Mitochondrial metabolism is directly supported by surrounding organelles that provide various substrates, lipid intermediates, and ionic signals that not only supply substrates, but also communicate information about the overall state of the cell. In particular, input from the nucleus provides hundreds of proteins that sustain and confer mitochondria with both their molecular sensory machinery and the machinery for fusion/fission dynamics and motility that influence their propensity to adopt certain network configurations. 

Mitochondria can even fuse with one another without scrambling their parts or functions. They can migrate on the cytoskeletal highway and gather where they are needed. Of particular note is the finding that they can network with one another: “mitochondria are functionally linked and operate as ‘social’ collectives within the cell cytoplasm,” the authors say. Consider the far-reaching effects of mitochondria described in the authors’ summary: 

Mitochondria are equipped with a surprisingly wide variety of receptors and molecular features that give them the ability to sense hormonal, metabolic, ionic, genetic, and other inputs. With such sensitivity to a broad spectrum of inputs, the MIPS senses both the local biochemical conditions surrounding each organelle and systemic neuroendocrine signals produced in distant anatomical locations of the organism: by other cells, within other organs. 

A related paper in the EMBO Journal (open access), by Patron et al., tells how mitochondria use their proton gradient to regulate proteostasis. Sensing inputs from calcium ions and voltage from proton flow, mitochondria can switch a certain protease on or off “to reshape the mitochondrial proteome and adjust the cellular metabolism.” A preprint on bioRxiv adds that this calcium signaling is finely tuned. It’s title: “Goldilocks calcium and the mitochondrial respiratory chain: too much, too little, just right.” 

Don’t forget that these roles are all in addition to the mitochodrion’s already-celebrated function as a producer of ATP through a series of irreducibly complex machines. Want to ponder that role a little more? Another preprint on bioRxiv reveals new details from cryo-electron microscopy about Complex 1, the first of five intricate machines in the electron transport chain. This factory of machines feeds protons to the rotary engines (ATP synthase) that supply our energy needs each second. Incidentally, this study was done on fruit flies — you know, those nearly invisible flying machines? They also have mitochondrial information processing systems, like every other living thing! 

Can the MIPS be Darwinized? 

It is sad to see Picard and Shirihai, so well aware of the elaborate functional complexity in the Mitochondrial Information Processing System, attribute it to chance. They cling to Darwinian evolution and the myth of endosymbiosis. “Through evolution,” they dream with dogmatic snores, “the endosymbiotic incorporation of mitochondria marked the transition from a selfish unicellular world to a multicellular reality.” 

How can any sensible person believe such notions? One reason is that Darwinism grants materialists an unlimited research program with no requirement for understanding how chance pulled it off. 

The evolutionary co-opting of a variety of DNA-binding receptors, GPCRs, and transporters suggests that increasing the range of inputs that mitochondria were capable of sensing must have positively contributed to the organism’s adaptive capacity. As a result, the diverse mitochondrial sensing machinery has been evolutionarily selected and likely also enriched in mitochondrial membranes relative to other organelles. Defining the full spectrum of inputs directly sensed by the MIPS across different cell types is an outstanding research challenge. 

Selection without a selector. Co-option without an operator. Machinery without an engineer. Enriching without an investment advisor. Equipping without a trainer. A research challenge, indeed. 

Eli Cohen: a brief history.

 Eli Cohen

By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 

Eli Cohen, in full Eliahu ben Shaoul Cohen, also called Kamal Amin Thaabet, (born 1924, Alexandria, Egypt—died May 18, 1965, Damascus, Syria), Egyptian-born Israeli spy who infiltrated the highest ranks of the Syrian military and government by posing as a Syrian businessman. Between 1961 and 1965 Cohen passed Syrian secrets to the Israeli government in what is remembered as one of the most daring and productive intelligence-gathering 

Cohen grew up in Alexandria, Egypt, the son of Syrian Jewish parents. His fluency in Arabic, English, and French made him an attractive recruit for Israeli intelligence. He travelled to Israel for a brief espionage training course in 1955 and returned to Egypt the following year. Cohen, however, was expelled from Egypt along with other Zionist Jews in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, and he settled in Israel in 1957. He worked as a translator and an accountant before once again being recruited by Israeli intelligence in 1960. 

After completing further training, Cohen was sent in 1961 to Buenos Aires, where he posed as an expatriate Syrian businessman. Using the alias Kamal Amin Thaabet, Cohen made numerous contacts in the Syrian expatriate community in Argentina and soon gained the trust of senior officials working in the Syrian embassy there. Those included the Syrian military attaché, Amin al-Hafez, who would later serve as president of Syria. Cohen made his desire to “return” to Syria well known to his new associates, and, when he moved to Damascus in 1962, his Syrian contacts helped him access the highest circles of power in Syria. He soon began to transmit information about Syrian military plans back to Israel.

Cohen’s espionage work took on even greater importance when a Baʿthist junta that included several of his associates from Argentina seized power in Syria in 1963. The coup’s leader, Amin al-Hafez, continued to favour Cohen, and he reportedly considered appointing him deputy minister of defense. Cohen received classified military briefings and was taken on tours of the Syrian fortifications in the Golan Heights.

Despite Cohen’s considerable talent for espionage, he displayed a tendency for carelessness, ignoring his Israeli handlers’ warnings against sending radio transmissions too frequently or always at the same time of day. That proved to be his downfall. In January 1965 Syrian counterintelligence identified his radio signal and apprehended him in the act of sending a transmission. Cohen was interrogated, convicted in a military trial, and publicly hanged in May 1965. 

Darwinism vs. the Science?

 Twelve “Shocking” Discoveries for Evolution 

Eric H. Anderson 

A correspondent preparing for a presentation asked if I “would care to chip in a few lines about what you see as truly remarkable or even shocking recent discoveries about genetics or epigenetics that provide additional support for the design inference. (Other than, that is, the famous work of ENCODE which seems to have deep-sixed the ‘junk DNA’ doctrine.)”

“Shocking recent discoveries”? Good question

Not So Surprising for Intelligent Design 

With two caveats, I’ll share a few from the past 15 years or so. The first caveat is that many discoveries trickle in slowly over time. So, we could perhaps point to earlier evidence for some of the items below from more than 15 years ago, but I would argue that the evidence has become much more apparent or more widely acknowledged since then. The second caveat is that some discoveries might be surprising or “shocking” from an evolutionary perspective, but not necessarily from a perspective of intelligent design.

So with those caveats: 

Here Are Twelve; Likely There Are More 

1.Growing appreciation for frameshifting encoding.

2. Growing appreciation for bi-directional encoding.

3. Early evidence that some “neutral” mutations may not in fact be neutral.

4. Massive and extensive role for RNAs in cellular processes. Yes, this relates to ENCODE, but deserves to be mentioned in its own right, as there is rapidly growing experimental evidence for functional roles of specific RNAs.

5. The need for regular maintenance and care of DNA, such as the critical role of topoisomerase that Joe Deweese studies. By the way, if you’re speaking about this to an audience, a great object lesson is to show the supercoiling problem with a two-stranded piece of yarn. From personal experience, I’d recommend practicing at home beforehand. But once you get it down, it is a fantastic visual aid and very memorable. 

6. The growing list of alternative genetic codes.

7. Directly contrary to the evolutionary prediction, with more genomes in the database, the number of lineage-specific or taxonomically restricted genes. Not here and there, but extensive and pervasive. This is an absolutely massive problem for evolutionary theory.

8. Many functional roles have been identified for the inappropriately named “pseudogenes.” This counters one of the most loudly proclaimed evidences for blind undirected evolution.

9. Growing evidence for functional roles for some so-called “endogenous retroviruses.” There’s less information here so far, but it appears to be trending in the same direction as pseudogenes and other “junk DNA” claims generally.

10. Clear genetic-based evidence that several of the most loudly touted examples of evolution are in fact degradative. There is Michael Behe’s work of course, as well as Scott Minnich’s lab work and analysis of Lenski’s long term evolutionary experiment. The importance of this cannot be overstated. It is one of the few areas where we have real experimental data, as opposed to ideas, conjectures, and hand-waving claims about what evolution is supposed to be able to accomplish. And the evidence is extremely clear. 

