The Identity Mark- Digital Angel or Digital Devil?

How would you feel about carrying all of the identifying information of your life with you in a tiny chip? In our society today, we are beginning to implant “under-the-skin” ID chips. These chips hold any personal information on them, and can transmit that information to anyone with a “special hand-held scanner” (Swafford). Similar radio frequency tags have been used for many years to track household pets and other animals. Once the hand-held scanner reads the tag number, it is able to extract information about the animal and its owner. The identity chip is seen to have two identities of it’s own, a “Digital Angel” or a “Digital Devil.”

Applied Digital Solutions has now introduced a passive Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) chip that is compatible with human tissue. Given the name “Verichip,” the rice-sized device is injected through a syringe like needle under the skin of a person’s arm or hand; once it’s implanted, it’s unable to be removed. In the article, Bar-coding Humans, Angela Swafford notes how the Verichip is believed to be the first chip designed for human identification and is currently undergoing constant improvement in technology. Swafford also explains how Applied Digital Solutions is advancing the chip so that it can store all kinds of information and serve as a central database with a continual download of information. "The goal is to be able to develop a chip that will track the movement of people all over the world by utilizing global positioning satellites" (Swafford). The current device holds a number, and once it’s scanned, the authorized person must log into an encrypted website to access any information associated with the specific ID chip. Vincent Schodolski discusses how “the Verichip gives each implanted individual a number that, in turn, links to a database of information” (Schodolski). For example, if a person has a medical emergency, the hospital could scan the implanted chip, log into the website with the unique information, and access all personal information. Clearly the use of this chip has a huge impact on society as a whole, and on each individual in the means of privacy.

One of the primary reasons the Verichip has been created is to offer rapid and secure patient identification in emergencies. However, society must question whether this increased access to information can in fact harm the patients. For example, insurance companies would have access to what a patient’s pre-existing conditions are. Therefore, they can decide if it’s a risk to cover the individual, and may in the end determine if coverage will not be provided. A patient does not have the choice to keep some of their medical information private; whoever has access to their chip has access to it all. Another question concerns the access to this personal information and who determines access to it. Is this a decision left to the medical profession? Is this a decision left to the patient? Is this a decision left to the government? Who chooses? What about sensitive diseases such as AIDS/HIV? A patient’s right to keep the reality of such a disease private, as long as they are not harming other, should be kept with the individual rather than with some other authority. Helene Bernardo argues, “surely, a Medic Alert bracelet or necklace should be sufficient identification in a health crises” (Benardo). Why should society need to have easy access to such a level where there are endless questions and need to have a non-removable chip to be able to have access to these records?

Another intended use of the Verichip is to ensure security. Despite the positive factors, many also question whether the additional security is worth the loss of privacy. When individuals choose to embed these chips into their skin, who gets to decide when the information is accessible and under what circumstances? These are moral and ethical considerations. From a religious standpoint many would say this is the equivalent of “taking the mark of the beast.” Taking the mark of the beast in the realm of believers is seem as selling your soul to the devil. This mark is not defined in its appearance, but many believe it will be binary or barcode in nature.

One would see an additional benefit to this identity chip as the easy access factor it holds. Rather than having to carry around all the identification, credit cards, insurance cards, medical information, those wanting this chip would have the luxury of just swiping their arm. People could quickly charge to their credit card accounts, access money from their bank’s automatic teller machines without a card, and provide medical information and insurance coverage information at their physician’s office or at the pharmacy. Is this really necessary or is it merely convenient?

The decision of whether this identity chip is a “Digital Angel” or a “Digital Devil” is truly a moral dilemma. After reading the articles, information and opinions, the identity chip seems to be a real “Digital Devil.” What better security can this device bring to the United States citizens that they don’t already have? Is this advanced technology taking away humanity? Individual freedom is highly valued in our society. Individuals must weigh the pros and cons of this technology and decide for themselves, whether it’s right. Improved technology isn’t always the answer.

1.) Bernardo, Helene "The Specter of Implanted Identity Chips. (Editorial Desk)(Letter to the Editor)." The New York Times. (Oct 18, 2004 pA16 (L) col 04 (2 col): A16 (L). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Mount Mansfield Union High School. Web. 2 Nov. 2010.

