The measurement conundrum. Self-assessment has always been one the most important aspects of self-actualisation, the pinnacle of Maslow's Motivational Pyramid. SWOT analysis, deep introspection, objective aptitude and personality tests are some of the tools that attempt to quantify, assess and measure our selves. Ever so often, we generate newly calculated values of our own abilities and reset our targets in accordance to them. But can we truly measure anything at all? The most fundamental limit to what we can measure comes from the laws of quantum physics. If we measure some property of a quantum entity today, it… is impossible to know if we will get the same result when measuring it with an identical set-up tomorrow. The act of measurement quite inexplicably conjures a set of concrete values, from all the possible variable values- from the Superset of Superposition. Till the act of measurement, all that exists is the infinitude of all possibilities. Is measurement a killjoy, a party pooper? The scientific endeavours of mankind have been riddled with an almost obsessive need to quantify and measure. The inexhaustible quest to digitise every possible data has transformed the natural, pristine, real time, analog signal into a dry, synthetic, digital mutant. This relentless pursuit of measurement has subverted the human attribute of appreciation, into a cold, calculative, appraisal mechanism. The far more holistic parameter of health, that implied a sense of well being, vibrancy and gumption is now defined by a set of numeric data that has to fit within a statistically derived notional 'Normal' Biostatistics, an oxymoron of sorts now computes Happiness Indices, Emotional Quotients and Prosperity rates. The animate intangibles of life are being devoured by the inanimate tangibles. The measurement virus has now infected all aspects and elements of life and has escalated to a psychological pandemic. This virus has successfully mutated the human to a humanoid. The art of living is now fast reducing to a Science of existence, determined by statistical data. I wake up on a bright sunny morning to the chirping of birds without calculating the intensity of

 The measurement conundrum.

      Self-assessment has always been one the most important aspects of self-actualisation, the pinnacle of Maslow's Motivational Pyramid.

SWOT analysis, deep introspection, objective aptitude and personality tests are some of the tools that attempt to quantify, assess and measure our selves. Ever so often, we generate  newly calculated values of our own abilities and reset our targets in accordance to them. 

But can we truly measure anything at all? 

The most fundamental limit to what we can measure comes from the laws of quantum physics. If we measure some property of a quantum entity today, it… is impossible to know if we will get the same result when measuring it with an identical set-up tomorrow.

     The act of measurement quite inexplicably conjures a set of concrete values, from all the possible variable values- from the Superset of Superposition. Till the act of measurement, all that exists is the infinitude of all possibilities. Is measurement a killjoy, a party pooper? 

The scientific endeavours of mankind have been  riddled with an almost obsessive need to quantify and measure. The inexhaustible quest to digitise every possible data has transformed the natural, pristine, real time, analog signal into a dry, synthetic, digital mutant. This relentless pursuit of measurement has subverted the human attribute of appreciation, into a cold, calculative, appraisal mechanism. 

   The far more holistic parameter of health, that implied a sense of well being, vibrancy and gumption is now defined by a set of numeric data that has to fit within a statistically derived notional 'Normal' 

    Biostatistics, an oxymoron of sorts now computes Happiness Indices, Emotional Quotients and Prosperity rates. The animate intangibles of life are being devoured by the inanimate tangibles.

The measurement virus has now infected all aspects and elements of life and has escalated to a psychological pandemic. This virus has successfully mutated the human to a humanoid. The art of living is now fast reducing to a Science of existence, determined by statistical data. 

I wake up on a bright sunny morning to the chirping of birds without calculating the intensity of sunlight, nor the decibels of the sounds of nature. I enjoy the morning cup of tea and the crunchy biscuits without computing the calories i'm consuming. I go about my routine without measuring the time for each chore. I do not evaluate my responses leaving them to arise from the almost vestigeal domain of spontaneity. A conscious shift from the deliberate digital paradigm to the far more natural and casual world, where eternity is not a temporal parameter but more an experiential Qualia. 

Dr Deepak Ranade.

Bohemian Rhapsody

 Bohemian Rhapsody.

        I knew somewhere deep down in my mind that all is not well.I have never really been a conspiracy theorist, but for the preceding two years, my intuition was telling me to be prepared. Although I was doing the best Neurosurgery of my life, had clipped more than two dozen aneurysms, presented one of the largest series of transthoracic approaches to the thoracolumbar spine, fixed half a dozen Atlanto-axial dislocation by a very newly described technique, dissected tumors right from the belly of the spinal cord with the patient walking away on the 15th day. Was truly doing full justice to the opportunity the Lord had presented me with. There were at least 500 odd surgeries, that I had performed anonymously. I would have never recognised the patient I had operated.

Perks of being a Professor. My students would prepare and drape the patient. All I had to do was see the MRI films and just go and deliver. Purple patch, comfort zone, enjoying the fruit of starting the department back in 2003, getting the MCh. program sanctioned in 2006, and then gradually elevating the department to becoming a premier institution for neurosurgical training. I qualified and cleared all the exams to register for a PhD.My PhD was on using the fMRI to locate the center for consciousness in the human brain. I am currently working on my PhD and will defend my PhD in July 2025.

I was invited as an examiner for the MCH examination in centers across India. In the interim period,I had published about 20 papers relating to Neurosurgery.

The 'Speaking Tree' column had featured more than 120 articles of mine.

I was also appointed as honorary faculty in the first of it's kind School of Consciousness Studies- MIT University, Pune. 

Life was complete with academic and extra-academic developments. My personal life, was also blessed by teaming me up with the right partner. 

      There was however that Bohemian element in my personality that was...... well congenital. This trait really made me dread with the mundane, stereotyped life.

Life, in my opinion is a pulsating, vibrant, adventure, where no two days could ever be the same. Life to me was all about living with a capital 'L', not just being alive with a small 'a'. I had picked up playing the saxophone and was good enough to give public performances. I was jogging about 5 kms daily. Was part of an orchestra group. Did weekend bike off roading on my Ducati. Strummed the guitar, had my youtube channel. Did annual Himalayan Treks. Perhaps had the restless legs syndrome, travel bug, drivers hands. Had driven right across France, Andora, Luxembourg, