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On
"Smoking Out The Facts"
One would think that this hypothesis could be easily checked out via animal studies: treat two groups of rats with the same amount of nicotine and then stop giving one group nicotine and see if there is any increase in cancer onset in that group. Of course, this won't verify David Warren's hypothesis of cave cooking for 5000 years producing biological mechanisms that cause cancer during suddent cessation of smoking.
On
"Smoking Out The Facts"
A friend sent me the link to this article and asked me to take a look at it.
This research (as any other research) will stand or fall based on its merits i.e., whether others are able to replicate it or not. The following comments by gisurgeon are certainly noteworthy:
the above study by kumar-incidentally my friend for close to 30 years-is totally anecdotal-people who have smoked for 30 years -and i am one of them have already damaged their lungs and set in an irreversible chain of events-as doctors blogging on a laymans channel-i do feel we must be more careful about scientific conclusions-i heard this paper is being considered for the ignobel award-a befitting award-
<hr>
As for David Warren, he doesn't sound like someone whose views can be taken seriously at all. To wit:
1. The "evolutionary argument" that he proposes [man's cooking in caves has resulted in a "biological mechanism (that) protects smokers" against nicotine and tar] seems to be wild speculation -- I guess anybody can propose "evolutionary arguments."
2. Warren is not only an "evolutionary theorist" but also is a "medical hypothesist":
> my own medical hypothesis, based on my own anecdotal evidence. Several deceased friends and family, starting with my paternal grandfather, perished shortly after they quit smoking -- not only from lung cancer, but from other causes ranging from previously-undiagnosed heart disease to industrial accident.
Now that is certainly cause for concern if industrial accidents result from sudden cessation of smoking.
3. > in the good old days, people instinctively understood things like that, without the need for medical research
This scarely needs comments.
4. > while, in astronomy, I remain convinced that the earth revolves around the sun, I would not put all my money even on that proposition, but, given attractively long odds, reserve a penny bet on the sun going round the earth.
Ditto.
On
The Magic of Electricity
Pavan,
Enjoyed this article.
This deserves better attention than it has received. If you had somehow sneaked in references to Ram-Sethu for instance, it would have garnered thousands of hits.
Most Indians (including myself) lack do-it-yourself/tinkering skills. It was a good thing that you played around with wiring a room.
VC
On
Writing English While Brown
> Meaning is not resident in the words themselves or in the speaker's intent alone.
The only thing the reader sees are the words. And nothing is "resident" in the words. Given each user's history, the words produce certain responses in the user. This can be (loosely) called as the reader constructing/reconstructing the meaning.
> It is practically an axiom of modern literary analysis that meaning is constructed by the reader based on his/her own life experiences being acted upon by the stimulus of the words (which include the biographical details of the author included).
This is the standard argument in verbal behavior analysis too [that I am sure I have mentioned to you multiple times).
However, each phrase in an article is a stimulus. So is the author's name and biographical details if any available/provided. If the bulk of the stimuli generates reaction of the kind evoked by American authors (say), the effect of the name and biographical details will be negligible.
> meaning constructed by the reader based on his/her own life experiences
To an Indian author, an American born reader would react in a different way than an Indian born reader would. In you words, it is the "whiteness/brownness" of the reader more than that of the writer.
When I first read Pico Iyer, I did expect Indian things from him (in tone and content). At that time, I knew nothing about his life history. After reading more of his books (which I like very much by the way) and knowing more about him, I do not treat him like an Indian author at all. His outlook/worldview/network/lifestyle are not Indian at all. Time magazine calls him in Japan to fact check something. After collecting material for his books, he crashes with his British/American friends (or into hotels) to do the actual writing.
VC
On
Writing English While Brown
> Remember, unless you are making up a Euro-Christian nom de plume, no matter WHAT you write, your Indianness will be part of the piece. A piece of writing is never received by itself. What the reader knows about the writer (be it just the name or an entire personal relationship's worth of information) informs how the piece is received.
My older son and I both write essays/articles in English, under the name Chandrasekhar. My son received all his education in the US, majoring in English (among others). Because of his writing style which is obviously 100% American, I think that very few people see any Indianness in his writing, even if they know that Chandrasekhar is an Indian name. Likewise for Pico Iyer. Despite his Tamil last name, his writing repertoire was developed in the US and England and this comes through soon enough.
VC
On
Forty, divorced and a parent, oh my!
I enjoyed your Grand Canyon blogs. I looked around to see what other blogs you have written and that brought me to this.
You seem like a really fine individual. I wish you a lot of luck.
Regards.
VC
On
Some Streets in San Francisco
> Some of the murals are thought provoking.
Let's be honest here.
Isn't "Kadvulai Nambuvan Muttaaal" more thought provoking?
VC
On
is sulekha abandoning CH?
I was wondering the same thing. If they are, just closing shop with not even an announcement is a piss-poor way of doing things. [I can't believe that they will do so.]
VC
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"Smoking Out The Facts"
> Anecdotal? I don't think so...number of patients is too huge for that...don't you think so?
It was gisurgeon who said that the paper was anecdotal.
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