dementia isn't just forgetting

Dementia is a heartbreaking phenomenon. People forget things you'd never suppose that they would, such as old friends, or where to look for things in the kitchen drawers, or what they had for a recent meal.

But, it seems, people with dementia can "remember" things that didn't happen. In some ways, that's more upsetting to the caregiver than forgetting. A dementia patient may emphatically say that they've been somewhere that you know that they haven't, for example.

God help caregivers! (and people with dementia)

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*

Health: PsyPost reports on a study that indicates that internet use protects significantly from dementia.

Science: The Indian moon exploration has found Sulfur at the lunar South Pole, according to Gizmodo. (The article used both "sulfur" and "sulphur.")

Gizmodo also reports that a pig kidney, inserted into a human, has functioned for six weeks, and is still functioning.

And Gizmodo reports that an amateur astronomer reported a collision between Jupiter and a much smaller body.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view

Thanks for reading.

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Christianity:  Christianity Today considers "replacement theory," the idea that white people are being replace by people of color in the US.

Computing: Gizmodo tells us that bad people can use the web cameras in children's computers to do bad things.

Finances: A Conversation writer tells us that the cost of going to a prom is not growing as fast as the consumer price index.

Food: A Conversation writer tells us that peanut butter is a liquid, and, as such, may be removed from the material you bring on a flight.

(And Ethics, and finances) A Conversation writer says that the US Supreme Court has considered the question of how much space to give animals raised for meat.

Health: A Conversation writer discusses the dangers of obesity.

(and Computing) Gizmodo reports on a study indicating that internet use helps older people to avoid dementia.

Science: A Conversation writer tells us about clothes moths.

Gizmodo reports that Saturn has 145 moons.

A Conversation writer discusses keeping track of where we've been, and what we are doing, using DNA in skin flakes.

NPR reports on when and why butterflies evolved from moths.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading. 

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (And Christianity) Reviews of Mary Magdalene in Relevant, and Plugged In.

Yo-Yo Ma plays Bach on his cello, near the border, in Texas.
Christianity: Relevant has a good article on things newlyweds should know, but probably didn't learn about in church (if at all).


Computing: Google doesn't index everything. Here are some suggestions on how to find things that Google can't.

Christianity Today reports on a statement by evangelical leaders (mostly Southern Baptists) about the implications of artificial intelligence.

Finance: (and politics) Catherine Rampell on why confirming Herman Cain and/or Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve Board would be a disaster. (I don't believe that either of them have been officially nominated yet, but the President is making noises about doing so.)

Rampell also tells us about what she says is a sensible tax plan, which would help working families, but should have Republican support.

Philosophy: (and Christianity, and History) Joel Edmund Anderson on the question of the source of morality.


Politics: (and health) A USA Today opinion writer, a psychologist, with experience in dealing with dementia, believes that President Trump has dementia.

Michael Gerson warns about the dangers of the partisanship which is so prevalent in our society.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. 

Thanks for looking!

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Listverse describes stories that probably influenced J. R. R. Tolkien's writing.

Christianity: Not a surprise. Relevant reports on a study that shows that larger Protestant churches are more likely to be growing than small ones.


Computing: NPR reports that electronic medical record-keeping hasn't lived up to its promise, and explains why.

Finance: Catherine Rampell reacts to the Trump administration's budget.

Health: NPR reports that Alzheimer's is not the only form of dementia. There are other common forms, all bad, but treatment for some of the effects may be possible, provided the actual form of dementia is known.

Politics: A USA Today columnist is not happy with the President, but explains why he might win in 2020.

Michael Gerson explains why Trump's base is loyal. It isn't pretty.

FiveThirtyEight analyzes the various lawsuits against the President, and his businesses, especially a suit involving the emoluments clause of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is going to be busy, apparently.


Science: Listverse tells us a lot of interesting facts about ice.

Gizmodo reports on calculations that say that Mercury is closer to the earth than Venus is.

Gizmodo also reports on an enormous geological event that we didn't feel, but was detected by seismographs all over the world.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain.
Thanks for looking!

