Social media cannot cure your depression

The rise of social media in recent years has inflicted strong impact on our daily life. Its effects are not limited to benefits such as easing to find friends and information, but there are some adverse influences.

In addition to the influence of fake news spread through social media issued in the previous US presidential campaign, some people feel sad or ashamed if they could not attract attention from others after submitting something. They feel as if they are ignored when their friends did not give "like" on the Facebook.

Then, does getting many "likes" make you happy? A recent study dismissed this idea.

Independent: Facebook likes don't make people any less miserable, study confirms

In this study, 340 social network users replied to the questionnaire in which the usage of social media and their idea upon them. Many participants of the study answered that they wouldn't like to buy the "like" for money. And even if they were given many "likes" they would not become happy from their depressive state.

This study is not an interventional one. Therefore, its validity should be cautiously examined. Nonetheless, I believe responses on the social media will never elevate your mood when you are depressed. In general, people with a depressive state cannot accept positive feedback from others as it is. Rather, they seek some reasons of their success from an external factor, instead of approving their effort. Some "likes" with a short comment is not powerful to effectively encourage depressed people.

On the other hand, people in a depressed state easily become dependent on external things, such as alcohol, drugs, gambling, and the internet. Indulgence to the internet is not only exhausting for depressed people but also harmful when they are harassed on the internet. Therefore, I do not recommend patients with depression to devote much time to the internet activity unless they have a supporter in real.

Smell diagnosis, is it no more fantasy?

The Recent development of the AI is splendid in several regions. Especially in medicine, a newly developed technology using an AI will have a great impact on the treatment strategy.

Recently, some researchers are willing to establish the machine which can smell the patient's body to detect some particular diseases.

The utilization of smell for a medical diagnosis is not a new approach. In ancient Greek and Chinese medical practitioners were said to be able to smell some kind of illnesses.

The New York Times: One Day, a Machine Will Smell Whether You’re Sick

In spite of limited evidence, some doctors claim that they can identify the fatality of each patient with their smell, naming as "death-smell." I do not support their claims, but I think it is possible to establish the method to distinguish some physical status of the human using the analysis of the smell if supported by delicate sensors.

In this April Fool, I wrote a joke article in which a face cognition program can diagnose the patient's mental status. It is no other than a fantasy at present. On the other hand, most psychiatrists make use of the facial expression of the patient for a precise diagnosis. In the future, how to evaluate the patient's face may be established.

My past entry: Face cognition program can sense Praecox-gehuehl

The interpretation of the primitive sense of others such as smell and facial emotion has been a human ability which is hardly structurally explained. Nowadays, big data and the AI is changing the rule of the game. Some day, even our intuition can be visualized, perhaps.

The effect of drugs on chess

The Olympic has a strict policy to ban doping athletes. The organizer considers that drug users violate the spirit of sports. But how is it in the brain sports?

Recent studies suggest that modafinil and methylphenidate are potentially beneficial to the human in improving some kind of thinking ability. They are commonly used in patients with ADHD, a mental disorder with attention deficit. But their effect seems not limited to particular patients.

The effect of the stimulants is not to enhance cognitive skills. Users of stimulants tended to think slower, according to the study. The researchers hypothesized that they make the users think deeply rather than intuitively. In other words, they became willing to think deeper.

The Atlantic: On Cognitive Doping in Chess (and Life)

In recent years, it was said that the human thought is categorized into two patterns fast and intuitive thought and slow and penetrating thought. They are complementary to each other.

The World Chess Federation introduced drug testing in 1999 because of the possibility that chess would be admitted as an event of Olympic games. I think it is rational if such a drugs can change human mind. But there is room for reconsideration for people with ADHD getting prescribed a stimulant.

Furthermore, the WCF took into consideration to add caffeine to the list of banned drugs. It is excessive, I think. Caffeine use is not so harmful to human body unless an extraordinary amount is taken. One of the goals of the regulation is to protect the body of athletes. In this sense, banning tobacco should be prioritized because tobacco is more harmful than caffeine, and it has an effect on the cognitive function.

