Müller doesn't need to look around Corners.

The heat beat down like the sound of a drum onto my neutral coloured hoodie. Sat in the back garden of my student house in Norwich on an early spring afternoon, I was reading The Geek Manifesto - a book which highlights the consistent failures of politics on issues of sound science, and the modern successes that individuals have brought upon change. Being a slow reader, all this reading, sitting in the sun and thinking was making me hungry - a snack was in order. Now the student house is certainly not the best place to go hunting for food; you can never know what you are going to find if anything at all; but the mission was set. It was no surprise to me whilst visiting a friend the week before that I stumbled across what looked like four alien potatoes; stimulating their own ecosystem, penetrating the bag from which they should have been contained. They didn't look healthy let alone edible! Luckily on this occasion no such contaminants were found within my cupboards, but then neither were any snacks.

The fridge door was swung open with hope that there would be something, anything in there. And there it was, a Müller Corner yoghurt staring right at me. With the rip of the lid, and the aid of a spoon, I was sitting outside in the sun satisfying my quench to eat something tasty. 

 
Halfway through eating this yogurt I asked myself: how did I come about to eating it and why? 

At first glance you may answer "well you were hungry, and that was perfectly suited to satisfy your needs", but I'm going dive deeper and try explain how reasoning can go beyond this. First of all a purchase had to be made at the supermarket. I then realised that when ever I go shopping, I always pick these type of yoghurts. Not necessarily the same flavour, type or make but ones where by the yoghurt itself, and the 'extra flavouring' are separated (personal favourite is Cadbury's chocolate ones!). So why do I persistently chose to purchase these type of yoghurts? 

Now as a friend told me, it could be routed in my memory where in my younger years I was exposed to these types; I enjoyed them then, and still enjoy them now. But whilst eating this particular yoghurt I soon realised that it wasn't as satisfying as my initial perception had led me to believe. You could say my mind was tricking me. Then I thought about what could be causing it...ah ha! Yoghurts with a separated 'extra flavouring' which differentiates it from most other types; a common theme in my preference. The act of lifting the spoon, scooping some of the chocolate digestives up, into the vanilla yoghurt and it's gone. Now everyone has their own way of eating these type of yoghurts; some put all the 'extra flavouring' in at once and swirl it around to mix. Either way, both require 'interaction' with the food. Some form of action which has an influence upon how it looks, tastes and is perceived. This would therefore stimulate a response in the brain linking the imagery of the product when I am standing in the supermarket, to the actions and tastes whist I am eating one. Very clever product design I would say! It would be interesting to know whether Müller realises this or not? Certainly consumers don't. 





Please comment and disagree on any of it, this is why I have started writing a blog!

The on-going argument.

There has forever been a dispute between modern day society and the use of beneficial elements which could alleviate problems found throughout human civilisation. What captured my attention this time was the ‘absurd restrictions’ imposed upon scientists trying to progress...well Science. The article focused on the potential medical benefits that can be extracted and utilised from naturally occurring flora. The argument ^[1] was based around the effects that psilocybe semilanceata (or magic mushrooms) has upon calming a region of the human brain in experiments carried out at Imperial College, London. People suffering from depression experience increased activity in this area of the brain and now scientists want to conduct clinical trials using ‘psilocybin’ as a form of treatment for depression. However, Scientists are finding that the ‘red tape’ is extending too far, influencing further afield into industry. Even though trials have been approved by the UK Medical Research Council and funding specified, no company was prepared to go through the rigorous regulatory system to provide a clinical-grade substance and therefore research has stopped even before it had a chance to start.

 

Source: Totally-cuckoo

Where is the problem?

UK's Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 classifies the fungi as a class A substance. Below is taken directly from the UK Government’s website:

 
“Possession: Up to 7 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

Supply and production: Up to life in prison, an unlimited fine or both.”^[2]

 

No wonder that industry does not want to produce it. The response from the Home Office suggested that the “licensing regime enables legitimate research to take place while ensuring that harmful drugs don’t get into the hands of criminals”. I think the Government has got it wrong once again. Firstly a bit of background – psilocybe semilanceata grows naturally in the UK and can be picked by anyone with sufficient knowledge. There is a free supply of this ‘drug’ growing in fields, but why have ‘criminals’ not made use of this potential ‘cash crop’? It makes me wonder why these criminals try so hard to smuggle, cut and distribute cocaine into this country when they could find alternatives in their backyard. Maybe there is another reason; magic mushrooms are not a desirable drug through society (in economic terms: there exists a small market which is not viable to exploit for economic gain^[3]).

 
What exactly is the UK Government scared of? Are they aware (in which I’m sure they are) of the impacts these outdated laws are having upon modern Industry and Science? Can they fully comprehend the loss to society or do they just demonise substances because of previous outlooks?

Source: BBC - ''I don't support decriminalisation''

I do not propose any solutions to this issue; I merely aim to draw attention as it is hindering the advancement of Science.

 

[1] J. Gallagher, BBC News, 07/04/2013,

[2] UK Government, 07/04/2013,

[3] N. Seivewright and O. Lagundoye, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 07/04/2013,