Hangover Recovery 101: How to Survive the Day after New Year’s Eve

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Introduction

During the course of the year we find ourselves going to all kinds of events such as birthdays, office luncheons, annual holidays, parties, and special occasions where alcohol is being served. Oftentimes along with feasting we also consume too much alcohol. As a result, we wake up the next morning with a hangover, which we then nurse for the next day or two. So as we approach the end of 2012 and the next New Year’s Eve party, I wanted to offer this short article for dealing with a hangover.

This is a quick guide to alleviating or completely avoiding hangover symptoms through an understanding of alcohol itself, physiological changes related to alcohol consumption, and a variety of suggested remedies for specific hangover symptoms.

[Warning: First and foremost let me at least mention that you should always try to drink responsibly and arrange having a designated driver if you will be using your personal vehicle for transportation.]

Classes of Alcoholic Beverages

Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. Beer and wine are produced by fermentation of sugar- or starch-containing plant material. Beverages produced by fermentation followed by distillation have higher alcohol content and are known as liquor or spirits. The alcoholic strength of beer is usually 4% to 6% alcohol by volume (ABV), but it may be less than 2% or greater than 25%. Beers having an ABV of 60% (120 proof) have been produced by freezing brewed beer and removing water in the form of ice, a process referred to as "ice distilling". Beer is part of the drinking culture of various nations and has acquired social traditions such as beer festivals, pub games, and pub crawling (sometimes known as bar hopping).

Wine is produced from grapes, and from fruits such as plums, cherries, or apples. Wine involves a longer fermentation process than beer and also a long aging process (months or years), resulting in an alcohol content of 9%–16% ABV. Sparkling wine can be made by means of a secondary fermentation. Fortified wine is wine (such as port or sherry), to which a distilled beverage (usually brandy) has been added.

Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic beverages that have an alcohol content of at least 20% ABV are called spirits. Spirits are produced by the distillation of a fermented base product. Distilling concentrates the alcohol. For the most common distilled beverages, such as whiskey and vodka, the alcohol content is around 40%. Spirits can be added to wines to create fortified wines, such as port and sherry.

A 2009 study provided evidence that darker-colored liquors, such as bourbon, cause worse hangovers than lighter-colored liquors, such as vodka. The higher amount of “congeners” found in darker liquors compared to lighter ones was indicated as the cause. Studies that attempt to compare hangover producing potential and hangover severity of different alcoholic drinks suggest the following ordering (starting with the least hangover-inducing):

Distilled ethanol diluted in fruit juice, beer, vodka, gin, white wine, whisky, rum, red wine, and brandy.

Alcohol and its Effects, the Basics

Now let’s cover some basics about alcohol. What is alcohol? Alcohol is a distilled or fermented beverage that transforms a grain, fruit, vegetable, or wood into ethanol. Ethanol, glucose, and sucrose are all in the same group of alcohols. Ethanol is the most common form of alcohol one finds in alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that has a depressant effect. Alcohol also stimulates insulin production, which speeds up glucose metabolism and can result in low blood sugar, causing irritability and (for diabetics) possible death. Alcohol intoxication affects the brain and causing symptoms such as slurred speech, delayed reflexes, vomiting or unconsciousness. Alcohol also limits the production of vasopressin (ADH) from the hypothalamus and the secretion of this hormone from the posterior pituitary gland. This is what causes the intense thirst that goes along with a hangover.

Now when alcohol builds up in the bloodstream faster than it can be metabolized by the liver, we enter a physiological state known as drunkenness or inebriation. Alcohol is metabolized by a normal liver at the rate of about one ounce (one two-ounce shot of spirits, a normal beer, a regular sized glass of wine) every 90 minutes. An "abnormal" liver with conditions such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, gall bladder disease, and cancer will have a slower rate of metabolism.