2.) Schodolski, Vincent J. "Identity chips could protect health, but hurt privacy, some say." Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. (Dec 27, 2004): K1522. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Mt Mansfield Union High School. Web. 2 Nov. 2010.

3.) Swafford, Angela. "Barcoding Humans." Boston Globe (2004): Web. 2 Nov. 2010

4.) Youtube.com

What's for dinner?...Dirt.

Think about people compelled to eat strange disturbing things such as dirt, chalk, metal etc. This concept is undoubtedly intriguing. These symptoms spawn from a rare condition called Pica. Pica is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for non-nutritive items or also things considered not to be edible on their own, such as raw rice, flour, and other food ingredients or raw food items. The word pica comes from the Latin word for magpie, a bird known for its large and indiscriminate appetite. This disorder effects more people than you would think. In fact, according to kidshealth.org, 25-30% of children are diagnosed with it. Although many young children explore their world through putting foreign objects in their mouths, children affected by pica have cravings that persist and often lead to a need for professional help. Some other people that are commonly affected by Pica include pregnant women and people with developmental disabilities.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/pica.html
The kinds of items consumed by people suffering from Pica cover a great range including dirt, clay, paint chips, plaster, chalk, cornstarch, laundry starch, baking soda, coffee grounds, cigarette ashes, burnt match heads, cigarette butts, soap, ice, glue, hair, buttons, paper, sand, toothpaste, and even feces.



(Pictured here are the contents of someone’s stomach who suffered from Pica. You can see a great variety of items including metal nails, beads, and stones.)

One can readily assume the kinds of health risks that consuming non-food items can pose. One could accidentally consume lead from paint, or toxins in dirt, even parasites. Now the question that’s on all our minds is what goes through these peoples minds when they continuously feed themselves things they know aren’t intended for consumption?
One example of a patient suffering from pica was a 33-year-old, African American woman admitted to the emergency room with vague abdominal complaints, increasing abdominal girth, weight gain, and episodic nausea and vomiting of several months' duration. Upon further examination it was concluded that these symptoms were a result of her unusual habit of eating dirt. Curiously enough the patient could never attribute her symptoms to this habit, and tried to blame them on other things. When asked about her cravings to eat dirt she recalled first trying dirt as a child, but said that soon after she had stopped because she was afraid of what her parents would do if they found out. Later on when she was 19 years old she had the first of two miscarriages. At this time she described how after the burial service she took a handful of dirt from the grave and ingested it. After the burial of her second stillborn she experienced other bouts of eating dirt as well as throughout other pregnancies. Later on when she had two young children she began instructing her children to gather soil from a neighbors flowerbed for her to eat, (although she never actually told them what the dirt was for).
When asked what about eating dirt appealed to her, she responded with a detailed description of what ingesting dirt was like for her. She said that she enjoyed grabbing a portion of dirt with the plastic pail her children had gathered it with, looking at it, smelling it, and feeling it in her hand, then finally shoving the whole handful into her mouth savoring the “gritty feeling” in her throat.



There are several different proposed causes of Pica. Some are more common than others, however there is no one specific cause because of its vague neurological roots. Some reasons why this disorder is thought to occur includes nutritional deficiencies triggering peculiar cravings, dieting which people eat non nutritional items in attempt to achieve fullness without calories, and also OCD disorder (obsessive compulsive disorder) and schizophrenia.
Pica, as well as many other bizarre mental disorders in modern times has a clear medical cause, but appears to be something out of witchcraft or magic in times of less scientific knowledge. Consider the symptoms of the people thought to be victims of witchcraft during the Salem which trials. A heavily researched theory is that a fungus called ergot, which sometimes infects rye grains, in fact triggered these symptoms of so called “witchcraft”. This fungus produces chemicals, which are very similar to LSD and cause vicious hallucinations and seizures. It’s strange medical phenomenon like this, as well as Pica and many other medical situations that are interpreted very differently depending on the amount of scientific and psychological knowledge available at that time.

Here are my sources...

http://psy.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/39/5/465

I trust this to be a good source because they are affiliated with many notable organizations such as the Academy Of Psychosomatic Medicine and American Psychiatric Publishing Inc.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/pica.html
This seemed like a trustworthy source because of how it is relatively well known it is, and how notable companies endorse it.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief-salem.html
The Smithsonian Institution is a well-known and reputable source and has been for a long time.

Since when does the lungs have taste receptors ?