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Christianity Today article argues that Christians usually have no business watching rape, as depicted in visual media. Duh!


Computing: Wired considers the question of how to interact with intelligent robots -- not those of the future, but those of the present, for example in our homes, and which are nearly ready.

Ethics: You have probably heard that scientists have recently changed genes in human embryos. There are analyses in Wired, and two, here and here, in Scientific American.

Health: A Wired writer tells us how many time we need to click a mouse, so as to burn one calorie. A lot.

Scientific American reports that remaining friends with someone, after he/she develops dementia, is helpful to both.

History: Listverse has an interesting post about 10 important events in history, which are looked on differently by different countries. (Sample: how the UK and the US see the Revolutionary War.)
Scientific American on strawberries and politics. (The article says little or nothing about 21st Century politics.)

Humor: (or something) The US Government is auctioning off lighthouses, and they won't be very expensive.

A writer for FiveThirtyEight analyzed the contents of over 1000 "Chinese" fortune cookies, and found some interesting things.

Listverse describes 10 unusual places where people have lived, or still live. (Sample: a two-room burrow in a city park.)


Politics: Wired reports that a recently proposed immigration bill wouldn't help US productivity very much, if it were passed, and that Canada is getting a considerably higher portion of its skilled workers from immigration that the US is. (I have since heard other commentators on this bill, on radio, including one from Fox News, who agree that the main thing this proposal does is cut down seriously on the number of immigrants, and that it won't really add much, if any, to the number of skilled workers who immigrate.)

Wired reports that employees of the US Department of Agriculture have been ordered not to use "climate change" and related terms in their reports.


Science: Scientific American reports on a study of dog facial expressions.

Government scientists have produced a report on climate change, not yet released. It's not good. See here and here.



Image source (public domain)

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Christianity Today writer tells us why Down Syndrome children are valuable.

Fox News reports that some Muslim refugees are converting to Christianity, in Europe.

(and health) From a blog: "What I'll say to my Children if I'm Diagnosed with Alzheimer's." (Thanks to a regular reader for the link.)


Ethics: A Sojourners article says that President Trump's lies are putting us on the brink of a moral crisis. The article notes other lies from other Presidents, but claims that Mr. Trump's lies are bolder, more frequent, and, apparently, deliberate.

History: The History Blog reports on a toilet seat that was made nearly 2,000 years ago.

Listverse tells us 10 interesting things about trains. (Some of these are about Japanese trains.)

Humor: (sort of) Listverse tells us 10 stupid things that the CIA did years ago.


Politics: FiveThirtyEight and other sources, including Scientific American, indicate that President Trump's recent roll-back of environmental regulations affecting coal won't have much effect -- the coal industry, and coal miners, aren't going to be helped significantly.

Image source (public domain)

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Cal Thomas, a Christian, and a politically conservative columnist, who interviewed Mr. Trump a few weeks before Dobson's statement, is skeptical of his reported conversion.

A columnist in Relevant argues that when Jesus said that the poor will always be with you, He didn't mean that we shouldn't do something about them, or, really, that poverty was a necessary condition.

Health: National Public Radio reports on the use of virtual reality (VR) in seriously incapacitated patients, who seem to be responding well to VR.

NPR also reports on various kinds of gifts to doctors by drug companies and device makers, which, unfortunately, may influence those doctors to prescribe treatments that aren't in the patient's best interest. Hospitals in Southern states are most likely to have such influences.

Wired tells us that it's OK, healthwise, anyway, to eat boogers.

Politics: Wired on how the Benghazi report is presented, and interpreted, in accord with our pre-existing biases. 

Sports: FiveThirty Eight (and other sources) argues that Pat Summitt, recently deceased Tennessee women's basketball coach, was the greatest college women's basketball coach of all time. Others have gone further, and said that she was the greatest college basketball coach, period.


Image source (public domain)  

Christianity Today and articles about the brain's ability

Christianity Today has recently published two articles about a handicapped brain and a relationship to God.