Ethanol's acute effects are largely due to its nature as a central nervous system depressant, and are dependent on blood alcohol concentrations. Here’s a breakdown of what effects one can expect to experience from alcohol consumption according to the quantity you consume:

20–99 mg/dL - Impaired coordination and euphoria

100–199 mg/dL - Ataxia, poor judgment, labile mood

200–299 mg/dL - Marked ataxia, slurred speech, poor judgment, labile mood, nausea and vomiting

300–399 mg/dL - Stage 1 anesthesia, memory lapse, labile mood

400+ mg/dL - Respiratory failure, coma

In addition to respiratory failure and accidents caused by effects on the central nervous system, alcohol causes significant metabolic derangements. Hypoglycemia occurs due to ethanol's inhibition of gluconeogenesis, especially in children, and may cause lactic acidosis, ketoacidosis and acute renal failure.

Some effects of alcohol intoxication are central to alcohol's desirability as a beverage. For example, some desirable effects from small quantities of alcohol consumption are euphoria and lowered social inhibitions. Other symptoms include slurred speech, impaired balance, loss of muscle coordination (ataxia), flushed face, dehydration, vomiting, reddened eyes, and erratic behavior. Other effects are unpleasant or dangerous because alcohol affects many different areas of the body at once.

This last point, the fact that alcohol affects many different areas of the body at once, is crucial to understanding the nature of a hangover. Why? Because everyone experiences different symptoms from their hangover, each hangover has to be dealt with individually. Here are 2 reasons underlying hangovers with completely different characteristics.

Many people from East Asian descent have a mutation in their genes that causes them to suffer from alcohol flush reaction, in which acetaldehyde accumulates after drinking, leading to immediate and severe hangover symptoms. Because for them a little alcohol goes a long way, they are also less likely to become alcoholics.

Older people report that their hangovers grow worse as they age. This is caused by declining supplies of alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme involved in metabolizing alcohol.

So what we’ve come to is the fact that there is currently no empirical proof for hangover prevention except reducing the amount of ethanol consumed or waiting for the body to metabolize the alcohol ingested. This only happens when the liver oxidizes the alcohol. So what this means is that the most effective way to avoid any of the symptoms of alcohol-induced hangover is to control or avoid drinking.

Thus, no two hangovers are the same.

The Physiology of a Hangover

Excessive consumption of alcohol causes a delayed effect called a hangover. The hangover starts after the euphoric effects of ethanol have subsided. Hypoglycemia, dehydration, acetaldehyde intoxication, and glutamine rebound are all theorized causes of hangover symptoms. Hangover symptoms may persist for several days after alcohol was last consumed. Some aspects of a hangover are even viewed as symptoms of acute ethanol withdrawal, similar to the longer-duration effects of withdrawal from alcoholism.

Because alcohol impairs the ability of the liver to compensate for a drop in blood glucose levels, especially for the brain, it can result in the depletion of the liver's supply of glutathione, a detoxification agent, reducing its ability to effectively remove alcohol and its byproducts from the bloodstream. Since glucose is the primary energy source of the brain, this lack of glucose (hypoglycemia) contributes to symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, mood disturbances, and decreased attention and concentration related to a hangover.

The human body is a system of systems so physiological changes in one system changes others. That’s why the best approach is to try to handle several symptoms by resolving alcohol-related issues in multiple body systems simultaneously. For example, when you ingest alcohol, the salivary glands secrete enzymes to combine with the alcoholic beverage to make it more suitable for processing in the stomach and intestines. As the alcohol circulates throughout the digestive system and blood stream it moves from one system to another. Just one drink affects the central nervous system, the digestive system, the endocrine system, the muscular system, the immune system, and the respiratory system, so with each additional drink the effects compound and the potential dangers increase. Because the alcohol moves around in the body rather than remaining in an organ, region, or system, its produces a wide range of negative physiological effects.

The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dehydration, fatigue, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, weakness, elevated body temperature and heart rate, hypersalivation, difficulty concentrating, sweating, anxiety, irritability, erratic motor functions (including tremor), trouble sleeping, severe hunger, halitosis, and lack of depth perception. Many people will also be repulsed by the thought, taste or smell of alcohol during a hangover. The symptoms vary significantly from person to person, and it is not clear whether hangovers directly affect cognitive abilities. The effects of a hangover subside over time.

