Posts Tagged: ‘religion’
Can I pay a robot to say a quantum prayer for me?
by Robert Lamb | April 23, 2009
If quantum theory holds true and ceasing to believe in something can keep it from happening, then couldn’t enough belief steer us toward a future we want? Better yet, can’t we just bribe a few robots to pray us into a better, alternate reality? The answers may astound and confuse you.
Let’s tread into controversial territory, shall we? If you believe a recent study from the National Institutes of Health, then your belief in God isn’t all that special — at least from a neurological standpoint.
Researchers recently hooked 40 test subjects up to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) equipment and quizzed them about their beliefs, doubts and quandaries over the existence of a higher power, according to a story from NPR. This is the same technology that allows us to see what sections of the brain light up when we, say, contemplate the idea of beauty.
Thank you, ABC News for this story about a Hindu organization in India that will soon begin selling a soft drink containing cow urine. They plan to add some aloe vera and gooseberry to enhance the drinking experience and claim they don’t know what the final flavor will be yet. My guess is cow urine.
The cow is sacred in Hinduism and urine in general has been used for its supposed medicinal properties for centuries. Believers of urine therapy claim that the practice can help cure almost any ailment. Problem is, mainstream medicine has never endorsed urine therapy as a safe or effective way to treat anything. This article from slate.com points out the numerous dangers of drinking your own urine and in my own survival research I learned that the U.S. Army Field Manual has urine on the list of no-noes.
Research examining the link between religion and a longer, healthier life is well-established and accepted in the scientific community. But is it a reward from God to his followers? More likely it’s the self-control the pious practice that keeps them alive and out of the infirmary, says a new U of Miami study.
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