For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this site, please feel free to read my "Diary of a Native Skeptic" page, especially if this is your first visit.
What constantly makes you mad about the world? What do you wish was different about it?
The thing that constantly makes me angry about the world is pseudoscience. It's misleading, often unethical, and even dangerous. People that use pseudoscience to knowingly deceive by operating off of others ignorance and vulnerabilities is the worst of the worst to me. The modern day snake-oil salesman.
I wish that everyone could distinguish science from pseudoscience. I wish the world paid teachers good salaries, admired their roles more, and were held with more respect. Maybe that would turn out better science teachers and in effect improve general science education.
I wish critical thinking was taught on a scale that rivals other subjects like the most common academic ones so that people would be given decision making and tools for reason to figure things out for themselves. It would make it tougher to be taken advantage of, and at the same time, easier to acquire new knowledge. Learning critical thinking is like self-defense training for your brain. Mental Jiu-Jitsu.
I wish that science was as big a part of popular culture as any celebrity is today and scientific language was more a part of the public lexicon. A world with less pseudoscience, is a world filled with less noise.
Science is something we all like to think we know, but my personal experience has shown me that nothing could be further from the truth.
Back in 1989, American astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan spoke about the problem of having such a lack of science literacy amongst the general public in an article for the Skeptical Inquirer. He cites a then recent survey which suggested that, "94 percent of Americans are 'scientifically illiterate'" (Sagan 1989). An example of it appearing in our culture came with a story about an encounter he had with a driver picking him up from the airport named Mr. Buckley who recognized his name and excitedly wanted to ask the popular scientist a few questions.
"Mr. “Buckley”—well-spoken, intelligent, curious—had heard virtually nothing of modern science. He wanted to know about science. It’s just that all the science got filtered out before it reached him. What society permitted to trickle through was mainly pretense and confusion. And it had never taught him how to distinguish real science from the cheap imitation" (Sagan 1989).
That is the perfect way to describe pseudoscience, cheap imitation.
1. Sagan, Carl. 1990. Why We Need To Understand Science. Skeptical Inquirer. (Vol. 14.3). Available online: (http://www.csicop.org/si/show/why_we_need_to_understand_science).
Never have I felt so humbled, insignificant, and at the same time connected to everything than I do with a scientific worldview. Hopefully, I will start even more connections as this process goes on. For the next few weeks, I am going to start the exercise of writing new posts on the regular. One every other day. This first post will be a short story about my background, why I decided to start this blog, and what I hope to get out of it.
There are countless blogs out there, and you pick almost any subject, there are hundreds of them dedicated to it. So, that begs the next question, what will make my blog site different from the plethora of science and skeptics blogs?
Firstly, I wanted to do something that would make a difference. Something that would matter. Initially, I just wanted to put things in my head out there and found a larger community of like-minded individuals that inspired me to do better. I felt a gained responsibility to help others not be taken advantage of and grew into a consumer advocate. It felt like it was my civic duty. These are the things I feel to be most important and promoting scientific literacy and critical thinking are causes I believe to be worth following. This is my way of doing something to make the world to be a better place by helping others. These are things that changed my life and I know they will do the same for others.
I had the unique experience of growing up going between a major metropolitan city to a lowly reservation. Throughout my childhood, I would visit my family on and around the reservation during my breaks from school. Eventually, I spent a great deal of time living there. After being in these somewhat compete opposite places, I still feel like I am not fully here or there, but still wondering somewhere in between.
In a long round about way that brings me to why I decided to start this blog in the first place and what I hoped to get out of it. While everyone has their own unique experience and perspectives, there are not many Native American scientific skeptics. Even less Apache, Navajo, and Hopi skeptics. As am I.
From the beginning, my intentions were to show my work of how I began the transition from a spiritual person seeking answers to the meaning of life and the universe and obsessed with knowing God, to the heathen obsessed with science and reason that I am today. In the midst of all that, I was also forced to confront all the tribal belief systems that were just as big a part of my personal identity as the Christian one. So, maybe this is my way of talking to my younger self and giving the advise I needed to shorten the journey and better filter out all the noise. A way to save people from wasting it on the unlikely; paranormal, supernatural, Qi fields, alternative medicine, and eastern medicine modalities. Instead of starting my investigations on what we don't know, I flipped the script and focused in on what we do know.