Just as with lesser cases of low alcohol consumption, cases where excessive amounts of alcohol have been consumed such as with alcohol poisoning treatment strives to stabilize the patient and maintain a clear airway and respiration, while waiting for the alcohol to metabolize. In general, health care professionals will provide treatment for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) with 50ml of 50% dextrose solution and saline flush, administer the vitamin thiamine to prevent seizure, check electrolytes to guide fluid replacement, apply hemodialysis (blood transfusion)if the blood concentration is dangerously high, or provide oxygen therapy.

Ineffective or unproven remedies

Recommendations for foods, drinks and activities to relieve hangover symptoms abound, here are some that have been found to be ineffective or unproven.

The "Prairie Oyster" restorative, introduced at the 1878 Paris World Exposition, calls for raw egg yolk mixed with Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper.

And in 1938, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel provided a hangover remedy in the form of a mixture of Coca-Cola and milk. By some accounts, Coca-Cola itself is believed to have been invented as a hangover remedy).

Alcoholic writer Ernest Hemingway relied on tomato juice and beer.

The "Black Velvet" consists of equal parts champagne and flat Guinness Stout.

A 1957 survey by a Wayne State University folklorist found widespread belief in the efficacy of heavy fried foods, tomato juice and sexual activity.

Activities said to be restorative include a shower—alternating very hot and very cold water, exercise, and steam bath or sauna (although medical opinion holds this to be very dangerous, as the combination of alcohol and hyperthermia increases the likelihood of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias).

A 1976 research came to the conclusion that "The results indicate that both fructose and glucose effectively inhibit the metabolic disturbances induced by ethanol but they do not affect the symptoms or signs of alcohol intoxication and hangover." Nevertheless, consumption of honey (a significant fructose and glucose source) is often suggested as a way to reduce some of the effects of hangover.

Food and Alcohol Metabolism

Studies have found that when food is eaten before drinking alcohol, alcohol absorption is reduced and the rate at which alcohol is eliminated from the blood is increased. The mechanism for the faster alcohol elimination appears to be unrelated to the type of food. The likely mechanism is food-induced increases in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes and liver blood flow. While this may not decrease your chances for getting a hangover, it’s a good idea to eat before you drink, but know that doing so will eliminate the alcohol from your system faster than normal.

Scientifically Based Remedies

Earlier I said that because alcohol affects many different areas of the body at once, each hangover has to be dealt with individually. Why? Because everyone experiences different symptoms from their hangover, different from everyone else, and even from one state of drunkenness compared to another time of drunkenness. So the conclusion here is that there is currently no empirical proof for hangover prevention except reducing the amount of ethanol consumed or waiting for the body to metabolize the alcohol ingested. What this means is that the most effective way to avoid any of the symptoms of alcohol-induced hangover is to control or avoid drinking.

But what are we supposed to do if we get a hangover? Sometimes it’s not possible to wait for the effects of the hangover to wear off, while coping with the symptoms. We need a way to effectively deal with this situation. You’re right, we do. Here’s the realization I’ve come to about how to handle the symptoms of a hangover.

The primary realization is that a hangover is not a thing, instead it’s a series of symptoms related to excessive alcohol consumption. That’s key.

The second important point is that in order to deal with any one hangover experience effectively you have to deal with the exact symptoms you’re going through during a specific hangover. Although there are many common symptoms experienced by most people routinely, sometimes new symptoms appear that were never part of previous hangovers. This is why it’s best to handle the symptoms vs. trying to recover from a “hangover.”

So below is a list of practices, substances, and products that deal with specific symptoms that should help you fight the effects of hangover whenever they occur. You may also want to go back and re-read this article as there were remedies – such as eating before drinking, timing one’s intake per ounce of ingestion, and preventing vomiting by abstinence in order to protect the stomach lining from erosion by alcohol – mentioned earlier that will not appear in this list.

Rehydration: Effective interventions include rehydration, prostaglandin inhibitors, and vitamin B₆.

Milk thistle: A small dosage before and after alcohol consumption has been found to alleviate the some of the effects of a hangover such as headaches, sluggishness and nausea. Milk thistle works to regenerate liver cells and when combined with an excessive vitamin D intake from the sun, subjects have experienced rapidly decreasing hangover effects.

Tolfenamic acid is useful for nausea, vomiting, irritation, tremor, thirst, and dryness of mouth.

