Fact checker – the search engine

I call the search engine Fact Checker because it is generally reliable and quick at producing answers to questions. The information needs to be screened for how credible the sources of the information and how prevalent – the weight of evidence – in support of the answer. Odd phrases or terms can be easier to find then words that have a variety of meanings or are also used for businesses. Search results can become to numerous to sort through occasionally.

Research into how having instant answers available to us may affect us suggests that it may leave the user with a better impression of their own intelligence even though it was the quick access to what is essentially an encyclopedia or a dictionary with a search feature. See this article and podcast interview for more information: How Search Engines Make Us Feel Smarter than We Really Are. (2015).

Fact Checker – the search engine provides answers but it is up to the reader to evaluate the sources for accuracy/reliability and it is up to the reader to remember the information for future use or bookmark the source/file the information in a way that can be accessed again if long term learning or ability to use the information in the long term is to occur.

My blog is my personal notebook with a built in search feature. I can store notes with a variety of tags to help me find information that I read years previously. In general it is wonderful compared to older styles of handwritten notes but recording information in some logical way is part of learning – filing the information in the brain in a way that can be accessed again. I have to remember that I read something about such-and-such years ago and that I took notes and filed them under such-and-such a title or with some specific tag.

The search engine is only as useful as the questions you ask it. You have to collate the information for yourself and store it in a way that you will be able to find it again within your own internal memory or in your external memory devices whether handwritten, digitally written, or audio recorded. We all vary somewhat in how well we remember things. I do better with written or visual information then with remembering things I hear while other people may be very good at remembering lectures or lyrics that they hear.

The podcast interview included a brief description of the research study format – participants were told that a more active brain is more intelligent – however that is not what actual brain scans suggest. The person with a more intelligent brain seems to have learned how to conserve energy possibly by having more organized pathways to quickly find information and there is less electrical activity.  (The Neuroscience of Intelligence,  Richard J. Haier, a book mentioned in a previous post Intelligence and the Weight of Evidence)

The participants (How Search Engines make Us Feel Smarter) took part in several variations of the research design. The experimental group were asked to look up answers to somewhat obscure questions using the internet  and the control group were given the answers. In some variations of the basic experimental design the experimental group obtained search results that included accurate answers to the questions, in other sessions they obtained not very helpful results for the questions, and in other sessions they obtained results that provided inaccurate answers to the questions. In all variations the experimental group afterwards rated their intelligence/ability to answer other questions more positively than the control group who had been given answers. The research author made clear that this doesn’t mean the internet is making us stupider, just that it may give us a false impression of our intelligence.

To me the results suggest that we feel more intelligent when we try to solve problems for ourselves rather than when we are provided answers, and having asked questions and read answers, we may have learned something if we remember the answer and have improved our ability to evaluate information for accuracy.

My blog is my notebook, I share a few pages publicly in case the information or ideas or experiences might help someone with their own health or with their research or business. (currently: 197 public/1374 total posts – I love my blog.) Sharing helpful resources and saving the links an ideas for my own use in the future are goals. Putting together information that I learn today with information that I learned years ago often requires finding the link from years ago to review for more detail.

Evaluating project goals and improving how we learn as individuals or as teams includes reviewing how we do things – or learning and trying methods used by others.

A software design consultant has shared a series of posts on strategies to help small groups evaluate project goals and team communication issues. The series might be helpful for individuals and teams in other industries in addition to software development: Design Thinking Toolkit, Introduction What is Design Thinking?; Activity 13 – Hopes & Fears, by Kimberly Wolting, spin.atomicobject.com.

This book, mentioned in a previous post, is also helpful for improving decision making strategies:

For more information on thinking creatively and effectively working towards a better solution to difficult decisions rather than feeling forced to choose one of two less preferred choices I recommend the book Creating Great Choices: A Leader’s Guide to Integrative Thinking, by Jennifer Riel and Roger L. Martin (2017, HBR) (hbr.org/Creating Great Choices)

Digital toolkits can contain a variety of software apps and services to help make organizing and sharing information easier, a variety are shared in this helpful list: Resources – Digital Discovery.

