Testosterone

I just listened to the National Public Radio show This America Life (TAL) on the way to work. This week's episode was about "Testosterone". Yeah, I know, no need to roll your eyes; actually, you'd be surprised how interesting it was. For one, everyone on staff at TAL was tested for their testosterone level, and as you can imagine, there was a bit of emotion over what the results would be. The guy who came out with the lowest level felt crushed and lamented, something along the lines of, "If this were SportsCenter, I'd feel alright about having the lowest level, but on public radio?! If I can't have higher levels than anyone on public radio, then all is lost!" And the irony? The guy with the highest level of testosterone, twice most other people on staff, didn't even know what SportsCenter was.
But this got me to thinking on a slightly different topic: How geeky, really, is public radio? Is it just a complex that people who are on public radio have, or do you really have to be a nerd to listen to it. I listen to it constantly, and my own mother has told me, "I'm glad we both have that nerd trait". Recently she professed that she bought a new iPod nano and is downloading TAL too.
With the theme of the last TAL podcast being testosterone, I gave this concept of public radio listeners as nerds - and hence low on the testosterone totem pole - a bit of thought. Of course during the program, I wondered what my own testosterone level might be. I'm not very muscular and not as bold in character as someone who might have high levels. Or could it be unexpectedly high? Afterall, I'm adventurous enough to live overseas and I'm a member of a public speaking group. Or I could be, as statistics would naturally suggest, simply average.
But what does listening to public radio show about where one might fall on that scale? Well, according to my analysis of things, listening to podcasts of NPR on the way to work teeters more on the high testosterone side of things. You don't agree?
If I were driving to work and listening to public radio, then of course that would be different. Driving, especially in a city, is aggressive, and to keep your adrenelene high, then you should listen to something with a bite to it (whether that be some funk, alternative or drum n' bass). On the flip side of course is that businessman driving a BMW and listening to classical music - smug knowing that he has his own parking spot waiting for him at the office.
If I were listening to public radio 15 years ago, chances are that I would be stuck within earshot of a big, fat electronic device, tuned ever-so-carefully so as not to get any static over the voice of my beloved radio show host. That image is somewhat scary, yes, and also sounds so stationary that it's no wonder that the word nerd - if not recluse - would be associated with the act (and I fear that many of the hosts on NPR today were those nerdy recluses 15 years ago, but that's beside the point).
Times have changed. Now with podcasts, I am "on the move" in an urban setting, and yet waiting for my destination on the train. I don't need to expend much energy to be aggressive aside from the split second you get to grab a seat should one open up. On the train, listening to music can go with your mood and certainly brighten up your day. But day in and day out on the train, I find that I need a little bit of narrative; more than just tunes that will absorb me, I need something that will engage me and public radio somehow provides this.
By the time I get to work, I usually have had time to listen to a complete show, and I feel charged and ready for the day, full of ideas and thoughts, commentary and sometimes wonderment. Today I also find myself unexpectedly wide-awake. It could be that it's Friday, sure, but it still runs counter to the few hours of sleep I got this week. But try and tell me today that public radio is only for geeks and nerds, and I will smugly chorttle and boldly tell you that your disinterest in the world around you displays a lack of desire that indicates low levels of testosterone.

A Geologist's Theology

In July 2007 the announcement was made of the "New Seven Wonders of the World". Considering that of the previous list, only the Pyramid of Giza remains intact, I suppose it was time for the update. The 2007 list includes plenty of sites that are readily recognizable, such as the Colosseum in Italy, the Machu Picchu in Peru, or the Taj Mahal in India. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, on the other hand, are less familiar as they existed. Instead, we are apt to recognize them in phrases, storybook references or even from being featured in video games.
One of the Ancient Wonders still refered to in popular culture is Colossus, as in Colossus of Rhodes - consider the adjective "colossal". The great statue was reportedly made of bronze and stood 107 feet (30 meters) tall. It's said that an earthquake in 226 BC toppled the statue, and it was not rebuilt because the oracle of Delphi told the Rhodians that they had offended Helios, a personification of the sun.

The oracle of Delphi, or Pythia, is possibly better known than many of the Ancient Wonders. Pythia was indeed a wonder of the ancient world in the sense that a priestess should preside over such a position of power in a male-dominated society. Nonetheless, the Delphic oracle existed for some 12 centuries, until about 393 AD.
However, in a piece by John Roach in National Geographic in August 2001, it was proposed that psychic powers of Pythia were in fact due to gas vapors, ethylene in particular, which rose up from the faults located below the temple. The hypothesis was considered and dismissed over time until experts gained a better understanding of geologic and volcanic activity. Now a study shows that this explanation is quite viable. Leave it to a geologist to say God lies not in the heavens, but right beneath our noses.
Read the National Geographic article HERE