Drawing class

Today, I had a lesson of drawing and painting.

The teacher was an ex-lecturer of an art college. He taught us in one-by-one for a couple of hours at an atelier.

I drew a picture of a bamboo shoot. It was difficult for me to express its color and contrast on the surface of it.

The teacher told me that the upper part of an object usually should be painted with a light color compared with the lower side because the light illuminates the object from above.

Then, he adjusted my picture with a quick work. It became considerably improved immediately.

Artists have unique senses, I believe. They must see another scene than I in each moment.

Court admits mobile phone makes you cancer

In an Italian court, the relationship between use of mobile phone and the brain tumor was certified for the first time.

A person who had been engaged in business always using a mobile phone for a long time had an acoustic nerve tumor. He got saved his life because the tumor was benign, but he lost his auditory sense. The man claimed that his disease was a workplace accident.

After all, the court decided that his brain tumor was caused by an excessive use of mobile phone. The man will receive the compensation from the national insurance.

Phys.org: Italian court rules mobile phone caused tumour

Some researchers are concerned about the causal relationship between the electric wave and neoplasm. It is highly likely that strong electricity is harmful to the human body. But the intensity of its influence is still under discussion. The general use of mobile phone may not be a risk. However, the longitudinal influence of using electric devices is still unclear because only a few decades have passed since they were developed.

I think the court decision was rather progressive. It may be unscientific, but the court often has to prioritize the benefit of issued persons than the scientific fact.

In recent years, laborers' right is more accounted than ever before. Shift-time work was also admitted as a cause of cancer. It is important to reconsider the balance between the work and health in the era in which the meaning of work is gradually changing.

My past entry: Shift time working brings you cancer

Trump's first 100 days as the President

A hundred days have passed since Donald Trump took the seat of the President of the US. He made a speech to celebrate the cornerstone.

In his speech, Trump's attitude seemed not to be changed at all. He praised the process he had taken so far. The withdrawal from TPP was firstly listed up in this achievement.

Aljazeera: Donald Trump praises his first 100 days in office

Trump did not forget to criticize the media with insisting they reported the fake news. Also, he emphasized that withdrawal from the Paris climate change agreement and dramatic tax cut were planned.

I do not like Donald Trump. And he performed even less than expected before the inauguration, in my opinion. Cancellation of Obamacare, the border wall against Mexico, and banning of Muslims entering the US, were all unsuccessful. Of course, as they are all absurd policies, his failures are rather beneficial to the US and the whole world, I believe.

On the other hand, it is too early to decide that Trump is a stupid President. A hundred days is not sufficient to realize some important policies. Regardless of his exclusive nationalism, it is possible that his economic policy will make the US great again. We need to keep an eye on the situation for a while.

Alitalia's insolvency

Alitalia, a flagship airline company in Italy, is going to be bankrupted.

In Recent years, Alitalia was suffering from a shortage of money. Also, its reputation has fallen because of a mass theft scandal. The other day, Air France planned to buy the company. But its acquisition was canceled mainly due to the resistance of the employees.

My past entry: Accidental airplanes

My past entry: Baggage theft cases in Alitalia

And now, recapitalization is still almost impossible because it requires a significant cut of salary. It seems unavoidable that Alitalia will proceed to an insolvency state.

International Business Times: Alitalia goes bust: Italy's flagship airline triggers insolvency process as liquidation looms

At a glance, the failure of Alitalia is attributable to the employees' attitude, as they repeatedly rejected bailout programs suggested so far. Also in Japan, employees of Japan Airline strongly opposed to salary cut when it was in peril of bankrupt.

It is quite natural that employees prioritize the amount of  their salary per work. On the other hand, if Alitalia becomes unavailable, it is predictable that the number of tourists visiting Italy will seriously drop. It may be critical for Italy itself, considering that tourism is one of the main source of gaining foreign money.

After all, this is an issue of public goods. Privatization of a flagship airline is a double-bladed saber.