What a character!

[coberst]

What a character!

One significant advantage engineering, physics and much of the natural sciences has is that they speak in mathematical terms. The individuals often speak in formulas or mathematical verbiage that is clear and concise and understandable by all the members. The use of every day words like habit can be confusing because of a lack of clarity.

What is character? Character is the network of habits that permeate all the intentional acts of an individual.

I am not using the word habit in the way we often do, as a technical ability existing apart from our wishes. These habits are an intimate and fundamental part of our selves. They are representations of our will. They rule our will, working in a coordinated way they dominate our way of acting. These habits are the results of repeated, intelligently controlled, actions.

Habits also control the formation of ideas as well as physical actions. We cannot perform a correct action or a correct idea without having already formed correct habits. “Reason pure of all influence from prior habit is a fiction.

“The medium of habit filters all material that reaches our perception and thought. “Immediate, seemingly instinctive, feeling of the direction and end of various lines of behavior is in reality the feeling of habits working below direct consciousness. “Habit means special sensitiveness or accessibility to certain classes of stimuli, standing predilections and aversions, rather than bare recurrence of specific acts. It means will.

Because each job requires a different type of character a journalist would make a lousy military officer and vice versa.

Quotes from “Human Nature and Conduct by John Dewey

[Lulu2]

What's "character?" Read this....

by Carl Zimmer





Are brain parasites altering the personalities of three

billion people? The

question emerged a few

years ago, and it shows

no signs of going away.





I first encountered this

idea while working on my

book Parasite Rex. I was

investigating the

remarkable ability

parasites have to

manipulate the behavior

of their hosts. The

lancet fluke

Dicrocoelium

dendriticum, for

example, forces its ant

host to clamp itself to

the tip of grass blades,

where a grazing mammal

might eat it. It's in

the fluke's interest to

get eaten, because only

by getting into the gut

of a sheep or some other

grazer can it complete

its life cycle. Another

fluke, Euhaplorchis

californiensis, causes

infected fish to shimmy

and jump, greatly

increasing the chance

that wading birds will

grab them.





Those parasites were

weird enough, but then I

got to know Toxoplasma

gondii. This

single-celled parasite

lives in the guts of

cats, sheddding eggs

that can be picked up by

rats and other animals

that can just so happen

be eaten by cats.

Toxoplasma forms cysts

throughout its

intermediate host's

body, including the

brain. And yet a

Toxoplasma-ridden rat is

perfectly healthy. That

makes good sense for the

parasite, since a cat

would not be

particularly interested

in eating a dead rat.

But scientists at Oxford

discovered that the

parasite changes the

rats in one subtle but

vital way.





The scientists studied

the rats in a six-foot

by six-foot outdoor

enclosure. They used

bricks to turn it into a

maze of paths and cells.

In each corner of the

enclosure they put a

nest box along with a

bowl of food and water.

On each the nests they

added a few drops of a

particular odor. On one

they added the scent of

fresh straw bedding, on

another the bedding from

a rat's nests, on

another the scent of

rabbit urine, on

another, the urine of a

cat. When they set

healthy rats loose in

the enclosure, the

animals rooted around

curiously and

investigated the nests.

But when they came

across the cat odor,

they shied away and

never returned to that

corner. This was no

surprise: the odor of a

cat triggers a sudden

shift in the chemistry

of rat brains that

brings on intense

anxiety. (When

researchers test

anti-anxiety drugs on

rats, they use a whiff

of cat urine to make

them panic.) The anxiety

attack made the healthy

rats shy away from the

odor and in general

makes them leery of

investigating new

things. Better to lie

low and stay alive.





Then the researchers put

Toxoplasma-carrying rats

in the enclosure. Rats

carrying the parasite

are for the most part

indistinguishable from

healthy ones. They can

compete for mates just

as well and have no

trouble feeding

themselves. The only

difference, the

researchers found, is

that they are more

likely to get themselves

killed. The scent of a

cat in the enclosure

didn't make them

anxious, and they went

about their business as

if nothing was bothering

them. They would explore

around the odor at least

as often as they did

anywhere else in the

enclosure. In some

cases, they even took a

special interest in the

spot and came back to it

over and over again.







The scientists

speculated that

Toxoplasma was secreted

some substance that was

altering the patterns of

brain activity in the

rats. This manipulation

likely evolved through

natural selection, since

parasites that were more

likely to end up in cats

would leave more

offpsring.





The Oxford scientists

knew that humans can be

hosts to Toxoplasma,

too. People can become

infected by its eggs by

handling soil or kitty

litter. For most people,

the infection causes no

harm. Only if a person's

immune system is weak

does Toxoplasma grow

uncontrollably. That's

why pregnant women are

advised not to handle

kitty litter, and why

toxoplasmosis is a

serious risk for people

with AIDS. Otherwise,

the parasite lives

quietly in people's

bodies (and brains).

