Kool video, great subject,and yore right, yore answer is one that MOST human beings would NOT think of !! It also adds credence to things I have told people since I was a wee lil' lad. That is: Eat it anyway,a little bit of dirt won't hurt you! and What does NOT kill us, makes us stronger!! Enjoyed yore video! Live Long and Prosper!!!
Buy Nestle yogurt is the moral of the story. I'm amazed by the biological paradigm that is adopted by this man whose voice seem to be so philosophical.
Biology alone don't explain human beings and will never do.
Nonsense. I'm not shilling for a product; and I'm not arguing that *all* we are is biological.
But one way to answer the question I posed is to furnish a biological answer; and many people don't grasp the colonial nature of their biology. We each are not singular, but many.
Humans can (and should) be defined in many ways. This is only one - but it happens to be one which is often overlooked by humans themselves, and thus worthy of interest.
@Urgelt Urgelt, I'm sorry being so stern but I'm an activist in the harms that medicine is doing, especially in psychiatry, because of the biological paradigm they are using. Drugs are on the market with all the biochemical explanations but they hide the most dangerous effects.
What is being done is criminal, see the SSRIs antidepressants< Prozac like. They are killing people by suicide, homicide or heart attack. They use hypothesis as exact theory. But I really don't believe that human...
I share your concern about drugs. They come onto the market and are used on patients without adequate testing for safety or efficacy. The FDA seems to be mostly in the drug companies' pockets; even if alarms are raised by staffers, they're generally ignored by political appointees who run the place. Conflicts of interest on their advisory panels are rampant.
Most drugs on the market today will eventually be withdrawn as ineffective or unsafe, I think. It's just a matter of time.
Much work remains to be done by science to explain human physiology. Much is not understood at all.
Once it is understood, assuming that is even possible? It still won't suffice to explain humans. We are biological, but we also invent ourselves. So long as there are humans, they will never escape the need to explain themselves in terms of culture and ideas.
Yet we *are* biological; and we shouldn't overlook it, even with only partial understanding.
If the body has its own immune system to fight pathogens and its own digestive/sewer systems to breakdown sustenance and excrete waste why do we need so much non-lethal bacteria to survive?!
Symbiotic bacteria provide at least two important functions which support our health. One, they crowd out pathogens - without our symbiotes a niche is opened up for more dangerous bacteria. Two, their presence helps to tune our immune systems. In the absence of bacteria, our immune systems misfire, often targeting our own tissues.
But we don't know everything bacterial symbiotes are doing. We know they're able to affect human cell behaviors, but research in this area isn't very advanced.
@Urgelt ,,,Hmmmm. I did not know that. I thought that the white blood cells in the immune system were able to distinguish the difference between body cells and bacteria.....Interesting....
IIIIII....CAN........Seeee...THE GLOOOOOW.....O...F.....Yoooour...Tele-promp-ter *aka your computer screen* reeee-flec---ted through the....Lens....of.....your....Glaaa-sss-eess.
This is like my personal theory - when you're sick, it's not because your body is lacking medication, but because there is some kind of imbalance, physical or societal. Like stress and lack of sleep can cause migraines and muscle tightness, which is why it's important to avoid too much caffeine since it stimulates adrenaline secretion, making you more prone to stress. Or as mentioned, indigestion being caused by imbalance of digestive flora. Father medicine is no good without mother nature.
We're mortal. Things go wrong, the more so as we age. It's a battle we're destined to lose. But there's no rule that says we can't have fun along the way.
Have fun, jeshika22. Enjoy life.
Dietary decisions can help you with that; so can treating illnesses. Adequate sleep helps. So can intellectual and social stimulation. Drugs can be positive or negative, either one; caution is always a good policy.
But above all, enjoy your life. Fun makes it all worthwhile.
@Urgelt I couldn't agree more. I wasn't sure how to word it but "societal imbalances" would definitely include social interaction. I often sit back and think about how we all live in boxes - we drive, work, eat and sleep in boxes, build boxes and waste land for parking and driving boxes. And, a moment ago I heard a thud and an ambulance came by, fortunately, but these boxes, while providing privacy and shelter, also could potentially keep me from saving someone about to die only 10 feet away.
Makes me think that yes we do live longer because of medical advances but dose it improve are Heath as a human-beings. this alone makes me think of thousand more questions.
Human's remind me of the dinosaur's, they strut around bullying the weaker human beings thinking their something exceptional, example politicians, the rich, and those who live by terror alone.
But hey, all is not lost, a nice asteroid the size of New Zealand will soon get rid of humans, so their nothing special, and never were.
A near-Earth object that large would have been mapped by now, I'm fairly certain. Something that large coming in from further out and hitting Earth - a very small target in a very large place - is a once-in-many-millions-of-years phenomenon. Not at all likely to happen in our lifetimes.
Humans have flaws, sure. But we're still unique, of all known life forms. What other life-form knows it has flaws?
We might even be smart enough to fix them. We'll see.
@Urgelt I was using satire and been cutting for what i think of human's in general.
And you're very generous in you're human's have flaws remark, it go's a lot further than that, i was thinking evil, greedy, vain and perhaps have run their course like the dinosaur.
Smart enough to fix our flaws? I should think not. We dont have the love for that.
I'd have said "everything is greed." Perhaps it's hyperbole, but not excessively so. But I admit that vanity isn't a bit player in the human psyche, either.
I prefer the word "empathy," as opposed to "love," when discussing what we need and lack. You don't have to love a person to decide not to kill him. More and more, in human affairs and in the affairs of nations, we're making the unempathetic choice.
The greatest threat to our own survival is ourselves. And we know it.
@Urgelt It's not just whether someone kills someone or not. History up to present day is littered with the self-serving, greedy and vain priviliged. Since Eden man has failed dismaily, and even when Jesus Christ comes to the earth to put us back on an even keel we still can't rise to the occasion.
That with stealing from others, bringing disease, hunger, mistreatments and unfairness of people and even our own nations, no, i can't see any empathy there.
As our numbers rise, our empathy falls. We understand on some very basic level that it can't go on like this. Already, nutrition for billions is suffering because of scarcity of essential nutrients. The oceans are crashing. Either we stop breeding recklessly, or we'll suffer horror: a die-back.
We are choosing the individually selfish/collectively cruel path. We breed recklessly. We are desensitizing ourselves to violence.
The most common form of acne is called acne vulgaris. Enter that search term on Wikipedia and read the article.
It's not a simple problem. Hormones, heredity, diet (milk products and excessive sugar intake), and an infectious bacterium (Propionibacterium acnes) have all been implicated as correlated factors. You can't do much about hormones or heredity, but you can attack the problem with dietary changes and by fighting the bacterium (various topical treatments and antibiotics).
Before I respond, let me say again I'm not an expert, just a consumer and citizen with an interest. Consider the source.
I think the answer may be "yes."
Antibacterial chemicals will go into the environment. The way adaptation and natural selection work, it's likely we'll see bacterial develop resistances for which we have no answers. Antibiotics should be used sparingly.
Second, not all bacteria are harmful. Some appear to contribute to healthy skin.
Empathy between us is failing; we are desensitizing ourselves to the weal of other humans. The result is a society which is increasingly sociopathic: indifferent to suffering.
That's an observation. It's not an endorsement. I see much to regret in this trend.
@Urgelt If I may venture a guess, I would guess this was a reference to your essay, "What Is Dance To Me?" Although, I do tend to agree with your analysis of the comment. Perhaps a good starting point for a new video post?
Yes, I know. It's an ironic comment. It's also... nihilistic is probably the right word.
It is an attitude which, if widely adopted, can only result in our mutual annihilation. Worse, the human race seems well on its way to agreeing that humans are worth nothing much.
The way we value each other drives how we treat each other, you see. When valuations are low, horror results. Not cheap Hollywood titillation; the real thing.
Humans are just a very complicated form of bacteria, if you looked at the world as a super organism, from far away you don't see all the people. All you see is a growth it's big an brown it's a growth. Smokes coming out of it. Lite it on fire, rebuilds. You wouldn't see limo drivers chefs comedians. all you'd see is the growth the mold. The mold on the sandwich. Us humans are basically just here to eat the sandwich. To fuck shit up.
Hy Urgelt, your videos are very educational and to be honest few human beings are using the internet to provide useful information for us, youngsters, so thank you. But, I want you to ask what is your profession?
