[Paleopsych] inner judges on the rampage

[HowlBloom at aol.com]

If the  theory put forth in my first book, The Lucifer Principle: A 
Scientific  Expedition Into the Forces of History, is at all correct, evolution has  
riddled us with self-destruct mechanisms, mechanisms that do away with us when  
we are not a part of the solution, we are part of the problem.  By shutting us 
down, our self-destruct  mechanisms shunt resources to those who have a 
handle on the crisis at hand and  snatches the goods away from those who can’t get 
a grip on things.   She turns on those who contribute  to the neural net, to 
the complex adaptive system, to the collective learning  machine—just as she 
hands out bio-prizes to useful citizens of the immune  system, lymphocytes and 
bio-punishments to citizens whose specialization is  momentarily irrelevant.  
Evolution,  biology, physiology, or whatever you choose to call our stress 
mechanism and her  grim reapers do this to maximize the intelligence of the 
collective  enterprise.  In the case of the  immune system, some are made wealthy 
and vigorous, and some are made weak and  imporvished so that the overall system 
can defeat  invaders. 
The key  determiner of whether you are of value or not seems to be the extent 
to which  you feel you have control.   
Is the  fact that, 
“The  pressure of meeting a work deadline can produce a sixfold increase in 
the risk  of suffering a heart attack over the course of the following day. And 
 competition at work could double the ongoing risk”  
an  example of a self-destruct mechanism at work?  Has evolution done what my 
second book,  Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From The Big Bang to 
the  21st Century, claims?  Has it seated inner judges within us to determine 
who wins and loses the  competition and who is and is not up to the 
challenge-of-the-day?  Howard 
Retrieved December  15, 2004, from  the World Wide Web  
_http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996786_ 
(http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996786)  
Stressful deadlines boost heart attack  risk 00:01 14 December 04 
NewScientist.com news service The pressure of  meeting a work deadline can produce a 
sixfold increase in the risk of suffering  a heart attack over the course of the 
following day. And competition at work  could double the ongoing risk, 
according to a new study.  Previous research has shown that  intense anger, sexual 
activity and emotional stress can all lead to heart  attacks. But this is the 
first time having an intense work deadline has been  singled out as a trigger for 
heart attack over such a short timescale.  “This is potentially important for 
 patients and for Swedish work law,” says lead author Jette Möller of the  
Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. “Changes in the labour market  
organisation have created more stress and people should be aware of the impact  on 
health.” She cites workload, lower job security and increased competition in  
the workplace as factors.  The study  questioned nearly 1400 heart attack 
survivors from the Stockholm area, aged 45  to 70, about the period leading up to 
their first heart attack. They were  compared with a control group of about 
1700 people who had not had a heart  attack.  The volunteers were asked  
questions about their work over the last year and over the days immediately  before 
their heart attack. The questions included whether they had been  criticised 
for their performance or lateness, been promoted or laid off, faced a  
high-pressure deadline at work, changed their workplace and whether their  financial 
situation had changed. Money worries  The results show that intense pressure  
over a short period increased the risk of a heart attack more than a build up of 
 stress over an entire year, and that the heart attack can follow very soon 
after  this spell of increased pressure. Amongst the heart attack group, 8% had 
faced a  significant event at work less than 24 hours before their attack.  
However, long-term changes also play a  part. Taking on extra responsibility at 
work over the last year - if viewed  negatively by the participant - 
increased the chance of a heart attack by almost  four times in women and over six 
times in men. And a deterioration in financial  situation tripled the risk of a 
heart attack amongst women.  Subscribe to New Scientist for more news  and 
features  Related Stories  Downsizing raises risk of death in workers  23 February 
2004  Science  graduates live long and prosper  01  August 2003  Unfair 
bosses make  blood pressure soar  24 June 2003  For more related stories  search 
the  print edition Archive Weblinks Social Epidemiology Research, Karolinska  
Institutet, Stockholm  George  Fieldman, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University 
College  Journal of Epidemiology and Community  Health George Fieldman, an 
expert in cognitive therapy and health psychology at  Buckinghamshire Chilterns 
University College in the UK, says the sixfold  increase in risk caused by 
meeting a deadline is massive, but not  surprising.  He points out that  previous 
research has shown that a person’s chance of suffering a heart attack  is higher 
on a Monday morning. He adds these studies can help to pinpoint the  stress 
risk factors for heart attacks. “It is difficult to unpick the details of  what 
constitutes stress for different people in different situations,” he  says.  
The study shows that stress  at work can pose a very real and immediate threat 
to health, Fieldman says, and  adds: “I must remember to take it easy.” 
Journal reference: Journal of  Epidemiology and Community Health (DOI: 
10.1136/jech.2003.019349)  Katharine Davis  
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Howard  Bloom
Author of The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the  Forces of 
History and Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From The Big Bang  to the 
21st Century
Visiting Scholar-Graduate Psychology Department, New York  University; Core 
Faculty Member, The Graduate  Institute
www.howardbloom.net
www.bigbangtango.net
Founder:  International Paleopsychology Project; founding board member: Epic 
of Evolution  Society; founding board member, The Darwin Project; founder: The 
Big Bang Tango  Media Lab; member: New York Academy of Sciences, American 
Association for the  Advancement of Science, American Psychological Society, 
Academy of Political  Science, Human Behavior and Evolution Society, International 
Society for Human  Ethology; advisory board member: Youthactivism.org; 
executive editor -- New  Paradigm book series.
For information on The International Paleopsychology  Project, see: 
www.paleopsych.org
for two chapters from 
The Lucifer  Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History, 
see  www.howardbloom.net/lucifer
For information on Global Brain: The Evolution of  Mass Mind from the Big 
Bang to the 21st Century, see  www.howardbloom.net

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