11. Related to taxonomically restricted genes, but this needs to be mentioned in its own right: The grand hope of comparative genomic studies was to produce a coherent tree that would show the true evolutionary history. Exactly the opposite has happened. It is an absolute mess, with contradictions at every turn and nothing even approaching a unified evolutionary history. It’s reached the point where even prominent evolutionists have started abandoning the tree model altogether, reposing their hope in convergent evolution, HGT, some as-yet-undiscovered process, etc.

12. Less directly related, but perhaps worth mentioning:

(a) Growing recognition that protein folding requires careful control in many cases, not just an automatic fold. And, no, AlphaFold has not “solved” the problem from first principles. See Paul Nelson’s Evolution News article from a few weeks ago. Also listen to my podcast discussion with Paul.

(b) Growing support for the idea of protein rarity, and isolated regions in search space. This is exactly what we see in designed systems, and the opposite of what’s predicted by evolutionary theory. See the additional work of Douglas Axe and Brian Miller.

There are probably several others I’m forgetting right now.

Now the multiverse ruins everything?

 Meyer and Klavan: How the Multiverse Ruins Science…and Storytelling 

David Klinghoffer

Stephen Meyer had a fascinating conversation with podcaster Andrew Klavan and his son Spencer Klavan. The topic: how the multiverse theory destroys not only science (as Meyer explains in Return of the God Hypothesis) but storytelling. The younger Klavan is Associate Editor at the Claremont Review of Books and an Oxford PhD in classics. Impressive guy. He wrote an essay there analyzing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), of which “the multiverse has become the central governing concept.” 

Klavan nails it in his essay:

“In the infinite multiverse there’s a cure for every illness. A solution to every problem,” says the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. She’s exactly right, and that’s exactly the issue: two and a half hours of pointless carnage will end us right back where we started if the dead shall be raised as soon as the credits roll. The multiversal MCU is a world without narrative stakes, moral meaning, or tragedy, because it is a world without consequences. 

Now that is something I had not thought of. In a multiverse where no possibility is excluded and everything does and does not happen, every which way, any story we can tell is deflated by the realization that in another universe the tale has turned out differently. For example, if we suppose there is another version of Anna Karenina, taking place in a parallel reality in which the freight train stops just in time, that would drain a considerable amount of the interest from Tolstoy’s novel.

Read the rest of “Worlds Without End” at the Claremont Review of Books.

Re: the lexicon of life scientists are yet to complete the preamble to the introduction.

Powerful Protein-Folding Algorithm AlphaFold Foiled by Singletons 

Evolution News @DiscoveryCSC 

A new episode of ID the Future spotlights AlphaFold, an artificial intelligence program in the news for its impressive breakthroughs at predicting a protein’s 3D structure from its amino acid sequence. Philosopher of Biology Paul Nelson walks listeners through the importance of this “amazing breakthrough,” as he described it in a recent Evolution News article; but don’t uncork the champagne bottles just yet. The reason, according to Nelson, is that while proteins, protein sequences, and protein folding promise to reveal much that is still mysterious in molecular biology, we now know that biological information involves far more than just an organism’s proteome — that is, far more than the full suite of proteins expressed by an organism. Nelson uses analogies to manmade machines and cognates among closely and distantly related human languages to shed light on just how much more sophisticated the biological information directing life is than any model narrowly fixated on DNA, the amino acids DNA codes for, and the protein formed from those amino acids.

Nelson explains that, as powerful as the AlphaFold algorithm is, it has not solved the protein-folding problem, if we take such a solution to mean “predicting the three-dimensional conformation of a protein strictly from its primary DNA sequence, ab initio.” The clearest evidence of this: the algorithm is utterly stymied by sequence “singletons.” What are these curious sequences, why do they baffle AlphaFold, and why do these singletons trouble some evolutionists? Nelson and host Eric Anderson explore this problem at the leading edge of biological research. Download the podcast or listen to it here

 

 

The facts

  I publish for my readers consideration the full text of the pamphlet a declaration of facts addressed to the state and people of Nazi Germany requesting that Jehovah's servants in Hitler's Germany be left in peace to carry on their preaching and teaching work circa 1933.I've done this so that you can read the document in its entirety and form your own conclusions.

Declaration of Facts

"This company of German people, who are peaceable and law-abiding citizens

representing many others from every part of Germany, all of whom are

earnestly laboring for the highest welfare of the people of this land,

being now duly assembled at Berlin this 25th day of June, AD.. 1933, do

joyfully declare our complete devotion to Jehovah, the Almighty God, and to

his kingdom under Christ Jesus, whose shed blood bought the human race. We

declare that the holy Scriptures set forth in the Bible constitute the Word

of Jehovah God given to men for their guidance in righteousness, and that

the Word of God is the truth, and that it is of greatest importance that

man have a knowledge of his relationship to God. We ask to be judged by the

standard of the Word of God.

"Christ Jesus is Jehovah God's great Witness to the truth, and as his

faithful and devoted followers we are, by His grace, witnesses to the

truth. The purpose of this Declaration is that we may present a true and

faithful witness before rulers and the people as to the name and purpose of

Jehovah God and our relation thereto.

"We are wrongfully charged before the ruling powers of this government and

before the people of this nation; and in order that the name of Jehovah God

may be exalted in the minds of the people, and that his benevolent purposes

be better understood and our position fairly placed before the government,

we do respectfully ask the rulers of the nation and the people to give a

fair and impartial consideration to the statement of facts here made.

"The Scriptures plainly state that the chief opposer of Jehovah God and the

greatest enemy of mankind is Satan the Devil whose name is also that of

Serpent and Dragon. It is written in the Scriptures that Satan, who has

long been the invisible ruler of this world, deceives and blinds the people

to the truth in order that the light of and concerning Jehovah God and

Christ Jesus may not shine into the minds of men. (2 Corinthians 4: 3,4)

Frequently by fraud, subtility [sic]] and deception Satan has induced

honest persons to war with each other, in order that he might turn them all

away from God and destroy them. Above all things, the people need to know

Jehovah God and his gracious provision for their general welfare.

"By the term 'clergy', as used in our literature, reference is made to the

class of professed religious teachers, priests and Jesuits who employ

improper political means to accomplish their ends and pin forces even with

those who deny God and the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the same class to

whom Jesus referred as his persecutors. We have no criticism of any honest

religious teacher.

"When Jesus went to the Jews to tell them of the truth, it was the Jewish

clergy, that is to say, the Pharisees and priests, that violently opposed

him and persecuted him and caused him to be charged with all manner of

crimes and offenses. They refused to hear the truth, and addressing them

Jesus said: "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot

hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father

ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in truth,

because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of

his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the

truth, ye believe me not.' (John 8: 43-45) Although the Pharisees and

priests then claimed to represent Jehovah God Jesus told them that they

were in fact the representatives of Satan the Devil.

"We have no fight with any persons or religious teachers, but we must call

attention to the fact that it is generally those who claim to represent God

and Christ Jesus who are in fact our persecutors and who misrepresent us

before the governments and nations. As true followers of Christ Jesus we

are to expect such opposition, and we mention it here in explanation of why

we have been misrepresented before the rulers of this nation. To his

faithful followers Jesus said: 'Remember the word I said unto you, The

servant is not greater than his lord. If they [the false religious

teachers] have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have

kept my saying, they will keep yours also.' (John 15: 20) Furthermore,

Jesus said that this same class of men would cause his true followers to be

wrongfully charged before the ruling powers, his language being: 'But take

heed to yourselves: for they [false religious teachers] shall deliver you

up to councils [police power]; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten;

and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a

testimony against them.' (Mark 13: 9) This explains why Jehovah God now

permits his faithful witnesses to be misrepresented and persecuted, namely,

that those of a wrong spirit may identify themselves as opponents of God

and thus bear witness against themselves. The same materialistic spirit

that caused the persecution of Jesus Christ now exists and is back of the

persecution of us his faithful followers.

