Body World

Last week Rebecca, Sam and I went to the Body World Exhibit, one of several traveling exhibits that feature actual dead people that have had their skin removed and the rest of their body "plasticized" for our viewing pleasure. It's really quite startling to see these bodies in various poses, with exposed muscles and bones, along with brains and plenty of hearts, which was the theme of this particular edition.

I have never had a mind for science and have little patience for learning the physiological workings of the human body. But beyond being mesmerized by the total weirdness of the displays, I did pick up a few interesting tidbits:

1. Lance Armstrong has a resting heart rate of 32 beats per minute, vs. the average human of about 70. His heart is 30% larger than average, some of which is genetic, and some the result of training.

2. In ancient Egypt the heart was viewed as the seat of morality. It was the only organ united with the body after death. Having learned this, now a certain graphic in the Book of the Dead makes more sense to me.

3. Broken Heart Syndrome results from a toxic overload of stress hormones, which can cause a heart attack and death. This appealed to my inclinations towards romantic tragedy.

4. One hour after conception the zygote begins to divide and multiply, and eight hours after conception it has already created 1000 cells. Seeing actual fetuses in various stages of development in small jars impacted me more powerfully than anything else I saw. Each one felt like a tragic loss of innocent life.

5. Red blood cells transport oxygen to the system and remove carbon dioxide. They travel about 12,000 miles a day. 1800 gallons of blood flow through your body every day. There was a room that had about 35 55-gallon drums to illustrate how much blood goes through your system every day. It made me feel strangely bloated.

While I can't recall the details of how the thyroid works, or how the nerve system is attached, I did leave somewhat overwhelmed by the stunning complexity of the human body and in awe over the beauty of its functionality.

I'm glad we went. It's good to step outside your normal realm of learning, because you begin to realize how all knowledge and human experience are linked.

Television Drama

I took the opportunity to watch the Congressional hearings on television. I'm fascinated by all of this--not just the nature of the crisis, which I can learn more about from the Wall Street Journal--but instead I am keenly interested in the hearings themselves. I like to see Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sitting in their very hot seats, fielding questions from Congressmen (and Congresswomen) who are desperately trying to wrap their minds around these very complex issues.

I've been to Congressional hearings before, even testified at them. Generally they are politically motivated and wholly lacking in substance. But these hearings are different. The stakes are high. The issues complex. And choosing sides is turning out to be much less partisan than usual. This is how government was meant to be--elected officials seeking to understand the issues, with the bureaucrats trying to explain why they, in concern for their country, are recommending this plan.

This reminds me of when I was in high school, spending hours watching the Watergate hearings. I can vividly recall Sentators Sam Ervin, who chaired the committee, along with rising star Howard Baker, Daniel Inouye and others, grilling John Dean, John Erlichman, J.R. Haldeman and others. It felt so very historic and important.

Years later I was fascinated by the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Robert Bork and then Clarence Thomas. Yes, these were much more political and partisan events. But still they both seemed like watershed moments in our history, particularly the Bork hearings which questioned the fundamental role of the Supreme Court.

You really have to watch these to appreciate them. Sound bites that you pick up on the news just aren't good enough. And the printed word fails to capture the dramatic tension of the moment. This is history in the making. It ought to get an Emmy.

Friends and Family

My recent experience starting a new business has vividly illustrated for me the differences between friends and family. I have, by necessity, involved a number of my friends in this business. In many cases, these were business arrangements—they agreed to some work in exchange for something in return. In many others, I was simply inviting them to offer perspective and advice on various aspects of the concept.

The results have been generally disappointing. Tasks that were agreed to were either not completed or came in much later than committed. In other cases, invitations were completely ignored. And while I don’t completely understand the reasons for all of this, I am left with the conclusion that the ties that bind friendships fall significantly below other priorities, particularly when connected to businesses. Although this has been disheartening to me, I do not fault my friends. But it has been a learning experience.

In contrast, my family has been very supportive when asked. And I suppose that testifies to one of the great blessings of a family—-they will be there for you. No, not always doing what you asked. But when they sense a need—-and a justified one—you can count on them to do what they can. At least in my family. I’m thankful for that.

The Last Lecture

Having heard so much about The Last Lecture I finally decided to read it. For those of you who might not have heard, author Randy Pausch was a computer science professor and virtual reality expert at Carnegie-Mellon University who at 46 years of age was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2006.