Vitamin B₆ (pyritinol) can help to reduce some, but not all, of the symptoms of hangovers. For this Brewers' yeast or a B6 supplement are recommended.

Chlormethiazole was found to lower blood pressure and adrenaline output and, furthermore, to relieve unpleasant physical symptoms, but did not affect fatigue and drowsiness. Subjects with severe subjective hangover seemed to benefit more from the chlormethiazole treatment than subjects with a mild hangover."

Pedialyte may be an effective remedy for hangovers due to its replacement of lost electrolytes.

Candy or sugar: to raise lowered blood sugar levels caused by alcohol intake. Other options for sweeteners to use are honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, agave nectar, and fructose.

Alcohol: There is a belief that consumption of additional alcohol in decreasing quantity over a period of hours after the onset of a hangover will relieve symptoms. This is based upon the theory that the hangover represents a form of withdrawal and that by satiating the body's need for alcohol the symptoms will be relieved. Certainly the additional alcohol has a sedating and anesthetic effect, which also helps with symptoms. The professional medical opinion holds that the practice merely postpones the symptoms, and courts alcohol dependence and addiction.

Medical marijuana: It is commonly believed that THC, the active chemical in marijuana, is an effective hangover remedy. THC may help ease the main symptoms of hangovers: nausea and headache. The advantage is two-fold; as once a sufferer's nausea has abated, and his appetite is stimulated, hypoglycemia becomes easier to resolve.

A traditional hangover remedy from India is to drink coconut water for the natural electrolytes which will assist in rehydration.

Acetyl-leucine sold under the brand name of Tanganil is believed to help pull you out of the "whirling pit" or spinning sensation felt by people under the influence of alcohol. This is caused by a dysfunction between the nerves which control the notion of balance in the ears and the brain. Tanganil is the standard remedy prescribed to people suffering from chronic vertigo.

Oxygen: There have been anecdotal reports from those with easy access to a breathing oxygen supply — medical staff, SCUBA divers and military pilots — that oxygen can also reduce the symptoms of hangovers caused by alcohol consumption. The theory is that the increased oxygen flow resulting from oxygen therapy improves the metabolic rate, and thus increases the speed at which toxins are broken down.

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The Power of Frames in Communication

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So What about Communication?

Communication is the act of exchanging masses or ideas across space. Notice that not all communication has to involve words. In fact, strong evidence supports the conclusion that when it comes to person-to-person contact facial expressions convey 55% of the message, the tone of voice 38% and the words just 7%. So while it may be useful to have an extensive vocabulary to use in our conversations with others, it turns out that it’s not as important as our facial expressions and tonality (body language). Furthermore, while words are important in many ways, they’re not as important as what a message or communication is intended to create, which is an understanding. Understanding is largely affected by whether or not one sees what the other person is communicating. (If one cannot see it, then one cannot accept it, and if one cannot accept it, then the other person feels rejected.) In other words, communication consists of the act of projecting a picture of one’s intended message into the mind of another using various devices (such as facial expressions and body language) to effect an understanding.

So what’s the secret power that words seem to possess? Words utilize many of the same dynamics which music does except words are much more complex, chaotic and interesting, which is why words used alone tend to lead to misunderstandings. For instance, sometimes we do not know the meanings of certain words, which is what we use a dictionary for—to help us clarify them. At other times we encounter certain words where we mistake the meaning of that word for another word’s meaning. Or maybe we don’t understand when someone uses a word “we know” in a context which confuses us because this particular word has several different meanings. Furthermore, specific words are believed to hold a high value because the use of these “magic words” in print can compel us to buy, join, obey, act, or oppose something or someone without knowing why. This is what sometimes makes telephone conversations so frustrating because you cannot see the other person’s facial expressions, posture, eye contact, etc. Communicating over the phone can make meaning more difficult to convey without the visual component.

The Power of Frames in Communication

But what exactly is in a word which gives it the power to compel action or reaction in another? Well, part, if not most, of the answer lies in the fact that most people aren’t rational thinkers and they are unable to differentiate between words as symbols and their own thoughts. For them, words, like food and drink, are simply things that they eat without discrimination. In other words, they are just consumed.