Thus began my adventure traveling through hundreds of years of science history! But, I will save that story for another time.
What is a movie if there is no audience to watch it? Is it still a movie?
Over 22 years in the making...this is a story of never giving up. River Phoenix was just as thoughtful in life as he was passionate and committed to the roles he portrayed. He was mindful of people and their connection to each other. But, that thoughtfulness did not just end there. His love and respect for Indigenous people brought up another issue which included a much broader picture, the environment.
This is how I got involved. Years ago, I wrote a post about the subject of Downwinders, a term used to describe the people affected by the harmful levels of radiation due to the mining of uranium or the nuclear bomb Nevada Test Site. The term started with the Navajo uranium miners becoming sick and now has extended to include those exposed to contamination of the soil and water surrounding these dangerous abandoned mines.
In the film Dark Blood, Phoenix's character storyline encompasses this very subject.
A sound designer from the Netherlands named Harold Jalving contacted me inquiring into some of the details of the Downwinders article, and through that, began to tell me about the film crusade he was currently on. I found his story to be absolutely compelling and wanted to help with the journey in any way that I could.
While this account of past events has a somber beginning, leading with memories of the untimely death of River Phoenix, its' ending doesn't have to be all gloomy and starless too. With your help, there is hope at the end of a dark tunnel.
Like the page on Facebook, or share the story and show your support at these links to the Indiegogo and YouTube video pages.
There are many obvious differences between the past and present. However, there are also some things that haven't seemed to change much and take thoughtful consideration to notice. I still see classes of warrior societies today in our military or professional full-contact competitive athletes (martial artists included). For me, Geronimo personifies a part of this with the Apache warrior spirit. When I see his image, I don't just see the worn look of a man scorned and bitter. I witness the embodiment of American Indian rage. I recognize the idea that we, as people, will always be free. I see the wild nature of man and the untamed heart. But, I also see infamy and vengeance.
Living in a world where Apache children’s scalps were worth $25, women $50, and men a cool hundred dollars, it's hard to judge the actions of people during that time.
The things that happened historically, such as the atrocities committed against people, often speak more about the culture of the time than those performing the acts.
I think about the samurai and their struggle to transition to a more civilized society during the early 17th to mid-19th centuries (Discovery Channel 2011). The Japanese warrior class of society that were for so long highly revered, living in a technologically driven world that no longer needed their special trades. Military tactics, armor, swords, bows and arrows, were eventually no match for the advancements in military weaponry. Once we got a hold of this whole science thing and technology got to a certain state of acceleration, cultures were affected so rapidly that societies had to adapt quickly by learning the latest discoveries and harnessing the potential to stay competitive and successful. It didn’t take long for a whole way of life to be redefined by a country and deemed to be “outdated, backwards” and ultimately, “unacceptable.” In 1876, the Japanese government even banned the samurai from carrying a sword, their trademark weapon. (Discovery Channel 2011). One of the major factors of contributing to the downfall of the samurai’s way of life that often gets mentioned is “urbanization.” Historically, it's a common trend for nations to subvert the cultures of old for the greater good of advancing the society overall. The government gave the retired samurai a deal to attain land and establish themselves as farmers (Grabianowski, Ed. 2014). The
samurai, once proud defenders and personal bodyguards of lords and
emperors, were eventually stripped of their high-class status and thrown
out to live on the street and figure out a new way of life amongst the commoners.
That story sounds familiar. The end of isolationism and the oncoming wave of urbanization brought many American Indians to live on reservations and inspired the creation of boarding schools which were instilled to weed out any trace of tribal culture in order to help “civilize” Indian children as a part of this urban progression.