We can live in 100% sterile environments and been healthy, but the usual social relationships are challenging. It's been done. I don't knwo a good keyword for it, but i think it's a medical condition that requires a sterile environment in order to live.
Sterile mice are used in laboratory experiments, too. You *can* survive without any bacteria, it seems.
If you're kept in a sterile environment, that is. A sterile person - or mouse - is helpless, unable to survive in the broader world of microorganisms. He'll probably also have dangerous allergy problems - which happens when the immune system isn't stressed by allergens and microorganisms early in life (the first two years, roughly). That makes the immune system crazy.
thats true. i just started doing enemas like not the bs you get from pharmacy but some that i made up like 2 two quarts you would be suprised what type of CRAP is just up inside your intestines.. it is just awful. it makes me seriously watch what i eat and i have almost stopped drinking soda. i drink a lot of water. that is so nasty what you are saying.. ARE you serious??? no jokes
Hi Urgelt . All your topics are very informative, your style and delivery pure is grace. You are amazing and a very intelligent with much understanding. Your videos are useful, they have help me repeatedly. if they have helped me then i know they are helping 100's or maybe 100, 000's of other viewers. keep sharing i signed up to Youtube today for the sole purpose of leaving this message. i guess you have a much positive effect on me. Thanks T. Strubrick (trinox)
Thank you urgelt, I watched your Caffine addiction post. I am addicted to many substances, caffine is but one and you have helped me understand this powerful drug further. I appreciate you taking the time to share your intellegence with the rest of us, you have a great ability to tell stories at an understanable pace. I belive us humans are a mystery, sadly many of us are arrogant and ingnorant of this fact, you obviously aren't.... Take care and thanks again. Marcus
The last century was the electric century. We went from powering light bulbs to machines that can almost think.
This century will be the century of biology, I think. The powers we will unleash will rival those we gained from electricity. There is mystery, but we'll get to the bottom of a great deal of it. It will be an interesting time to live in.
Good luck with your addictions, Marcus. I know what it's like.
Bacteria affect our mood and thinking too. A couple small scale studies showed that daily use of probiotics reduced anxiety by around 40% in people with light to moderate anxiety. I use Flora Q probiotics as prescribed by my doctor along with greek yogurt in my health regiment. I hear fermented foods have beneficial bacteria in them too, another possible option for people...
@Urgelt you aren't kidding. The recent news I heard is that certain modulations of certain strains of intestinal flora/bacteria can actually make animals and humans live longer. Like they found that the wine compound resveratrol changes the intestinal flora of dogs which is (as they say) most likely why it makes the dogs live 1.8 years longer on average... so, being nowhere near finished turning up insights (as you said) was an understatement!!! It's exciting to me, maybe not other people...
Ah, a link between resveratrol and intestinal flora? You're a veritable font of breaking news. I hadn't heard that either.
I've been convinced for some time now that modulating bacterial colonies in the gut might open new treatments for diseases. Aging is a disease, so far as I am concerned - a genetic disease all of us have, to one degree or another.
Things will get interesting when we can cure it, and have to decide who gets the cure and who doesn't.
That's part of it. There's more. Humans are nothing if not complex creatures.
In primitive times, a kiss was probably used to pass chewed food to an infant or to a person without teeth. It was an act of giving and caring. A kiss between two people who didn't need help with chewing food was a promise: "I love you enough to take care of you if you should need help some day."
One's every perception, thought, decision and action is a product of the degree and quality to which one accepts and conveys the underlying law of nature.
Google it (i.e., the underlying law of nature).
New information about the underlying law of nature has been made available online very recently.
fyi...I have recently discovered the importance of maintaining an alkaline PH within our bodies. Acid environments are a breeding ground for unwanted fungi and bacteria. Cancer, which may be caused by Candida, cannot grow in an alkaline environment either. I recently started adding a bit of sodium bicarbonate to my water to raise my PH to about 7.4 and my four-year struggle with MRSA has ended. I also have more energy and much less pain.
Yeast loves sugar; too much dietary sugar is often a culprit in candida infections.
Unless you are severely depleted of calcium - enough to weaken your bones - or are in the terminal stages of a disease, your body will regulate your blood PH within very tight bounds. It's a mistake to think that eating an apple will acidify your blood or consuming sodium bicarbonate will alkalize it; it doesn't work that way.
Keep in mind there are other variables in play: immune system response, diet, etc..
You are an ocean of life, an ecosystem in itself. Populations of species rise and fall, new organisms migrate in and colonize you, and your immune system takes an active role in managing these organisms, culling undesirables and ignoring the rest, sometimes making mistakes.
For every cell in your body with human DNA, there are at least 10 - probably many more - cells which have no human DNA at all. Yet they are "you."
i have always been fascinated by mitochondrial dna since i first learned its dna was passed down from the maternal side only...so mine would be identical to my mothers, grandmothers, great-grans, etc., etc., etc.
It is useful to see the big picture. I think we tend to get lost in the details sometimes.
Glad you enjoyed it, Georgji92, but... I'm not a genius. I didn't come up with these insights; I just digested and regurgitated them. The real work was done by countless unsung heroes in the biological sciences.
Evolutionists now tell us that the word "theory" has a new meaning when applied to Darwin's monkeyshines. There's no such thing as "atheism" when speaking of human beings. Cats are atheists, dogs and chinchillas, but not people. We have a conscience, we question nature. Humans are the supreme life force of this planet. "Atheism" denigrates us. It champions autocracy, pornocracy and necromancy.
Cats are atheists? Atheists are necromancers? There's no such thing as atheism, but atheism denigrates humans?
Your argument is a silly mass of unproved assertions and self-contradictions, sprinkled with attempts to attach ugly labels to the object of your derision.
I don't know what you think "theory" means, but in science, it means "explanation." The weight a theory has depends on the evidence supporting it.
Don't equate science with atheism. Science is silent on that. No evidence.
As you may know, many disease ridden and imperfect genetical human beings are now able to survive because of the advances in medicine. Survival of the fittest is no longer a fact. Do you think saving groups of humans with a certain type of illness could be devastating to exponential amounts of human beings in the future, provided they reproduce and pass those genetic abnormalities to the rest of the human gene pool? Maybe ensuring your own survival may be selfish in the long run.
Nietzsche and his imitators, alas, are poorly grounded in the theory of natural selection. Their conclusions are incorrect.
During periods of low selective pressure - which are quite commonly observed in many species - genetic variability rises. Variability is helpful, not harmful, when selective pressures rise again - because future threats to the species are unpredictable. Anything can happen: volcanoes can explode, new predators can move into the area, climate can change, new diseases.
The more genetic variation exists in a species, the more likely it is that it will be able to adapt to the unexpected.
Which is certainly not to say that every variation will succeed.
The "fittest" isn't always obvious in advance. It's not necessarily the strongest, the fastest, the smartest, the most visually appealing. It could be something as mundane as resistance to a new disease.
Part of your point, though, is that humans have placed themselves into a new evolutionary category. This is true, and I'd like to elaborate on it.
10,000 years ago is an eyeblink in genetic terms, but human society is another matter. It is evolving, too, and far, far more rapidly than any biological process.
I suppose if that goes on for a very long time - thousands of years - we might see selective pressure in favor of humans who are better at conforming and "fitting in."
But that is a subtle trend, and it may end up being far outweighed by another one.
We are learning how to tweak our own genome, you see.
We haven't done it much yet. But we will. And when we do, I think we can stop worrying much about natural selection as it affects humans, and start worrying about an entirely new thing: artificial selection. We will be what we choose to be, not what nature imposes, and it could proceed very quickly.
I do not think that expressing empathy towards each other, tolerating diversity, and helping the lame is harming the species. Far from it. These things strengthen our social ties, and social ties are supremely important to our survival now, much more so than individual genetics.
We probably will come under increased selective pressure at some point (a die-back). When we do, social factors are likely to be vastly more important than genetics in determining who will survive.
I used to ponder intelligent design and irreducible complexity which would seem more relevant as to" what is a human being" than the bacteria you mention. In any case the best bet is to stop pondering. If anyones finds the answer it will be on the news. I do like you style. Thanks for posting.
I'm no less startled by the elegant design of a bacterium than of a human. All life is amazing to me.
