Mindfulness time
In “Ultrasonic Meditation” (Advances), Lucy Tu discusses research by Brian Lord and colleagues at the University of Arizona on using brain stimulation to enhance mindfulness, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. I am reporting. This article is thought-provoking. Pioneering research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and elsewhere using functional magnetic resonance imaging and other techniques to uncover the neurophysiological correlates of deep meditative experiences has been invaluable. . Now, Lord and his group are adding targeted ultrasound stimulation of the brain’s default mode network (DMN) to a potentially valuable tool in this effort.
Most practitioners of deep meditation practices welcome these studies. But caution should be taken with those who, like the study authors and Tu, use explanations for the “subjective effects” of deep meditative states. Personal and even “scientific” biases can creep in. Of the subjective effects of ultrasound stimulation cited in the article, the one that concerned me most was the phrase “distortion of time perception” (which mirrors the language used in the study) . The somewhat common experience of the “non-linearity” of time by experienced meditators is certainly different from everyday experience in the relative world in which we live. But which of those senses of time are “real” and which are “warped”? That space-time itself is actually subject to the laws of quantum physics, as some people suspect? If this turns out to be the case, perhaps it would be better to describe it as “alternative” rather than “distorted.”
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thomas long Scottsdale, Arizona
“Those who use explanations of the ‘subjective effects’ of deep meditative states should be careful; personal bias can creep in.”
—Thomas Long Scottsdale, Arizona.
life is a bag
As a long-time student and practitioner of pathology, I find Bethany Brookshire’s essay “The Human Body Is Made of Bags” (Forum, June 2024) an interesting and engaging approach to anatomy. I felt that. To take her analogy further, every anatomical “bag” from the smallest vesicle to the largest external surface has an opening and a door. It is through these openings that most, if not all, life processes are possible.
On a macro scale, the mouth, nose, pores, eye lenses, anus, etc. are where all the interactions we have with the outside world take place. At the organ level, these openings allow for the exchange of nutrients, gases, toxins, electrolytes, and everything we take in and excrete. Microscopically, cells, vesicles, and enclosures of all kinds have openings, and these are usually regulated transporters. After all, function follows form at every level.
james eastman Madison, Wisconsin
all the patterns around you
“Cosmic Pareidolia” (The Universe) by Phil Plait highlights that our tendency to interpret random visual patterns as familiar often leads us to look at faces in particular. However, such phenomena are not limited to faces or vision. The tiles on the bathroom floor feature a very convincing deer head when viewed from one angle, and an alligator’s head, legs and feet when viewed from another. A breeze in the trees or other quiet background sounds could be an incomprehensible whisper or familiar music.
John Russ via email
golden touring key
“How Many Routes” by Heinrich Hemme (Advances, July/August 2024) presents Henry Ernest Dewdney’s classic traveling salesman puzzle from 1917. The “golden key” to solving a puzzle is usually ridiculously obvious, but try to find it. For now, you only need to sketch out road segments that need to be traveled by all possible routes, that is, segments that are connected to cities that are connected by only two roads. That golden key not only tells you the answer (a path) right away, but also gives you the fun of building that path out of a jumble of roads.
Years ago, a friend asked me about a variation of the “Night Tour” problem. In this problem, a chess knight starts from a selected square and jumps over all remaining squares without repeating the square. Would a rectangle smaller than a standard 8 x 8 chessboard do the job? Given the knight’s strange movements, it wasn’t clear whether the tour would be possible on such a rectangle. The slightly discolored version of the golden key above provided a solution for the 4 × 5 and 3 × 4 rectangles, although it required additional work. For some others I didn’t have a solution.
Dave E. Matson Pasadena, California
cold comfort
“Taking the Plunge” by Jesse Greenspan (Advances, June 2024) reports on research on the benefits of cold water swimming. If you, like me, think swimming in frigid waters is a near-death experience, the humble cold shower provides an interesting alternative.
Cold showers are a form of hormesis, a phenomenon in which stress can be harmful in high doses but beneficial in low doses. Like cold swimming, the data on the benefits of cold showers are weak, but they are widely known to make you feel better and more energized. And by slowly adjusting the heat of the water, you can at least minimize temperature shock. Perhaps most importantly, this technology is available to most people in their homes 24/7.
Richie Locasso Hemet, California
best topic
I enjoyed reading Megan Bartels’ article “Keeping Time” (Advances, June 2024) about the spring 2024 emergence of two periodic cicadas, 13-year Brood XIX and 17-year Brood XIII.
Every morning here in Chicago’s western suburbs, a “feast of cicadas” can be heard in the distance.star trek 13 years of insect “phaser” drones and 17 years of several local individual buzzes of insects. Within hours, the favorite tree in its place became a cacophony like a rock concert, with thousands of people rising and falling as they sang in unison.
lorinda gunter wright chicago
explanation
Joanne Silberner’s book, The Serious Costs of Hypochondriasis (December 2024), refers to the same symptoms as both a “somatic symptom disorder” and a “somatic system disorder.” Although these terms are used interchangeably, somatic symptom disorder is the most recent official diagnosis. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Errata
In “The Fate of the Hybrid Chickadee” by Rebecca Heisman, the first photo of the black-capped chickadee should have been credited to Teresa Kopec/Getty Images, and the last photo should have been credited to GeoStills/Alamy Stock Photo.
In Buried at Sea (December 2024) by Jamie B. Palter, initial results from a field trial of marine carbon dioxide removal at the Port of Halifax off the coast of Nova Scotia show that the trial will remove additional carbon from the atmosphere. I should have stated that this suggests that it migrated to the ocean.
In William T. Taylor’s When Horses Became Horses (December 2024), Nowoinowski’s location was incorrectly listed in the image caption. It is located in Kazakhstan.
