Paradoxes in Western Creativity

Statistical data, showing percentages of creativity in the various arts and philosophy among different nations during the history of Western civilization, can now be presented. This covers the ground quantitatively which Kroeber's Configurations of Culture Growth covered qualitatively. The study not only reveals different patterns among nations, but indicates the nature of the problem to be overcome if mankind is to achieve a universal maximum release of creativity for all in the future.     

The First Boasian: Alfred Kroeber and Franz Boas, 1896-1905

This article reviews the interplay of the personal, institutional, and intellectual factors in the relationship between Franz Boas and Alfred Kroeber, his first important student. It focuses on their first decade, 1896-1905, a critical transitional period in the formation of American anthropology. After a consideration of their personal and familial contexts, it reviews Boas's role as a graduate professor to Kroeber, the beginning of an academic anthropology program at the University of California, Boas and Kroeber's collaborative and competitive relationship as museum curators, their diverging ethnographic strategies, Boas's editing of Kroeber's professional writings, and their disagreements over the organization of national professional societies (primarily the American Anthropological Association and the American Folklore Society). This article is a case study of the construction of anthropological traditions. [Keywords: Franz Boas, Alfred Kroeber, history of anthropology]     

Global Violence and Indonesian Muslim Politics

The attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States and the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan provoked fierce threats of violence in Indonesia, the world's largest majority-Muslim country. Western journalists portrayed these reactions as among the most destabilizing in the Muslim world. Less widely reported, however, was the intensification of a struggle between Muslim proponents of democracy and neof undamentalist conservatives, sparked by the same incidents. This article explores the varied reactions of Muslims to the violence of September 11 and its aftermath in light of this contest between rival Muslim groupings. It examines their competing visions of Islam and nation, as well as their supporting alliances in state and society. The example highlights the pluralism of Muslim politics and the special challenges of democratic transitions. Emphasizing the plurality and permeability of civilizations, the example also suggests that there is no "clash of civilizations" between Islam and the West but, rather, a more open process of globalization, localization, and exchange. [Keywords: Islam, Indonesia, violence, democratization, civilization]     

Bao-yu: A Mental Disorder or a Cultural Icon?

The embodied human subject is dynamically connected to his or her historico-sociocultural context, the soil from which a person’s psyche is nourished as multiplex meanings are absorbed and enable personal development. In each culture certain towering artistic works embody this perspective. The Dream of the Red Chamber introduces Jia Bao-yu—a scion of the prestigious Jia family—and his relationships with a large cast of characters. Bao-yu is controversial but, at the time of the family’s tragic collapse, he can be seen as embodying a spiritual struggle in which his instinct, nature, sensitivity, and creativity are grounded in his transcendent relationship with a fragment of the world stone, an eternal source of energy and creativity. We are invited to draw on a metaphysical level of thought to consider his struggles with man-made hierarchies and a situated historico-sociocultural order in such a way as to live out his spiritual being. As such, the novel is closely relevant to questions of spirituality in bioethics. Through personal experiences, passions, creativity, and relationships with others, the body is inscribed, forming the soul, which may be misconstrued (for instance, through a medical or Cartesian reformulation of events) but which can be seen as the site of ethical and spiritual thought.     

Evaluation of the weed flora of Egypt from Predynastic to Graeco-Roman times

Macrofossils of weeds retrieved from archaeological sediments in Egypt are discussed in terms of their presence, preservation and representation significance. The study reveals 112 field weeds from 61 archaeological sites dating from Predynastic times (4500 B.C.) up to the Graeco-Roman period (A.D. 395). Most of the remains were preserved by desiccation. The 112 listed species include 24 taxa from Predynastic Hierakonpolis (3800–3500 B.C.) identified for the first time. This study is based on a selection of 97 species from the entire list. Interpretation of field weed finds from the archaeological contexts is discussed. The highest number of species, 63, is recorded from the Pharaonic period. The Predynastic era is represented by 46 species and the Graeco-Roman period by 34. The intensive archaeological excavation of Pharaonic settlements may explain the rich flora of that period compared with the two others. Floristic analysis shows that 57 species were introduced in association with crops from the Middle East and 40 may belong to the native vegetation of the Nile valley.     