I'm not so sure about the idea of irreducibility. Reductionism is still yielding insights, and will for many centuries to come, I am sure. But I could not argue that in gestalt, we sometimes find more than the sum of parts.
I don't have a monopoly on defining humans, which is good. Thanks for chipping in with your ideas.
Don't jump the gun. We aren't extinct yet, and so long as we are not, our decisions - as well as technological advances - may well influence our chances.
Those who are sufficiently self-centered either claim there is no problem, hence there is no reason to inconvenience them, or it's too late, hence, again, there is no reason to inconvenience them. Neither assertion arises from science.
Hominids - man-like apes - appear to have been around for perhaps 5 million years, to judge by the fossil record discovered thus far. Humans - those of our own species - are much more recent. Since the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, I'd say science agrees: a great deal of time passed without humans present.
There are many, many possible answers to the question I posed in the video title. I gave one answer in the video, but I would be the last to insist that it is the only one.
A human being is basically stellar dust ,the human form that is, but what of the x factor that indwells and animates this stellar dust ,from where does this come,what generates thoughts?is it the brain or is it the indweller which generates them and uses the brain to bring about it`s desires....as a man thinketh so is he
Dust, gases, and energy arranged into the fragile matrix that is cellular-based life... we are that, indeed.
All Earthly life can claim that star-heritage, not just humans. But of all Earthly life, only humans possess such an odd, oversized brain. This brain is imperfect, but it is flexible. Programmable. Even self-programmable.
Within constraints, we think ourselves into the beings we will be - for a little while, at least, until we return our star-stuff to the Earth for recycling.
I love listening to you talk, your voice is very interesting, and while my attention span is short you captured it for quite some time. Basically I came up with a conclusion half way through your speech.... Doctors are not Gods just good guessers.. ...O.k Im going to listen to the rest now.
The best doctors combine knowledge with intuition. They are indeed good guessers.
Human doctors aren't the future, though. Both diagnosis and treatment could be automated - and eventually will be, with far more consistent results. I won't live to see it, but some of the YouTube audience might.
Plain soap - without toxins added - is fine with me.
I have nothing against periodically reducing the bacterial population on skin and in hair using soap (with no toxins added) and water. I just think we shouldn't be aiming for "sterile," except in specific medical situations.
Don't worry! "Our" body is not ours. We just borrow it from the Nature for a little journey...
And our soul... Do we have? I mean individual soul?
Or just our EGO playing with us ?! " I'm more smarter than you" or "I know better than you" or " I'm stronger than you" etc.... :-) My point: We have nothing, so there is nothing to worry about. Sorry for my bad English!
Our ideas about ownership are indeed flawed. We may borrow, and use, but never own... everything must be given back to the biosphere. Even the very stuff of which we are made.
Eh, I wish humans were more human... then we'd have more peace. Peace isn't hard to achieve. What you transcend towards your child, or whatever thing you hold close or dear to yourself, transcend it to the rest... to other humans and ultimately humanity itself. Only then we can proceed. Only then we will reach our true potentials.
Violence seems to be a product, not only of our natural potential, but of programming. Memes occupy our heads and move us to it.
I do not think it is eternally inevitable that we must be violent towards each other, but I acknowledge that reprogramming our memes is no trivial task.
Your videos are all very thought provoking. I know you get this a lot but you really should post more of these, especially more like your healthy eating series and cancer. Very informative. A quick thought on the video: When you break it down like you did it all sounds very simple. However, humans are notorious for complicating every thought that comes into our minds. It is refreshing to just think in terms of what we are rather than what our minds portray us to be.
Your last point is one which resonates with me very strongly.
I think our extremely social nature sometimes betrays us. We attach a great deal of significance to subtle shadings within elaborate hierarchies, worrying about who said what about whom and the accumulation of status - "much ado about nothing," as Shakespeare put it - and pay little attention to what is really going on in the universe, or within ourselves.
It's because we're so trapped in our culture, in the being of being human on this planet with the brains we have, and the same two arms and legs everybody has. We're so trapped that any way we could imagine to escape would be just another part of the trap. Anything we want, we're trained to want.
Would it surprise you to know, 9N8X, that science has no rigorous definition for the word "intellect?" The word is used carelessly, I'm afraid. By all of us.
Me included.
Moving on... you have personally demonstrated yet another definition of human. We are the ape which is eager to dispense judgments, issue condemnations, and affix labels.
Quite a distinction, huh.
Those are asides. I see some truth in your words. I only wish I didn't.
I am not one to argue that thought isn't a flawed process.
But I have to wonder how you reach the conclusion that all thoughts are equally flawed. I think not.
Too bad. it would be tremendously convenient if all thoughts were equally trashy. Then we need not exert ourselves to think cleverly or concern ourselves with truth; a lazy brain's guiltless paradise.
I think instead of saying that All are lies it could be more accurately said that All are agreements. We all know that calling a human being a colony of bacteria doesnt carry any more weight than calling it a colony of atoms. We only agree to call it such to facilitate various purposes, in your case - health. As for the task of defining soul; the actuating cause of an individual life, since the actuating causes go back ad infinitum, might that unreachable thing be the soul? Just a guess.
A thought-provoking comment, for which I am appreciative.
Let's start here: the "weight" of an argument rests not on how many people believe it, but its accuracy. Agreement does not determine the truth of the universe.
Though of course our agreement affects *us.* It affects the accuracy of our understanding. It must be said that truth and agreement often diverge.
A classic divergence exists when we "understand" ourselves as unitary beings, when the truth is far more complex.
As for the soul: I'm interested in attempts to define it, including yours.
But in this case I fear we are playing word games. What is the "actuating cause" of life? I think you are inferring a sort of First Principle, from which life as we know it is derivative, then asserting this Principle is unknowable because it is masked by the derivations.
Why is this not mere sophistry, built upon a foundation, not of natural truth, but solely of word definitions?
In science, an hypothesis must be testable. And this is where we stumble, invariably, when attempting to define a soul. No hypothesis yet advanced - including yours - passes this test.
Words can be used for fantasizing as well as to describe nature. The only way to know you are doing one, and not the other, is through evidence.
Agreed, true things are always true, regardless of what people agree on.
We can't forget that, by default, everything is nameless.
Yet we've named things despite this fact, and many of us have forgotten that we've agreed to name things in order to facilitate effective group cooperation and figuring. So, it is in this way, that it makes sense to say that all are agreements, rather than lies. Because, they're a necessary fiction.
Which as I previously stated, facilitate various purposes.
In an eternal universe it's not unfathomable for the principles causing life to be masked by derivations as you say (however disappointing that may be). But, the principles at work are always implications of the way the universe is (a happy natural truth).
This ended up being fairly thought provoking after all... Most of my effort was in trying to not be misunderstood, but I'm sure I've still left gaps. I'm just a 18 year old trying to figure out what career suits him, any ideas on that? :D
Actually, no. A pattern in grammar is an artificial construct. It may or may not accurately represent a pattern in nature.
Often, not.
The only way to know is to find the evidence and prove or disprove it.
The problem is that we can construct an argument that is completely logical, and completely false. We've been doing this for thousands of years. We're really quite good at it.
Perfect, it seems that all of the clarifications you made were accurate interpretations of what I wrote.
When I say that grammar is a natural pattern, I mean it only in the sense that its existence makes it an implication of the universe. Otherwise I think your understanding and clarifications were all spot-on, and had I been writing a book instead of a YouTube comment Im sure I would have made them myself.
The "necessary fiction" requires this clarification: the fiction that is a word definition - which can only at best represent a thing or action rather than *be* that thing or action - is necessary to *us.*
It's not necessary to the natural universe in which we live.
Nature is quite indifferent to our definitions. But we should not be indifferent to to nature's.
Where our agreement fails to accurately describe natural phenomena, it requires correction.
Oh, lots of thought is trash. Quite a few of mine are. But everyone's? Every thought?
Nah.
You and Shakespeare might get along better than you think. He loved to take potshots at people's stupidity and foolishness - the higher ranking the target, the more eager he was to land a blow.
His were deliciously phrased blows, too.
But he wasn't a nihilist. It almost sounds as though you might be one.
Under the surface of every nihilist there is an ocean of pain, as a rule.