Remembering where you filed something in your memory or in a digital or physical filing system can require labeling the items with a tag or variety of tags that you are likely to remember. This post about my nickname for search engines – Fact Checker – was based on a conversation I had online about a trivia fact shared by a space oriented social media comment. The trivia fact – It would take us only an hour to reach space if we were able to drive a car straight up. There were a few questions in response along the lines of “How fast would you have to drive?” or “Really?

The account hadn’t provided more information and a simple check of the search engine confirmed the factoid – the atmosphere is considered to be about 62 miles/100 kilometers thick, (space.com/Karmin Line), so a car driving 62 miles per hour could reach the edge of outer space – if that was possible, which it isn’t, however as a visual image it does make it easy for me to remember the trivia fact. Our atmosphere is like the thin peel of an orange or apple around the more solid earth. Am I stupid for not having known a basic fact about our planet’s atmosphere? Or am I smart for having access to a search engine in order to look up the fact? Or am I smarter now because I was curious and took the time to find more details about the topic and the visual image (driving a car straight up) linked with the more detailed information (62 miles per hour) turned the fact into something that I am now likely to remember even if I don’t need to know it?

The search engine doesn’t make us smarter or more stupid but using it and storing the information in some sort of memorable way can make us more knowledgeable. Putting information together in useful ways is applying knowledge. Air pollution and weather is part of our atmosphere – our thin peel of life-giving oxygen and blanket of radiation-protecting ozone – and we need our atmosphere for our survival so we should protect it.

These are facts that I am trusting the source to provide accurately. It is not information that I obtained through direct measurements of my own – that would be a type of direct research that is independent, and which might provide results that agree or disagree with the information other researchers found by their methods of measurement or mathematical analysis. Fact Checker found a fact for me and I evaluated the source as being fairly trustworthy but I didn’t do any independent research to confirm the reliability of the fact. The Internet can be a very fast encyclopedia and dictionary but the results may vary in reliability. Science also varies somewhat though as our methods of measurement and mathematical analysis improve we may get slightly or very different results from past answers, aka “facts.”

The concept of “weight of evidence” brought up by Haier in his book The Neuroscience of Intelligence is the important point to remember when looking up information online. I tend to skim through all of the results on the first page, and occasionally the first few pages, of search results in order to get a rough overview – what does the consensus of results suggest?

(More trivia about our planet – the planet is about 8000 miles wide (12,800 kilometers) if we could dig a hole from one side straight through to the other side. The crust, the solid part made of rock and soil, is about 1802 miles/2900 kilometers wide, and the interior molten core is 4349 miles/7000 kilometers wide – visual, picture a Tootsie Pop type lollipop with a crunchy exterior around a soft caramel interior. (livescience.com) (1 mile = 1.60934 kilometers, 1 kilometer = .62 miles))

Learning is fun – in my opinion.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

Translational Research – translating research into patient care strategies

“The answer is 17 years, what is the question: understanding time lags in translational research” – Morris, et al, 2011 (1)

It takes far too long for research findings to be ‘translated’ into health messages or techniques that reach the patient in need of health care guidance – 17 years on average according to the review of research study by Morris et al (2011). The team’s conclusion is that translational research is in need of further study but with more well defined terms and types of measurements so research by different teams can be compared. Twenty three studies were reviewed but the research parameters were diverse and not readily comparable. (1)

As a person with training and experience as a health care professional I followed general recommendations for general health and weight loss for many years but they didn’t help and I kept getting more sick with problems that didn’t show up on lab tests. Being told regularly that my symptoms must therefore be psychosomatic (mentally based) and that I should see a talk therapist did lead me to spending time with talk therapists and it helped somewhat but I kept getting more sick.

I knew I was physically sick, not just mentally making myself sick from stress or anxiety because I wasn’t always stressed or anxious and had always had some minor but chronic health problems as a child. So I eventually gave up on the standard not-helping-much answers and instead paid closer attention to my daily routine and dietary choices and slowly stopped doing any of the things that seemed to make me feel worse the next day. With the pay attention method I got somewhat better. Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue symptoms were improved. Iodine supplements helped me with weight loss and a low dose antibiotic protocol developed for an autoimmune type of condition helped relieve my severe migraine problem.

