養肝丸 ●「 養肝」&「玩」

前天東海開學，這學期教的是大肆設計。「大肆」是個特殊的年級，剛脫離建築基本核心課程，並賦予學生自我方向探索的開始，是相當關鍵的時刻。

鑑於過往，大肆同學們一脫離核心課程的枷鎖後會疏於課業精進，幾位老師同事們在學生設計分組時苦口婆心道出「大肆...關鍵....非養肝的時刻....」、「要養肝的不要來....」之類的精神鼓勵。老師的苦心與同學的玩心，其實都很有道理，坐在一旁的我一時之間也不知該如何自處.....

但是仔細想想，這兩件事其實也不是這麼衝突，而且似乎更應該揉合「在一起 在一起 在一起 在一起 在一起....」才對。第一，做設計為什麼要跟傷身綁在一起?不傷身設計就會差嗎?我想傷身最常的應該指的是熬夜。我並不確定熬夜是否一定傷身，但絕大多數的醫學理論與親身經歷，熬夜常常破壞身體的自我修補。我已中年，有時還是會熬夜，但我每每熬夜時都會自我訓誡自己，怎麼生活安排凸槌，導致這個欠佳的不得已結果，絕非帶著一絲一毫這是為藝術而犧牲的浪漫。設計的好壞與投入的時間當然息息相關，但是熬夜與否其實跟設計者的設計安排有絕大的關連，回顧自己的時間安排，其實很容易就發現時間的奢侈與浪費多在無意義的逃避裡。 養肝其實是好事，只是現在為時間的浪費揹黑鍋罷了。就我的觀點，豈止大肆要養肝，從大一新生開始就要養肝。大學時我的父母問我為什麼不早做設計非要拖到熬夜，我那時只覺得有苦難言，覺得他們不懂建築系的生存之道。但是現在我覺得設計相關系所同學更應該重視其他領域的觀點，其實設計不應該脫離他者而自處，而健康之道只是其中之一。尤其現在環保生態建築當道，若自我循環都忽略，也是另一種缺陷汙染不是嗎?

當然，另外一點就是「玩」了。當然要玩囉! 好不容易撐過那段被窒錮的三年，我想任誰都會想放縱一下。當然說白一點就是浪費青春，享受浪費奢華的感受。當人年輕時很難杜絕這種快感，就某種程度而言，也是一種智慧前身的累積吧！不過話說回來，該玩甚麼又玩到甚麼深度，其實又是一種人生的考驗。玩如果奠基在一種放縱的情緒裡是很可惜的，例如只因過去三年被監禁；玩其實應該更積極主動，挖掘自我興趣與世界其他新奇事物的關聯。或許聽起來不夠刺激，但真正的震撼留待大家各自追尋。

不過，養肝丸請大家吃!

ideas about what living conditions we are dealing with

兩部與關於在當下人類文明所處情境，與在其中對應的談話。第一部關於不可預期性於我們生活中。第二部有關idea的交換，加深創作者對於創意的見解。都是在這個我們所生活的複雜環境裡所需要的觀念，並進一步待我們去探索更多未知的事物。

作者修養與作品

作者的修養與個性其實都會在作品的許多痕跡裡展現，
但大多數的介紹媒體裡，比較不會這麼細膩去追溯分析。
因為有更多主流的價值需要被關注
作者的個性往往隱身 而只剩作品
在很多的現實經驗裡 很差勁的人格也常常搭配非常「成功」的作品

自己也常常被這個現實世界的運作所牽絆
也常常需要面對自己檢討自己，修正自己內在與外在的平衡
我相信這樣的作為，不會只是個人修養，也會在作品上流露
另外接觸的學生也愈來愈多
雖稱為學生，其實也是社會的縮影
學生組織也不是那麼單純，各形各色如同真實社會，好的壞的品行兼具
只是帶著還略帶稚氣的臉龐
看著他們的行事風格
以及外在五光十色的各種誘惑
其實蠻感嘆
到底會有幾成最終會同時把設計功夫練好
又能真正打從心裡修養其人格呢?
看到這個影片
讓我想到個人修養的重要
面對這麼多困境時
最後每個人是如何一一做抉擇呢
大學問......
大智慧....

自我建構 self-assembly

social behaviors effect body fat

好交朋友的人比較瘦

• 2011-09-07

• 中廣新聞／郭希誠

美國研究人員說，朋友多、社交生活比較頻繁的人比較瘦。

俄亥俄大學研究人員拿白老鼠做實驗。經過四個星期，在周圍老鼠多，經常要跟別的老鼠交頭接耳的環境下生活的老鼠，即使吃得多，腹部的脂肪還是比「不跟別的同類來往的老鼠」少一半。
進一步研究他們發現，忙社交的老鼠褐色脂肪多，白色脂肪少。
研究人員說，褐色脂肪是燃燒了提供熱的脂肪而白色脂肪是囤積在腹部讓人肥的脂肪。他說，要把白脂肪轉換成褐脂肪通常得在寒冷的環境裡生活好幾個月。杜靈說，到目前為止他還不清楚交朋友為什麼能燃燒脂肪。

ring finger

The link between a man's ring finger and sex!

形態不只是形狀，反而是整個機制的具體呈現。
多年下來的觀念，愈來愈強烈....

The form is not just apparent shapes ; on the contary, it is the realization of the whole mechanism.
The idea existed for years, not fading away but getting stronger...