干旱区绿洲城市生态文明建设公众参与意识研究——以“一带一路”沿线城市乌鲁木齐为例

生态文明是人类文明发展的新阶段,其强调人与自然的协调发展。基于公众科学理论框架,采用模型模拟方法、实地问卷调查、多元回归方法,分析了乌鲁木齐居民参与城市生态文明建设的自我感知、满意程度、参与意愿,并构建了结构方程模型(SEM),探讨了居民参与城市生态文明意愿的可行路径,分析了居民参与城市生态文明建设的意愿与其相关因素间的关系,揭示了居民参与城市生态文明建设主要限制因素。结果表明:(1)居民自我感知与城市生态文明建设参与意愿呈显著正相关,满意程度与参与意愿呈显著负相关;(2)45.36%的受访者表示非常愿意参与城市生态文明建设;(3)居民主体意识和支持度占比分别为72.92%、72.04%,生态认知、生态关注及参与信心占比分别为43.08%、64.33%和55.14%;(4)受访者对城市生态文明建设状况满意度的平均偏效应为2.32,各项满意度均值情况为:城市绿化状况(2.51)政府环境信息公开程度(2.41)城市空气状况(2.35)城市垃圾处理与分类状况(1.99)。研究成果以期为建立和推进城市生态文明建设提供科学参考。     

Neutrino intergalactic communication,metal life,and viruses: Part 1 quo vadis ex machina

At one spectrum extreme, Astrobiology conjectures that for exoplanets with Goldilocks conditions, terrestrial-like life is inevitable. Moreover, it is envisaged that via panspermia, terrestrial-like life and its precursors are transferred among galaxies, stars, and within solar systems via transiting comets, asteroids, and planetoids. In addition, expelled stars, which have solar systems, it is inferred, transfer life as well. However, at the other extreme, we propose a paradigm shift that on some planets, subject to non- Goldilocks conditions, metal machine life could arise, ab initio, and evolve viruses, intelligence, and civilizations, conjointly. Accordingly, intelligent mechanized civilizations could readily and efficiently commence space exploration. Furthermore, as a counter paradigm shift, such civilizations could experiment and produce non-metallic life, based on carbon and other non-metal elements, under suitable conditions, related to Goldilocks life. Even a single example of validated interstellar or intergalactic communication received on the Earth would support the existence of life elsewhere. However, the communication platform should not be restricted to electromagnetic radiation. Other platforms should be included as well - one such example, which would require sophisticated technology, is neutrino communication. This is the case for any advanced civilization, be it metal-machine based, biological-based, and carbon-based. In sum, civilizations based on machine life, would be highly productive due to the longevity and hardiness of machine life. However, significant caveats are raised in this brief report, because possibly dissimilar psychologies and intelligence may lead to conflicts between metal machine life and biological life, inter-paradigm conflict.     

Intelligence and mate choice: intelligent men are always appealing

What role does a man's intelligence play in women's mate preferences? Selecting a more intelligent mate often provides women with better access to resources and parental investment for offspring. But this preference may also provide indirect genetic benefits in the form of having offspring who are in better physical condition, regardless of parental provisioning. Intelligence then may serve as both a cue of a mate's provisioning abilities and his overall heritable phenotypic quality. In the current study, we examined the role of a man's intelligence in women's long- and short-term mate preferences. We used a rigorous psychometric measure (men's WAIS scores) to assess intelligence (the first study to our knowledge), in addition to women's subjective ratings to predict mate appeal. We also examined the related trait of creativity, using women's ratings as a first step, to assess whether creativity could predict mate appeal, above and beyond intelligence. Finally, we examined whether preferences for intelligent and creative short-term mates shifted according to a woman's conception risk. Multilevel modeling was used to identify predictors of mate appeal. Study participants (204 women) assessed the long- and short-term mate appeal of videos of 15 men with known measures of intelligence performing verbal and physical tasks. Findings indicate that both intelligence and creativity independently predicted mate appeal across mating contexts, but no conception-risk effects were detected. We discuss implications of these findings for the role of intelligence and creativity in women's mate choices.     

Lessons from a great developmental biologist

The announcement that Sir John Gurdon had been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology was received with great joy by developmental biologists. It was a very special occasion because of his total dedication to science and turning the Golden Rule of western civilization – love your neighbor as yourself – into a reality in our field. This essay attempts to explain how John became such a great scientific benefactor, and to review some of his discoveries that are less well known than the nuclear transplantation experiments. A few personal anecdotes are also included to illustrate the profound goodness of this unique man of science.     