The historical accountsof Geronimo often sound like the plot line for every Kung-Fu, revenge movie. A whole family gets wiped out, a surviving member seeks vengeance for the lives that were lost, and goes out on a rampage in the process. Very much fitting the role of the “anti-hero.” The way the term "power" is often used is interchangeable with “knowledge of.” And like power, great knowledge carries with it great responsibility. For it is indifferent to good and bad, moral and immoral. Because these things are determined by us collectively and how we choose to use them.
Being in such a hostile world, produced a being...just as hostile.
When I see Geronimo’s image, I don't just think about the legends told to me as a kid. I recognize the man, the name, and see warfare personified. I think of the tribal nature of people, mobs and gangs. Images of people coming together in resistancespring to mind.I think about what it was like when I was a young adolescent constantly looking for opportunities to prove myself amongst my peers, or people I looked up to. Adverse effects from the overflow of hormones like heightened states of aggression. Ah, to be a teenager coming of age again.
"Masked Geronimo" by Noah Nez. Spray paint on canvas.
Gangs bring plight to their own communities by committing crimes in, and against, the people living in them. Reminds me of the people living next to the Taliban. Or should I say, trying to live next to the Taliban. Armed with ideology, they too use that as a means to commit crimes against their own people and whole communities. Much to say, a great deal of people over there don't like the Taliban either. Much as the neighbors of gang members don't appreciate the constant intimidation and unknowingly being placed in the line of fire, being caught in between a turf war. Nobody likes their neighborhood to be transformed into a battlefield. Victims of collateral damage have more than enough reason to condemn. Geronimo brought a great deal of suffering to people, including his own. Even still, many Apache people have not forgiven him and many never will.
Art has seemed to always be there as my filter to which I see things through.Some of my fondest memories of early childhood involve movies and video games.One of the things that has greatly influenced my world perspective and the subject of Geronimo, is cinematography.
American Indian history IS American history.
We Shall Remain is an unprecedented mini-series that re-establishes Native history as an essential part of American history.
Three hundred years of United States history, that most Americans have never heard of, gets summed up in five 90-minute documentaries and helps to illustrate these historically significant moments.
An unprecedented five-part television event depicting Native people’s fight for their homeland and to withstand extinction. These stories aren’t just another non-Native filmmakers interpretation. This collaborative effort is informed at every level by Native advisers, scholars, and filmmakers as well.
As noted in thebehind the scenes portion of the movie page,
the filmmakers worked closely with Chiricahua Apaches in southern New
Mexico in preparation for the movie. In addition to that,Producer, Writer, and DirectorDustinn Craigis White Mountain Apache/Navajo.
Craig’s documentary I Belong To This was included in the four-part series, Matters of Race,
produced by Roja Productions for PBS. Other projects
include two short films and a thirty-minute three-screen production
titled Home for the Heard Museum’s Native People of the Southwest exhibit in Phoenix, Arizona (PBS 2008c) (Vision MakersMedia 2014).
The fourth installment of the We Shall Remain series is titled, Geronimo.We get a glimpse of not just the man, but the realness of the day and the situations that many American Indians faced. Here, we have a depiction of Geronimo that rarely gets portrayed by historical accounts and popular culture.
"Born around 1820, Geronimo grew into a leading warrior and healer. archfiend, perpetrator of unspeakable savage cruelties. the embodiment of proud resistance, the upholder of the old Chiricahua ways. stubborn troublemaker, unbalanced by his unquenchable thirst for vengeance, whose actions needlessly brought the enemy’s wrath down on his own people" (PBS 2008a).
There's no glory in the acts committed by Geronimo against his own people. But, one might also argue that those kinds of acts should never be committed against anybody, friend or foe. It takes me back to the kind of thinking that comes from strategic warfare. For instance, take the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Businessmen love it because of its' cutthroat mindset like one of a military general. It fits in with their whole, "it's just business, it's not personal" mentality. It's not all formations and flanking battlefield tactics. But, a great deal of it focuses on using intimidation and other aspects of psychology against an opponent. Such as, sacrificing some for the greater good for an even greater cause. "The ends justify the means." Something I first really got to know in an ethics course. The philosophical argument never really sat well with me, even now as I think it. There's a feeling of uneasiness that I associate with it, even though I am aware of certain cases when the conditions are such that I would agree.