I "waste time" with science because it's fun. I've never needed a better reason to do something than for the fun of it, and I won't regret the hours of my life spent on fun, either.
What is the purpose of life? Eh, nobody agrees. So it seems it's something we must come up with for ourselves.
Your comment is nearly Shakespearean, do you know? "No-one in this world knows what is a human being." The Bard might have used different words, but the sentiment could have come directly from the mouth of one of his not-so-foolish fools.
My admitting "there are many ways to define humans" is a cautious acknowledgement of your point. You were harsh. Perhaps unkind. But hardly foolish.
Are we all empty? I'd enjoy hearing your explanation of that accusation. :-)
The word "theory" is often misunderstood by nonscientists, who think it means an idea which has no substantiation. This is incorrect. In science, a "theory" is an explanation for which there is evidence - usually quite a lot of evidence, certainly enough evidence to merit consideration.
The evidence for the presence of trillions of organisms within humans - many more than the number of human cells - is strong.
There are many other ways to define humans, each having its merits. This is one.
I'm grateful for your enthusiasm, MissMeAm, and for your thoughts.
There are physical boundaries separating us from each other; it's not a purely conceptual separation. But we imagine those boundaries to be more solid than they are. Look on a small enough scale, and you will see we are exchanging microflora between us all the time - and between ourselves and the rest of the natural world.
I think our purpose is to appreciate and experience things. We're like secondary creators - nature created us to continue creation, to recompose the planet. Not that this is always a good thing! Life is getting better and better, and worse and worse. Yin and Yang ;) Everthing is increasing. They reckon that even time is speeding up!
If you think about what diffrentiates us from animals, it's obviously our thoughts, everything else is the same. Thinking can be a really good and amazing thing, we can enjoy it, but at the same time, all we acheive through thought has negative consequences. It may give us happiness, and something to do, but animals are quite content to just exist, and at least they don't hurt the earth! Not that I want to be an animal though either, just an observation.
Read me a bedtime story with that voice... some light classical music in the background and some pencil drawings :)
BevilTex 1 month ago
Your magnificent beard just makes me want to watch all of your videos.
9lk00583 1 month ago in playlist More videos from Urgelt
This guy seduces a lot of women!
haniputani 2 months ago
Im sorry, but i disagree wit hthe yogurt. lmao
catman1cheese 2 months ago
You have a relaxing voice, you melt my brain with your voice, truly great!
I like relaxing to your voice
catman1cheese 2 months ago
bravo, great great video.
cjmcallister89 4 months ago
Be my grandad
TheVerinen2 6 months ago 2
you have such a beautifull voice, and an intelligent mind! sorry for my bad english, i am from Holland (in europe)
keep it up, i really like your videos.
Greetings Hammy
Hammypower 7 months ago 2
I can listen to this man all day, for real
matthewgroen 8 months ago
Kool video, great subject,and yore right, yore answer is one that MOST human beings would NOT think of !! It also adds credence to things I have told people since I was a wee lil' lad. That is: Eat it anyway,a little bit of dirt won't hurt you! and What does NOT kill us, makes us stronger!! Enjoyed yore video! Live Long and Prosper!!!
hybeerian 8 months ago
Buy Nestle yogurt is the moral of the story. I'm amazed by the biological paradigm that is adopted by this man whose voice seem to be so philosophical.
Biology alone don't explain human beings and will never do.
AnaLimaLuiza 8 months ago
Nonsense. I'm not shilling for a product; and I'm not arguing that *all* we are is biological.
But one way to answer the question I posed is to furnish a biological answer; and many people don't grasp the colonial nature of their biology. We each are not singular, but many.
Humans can (and should) be defined in many ways. This is only one - but it happens to be one which is often overlooked by humans themselves, and thus worthy of interest.
Urgelt 8 months ago
@Urgelt Urgelt, I'm sorry being so stern but I'm an activist in the harms that medicine is doing, especially in psychiatry, because of the biological paradigm they are using. Drugs are on the market with all the biochemical explanations but they hide the most dangerous effects.
What is being done is criminal, see the SSRIs antidepressants< Prozac like. They are killing people by suicide, homicide or heart attack. They use hypothesis as exact theory. But I really don't believe that human...
AnaLimaLuiza 8 months ago
@Urgelt human beings can be explained by biology. No. It is not overlooked! It's everywhere!
Well, I became aware of your work because of The Cremation of Sam MacGee" and didn't know you are at the health business.
Quite a polemic issue.
AnaLimaLuiza 8 months ago
I share your concern about drugs. They come onto the market and are used on patients without adequate testing for safety or efficacy. The FDA seems to be mostly in the drug companies' pockets; even if alarms are raised by staffers, they're generally ignored by political appointees who run the place. Conflicts of interest on their advisory panels are rampant.
Most drugs on the market today will eventually be withdrawn as ineffective or unsafe, I think. It's just a matter of time.
Urgelt 8 months ago
Much work remains to be done by science to explain human physiology. Much is not understood at all.
Once it is understood, assuming that is even possible? It still won't suffice to explain humans. We are biological, but we also invent ourselves. So long as there are humans, they will never escape the need to explain themselves in terms of culture and ideas.
Yet we *are* biological; and we shouldn't overlook it, even with only partial understanding.
Urgelt 8 months ago
Human being...what purpose are we living for?
toki1221 8 months ago
If the body has its own immune system to fight pathogens and its own digestive/sewer systems to breakdown sustenance and excrete waste why do we need so much non-lethal bacteria to survive?!
meshyis 8 months ago
Symbiotic bacteria provide at least two important functions which support our health. One, they crowd out pathogens - without our symbiotes a niche is opened up for more dangerous bacteria. Two, their presence helps to tune our immune systems. In the absence of bacteria, our immune systems misfire, often targeting our own tissues.
But we don't know everything bacterial symbiotes are doing. We know they're able to affect human cell behaviors, but research in this area isn't very advanced.
Urgelt 8 months ago
@Urgelt ,,,Hmmmm. I did not know that. I thought that the white blood cells in the immune system were able to distinguish the difference between body cells and bacteria.....Interesting....
meshyis 8 months ago
This was incredibly interesting and true, but this guy talks like, comically dramatic.
ShizakuIzaiyoi 9 months ago
im kinda high and this video just made my life complete
JakeStrangeFishing 9 months ago
Humans are the best and worst animals on earth.
if they are good they are the best thing on earth, if they are bad, they are worst than animals.
Gutsyndicate 9 months ago
My daughter thinks I should connect with him. Like, date?
daddyelev 10 months ago
IIIIII....CAN........Seeee...THE GLOOOOOW.....O...F.....Yoooour...Tele-promp-ter *aka your computer screen* reeee-flec---ted through the....Lens....of.....your....Glaaa-sss-eess.
berryola 10 months ago
Almost all of my videos were made by reading from a text editor on my computer. (Not a teleprompter, incidentally. Just a text editor.)
I've never tried to deny or hide it.
Is there a reason I ought to feel shame over it? I can't think of a one.
Urgelt 10 months ago
@Urgelt
John 14:6
Thank you, and may The Lord Bless you, your family and keep you safe from harm
berryola 10 months ago
when he speaks two and a half men becomes silenced
givehell 10 months ago
This man looks like a halogram
burgertube1 10 months ago
a human being is a stupid looking thing with 2 legs and a random tuft of hair on its head
They make damn good music though
BackInAGiffy 10 months ago
This is like my personal theory - when you're sick, it's not because your body is lacking medication, but because there is some kind of imbalance, physical or societal. Like stress and lack of sleep can cause migraines and muscle tightness, which is why it's important to avoid too much caffeine since it stimulates adrenaline secretion, making you more prone to stress. Or as mentioned, indigestion being caused by imbalance of digestive flora. Father medicine is no good without mother nature.
jeshika22 11 months ago
We're mortal. Things go wrong, the more so as we age. It's a battle we're destined to lose. But there's no rule that says we can't have fun along the way.
Have fun, jeshika22. Enjoy life.
Dietary decisions can help you with that; so can treating illnesses. Adequate sleep helps. So can intellectual and social stimulation. Drugs can be positive or negative, either one; caution is always a good policy.
But above all, enjoy your life. Fun makes it all worthwhile.