Moreover, words can be used against us as weapons and veils of illusion. Having become accustomed to a certain way of dealing with our perception of reality, we easily get caught in other people’s frames. A frame is a way of looking a reality through a lens that somebody else created to get you to see things in a manner desirable to them. Over the course of our lifetimes we are exposed to many types of frames placed before us by all sorts of people, including those we dislike. Remember, there is only one reality and that is the one which confronts us in the physical universe or on a deserted island. Everything else then which we’re exposed to in social contact is almost totally an endless series of frames. Everyone tries to impose frames on everyone else and no one frame is the truth – that is unless it conforms to the physical universe as a fact. This is most certainly true and very pronounced in areas like communication where the sole function of the individual who deals with words is to try to find a way into your mind to cause you to feel or experience something specific. They’re looking for ways to hook into some part of your mind (such as your memories) to get you to react emotionally, to convince you to accept a view of reality, to get you to perceive something you’re unaccustomed to, to get you to change your mind, or to make you think or remember an unwanted thing.

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The Fuel of Excellence: A Musician’s Guide to Proper Food Combining and Optimum Nutrition

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Introduction

For years it was a struggle for me to settle upon one diet plan or another because there was so much conflicting data about the nature of good nutrition in all of the books I read. The task of designing one’s own proper eating program became even more difficult for me when during the course of research it was easy to find several “experts” contradicting one another. So what I’d like to share with you here is a nutritional program that is more scientific than opinion and I hope you’ll see its merits from my presentation.

This series of articles is intended to be a complement to my article series “Smart Moves for Musicians,” which is where I present my recommendations for the best workout routine to fit into the musician’s lifestyle. Often it’s the case that because the musician’s lifestyle requires remaining sedentary for long hours, travel, inaccessibility to wholesome foods, and easy access to drugs and alcohol, it is necessary to counteract the effects of these practices with frequent exercise and superior nutrition.

Food combining is the way to superior nutrition. Food combining is the art and science of taking our knowledge of the human digestive system and the character of natural foods to achieve superior nutrition. When food combining is not put into practice by individuals or entire societies and the human digestive tract is treated as a garbage disposal, then the body begins to undergo mild to acute forms of nutritional degradation resulting in a weakened physical constitution and eventually widespread disease. 

Now let me summarize what you see in the chart above.

Let’s start with fruits. In general, it’s best to eat fruits alone and on an empty stomach. The reason for this is fruits in the sweet, sub-acid, and melon groups digest very quickly moving rapidly through the stomach and into the intestines where the simple sugars are broken down for an immediate burst of energy. Acid fruits, on the other hand, suspend the enzymatic secretions in the stomach required for digestion and prevent their activity for a period of at least 3-4 hours.

Proteins in general are shown to pair best with non-starchy vegetables and fairly well with mildly-starchy vegetables. Similarly, carbohydrates are also shown to pair best with non-starchy vegetables and fairly well with mildly-starchy vegetables. But the pairing of proteins with carbohydrates is strongly discouraged. Fat and oils are also shown to pair well with non-starchy and mildly-starchy vegetables, while also providing a great mix with carbohydrates (starches). Combining fats and oils with proteins is strongly discouraged.

These food combinations designate the right mixes of foods that allow the body to work efficiently to provide itself with nutrition. Because these combinations do not interrupt or interfere with the body’s ability to break down the food it is provided, the body is able to receive from its food all of the nutrients the foods are capable of delivering. A digestive tract unburdened from unnecessary interferences from bad combinations or junk foods, is a digestive system that facilitates superior nutrition.

Restricted: Common “Foods” and Meals

Now before I illustrate some properly combined meals in the “Sample Menus” part of this article, I want to discuss some of the almost evil concoctions chefs the world over have provided to mankind. The school of Natural Hygiene, from which the system of food combining was derived, discourages the consumption of the following “foods”:

Hamburgers, processed foods, soda, vitamin and other nutritional supplements, refined sugar, honey, pizza, chocolate, enriched bleached flour, hot dogs, pizza, potato chips, crackers, jellies and jams, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, ice cream, smoothies, salt, frozen foods, canned foods, nuts (roasted, sweetened, or salted), pasta with tomato sauce, sushi, BBQ, most spices (irritants), complex salad combinations with multiple ingredients, cake, pies, sugary cereals, coffee, teas, mineral water, and so much more.