"Elvis Geronimo" by Noah Nez.
So, whether it's his name or his image, that's what I see. This is why I depict him in the thick frames. It's not to make him look cool. I'm poking fun at the posers trying to tap into the current popularity of nerd culture by simply dressing the part, and at the same time, thumb my nose at the idea of this mythical, heroic Geronimo we are so often told about, especially as Apache kids. We are also guilty of making heroes out of people who did some rather unheroic things. I put the mask over his face like a bandit would back in the day, or as the terrorists and gang bangers do now in modern day. I have had some people tell me that I am not supposed to draw him in these ways, but then again, there are others that say I am not supposed to draw him at all! So, I prefer the dirty looks that I get and being told I am not supposed to do such things, over the mindless praises from those purely concerned about aesthetics.
“By any means necessary.” Malcolm X
This is not to say that I am left in some state of disillusion. There are plenty of other people that I admire for different reasons that are flawed in their own ways, like Malcolm X or Nelson Mandela. They both did some acts in their younger years that seem out of place from the way history might present them. Malcolm X often gets pegged as the militant Black Nationalist member of the Nation of Islam. But there is another side to his story about how he turned his life around after his pilgrimage to see the Holy City of Mecca for himself. Mandela is praised around the world. But he took part in some pretty heinous acts against other people in his younger years as well.
There was a time in my personal life that I became more interested in being aware about certain things that seemed to hold more weight to them. There’s so much garbage in the world now that we live in an information age with the internet. Things can easily become overwhelming.
There's a dark side to human nature. So there's a dark side to human history. We don't gain anything from remaining willfully ignorant to the things in the world that we might consider to be ugly. War is ugly. We like to glorify it, but down in the thick trenches of reality, we know it's anything but glorious. Hopefully, there are more individuals that take the time to ask why I depict things in the way that I have chosen to do. So, what does the name Geronimo mean to you?
This all stems from a red carpet interview E! did at the premier to The Other Woman. Last April, E! Online published, Cameron Diaz Hasn't Used Antiperspirant...in 20 Years!, by Marc Malkin. When the subject of antiperspirants came up, Diaz responded that she did not believe in them and went on to clarify that, "It's really bad for you. I haven't used it for almost 20 years." She then goes on to share many of her other personal views about how she thinks human biology and science work by soliciting some advise from her book, The Body Book. Last January, Kate Dries documented a personal experiencereading the book in the article for Jezebel titled, Cameron Diaz's Body Book is Actually Pretty Good, and uses the following quote that Diaz does in her book,
"I'm not a scientist. I'm not a doctor. What I am is a woman who has
spent the past fifteen years learning about what my body is capable of,
and it has been the most rewarding experience of my life."
Just to be upfront, I am not a scientist or doctor either. However, the major deciding factor that is being overlooked here is scientific literacy. Not all claims are equal in merit and just because something sounds, or seems to be scientific, doesn't mean that it is science or that it's true. When lies and cons are informed by some truth and appeal to our emotions, it makes things cloudy so that being smart isn't good enough. Smart people can make mistakes just like the not-so-smart people can be correct from time to time. Without a good definition of what the process of science is, the less likely you are to have any sense of what it should look like and the likelihood of pseudoscience infiltrating your web browser grows. Smart people fall for not-so-smart things all the time. Sometimes we believe things too, for no good reason. It's not a stretch, or novel, to say people are irrational. But, what's not being said enough is that we need tools to help us with our psychological blindspots and personal biases. That's precisely what critical thinking and science literacy can provide.
While she doesn't address anything specific or make any sort of definitive claim, she seems to be convinced that what she does know, is that they are "...really bad for you." This prompted me to look just a bit further for myself to see if there is any reason, or evidence, for such concern.
The University Health Network in Toronto, Canada took to the streets last February 4th to promote World Cancer Day and see what people thought about this very question and give them some facts in a special YouTube video they put together titled, Cancer Mythbusters: Antiperspirants and breast cancer.
Anti-perspirants have been identified as the leading cause of breast cancer.
