AAHHH, “TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCEMENTS”=THEY ARE SOOO GREAT, AND YET, “What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.”=Ecclesiastes 1:9
“ALL” SCIENTISTS, AND “NOT” JUST “CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS” KNOW OF “THE GOD GENE”; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_gene
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2008 Spring; 7(1): 132–145.
PMCID: PMC2262126
PMID: 18316816
Experimenting with Spirituality: Analyzing The God Gene in a Nonmajors Laboratory Course
Elizabeth Vallen, Monitoring Editor
Author informationArticle notesCopyright and License informationPMC Disclaimer
Abstract
References linking genes to complex human traits, such as personality type or disease susceptibility, abound in the news media and popular culture. In his book The God Gene: How Faith is Hardwired into Our Genes, Dean Hamer argues that a variation in the VMAT2 gene plays a role in one’s openness to spiritual experiences. In a nonmajors class, we read and discussed The God Gene and conducted on a small scale an extension of the study it describes. Students used polymerase chain reaction to replicate a portion of their VMAT2 genes, and they analyzed three polymorphic sites in the sequence of these products. Associations between particular VMAT2 alleles and scores on a personality test were assessed by t test. The course, of which this project was a major part, stimulated student learning; scores on a test covering basic genetic concepts, causation/correlation, and laboratory methodology improved after completion of the course. In a survey, students reported the laboratory project aided their learning, especially in the areas of statistics and the linking of genes to behaviors. They reported high levels of engagement with the project, citing in particular its personal nature as motivating their interest.
INTRODUCTION
Rapidly expanding knowledge about the human genome has increased the urgency of students’ appreciation of the roles that genes and the environment play in determining human characteristics. The popular press frequently discusses the influence of genes on diseases, such as cancer, or personality traits, such as risk taking or sexual orientation. In response to this barrage of information, students might take a variety of positions—at one extreme, they become adherents of genetic determinism; at the other extreme, they reject any role of genetics in human behavior as incompatible with free will. Some might simply be confused as to what is known about the roles of nature and nurture in human characteristics. Although details of their models vary, prominent scholars in the field see an interplay between heredity and environment, rather than a dichotomy (e.g., Collins et al., 2001; Cherney et al., 2004). Teaching students a more nuanced understanding of the interaction of genetics and environment and how the role of each is assessed should help them become more informed consumers of the “gene of the week” information that surrounds them.
Dean Hamer’s book, The God Gene: How Faith is Hardwired into Our Genes, details a recent example of a purported link between a particular gene and human behavior (Hamer, 2004). The book was covered heavily by the popular press, including an article in Time magazine featured on the magazine’s cover (Kluger et al., 2004). In his book, Hamer contends that one’s predisposition toward spirituality is influenced by genetic factors. More controversially, he proposes that the VMAT2 gene is one of many potential genes that impinge on spirituality. Hamer identifies one particular variation, a change from an A to a C, present in 28% of the alleles in his data set, as a marker for the more “spiritual” version of this gene. This work has not been published in a scientific journal.
VMAT2 encodes a transporter protein that imports several monoamine neurotransmitters into vesicles in the brain (reviewed in Zheng et al., 2006). Thus, an alteration in the transporter could potentially affect the levels of multiple types of neurotransmitters, resulting in altered brain function. Changes in this monoamine transporter’s sequence or expression have been associated with substance abuse and Parkinson’s disease (Lin et al., 2005; Schwab et al., 2005; Glatt et al., 2006; Yamamoto et al., 2006)….CONT…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2262126/
Power Changes The Brain (and Not in a Good Way). Use These Strategies to Counterbalance The Harmful Effects.Power changes the brain (and not in a good way). Use these strategies to counterbalance power’s harmful effects.
BY BRITT ANDREATTA • SEP 20, 2023 (https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/are-you-a-jerk-there-could-be-a-scientific-reason-for-it/457657)
I WANTED TO SHARE MY LATEST THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ONGOING “CHRISTIAN/SPIRITUAL SCIENTISTS’ AND OTHERS’ ADVANCING WORKS ON “THE SCIENTIFIC SPIRITUAL GENETICS OF HUMANS”!!!