Prescriptions can be quick and easy answers but they don’t always work, sometimes makes things worse, can delay trying other strategies that might work better – and can be expensive in insurance co-pays or be an out of pocket self pay expense. Health needs adequate sleep, with black out curtains and no lights, not even a digital alarm clock – keep it in a bedside table drawer or cover it with a towel. Even a little light at night can interfere with our production of melatonin and it helps with a variety of health needs throughout the body.

Health requires regular stretching and exercise that works out the heart and lungs and builds the other muscles somewhat. To maintain bone density requires weight bearing exercise – lifting weights in a warehouse or digging in a garden or in a gymnasium. Having the freedom to read text documents on your laptop while standing and using hand weights can multitask physical fitness needs with work or school needs. Varying positions and going for short walks occasionally is healthier than any type of job that requires too much of the same motions or having to stay in the same position for long periods of time.

Standing desks that can easily transition to a sitting desk can be as simple as a couple boxes under your laptop. Standing can allow some leg and arm stretches and then the boxes can be removed for some time spent sitting to type more intensively. Eight full hours in either position might be more of a health risk than being able to switch between the two options. (2)

Health requires all of the nutrients and additional fiber and antioxidants and other phytonutrients that aren’t considered essential in the same way vitamins are but may be necessary for more optimal health.

If it is reasonable to want to prevent measles or chickenpox, or other infectious diseases, then it seems reasonable to want to prevent age related degenerative disease by providing the body more of what it needs to remove toxins and rebuild tissue as it wears out. Even brain cells are replaced with new ones  – our entire body is not the same body that we had as a newborn. We are regularly removing old cells and growing new ones.

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered. The point is to discover them. ~ Galileo

And the point of translational research is to improve the process of translating research findings into effective strategies for patient care. If research is still in early stages it may not be safe for all patients, finding out how to identify which patients it might help would then be a necessary step before translating the findings into patient education messages or health care protocols. How to guides ideally will always include safety warnings about which patients the health messages might harm if they were to use or be ineffective for their use.

As an individual it is good to know your rights as a patient and to seek health care professionals that take the time to listen. As a patient seeking a second opinion may be helpful and it can be helpful to write down your symptoms and mood changes, your daily diet or sleep habits, and any other routine habits in order to look back occasionally to see if any patterns show up in what is helping or not helping you feel better. We all need to remember that we are the ones living our lives and that makes us the ones in charge of taking care of our own health as best as we can.

It can take three weeks or more to build a habit and that suggests the reverse is likely true – and keeping a written tally sheet about the habit you want to change can help stay on track and help show where you may be veering off track. For more guidance, see Changing Habits, The Learning Center, University of North Carolina. (3)

Your Health Insurance agent is not your mother (probably), and in the current system large bills can lead to more profit for health insurance companies – so watch out for your  own budget by taking care of exercise, diet, and sleep habits and send your Health Insurance agent a nice card at the holidays instead of having them on speed dial for questions about your enormous co-pays. Insurance is nice but 10 or 20% of an enormous bill is still more than most of us have in the bank or can easily borrow. (4)

Bankruptcy due to health care costs has become too common – stay out of bankruptcy court by spending more time on daily health care habits – the research is fairly conclusive regarding the basics –

  • ideally at least 30-60 minutes of exercise 3-5 times per week,
  • drink plenty of water for thirst
  • and eat 5-9 servings of vegetables/whole fruit per day, get adequate protein, whole grains and essential omega 3 fatty acids without too much saturated and trans fats each day. Trying to include a serving of fatty fish three times per week can be a source of omega 3 fatty acids or vegetarian sources include walnuts, hemp seed kernels or ground flax seeds. Including a serving of beans, nuts and seeds on most days may increase the amount of magnesium and other important trace nutrients in the daily/weekly diet.
  • Six hours of sleep seems to be a minimum need for most people and more than eight hours on a regular basis may be too much or a sign of health or depression problems in adults once they are out of the teen years, (teens may benefit from ten hours of sleep per day, (6)). Short naps during the day can be a healthful activity and may increase work productivity, 20-30 minutes may be ideal. Longer naps may lead to waking up groggy instead of refreshed. (5)
  • Social activity and other relaxing hobbies also seem to be helpful for health.

/Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes. Thanks./

  1. Zoë Slote Morris, Steven Wooding, and Jonathan Grant,

    The answer is 17 years, what is the question: understanding time lags in translational research., J R Soc Med. 2011 Dec; 104(12): 510–520. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3241518/

  2. Robert H. Shmerling, MD, The Truth Behind Standing Desks, Sept. 23, 2016, Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Publishing, health.harvard.edu,  https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-truth-behind-standing-desks-2016092310264?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork
  3. Changing Habits, The Learning Center, University of North Carolina, https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/changing-habits/
  4. Why Your Health Insurer Doesn’t Care About Your Big Bills, propublica.org, https://www.propublica.org/article/why-your-health-insurer-does-not-care-about-your-big-bills
  5. Napping, sleepfoundation.org, https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/napping
  6. See Chapter Two: The Lost Hour, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, Twelve, Hatchette Book Group, New York, 2009 http://www.nurtureshock.com/

Additional references for more information on translational medicine:

Excerpt from a post about my own genetic screening (Genetic Screening can give guidance about potential medication adverse reactions, 2018):

Additional reference for further discussion of the advances in the use of genetic screenings for medication risk is available in a book that is already slightly dated with the rapid advances in technology but as a starting point it is helpful for an overview on the history of technological advances in the area of medical care: The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution will Create Better Health Care, by Eric Topol, M.D., 2013. Basic Books. ISBN: 978-0465061839. (1) (“Book Review…,” and summary, by Jung A Kim, RN, PhD, PubMed_2)

One of the pioneers in personal genetic screening was Esther Dyson, a venture capitalist. She quoted a colleague regarding why she agreed to be one of the first ten participants in the Personal Genome Project:

“You would no more take a drug without knowing the relevant data from your genome than you would get a blood transfusion without knowing your blood type.” [128] (1)

The future of individualized health care will include genetic screening for everyone and what isn’t addressed in the book by cardiologist and translational research specialist Eric Topol, M.D. is the use of genetic screening for individualized nutrition guidance. In addition to discovering what medications may work better or be more dangerous for an individual genetic screening can target which types of exercise or diet plans may be more or less beneficial and which nutrients may need to be restricted or supplemented more than the average guidance.

My previous genetic screening was for fewer genes but which were chosen as most commonly a problem for children on the autism spectrum – I had 11 of the 30 and the guidance led to supplements and diet changes that have helped me feel better and have better mood stability – Methylation Cycle Defects – in me, Genetic Screening “For Research Purposes Only” – at this stage “For Research Purposes Only” is a legal phrase as genetic screening is not considered consistent enough for use as a diagnostic tool, but my personal health is of significant interest to me.

  1. Eric Topol, M.D,, The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution will Create Better Health Care, 2013. Basic Books. ISBN: 978-0465061839.  (1) Chapter 5, Biology: Sequencing the Genome, page 117: [128]
  2. Jung A Kim, RN, PhD, Book Review: The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution will Create Better Health Care, Health Inform Res. 2013 Sep; 19(3): 229–231.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3810531/ PubMed_2)

[128] Esther Dyson, “Full Disclosure,” Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2007, A15.

What do daisies have to do with autism and Alzheimer’s risk?

Daisies have nothing to do with autism and Alzheimer’s risk but in order to simplify complex topics into real world strategies for preventative health care guidance the complexity has to be thoroughly understood. In the last post the medical and chemistry jargon got thicker than a field of daisies and taking a break can help the brain sort through the field to find a bouquet – metaphorically speaking.

In my real world I also found some online courses to help brush up on making sense of medical and chemical jargon for the lay reader or the health professional. I’m taking some online courses available through Coursera.org: Writing for the Sciences, Stanford University and Medical Neuroscience, Duke University, and for later in the summer: Essentials of Global Health, Yale University.

