Month: December 2018

The Cause, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Hydrocephalus

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Hydrocephalus affects over 500,000 children worldwide. Hydrocephalus can be caused by infection, genetic anomalies, or head injuries. The reason hydrocephalus causes the heads of infants to grow so incredibly large is because all babies are born with soft, mailable skulls which are capable of expanding over 3x its typical size within the first 12 – 18 months after birth. Hydrocephalus is caused because the valve located between the left and right brain hemispheres which drains cerebrospinal fluid down the spine and into the abdomen, becomes blocked. When medical examinations are available, hydrocephalus can be diagnosed in utero allowing for immediate intervention. When the severity of hydrocephalus is diagnosed via computed tomography scan, the brain does not show up, as the water present takes up so much volume that the cavity where the brain would normally be, shows up as black, as water obstructs the ability of the scanner to take a complete image. The most common intervention of hydrocephalus is the installation of a shunt, but shunts have an 80% failure rate causing future uncertainty for those who have experienced hydrocephalus. Uganda has an unusually high occurrence rate of hydrocephalus primarily due to high rates of infant infection and lack of medical facilities and care

The Effects of a Western Diet Upon Health

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Overall health and quality of life typically are reduced dramatically after the age of 65 for people who subscribe to consuming a typical western diet. The average American may live to be 79 on paper, but in practice a wide bell curve must be observed which states that the majority of people, or at the very least 50% of people in this range die between the ages of 60 and 79. Those who adopt a nutritarian diet can typically expect 15 – 20 more years than a person who consumed a typical western diet, but what’s more is that those years are spent in good health not poor or deteriorating health, observing a vastly reduced, thin bell curve which sees a peak of 98 years of age with death occurring between 80 – 120 with virtually all living past 85

Edwin Hubble’s Discovery of the Accelerating Expansion of the Universe

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Edwin Hubble was able to work out not only how far a star or galaxy was from Earth, but also the speed at which it was moving away from Earth, a finding which was profound because in a stable universe, stars and galaxies should move away or towards something at random values, however Hubble determined that the further away a star or galaxy, the faster it moves away, which proved that the universe is expanding

Edwin Hubble’s Greatest Discovery

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Edwin Hubble was the first person to notice variability within the luminosity of stars. From this, Hubble was able to work out the distance between the Earth and any star in the universe. This permitted Hubble to calculate how far the Andromeda Galaxy was which is the galaxy nearest to Earth. Albert Einstein did not believe the implications of his own equations and thus added lambda, expressed as “Λ”, to his equations. Lamda was designed to act as an antigravity force, an addition Einstein stated was “necessary only for the purposes of making a quasi static distribution of matter” which means to “maintain the status quo” or to “keep things as they always were”. Once lambda was removed from Einstein’s equations, each one fit perfectly with the observable model of the universe as they account for expansion. Einstein refused to believe the universe was constantly undergoing expansion until years after scientists had confirmed it to be true

Christmas On The Western Front During World War I

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During World War I, a ceasefire occurred for a single day on December 25, 1914. This temporary peace was referred to as the “Christmas Truce” in English but in German it is referred to as “Weihnachtsfrieden” and in French it is referred to as “Treve de Noël”. The Christmas truce was a widespread but unofficial ceasefire along the European Western Front. In the week leading up to the Christmas, French, German, and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange small gifts and spend time talking and drinking alcohol. While initiating the truce, Axis soldiers called out to the Allied infantry by loudly stating “you no shoot, we no shoot”. In some areas, soldiers from both sides ventured into no man’s land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle, exchange food, and give and receive small souvenirs. Joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps occurred, and many meetings ended in the singing of Christmas carols. Soldiers played games of football with one another, providing one of the most memorable images of the truce which was taken during a break out game. Peaceful behavior however was not ubiquitous as fighting continued in some areas, while in others the sides settled on no more than arrangements to recover the bodies of soldiers who had recently died in combat

The Modern Concept of Santa Clause

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The modern concept of Santa Clause with a red suit, a jolly belly, and the iconic “Ho Ho Ho” laugh was invented by cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 1870’s and popularized by Coca Cola in their Santa advertisements which started in 1931. Prior to this, Santa was thought of and depicted as an elvin creature who lived amongst his elves

Statistical Disadvantages and Advantages for Craps

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When playing craps, a bet on the field is one of the worst bets a player can make because there are a vast amount of numbers listed upon the field area but only 16 combinations available for the die rolled to conform to what is needed. There are 20 combinations to roll the remaining numbers 5, 6, 7, or 8. A field bet wagers that any one of a handful of numbers are going to be rolled, but those numbers are the most difficult to roll when accounting for the numbers provided via the die. Only 1 combination will provide a 2 or a 3 to be rolled, 2 combinations provide a 4 to be rolled, 2 combinations provide a 9 to be rolled, 2 combinations provide a 10 to be rolled, and 1 combination for an 11 or 12 to be rolled. There are 3 different combinations to roll a 6 or a 7, therefore a player is more likely to end up with those numbers more often. A field bet provides the casino with a 5.5% advantage which is why it should never be chosen

The Original Intent of the Field of Archeology

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Archeology first began with a quest to discover one master truth above all others which was to find direct evidence of Jesus Christ. During the 17th century, fossils and other archaeological evidence of life prior to human beings were erroneously identified and explained as animals which were not able to make it onto Noah’s Ark and therefore perished in the great flood. Spear tips and dagger points were often incorrectly identified and explained as thunderbolts from heaven or meteorites during this period

The Reason Islamic Carpet Design is Geometric

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Carpet weaving is thought to have originated in Central Asia more than 2000 years ago, but it was the Islamic culture which shifted it into an art form. Many Islamic traditions have long frowned upon the depiction of sentient beings depicted in western art and because of this, carpet makers created landscapes of bright colors and complex patterns, with the mark of different tribes and ethnic groups recognized by the various dyes and pattern styles utilized. Patterns are so prevalent in Islamic culture because it is a form of expression which is permitted, unlike many others which go against the direct teachings of the Quran. It’s common for patterns to contain an eye somewhere along the line as a protective measure, or a small script to give thanks and praise to Allah, and sometimes even small depictions of hidden meanings like the head of a bird without the rest of its body. Typically, duplicates of the same Islamic carpet are not created, as the artist who created the original design did so because they felt a particular emotion during the creative process and because the same mood is or was not felt during the next carpet, the design is different to reflect the new mood experienced. The golden age of the Islamic carpet occurred during the 17th century when landscape art worked its way into these carpets causing them to become portable gardens of paradise. The images portrayed were not intended to hold a mirror up to nature, but to reflect what human beings value most of nature

Ansel Adams’ Genius and Process

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The American photographer Ansel Adams pushed the mechanical process of photography into an art form during the 1920’s. Adams’ method was to work backward from the image he had visualized within his mind and then anticipate the moment when the light and subject could be seen at their most illuminating. During Adams’ day, color photography was considered crass, as color photography was thought not to contain nuance and the subtlety which matched the real world. Black and white photography allowed for a beautiful range of tonalities which was abstract but still considered to be realism artwork during the period. Today, with much more sophisticated technology and color materials, the world can be photographed accurately with many different nuances. Ironically, black and white now appears as an abstract artistic medium in comparison to full color photographs