Newborn Baby cured of AIDS--and the power of doubt

I love science: Newborn baby cured of AIDS

http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/04/a-
newborn-may-be-cured-of-hiv-is-the-end-of-aids-near/?iid=tsmodule


Follow that link, and you'll reach what might be one of the most important stories of our time. When I published this earlier, immediately the mre technically minded tried to tear it apart, asking important questions about initial conditions, verification, correlation and causality. No, they didn't "want there to be no cure" as a few others implied. Rather, these people REALLY want a cure, and refuse to waste their energy supporting wishful thinking. They follow the path of one of the greatest gifts to the world, the Scientific Method.

Roughly speaking, the pattern of this method is:
1) Observe a phenomenon
2) Postulate a hypothesis to explain the phenomenon
3) Design an experiment to test your hypothesis
4) Perform the experiment.
5) If unsuccessful, reformulate the hypothesis and perform another experiment
6) If successful, publish the experiment so that others can attempt to disprove your hypothesis.

This cycle is one of amazing power, and you can use it in any aspect of your life. Let's say that you want to increase your energy (always a good thing!)
1) You observe people who display the kind of energy you covet, and also keep a journal noting your own energy from day to day.
2) You interview these people, and notice that their patterns of exercise, hydration, eating, and resting are different than your own. You further notice that the days you feel best follow certain patterns of behavior: non-smoking, positive thinking, lovemaking, going to bed earlier, whatever.
3) You choose 1-3 of these behaviors, and implement them in your life.
4) You KEEP A RECORD of the results. Every day, write down how you feel on a scale of 1-10
5) Continue the new pattern for 30 days. Note the results. If negative, try different elements of the "difference" you noticed.
6) If positive, blog and tell your friends about the results. Share them with your mastermind group.

The point is to find the critical path, the "difference that makes the difference", the "formula" or "recipe" for increased efficiency in any arena that matters. And importantly, if you can't perform a reasonable experiment to disprove your hypothesis, it may be faith, not science (apply this to people's political positions, and the results are fascinating--the more reluctant they are to tie their beliefs to simple measurements, the more likely they are to be connected to underlying philosophical positions rather than logic. We all do this at times, but the worst gridlocks are created by people who mistake their beliefs for logical proof.)

There you have a way of applying this fantastic tool to your life on an individual level. Consistent application allows you to tap into the magic of science.


Namaste,
Steve