Pondering Porn

Tweaking Reality

Throughout time there has been numerous cultures that revere the pleasures of the flesh, and modern Western Culture's view on historical findings in support of these has been largely censored, to say the least.

At the link below you can read more on the temple city of Kajuraho, find out why legend has, it has conception to thank for it's inception, and how it came to be the most ancient and revered porn site that it seems.

And why it's not.

10 things you should know about your mind

1. You cannot lose it, unlike the neurons that conduct the electrical impulses that eventually combine to become your mind. Neurons seem to whither at the slightest challenge, like the pill you popped last night, or any binge that end in a hangover. Fortunate for us our mind display a high grade of plasticity, which mean that function lost due to neural death could be taken over by others.

2. You have what you use, and what you don't gets lost as quick as last season's fashion. Which is a bit of a shame as research continue to come up with surprising new and uber cool abilities that babies have. Take for example their efficiency in cross species facial recognition, and then compare it to "I think they all look the same".

3. No challenge is too big or detail too small if you believe it matters. Our brain just love a challenge and can even construct special neural thingamabobs to handle new technologies like cellphones. When challenged to survival it remembers even the minutest of details, like the drop of blood sliding down the blade of grass you saw while crawling away from a fatal explosion.

4. Memory is but a fickle thing, and nowhere near what some people want to make of it. For a start, our brain excel in pattern recognition. Most of our memory is scattered across various neural sites, each one specializing in its own sensory pattern recognition. When we think of something our mind will trigger a harmonious event across the different sections needed to build the memory we want.

5. There is no difference between reality and imagination, at least not to your brain. You may want to argue, but it is a scientific fact that what you think become. Take for instance recent findings that power make hypocrite's of those who play its game, or the curious observation that we model morals to our situation.

6. When emotion kicks in, your ability for objective reasoning go out the window. Lame excuses such as you were angryor upset should not be tolerated in the company of choice, any choice. When we become emotionally involved our brain literally changes to a different operating system where reasoning take a distant second place to feeling.

7. Your brain retain an embryonic stem cell capability that can differentiate to any of a wide range of specialized neural cells and structures. We still don't know exactly how to use it, but at least the farming of stem cells from dead babies will not be necessary to treat the growing number of mental diseases of age like Alzheimer and Parkinson's.

8. You can tune your brain to any mental state by listening to bin-aural frequencies in the range of awareness that you require. The effect depend upon a "frequency following" response, a naturally occurring phenomenon of the the human brain. So if you need to be alert you simply listen to a bin-aural beat that entrain to somewhere in the Beta range, between 12-30 Hz.

9. Babies are born with minds that are messy, and exactly what it is that prevent it from tripping in a massive electrical short circuit is still unknown. What we do know, is that exposing babies to certain auditory stimuli, such as Baroque music before and after birth give them a significant and overall advantage above their peers. The metered beat of the music seem to provide a natural rhythm that order and accelerate the mental development of babies.

10. Most of the actions that you perform daily are not the result of your intention, but a carefully calculated flow of expected events. Our minds are constantly busy predicting the future to provide us with normal motion and fluid movement, allowing us act and play with minimal attention. Once mobile, our senses only monitor events for anything unusual or out of place, while the rest just happen without the need of thought.

Sexual Confusion

Sexuality and sexual identity are probably two of the most misunderstood aspects of our psychosocial development due to the limited amount of research that has been done on the subject of sex. In the past ten years however, scientists have tried to make an effort to lift the veil of secrecy and taboo that has kept sexuality in the dark, and sexual identity in the closet.

But according to a recent article in ScienceDaily it seems as if the last decade of research still hasn't provided enough evidence to change the archaic and medieval views that people have about sex. And if it isn't bad enough that people still cannot freely enjoy one of the most primitive and pleasurable activities known to man, it is absolutely horrific to discover that some psychologists still believe that same-sex relationships are somehow wrong.

According to the article a staggering 4% of mental health professionals in the UK will still try and "cure" people who are attracted to same-sex partners, and an alarming 17% admit that they have "assisted" at least one individual to reduce their gay or lesbian feelings. According to Professor Michael King from the University College London, "There is very little evidence to show that attempting to treat a person's homosexual feelings is effective and in fact it can actually be harmful,".

Just how much harm these "treatments" could cause is not quite clear, but if we consider that a possible 10% of the human race could potentially qualify for "assistance" to suppress a basic natural instinct, the impact can be huge.

With arguments like, "Although homosexual feelings are usual in people, their physical expression, and being a person's only way of having sexual relations is problematic.", it seems as if these professionals are even more confused than the clients they proclaim to be helping. And when such a professional adds that "The physical act for male homosexuals is physically damaging and is the main reason in this country for AIDS/HIV. It is also perverse.", the argument becomes decidedly homophobic.

While it is true that "Children and young adults are more likely to be confused about their sexuality and to jump to conclusions (correct or otherwise) if unable to talk through their concerns.", it is also true that the sexual identity of a child is determined prior to them developing the capability of logical thought.

With our sexual identity fixed before we are able to make a choice about it, or any choice for that matter, the view that people who are " ...very unhappy about their sexuality" should be "assisted" to reduce their sexual desire sounds similar in nature to suggesting a frontal lobotomy for depression. Fortunately the argument that people that are feeling depressed should be "treated" by totally removing their ability was abandoned 5 score or more years ago. We can only hope that by exposing the archaic and harmful practices of some mental health professionals it will bring about the necessary impetus for change.

According to Professor King the best approach is to help people adjust to their situation, to value them as people and show them that there is nothing whatever pathological about their sexual orientation. With scientists like himself, that are not afraid of confronting members in his own profession we may just maintain the sanity we hold. And maybe, just maybe we could convince some more people that sex should be pleasurable and fun.