FYH Article - Politics, Shock And Branding

[DaveFoster]

This article stands out from my previous ones in that I gained an appreciation for Dr. Peat's writing style. Formerly, I would organize articles in a linear fashion, exclusively factual and often contrived in doing so. For this, I let the ideas flow more freely, much more like a post on this forum as an expression of free thought. I've posted some excerpts from the article, and feel free post additional information that stands out to you.

Let me know what you think! I'm still organizing the references, and I'll get those up as soon as possible.

"An understanding of the breakdown of energetic processes offers clarity to the function of various adaptive systems. For example, an aged person tends to eat the same meals and lacks variety in his food choices, and similar patterns of harm-avoidance appear in intellectual pursuits. Older people tend to re-read the same books, watch the same movies and crack the same jokes. The repetitive “movement disorders” of autism and Parkinsonism resemble personality degeneration in the elderly. The false appearance of energy “wasting” with involuntary movements actually represents an insufficiency of energy to facilitate proper muscle relaxation, and similarly repetitive media consumption underscores a scarcity of brain energy.

Brand and novelty oppose one another, and the energetic reserves of the organism either promote exploration and novelty-seeking, or rather lower the threshold for shock (similar to the seizure threshold) and leaves the organism vulnerable to fear, uncertainty, learned helplessness, and dependence. Masculinity and femininity, not as ideals but as behaviors manifest in tandem with the organism's reserves. When stressed, women secrete greater amounts of testosterone, whereas men synthesize large amounts of serotonin and cortisol, both of which antagonize testosterone's effects. The masculinization of women and feminization of men serve as hallmarks of aging, and the stress metabolism interferes with normal sexual function."

Politics, Shock and Branding

 

[Diokine]

Nice article Dave, really well written. The link at the bottom of the post is broken though.

Since the hypometabolic (or energy-deficient) brain cannot integrate new conceptual understandings, the individual preserves crystallized understanding with constant “refreshing” of information, which also revitalizes degenerated memory processes.

This crystallized state of perception is essentially explained by the default mode network, and it's not difficult at all to find extensive evidence linking hypo-metabolism and persistent exposure to stress to alterations in this network. The scope of your cognitive comprehension is is bound by the degree of abstraction of thought. In other words, the degree to which you can think about your environment is directly proportional to how much information you can process and relate. A stressed organism can only comprehend the immediate situation.

"Perceive, think, act"

Inspiration (physical and metaphysical) induces a pattern of relations into your cognitive structures, which we term perception. The spaces these patterns fill, and the shapes they make, constitute your thought. Expiration sets these plastic shapes into place, which catalyzes into action or movement.

 

[DaveFoster]

Nice article Dave, really well written. The link at the bottom of the post is broken though.



This crystallized state of perception is essentially explained by the default mode network, and it's not difficult at all to find extensive evidence linking hypo-metabolism and persistent exposure to stress to alterations in this network. The scope of your cognitive comprehension is is bound by the degree of abstraction of thought. In other words, the degree to which you can think about your environment is directly proportional to how much information you can process and relate. A stressed organism can only comprehend the immediate situation.

"Perceive, think, act"

Inspiration (physical and metaphysical) induces a pattern of relations into your cognitive structures, which we term perception. The spaces these patterns fill, and the shapes they make, constitute your thought. Expiration sets these plastic shapes into place, which catalyzes into action or movement.

Thanks for the kind words and info; the link has been fixed. I'll integrate the default mode network into the article at a later date.

 

[Diokine]

I found this gem while researching some of the parameters influencing default and resting mode network rhythm in timing. Control your breath, control your mind. Control your mind, and you have power over your physiology.

Arterial CO2 Fluctuations Modulate Neuronal Rhythmicity: Implications for MEG and fMRI Studies of Resting-State Networks
In this study, we show for the first time that neuronal oscillatory power is intimately linked to arterial CO2 concentration down to the fine-scale modulations that occur during spontaneous breathing. We extend these results to demonstrate a correlation between neuronal oscillatory power and spontaneous arterial CO2 fluctuations in awake humans at rest. This work identifies a need for studies investigating resting-state networks in the human brain to measure and account for the impact of spontaneous changes in arterial CO2 on the neuronal signals of interest. Changes in breathing pattern that are time locked to task performance could also lead to confounding effects on neuronal oscillatory power when considering the electrophysiological response to functional stimulation.

 

[moriwatzi]

Politics, Shock and Branding

"The orientation of the “beta-male” reflects his emotionality, submissiveness and willingness to supplicate in certain circumstances, but in other, often oscilating states displays intense rage, irritability, and succumbs to neuroticism. Like the “beta-male,” the “beta-female” manifests as hierarchical, dominant, combative, and Machiavellian, or the inverse with the autistic “beta-female” having excessive submission, feelings of insecurity, self-loathing, lacking sexuality (that would appear hyper-feminine but in reality lacks sexual potential)."

Great observation!

Thanks for the article!

 

[DaveFoster]

"The orientation of the “beta-male” reflects his emotionality, submissiveness and willingness to supplicate in certain circumstances, but in other, often oscilating states displays intense rage, irritability, and succumbs to neuroticism. Like the “beta-male,” the “beta-female” manifests as hierarchical, dominant, combative, and Machiavellian, or the inverse with the autistic “beta-female” having excessive submission, feelings of insecurity, self-loathing, lacking sexuality (that would appear hyper-feminine but in reality lacks sexual potential)."

Great observation!

Thanks for the article!

Thanks for your feedback! @Diokine and thanks for the article.