While this is by no means a complete list, I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what foods you think would not appear on a table where properly combined foods are served.

Sample Menus

So here is where I’ll show you how food combining is one part common sense, one part science, and the remaining portion art. The sample menus provided below are based on my personal working knowledge of Natural Hygiene through years of practice and study. Most of the meals you’ll see here are based on the basics as illustrated earlier, but some entrees may be based on more advanced food knowledge. And all meals are definitely items and combinations that I personally eat regularly to thrive on.


Breakfast Meals:

Apple, raisins, banana        

Oranges and apples            

Pear, dried apricot, dates

Grapefruit, strawberries, apple                

Pineapple and pears

Lunch Meals:

Chicken with asparagus, broccoli, and cucumber        

Raw nuts with green apple, grapefruit, celery and steamed zucchini

Goat cheese with Brussels sprouts, fennel, and tomato


Dinner Meals:

Baked potato with butter or sour cream, broccoli, and squash

Rice with kale, zucchini, and sautéed or baked golden beets

All of these meals are examples of correctly combined meals. They are simple and nutritious. Moreover, they are also easy to prepare. In most cases, entire meals can be prepared just by washing and chopping with no cooking required. And where cooking is required baking, steaming, and sautéing are the cooking methods of choice. Try to come up with your own combinations and be creative. Too many of us are out of touch when it comes to the natural taste of raw foods so it may take several weeks before our taste buds become accustomed to the enjoyment that comes from the subtle flavors of natural foods.

Proper food combining can even resolve digestive issues you thought were caused by specific foods, when in actuality the problems were caused by incorrect food combinations. In most cases, foods eaten in correct combinations or eaten alone will not cause digestive problems. If you have a medically diagnosed food allergy, please ignore this advice. For everyone else however experiment freely with correct food combinations.

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So you want to be an Architect: What Architecture and Music Have in Common

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This is an excellent video series educating the general public about basic ideas related to architecture. I found this episode very insightful as it made connections between music and architecture.

In one instance, there was reference to architecture as the “flowering of geometry” meaning the elaboration and mastery of shape and form. In another case, the product of an architect was seen as “frozen music or a static harmony of sound.” And just like the music performed within the walls of an old European church, the building itself can be seen as a handmaid of devotion, like a sermon in stone.

Other views expressed in this episode include the idea that structures possess a kind of message or story and that the sight of a harmonious building can contribute to mental health, power, and pleasure. In the end, architecture, like music, is seen as these 4 things:

Form

Story

Music (or Composition)

Inspiration

Watch the video to make these connections yourself and afterwards leave your insights for others to read.

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An Artist’s View and Commentary of "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson: What Self-Reliance Really Means and How One Achieves It

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Because I consider myself an individualist, I thought I’d write something about this essay based on the title alone. At first I wasn’t really sure what this essay would include in its discussion but I quickly got a sense of it from the first few paragraphs. And needless to say I was immediately disappointed. I know lots of people admire Emerson’s writings and work with the Abolitionist movement in the late nineteenth century, but this essay promised much and sadly didn’t deliver on its promise.

What “self-reliance” means to me is not in any way remotely related to what Emerson wrote about. His form of self-reliance is too dependent and too concerned with the feelings and opinions of others. Much of his description of the man or woman who lives by self-reliant action is made by way of comparison. Instead of declaring what his thoughts about the man or woman who is self-reliant are, he selects several examples of typical characters one finds in the society of his time and critiques them to show how they are not self-reliant. For example, rather than stating what self-reliance is, he says, “The virtue of most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” Actually, non-conformity isn’t enough of a character trait that guarantees one a decent chance at self-reliance. Something more is required.

So this brings me to my chief disappointment, which is that “Self-Reliance” isn’t an essay demonstrating the importance, rarity, or qualities of the man or woman who is self-reliant. Unfortunately, neither is it a type of manifesto about how one attains self-reliance gradually by adopting certain new behaviors or embracing a new philosophy. It’s much less than that. Overall, it reads as a rant about the status quo of his time and locale. Underneath a thin philosophical exterior, Emerson is simply a man attempting a small-scale intellectual revolution in 19^th century American society.

