Klout ... it reminds me of a Scott Westerfeld novel

Has anyone else heard of Klout? It's like a social networking site that tracks how influential you are, based on your activity and responses in other social networking venues. This is all brand new information for me.

I just recently added myself to Klout and, surprisingly, I'm semi-addicted to checking my Klout scores every few days. And to be honest, I don't even know what it means. Yesterday I was a 49 today I'm a 50. Apparently Barack Obama is a 100 and Britney Spears is around 90-something. So really, I have no idea what my "50" actually means, but there's something about scores that are addicting.

It's like my blog. I LOVE checking the stats on my viewers and on the number of views I get. I'm still amazed at how many views I get from countries like Russia, Germany and the UK. It's amazing that I've reached so many people and I'm so grateful!

But there's something funny about this whole situation. It reminds me of a Scott Westerfeld novel. Specifically, "Extras" in which currency doesn't quite exist but is replaced by credits that you get for how influential and productive you are in society. Westerfeld's characters are obsessed with being influential over the internets. They kick stories and see how many people respond, going to incredible lengths to kick the best stories that will gather attention from the world.

Isn't that what we're doing? I mean, by blogging and by using something like Klout? Is there something that I'm missing here? Blogging for me is like having my own column in a newspaper or magazine. A place of writing-freedom. It's an author's dream. I'm grateful just to have an avenue in which to write, but to be able to influence others... there's something so powerful about that.

The thing about power though, is that people always want to harness it. And then exploit it. I really don't care to compare myself to Obama or Britney, but using Klout has me thinking... how far away is our reality from great science fiction novels?

Plastic surgery (or "surge") is already a reality. I myself having had my breast reduction am now considering laser eye surgery to correct my terrible vision. It's amazing what we can already do, but think of how close we are to other types of "surge". Also talking about Westerfeld's novel, we already have Maglev technology! I had no idea!

Most of the sci-fi novels that I read have a similar theme: what happens when humans fail and the earth can no longer support us. Sometimes I truly believe that James Dashner might not even be that far off. (Spoiler alert!) We develop a virus to control the population and it unpredictably mutates at an alarming rate... Sun flares hit the earth creating mass destruction... and the virus spreads like wildfire, embedding into our brains essentially turning anyone who isn't immune into a zombie-like being. Maybe a zombie apocalypse is a little far fetched, but setting an unpredictable virus on the loose sounds just like something our governments would do in desperate times.

I guess only time will tell. It's scary to think of where we're heading, and how infinite the possibilities are. How far will we go until we're exactly like a sci-fi novel? I think Westerfeld accurately captures the essence of human nature. His earlier novels like "Pretties" and "Specials" depicts how governments think, and what actions they take based on the actions taken against them. It's eye-opening when you see the similarities. Although they might seem like superficial books, his writing truly reveals so many levels of human thought and development.

The Jurassic Park of crops?

Many people have put a negative label on Genetically Modified (GM) foods, but are they dangerous or is it simply a case of "good" science?

I saw this Bill Nye video and loved it! If you're unsure of the benefits and risks of GM foods, this is a great general way to become informed. 

Part of it reminded me of a movie ... when you combine genes from different organisms, and then you allow them space on the earth in which to live... But there was a key line there: "Life will find a way." And that movie was Jurassic Park.

How is it possible for scientists to predict what these new species will do in our environment? How will they effect the ecosystems? Nye makes a good point when he talks about the insects and bats and how a chain reaction starting from our crops could potentially make our situation worse. In his hypothetical example, this chain reaction results in mosquito populations not being controlled by the bats that eat them, and therefore we have more West Nile virus floating around biting us in the ass - literally!

One scientist explains how they're making crops that are resistant to specific strains of bacteria... kind of like an antibiotic? But we know that antibiotic use in humans depletes our "good" protective bacteria and that it also leaves us less resistant to other strains. For example, using an antibiotic such as Clindamycin or Ampicillin leaves you more vulnerable to a C. difficile infection. So how does that translate to plants? In time, will different species of bacteria change and mutate in order to "infect" these new plants that we've created? Who knows?!

What's scary is that these crops are patented and owned by very few companies, the major one being Monsanto, owning over 80% of these crop patents. Is anyone else worried about this monopoly on our food sources? The power they hold is scary, especially when they also have ground within the FDA.

I mean, if we're left to put all of our trust in the government and the FDA, why do we still see aspartame, MSG, BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) in our products, in our grocery stores, in plain sight? Are they really looking out for us, or just for their best interests and that of the "economy."

This might be extreme, but it reminds me of the Erin Brockovitch story. How companies are turning a blind eye when it comes to health hazards and they continuously pump out these chemicals in our everyday products. My sister bought a couch a few weeks ago and woke up with a bleeding nose just from the chemicals they used on the fabric. (Thankfully she sent it back!).

It's scary what we do to save money while increasing product volume. If you're interested in reading more about the history of chemical companies (in a condensed version), I highly recommend "Slow Death by Rubber Duck" by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie.

It's a fantastic book on two guys who experiment with everyday items containing harmful chemicals as well as the history of real "Erin Brockovich" stories involving companies like DuPont. Did I mention that DuPont and Monsanto are in business together?

The great thing about the Bill Nye video and about Smith and Lourie's book is that they don't just tell the "bad" side about these technologies, but also the part they play in our world and in society.

So read up, or watch Bill Nye's video and decide for yourself.

It's a Catch 2.0

Evolution is a funny thing. I don't mean in a Darwin sort of way - but in a human-development way. Because of technology and human advances, we've solved many problems of our past, but we make all new problems. We think technology makes life easier, but does it? Really, I think it just makes life busier and faster... which is a good thing?