The longer his finger, the higher his libido!
(info from rediff)

Here's advice for ladies who are really passionate about someone -- check his ring finger, as its length could be linked to his sex drive!

The longer the fourth finger compared to the second, known as the 2D:4D ratio, the more attractive he is likely to be to the opposite sex.

Over the years, the difference between the ring finger and the index finger has been linked to everything from health problems and sperm count to aggressive behaviour, sexual orientation and sports prowess.

Now, biologists at the University of Florida [ Images ] have discovered that male-female ring finger proportions are tied to sex hormones in the womb -- a finding that may offer health insights.

Their study explains for the first time why men's fourth fingers are usually longer than their index fingers, while for women it is the other way round.

Martin Cohn, PhD, and Zhengui Zheng, PhD, of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the department of molecular genetics and microbiology at the UF College of Medicine, found that the developing digits of male and female mouse embryos are packed with receptors for sex hormones.

Differences in how these hormones activate receptors in males and females affect the growth of specific digits.

By following the prenatal development of the limb buds of mice, which have a digit length ratio similar to humans, the scientists controlled the gene signalling effects of androgen -- also known as testosterone -- and estrogen.

The researchers found that while more androgen equated to a proportionally longer fourth digit, more estrogen resulted in a feminised appearance.

The study uncovered how these hormonal signals govern the rate at which skeletal precursor cells divide and showed that different finger bones have different levels of sensitivity to androgen and estrogen.

"The discovery that growth of the developing digits is controlled directly by androgen and estrogen receptor activity confirms that finger proportions are a lifelong signature of our early hormonal milieu," said Cohn.

The findings appear in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Photograph: Leon Brocard on Flickr/Wikimedia Commons




Penis size, sex drive tied to men's finger length: Why?
(info from CBS NEWS)


(CBS) Women often glance at men's ring fingers to tell if they're married. But in addition to marital status, scientists say a man's ring finger can reveal his sexual orientation, libido level, penis size, and even risk for certain diseases like prostate cancer.

Penis size linked to finger measurements, say Korean scientists

And now scientists say they know why.

A new study reported sex hormone exposure in the womb determines finger length, and this finding could offer insights into the origin of other behaviors and diseases.

For the study - published in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - researchers studied digit length in mice, which are considered to have similar digit ratios as human males and females. When researchers exposed the mouse embryo to more male hormones, the mouse had a proportionally longer fourth digit. More estrogen resulted in a more female-looking mouse, and smaller fourth digit.

"When they added testosterone they got super male ratios, and when they added estrogen, super female ratios," Dr. John T. Manning, evolutionary psychologist at Swansea University in England, who was not involved in this study, said in a written statement. "And they've provided us with a list of 19 genes that are sensitive to prenatal testosterone and prenatal estrogen."

Some of the 19 genes may help scientists discover the origin of certain behaviors and diseases, and may help doctors find new treatments for diseases like ALS and prostate cancer, which have been linked to finger length.

Said Manning, "We can now be more focused in our examination of the links between digit ratio and sex-dependent behaviors, diseases of the immune system, cardiovascular disorders and a number of cancers."




Sex ID
Testosterone
(info from BBC Science)



It's thought that testosterone plays an important role in the way we think and behave. Many of the questions in the Sex ID experiment were related to theories about testosterone.

The Sex ID test was originally an online experiment. We've stopped collecting data now and many of the questions have been removed from the test, but we've kept the fun stuff!

Read about the experiment

Take the test





The role of testosterone

Testosterone is a male sex hormone required for sperm production, the development of male reproductive organs and the emergence of secondary male sexual characteristics such as facial hair, a deeper voice and muscles.

In men testosterone is produced in the testes and adrenal glands.

Testosterone is also produced in women's ovaries and adrenal glands. Little is known about the exact role of testosterone in women, but scientists believe it helps maintain muscle and bone strength and contributes to sex drive or libido.

On average, men produce between 4 and 10mg of the hormone per day and overall they have about 20 times more testosterone than women.

Testosterone and digit ratio

In the Sex ID test we asked people about their index and ring finger measurements. Some scientists believe that the ratio of index finger length to ring finger length indicates how much testosterone we were exposed to in our mother's womb.

Higher testosterone exposure is thought to lead to a longer ring finger. This is determined as early as 14 weeks into a pregnancy.

On average, women's index and ring fingers are almost equal in length because they are exposed to less testosterone. In men, the ring finger tends to be longer because they have higher testosterone levels. In general, women exposed to more testosterone have more 'masculine hands' – ie longer ring fingers.

Testosterone and birth order

When the Sex ID test was an online psychology experiment, we asked people about their siblings in order to investigate the theory that pre-natal testosterone exposure changes systematically every time a woman gives birth to a male child. The scientists who designed the survey will compare the number of older brothers a test taker has with their finger measurements to see if there is any correlation.

Testosterone and assertiveness

In the Sex ID ultimatum task people were asked to decide how they would split £50 between themselves and a stranger. Scientists want to find out if there is a relationship between testosterone levels and assertiveness.

It is assumed that people with higher testosterone levels would drive a harder bargain and be less compromising. Research into the effects of testosterone and competitive behaviour suggests that testosterone increases competitiveness and risk taking.

Interestingly, some studies show that testosterone levels in women change according to the status of their occupations.