We all know the lungs are an essential part of the respiration system. As for the tongue, we all know that we use our tongue to taste things. So why am I mentioning these two body parts in the blog? Well, in a recent article published by Science Daily, there were unexpected discovery suggests that the ability to taste isn’t limited to the mouth anymore. Researchers at the Maryland school of Medicine discovered that humans have bitter taste receptors in their lungs. The bitter taste receptors are the exact same kind located on the tongue. However, there are two differences that distinguish the lungs receptor’s from the tongue’s receptors. First, unlike the tongue’s receptors, the lung receptors are not bunched into taste buds. Secondly, they don’t communicate directly to the brain.

Flash back to The Accidental Mind and we see the tongue and brain are linked. “Those body parts that have fine tactile sensation, such as a hand, lips, and tongue, occupy a disproportionate amount of space in the primary somatosensory cortex”(Linden 85). When bitter compounds enter the mouth, it activates the taste receptors which then alerts the brain that they have detected a bitter compound and the brain quickly returns a message telling it to “reject” quickly. Click here to watch a video of how the brain and tounge are linked.

So, why are these new findings about taste receptors in the lungs important? Since the receptors for bitter tastes are found in the muscles of the lungs and airways, there are implications that it could help asthma patients.

“The researchers tested different bitter compounds on human and mouse airways, individual airway smooth muscle cells, and on mice with asthma. They found that these compounds all opened lung airways more profoundly than current drugs”(HealthDay News). At first, I thought that eating bitter foods would also help open airways in the lungs, but that’s not the case. According to Dr. Ligget’s research, “we think that the best drugs would be chemical modifications of bitter compounds, which would be aerosolized and then inhaled into the lungs with an inhaler" (HealthDay News).

Now, you are probably wondering why there are taste receptors in the lungs. Well, like the tongue’s taste receptors that reject bitter compounds. Bitter compounds are often toxic, and the body generally tries to keep them out, and in this case, the lungs don’t want bitter compounds entering it.

According to Science Daily, “There are thousands of compounds that activate the body's bitter taste receptors but are not toxic in appropriate doses. Many are synthetic agents, developed for different purposes, and others come from natural origins, such as certain vegetables, flowers, berries and trees” (Science Daily). Until the right bitter compounds are found, it may lead to the development of the first new class of asthma inhalers in decades. Though this is quite a long time, it will definitely be a worthwhile pursuit.

Here are my sources....

"Bitter Taste Receptors Found in Lungs May Aid Asthma Patients." Healthday. Healthday, 25 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

Linden, David J. The Accidental Mind. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2007. Print.

University of Maryland Medical Center. "Discovery of Taste Receptors in the Lungs Could Help People With Asthma Breathe Easier." ScienceDaily 25 October 2010. 27 October 2010 /releases/2010/10/101024144132.htm>.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Have you ever thought about what it might be like to see the world like in Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Just like this picture? What if you actually could, and not because of hallucinogenic drugs? Well, for some people, this experience can actually happen.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is an actual medical term that is used to describe certain types of ordinary migraines (AIWS). The name for this syndrome came around in 1955, and was first described by John Todd, an English psychiatrist, who obviously named it after the work by Lewis Carroll (Medterms.com). This term is used to describe migraines in which a person's vision is distorted, which gives him or her the perception that his or her limbs are of incorrect proportion, or that external objects are of the wrong proportion (AIWS). People who have read Lewis Carroll's book will remember the times when Alice ate the cake, and drank the potion to either become larger or smaller. This is how a person with Alice in Wonderland Syndrome feels while experiencing the particular type of migraine. Katie O'Brian describes the symptoms she has due to this form of migraine in an piece about her on ABC News. She claims that they usually happen early in the morning when she first wakes up. Everything seems tiny to her, just as in the book (Youtube). A very important piece of this syndrome is that it tends to be hereditary (Medterms.com).

This is a huge connection between the Arts and the Sciences. The fact that John Todd chose

to use Lewis Carroll's book to describe a medical phenomenon shows that he must have been

at least somewhat literate in other subjects other than his own. Also, without Carroll's work, what

would the nonscientific name have been? Whatever the name would have been, chances are it

would not have been as identifiable as "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." This name gives people,

who may not have even read the book, imagine what these people who suffer from the visuals see.

Now, do you believe what these people see?