Urgelt 11 months ago
@Urgelt I couldn't agree more. I wasn't sure how to word it but "societal imbalances" would definitely include social interaction. I often sit back and think about how we all live in boxes - we drive, work, eat and sleep in boxes, build boxes and waste land for parking and driving boxes. And, a moment ago I heard a thud and an ambulance came by, fortunately, but these boxes, while providing privacy and shelter, also could potentially keep me from saving someone about to die only 10 feet away.
jeshika22 11 months ago
@Urgelt-- Why are humans so angry these days? Nobody counts their blessings these days! It feels like Rome is falling in the USA. Am I way off base?
kurtnils 11 months ago
No, I think you're on target. I don't think it's sudden; but I do feel that anger has been building in our society.
I have opinions about why, but it's really not feasible to have that conversation in such a limited format as YouTube comments.
Urgelt 11 months ago
Makes me think that yes we do live longer because of medical advances but dose it improve are Heath as a human-beings. this alone makes me think of thousand more questions.
knifegun101 1 year ago
Me, too.
Scientists say the same thing. Every answer gives rise to new questions; the unknowns dwarf what we know.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Human's remind me of the dinosaur's, they strut around bullying the weaker human beings thinking their something exceptional, example politicians, the rich, and those who live by terror alone.
But hey, all is not lost, a nice asteroid the size of New Zealand will soon get rid of humans, so their nothing special, and never were.
bengusandlex 1 year ago
Nah.
A near-Earth object that large would have been mapped by now, I'm fairly certain. Something that large coming in from further out and hitting Earth - a very small target in a very large place - is a once-in-many-millions-of-years phenomenon. Not at all likely to happen in our lifetimes.
Humans have flaws, sure. But we're still unique, of all known life forms. What other life-form knows it has flaws?
We might even be smart enough to fix them. We'll see.
Urgelt 1 year ago
@Urgelt I was using satire and been cutting for what i think of human's in general.
And you're very generous in you're human's have flaws remark, it go's a lot further than that, i was thinking evil, greedy, vain and perhaps have run their course like the dinosaur.
Smart enough to fix our flaws? I should think not. We dont have the love for that.
Everything is vanity.
bengusandlex 1 year ago
I'd have said "everything is greed." Perhaps it's hyperbole, but not excessively so. But I admit that vanity isn't a bit player in the human psyche, either.
I prefer the word "empathy," as opposed to "love," when discussing what we need and lack. You don't have to love a person to decide not to kill him. More and more, in human affairs and in the affairs of nations, we're making the unempathetic choice.
The greatest threat to our own survival is ourselves. And we know it.
Urgelt 1 year ago
@Urgelt It's not just whether someone kills someone or not. History up to present day is littered with the self-serving, greedy and vain priviliged. Since Eden man has failed dismaily, and even when Jesus Christ comes to the earth to put us back on an even keel we still can't rise to the occasion.
That with stealing from others, bringing disease, hunger, mistreatments and unfairness of people and even our own nations, no, i can't see any empathy there.
There may be a little but its sporadic.
bengusandlex 1 year ago
Yes, cruelty takes many forms.
As our numbers rise, our empathy falls. We understand on some very basic level that it can't go on like this. Already, nutrition for billions is suffering because of scarcity of essential nutrients. The oceans are crashing. Either we stop breeding recklessly, or we'll suffer horror: a die-back.
We are choosing the individually selfish/collectively cruel path. We breed recklessly. We are desensitizing ourselves to violence.
And none of it is inevitable.
Urgelt 1 year ago
I don't even know what human beings even mean,
if we were to meet a creature as intelligent as us, but not a primate, what would we even do???
BeamSurfer 1 year ago
Like this if you want Urgelt to record and post a video of what he thinks happens to humans after they die.
jordanmacintosh702 1 year ago 23
What do you recomend I do to get rid of my acne?
jordanmacintosh702 1 year ago
The most common form of acne is called acne vulgaris. Enter that search term on Wikipedia and read the article.
It's not a simple problem. Hormones, heredity, diet (milk products and excessive sugar intake), and an infectious bacterium (Propionibacterium acnes) have all been implicated as correlated factors. You can't do much about hormones or heredity, but you can attack the problem with dietary changes and by fighting the bacterium (various topical treatments and antibiotics).
Urgelt 1 year ago
I like explanation You have a nice voice : )
danilasad 1 year ago
So is it bad to wash my hands with antibacterial soap a few times per day??
NihilisticSliceshow 1 year ago
Before I respond, let me say again I'm not an expert, just a consumer and citizen with an interest. Consider the source.
I think the answer may be "yes."
Antibacterial chemicals will go into the environment. The way adaptation and natural selection work, it's likely we'll see bacterial develop resistances for which we have no answers. Antibiotics should be used sparingly.
Second, not all bacteria are harmful. Some appear to contribute to healthy skin.
Ordinary soap is good enough for me.
Urgelt 1 year ago
What is a human being to me? ... nothing much.
stefanarak 1 year ago
Yes, I know this is a view which is on the rise.
Empathy between us is failing; we are desensitizing ourselves to the weal of other humans. The result is a society which is increasingly sociopathic: indifferent to suffering.
That's an observation. It's not an endorsement. I see much to regret in this trend.
Urgelt 1 year ago
@Urgelt If I may venture a guess, I would guess this was a reference to your essay, "What Is Dance To Me?" Although, I do tend to agree with your analysis of the comment. Perhaps a good starting point for a new video post?
schlitt47 1 year ago
Yes, I know. It's an ironic comment. It's also... nihilistic is probably the right word.
It is an attitude which, if widely adopted, can only result in our mutual annihilation. Worse, the human race seems well on its way to agreeing that humans are worth nothing much.
The way we value each other drives how we treat each other, you see. When valuations are low, horror results. Not cheap Hollywood titillation; the real thing.
Urgelt 1 year ago
i have so much respect for this man!
madeinlarne 1 year ago
Humans are just a very complicated form of bacteria, if you looked at the world as a super organism, from far away you don't see all the people. All you see is a growth it's big an brown it's a growth. Smokes coming out of it. Lite it on fire, rebuilds. You wouldn't see limo drivers chefs comedians. all you'd see is the growth the mold. The mold on the sandwich. Us humans are basically just here to eat the sandwich. To fuck shit up.
roddy308 1 year ago
they are a disease and i wish they were all extinct
Innovater6 1 year ago
Hy Urgelt, your videos are very educational and to be honest few human beings are using the internet to provide useful information for us, youngsters, so thank you. But, I want you to ask what is your profession?
AntonAnk 1 year ago
I'm retired. I'm a fellow citizen and consumer, not a subject matter expert for the topics I've addressed on YouTube.
What I hope to do here is to stimulate discussion about topics that interest me, and might interest you.
"Me" isn't a topic that interests me, truthfully. So I'm leaving personal stuff off the table.
Urgelt 1 year ago
@Urgelt So you are a philosopher such as a thinker that travels far beyond human mind.
AntonAnk 1 year ago
damn.. i was looking for van halen.. lol
0Xiphoid0 1 year ago
Wow! That's amazing! This was very interesting, thank you.
socrstreets 1 year ago
Thanks. You are right. We live in a Dark Age of ignorance about a Lot of things.
ericladnier 1 year ago
All life is made possible by carbon linkages. Therefore human beings merely the ability for carbon to link in a specific pattern..
HearSeeLearn 1 year ago
We can live in 100% sterile environments and been healthy, but the usual social relationships are challenging. It's been done. I don't knwo a good keyword for it, but i think it's a medical condition that requires a sterile environment in order to live.
jhardknox 1 year ago
You're right.
Sterile mice are used in laboratory experiments, too. You *can* survive without any bacteria, it seems.
If you're kept in a sterile environment, that is. A sterile person - or mouse - is helpless, unable to survive in the broader world of microorganisms. He'll probably also have dangerous allergy problems - which happens when the immune system isn't stressed by allergens and microorganisms early in life (the first two years, roughly). That makes the immune system crazy.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Santa is soo intersting!
qUiiCkScOpMoNtAgEr 1 year ago
thats true. i just started doing enemas like not the bs you get from pharmacy but some that i made up like 2 two quarts you would be suprised what type of CRAP is just up inside your intestines.. it is just awful. it makes me seriously watch what i eat and i have almost stopped drinking soda. i drink a lot of water. that is so nasty what you are saying.. ARE you serious??? no jokes
WonderWomanFan4life 1 year ago
i just cant live without these videos lol not
emmaphoneix99 1 year ago
couldent have said it better... i love you <3
iggymydog 1 year ago
Fascinating video
MrNYCATL 1 year ago
ITS GANDALF !!!