I'm currently trying to read Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper. And I say "trying" because, ironically, not having enough time is keeping me from finishing it.

We invented the concept of time; Of making calendars, of measuring out the days by sunrises and sunsets, and breaking them up into hours, and minutes and seconds. Because of technology, everything in our world is "instant" and we can technically fit more into a day.

Remember the days of snail mail? I actually used to write letters to friends and send them in an envelope with a real stamp and put it in a physical mailbox. It would take about a week to get a reply. But now we text each other and can communicate instantly.

I wanted to talk about it because it's such a huge source of anxiety and stress in our world. But how can we deal with it? How do we solve this problem? People (including myself) always say there is never enough time!

If we create more space in our day by being able to accomplish more in that time via technology, isn't there just more stress put on us to get more done and be MORE productive? It's a Catch 22... or a catch 2.0? I can submit assignments without actually having to be present in class. I can arrange my weekend plans with just a few taps on my iPhone. With the physical barriers gone, there's more pressure to get things done in a day.

Would it be terrible if we all just slowed down?!

It's funny that nowadays we get "mental health days" from work. We actually need to force ourselves to take time off, but how many of us actually do that? And really, would one day every 6-8 months make a difference? Who can afford to take more time off of work? We need to make money, we need to have society running, and we need to keep the economy going (I'm guessing... I really have no idea what's going on with the economy... Seriously, there could be a room full of monkeys sitting at desks crunching numbers on Casio calculators just making shit up for all I know.)

Side note: on the mention of monkeys, I'm pretty sure that's how our government is run. Everything seems so backwards to me. I'm going to be an ND in less than 2 years, helping to heal people rather than medicate and sedate them, thereby alleviating the stress on our health care system and yet the banks and the government insist on just taking all my money instead of helping me grow... and they're using my money to pay for other peoples bad health choices (due to lack of education... which is where NDs come in).

How f&@%ed up is that??? Some days I truly feel like I can take on the world and help make it a better place, but other times I'm so overwhelmed with how far we've come in screwing up our society.

How do we weight out the benefits of what we have and what technology allows us to do, with the risks of creating more stress and anxiety (among other health problems) from the society we've created?

I was bit by a dog, but experienced more anxiety from my phone

So today (meaning yesterday) was one of those days where I just wanted to smack myself and yell out "SERIOUSLY!" There is only so much you can do to stay bubbly before the world just spits in your face - or in my case, bites your leg.

On my way out to my car I noticed someone had double parked and blocked me in. Just great. So in addition to having to go door-to-door trying to find the culprit of the park and dash, I was attacked and bit by a dog. Now, I wish I could say that this was a huge ass dog with fangs like a Basilisk and paws like a bear... A dog that was frothing at the mouth with rage in its eyes! But embarrassingly enough I was bit by this tiny white fluffy -what I call a - "kick-me dog". Okay, so take that picture there just below and imagine him just a little bigger and mangier!

Image from: http://www.dailypuppy.com/dogs/max-the-bichon-frise_2009-01-02

You know what I'm talking about and don't even pretend like I'm some Death Eater who's out to kick puppies. I love dogs. I love puppies even more (hard to believe), but there is something about the small, yappy vicious dogs where they bark at you one too many times and you have the urge to punt them like a kicker going for a field goal. Yet the whole time I could feel this little shit's teeth trying to sink into my leg, all I could think about was how annoying this stupid dog was and how I just wanted it out of my way.

But being bitten, or even just ambushed by an animal can be a fairly traumatic experience for someone and cause a lot of anxiety. I'm going to switch gears and share with you the real source of my anxiety, which came later on in the day: technology.

My supervisor in clinic said something really profound this weekend. She said that we're now in a world where we are expected to be available all the time, and where we're expected to respond instantly. And think about it: If someone doesn't respond to a text or email within 10 minutes, do you ever wonder why they aren't responding? Maybe they don't like you. Maybe they're with cooler people than you. Maybe something terrible happened to them. Maybe they're just busy and are ignoring their phone. You have no idea, it could be anything! But we get sucked into this need to constantly know everything all the time. We update our statuses religiously, and if no one "likes" something that we put on Facebook, we immediately take that as rejection.

For a teenager I can only image how influential this is on their mental well-being. I never had a cell phone as a teen. I carried an "emergency" quarter in my backpack in case I needed to use a payphone. We didn't have text messaging. Closer to the end of high school we had ICQ messenger... but it was on dial-up internet and if you were "offline" you truly were offline. Now, you can hide your status. Pretend like you're busy. Or maybe you really are busy, but no one really knows and we're all so obsessed with knowing!

Our phones have become our lifelines. And I didn't realize the impact it had on me until today. I actually switched from my Android to the iphone 4. Granted, it's not the new snazzy iphone, but it does the trick, and it likes to talk to my MacBook. I joke that when I plug my phone in to my mac, they form a shadow government and start syncing secret information. Because really, I don't know what happens in the Cloud and I'm pretty sure I can't even get access there yet.

My point is, for the entire day I obsessed over setting up this phone. Syncing my calendar, my music, making sure I still have Wham! as my ringtone, and transferring all my contacts which apparently can't be done. Seriously, we have the power to follow the trajectory of meteors but someone couldn't figure out how to transfer a contact list from one phone to another? And this was my biggest stressor of the day! That dog bite took the backseat on my anxiety scale.

So what is to happen to future generations? Will we be riddled with anxiety disorders? Depending on how we use them, will our brains evolve or dissolve? Or maybe the Bichon Frise dogs are just waiting for our phones to explode and then they'll eat us and rule the world!