Here's a link to Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberywocky", try to say it 10 times fast!

Works Cited

"Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." youtube.com. YouTube. 16 Oct. 2008. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Carroll, Lewis. "Jabberwocky." Jabberwocky. Jabberywocky.com. 1872. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

"Definition of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." medterms.com. MedicineNet, 31 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Hemsley, Rik. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Tenniel, John. Alice When She Was Tall. 1865. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Solar Power, Growing too Fast?

The renewable energy market is relativity new and one large part of it is the solar sector. There are many other forms of renewable energy like: wind, water, biomass, bio fuel, and geothermal to name a few. The biggest problem facing the solar industry currently is in certain countries mostly Germany the industry is growing to quickly which will cause it to not have long term success, and it could also hurt the rest of the energy grid as a whole. Beside energy from the wind, solar energy is the most interesting as every year the solar panels efficiency is improving and getting less expensive.

Recently which I'd say is in the past five years or so, non-renewable energy sources like oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels price's have been on the rise because of the increased demand and the notion that they will eventually run out. Because of this according to Wikinvet's article on "Solar Power" the demand has grown 30% every year for the past 15 years. In 2009 alone the installation of solar panels grew 20%. The potential of making money on solar energy currently is not huge but once government's impose more penalties and tax's on non-renewable and dirty energy production it will then become a great industry to be apart of.


From the article "Solar Power" http://www.wikinvest.com/industry/Solar_Power

The following is a graph of how solar panels are split and where the majority of them exist. As you can see on the graph four countries make up 68% of the total solar panels on the planet in 2009, and I'd bet that Germany in the majority in that group. According to the article by Solar Daily entitled "Solar Market Keeps Shining In 2011" in 2009 Germany had a 97.9% solar panel expansion rate and has sense gone down. One of the major causes for expansion going down is the government dropped the percent is was subsidizing solar panels installations dramatically. The subsidies were as much as 50% at one point in time and for the investor in solar energy in Germany the rate of return with with rate made it one of the safest and most profitable ventures anywhere. The German Parliament within the past year had to cut the amount it subsidizes the panels because of a recent downfall in prices of solar panels.

Will renewable energy ultimately push out coals plants and other fossil fuel energy producers? At the current rate especially in Germany they will kill the industry too fast. Which is not healthy as there needs to be a chance given to energy producers currently not in the renewable sector to make a slow switch over. Also the additional solar power is putting extra strain on the grid causing the shut down of 10 coal-fired plants according to the article by Treehugger "Germany's Problem: Too Much Solar Power" http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/germanys-problem-too-much-solar-power.php

The topic of renewable energy has a lot to do with the current generation, and generations to come. One day solar, wind, water, geothermal energy industry will be more important in everyone's daily life as you could very well be working for a company directly or in-directly connected with the "new" energy outfit. As of 2009 the current revenue of ", photovoltaic (PV) installations grew by 20 percent, compared to 2008, with over 7.3GW of PV installations globally. Revenues in 2009 for the PV industry also increased, reaching $38.5 billion." (Wikinvest). $38.5 billion is a staggering number to think about considering how long the industry has been around. Only recently increasing demand dramatically.

The industry is growing at an incredible rate even in the downturn we are in. It should be slowed down so a surplus doesn't arise driving prices down and causing unhealthy growth. This is an issue that should be closely monitored by government's because as I pointed out it can get out of hand very easily. Should we make the switch? Or just use non renewable materials until we run out? We will find out sooner or later...

Sources

BERLIN (Commodity Online). "Problem of Plenty for German Solar Energy | 20 October 2010 | Www.commodityonline.com." Global Commodities-US Commodity Market-Bullion-Base Metals-Crude Oil-OPEC-Precious Metals-Gold-Silver-Platinum-Futures Trading. 20 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. .

Cernansky, Rachel. "Germany's Problem: Too Much Solar Power." TreeHugger. 21 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. .

Romm, By Joseph. "Industry:Solar Power." Wikinvest - Investing Simplified. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. .

Staff Writers. "Solar Market Keeps Shining In 2011." Solar Energy News. 04 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. .

Welt Online. "Energy Agency Warns of Risk of Grid Collapse." Welt Online. 16 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. .