It's estimated that

about half of all people

on Earth are infected

with Toxoplasma.





Given that human and rat

brains have a lot of

similarities (they share

the same basic anatomy

and use the same

neurotransmitters), a

question naturally

arose: if Toxoplasma can

alter the behavior of a

rat, could it alter a

human? Obviously, this

manipulation would not

do the parasite any good

as an adaptation, since

it's pretty rare for a

human to be devoured by

a cat. But it could

still have an effect.





Some scientists believe

that Toxoplasma changes

the personality of its

human hosts, bringing

different shifts to men

and women.

Parasitologist Jaroslav

Flegr of Charles

University in Prague

administered

psychological

questionnaires to people

infected with Toxoplasma

and controls. Those

infected, he found, show

a small, but

statistically

significant, tendency to

be more self-reproaching

and insecure.

Paradoxically, infected

women, on average, tend

to be more outgoing and

warmhearted than

controls, while infected

men tend to be more

jealous and suspicious.





It's controversial work,

disputed by many. But it

attracted the attention

of E. Fuller Torrey of

the Stanley Medical

Research Institute in

Bethesda, Maryland.

Torrey and his

colleagues had noticed

some intriguing links

between Toxoplasma and

schizophrenia. Infection

with the parasite has

been associated with

damage to a certain

class of neurons

(astrocytes). So has

schizophrenia. Pregnant

women with high levels

of Toxoplasma antibodies

in their blood were more

likely to give birth to

children who would later

develop schizophrenia.

Torrey lays out more

links in this 2003 paper

. While none is a

smoking gun, they are

certainly food for

thought. It's

conceivable that

exposure to Toxoplasma

causes subtle changes in

most people's

personality, but in a

small minority, it has

more devastating

effects.





A year later, Torrey and

his colleagues

discovered one more

fascinating link. They

raised human cells in

Petri dishes and

infected them with

Toxoplasma. Then they

dosed the cells with a

variety of drugs used to

treat schizophrenia.

Several of the

drugs--most notably

haloperidol--blocked the

growth of the parasite.





So Fuller and the Oxford

scientists joined forces

to find an answer to the

next logical question:

can drugs used to treat

schizophrenia help a

parasite-crazed rat?

They now report their

results in the

Proceedings of the Royal

Society of London (press

release). They ran the

original tests on 49

more rats. Once again,

parasitized rats lost

their healthy fear of

cats. Then the

researchers treated the

rats with haloperidol

and several other

anti-psychotic drugs.

They found that the

drugs made the rats more

scared. They also found

that the antipsychotics

were as effective as

pyrimethamine, a drug

that is specifically

used to eliminate

Toxoplasma.





There's plenty left to

do to turn these results

into a full-blown

explanation of parasites

and personalities. For

example, what is

Toxoplasma releasing

into brains to

manipulate its hosts?

And how does that

substance give rise to

schizophrenia in some

humans? And even if the

hypothesis does hold up,

it would only account

for some cases of

schizophrenia, while the

cause of others would

remain undiscovered. But

still...the idea that

parasites are tinkering

with humanity's

personality--perhaps

even giving rise to

cultural diversity--is

taking over my head like

a bad case of

Toxoplasma.



(Sorry for the format....I couldn't seem to fix it.)

[Accountable]

Lulu2 wrote: What's "character?" Read this....by Carl Zimmer



Are brain parasites altering the personalities of three billion people? The question emerged a few years ago, and it shows no signs of going away.



I first encountered this idea while working on my book Parasite Rex. I was investigating the remarkable ability parasites have to manipulate the behavior



of their hosts. The lancet fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum, for example, forces its ant host to clamp itself to the tip of grass blades, where a grazing mammal might eat it. It's in the fluke's interest to get eaten, because only by getting into the gut of a sheep or some other grazer can it complete its life cycle. Another fluke, Euhaplorchis californiensis, causes infected fish to shimmy and jump, greatly increasing the chance that wading birds will grab them.



Those parasites were weird enough, but then I got to know Toxoplasma gondii. This single-celled parasite lives in the guts of cats, sheddding eggs that can be picked up by rats and other animals that can just so happen be eaten by cats. Toxoplasma forms cysts throughout its intermediate host's body, including the brain. And yet a Toxoplasma-ridden rat is perfectly healthy. That makes good sense for the parasite, since a cat would not be particularly interested in eating a dead rat. But scientists at Oxford discovered that the parasite changes the rats in one subtle but vital way.



The scientists studied the rats in a six-foot by six-foot outdoor enclosure. They used bricks to turn it into a maze of paths and cells. In each corner of the enclosure they put a nest box along with a bowl of food and water. On each the nests they added a few drops of a particular odor. On one they added the scent of fresh straw bedding, on another the bedding from a rat's nests, on another the scent of rabbit urine, on another, the urine of a cat. When they set healthy rats loose in the enclosure, the animals rooted around



curiously and investigated the nests. But when they came across the cat odor, they shied away and never returned to that corner. This was no surprise: the odor of a cat triggers a sudden shift in the chemistry of rat brains that brings on intense anxiety. (When researchers test anti-anxiety drugs on rats, they use a whiff of cat urine to make them panic.) The anxiety attack made the healthy rats shy away from the odor and in general makes them leery of investigating new things. Better to lie low and stay alive.