But self-reliance means something and the main question that a description of self-reliance must address is on whom or on what is a person NOT reliant? Well, reliance is a type of dependency and to achieve self-reliance means that one is dependent for his or her own needs and wants on oneself and not others. Furthermore, reliance comes from the word “rely,” which refers to trustworthiness and possessing honor. Self-reliance applies to the life of an individual on a deserted island as much as to the individual in society. Therefore, to be self-reliant by providing for one’s self, more or less equates to one’s being – in thought and action – independent of others.

Even more frustrating for me was how much Emerson valued and alluded to so-called champions of self-reliance by referring to religious, biblical, and political figures – like Moses, Christ, Caesar, and Napoleon – alongside philosophers, thinkers, and scientist – like Newton, Shakespeare, and Socrates. The self-reliant man or woman doesn’t seek power over others, instead they seek their own ends in accomplishments of their own doing. But to his credit, now and then Emerson comes close to nailing down what in essence makes a man or woman self-reliant. When he says, “Man…but now and then wakes up, exercises his REASON, and finds himself a true prince.” This point is so important because it identifies the primary form in which self-reliance manifests which is in thought or in the way one uses the mind by exercising reason.

Also, toward the end of the essay Emerson begins to show his true colors as a mystic by assuming that a discussion on self-reliance must include a reference to “that source, at once the essence of genius, of virtue, and of life, which we call Spontaneity or Instinct…this primary wisdom – Intuition.” Strangely, as you read on you’ll notice you find no explanation for the connection he makes between self-reliance and Spontaneity, Instinct, or Intuition. However, earlier I mentioned that it’s the exercising of reason that defines self-reliance in thought and that in order to achieve independence in action one must first be independent in thought. To think in terms of Spontaneity, Instinct, or Intuition and to act on premises derived therefrom are activities that are totally opposed to Reason. Reason is to independence and self-reliance as Instinct is to herd mentality and tribalism. There is no connection between them, so Emerson’s linking of the two concepts – Reason and Instinct – is his own unique form of intellectual booby-trap.  

Another issue that concerned me about “Self-Reliance” is that he really didn’t state clearly for what reason one need be self-reliant and why that quality of character is desirable. I might be stating the obvious to many of you, but I’m going to state it anyway that the only reason why it’s important to be self-reliant is to achieve one’s own survival. Now while it’s impossible to guarantee something like one’s own survival, it is possible to say that one’s survival is more likely to occur if one relies on one’s own resources and one’s ability to acquire the goods and knowledge necessary for survival. Therefore, above all, the preservation of one’s own life is the reason for the importance of self-reliance in the life of any independent man or woman, self-preservation and nothing else.

This is why every person’s fundamental right is the right to life, the freedom to determine the course of one’s direction in life. But the point at which this right reaches its limit, is the point before it begins to violate another person’s right to choose the direction of their life. A free society must protect the rights of all people within its borders from those who would infringe upon this right to freedom of choice and the direction one chooses to live their life.

And for those of you who are wondering how it is possible to survive without other people, let me just say that cooperation is possible between independent men and women. The difference is in the fine distinction between a group that’s formed out of a moral obligation to treat all men as brothers versus joining forces on a voluntary basis and only to achieve goals where there is an alignment of interests. A group can be formed of independent men and women, however in the case of self-reliant individuals, the group is only as good as each member is willing to give it support. So when support wanes and an alignment of interests ceases to exist, the group dissolves.

In conclusion, what you get out of “Self-Reliance” is a grab-bag of philosophical concepts derived from various sources and pasted together to make semi-coherent arguments for self-reliance in character and action. As a whole, Emerson in “Self-Reliance” sets many conceptual booby-traps that without a strong philosophical foundation the beginning or average student of philosophy will not be able to make heads or tails. Originally, I had high hopes for Emerson’s essay and wished that it was a gem I overlooked in the past when I was first exposed to Transcendentalism through the works of Henry David Thoreau. But it failed to meet my expectations.


To get a PDF copy of “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson for FREE, click here.