Alchemy in Media and in History

Samantha Thode

Ryan Warner

Donny Torrey

Mike LeTourneau

Alchemy is an ancient philosophy and practice that was studied in order to achieve desirable possessions. A few very popular examples would be gold, wellness and immortality. Sometimes alchemists even dabbled in the creation of potions to grant instant happiness or even love. Many different areas of the world have their own practices and views of alchemy. Ultimately, most alchemists were after the same wealth, that being an elixir of life (or eternal youth) and a cheap way to turn non-precious metals into precious metals.

As a group, we researched not only the ancient practices and thoughts behind alchemy, but we related those studies to interpretations of alchemy in contemporary media that is popular today. Our method was first to split ourselves up – each of us took a specific and unique study of alchemy and found media relating to it. Donny Torrey researched humunculi; Mike LeTourneau researched transmutation; Ryan Warner researched the Philosopher's Stone; and Samantha Thode researched potions and elixirs.

In the process of researching media that related to Alchemy, and specifically to Homunculi, we stumbled across a very popular internet source that is based on the similarities shared by all media called TvTropes. The dictionary definition of a trope is any literary or rhetorical device, that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense. The website TvTropes stretches this by creating an encyclopedia of definitions on popular phrases, archetypes, habits, and formulas used in media ranging from literary works to video games. This site was a perfect find for our research, as our goal was to find modern day media of all types and forms that relate to some of the common themes of Alchemy. One of the most useful articles put together on the site was one labeled "Our Homunculi are Different", which was a catalogued list of examples of Homunculi in various forms of popular culture and media. The article began with an informal definition of what a Homunculus is in relation to the science of Alchemy, and then continued with a list separated by forms of media. This organized list is a useful and versatile research tool, since it's separated into bullets that explain of an instance in media where a creature similar to a Homunculus appeared, and then there are various links in every single bullet that allow you to continue research on certain topics that may be more interesting or more relevant to the theme of the project. We used this to go into more detail on the certain media on Homunculi that was more recent, and more accurate to the alchemic description. This allowed us to gain deeper information and understanding on relevant culture pieces such as Full Metal Alchemist, Buso Renkin, and 9.

Unfortunately, due to the amount of information on TvTropes we had to leave a lot of media out of the final project, since it was not relevant enough to our overall topic. Media references like Goethe's play Faust were vague on how detailed they got into what a Homunculus was, or how they were portrayed in the form of media. The date these sources of media were created was also a factor in deciding what got selected, since we were trying to focus on more recent media. This made our research and our topic less vague, and narrowed exactly what we were doing down.

To expand upon humunculi in the ancient study of alchemy: there were a lot of different studies and theories on humunculi. One belief says that a humunculus is just a human born without the need of a man and a woman to conceive. They were thought to be soul-less and built only to fulfill their purpose, which their master would give to them. In the show Full Metal Alchemist, as an example of how humunculi is interpreted today, a humunculus is a monster that resembles a person who has died. When an alchemist attempts to bring that person back to life, it is impossible and their attempt at reanimating the person and bringing them back from the dead, instead creates a monster who replicates the person in looks, but has magic powers. The humunculus can only be destroyed by an item that once belonged to the deceased counterpart.

The reason bringing a person back from the dead is impossible is because of the laws of equivalent exchange. This is a very big premise in Full Metal Alchemist. In other words, an alchemist cannot perform a successful transmutation if there is no equivalent exchange. For example, in the first episode of the show a radio falls to the floor and smashes into a million pieces. One of the characters in the show (an alchemist) gathers all of the broken pieces and transmutes them into the fully working radio. Had he not gathered all of the pieces and tried to perform the transmutation, either the transmutation would not have worked at all and all of the pieces would have remained broken, or they would be put together but some pieces would be missing. That being said, transmutation is our next field of study.

The ultimate goal of the Renaissance alchemist was transmutation – the power to turn base metals, such as lead, into precious metals, such as gold and silver, through alchemical means. This idea followed alchemy from its roots in 5000 BCE Egypt, to its references in modern day media. Alchemists were hired by nobles to discover a way, through any means, to create gold. Free gold meant free money, and free money meant free power. Alchemists worked day and night to discover this secret, and it was in this practice that they found their fame.

