Losing IQ - String Theory - SuperBowl - Orangutans

Losing IQ. For years I was one of the people who beleived the Flynn Effect (where people's IQ's were increasing in the world). Today, there is a report in the Sunday Time's that IQ's are dropping amongst UK teenagers. It's sort of funny, as the UK's cricket and rugby have improved in recent years. It used to be that everyone joked that Britian was the nation that conquered half the world, taught them Cricket and Rugby and spent all their time losing at it. Now that they're improving in the braun department they're losing their IQ's ... well, maybe I'm just being flippant with that opinion, but I remembered reading years ago, that one of the reasons Queenslanders were better at sports than some other states was because they were more concerned with atheletic ability than with intelligent pursuits (and I've also heard the same about Aussies ... but generally I think Aussies still have more inventions per head of population than anyone else, so we aren't dumb either). When I informed my mother of the UK IQ drop, she thought it was the state of the school system now, and the life style kids leave in front of the TV / Video console. I am sure that can't be true, as IQ's would have dropped throughout the first world as a whole rather than just the UK. Well, the article has an explanation of it all, but the explanation doesn't seem to hold water to me, as it's blaming lifestyle, and the things they're naming are things available in Australia and the US ... and the rest of the First World ... so it computers and TV are to blame, than why haven't IQ's dropped in other countries where they have actually risen? My mother says it's also because kids don't get outside anymore ... but wait, I was the nerd who never went outside much as was always being told off by my parents ... so why do I have an IQ in the top 1% (in a nation with rising IQ's). Here is my theory (and it's only a theory), I think diet may be the culprite here. As someone who suffers from a lot of allergies, I can tell you, certain food substances do have major effects on the brain. When I stick to my diet, my concentration and brain functions become very clearer than when I am eating foods that I have intolerances and allergies too. It's been noted in studies (and even on Jamie Oliver's school special where he introduced healthy diets to some schools) that behaviour in children changes when they are fed properly (darn, now I wish I hadn't of drunk that Coke that uses Sodium Benzoate now ... it has a pronounced effect on my brain). Colours, additives, preservativesetc found in food to make them more appetising and keep for longer are chemicals we've been sticking into our bodies for years. The study showed the IQ's dropped gradually over a thirty year period ... in those thirty years the amount of crap being stuck into foods has been increasing. I'd like to see a group of these kids, taken and given a healthy diet for a few months, and then have them retested to see if they are still scoring low. [My mother's other theory is UK IQ's dropped as she left, and Australia's has goen up as she came here!] :-)

******

String Theory One of my favourite theories may be true. I love fiddling around with String theory as it opens up lots of different things that might be true ... like the ability to move an object from one side of the Universe to the other instantaneously. Yeah, there are lots of fancy things we can think about (like, moving a girls undergarments one foot across the room at a party ... or however far it was in Hitchhikers). It looks like the first evidence that the theory MIGHT be true (Might being in capitals for a reason), has been found. A lot of scientists have ridiculed the theory for years saying it is unprovable and therefore can't be true. Well, I hope IceCube (The Neutrino Detector NOT the Rap Star) will be able to either prove or disprove the theory. {I really need to spend more time at Physics.org}

******

Superbowl XL [Forty for those that can't read Roman. This babies as old as I am!] Next Monday (Sunday US time) will be the Superbowl ... it's not just a Janet Jackson boob flashing event, it's when mighty men get dressed up in plastic armour and try to nail each other's tackle to the field. [OUCH!] It's an event for me, as I used to play the game (breaking my eighth left rib one year, and having Doctors wanting to amputate my foot later that same year. Yeah, call me a girl for playing a game with pads ... bloody Libra pads didn't provide enough protection). Anyway, I guess I better go for Pittsburgh seems as they are the AFC team. Though, I used toplay for Sutherland Seahawks, and Seattle are the Seahawks. I am sooo torn between going for my Conference team or going for my namesake team! Waaaah! Anyway, the Dolphins didn't have too bad a year (not after last years WORST ever year for the Dolphins! Waaah!) We only just missed out on a playoff birth this year ... and to be honest, I didnt' even think we'd do as good as we did, so I am pretty happy. Anyone living in Australia, SBS are covering it as per usual. ;-) [Yeah, I know, a lot of you don't follow it ... after all, it isn't soccer. And let's face it, my team is coming FOURTH in the EPL ... yeah, my Nana, mother and I all go for Tottenham! About time we got out of the middle of the table ... bring back Gary Lineker!]

*****

Orangutans Last but not least, SBS has a report on my brothers and sisters of the deep forest having a hard time. Yes, Orangutans have had it tough, and now it's getting a little tougher as MORE of their homes are being bulldozed down to make a Hyperspace By Pass or something. Hang in their my furry banana eating cousins!

*****

ADDENDUM

I forgot to add, I'm really happy today, as my CELLO has been sent! I can't wait till it gets here! Wooo Hoooo! :-)