The Innocence and Natural Liberty of Morlacchia: European Identity, Enlightened Anthropology and the Ambivalent Significance of Gender among Noble Savages

This article considers the anthropological study, published in 1774 by Alberto Fortis, concerning the pastoral mountain people of Venetian Dalmatia, known as Morlacchi. Fortis analyzed their customs with reference to the Enlightenment's standard of civilization, and issues of gender were fundamental for his anthropological appreciation of their social relations. Fortis's account of the Morlacchi was important for the origins of the modern anthropological perspective in the age of Enlightenment, and also for the modern formulation of the difference between Western Europe and Eastern Europe. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

More fibre: the negotiation of microscopic facts in Victorian Britain

During the 1840s and 1850s the Britishembryologist and histologist Martin Barry(1802–1855) propounded a bold and originalthesis about the microscopic structure ofanimal and vegetable tissue. He maintainedthat minute double spirals were virtuallyubiquitous in the makeup of a wide range ofstructures. This paper considers how a claimof this kind was consonant with a romanticimage of scientific creativity with which Barryidentified. It describes his partiallysuccessful strategies to convincecontemporaries of the veracity of his claims. Major figures in the field, such as RichardOwen and Jan Evangelista Purkyn, affirmed thatBarry's spirals were real objects in nature. Others, notably William Sharpey, becameconvinced that the spirals were mere artefactsand that Barry was deeply flawed as ascientific investigator. The ultimaterejection of his hypothesis had much to do withthe moral repugnance that Barry's attempts togain credit for a major discovery evoked amonginfluential medical scientists. This negativeassessment of Barry as an investigator revealsthe lineaments of an alternative ethic ofscientific practice.     

Functional properties of Hb-J Calabria, beta 64 (E8) Gly-Asp

A young male from Apulia region (Southern Italy), heterozygous carrier of Hb-J Calabria (beta 64(E8) Gly-Asp), was described here. He showed mild polycythemia, and his whole blood dissociation curve for oxygen was clearly left-shifted, with a decreased p50. But these characteristics were not only due to the hyperaffinity of the abnormal pigment, accounting for about one third of the total Hb; in fact, also Hb-A, the main pigment present, had relative hyperaffinity. Nevertheless, this subject was completely symptomless, suggesting that the abnormal Hb was almost completely excluded from respiratory exchange and traveled always oxygenated also in the venous-capillary bed. However, the level reached by Hb-A furnished a satisfactory functional compensation against tissue hypoxia.     

The botanical neolithic revolution

It is proposed, on the basis of evidence from geological history and paleoclimatology, that annual grasses and legumes did not appear as significant components of the vegetation of Asia until the Neothermal, some 11,000 years B.P. The new combination of environmental factors which then became operative induced a widespread physiological and genetic change from a perennial to an annual habit in ecoclimatic zones in which annual types of ancestral perennials had not earlier occurred in any number. The annual prototypes of the Asian cereals and grain legumes therefore became rather suddenly and abundantly available to primitive man in his still biological ecosystems. Once this botanical revolution had occurred throughout the isoxerothermic zones around the inner cores of Asia, progress towards what came to be called civilizations, based on increasingly economic agricultural ecosystems involving cultivation and domestication of crops, followed in a gradual step-by-step manner.     

Are genuine changes in protein expression being overlooked? Reassessing Western blotting

This study used purified calsequestrin 1 and AMP kinase (AMPK) proteins to demonstrate how Western blotting outcomes can be influenced when either the density of proteins detected lie within a nonproportional region of a standard curve or a standard curve is not taken into account for data analyses. It outlines the likelihood of true changes being overlooked through the simple mistake of using band density alone and/or through analyzing too much sample. To demonstrate this, extrapolation of a typical linear, although nonproportional, standard curve resulted in approximately fourfold error. The standard curve method was used to estimate the concentration of AMPK β1 in rat extensor digitorum longus muscle as being of the order of 60 μM. The article suggests that adopting a more sensitive Western blotting protocol will improve the reliability of quantitative Western blotting outcomes.     

Honey: Single food stuff comprises many drugs

Honey is a natural food item produced by honey bees. Ancient civilizations considered honey as a God gifted prestigious product. Therefore, a huge literature is available regarding honey importance in almost all religions. Physically, honey is a viscous and jelly material having no specific color. Chemically, honey is a complex blend of many organic and inorganic compounds such as sugars, proteins, organic acids, pigments, minerals, and many other elements. Honey use as a therapeutic agent is as old as human civilization itself. Prior to the appearance of present day drugs, honey was conventionally used for treating many diseases. At this instant, the modern research has proven the medicinal importance of honey. It has broad spectrum anti-biotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal activities. Honey prevents and kills microbes through different mechanism such as elevated pH and enzyme activities. Till now, no synthetic compound that works as anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal drugs has been reported in honey yet it works against bacteria, viruses and fungi while no anti-protozoal activity has been reported. Potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous activities of honey have been reported. Honey is not only significant as anti-inflammatory drug that relieve inflammation but also protect liver by degenerative effects of synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs. This article reviews physico-chemical properties, traditional use of honey as medicine and mechanism of action of honey in the light of modern scientific medicinal knowledge.     