Today, many facets of popular media reference the work of these alchemists. Franchises such as Kingdom Hearts, World of Warcraft, Fullmetal Alchemist, and many more spin the idea of transmutation into science fiction, and thus the true roots of scientific alchemy are almost blurred out of existence. However, without alchemy some of today’s most basic sciences would be decades, or even centuries behind today’s progress, especially chemistry, which spawned directly from research into alchemy. Some modern labs have even completed the alchemists’ dream of creating gold from lead. The quest for transmutation has not died — in fact, it thrives in our society, unheard, twisted, and nearly unrecognizable, but thriving.

Transmutation, as was mentioned before, is highly desired because it is hoped that one day we will be able to transform gold, and other precious things, from common items. This would normally take a lot of hard work, and would probably even cost more to do than the gold would be worth at the end. However, there is thought to be a way around this. It is a magical item that can bypass the laws of “equivalent exchange” as Fullmetal Alchemist would refer to it.

The philosopher’s stone: an alchemical substance that is to be considered legendary. This stone is often used in many different stories or old history. It is sought after for many things such as immortality, an elixir of life, or breaking things down to their base metals to create gold. People often risked their lives in search for this particular stone that which was only rumored.

In medieval times alchemy was considered a form of chemistry. The alchemists in these times were in the process of working on some way to produce gold from other metals, however, there wasn’t much success. Alchemists then began searching for this philosopher’s stone in hope that this would be the “key” to their problems! If one was to have found this “stone” they would achieve what most had been trying to do for centuries.

In relating to media, one of the present day media that we had found was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Originally printed as “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in the UK, the US had had it changed to “Sorcerer’s Stone” instead of “Philosopher’s Stone” because of the simple fact that in the US “Sorcerer” seemed to be more magical than “Philosopher” by definition. The changes however, had only been a few simple word choices. In the story which was the same in both books, Harry the main character and Lord Voldemort is in the search for the Sorcerer’s stone because of it held the elixir of life. Another similar movie that also has the philosopher’s stone in it is Indiana Jones & the philosopher’s stone.

Another relation we have Full Metal Alchemist which is a Japanese Manga Series or Graphic Novel. Many events in the series revolve around this philosopher’s stone to be obtained by these brother’s in the series to gain back their bodies. The stone in this series can take many different forms. For example, the stone could take form as a lumpy coal like rock or even as a red liquid. It’s said to allow the holder to completely bypass the law of equivalent exchange which is essentially transmutation (breaking down base metals).

In our last media relation to media would be to World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft is a video game on the computer which is a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). The philosopher’s stone is used in the game for a character who is an alchemist. In the game, just like the an cient study, the alchemist must carry the philosopher's stone in order to perform transmutations on items.

World of Warcraft's alchemy, while it has some properties from all of the other sections studied (humunculi, transmutation and the philosopher's stone), is focused on the creation of potions and elixirs for characters in the game to consume. This leads into the next topic of the study of potions and elixirs and how it relates to World of Warcraft.

This branch of alchemy began as medical studies. Paracelsus, who is considered to be the father of alchemy, was a highly regarded medical practitioner in the medieval era. He actually moved on to reform medicine by means of alchemy, turning both other doctors and the church against him. That did not stop him, however. He continued to study and theorize about alchemy and God's role in alchemy.

As was said before: many different parts of the world studied alchemy. The elixir of life was among the most popular studies done. Alchemists were constantly looking for a theriac (an antidote that could cure any disease). Paracelsus actually claimed to have discovered a theriac, but it turned out it was just a mixture of myrrh, saffron and aloe. Alchemists popularized the idea that mixing different things together would have different “magical” outcomes. For example, certain mixtures could be carried around by women so men would stay away from them. Potions were mixed to promote happiness and love. These things may sound silly, but they come from a time when if a “professional” told someone, “Try this potion, it works,” that person would believe them. It was not a time of questioning. Unfortunately, while there are always scientists who discover for the sake of gaining knowledge, there are some who just want to profit off of it.

World of Warcraft's rendition of potions differs in a more magical sense. Characters will most likely drink a potion because they are low on health, or because they want to get stronger (which can mean a variety of things in-game). There are also potions that do fun things, like make it so a character can breathe underwater and transform you into different things. In World of Warcraft an alchemist also “discovers” recipes while he/she is creating potions. We thought this was an interesting mechanic to this profession because of the way alchemists in real life only made discoveries because they were doing alchemy all of the time.