Carnegie-Mellon had for some time been holding a Last Lecture series—an invitation for academics to speak freely on subjects of their choice, vaguely conjuring up what they might say if this was the final opportunity to say it. Of course the irony for Pausch is that this in fact was his last lecture, which he entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” It is available on the Internet, and is an inspiring, engaging, humorous and insightful commentary on how Pausch tried to live his life. The book is his personal story, centered around the lecture and dealing with his final months.

I have spoken to a few friends who were dying or feared they were. Their perspectives intrigue me, and I have asked how the experience has changed their view of the world. Pausch’s response was not much different. Values change completely. Things/possessions/stuff are of almost no importance. People and relationships are everything.

Randy Pausch died on July 25th of this year, leaving behind a wife and three young children. His story is worth reading.

August Quotes

I have always enjoyed quotations that make me think or feel or laugh, or that capture truths in a powerful way. I especially like quotes that remind me of principles I need to internalize or live better. I always have a quotation on my email, and this year I have tried to memorize them as I go along. I find having them at my disposal useful in conversation, teaching, speaking and writing. I've learned that a thought has more credibility if someone famous or dead (or both, ideally) said it before me. Here are a few from August.


"Those individuals have riches just as we say that we 'have a fever,' when really the fever has us."
--Seneca

"By the time you're eighty years old you've learned everything. You only have to remember it."
--George Burns

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
--Mahatma Gandhi

"May we live so that when that final summons is heard, we may have no serious regrets, no unfinished business."
--Thomas S. Monson

"A company is stronger if it is bound by love rather than by fear ... If the employees come first, then they're happy."
--Herb Kelleher, Former CEO of Southwest Airlines

"It is far better for a man to go wrong in freedom than to go right in chains."
--Thomas Huxley

"Always notice when you are happy."
--Kurt Vonnegut

"Imagination rules the world."
--Napoleon Bonaparte

"Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas."
--Paula Poundstone

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
--Dr. Seuss

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know."
--Abraham Lincoln

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion; if you want to be happy, practice compassion."
– Dalai Lama

"There are three kinds of men: Ones who learn by reading, a few who learn by observation, and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence to find out for themselves."
--Will Rogers

The Omnivore's Dilemma

I realize that it’s rather audacious of me to recommend Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma to anyone (even though Rebecca recommended it to me). Given how extreme my views on diet have become, I might easily be suspected of trying to ram tofu and wheatgrass down your collective throats. Save your gag reflexes, as this is nothing of the kind. Omnivore’s Dilemma is neither an indictment of carnivores nor an endorsement of the organic movement. Rather, it is a fairly comprehensive and well-balanced look at what we eat and why we eat it.

The book opens with a treatise on corn. Americans eat a lot of corn. (More than Mexicans, the author notes.) Our meat is a product of corn, as is most of our sugar and at least some of almost every processed food. Pollan traces this extraordinary dependence to back to political decisions made during the Nixon administration that opened the floodgates for corn subsidies, which have lingered the past 40 years. As a result, we have quite frighteningly become the people of the corn. (For a related exploration of this topic, see the strange but entertaining 2007 documentary King Corn.)

In the balance of the book, Pollan provides a detailed, vivid and intimate contrast between factory farming and localized, traditional farming practices. As everyone knows, we get nearly all of our food from the former while the latter have become virtually extinct. The book explains why this has happened, the result of government policy, special-interest legislation, a growing population and free market dynamics. And so we are left with a food supply that has been processed for efficiency and profitability with little regard for anything else.

On close examination, the modern agricultural system seems almost surreal, a vicious circle that has left us with a dependence on chemical fertilizers and dangerous pesticides, which have led to depleted soil, watershed pollution, high petroleum requirements and tasteless produce, all propped up by government subsidies that mostly enrich large and profitable corporate enterprises. And we haven’t even started on meat processing, which is not only mildly repulsive, but environmentally devastating and terribly unhealthy by comparison. (For an interesting documentary film on factory agriculture--produce, fish, meat and dairy--see We Feed the World.)

What to do? Not to oversimplify, but perhaps the slow foods movement provides the most organized efforts in the right direction. But read the book. Even if it doesn’t change your life, it’s a fun read. After all, eating is our most primitive urge and at the core of our culture and society. It’s not a bad idea to consider the source.