Gloryskeit 1 year ago
575 liked this video, 33 other twitched and accidently hit the dislike button.
Rokstr327 1 year ago
i dont think the post is working
trinoxic 1 year ago
trinoxic 1 year ago
I think that anything I can do or say will have a very, very small effect.
I don't mind. The future of humanity does not flow from a single mind; it flows from all of us and the conversations we have with each other.
I'm glad you decided to join our conversations here, Trinox.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Thank you urgelt, I watched your Caffine addiction post. I am addicted to many substances, caffine is but one and you have helped me understand this powerful drug further. I appreciate you taking the time to share your intellegence with the rest of us, you have a great ability to tell stories at an understanable pace. I belive us humans are a mystery, sadly many of us are arrogant and ingnorant of this fact, you obviously aren't.... Take care and thanks again. Marcus
marcus38447226 1 year ago
The last century was the electric century. We went from powering light bulbs to machines that can almost think.
This century will be the century of biology, I think. The powers we will unleash will rival those we gained from electricity. There is mystery, but we'll get to the bottom of a great deal of it. It will be an interesting time to live in.
Good luck with your addictions, Marcus. I know what it's like.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Bacteria affect our mood and thinking too. A couple small scale studies showed that daily use of probiotics reduced anxiety by around 40% in people with light to moderate anxiety. I use Flora Q probiotics as prescribed by my doctor along with greek yogurt in my health regiment. I hear fermented foods have beneficial bacteria in them too, another possible option for people...
ratiocinativeness 1 year ago
That's extremely interesting, ratiocinativeness, thank you for sharing it.
I have a feeling we're nowhere near finished turning up insights into the role intestinal flora play in humans.
Urgelt 1 year ago
@Urgelt you aren't kidding. The recent news I heard is that certain modulations of certain strains of intestinal flora/bacteria can actually make animals and humans live longer. Like they found that the wine compound resveratrol changes the intestinal flora of dogs which is (as they say) most likely why it makes the dogs live 1.8 years longer on average... so, being nowhere near finished turning up insights (as you said) was an understatement!!! It's exciting to me, maybe not other people...
ratiocinativeness 1 year ago
Ah, a link between resveratrol and intestinal flora? You're a veritable font of breaking news. I hadn't heard that either.
I've been convinced for some time now that modulating bacterial colonies in the gut might open new treatments for diseases. Aging is a disease, so far as I am concerned - a genetic disease all of us have, to one degree or another.
Things will get interesting when we can cure it, and have to decide who gets the cure and who doesn't.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Hey, very well men. Very well.
menonfire12 1 year ago
It's crazy kisses are made for spreading the bacteria. It's fascinating, I never thought of that.
inhost 1 year ago
That's part of it. There's more. Humans are nothing if not complex creatures.
In primitive times, a kiss was probably used to pass chewed food to an infant or to a person without teeth. It was an act of giving and caring. A kiss between two people who didn't need help with chewing food was a promise: "I love you enough to take care of you if you should need help some day."
Or so anthropologists speculate.
It feels nice, too. :-)
Urgelt 1 year ago
One's every perception, thought, decision and action is a product of the degree and quality to which one accepts and conveys the underlying law of nature.
Google it (i.e., the underlying law of nature).
New information about the underlying law of nature has been made available online very recently.
TedDGPoulos 1 year ago
You have the most audible, interesting voice next to David Attenborough. I think you should have your own prime time TV airing
misshumanoid1974 1 year ago
nicely sed
spasemonkey05 1 year ago
Respond to this video...
fyi...I have recently discovered the importance of maintaining an alkaline PH within our bodies. Acid environments are a breeding ground for unwanted fungi and bacteria. Cancer, which may be caused by Candida, cannot grow in an alkaline environment either. I recently started adding a bit of sodium bicarbonate to my water to raise my PH to about 7.4 and my four-year struggle with MRSA has ended. I also have more energy and much less pain.
aria926 1 year ago
Yeast loves sugar; too much dietary sugar is often a culprit in candida infections.
Unless you are severely depleted of calcium - enough to weaken your bones - or are in the terminal stages of a disease, your body will regulate your blood PH within very tight bounds. It's a mistake to think that eating an apple will acidify your blood or consuming sodium bicarbonate will alkalize it; it doesn't work that way.
Keep in mind there are other variables in play: immune system response, diet, etc..
Urgelt 1 year ago
This is a very good video.
connor2444 1 year ago
Comment removed
youdevil6 1 year ago
Blink....blink...blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink wow that's interesting.
Sherylrsn 1 year ago
Wow, very fascinating facts!
crystalidx 1 year ago
you mean... i've got a little growing life... inside of me???
breathicy 1 year ago
Heh. Rather more than a little.
You are an ocean of life, an ecosystem in itself. Populations of species rise and fall, new organisms migrate in and colonize you, and your immune system takes an active role in managing these organisms, culling undesirables and ignoring the rest, sometimes making mistakes.
For every cell in your body with human DNA, there are at least 10 - probably many more - cells which have no human DNA at all. Yet they are "you."
You are legion.
Urgelt 1 year ago
i have always been fascinated by mitochondrial dna since i first learned its dna was passed down from the maternal side only...so mine would be identical to my mothers, grandmothers, great-grans, etc., etc., etc.
aria926 1 year ago
You are genius! You helped me to combine some pieces of information in my head to understand whole thing.
Georgij92 1 year ago
It is useful to see the big picture. I think we tend to get lost in the details sometimes.
Glad you enjoyed it, Georgji92, but... I'm not a genius. I didn't come up with these insights; I just digested and regurgitated them. The real work was done by countless unsung heroes in the biological sciences.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Evolutionists now tell us that the word "theory" has a new meaning when applied to Darwin's monkeyshines. There's no such thing as "atheism" when speaking of human beings. Cats are atheists, dogs and chinchillas, but not people. We have a conscience, we question nature. Humans are the supreme life force of this planet. "Atheism" denigrates us. It champions autocracy, pornocracy and necromancy.
TheFutureUnquiet 1 year ago
Cats are atheists? Atheists are necromancers? There's no such thing as atheism, but atheism denigrates humans?
Your argument is a silly mass of unproved assertions and self-contradictions, sprinkled with attempts to attach ugly labels to the object of your derision.
I don't know what you think "theory" means, but in science, it means "explanation." The weight a theory has depends on the evidence supporting it.
Don't equate science with atheism. Science is silent on that. No evidence.
Urgelt 1 year ago
great video, keep on doin what your doin, you have the knowledge to help the people
shmegles 1 year ago
You know I have thought of the human body this way since first learning about chemistry....great video and very true....
mpo9 1 year ago
interesting video, i first thought this was gonna be a religious video, i'm glad to see it was this informative
Zuurkool1 1 year ago
As you may know, many disease ridden and imperfect genetical human beings are now able to survive because of the advances in medicine. Survival of the fittest is no longer a fact. Do you think saving groups of humans with a certain type of illness could be devastating to exponential amounts of human beings in the future, provided they reproduce and pass those genetic abnormalities to the rest of the human gene pool? Maybe ensuring your own survival may be selfish in the long run.
MensMentisVoro 1 year ago
Nietzsche and his imitators, alas, are poorly grounded in the theory of natural selection. Their conclusions are incorrect.
During periods of low selective pressure - which are quite commonly observed in many species - genetic variability rises. Variability is helpful, not harmful, when selective pressures rise again - because future threats to the species are unpredictable. Anything can happen: volcanoes can explode, new predators can move into the area, climate can change, new diseases.
Urgelt 1 year ago
The more genetic variation exists in a species, the more likely it is that it will be able to adapt to the unexpected.
Which is certainly not to say that every variation will succeed.
The "fittest" isn't always obvious in advance. It's not necessarily the strongest, the fastest, the smartest, the most visually appealing. It could be something as mundane as resistance to a new disease.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Part of your point, though, is that humans have placed themselves into a new evolutionary category. This is true, and I'd like to elaborate on it.
10,000 years ago is an eyeblink in genetic terms, but human society is another matter. It is evolving, too, and far, far more rapidly than any biological process.
