True Grit

איזה הוא גיבור--הכובש את יצרו, שנאמר "טוב ארך אפיים, מגיבור" (משלי טז,לב

Who is strong? He who conquers his desires, as it says (Ecc. 16:32), "The patient man is better than the warrior, [and he who rules his emotions than the conquerer of a city]" (Avot 4:1)

The hullaballoo over waterboarding in the media raises an interesting question over the efficacy of torture and when it should be authorized (if ever). Waterboarding is basically a political smokescreen; you can rest assured that America tortures, although we prefer to offshore it rather than get our own hands dirty.

In this interview, interrogator Matthew Alexander explains that making friends with the captives is actually a more effective means of getting information out of them than torture. As the old aphorism goes, you catch more flies with honey:

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If we'd be better off taking these guys out to dinner, why do we torture them? Well, some of it is simply anger-letting - it's easier to knock them around than pal up to them, emotionally. Another big chunk of it is historical - torture has been so ingrained in us, we've forgotten that other (more effective) methods might exist. Unfortunately, we are in real danger and true strength is required - and that means overcoming our instincts and using our brains.

The Science of Qigong

בן זומא אומר, איזה הוא חכם--הלמד מכל אדם

Ben Zoma says: Who is wise? He who learns from every man. (Avot 4:1)

Many American science bloggers are obsessed with disproving Chinese medicine, but good science is about data, not ideology. The jury is still out on Chinese medicine, as well as many conventional Western medical therapies, simply because experiments on people are prohibitively expensive and as a society we prefer to spend our money elsewhere (mostly guns). In fact, studies have vindicated certain alternative therapies, such as acupuncture for back pain, which is why they are covered by health insurance plans here in CA.

I've learned to keep an open mind about what's possible in the physical world. For this week's Fun Science Friday, I'll introduce you to John Chang, a master of the ancient Chinese art of Qigong. While I am dubious about his ability to light fires with his hands, I am intrigued by the possibility of sending electric shocks through the body. Brain and nerve cells throughout the body are inherently electric, and signal through instantaneous changes in voltage. With enough practice, it seems possible that a human being could focus these voltages to release energy or heat, like an electric eel.

E.O. Wilson's War

הלל אומר, הוי כתלמידיו של אהרון--אוהב שלום ורודף שלום,

אוהב את הברייות ומקרבן לתורה

Hillel says: Be like the students of Aaron, loving peace and chasing peace,

loving other people and bringing them closer to Torah. (Avot 1:12)

Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist E.O. Wilson is passionate about biodiversity. The multitude of plant and animal species is not only beautiful, but also holds secrets to combating human disease. In the 1990s, Wilson became concerned that industrialization of the world's most biodiverse zones, such as Madagascar, was threatening thousands of species. But his efforts to raise awareness were frustrated by the political climate, in which any environmental cause was linked with liberal politics and rejected by the right. Wilson's response? He wrote a book, The Creation, which reached out to religious groups to cooperate with scientists in order to save endangered species. In a recent interview on NPR, he described his thought process (skip to 18:50):

I said to myself, it's something obvious, you know we're not going to really get a lot of movement until the people arebehind it. Then, who are the people? This is a religious country... the Evangelicals, I grew up among them, that's what I was, when I was a kid in the South, ~42 % of Americans are Evangelicals. Why not find a way to form an alliance? And the only way to do that was to extend the hand of friendship, sincerely, to show some respect, to show that scientists don't really disrespect them, at least in terms of what we could all accomplish together. And so I wrote the book The Creation, in which I did this, and asked for their help.

... I believe this is the right way to proceed: Let's put all this stuff we've been fighting about - evolution and traditional Judeo-Christian or Abrahamic religious beliefs - can we put that aside for a moment, and fuss about it later, and meet on common ground... to talk about something that is transcendent.

Note the Obama-esque pragmatism of this approach. It's very realistic (read, scientific). To succeed as a modern-day Noah, Wilson knew he'd have to come down from the ivory tower and start speaking the peoples' language. As a result, both sides have moved a small step closer to one another - and to saving Earth's precious biodiversity.

