Welcome to the Electricity of Life
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Thinking and feeling scientifically
is a practice of loosening our grip on a favorite theory
and allowing ourselves to hold multiple theories in our awareness.
So many humans get swept up in enthusiastic reductionism,
espousing one idea that they feel must be so important
that it deserves to eclipse all other factors.
In the mid-20th-century Belarusian scientist, Alexander Chizhevsky,
was in a position to potentially become the USSR's first winner of the Nobel Prize.
Then tragically, Stalin had him thrown in a gulag.
His scientific findings conflicted with the Empire's convictions
that it was their economic philosophy alone that propelled their revolution
whereas Alexander had essentially shown that cosmic ecology also seemed to play a role.
Chizhevsky had conducted an extensive analysis,
comparing historical data of human societal events
to data of Earth-affecting solar events.
This research began with his dissertation in 1918
and continued throughout his publications.
Prominent cultural events were evaluated, using a Mass Excitability Index,
and their timing mirrored that of the peaks and valleys
in strength among Earth-landing solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections.
Contrary to the hostile reductionism expressed by Stalin,
as author Georgia M. Young wrote in the Huffington Post,
"Chizhevsky, of course, had never argued that periodic bursts of solar energy
were the sole or even prime cause of human events,
just that they were an important contributing factor and could trigger actions
that had been building up from a variety of other causes."
Despite political and/or practical boundaries
to dissemination of this work in the global academia,
some scientists have studied such fascinating correlations into the present day.
Professor Suitbert Ertel in Germany examined Alexander's methods in 1996.
He expressed some disagreement towards the historical archiving
used in Russia at the time and some skepticism of the timing observed.
But in his own replication, using contemporary data, the effect remained.
He is far from the only scientist to look into these effects
but let's get into some of the biology.
Understanding how such an effect could occur
is also a process of better understanding our daily environment.
The mostly-nitrogen atmosphere we breathe
is an unseen but practically-felt element that pervades our existence.
But elements of our world that are not even felt
prove a greater challenge for us to appreciate.
As discussed in a previous episode mentioning loggerhead turtles,
these organisms appear to instinctually feel the angle of the Earth's magnetic field,
navigating and building their nest in accordance with its shifting tide.
Coronal Mass Ejections, solar flares and the solar wind in general
bathe the Earth's magnetosphere in space.
This influences currents of charge in the ionosphere,
the expanse of electrons and charged atoms encircling the planet.
Those currents in term perturb the magnetic field within Earth's atmosphere,
shifting it about and causing ripples of sorts.
Ultra-low frequency magnetic micro-pulsations propagate in this medium around us.
They're also called Alfvén waves.
In a past Thunderblog, I mentioned a study where electrophysiologist, Robert Becker,
and psychologist, Howard Friedman,
cataloged an increased schizophrenia admittance rate during geomagnetic storms.
These days the magnetic field of the human brain can be imaged using MEG.
While our skull may serve as a robust defense again some influences,
it does not block out the geomagnetic field.
And thus, the gentle magnetic fields of our brain,
our bio-magnetism, exists in some relationship with it.
Excitation of this invisible medium all around us
is intimately felt by the human body.
Arterial blood pressure is typically increased during geomagnetic storms,
and apparently human populations may experience increased adrenaline levels.
Fairly recent research by the Russian Academy of Sciences
noted that most micro-variations in the GMF [geomagnetic field]
are accompanied by a 13% higher incidence of heart attacks.
In a study of 45 astronauts, they displayed increased blood pressure and heart rate
during periods of geomagnetic variation.
But meanwhile, a series of studies in America
found that heartbeat regulating implants in people with irregular heartbeats
needed to administer fewer adjustments during geomagnetic excitations.
These patients experienced greater cardiac stability.
In upcoming episodes, we'll see more discussion of such physiology wherever possible
and of the general relationship between organisms and the planet's magnetic field.
Check out links to related information sources in the description
and stay tuned to future episodes of the Electricity of Life.