In summary, the alchemist profession in World of Warcraft relates to the old study of alchemy because of the obscure mixtures of ingredients allegedly creating a potion that would do something basically magical. There is also another, very stretched, relation to this kind of idea in the game Dead Rising. In game, if the player mixes different drinks together in a blender, the character can consume them and get certain boosts depending on the mixture. One mixture will increase movement speed, and another will make the character's spit deadly.

What became prominent to us were the extremely vast interpretations of alchemy in media, and how little or how much they related to actual alchemy. We picked a topic that related to popular entertainment today because we personally found it interesting. We learned a lot and had some fun with this project and hopefully our audience does too.

Works Consulted

Agrippa, Von, Donald Tyson, and James Freake. Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Woodbury, MN, U.S.A.: Llewellyn, 1993. Print.

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Eycleshymer, A. C. "Growing Old and the Search for an Elixir of Life." The Scientific Monthly Vol. 26.5 (1928): 400-11. Print.

"Freemasonry and Catholicism, by Max Heindel, Part VII through IX." The Rosicrucian Fellowship - An International Association of Christian Mystics. Web. 21 Oct. 2010..

Helmenstine, Anne Marie. "Turning Lead into Gold: Is Alchemy Real?." About.com: Chemistry. About.com, 2010. Web. 13 Oct 2010. .

Hopkins, Arthur John. "Earliest Alchemy." Scientific Monthly 6.6 (1918): 530-537. Web. 13 Oct 2010. .

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Different>.

Cryptids

Ben Francisco

Viet Vo

Jordan Diehl

Adam Marks

Abstract

Although many people will describe a Unicorn as, “a white horse with a single horn,” some historical definitions differ. Aristotle describes the animal as “’a he-goat [who]…had a prominent horn between its eyes’” (qtd. in Hunt 76). Julius Caesar describes it as “’an ox, shaped like a stag’” (qtd. in Hunt 76). Many descriptions of a Unicorn also differ in the fact of the size of the beast. Some claim it to be a large beast while the anonymous author of Physiologus states that, “’He [the Unicorn] is a small animal, like a kid [baby goat], but exceedingly fierce…’” (qtd. in Hunt 76). The one similarity in all of these different descriptions, though, is that everyone describes a beast with one tall horn on its head.

Unicorn horns played a very significant role in Medieval Europe. During the time period between the 11^th and 16^th centuries, “Unicorn horns” were very sought after items (qtd. in Unicorn Fact and Fantasy). Unicorn horns were so valuable because it was believed that Unicorn horns protected against poisoning (qtd. in Unicorn Fact and Fantasy). This myth was so widely believed that all of the dishes and “eating utensils of European royalty were made of ‘unicorn horns’ in order to prevent poisoning…” (qtd. in Unicorn Fact and Fantasy). Even the poor peasants of Europe believed in the myth of healing properties of Unicorn horns and “…used powdered horn in medicines’ (qtd. in Unicorn Fact and Fantasy).

Of course one of the most obvious references to Unicorns in popular culture is in the Harry Potter Series. The first mention of a Unicorn in the series in the 15^th chapter of the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” As Hermione, Harry, Draco, and Neville are in the Forbidden Forest Hagrid tells them, “…see that stuff shinin’ on the ground? Silvery stuff? That’s unicorn blood” (Rowling 250). Later in the chapter Harry and Draco find the unicorn dead on the ground, “It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves” (Rowling 256). Although this description of the Unicorn is not historically accurate, it is the most common description of a Unicorn, which is most likely the reason why Rowling decided to describe the beast in this way. Just after this a centaur named Fireneze picks up Harry and explains why killing a Unicorn is one of the worst things a person can do,

’…it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn’…’The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.’ (Rowling 258)

This is just one of the many references to the mythical beasts throughout the series, but shows how important the Unicorn is to the magical culture. Just like the Unicorn, the next creature’s history goes back a few hundred years.

Champ is a cryptid creature. In the book Lake monsters: Investigating the World’s Most Elusive Creatures written by Benjamin Radford, and Joe Nicklell, it claims that the sightings of Champ have been traced back to 1609 when Samuel De Champlain claimed to have seen Champ and described the creature to be a 20 foot serpent thick as a barrel with the head of a horse. Many people who saw Champ claim the creature to have components that looks like a Loch ness monster.