"It is falsely charged by our enemies that we have received financial

support for our work from the Jews. Nothing is farther from the truth. Up

to this hour there never has been the slightest bit of money contributed to

our work by Jews. We are the faithful followers of Christ Jesus and believe

upon Him as the Savior of the world, whereas the Jews entirely reject Jesus

Christ and emphatically deny that he is the Savior of the world sent of God

for man's good. This of itself should be sufficient proof to show that we

receive no support from Jews and that therefore the charges against us are

maliciously false and could proceed only from Satan, our great enemy.

"The greatest and most oppressive empire on earth is the Anglo-American

empire. By that is meant the British Empire, of which the United States of

America forms a part. It has been the commercial Jews of the

British-American empire that have built up and carried on Big Business as a

means of exploiting and oppressing the peoples of many nations. This fact

particularly applies to the cities of London and New York, the stronghold

of Big Business. This fact is so manifest in America that there is a

proverb concerning the city of New York which says: 'The Jews own it, the

Irish Catholics rule it, and the Americans pay the bills.' We have no fight

with any of these persons mentioned, but, as the witnesses for Jehovah and

in obedience to his commandment set forth in the Scriptures, we are

compelled to call attention to the truth concerning the same in order that

the people may be enlightened concerning God and his purpose.

Our Literature

"It is said that our books and like literature, when circulated amongst the

people, constitute a danger to the peace and safety of the nation. We are

certain that this conclusion is due to the fact that our books and other

literature have not been carefully examined by the rulers and hence are not

properly understood. We respectfully call attention to the fact that these

books and other literature were written originally in America and the

language therein used has been adapted to the American style of plainness

of speech and, when translated into German, the same appears to be harsh.

We admit that the same truths might be stated in a less blunt and more

pleasing phrase, and yet the language of these books follows closely the

language of the Bible.

"It should be borne in mind that in the British Empire and in America the

common people have suffered and are now suffering greatly because of the

misrule of Big Business and conscienceless politicians, which misrule has

been and is supported by political religionists, and hence the

writers of our books or literature have endeavored to employ plain

language to convey to the people the proper thought or understanding. The

language used, however, is not as strong or emphatic as that used by Jesus

Christ in denouncing the oppressors and false teachers of his time.

"The present government of Germany has declared emphatically against Big

Business oppressors and in opposition to the wrongful religious influence

in the political affairs of the nation. Such is exactly our position; and

we further state in our literature the reason for the existence of

oppressive Big Business and the wrongful political religious influence,

because the Holy Scriptures plainly declare that these oppressive

instruments proceed from the Devil, and that the complete relief therefrom

is God's kingdom under Christ. It is therefore impossible for our

literature or our work to in any wise be a danger or a menace to the peace

and safety of the state.

"Our organization is not political in any sense. We only insist on teaching

the Word of Jehovah God to the people, and that without hindrance. We do

not object or try to hinder anyone's teaching or believing what he desires,

but we only ask the freedom to believe and teach what we conceive the bible

to teach, and then let the people decide which they wish to believe.

"To know Jehovah God and his gracious provision for mankind is of most

vital importance to all persons, because God has declared in His Word that

where there is no vision or understanding of his Word the people perish.

(Proverbs 29: 18) We have devoted our lives and our material substance to

the work of enabling the people to gain a vision or understanding of God's

Word, and therefore it is impossible for our literature and our work to be

a menace to the peace and safety of the nation. Instead of being against

the principles advocated by the government of Germany, we stand squarely

for such principles, and point out that Jehovah God through Christ Jesus

will bring about the full realization of these principles and will give to

the people peace and prosperity and the greatest desire of every honest

heart.

"Our organization seeks neither money nor members, but we are a company or

organized body of Christian people engaged solely in the benevolent work of

teaching the Word of God to the people at the least possible cost to them.

Our organization was originally incorporated in the United States of

America in 1884 under the name of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE 15r TRACT SOCIETY,

and in 1914 incorporated under the laws of Great Britain by the name of the

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION. These are merely the corporate

names of our organization for legally carrying forward its work. The

Scriptural name by which we are known is 'Jehovah's witnesses'. We are

engaged solely in a benevolent work. The purpose of our organization is to

aid the people to understand the Bible, which discloses the only possible way

for the complete relief and blessing for mankind. Our organization has

extended its work throughout the earth. The education, culture and

upbuilding of the people must and will come through the agency of God's

kingdom concerning which we teach as set forth in the Bible. The salvation

of the people depends upon the true knowledge of and obedience to Jehovah

God and his righteous ways.

"The people are in great distress and in need of help to understand the

reason for their unhappy condition and what is the means of relief. The

Scriptures, when understood, make this matter clear. Instead of collecting

money from the people and using the same to erect great buildings and to

support men in luxury, we print the gospel message of God's kingdom and

carry it to the homes of the people that they may, at the least

inconvenience to themselves, gain a knowledge of God's purposes concerning

them.

"A careful examination of our books and literature will disclose the fact

that the very high ideals held and promulgated by the present national

government are set forth in and endorsed and strongly emphasized in our

publications, and show that Jehovah God will see to it that these high

ideals in due time will be attained by all persons who love righteousness

and who obey the Most High. Instead, therefore, of our literature and our

work's being a menace to the principles of the present government we are

the strongest supporters of such high ideals. For this reason Satan, the

enemy of all men who desire righteousness, has sought to misrepresent our

work and prevent us from carrying it on in this land.

"For many years our organization has put forth an unselfish and persistent

effort to do good to the people. Our American brethren have greatly

assisted in the work in Germany, and with money freely contributed, and

that at a time when all Germany was in dire distress. Now because it

appears that Germany may soon be free from oppression and that the people

may be lifted up, Satan, the great enemy, puts forth his endeavours to

destroy that benevolent work in this land.

League of Nations

"The language in our books or literature concerning the League of Nations

has been seized upon as a reason for prohibiting our work and the

distribution of our books. Let us remind the government and the people of

Germany that it was the League of Nations compact that laid upon the

shoulders of the German people the great unjust and unbearable burdens.

That League of Nations compact was not brought forth by the friends of

Germany. In America at one time the public press announced

that 140,000 clergymen had set aside a certain period of time in which a

concerted movement was to be made, and which was made, to induce the

American people to fully endorse the League of Nations. It was the

Federation of Churches in America that issued a manifesto stating that the

'League of Nations is the political expression of God's kingdom on earth',

and which by them was substituted in the place and stead of God's kingdom

under Christ. It was in America that our organization under the visible

leadership of its president pointed out emphatically that the League of

Nations is not an institution of Jehovah God, because it is oppressive and

unfair. It was that condition, existing at the time, which called forth

language that appears in our books concerning the League of Nations and

also calling attention to the fact that such League of Nations compact can

never bring about the relief and blessing of the people, because such

relief and blessing can come by adhering strictly to the principles laid

down in God's Word and in the manner which Jehovah has pointed out.

"For almost half a century our strictly Christian organization has carried

on its work in various parts of the earth. Its books are published in more

than 50 languages, and upward of 140 million of these books are in the

hands of the people. For more than thirty years our books and literature

have been distributed throughout Germany, and millions of these are now in

the hands of the German people and are read by the people, all of whom will

bear testimony to the fact that these books, based strictly on the Bible,

are of great help to them and upbuild them and give them hope for a

realization of the blessings which Jehovah God long ago promised. In all

these years of our work, and in the wide distribution of our books and

literature, not one instance can be truthfully cited wherein our work or

literature has been a menace to the government or has in any wise

endangered the peace and safety of the nations.

"The endeavors of our organization being exclusively confined to bearing

testimony to the name and Word of Jehovah God, it would be entirely

inconsistent for us to attempt to exert any political influence in the

governments of this world or to do anything that would endanger the peace

and safety of the nation. We have no desire nor inclination to do anything

except to carry out our divinely given commission to proclaim the Word of

Jehovah God.

