Monday, November 5, 2012

What about Biohacking and BioProgress?

Health is an interesting subject, it is difficult to make claims about the body when there is a long life of science behind it (aka *disclaimer* I am no expert). Humans discover new things about our body/mind everyday. Discoveries like playing an instrument adds 8 years to your life, having a dog adds 5 years and flossing as much as 7. Wait a second, I can add 20 years to my life if I participate in three activities?? No way! What about everything gives you cancer? Maggots don't eat microwaved food, why is that? You don't mean to tell me that given current regulation we wouldn't have the cure for Polio if it went through the FDA today? Why doesn't President Obama go on TV and promise we will defeat cancer within 5 years? Well shoot, that would just be bizarre, right? These of course are not really the scientific claims I was referring to. But yes, take a look at the New England Journal of Medicine and you will see that science is making progress in understanding our bodies and minds.

I recently became curious on the subject of biohacking. Pretty cool word, bio-hacking, the first thing that comes to my mind is a mischievous superman like character set to unleash contagion on the upper middle class. Kind of like a virus in the Matrix? Biohacking defined by Wikipedia is, "the art of managing one's own biology through a combination of medical, nutritional, and electronic techniques." I don't see myself getting crazy dedicated to the art, but I have been exploring several techniques/habits since the end of summer. I want to share these ideas I have been trying on this blog. So, if you are interested in improving your health inside and out and maybe waking up with more energy and less inertia, give it a read. 

In addition to biohacking techniques/ideas I want to question the "progress" we have seen in healthcare and other technologies; it might have something to do with the government. I am interested in progress, and while many believe we are headed toward the future in an ultra fast and ultra elegant fashion, I do not necessarily believe this to be true (hint: progress is not limited to computers). More on that later though.