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| Reader 1 Sutra or No Sutra
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| Can an android ever be made which can think, dream and aspire? And can a human being be "unmade" so that he can stop thinking, dreaming and desiring — and see the truth for what it is? In both cases, there is beauty, poetry and transcendence. One marks the artificial birth of true mind, while the other leads to the true death of natural mind. We present sutras of Yoda — the killer poet — along with many science tidbits, which can possibly evoke a sense of wonder even in an android.
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| a) As winter approaches, grizzly bears settle down in protected dens where they will hibernate for 4 to 6 months. During hibernation, the bears don't sleep all the time but they do stop eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom. They continue to move around, but move more slowly. Over the winter, they lose about 30 percent of their body weight.
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| b) Supercomputer simulations of dusty disks around sunlike stars show that planets nearly as small as Mars can create patterns that future telescopes may be able to detect. The research points to a new avenue in the search for habitable planets. | |
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| c) Antioxidants — which are found in foods such as blueberries, spinach, and dark chocolate — protect our cells from damage. Studies show that antioxidant levels in the body rise after someone swallows honey. All honey contains antioxidants, but certain types contain more than others. There are more than 300 types of honey. Color, flavor, and health benefits depend on which types of flowers honey-producing bees visit. Most of the honey people buy in U.S. grocery stores is made by bees that visit clover plants. Darker honeys, such as the buckwheat type, are generally higher in antioxidants than lighter ones, including clover. |
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| d) Cremation, "air burial," grave cairns, funeral mounds, mummification, belief in life after death -- death practices sacred to one culture are often considered "odd" or even terrifying by another. In every social group throughout history, the disposal of the dead has special significance, and ways of death always fascinate those on the outside looking in. | |
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| e) The world is full of quirky creatures, and the elephant-shrew is a perfect example. These furry, long-nosed animals resemble a mix between miniature antelopes, anteaters, and rodents. Even though their name and appearance suggest otherwise, elephant-shrews are more closely related to aardvarks, sea cows, and elephants than they are to shrews. |
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| f) Most tools capable of patterning on the nanoscale were developed for the silicon microelectronics industry and cannot be used for soft and relatively sensitive biomaterials such as DNA and proteins. Now researchers have demonstrated the ability to rapidly write nanoscale protein arrays using a tool they call the nanofountain probe. The probe works much like a fountain pen, only on a much smaller scale, and the "ink" is the protein solution.
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I was amazed also to receive today another piece of research, done by American psychoanalysts in China. Up to now psychoanalysts have believed that possessiveness is biological, it is instinctive. But they were surprised to discover that Chinese children are not as possessive as American children. Chinese children share more than American children, are less aggressive than American children. They had to change their whole idea and for the first time accept that possessiveness and aggression are not biological but cultural, educational, social. That's what I have been telling you, that whatever is wrong in you has not come from nature, but is part of your social and cultural heritage. Unless you become totally free from culture, so-called civilization, and show the strength of being alone, man will never arrive on this planet.
- Osho
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Confluence No.4