A Very Karaite Lag B'Omer

Think today is the 33rd day of the Omer? You must be a "Rabbanite," who counts the Omer from the second day of Passover. But if you're a Karaite, you take the Bible as literally as possible – so when it says you count from "the morrow of the Sabbath," you always start counting on a Sunday.*

Around the time of Christ, this difference caused a huge rift between Rabbanite and Karaite Jews. But these days, many Jews have not even heard of Shavuot. In such times, wouldn't it be wise to broaden our horizons a little and welcome the Karaites into the greater Jewish community... even if they celebrate Shavuot a little later in the week?

The thriving Karaite community in San Francisco recently celebrated a major milestone: a Karaite conversion ceremony, the first since 1465. Browsing online, I found this interview with the Karaite rabbi, Joe Pessah. To me, the most interesting stuff is what he says about interacting, and intermarrying, with Rabbanites. This could be the start of something big, the mending of a rift that has festered for far too long.

I am reminded of a mishna every Jew should know:

בית שמאי מתירין את הצרות לאחין, ובית הלל אוסרין. חלצו--בית שמאי פוסלין מן הכהונה, ובית הלל מכשירין; נתייבמו--בית שמאי מכשירין, ובית הלל פוסלין. אף על פי שאלו פוסלין ואלו מכשירין, אלו אוסרין ואלו מתירין--לא נמנעו בית שמאי מלישא נשים מבית הלל, ולא בית הלל מבית שמאי. וכל הטהרות והטומאות שהיו אלו מטהרין ואלו מטמאין, לא נמנעו עושין טהרות אלו על גב אלו

Beth Shammai permit the [rival wives] to the surviving brothers, and Beth Hillel prohibit them... Though these forbade what the others permitted, and these regarded as ineligible what the others declared eligible, Beth Shammai nevertheless did not refrain from marrying women from Beth Hillel, nor did Beth Hillel refrain from marrying women from Beth Shammai. [Similarly...] neither of them abstained from using the utensils of the others for the preparation of food that was ritually clean. (Y'vamot 1:4)

Amen.

*The intricacies of the debate are far too boring to go into here. All interested parties should start with Leviticus 23:9-21 and Joshua 5:11. The interested Rabbanite should proceed to the Babylonian Talmud (Menahot 65a-66aa); the interested Karaite to the Korner. The Modern Orthodox movement has prompted much more in-depth learning of Hebrew Bible, and this has re-opened a very interesting debate about literal (p'shat) vs. exegetical (d'rash) understanding of the Torah. Historically, a chasm has developed between Orthodox Jews and the Karaites and Samaritans. Perhaps this newfound appreciation of "p'shat" will lead back to a reunification of sorts.

"I decided not to finish my thesis"

שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך
"Repent one day before you die." --Avot 2:13

In a recent comic strip, scientist-cum-cartoonist Jorge Cham explains in naked pink why the war on cancer won't be won anytime soon. Along the way, he wrestles with the insignificance of both art and science in the face of life-threatening disease. In the final panels of this poignant piece, he describes being approached at a booksigning by a chemo patient:

What if you were diagnosed with cancer? If you only had six months to live? How would you change your life?

And why aren't you doing that right now?

--

Fresh Fathers: Pre-ramble

During my first year in Israel after high school, I decided to memorize the mishna. Like a Tanna of old, I wandered the streets of Jerusalem, silently repeating the little tidbits of case law and pithy sayings. Did you know that the word mishna means “that which is repeated”? And when you repeat something long enough, a little bit of it trickles down into your soul.

The book that truly stuck with me was Pirkei Avot, or the Book of Fathers. Memorizing Avot was a transformative experience - it blew my mind. The book is abstract and philosophical in nature, quite different from the case law that characterizes most early Rabbinic writings. It opened my heart to many of the values I still cherish today.

I'd like to revisit Avot, here on Samurai Scientist and/or Twitter, over the coming weeks. Traditionally, the book is studied during the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot, so this is a good time to start. Avot lends itself easily to blog format - the pithy sayings are short and open-ended, a springboard for discussion. I hope you'll chime in.