The specific claim that, anti-antiperspirants have been identified as the leading cause in breast cancer, has been looked at quite thoroughly by one the greatest skeptical tools available online, Snopes.
If you are not familiar with this site as a resource, I'd recommend
bookmarking it to memory for the next urban myth you come across. In 2003, the article titled Misleading Medical Myths Spread Quickly Over Internet was published by NewsOK
warning the general public about some medical myths circulating like a
chain e-mail at the time. One of the claims that made number two on the
list also going out to physicians in an issue of MDnet Guide magazine notifying them about certain urban myths gaining popularity, is the one claiming that anti-perspirants/deodorant cause breast cancer. Apparently, the rumor got bad enough for the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health to respond with this fact sheet about anti-perspirants/deodorant and breast cancer. A key point in the document states,
"There is no conclusive research linking the use of underarm
antiperspirants or deodorants and the subsequent development of breast
cancer." But, there is also another point that completed research
studies were inconclusive because they produced conflicting results.
Some may interpret that differently. One thing that's for sure is that
you can't extrapolate that we know for sure what causes any specific
type of cancer from these studies. So, where else might these fears
perspire from?
In the 'Health, Wellness, and Hygiene Tips for Body Odor' section of the How Stuff Works website, there is a more than I, and probably you, would ever want to know about body odor in the article titled, How Body Odor Works. The subject of anti-antiperspirants and deodorants comes up five pages in; where it goes through a brief history of deodorant, some science behind it, and a few examples of alternatives. The aforementioned concerns and uncertainties surrounding the safety of aluminum-based deodorants shows up once again in the little informational box that appears on the side of the piece and states the following,
"The safety of aluminum-based deodorants has been the cause for much
debate. Some studies seem to have indicated that antiperspirants can
increase breast cancer risks, but according to the National Cancer
Institute and FDA, there's no conclusive evidence to tie the two
together. Additionally, a study done in the 1960s indicated that there
was a higher presence of aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer's patients,
which has lead to the persistent belief that antiperspirants can
contribute to the disease. However, according to the Alzheimer's
Association, studies released since that time have failed to confirm
aluminum's role in causing Alzheimer's."
A brief explanation of just what body odor is and some things to do about it, appears on the blog site Science Knowledge under the article titled, Deodorants and Antiperspirants. It also mentions that there are other alternatives which include masking scents and germicides. There is also a funny example going with this telling of how they test antiperspirants with control groups. The post eventually comes around to breaking down the active ingredients to what makes up an antiperspirant, and addresses some of these concerns in the following excerpt,
"Finally, it’s important to address one of the very real risks of
antiperspirants. No, it’s not breast cancer or Alzheimer’s disease,
despite what you might have read in imaginative email chain letters. For
the record, aluminum, the key ingredient in antiperspirants, is the
third most common element on our planet, and it’s found in food, air,
and over-the-counter medications like antacids, all of which provide
more aluminum than you can absorb from an antiperspirant through your
skin. Furthermore, the amount of waste your sweat glands excrete is
small, so there’s no reason to think that slowing down a few sweat
glands can increase the level of toxins in your blood."
The real downsides to antiperspirants appear to be found in their limited application to be effective on certain glands, so they don't "suppress" the smell from "apocrine glands." Based on the evidence gathered, the only dangers that I can determine surrounding this whole subject, are embarrassment from excessive sweating and staining. The amount and the sweat itself can also indicate other health concerns that could be more serious, like diabetes or thyroid disease as well.
The How Stuff Works article had one other gem of advise that stood out to me amongst all the information sifted through,
"Because everyone's body chemistry is different, it may take a bit of
experimentation to find a natural deodorant that works for you but the
science of making the skin's surface unfriendly to bacteria is sound,
and thousands of people use these products successfully every day."
Unfortunately, some people might argue that the research from big organizations like the American Cancer Society, the FDA, or the National Institutes for Health cannot be trusted because they are part of some elaborate umbrella government conspiracy allowing the poisoning of the general public. But, then I might argue that you might have bigger, more urgent problems of concern than the aluminum in your deodorant.