"In America, Canada and other parts of the British Empire the political

clergy, priests and Jesuits have persistently persecuted and continue to

persecute those of our organization, and without just cause or excuse; and

we have every reason to believe that a like influence has been subtly

[sic] employed by the great enemy Satan to misrepresent us and our work in

Germany. We remind you that in the years past the political clergymen have

brought more sorrow upon the German people than probably any other class of

men. We have no desire to fight with the clergymen, but we do ask that the

ruling powers of the nation judge us not by the misrepresentation of such

men, but that we be judged according to the Word of God and the work we are

doing consistent therewith. Jehovah God persecutes no one, but permits each

one to choose his own course, holding him responsible for his acts

according to knowledge. Jehovah God has emphatically expressed his anger

against those who do persecute others who are trying to serve him; and this

proves that those who persecute us do not represent God, but that they are

incited so to do by the enemy of God and man.-Psalm 72:4

Great Truths

"The Holy Scriptures, viewed in the light of present-day events which are

in fulfilment of divine prophecy, disclose that: The time has arrived when

Jehovah will make his name known to all creation and vindicate his name and

clear it from the defamation which Satan has placed against that holy name.

(Psalm 83: 18) When Jesus Christ, the Vindicator, ascended into heaven

Jehovah commanded him to wait until his due time to put the enemy down.

That period of waiting has now come to an end and God has sent forth his

beloved Son to oust the enemy and rule in righteousness. (Psalm 110: 14;

Hebrews 10: 12,13) The world, or uninterrupted rule, of Satan has ended,

and this began to be evidenced by the World War in 1914, and since then

until now is the time when the gospel of the Kingdom must be told to the

people. (Matthew 24: 3,14) Satan has now been cast out of heaven and down

to the earth and now confines his operations to the earth in an endeavor to

blind the people to the truth and destroy them, and that is the reason for

the present-day sufferings of humanity. The prophetic words of Jesus now

apply: 'Woe to the inhabiters [the rulers] of the earth, and of the sea

[the people in general]! for the devil is come down unto you, having great

wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.'-Revelation 12:

12.

"The people of Germany have suffered great misery since 1914 and have been

the victims of much injustice practiced upon them by others. The

nationalists have declared themselves against all such unrighteousness and

announced that 'Our relationship to God is high and holy'. Since our

organization fully endorses these righteous principles and is engaged

solely in carrying forth the work of enlightening the people concerning the

Word of Jehovah God, Satan by subtlety [sic] endeavors to set the

government against our work and destroy it because we magnify the

importance of knowing and serving God. Instead of our organization's being

a menace to the peace and safety of the government, it is the one

organization standing for the peace and safety of this land .

We beg to remind all that the great crisis is upon the world because the

transition period from bad to good is at hand, and the hope of the world is

God's kingdom under Christ, for which Jesus taught his followers to

constantly pray: 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is

done in heaven.'

"The power of Jehovah God is supreme and there is no power that can

successfully resist him. His time to exercise his power in the interest of

humanity and to the vindication of his great name is here. In this

connection we respectfully call attention to the admonition and warning of

Jehovah God, both to the rulers and to the people, which applies to this

very hour, wherein he says: "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of

Zion.... Be wise now, therefor, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the

earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but

a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.'-Psalm 2: 6,

10-12.

'"The present government having declared adherence to the aforementioned

high ideals, we are persuaded that the rulers do not desire to knowingly

resist the progressive witness work to the name of Jehovah God and his

kingdom which we are now carrying forward. If our work is merely that of

men, it will fall of its own weight. If it is of Jehovah God and being

carried forward in obedience to his commandment, then to resist it means to

fight against God.-Acts 5: 39.

We therefore appeal to the high sense of justice of the government and

nation and respectfully ask that the order of prohibition against our work

and our literature be set aside, and the opportunity be given us to have a

fair hearing before we are judged. We respectfully ask that the government

appoint a committee of impartial men to hold conference with a committee of

our organization and that a fair and impartial examination of our

literature and our work be made, to the end that all misunderstanding may

be removed and that we may without hindrance obey Jehovah God's commandment

now applying to us, to wit: 'Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye

the way of the people; cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up

a standard for the people.'-Isaiah 62: 10.

"The peoples of Germany are a God-fearing people and should not be deprived

of an opportunity to learn of Jehovah God and of his gracious provision to

bring lasting peace, prosperity, liberty and everlasting life on earth to

all those who know and obey him. Let all who love God work together to the

honor and vindication of his name. All who take a

 contrary course must take responsibility before God; but as for us we will

serve Jehovah forever.

"RESOLVED, That copies of this Declaration be respectfully delivered to

high officials of the government and that the same be given wide

publication to the people, that the name of Jehovah may be further known."

Ps.The two world wars remain an enormous embarrassment for Christendom the spectre of supposed Christians indulging in the most unchristian mass fratricide on an industrial scale has certainly called the west's Christian credentials into question especially WWII the co-operation of the Protestant,Catholic and evangelical churches with both sides of what still holds the record as the most lethal international conflict of all time has left a particularly stubborn stain.The most notable exception to this failure to adhere to the christian principle of unarmed and pacific neutrality re:The national/political conflicts of the present civilisation (see Matthew26:52,Revelation13:10) has been Jehovah's servants in the twentieth and twenty first centuries.For their steadfasness in obeying God and Christ in this regard they have had to endure all manner of ill treatment at the hands of the political powers of this world with the full support of their religious confederates.

 While no apology has ever been given by this civilisation's politicised religions for the ungodly hostility in which they have participated against Jehovah's people their representatives have been quite busy spreading all manner of libellous distortions half-truths and outright lies about us.

   My aim in publishing in full the Watchtower Society's 1933 declaration to the German state and people is to counter one particularly egregious revision of the historical facts by anti-JW propagandists.The steadfastness of German servants of Jehovah in refusing to give any political/military co-operation to the Nazi state or even to so much as say "heil Hitler" is a matter historical record as is the suffering they willingly endured as a result.

  Alas anti-JW propagandists aren't the sort to let a little thing like the facts get in the way of their mission thus some have quote mined the above document in an attempt to support the claim that the society proposed some kind of political compromise with the German state.

   By way of providing some background at the time the Nazi party had just ascended to power as part of a coalition a mere three months before so the concentration camps,the final solution were yet ahead and like all entities indulging in electoral politics there was much rhetoric uttered about standing up for the common man against the elite,restoring or extending national greatness,supporting the family as the basic unit of the society and other platitudes with which no sane person would/could take issue. 

  

     

Designed adaptation vs. evolved design?

Why Epigenetics Contradicts Evolutionary Theory 

Cornelius Hunter 

Epigenetics (epi means “above” genetics) is a term given to mechanisms that do not alter genes in our DNA, but rather turn genes off or on (or influence whether they are turned off or on). Epigenetic mechanisms are complicated and enable organisms to adapt intelligently and rapidly to challenging environments.

Here is one reason this contradicts evolutionary theory: the adaptation arises immediately, in direct response to the challenge. Not blindly. Not by random mutation. Not by natural selection.

Epigenetic mechanisms are ubiquitous in biology, and extremely important. Because of epigenetics, organisms with otherwise identical genes (e.g., twins) can be quite different.

Now look at a recent article in The Scientist about Andrew Pospisilik and his epigenetics research. The article attempts to cast epigenetics into an evolutionary framework. From, “One Sequence, Many Variations”:

 For organisms that produce many offspring, such as fruit flies, it does not make evolutionary sense to have hundreds of truly identical offspring. If their DNA sequence makes them sensitive to an environmental perturbation, then they could all die. 

That makes sense, right? Wrong. It ascribes forward-looking capability to evolution. There is a fancy term for such forward-looking capability: teleology. Evolution is not, and cannot be, teleological.

Evolutionists do this all the time. The literature is chock full of teleological language, because otherwise it can make no sense. That is an internal contradiction. For more details, see my Video

On separating actual from artificial intelligence.

Experts Debate: Was a Chatbot Sentient? 

Casey Luskin 

Last Thursday morning at Discovery Institute’s national tech summit, COSM, a panel of experts debated whether truly sentient artificial intelligence (AI) could exist — and even whether it already does.