An Experimental Ninth-Grade Anthropology Course

A ninth-grade course in anthropology was taught for three years at the North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, Illinois. Initially, the first quarter concerned ethnography and the principles of cultural and social anthropology; the second centered around evolution, human origins, and the development of civilization; and the third dealt with comparative modern civilizations. However, the first year convinced us that this was too much material, so the third quarter was dropped and the remainder of the material was spread over the entire year. Ninth graders are a good audience for anthropology because they are interested in ethnography, can compare ethnographic situations to their own situations, and most especially are learning and practicing at being adults so that cultural and social techniques are of great immediate interest.     

中亚河中地区青铜时代以来绿洲农业的演化与文明的交流

中亚河中地区是东西方文明交流的重要通道,当地干旱的气候对环境变化十分敏感,同时大量保存良好的考古遗迹使得该地区十分适合进行农业活动与文明交流的相关研究。本研究通过年代学与植物考古学方法,对阿姆河流域范围青铜时代晚期至萨珊波斯时期的考古遗址进行研究,尝试重建区内全新世人类农业活动的发展过程,并分析研究4000 BP以来人类的农业活动对环境变化的响应与适应。研究结果显示,河中地区农业的作物构成自4000 BP的青铜时代晚期就已表现出高度的复杂性。虽然在不同的时期不同类型作物的种植比例存在一定的差别,但当地的作物始终以大麦、小麦为主,辅以粟、黍、豆类等谷物及葡萄等果木,自青铜时代晚期形成后这种综合了东西方元素的绿洲农业便保持稳定;后期虽有水稻等作物加入但并没有对已有结构产生较大的影响。本研究为进一步了解中亚内陆干旱-半干旱地区绿洲农业的结构演化及其对环境变化的响应,以及探究不同起源地区作物在亚欧大陆的传播提供了基础资料和新的视角。     

Psychological Analysis of M.A. Vrubel’s Creative Potential

The author motivates his analysis by a general need for creativity as a precondition of human survival. He assumes that creativity and ‘talent’ is connected with such factors as supportive social conditions, presence of constructive dissonance, certain level of consciousness, creating original products, creative strategies, and creative groups or ‘private laboratory’. vrublev’s biographical analysis divided his production into three thematic domains.     

Impact of Empire Expansion on Household Diet: The Inka in Northern Chile's Atacama Desert

The impact of expanding civilization on the health of American indigenous societies has long been studied. Most studies have focused on infections and malnutrition that occurred when less complex societies were incorporated into more complex civilizations. The details of dietary change, however, have rarely been explored. Using the analysis of starch residues recovered from coprolites, here we evaluate the dietary adaptations of indigenous farmers in northern Chile''s Atacama Desert during the time that the Inka Empire incorporated these communities into their economic system. This system has been described as “complementarity” because it involves interaction and trade in goods produced at different Andean elevations. We find that as local farming societies adapted to this new asymmetric system, a portion of their labor had to be given up to the Inka elite through a corvée tax system for maize production. In return, the Inka system of complementarity introduced previously rare foods from the Andean highlands into local economies. These changes caused a disruption of traditional communities as they instituted a state-level economic system on local farmers. Combined with previously published infection information for the same populations under Inka rule, the data suggest that there may have been a dual health impact from disruption of nutrition and introduction of crowd disease.     

Tracing the genetic history of the Chinese people: mitochondrial DNA analysis of aneolithic population from the Lajia site

Ancient DNA analysis was conducted on the dental remains of specimens from the Lajia site, dating back 3,800-4,000 years. The Lajia site is located in Minhe county, Qinghai province, in northwestern China. Archaeological studies link Lajia to the late period of the Qijia culture, one of the most important Neolithic civilizations of the upper Yellow River region, the cradle of Chinese civilization. Excavations at the site revealed that the inhabitants died in their houses as the result of a sudden flood. The Lajia site provides a rare chance to study the putative families, all of whom died at the same instant. Possible maternal familial relationships were investigated through mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence analysis. Twelve sequences from individuals found in one house were assigned to only five haplotypes, consistent with a possible close kinship. Results from analyses of RFLP typing and HVI motifs suggest that the Lajia people belonged to the haplogroups B, C, D, M*, and M10. This study, combined with archaeological and anthropological investigations, provides a better understanding of the genetic history of the Chinese people.