One of them discusses an all-too-common fact -- the church forgets people with Alzheimer's, and their caregivers.

The other gives the story of a man in South Africa who was unable to communicate for nine years, although his brain was active, and he could hear and see, but who came to faith in God during that time. A remarkable story.

Thanks for reading. Read these articles.

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Todd Wood, dedicated Young-Earth Creationist, and Darrell Falk, dedicated evolutionary creationist, have been having a long, loving discussion.
Computing: Gizmo's Freeware points to a page of "Best Free PC Games."
Education: Infotopia is a site that links to sources which would be useful in school, and especially for home schoolers.
Health: (and sex, and ethics) National Public Radio reports on a question that troubles many: "Can a Person With Dementia Consent to Sex?"
Philosophy: (Or something) Chimpanzees have been given some legal rights, according to an article in Wired.
Politics: (And Christianity) An interesting essay on "Shouldn't Christians Just Obey the Law." The author uses Martin Luther King, jr's argument to argue that laws requiring businesses to serve homosexuals are unjust. Hmmm.
Science: (or something) Wired reports on "The Surprisingly Complex Design of the Ziploc Bag."
The BBC on the sequencing of the genome of the wooly mammoth.

Image source (public domain)

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Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
Christianity: God and Nature magazine reports on how and why a mature Christian couple changed their beliefs about the age of the earth.
Health: (or ethics, or sex) National Public Radio reports on the question of "Can Elderly Patients With Dementia Consent To Sex?"
Humor: (sort of) A photo of what happens when you try to drive in wet concrete.
Science: In case you didn't know it, there has been some doubt that Tyrannosaurus rex was really a savage predator, but might have merely scavenged on dead animals. National Public Radio reports on good evidence that it was, indeed, a hunter of other dinosaurs.


Image source (public domain)

What good is accumulating knowledge?

I recently got a message from someone I don't know, who has been reading this blog. The reader had some questions, which were related to dementia, in someone dear to that reader. Here is one of them: "If our knowledge is in the end destroyed with our minds, then is it useful to accumulate it?"

This is my attempt at an answer:

Almost the same argument could be made for other human activities, such as, say, eating and having children. Nothing that most people do will survive much beyond their death, including the knowledge they have picked up. (A few will pass on some poem, or painting, or music, or some idea -- the latter often without anyone knowing where it came from.) Our children, or some succeeding generation, will eventually forget us, except for genealogy addicts, and even they won't really know much about us. But, in spite of that seeming futility, I believe that God has created us in His image, and part of that image causes us to want to learn, to discover.

Why did God do that? I can only guess. There is some potential for some of the knowledge that we have picked up over our life to be passed on to others, as in a book written, a new way of preparing food, an invention, or some other intellectual product. We may also make a living, using our knowledge. We may help to protect our children from danger, or make other people's lives better, because of the knowledge we have acquired. We also ought to glorify God through our knowledge. In my own poor way, that's what I'm trying to do with this blog.

I think we should have purposes for our lives, and collecting and dispensing knowledge can be a worthy goal, even if we know that that won't make a lasting difference.

C. S. Lewis preached a sermon, "Learning in War-time," in 1939, as the second World War was beginning in Europe. (The essay is published in The Weight of Glory.) In that sermon, Lewis said that each Christian "must ask himself how it is right, or even psychologically possible, for creatures who are every moment advancing either to heaven or to hell, to spend any fraction of the little time allowed them in this world on such comparative trivialities as literature or art, mathematics or biology. If human culture can stand up to that, it can stand up to anything."

He also said that "An appetite for these things exists in the human mind, and God makes no appetite in vain. We can therefore pursue knowledge as such, and beauty, as such, in the sure confidence that by so doing we are either advancing to the vision of God ourselves or indirectly helping others to do so."

So, if Lewis was right, and I believe he was, accumulating knowledge, in an unselfish, humble way, is part of what God made us, and wants us, to do, even though most of what we learn won't survive us, and a lot of it won't even last as long as we do, especially if we suffer from dementia.

I thank that reader, and hope that this further response is helpful.