 

[jaguar43]

In Mind and Tissue, Raymond Peat, PhD dichotomizes Roman law, which exists as an aged, fibrotic, predefined, unyielding, and external form of security juxtaposed against Greek philosophy as a youthful, regenerative, emergent, changing, and internal growth process that upholds freedom, self-expression, and truth. - Davefoster

what peat actually said

According to M. Spinka, "The eastern theology had its roots in Greek philosophy, while a great deal of western theology was based on Roman law." Typical differences were the Romans' emphasis on the divinity of Christ, their enforcement of clerical celibacy, and the limitation of the right of confirmation to the bishop. A deeper difference is the absence in the Eastern Church of creeds as summaries of what must be believed. The distinction between Greek philosophy and Roman law is the distinction between knowledge and power. - Mind and Tissue page 24

But thanks for misinterpreting Peat. Does misleading and being deceptive fit into the the category of the "beta-male".

 

[Diokine]

That's a pretty hostile criticism - what is your issue with the analogy?

We can interpret the empires through the book of Daniel, where the Greek system was represented by brass or bronze, and the Roman system by iron. Brass or bronze being an alloy of copper, similar in appearance to gold. Gold is pure and does not tarnish, the least reactive metal, representing the purest truth which is incorruptible and non reactive. Iron is similar in appearance to silver, silver being valuable and nearly perfect - but slightly more reactive and susceptible to corruption than gold. Similar to value systems and rules built by the thought processes of man...

Brass symbolized by connection with the divine logos, fine in appearance and in good balance with nature. Iron symbolized by acquisition of power and satisfaction of ego, suitable for application of force and total rule.

 

[Regina]

This article stands out from my previous ones in that I gained an appreciation for Dr. Peat's writing style. Formerly, I would organize articles in a linear fashion, exclusively factual and often contrived in doing so. For this, I let the ideas flow more freely, much more like a post on this forum as an expression of free thought. I've posted some excerpts from the article, and feel free post additional information that stands out to you.

Let me know what you think! I'm still organizing the references, and I'll get those up as soon as possible.

"An understanding of the breakdown of energetic processes offers clarity to the function of various adaptive systems. For example, an aged person tends to eat the same meals and lacks variety in his food choices, and similar patterns of harm-avoidance appear in intellectual pursuits. Older people tend to re-read the same books, watch the same movies and crack the same jokes. The repetitive “movement disorders” of autism and Parkinsonism resemble personality degeneration in the elderly. The false appearance of energy “wasting” with involuntary movements actually represents an insufficiency of energy to facilitate proper muscle relaxation, and similarly repetitive media consumption underscores a scarcity of brain energy.

Brand and novelty oppose one another, and the energetic reserves of the organism either promote exploration and novelty-seeking, or rather lower the threshold for shock (similar to the seizure threshold) and leaves the organism vulnerable to fear, uncertainty, learned helplessness, and dependence. Masculinity and femininity, not as ideals but as behaviors manifest in tandem with the organism's reserves. When stressed, women secrete greater amounts of testosterone, whereas men synthesize large amounts of serotonin and cortisol, both of which antagonize testosterone's effects. The masculinization of women and feminization of men serve as hallmarks of aging, and the stress metabolism interferes with normal sexual function."

Politics, Shock and Branding

Atta boy Dave. Terrific article with so many insightful connections and observations. Such as citing truth itself as youthful and regenerative.
When I gave my 92 yr old Mom with AD a few drops of ritanserin, she looked up at us like we were crazy and said, "Hand me my crossword." She went out on the balcony and effortlessly filled in the NYTimes puzzle like she had done for decades.
There were a couple of minor spots: last paragraph; first sentence, where you say "adaptive hormonal signalling". In that context, I was confused by "adaptive"? And the 2nd sentence in 1st paragraph, "The metabolic processes that underlie...."

 

[DaveFoster]

what peat actually said



But thanks for misinterpreting Peat. Does misleading and being deceptive fit into the the category of the "beta-male".

Thanks for the criticism. I agree the sentence structure misleads, so I'll change it. Although somewhat clunky the original sentence resembled, "n Mind and Tissue, Raymond Peat, PhD dichotomizes Roman law and Greek philosophy, where we may think of the former as aged, fibrotic, predefined, unyielding, and as an external form of security juxtaposed against Greek philosophy as a youthful, regenerative, emergent, changing, and internal growth process that upholds freedom, self-expression, and truth."

I never intended to mislead or misrepresent Dr. Peat, but merely to expand his dichotomy of Roman law versus Greek philosophy to a larger duality of rationalism versus empiricism, or rather as imposed ideas versus observed reality.

Atta boy Dave. Terrific article with so many insightful connections and observations. Such as citing truth itself as youthful and regenerative.
When I gave my 92 yr old Mom with AD a few drops of ritanserin, she looked up at us like we were crazy and said, "Hand me my crossword." She went out on the balcony and effortlessly filled in the NYTimes puzzle like she had done for decades.
There were a couple of minor spots: last paragraph; first sentence, where you say "adaptive hormonal signalling". In that context, I was confused by "adaptive"? And the 2nd sentence in 1st paragraph, "The metabolic processes that underlie...."

Thanks for the compliment, Regina!

Adaptive hormonal signalling as a controlled, rather than uninterrupted and chronic stress response.

The typo has been fixed, I appreciate the catch.

 

[Amazoniac]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2012/07/02/thomas-jefferson-steve-jobs-and-the-rule-of-3/
This is seen in a lot of Ray's articles. If it's not a synthesizing phrase, it's usually 3 keywords:
Ray Peat
@Mathematician told me it's because with 2 points it's too loose/broad, but with 4 it's more than needed and you disperse.
Also notice how the interviews in which people decided to entitle them with 4 keywords, they're less catchy.