I suppose if that goes on for a very long time - thousands of years - we might see selective pressure in favor of humans who are better at conforming and "fitting in."
Urgelt 1 year ago
But that is a subtle trend, and it may end up being far outweighed by another one.
We are learning how to tweak our own genome, you see.
We haven't done it much yet. But we will. And when we do, I think we can stop worrying much about natural selection as it affects humans, and start worrying about an entirely new thing: artificial selection. We will be what we choose to be, not what nature imposes, and it could proceed very quickly.
I hope we will choose wisely.
Urgelt 1 year ago
I do not think that expressing empathy towards each other, tolerating diversity, and helping the lame is harming the species. Far from it. These things strengthen our social ties, and social ties are supremely important to our survival now, much more so than individual genetics.
We probably will come under increased selective pressure at some point (a die-back). When we do, social factors are likely to be vastly more important than genetics in determining who will survive.
Urgelt 1 year ago
thank you :)
MensMentisVoro 1 year ago
it feels good to listen to a wise old man
thisisacunt 1 year ago
I used to ponder intelligent design and irreducible complexity which would seem more relevant as to" what is a human being" than the bacteria you mention. In any case the best bet is to stop pondering. If anyones finds the answer it will be on the news. I do like you style. Thanks for posting.
pbr2424 1 year ago
I'm no less startled by the elegant design of a bacterium than of a human. All life is amazing to me.
I'm not so sure about the idea of irreducibility. Reductionism is still yielding insights, and will for many centuries to come, I am sure. But I could not argue that in gestalt, we sometimes find more than the sum of parts.
I don't have a monopoly on defining humans, which is good. Thanks for chipping in with your ideas.
Urgelt 1 year ago
that's the last thing they'd put on the news
cadmiumsam 1 year ago
Don't jump the gun. We aren't extinct yet, and so long as we are not, our decisions - as well as technological advances - may well influence our chances.
Those who are sufficiently self-centered either claim there is no problem, hence there is no reason to inconvenience them, or it's too late, hence, again, there is no reason to inconvenience them. Neither assertion arises from science.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Enough!. Humans is as good as extinct. Remember it!.
background001 1 year ago
Hominids - man-like apes - appear to have been around for perhaps 5 million years, to judge by the fossil record discovered thus far. Humans - those of our own species - are much more recent. Since the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, I'd say science agrees: a great deal of time passed without humans present.
There are many, many possible answers to the question I posed in the video title. I gave one answer in the video, but I would be the last to insist that it is the only one.
Urgelt 1 year ago
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
1. Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned?
2. Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.
3. We showed him the Way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will).
4. For the Rejecters we have prepared chains, yokes, and a blazing Fire.
Surah 76. Al-Insan (Time, Man, (every) Man, This (day-and-)age)
Supabarn 2 years ago
A human being is basically stellar dust ,the human form that is, but what of the x factor that indwells and animates this stellar dust ,from where does this come,what generates thoughts?is it the brain or is it the indweller which generates them and uses the brain to bring about it`s desires....as a man thinketh so is he
celticbhoy14 2 years ago
Dust, gases, and energy arranged into the fragile matrix that is cellular-based life... we are that, indeed.
All Earthly life can claim that star-heritage, not just humans. But of all Earthly life, only humans possess such an odd, oversized brain. This brain is imperfect, but it is flexible. Programmable. Even self-programmable.
Within constraints, we think ourselves into the beings we will be - for a little while, at least, until we return our star-stuff to the Earth for recycling.
Urgelt 2 years ago
I love listening to you talk, your voice is very interesting, and while my attention span is short you captured it for quite some time. Basically I came up with a conclusion half way through your speech.... Doctors are not Gods just good guessers.. ...O.k Im going to listen to the rest now.
Gar @ the EDB
TheEvilDeathBaby 2 years ago
****"good guessers based on the amount of knowlege they have learned"
TheEvilDeathBaby 2 years ago
The best doctors combine knowledge with intuition. They are indeed good guessers.
Human doctors aren't the future, though. Both diagnosis and treatment could be automated - and eventually will be, with far more consistent results. I won't live to see it, but some of the YouTube audience might.
Urgelt 2 years ago
you got the most epic voice ever!
nice video!
faraoseth 2 years ago
I couldn't agree more with the modern obsession of cleanliness.
I stopped using soap altogether, both in the shower and while cleaning around the house. Water is all you need.
kja5 2 years ago
You've gone further than I would.
Plain soap - without toxins added - is fine with me.
I have nothing against periodically reducing the bacterial population on skin and in hair using soap (with no toxins added) and water. I just think we shouldn't be aiming for "sterile," except in specific medical situations.
Urgelt 2 years ago
you should be a narrator for documentaries :)
its great to see someone unique and insightful on youtube.
oetwriting 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
SAAAAANNNTAAAAAA!!!!!!
Joface326 2 years ago
This was a great video. Very eye opening. Watching has actually made me see the world differently. Thank you.
conkt 2 years ago
this guy is intense
Bigredcfr 2 years ago
Don't worry! "Our" body is not ours. We just borrow it from the Nature for a little journey...
And our soul... Do we have? I mean individual soul?
Or just our EGO playing with us ?! " I'm more smarter than you" or "I know better than you" or " I'm stronger than you" etc.... :-) My point: We have nothing, so there is nothing to worry about. Sorry for my bad English!
1117m 2 years ago
You've contributed a wonderful comment.
Our ideas about ownership are indeed flawed. We may borrow, and use, but never own... everything must be given back to the biosphere. Even the very stuff of which we are made.
Urgelt 2 years ago
but you wanna have enjoyable ride throughout this journey, dont you?
5tranger 2 years ago
Eh, I wish humans were more human... then we'd have more peace. Peace isn't hard to achieve. What you transcend towards your child, or whatever thing you hold close or dear to yourself, transcend it to the rest... to other humans and ultimately humanity itself. Only then we can proceed. Only then we will reach our true potentials.
Peace and love.
mindtrix00 2 years ago
@mindtrix00 Humans are violent. Always have been, always will be.
Humans need to be less human if your looking for peace.
Caydius 2 years ago
Good point.
mindtrix00 2 years ago
Violence seems to be a product, not only of our natural potential, but of programming. Memes occupy our heads and move us to it.
I do not think it is eternally inevitable that we must be violent towards each other, but I acknowledge that reprogramming our memes is no trivial task.
Urgelt 2 years ago
Poetry, not peotry. :D
Anyafiend 2 years ago
Brilliant videos, Urgelt. I hope you do more peotry in the future, I could listen to your voice for hours. :D
Anyafiend 2 years ago
Your videos are all very thought provoking. I know you get this a lot but you really should post more of these, especially more like your healthy eating series and cancer. Very informative. A quick thought on the video: When you break it down like you did it all sounds very simple. However, humans are notorious for complicating every thought that comes into our minds. It is refreshing to just think in terms of what we are rather than what our minds portray us to be.
MattDangles 2 years ago
Your last point is one which resonates with me very strongly.
I think our extremely social nature sometimes betrays us. We attach a great deal of significance to subtle shadings within elaborate hierarchies, worrying about who said what about whom and the accumulation of status - "much ado about nothing," as Shakespeare put it - and pay little attention to what is really going on in the universe, or within ourselves.
What is really going on is fascinating stuff.
Urgelt 2 years ago
It's because we're so trapped in our culture, in the being of being human on this planet with the brains we have, and the same two arms and legs everybody has. We're so trapped that any way we could imagine to escape would be just another part of the trap. Anything we want, we're trained to want.
TheBlueCanuck 2 years ago
In the short run, that is certainly how it seems, I agree.
In the long run, though, I think we'll find that both the trap and those trapped in it will morph, beyond our wildest dreams.
Assuming we figure out how to survive our own follies, anyway.
Change is coming, either way. We must ride the tiger, or fall off and become just another strata in the ancient rock.
Urgelt 2 years ago
A Human being is a slightly
evoled monkey with more intellect.
Humans are No different in the fact
that they Rape,Murder,etc. other humans.
Humans also find trivial reasons to
think they are better than other human beings
whether it be race,Gender,sexual orientation
and so on.while there are decent humans
out there,they are a minority.