My own health has been helped by the information I gather – the bouquets of daisies can turn into good hair days and the ability to grow skin. It is easy to take health, and skin, for granted until you lose it and then a physician with a prescription pad is not always available with a helpful answer. “We don’t know what causes it or how to help you but this pain killer might leave you addicted and/or cause uncomfortable side effects” – not a helpful answer and may be a more dangerous answer than “Your lab tests are normal, why don’t you go talk to a therapist about your problems (probably psychosomatic/hypochondria).” Thanks, I’ll go for a walk and think about that, maybe I’ll be able to pick some daisies and get some fresh air and sunshine while I’m out.

Taking a break sometimes is just what is needed to allow the brain to sort through a complicated issue – the solution is there but it may need to be selected out of a field of many possible answers. Some exercise and  a little time to not think consciously about it can be what the subconscious needs to put together the pieces so the larger puzzle can be seen. (Don’t Solve Your Problems – Lolly Daskal) Taking a walk was a strategy that Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens liked to use: “If I couldn’t walk fast and far, I should just explode and perish.” – Charles Dickens – (For a More Creative Brain, Take Breaks – Inc.com) (Michael Simmons Quote)

A completed puzzle of a picture of marbles arranged in a rainbow pattern – it was more difficult than it looks.

Taking a walk may not help you solve all your tough puzzles but the exercise is still good for you.

A field of dandelions in front of a mountain (Note: Objects may be closer than they appear).

So what did daisies have to do with yesterday’s post – they represented the pause I took to let all the material that I had read settle into a few take home points about real world strategies that might help protect people with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s Disease or autism – vigorous exercise regularly may help; a diet with a lower than typical balance of calories from carbohydrates versus fats and protein (30% carbohydrate calories); and occasional fasting for a day or afternoon (14) may all help the body to clear out the protein deposits that seem to collect and lead to Alzheimer’s or autism changes in the brain.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes. Thanks.

Thinking about art and clean air

For an Easter treat I went to an art museum and after seeing three floors of great artwork from around the world and across time, I was exhausted.

My long time favorite was right outside near where I parked – Easter was a good day to find a good parking spot. The Thinker, a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, has always had a lot to ponder:

There were many exquisite works of art and beautiful household furnishings, costumes and painfully thought provoking works of modern art or photography. Flash photography was not allowed and standing too close to the images for photography was not allowed as the camera still makes a small flash of light even without the flash. The museum lighting was dim to help protect the works of art and these images have been photo edited to increase the light level.

The most meaningful work of art for the sake of our shared future and children’s future was among the photographs. My shadow and reflections of other artworks are captured on the tranquil looking image – of smog. “Unhealthy Air for Sensitive People,” San Fernando Valley, 1984, by Victor Landweber:

“Unhealthy Air for Sensitive People,” San Fernando Valley, 1984, Chronographic Print, – Victor Landweber, American Born, 1943 “…While appealing, the work documents smog in Los Angeles, a problem arising from the approximately four million people that call the city home.”

Some works of art had an inner glow – stained glass windows with a religious theme from 1890 by John La Farge, American artist (1835-1910), (dia.org, link for more information):

 

The architecture of the building and gift shop featuring original works of art by local and international artists are well worth a visit for their own sake.

It was a beautiful and thought provoking visit to The Detroit Institute of Art – what legacy do we want to leave the future to think about? Clean air? Faith and Hope? Beautiful architecture and flowers? Or smog?

It is a lot to think about.

The Thinker, by August Rodin, at The Detroit Institute of Art. Detroit, Michigan.

Information about smog: (Causes and Effects of Smog, conserve-energy-future.com)

Having adequate B vitamins which are important for all aspects of metabolism and energy production in the body may help reduce the harmful health effects of breathing smog-laden air: (Could a Daily Vitamin Curb Smog’s Health Effects? webMD.com)

Disclosure: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use. While I am a Registered Dietitian it is not intended to provide individualized health  care guidance.. Please seek an individual health care professional  individualized health care guidance.