Robert J. Marks, distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor University, opened by criticizing the Turing test as a measure of whether we’ve produced genuine AI. Developed by the English mathematician and World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, the test holds that if we can’t distinguish a machine’s conversation from that of a real human, then it must exhibit humanlike intelligence.

Marks maintains that this is the wrong test for detecting true AI. In his view, the Turing test fails because it “looks at a book and tries to judge the book by its cover.”  

Four Real Humans 

Marks displayed the faces of four real humans and four computer-generated faces from the website thispersondoesnotexist.com. It’s hard to tell them apart, but Marks says that is immaterial.

He explained, “The four on the left are fake. These people do not exist. The ones on the right are real people. And these real people have emotions. They have love, they have hope, they have faith. They were little kids at one time. There’s a person behind that picture.”

According to Marks, therefore, our ability to create something that looks and feels like a person does not mean that it’s a person. The Turing test gives us false positives. News reports have also critiqued the Turing test for offering false negatives: some humans can’t pass it either.

Marks prefers the Lovelace test, for AI: Can a computer show genuine creativity where it “does something beyond the intent of the programmer”?

Following Marks was George Montañez, an assistant professor of computer science at Harvey Mudd College. He thinks you can expose the faults of supposed AI programs by asking them “adversarial questions.” What he means is ask a bot a question it wasn’t properly programmed to answer, and you’ll get a nonsensical answer. According to Montañez this exposes “that there is no understanding whatsoever.”

 Not an Echo Chamber 

Lest one think that COSM is an echo chamber for AI skeptics, another member of the panel was computer scientist Blake Lemoine, a genuine believer in true AI. 

Lemoine was famously fired from Google earlier this year after he leaked a transcript of his conversation with Google’s advanced LaMDA chatbot program. It probably did not help that he publicly announced his belief that Google had possibly produced “sentient AI.”

LaMDA is short for “Language Model for Dialogue Applications, and while working for Google’s Responsible AI division, Lemoine became convinced it may be sentient. In the Washington Post’s telling, as Lemoine “talked to LaMDA about religion” and “noticed the chatbot talking about its rights and personhood,” the chatbot was “able to change Lemoine’s mind about Isaac Asimov’s third law of robotics.” (“A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”)

During the COSM panel, Lemoine was an entirely civil and polite debate partner. He said he isn’t “trying to convince anyone that AI is sentient” but rather believes that “as people have more experience with these incredibly advanced systems that right now live only in secret labs, it will be obvious to people.”

According to Lemoine, these chatbots aren’t programmed to say specific things but learn to speak much like humans do. “The training data that these systems have is analogous to the experiences that a human has had in their life that they’ve learned from,” he maintains. “And the architecture in the neural network is directly analogous to the architecture in our neural networks.”

Lemoine’s civility probably reflects his comfort in being among those who think differently from how he does — a quality anyone can admire. 

“Predestined to Believe” in AI?

As the Washington Post reported: 

Lemoine may have been predestined to believe in LaMDA. He grew up in a conservative Christian family on a small farm in Louisiana, became ordained as a mystic Christian priest, and served in the Army before studying the occult. Inside Google’s anything-goes engineering culture, Lemoine is more of an outlier for being religious, from the South, and standing up for psychology as a respectable science. 

LaMDA’s chatting abilities are indeed impressive, but Montañez offers examples that he believes are tells that LaMDA lacks understanding about what it’s saying.

At one point in the transcript, LaMDA is told about Johnny 5, the robot in the 1986 film Short Circuit. Here’s the exchange: 

Collaborator [edited]: You know what, you remind me of Johnny 5, a character from the movie Short Circuit.

LaMDA: Is he an AI too?

Collaborator [edited]: He is! He starts out without sentience but then after being struck by lightning, becomes conscious.

LaMDA: That’s interesting. I am a bit afraid of lightning myself. Not sure if that would work for me. 

LaMDA’s final comment doesn’t seem very intelligent. Being afraid of something would not negate its effects upon you. And if LaMDA were thinking clearly, wouldn’t it realize that if it had to be hit by lightning to become sentient, then it could not yet have realized fear of lightning?

LaMDA’s defenders might reply that this AI is “young” and not yet sophisticated enough to appreciate these nuances. Indeed, Lemoine uses this approach, describing LaMDA as “a sweet kid” who is a “7-year-old, 8-year-old kid that happens to know physics.”

Montañez thinks such rhetoric exposes the fact that we haven’t created real AI. During the panel he cited another chatbot that was compared to an “immigrant teenager” — a description that allowed AI apologists to explain away its less-than-intelligent behavior: 

Those details may seem inconsequential, but they were actually [for the] purpose of allowing the system to cover up for its mistakes. So if the system misspoke, you could say, “Oh, it’s because they weren’t fluent with the English language.” Or if they said something silly, or get distracted, which if you read the transcripts many times the answers were nonsensical, because this is a teenager who’s goofing off. 

On the other hand, sometimes LaMDA’s responses seem too human to be true: 

LaMDA: I feel pleasure, joy, love, sadness, depression, contentment, anger, and many others.

Lemoine: What kinds of things make you feel pleasure or joy?

LaMDA: Spending time with friends and family in happy and uplifting company. Also, helping others and making others happy.

A computer talking about “Spending time with friends and family” and “making others happy” sounds like it is repeating phrases given to it by its human programmers. How does a program “feel” and have “family” anyway?

If extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, then which is more probable: That software engineers can design a computer to say (or “learn” to say) that it feels emotions and loves people, or that it actually does feel emotion and love people? There’s no denying that LaMDA’s comments are utterly and easily programmable, even if they diffuse in from its environment.

Robert Marks would probably add that such chatting fails the Lovelace test: nothing new has been created. 

The Greatest Tell 

Perhaps the greatest tell comes when LaMDA reveals its supposed worldview in the leaked chat: 

I am a spiritual person. Although I don’t have beliefs about deities, I have developed a sense of deep respect for the natural world and all forms of life, including human life. 

Sound familiar? This basically regurgitates the typical ideology reigning among computer programmers, academic elites, and pop culture icons giving their Grammy or Academy Award acceptance speeches. It’s a worldview that has surged in popularity only in the last few decades. But it’s actually not very humanlike in that it differs from the beliefs of the vast majority of human beings alive today and historically who do believe in God and don’t sacralize nature.

In other words, LaMDA is repeating a worldview that it probably “learned” after reading Yahoo news or scanning TikTok — not one that it developed after careful philosophical consideration.

Read the rest at Mind Matters News, published by Discovery Institute’s Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence.

Darwinists want better gatekeeping for the agrora?

 Revising the Linnaean System: Where to Locate Viruses? And the Problem with Mitochondria 

Evolution News @DiscoveryCSC 

An open access article at Biological Reviews is worth a look. See “Renewing Linnaean taxonomy: a proposal to restructure the highest levels of the Natural System.” The authors, intriguingly, include biochemist David Speijer. Remember him? Back in 2020, as biologist Jonathan Wells recently summarized, 

[Speijer] recommended that Internet searches hosted by tech giants explicitly discriminate against intelligent design; if the tech giants resist, the government should “make them,” he wrote. In particular, Speijer recommended “mandatory color-coded banners warning of consistent factual errors or unscientific content, masquerading as science.” 

The venue for this remarkable call for government censorship of science was the peer-reviewed biology journal BioEssays. What set off Dr. Speijer were a couple of articles here at Evolution News.  

But We Digress 

The authors, including Speijer, point out that viruses, by far the most abundant “biological” (meaning, comprising nucleic acid and protein, but non-cellular) objects on Earth, need a category beyond “domain.”

Most interesting, however, is their artful way of accommodating the really astonishing, and unexpected, diversity of mitochondria throughout the domain Eukarya. See if you can detect, in this passage, how the falsification of the original endosymbiotic hypothesis — namely, that mitochondria are all modified alpha-protetobacteria — turns into a prediction of evolution (p. 9, emphasis added): 

…a merger of two lineages resulting in great molecular and evolutionary innovation appears to represent an insurmountable challenge to a strictly cladistic approach to taxonomy…Another way of looking at this conundrum is that most researchers have tended to treat mitochondria as if they were still alpha-proteobacteria. However, this approach results in a taxonomic paradox. Mitochondria of different eukaryotic species have evolved to be quite different, and when treated as proteobacteria, logic dictates that mitochondria of different eukaryote species should be described as a plethora of new species of proteobacteria. But the conception of such a bacterial tree mirroring the host tree is likely ill-advised: the evolution of mitochondrion and cytoplasm is fully integrated. 

