hikinmike

Thanks to all. More info than I ever received from management when doing those analyses. Will now use your suggestions as a starting point for my net search. Ahh...retirement and free time. Savoring it.

It appears this is one of those topics where we can become mired in definitions, semantics and phenomena that we can observe but perhaps not fully comprehend. As a layman(sorry, layperson) I have only had time for intellectual excursions like this since retiring. Many very interesting arguments in this particular thread. I wonder where what we call 'instinct' might fit here. Animals that are aware of benefits / risks in their environment should have a better chance of survival (during their particular era...am aware of extinction). So if successful response to challenges or opportunities makes them more successful at survival, it would appear some traits would be passed on to offspring, and into successive generations. This seems like a behavioral imperative, and an evolutionary advantage, determining responses to the environment. Did it originate in ancestral consciousness, or am I wandering into the realm of, "Who knows, who cares'?

Taken orally, medications undergo the process of metabolism prior to being utilized. Medications injected, applied topically, or taken sub-lingually do not undergo the digestive process. Having been afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis for > 30 years, I am familiar with oral anti-inflammatory meds and their effects on the GI system. For pain mitigation, an injection of Demerol works much quicker than a 10 mg Oxycodone. Not a pharmacologist, but it seems absorption after 'digestive' modification is slower.

I once worked in an analytic lab where we performed testing for metal concentrations using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma systems. The protocols for testing were assigned, and I never received an answer to the question, 'Why was one system superior for a particular element?" We had many 'lamps' for the AAS analyses, yet sometimes the directive was to use ICP. We were testing groundwater for elemental contaminants.

I prefer to think in terms of the 'American Potential' vs the "American Myth'. That unfettered personal freedom and opportunity are available to all is the myth. Nature/nurture is a tension that will often open paths or define limitations. Some will succeed, some fail. But the dream persists. I lived for a year in a former Soviet Republic (Armenia) where a home-grown oligarchy evolved to replace the Communist elites. For many of those who are not benefiting from the new order, the dream of leaving for the States runs deep. Some who are fortunate enough to enter the States will find opportunities here that are not available in their country of origin. The potential to succeed does not mean each individual will attain the economic rewards, housing security, social advancement that is perceived as the American Dream. The myth that this is attainable through hard work and sacrifice is what sustains some, deludes others. But from my limited experience...there is a potential here that is lacking in many other countries. Will we ever see the sustained growth and consumerism of post-WW II USA? Unlikely.

I believe death will mean the absolute dissolution of the personality. Am not aware of evidence to the contrary. Yet I open myself up to the challenge that "I believe..." At 69 years of age I find it more rewarding to attempt experiencing and savoring each moment of life's experience. What will be, upon death, will unfold then.

Hello. New to this forum. Have worked doing groundwater analysis at a Superfund site, done community volunteer work in water -related concerns. Now retired and have volunteered at beach clean-up projects. Hope to find a site for discussion, without the invective found so often on social media.