Then the researchers put Toxoplasma-carrying rats in the enclosure. Rats carrying the parasite are for the most part indistinguishable from healthy ones. They can compete for mates just as well and have no trouble feeding themselves. The only difference, the researchers found, is that they are more likely to get themselves killed. The scent of a cat in the enclosure didn't make them anxious, and they went about their business as if nothing was bothering them. They would explore around the odor at least as often as they did anywhere else in the enclosure. In some cases, they even took a special interest in the spot and came back to it over and over again.



The scientists speculated that Toxoplasma was secreted some substance that was altering the patterns of brain activity in the rats. This manipulation likely evolved through natural selection, since parasites that were more likely to end up in cats would leave more offpsring.



The Oxford scientists knew that humans can be hosts to Toxoplasma, too. People can become infected by its eggs by handling soil or kitty litter. For most people, the infection causes no harm. Only if a person's immune system is weak does Toxoplasma grow uncontrollably. That's why pregnant women are advised not to handle kitty litter, and why toxoplasmosis is a serious risk for people with AIDS. Otherwise, the parasite lives quietly in people's bodies (and brains). It's estimated that about half of all people on Earth are infected with Toxoplasma.



Given that human and rat brains have a lot of similarities (they share the same basic anatomy and use the same neurotransmitters), a question naturally arose: if Toxoplasma can alter the behavior of a rat, could it alter a human? Obviously, this manipulation would not do the parasite any good as an adaptation, since it's pretty rare for a human to be devoured by a cat. But it could still have an effect.



Some scientists believe that Toxoplasma changes the personality of its human hosts, bringing different shifts to men and women. Parasitologist Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University in Prague administered psychological



questionnaires to people infected with Toxoplasma and controls. Those infected, he found, show a small, but statistically significant, tendency to be more self-reproaching and insecure. Paradoxically, infected women, on average, tend to be more outgoing and warmhearted than controls, while infected men tend to be more jealous and suspicious.



It's controversial work, disputed by many. But it attracted the attention of E. Fuller Torrey of the Stanley Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Torrey and his colleagues had noticed some intriguing links between Toxoplasma and schizophrenia. Infection with the parasite has been associated with damage to a certain class of neurons (astrocytes). So has schizophrenia. Pregnant women with high levels of Toxoplasma antibodies in their blood were more likely to give birth to children who would later develop schizophrenia. Torrey lays out more links in this 2003 paper . While none is a smoking gun, they are certainly food for thought. It's conceivable that exposure to Toxoplasma causes subtle changes in most people's personality, but in a small minority, it has more devastating effects.



A year later, Torrey and his colleagues discovered one more fascinating link. They raised human cells in Petri dishes and infected them with Toxoplasma. Then they dosed the cells with a variety of drugs used to treat schizophrenia. Several of the drugs--most notably haloperidol--blocked the growth of the parasite.



So Fuller and the Oxford scientists joined forces to find an answer to the next logical question: can drugs used to treat schizophrenia help a parasite-crazed rat? They now report their results in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (press release). They ran the original tests on 49 more rats. Once again, parasitized rats lost their healthy fear of cats. Then the researchers treated the rats with haloperidol and several other anti-psychotic drugs. They found that the drugs made the rats more scared. They also found that the antipsychotics were as effective as pyrimethamine, a drug that is specifically used to eliminate Toxoplasma.



There's plenty left to do to turn these results into a full-blown explanation of parasites and personalities. For example, what is Toxoplasma releasing into brains to manipulate its hosts? And how does that substance give rise to schizophrenia in some humans? And even if the hypothesis does hold up, it would only account for some cases of schizophrenia, while the cause of others would remain undiscovered. But still...the idea that parasites are tinkering with humanity's personality--perhaps even giving rise to cultural diversity--is taking over my head like a bad case of Toxoplasma.



(Sorry for the format....I couldn't seem to fix it.)I thought it would help me read it, but it became only a challenge to conquer.

[coberst]

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[Accountable]

coberst wrote: ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(sorry, I broke up your post so it wouldn't blow the margins)



I have the same comment for your opening post, coberst. Character is not behavior. Character is reflected in behavior. It is formed just as the habits are formed, but can't be performed.

[coberst]

Accountable wrote: (sorry, I broke up your post so it wouldn't blow the margins)



I have the same comment for your opening post, coberst. Character is not behavior. Character is reflected in behavior. It is formed just as the habits are formed, but can't be performed.


You are correct. I misspoke.