9N8X 2 years ago
Would it surprise you to know, 9N8X, that science has no rigorous definition for the word "intellect?" The word is used carelessly, I'm afraid. By all of us.
Me included.
Moving on... you have personally demonstrated yet another definition of human. We are the ape which is eager to dispense judgments, issue condemnations, and affix labels.
Quite a distinction, huh.
Those are asides. I see some truth in your words. I only wish I didn't.
Urgelt 2 years ago
This is very informative. I learned alot. You are very wise. Thank you so much.
Michaelmyangel1001 2 years ago
I am not one to argue that thought isn't a flawed process.
But I have to wonder how you reach the conclusion that all thoughts are equally flawed. I think not.
Too bad. it would be tremendously convenient if all thoughts were equally trashy. Then we need not exert ourselves to think cleverly or concern ourselves with truth; a lazy brain's guiltless paradise.
Urgelt 2 years ago
Is a purpose you devise for yourself any less valid than a purpose given to you by someone else?
Me, I rather like the notion of having a choice in the matter. :-)
Urgelt 2 years ago
I think instead of saying that All are lies it could be more accurately said that All are agreements. We all know that calling a human being a colony of bacteria doesnt carry any more weight than calling it a colony of atoms. We only agree to call it such to facilitate various purposes, in your case - health. As for the task of defining soul; the actuating cause of an individual life, since the actuating causes go back ad infinitum, might that unreachable thing be the soul? Just a guess.
cyncmaster150 1 year ago
A thought-provoking comment, for which I am appreciative.
Let's start here: the "weight" of an argument rests not on how many people believe it, but its accuracy. Agreement does not determine the truth of the universe.
Though of course our agreement affects *us.* It affects the accuracy of our understanding. It must be said that truth and agreement often diverge.
A classic divergence exists when we "understand" ourselves as unitary beings, when the truth is far more complex.
Urgelt 1 year ago
As for the soul: I'm interested in attempts to define it, including yours.
But in this case I fear we are playing word games. What is the "actuating cause" of life? I think you are inferring a sort of First Principle, from which life as we know it is derivative, then asserting this Principle is unknowable because it is masked by the derivations.
Why is this not mere sophistry, built upon a foundation, not of natural truth, but solely of word definitions?
Urgelt 1 year ago
In science, an hypothesis must be testable. And this is where we stumble, invariably, when attempting to define a soul. No hypothesis yet advanced - including yours - passes this test.
Words can be used for fantasizing as well as to describe nature. The only way to know you are doing one, and not the other, is through evidence.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Agreed, true things are always true, regardless of what people agree on.
We can't forget that, by default, everything is nameless.
Yet we've named things despite this fact, and many of us have forgotten that we've agreed to name things in order to facilitate effective group cooperation and figuring. So, it is in this way, that it makes sense to say that all are agreements, rather than lies. Because, they're a necessary fiction.
Which as I previously stated, facilitate various purposes.
cyncmaster150 1 year ago
As for the soul: I just enjoy playing devils advocate and took a swing at it. :)
If the soul exists at all, at the very least it exists as a noun.
Indeed, I analyzed only the dictionary definition. After all, a pattern in grammar is a pattern in nature still, so understanding it is important.
My basic thought was that a soul may just be a word for the infinite lineage of relationships, in an eternal universe, resulting in the human being.
cyncmaster150 1 year ago
In an eternal universe it's not unfathomable for the principles causing life to be masked by derivations as you say (however disappointing that may be). But, the principles at work are always implications of the way the universe is (a happy natural truth).
This ended up being fairly thought provoking after all... Most of my effort was in trying to not be misunderstood, but I'm sure I've still left gaps. I'm just a 18 year old trying to figure out what career suits him, any ideas on that? :D
cyncmaster150 1 year ago
Lawyer.
You're a natural. :-)
Urgelt 1 year ago
Actually, no. A pattern in grammar is an artificial construct. It may or may not accurately represent a pattern in nature.
Often, not.
The only way to know is to find the evidence and prove or disprove it.
The problem is that we can construct an argument that is completely logical, and completely false. We've been doing this for thousands of years. We're really quite good at it.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Perfect, it seems that all of the clarifications you made were accurate interpretations of what I wrote.
When I say that grammar is a natural pattern, I mean it only in the sense that its existence makes it an implication of the universe. Otherwise I think your understanding and clarifications were all spot-on, and had I been writing a book instead of a YouTube comment Im sure I would have made them myself.
cyncmaster150 1 year ago
The "necessary fiction" requires this clarification: the fiction that is a word definition - which can only at best represent a thing or action rather than *be* that thing or action - is necessary to *us.*
It's not necessary to the natural universe in which we live.
Nature is quite indifferent to our definitions. But we should not be indifferent to to nature's.
Where our agreement fails to accurately describe natural phenomena, it requires correction.
Urgelt 1 year ago
Oh, lots of thought is trash. Quite a few of mine are. But everyone's? Every thought?
Nah.
You and Shakespeare might get along better than you think. He loved to take potshots at people's stupidity and foolishness - the higher ranking the target, the more eager he was to land a blow.
His were deliciously phrased blows, too.
But he wasn't a nihilist. It almost sounds as though you might be one.
Under the surface of every nihilist there is an ocean of pain, as a rule.
Urgelt 2 years ago
I "waste time" with science because it's fun. I've never needed a better reason to do something than for the fun of it, and I won't regret the hours of my life spent on fun, either.
What is the purpose of life? Eh, nobody agrees. So it seems it's something we must come up with for ourselves.
May we all choose wisely.
Urgelt 2 years ago
Your comment is nearly Shakespearean, do you know? "No-one in this world knows what is a human being." The Bard might have used different words, but the sentiment could have come directly from the mouth of one of his not-so-foolish fools.
My admitting "there are many ways to define humans" is a cautious acknowledgement of your point. You were harsh. Perhaps unkind. But hardly foolish.
Are we all empty? I'd enjoy hearing your explanation of that accusation. :-)
Urgelt 2 years ago
Human being is a manifestation of the soul which is live in the human body.
kekvirag11 2 years ago
kekvirag11, this a video about science. So I'll ask you for some specifics.
What, exactly, is your hypothesis? You have left "soul" undefined.
If you can state an hypothesis, the next step is to define tests by which evidence for the veracity of your hypothesis can be obtained.
The next step is to describe the evidence you have accumulated through testing.
Once you have all of that, it goes to peer review, where scientists will attempt to pick it all apart.
Isn't science fun? :-)
Urgelt 2 years ago
How would you like to describe non-physical material like soul?
kekvirag11 2 years ago
Don't ask me to defend your hypothesis, kekvirag11. It's *your* hypothesis. You describe it. :-)
Urgelt 2 years ago
Great video and teachings. Thank you.
kekvirag11 2 years ago
The word "theory" is often misunderstood by nonscientists, who think it means an idea which has no substantiation. This is incorrect. In science, a "theory" is an explanation for which there is evidence - usually quite a lot of evidence, certainly enough evidence to merit consideration.
The evidence for the presence of trillions of organisms within humans - many more than the number of human cells - is strong.
There are many other ways to define humans, each having its merits. This is one.
Urgelt 2 years ago
But yeah, great videos Urgelt!
MissMeAm 2 years ago
I'm grateful for your enthusiasm, MissMeAm, and for your thoughts.
There are physical boundaries separating us from each other; it's not a purely conceptual separation. But we imagine those boundaries to be more solid than they are. Look on a small enough scale, and you will see we are exchanging microflora between us all the time - and between ourselves and the rest of the natural world.
We are all connected.
Urgelt 2 years ago
Just realized how much rambling I've done, how embarrassing..
MissMeAm 2 years ago
I think our purpose is to appreciate and experience things. We're like secondary creators - nature created us to continue creation, to recompose the planet. Not that this is always a good thing! Life is getting better and better, and worse and worse. Yin and Yang ;) Everthing is increasing. They reckon that even time is speeding up!
MissMeAm 2 years ago
If you think about what diffrentiates us from animals, it's obviously our thoughts, everything else is the same. Thinking can be a really good and amazing thing, we can enjoy it, but at the same time, all we acheive through thought has negative consequences. It may give us happiness, and something to do, but animals are quite content to just exist, and at least they don't hurt the earth! Not that I want to be an animal though either, just an observation.
MissMeAm 2 years ago