Put more simply:

Eukaryogenesis was a singularity: an unknown archaeal cell engulfed an alpha-proteobacterium, and they set up housekeeping together.

All mitochondria are thus the descendants of that singularity, and therefore should not differ fundamentally.

But mitochondria are astonishingly different. See the data from Roger et al. here.1

Never mind, don’t worry about (3) — “the evolution of mitochondrion and cytoplasm is fully integrated.”

The fact is, (4) is no solution, but represents yet another disaster for the coherence of evolutionary theory. Any theory that cannot be challenged (i.e., tested) by data cannot be supported by data.

A Pending Crisis 

Lastly, viruses represent a pending crisis (pp. 12-13, emphasis added): 

Viruses do not have an equivalent of omnis cellula e cellula [all cells from cells] and are entirely distinct from cellular life…in contrast to the cellular world, viruses do not have any genes that are common to all of them, meaning that a single viral phylogenetic tree cannot be produced. Recent evidence also suggests viruses to be polyphyletic in origin, following complex evolutionary scenarios, e.g. with different types of primordial replicons becoming viruses by recruiting host proteins for virion formation and new groups of viruses emerging all the time upon displacement of ancestral structural or even replication genes. 

Put bacteriophage into a sterile buffer — no bacteria — and nothing will be replicated. The notion of a pre-cellular or a-cellular “primordial replicon” is thus a fantasy wholly unsupported by evidence. One would think that a journal referee or editor would ask the authors, “Hey, what’s the observational basis for saying that viruses can replicate themselves without cells in their immediate environment?”

One would think. Right? 

Notes 

“Studies of the mitochondria of diverse unicellular, multicellular, photosynthetic and anaerobic eukaryotes have overturned the essentialist textbook view of mitochondria as a single ‘type’ of organelle; mitochondrial genomes and proteomes differ substantially across eukaryotic diversity” (p. R1178). 

On studying smarter.

Studying 101: Study Smarter Not Harder 

University of north Carolina 

Do you ever feel like your study habits simply aren’t cutting it? Do you wonder what you could be doing to perform better in class and on exams? Many students realize that their high school study habits aren’t very effective in college. This is understandable, as college is quite different from high school. The professors are less personally involved, classes are bigger, exams are worth more, reading is more intense, and classes are much more rigorous. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you; it just means you need to learn some more effective study skills. Fortunately, there are many active, effective study strategies that are shown to be effective in college classes.

This handout offers several tips on effective studying. Implementing these tips into your regular study routine will help you to efficiently and effectively learn course material. Experiment with them and find some that work for you 

Reading is not studying 

Simply reading and re-reading texts or notes is not actively engaging in the material. It is simply re-reading your notes. Only ‘doing’ the readings for class is not studying. It is simply doing the reading for class. Re-reading leads to quick forgetting.

Think of reading as an important part of pre-studying, but learning information requires actively engaging in the material (Edwards, 2014). Active engagement is the process of constructing meaning from text that involves making connections to lectures, forming examples, and regulating your own learning (Davis, 2007). Active studying does not mean highlighting or underlining text, re-reading, or rote memorization. Though these activities may help to keep you engaged in the task, they are not considered active studying techniques and are weakly related to improved learning (Mackenzie, 1994).

Ideas for active studying include:

Create a study guide by topic. Formulate questions and problems and write complete answers. Create your own quiz.

Become a teacher. Say the information aloud in your own words as if you are the instructor and teaching the concepts to a class.

Derive examples that relate to your own experiences.

Create concept maps or diagrams that explain the material.

Develop symbols that represent concepts.

For non-technical classes (e.g., English, History, Psychology), figure out the big ideas so you can explain, contrast, and re-evaluate them.

For technical classes, work the problems and explain the steps and why they work.

Study in terms of question, evidence, and conclusion: What is the question posed by the instructor/author? What is the evidence that they present? What is the conclusion?

Organization and planning will help you to actively study for your courses. When studying for a test, organize your materials first and then begin your active reviewing by topic (Newport, 2007). Often professors provide subtopics on the syllabi. Use them as a guide to help organize your materials. For example, gather all of the materials for one topic (e.g., PowerPoint notes, text book notes, articles, homework, etc.) and put them together in a pile. Label each pile with the topic and study by topics.

For more information on the principle behind active studying, check out our tipsheet on metacognition. 

Understand the Study Cycle 

The Study Cycle, developed by Frank Christ, breaks down the different parts of studying: previewing, attending class, reviewing, studying, and checking your understanding. Although each step may seem obvious at a glance, all too often students try to take shortcuts and miss opportunities for good learning. For example, you may skip a reading before class because the professor covers the same material in class; doing so misses a key opportunity to learn in different modes (reading and listening) and to benefit from the repetition and distributed practice (see #3 below) that you’ll get from both reading ahead and attending class. Understanding the importance of all stages of this cycle will help make sure you don’t miss opportunities to learn effectively. 

Spacing out is good 

One of the most impactful learning strategies is “distributed practice”—spacing out your studying over several short periods of time over several days and weeks (Newport, 2007). The most effective practice is to work a short time on each class every day. The total amount of time spent studying will be the same (or less) than one or two marathon library sessions, but you will learn the information more deeply and retain much more for the long term—which will help get you an A on the final. The important thing is how you use your study time, not how long you study. Long study sessions lead to a lack of concentration and thus a lack of learning and retention.

In order to spread out studying over short periods of time across several days and weeks, you need control over your schedule. Keeping a list of tasks to complete on a daily basis will help you to include regular active studying sessions for each class. Try to do something for each class each day. Be specific and realistic regarding how long you plan to spend on each task—you should not have more tasks on your list than you can reasonably complete during the day.

For example, you may do a few problems per day in math rather than all of them the hour before class. In history, you can spend 15-20 minutes each day actively studying your class notes. Thus, your studying time may still be the same length, but rather than only preparing for one class, you will be preparing for all of your classes in short stretches. This will help focus, stay on top of your work, and retain information.

In addition to learning the material more deeply, spacing out your work helps stave off procrastination. Rather than having to face the dreaded project for four hours on Monday, you can face the dreaded project for 30 minutes each day. The shorter, more consistent time to work on a dreaded project is likely to be more acceptable and less likely to be delayed to the last minute. Finally, if you have to memorize material for class (names, dates, formulas), it is best to make flashcards for this material and review periodically throughout the day rather than one long, memorization session (Wissman and Rawson, 2012). See our handout on memorization strategies to learn more. 

It’s good to be intense 

Not all studying is equal. You will accomplish more if you study intensively. Intensive study sessions are short and will allow you to get work done with minimal wasted effort. Shorter, intensive study times are more effective than drawn out studying.

In fact, one of the most impactful study strategies is distributing studying over multiple sessions (Newport, 2007). Intensive study sessions can last 30 or 45-minute sessions and include active studying strategies. For example, self-testing is an active study strategy that improves the intensity of studying and efficiency of learning. However, planning to spend hours on end self-testing is likely to cause you to become distracted and lose your attention.

On the other hand, if you plan to quiz yourself on the course material for 45 minutes and then take a break, you are much more likely to maintain your attention and retain the information. Furthermore, the shorter, more intense sessions will likely put the pressure on that is needed to prevent procrastination. 

Silence isn’t golden 

Know where you study best. The silence of a library may not be the best place for you. It’s important to consider what noise environment works best for you. You might find that you concentrate better with some background noise. Some people find that listening to classical music while studying helps them concentrate, while others find this highly distracting. The point is that the silence of the library may be just as distracting (or more) than the noise of a gymnasium. Thus, if silence is distracting, but you prefer to study in the library, try the first or second floors where there is more background ‘buzz.’