There are many theories to Champ’s existence, one of which claims that the creature is a dinosaur that managed to escape extinction and lives in Lake Champlain. The author later asserts “And many openly accept the creature believe it to be a plesiosaur, zeulodon, or other unknown or erstwhile extinct creature” (Radford 29).

Champ is a well known creature, but there are no solid evidences that could prove its existence. However, there has been some break through in the last decades in terms of information about this mysterious creature according to Lake Champlain Land Trust, which its goal is to preserve the scenic beauty of Lake Champlain. In 1977, Sandra Masi photographed a creature allegedly thought to be Champ. In 1979, Jim Kennard of Rochester engineering laboratories used high-tech sonar to search for Champ. Their readings indicated the presence of a 10-15 foot long object moving in the water. Even though there is evidence of Champ’s existence, there are people who argue against its existence. Some of the questions they pose make logical sense. For example, how does the creature live during the winter season with the water temperature below zero?

While there is not much information specifically about Champ’s existence during the Renaissance period, cryptid creatures such as sea monsters have been popular. A fact from Go Lisbon says that Christopher Columbus actually had a hard time putting a crew together for his expedition because people believed that sea monsters were in the ocean. People today are ambitious and want to learn more about Champ, while people in the past accepted the existence of sea monsters and didn’t explore. There are people who believe in Champ and there are people who don’t, so it’s really up to the person. Just as many people are unsure of the existence of Champ, many people feel the same way about the next cryptid.

One of the most well known cryptids is Big Foot. Big Foot is a type of creature also known as a Sasquatch. Sasquatches are usually 8 to 15 feet tall, and have very large feet. The feet of the males are usually 18 inches long and 8 inches wide, but the female feet are 14 inches long and 7 inches wide. Sasquatches look like a cross between a human and an ape, but they are not covered in fur, they are covered in hair. Many of the stories surrounding Sasquatches seem very unrealistic, but they continue to have many cryptozooligists follow them.

The UnMuseum tells the story of Albert Ostman, who was captured by a family of Sasquatches. “The father and daughter guarded him while the mother and son prepared the meals. The family was vegetarian and ate roots, grass and spruce tips. After about a week Ostman was able to slip away. He didn't tell his story to anyone till 1957, fearing people would think him crazy” (Krystek).

Many other strange stories like this have risen. One of the most reputed was reported by a psychologist named Matthew Johnson. When Johnson reported sighting Big Foot in the woods while hiking with his family, the media went crazy. People believed that if a PhD attested to the existence of Big Foot then it must be true. Having one PhD’s agreement should not be enough to prove the existences of the Sasquatch. Even though the evidence is against the Sasquatches, people want the thrill of the unknown in their life, so they seek them out.

The Kappa is an important creature in Japanese folklore, however despite the origin and significance as being a religious creature, it is also considered to be a cryptid. To the Shinto religion, the kappa is a water god that has the smell of fish. Visually, they have the body of a tortoise, a head similar to an ape, scales on their limbs, long hair in a circular pattern on the skull, webbed feet and hands, and yellowish-green skin (Schumacher). They wear a tortoise shell on their backs, and according to some sources, they can change the color of their skin similarly to a chameleon. They abhor metal objects and loud noises. The defining characteristic is the hollow cavity surrounded by hair atop their heads (Schumacher). Supposedly this is filled with a strength giving water, which if spilled, causes the kappa to lose all of their strength. Despite being the size of a 10 year old child, the kappa is incredibly strong and uses this strength to pull creatures into the water. In legend, the kappa is mostly considered to be evil. However, stories tell of them teaching valuable medicinal skills (Schumacher).

The true origin of the kappa legend is difficult to pin down, however there are multiple popular theories on it. These range from the story of someone seeing a dead child in the river, to them seeing a portugeese monk in the river and believing it to be a creature (Schumacher).

People’s views on cryptozoology have changed drastically since medieval times. Ignorance was everywhere in the middle ages, so people believed in cryptids with little to no evidence. People had no real reason not to believe in the cryptids, because most were uneducated and took the word of authoritative figures as being fact. While this tradition of automatic belief in authoritative figures is still exists today, it is not as bad as it used to be. Some things like medicine are widely accepted as being true, but now society is educated enough to not take everything they are told at face value. Hopefully this paradigm shift towards cryptids is an example of society advancing and not believing everything they are told.

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