Key Takeaways
- How does power change the brain?
- What are some strategies you can harness to counterbalance the damage of power?
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Executives directly impact any organization’s culture and success. The right leader can catapult the organization forward, while a mismatch can drive the loss of your top talent and rapid market decline. But what is surprising is that a once-excellent leader can quickly become problematic because of how power impacts the brain.
The science of power
Neuroscientists have found interesting patterns visible on brain scans. Did you know that power changes the brain, making people more impulsive and less concerned with how their actions impact others? We can see this reflected in several recent headlines with formerly respected entrepreneurs making choices that endangered the health of their organization or even the lives of customers and employees.
Power can also cause leaders to project their own beliefs and feelings onto others, leading them to perceive signs of agreement that are not there. This can lead to conflicts, poor decisions and loss of trust with peers, employees, customers and board members. Even worse, it can lead to criminal behaviors such as sexual harassment or racial discrimination.
One psychologist states: “The brains of powerful individuals react differently to social cues in ways that resemble psychopaths or patients with frontal brain damage— who lack empathy and the ability to take others’ perspectives. Research has shown that power can deform the brain to act in the same ways.”
This neurological shift occurs incrementally, showing up in small ways that are puzzling to colleagues. But left unchecked, it can quickly grow into well-established patterns with dangerous consequences.
Another outcome is that executives become blind to or out of touch with the reality facing their workers, which is exacerbated as salaries rise, changing their socio-economic status and accelerating the impact of various privileges. The ratio of executive-to-employee compensation has risen from 20-to-1 in 1965 to 399-to-1 in 2021, with a rapid increase since the pandemic, both nationally and globally.
Employees and customers who lose trust in their executives will likely leave at a significant cost to the organization. Further, they are likelier to broadcast their frustration on social media and engage in labor actions like strikes.
Strategies to counterbalance the damage of power
So, how do you protect against the damage that power does to the brain? You must counterbalance its effects early and often. Consider these strategies.
1. Install a rigorous selection process for executives
This goes beyond the usual vetting of their skills and accomplishments. You also want to intentionally look for signs of recent shifts in behavior, such as making problematic choices and ignoring data or peers. These are signs of the “hubris syndrome,” a disorder of the possession of power, particularly power that has been associated with overwhelming success, held for years, and with minimal constraint on the leader. Its clinical features include:
- Conflates self with organization
- Shows excessive self-confidence
- Takes action to enhance personal image
- Restless or reckless/impulsive actions
- Displays of incompetence
- Manifest contempt for others
- Loss of contact with reality
- Believes only accountable to a higher authority and unshakeable belief that authority will vindicate them
Once developed, leaders don’t quickly recover from the damage done by power, so instead, make sure you hire executives who show recent humility, demonstrate emotional intelligence, and are willing to learn and grow. A McKinsey study found that up to half of CEOs are deemed to be failing during their early tenure, and 90% of CEOs wish they had managed their transition differently — support new executives with a formal onboarding process for their first 90 to 120 days…CONT…
THESE REVELATIONS ARE NOT EASY TO “TRAIN ALL BRAIN SCIENTISTS” ABOUT THE BECOME EXPERTS AT, AND MANY, WHO GET THE TRAINING, MAY NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR FINDINGS AND WHAT THEY CAN/COULD SEE AND DIAGNOSE, BECAUSE “EVIL/GREED/POWER” ALL OF THE “SEVEN DEADLY SINS” HAVE “$$/DOLLARS” THAT CAN BE HAD, ATTACHED TO THEM…
An observation that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
©I’M W.O.K.E. & I’M PROUD!; THE “CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS” AND “BRAIN NEUROLOGISTS”, CAN ACTUALLY “VIEW/SEE” EVIL/SIN/DEMONIC FIRING PATTERNS AND CHEMISTRY RELEASES, ON **CERTAIN SCANS!!