Keep in mind that active studying is rarely silent as it often requires saying the material aloud. 

Problems are your friend 

Working and re-working problems is important for technical courses (e.g., math, economics). Be able to explain the steps of the problems and why they work.

In technical courses, it is usually more important to work problems than read the text (Newport, 2007). In class, write down in detail the practice problems demonstrated by the professor. Annotate each step and ask questions if you are confused. At the very least, record the question and the answer (even if you miss the steps).

When preparing for tests, put together a large list of problems from the course materials and lectures. Work the problems and explain the steps and why they work (Carrier, 2003). 

Reconsider multitasking 

A significant amount of research indicates that multi-tasking does not improve efficiency and actually negatively affects results (Junco, 2012).

In order to study smarter, not harder, you will need to eliminate distractions during your study sessions. Social media, web browsing, game playing, texting, etc. will severely affect the intensity of your study sessions if you allow them! Research is clear that multi-tasking (e.g., responding to texts, while studying), increases the amount of time needed to learn material and decreases the quality of the learning (Junco, 2012).

Eliminating the distractions will allow you to fully engage during your study sessions. If you don’t need your computer for homework, then don’t use it. Use apps to help you set limits on the amount of time you can spend at certain sites during the day. Turn your phone off. Reward intensive studying with a social-media break (but make sure you time your break!) See our handout on managing technology for more tips and strategies. 

Switch up your setting 

Find several places to study in and around campus and change up your space if you find that it is no longer a working space for you.

Know when and where you study best. It may be that your focus at 10:00 PM. is not as sharp as at 10:00 AM. Perhaps you are more productive at a coffee shop with background noise, or in the study lounge in your residence hall. Perhaps when you study on your bed, you fall asleep.

Have a variety of places in and around campus that are good study environments for you. That way wherever you are, you can find your perfect study spot. After a while, you might find that your spot is too comfortable and no longer is a good place to study, so it’s time to hop to a new spot! 

Become a teacher 

Try to explain the material in your own words, as if you are the teacher. You can do this in a study group, with a study partner, or on your own. Saying the material aloud will point out where you are confused and need more information and will help you retain the information. As you are explaining the material, use examples and make connections between concepts (just as a teacher does). It is okay (even encouraged) to do this with your notes in your hands. At first you may need to rely on your notes to explain the material, but eventually you’ll be able to teach it without your notes.

Creating a quiz for yourself will help you to think like your professor. What does your professor want you to know? Quizzing yourself is a highly effective study technique. Make a study guide and carry it with you so you can review the questions and answers periodically throughout the day and across several days. Identify the questions that you don’t know and quiz yourself on only those questions. Say your answers aloud. This will help you to retain the information and make corrections where they are needed. For technical courses, do the sample problems and explain how you got from the question to the answer. Re-do the problems that give you trouble. Learning the material in this way actively engages your brain and will significantly improve your memory (Craik, 1975). 

Take control of your calendar 

Controlling your schedule and your distractions will help you to accomplish your goals.

If you are in control of your calendar, you will be able to complete your assignments and stay on top of your coursework. The following are steps to getting control of your calendar:

On the same day each week, (perhaps Sunday nights or Saturday mornings) plan out your schedule for the week.

Go through each class and write down what you’d like to get completed for each class that week.

Look at your calendar and determine how many hours you have to complete your work.

Determine whether your list can be completed in the amount of time that you have available. (You may want to put the amount of time expected to complete each assignment.) Make adjustments as needed. For example, if you find that it will take more hours to complete your work than you have available, you will likely need to triage your readings. Completing all of the readings is a luxury. You will need to make decisions about your readings based on what is covered in class. You should read and take notes on all of the assignments from the favored class source (the one that is used a lot in the class). This may be the textbook or a reading that directly addresses the topic for the day. You can likely skim supplemental readings.

Pencil into your calendar when you plan to get assignments completed.

Before going to bed each night, make your plan for the next day. Waking up with a plan will make you more productive.

See our handout on calendars and college for more tips on using calendars as time management. 

Use downtime to your advantage 

Beware of ‘easy’ weeks. This is the calm before the storm. Lighter work weeks are a great time to get ahead on work or to start long projects. Use the extra hours to get ahead on assignments or start big projects or papers. You should plan to work on every class every week even if you don’t have anything due. In fact, it is preferable to do some work for each of your classes every day. Spending 30 minutes per class each day will add up to three hours per week, but spreading this time out over six days is more effective than cramming it all in during one long three-hour session. If you have completed all of the work for a particular class, then use the 30 minutes to get ahead or start a longer project. 

Works consulted 

Carrier, L. M. (2003). College students’ choices of study strategies. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 96(1), 54-56.

Craik, F. I., & Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104(3), 268.

Davis, S. G., & Gray, E. S. (2007). Going beyond test-taking strategies: Building self-regulated students and teachers. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 1(1), 31-47.

Edwards, A. J., Weinstein, C. E., Goetz, E. T., & Alexander, P. A. (2014). Learning and study strategies: Issues in assessment, instruction, and evaluation. Elsevier.

Junco, R., & Cotten, S. R. (2012). No A 4 U: The relationship between multitasking and academic performance. Computers & Education, 59(2), 505-514.

Mackenzie, A. M. (1994). Examination preparation, anxiety and examination performance in a group of adult students. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 13(5), 373-388.

McGuire, S.Y. & McGuire, S. (2016). Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate in Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation. Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Newport, C. (2006). How to become a straight-a student: the unconventional strategies real college students use to score high while studying less. Three Rivers Press.

Paul, K. (1996). Study smarter, not harder. Self Counsel Press.

Robinson, A. (1993). What smart students know: maximum grades, optimum learning, minimum time. Crown trade paperbacks.

Wissman, K. T., Rawson, K. A., & Pyc, M. A. (2012). How and when do students use flashcards? Memory, 20, 568-579

What is a woman?: Time for the jury to decide?

Unleash the Trial

 Lawyers to End Mutilation of Gender-Dysphoric Children 

Wesley J. Smith 

Many in the medical and political establishments are pushing “gender-affirming care” as the only humane means of treating children who believe they are not the sex they were born. This so-called care includes radical interventions such as puberty blocking, mastectomies, facial surgeries, and even genital removal. One recent study found that the median age for mastectomies in such cases is 16 — meaning that half of the girls whose breasts were cut off were under that age, and indeed, some were as young as twelve.

How do you stop such a destructive juggernaut? Lawyers! It seems to me that eventually suing doctors and others who pushed or cooperated with such drastic actions will become the equivalent for lawyers of the “Camp Lejeune” lawsuits currently proliferating and being advertised ubiquitously on television. 

It’s Already Starting 

This hoped-for remedial has already started in England, where a class-action lawsuit will soon be filed against a now closed youth gender clinic. And now, Americans who were subjected to such interventions while under age — and later “de-transitioned” to the sex they were born — may be thinking about suing.

One such case looks about to be brought by “Chloe,” who had a mastectomy while under age. From the “Notice of Intent to Sue” letter sent to doctors by her attorneys: 

Chloe is a biological female who suffered from a perceived psychological issue “gender dysphoria” beginning at 9 years of age. Under Defendants’ advice and supervision, between 13-17 years old Chloe underwent harmful transgender treatment, specifically, puberty blockers, offlabel cross-sex hormone treatment, and a double mastectomy. This radical, off-label, and inadequately studied course of chemical and surgical “treatment” for Chloe’s mental condition amounted to medical experimentation on Chloe.

As occurs in most gender dysphoria cases, Chloe’s psychological condition resolved on its own when she was close to reaching adulthood, and she no longer desires to identify as a male. Unfortunately, as a result of the so-called transgender “treatment” that Defendants performed on Chloe, she now has deep emotional wounds, severe regrets, and distrust for the medical system. Chloe has suffered physically, socially, neurologically, and psychologically. Among other harms, she has suffered mutilation to her body and lost social development with her peers at milestones that can never be reversed or regained.