To learn more about what qualities a truly Self-Reliant man or woman consists of, click here.

Marc

http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/


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Self-Made Men by Fredrick Douglass
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The Price of Art, its Value and Utility in a New Economy

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To get your FREE full-length album…click here. ____________________________________________________________

When it comes to costs all businesses try their best to keep them as low as possible, while balancing expenses, profits, and hitting the right price point for their market.

But recently, some art auction houses have sold masterpiece paintings at record breaking prices, which brings to mind many questions concerning the correct way to price the value of art.

At a time in our country's economy when unemployment is high and jobs are scarce, wealthy patrons still have the ability to purchase paintings for tens, and even hundreds of millions of dollars, art which when viewed carefully has extremely subjective value in terms of merit and emotional impact.

Meanwhile, in other areas of the economy the price of necessities remains low even though many reports show that some commodities prices are stealthily climbing higher due to inflation related to government money printing.

This trend has improved business for discount chains and grocery stores and increased demand for them, but it's crushing the small business owner and dramatically changing the retail landscape throughout America.

Juxtaposing these two scenes we begin to find a great discrepancy between the price of art vs. necessities and their relative value in terms of demand. Supply too is the other factor to take into account when judging the value of an item in terms of its price.

Supply is simply how much of something there is available and how easy is it to get more of it and bring it to market compared to its perceived scarcity. It's within the subject of perceived scarcity where the price of an object begins to skyrocket. Unfortunately, rarity is no measure of desirability, so the desire of the consumer has to be tied to the scarcity of an object before the price starts to climb.  

Demand, on the other hand, is an interesting factor to unravel since it includes our wants and needs relative to supply. No one really needs a $100 million painting by an obscure artist, but someone may actually want it. Contrast this with the idea that everyone needs soap, toothpaste, fingernail clippers, deodorant, clothing, food, and various cleaning products constantly available throughout each and every day.

The need forces the demand which requires us to buy these types of items because we have to have them. Yet the prices of many of these items remains low relative to the items in the art world.

What's the value of great guacamole? What should it's price be? How much could Chipotle raise prices on their guacamole before people stopped buying? Would people continue eating at Chipotle, but avoid adding guacamole to their order? Currently, a 4 oz. container of guacamole at locations in California costs about $2, is that too little, fair, or too much? What is the experience of eating awesome guacamole worth to anyone?

Like gasoline, Q-tips, detergent, shoes, all of these items get consumed and must be replaced as part of basic maintenance. Designer clothes and fine cuisine may be creative work generating artistic products, but for the most part the items produced in these industries are consumable and must be replaced over time, but art is different.

Paintings, however, are preserved and change ownership over time. In general, they rise in value, form some part of a person's prestige, and represent an aspect of an art collector's wealth.

In contrast, music shares none of these qualities. Some of the most expensive music related items in the world consists of various types of memorabilia, such as signed albums or framed album covers, but not specifically highly priced music valued for its artistic qualities. 

Presently, music seems to be stuck at $.99 per track download even though it too remains in a preserved state, stays with a single owner, and is not consumed. 45 records, cassette tapes, and Cd's were consumable forms of music media, but digital downloads are not. Digital downloads are a new form of music media that preserves its fidelity in a state of relative permanence compared to its analog cousins.

In the “old days” when we’d have to actually walk into a music store to buy a CD from somewhere between $9.99 – 16.99 we were lucky get 5 – 7 goods songs out of 10. But normally we would find ourselves bitter about the number of songs we actually liked on an album by an artist we admired. In fact, it was rare to find an album where every song was a near masterpiece. Some albums like “The Joshua Tree” and “Achtung Baby” by U2 among many others were in that rare category of incredible albums.

Would a buyer be opposed to $3 or 4 per track? In my previous example, if you bought an album in the “old days” and got 5 good tracks on a 10 song album, then you literally paid $2 a track, but you paid even more when you got less than 5 good songs, which means you might have been paying as high a price as $5 per track.

So then why is music not valued as highly as a painting? 

To browse the entire Stereo Thesis music library now, go to:

http://stereothesis.bandcamp.com/


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Marc

http://stereothesis.com/

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