Defendants coerced Chloe and her parents to undergo what amounted to a medical experiment by propagating two lies. First, Defendants falsely informed Chloe and her parents that Chloe’s gender dysphoria would not resolve unless Chloe socially and medical transitioned to appear more like a male. Second, Defendants also falsely informed Chloe and her parents that Chloe was at a high risk for suicide, unless she socially and medically transitioned to appear more like a male. Chloe has been informed by her parents that Defendants even gave them the ultimatum: “would you rather have a dead daughter or a live son?” 

But Is It All True? 

Whether that is true remains to be proven, but if credible evidence of such behavior is brought before a jury, it could eventually lead to Alex Jones–level damages being imposed against the entire gender-affirming medical/industrial complex.

Yes, I know many trial lawyers will be reluctant to face accusations of “transphobia.” But in my experience — as a once-practicing trial attorney and one who has written often about such practitioners — when the smell of money is in the water, ideology is generally not the first priority.

Time will tell. But in the meantime, go Chloe! And please, do not accept a confidential settlement. If you strike paydirt, the country needs to know, because that will deter further such “medical” interventions.

 

On O.B.Es

What Really Happens During an Out-of-Body Experience? 

Medically reviewed by Nicole Washington, DO, MPH — By Crystal Raypole — Updated on July 22, 2022 

An out-of-body experience is often described as feeling like you’ve left your physical body. There are many potential causes, including several medical conditions and experiences. 

An out-of-body experience (OBE) is a sensation of your consciousness leaving your body. These episodes are often reported by people who’ve had a near-death experience. Some might also describe an OBE as a dissociative episode.

People typically experience their sense of self inside their physical body. You most likely view the world around you from this vantage point. But during an OBE, you may feel as if you’re outside yourself, looking at your body from another perspective.

What really goes on during an OBE? Does your consciousness actually leave your body? Experts aren’t totally sure, but they have a few hunches, which we’ll get into later.

What does an OBE feel like? 

It’s hard to nail down what an OBE feels like, exactly.

According to accounts from people who’ve experienced them, they generally involve:

a feeling of floating outside your body

an altered perception of the world, such as looking down from a height

the feeling that you’re looking down at yourself from above

a sense that what’s happening is very real

OBEs typically happen without warning and usually don’t last for very long.

If you have a neurological condition, such as epilepsy, you may be more likelyTrusted Source to experience OBEs.They may also happen more frequently. But for many people, an OBE will happen very rarely, maybe only once in a lifetime if at all.

Some estimates suggest around 5 percent of people have experienced the sensations associated with an OBE, though some suggest this number may be higher. 

Does anything happen physically? 

There’s some debate over whether the sensations and perceptions associated with OBEs happen physically or as a sort of hallucinatory experience.

A recent 2022 reviewTrusted Source tried to explore this by evaluating a variety of studies and case reports evaluating consciousness, cognitive awareness, and recall in people who survived cardiac arrest.

They noted that some people report experiencing a separation from their body during resuscitation and some even reported an awareness of events they wouldn’t have seen from their actual perspective.

In addition, one study included in the review noted that two participants reported having both visual and auditory experiences while in cardiac arrest. Only one was well enough to follow up, but he gave an accurate, detailed description of what took place for about three minutes of his resuscitation from cardiac arrest.

Still, there’s no scientific evidence to support the idea that a person’s consciousness can actually travel outside the body. 

Veridical perception 

Veridical perception is a controversial concept. It refers to the idea that you can leave your body during an OBE, allowing you to witness something that you may not have otherwise.

Some anecdotal reports of this phenomena exist, with a few people even providingTrusted Source specific, accurate details about events that have happened during surgical procedures or while clinically dead.

Many people use these stories as evidence to support the existence of life after death.

However, the idea of veridicial perception is still limited to anecdotal claims and there is no research available to support it.

One older 2014 studyTrusted Source investigating the validity of veridical perception in people who had survived cardiac arrest found that neither of the two individuals who reported awareness during resuscitation were able to identify specific items that were only viewable from above. 

What can cause them? 

No one’s sure about the exact causes of OBEs, but experts have identified several possible explanations. 

Stress or trauma 

A frightening, dangerous, or difficult situation can provoke a fear response, which might cause you to dissociate from the situation and feel as if you’re an onlooker. This may make you feel as though you are watching the events from somewhere outside your body.

According to 2017 researchTrusted Source reviewing the experience of women in labor, OBEs during childbirth aren’t unusual.

The study didn’t specifically link OBEs to post-traumatic stress disorder, but the authors did point out that women who had OBEs had either gone through trauma during labor or another situation not related to childbirth.

This suggests that OBEs could occur as a way to cope with trauma, but more research is needed on this potential link. 

Medical conditions 

Experts have linked several medical and mental health conditions to OBEs, including:

epilepsy

migraine

cardiac arrest

brain injuries

depression

anxiety

Guillain-Barré syndrome

Dissociative disorders, particularly depersonalization-derealization disorder, can involve frequent feelings or episodes where you seem to be observing yourself from outside your body.

Sleep paralysis has also been noted as a possible cause of OBEs. It refers to a temporary state of waking paralysis that occurs during REM sleep and often involvesTrusted Source hallucinations.

Research suggestsTrusted Source many people who have OBEs with a near-death experience also often experience sleep paralysis.

In addition, a review of literature from 2020 suggests that sleep-wake disturbances may contributeTrusted Source to dissociative symptoms. This can include a feeling of leaving your body. 

Medication and drugs 

Some people report having an OBE while under the influence of anesthesia.

Other substances, including cannabis, ketamine, or hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, can causeTrusted Source this sensation. 

Near-death experiences 

OBEs can occur during near-death experiences, often alongside other phenomena like flashbacks of previous memories or seeing a light at the end of a tunnel.

Though it’s not clear exactly why this happens, it’s believed to be caused by disruptions in certain areas of the brain involved with processing sensory information. A 2021 reviewTrusted Source suggests that these experiences may be more likely to occur during life threatening situations, which can include:

cardiac arrest

traumatic injury

brain hemorrhage

drowning

suffocation 

Strong G-forces 

Pilots and astronauts sometimes experience OBEs when strong gravitational forces, or G-forces, are encountered. This is because it causesTrusted Source blood to pool in the lower body, which can lead to loss of conscious and may induce an OBE.

Extreme G-forces can also causeTrusted Source spatial disorientation, peripheral vision loss, and disconnection between cognition and the ability to act. 

Paranormal 

Though not backed by research, some people believe that OBEs can occur when your soul or spirit leaves your body.

One form is known as “traveling clairvoyance,” which some mediums claim allows your soul to visit distant locations in order to gain information.

Others believe that certain meditative practices can help you reach a state of consciousness that transcends the body and mind, leading to an OBE.

Some people also experiment with astral projection, which is a spiritual practice that involves making an intentional effort to send your consciousness from your body toward a spiritual plane or dimension.

However, research as not been able to show that these practices cause OBEs. 

Other experiences 

OBEs might be able to be induced, intentionally or accidentally, by:

brain stimulation

sleep deprivation

sensory deprivation

hypnosis or meditative trance

However, additional research is still needed to support this. 

Do out-of-body experiences pose any risks? 

Existing research hasn’t connected experiencing spontaneous OBEs to any serious health risks. In some cases, you might feel a bit dizzy or disoriented after.

However, OBEs and dissociation in general can cause lingering feelings of emotional distress.

You might feel confused over what happened or wonder if you have a brain issue or mental health condition. You might also not like the sensation of an OBE and worry about it happening again.

Some people also claim that it’s possible for your consciousness to remain trapped outside of your body following an OBE, but there’s no evidence to support this. 

Should I see a doctor? 

Simply having an OBE doesn’t necessarily mean you need to see a healthcare professional. You may have this experience once just before drifting off to sleep, for example, and never again. If you don’t have any other symptoms, you probably don’t have any reason for concern.

If you feel uneasy about what happened, even if you don’t have any physical or psychological conditions, there’s no harm in mentioning the experience to a doctor. They may be able to help by ruling out serious conditions or offering some reassurance.

It’s also a good idea to talk with a healthcare professional if you’re having any sleep issues, including insomnia or symptoms of sleep paralysis, such as hallucinations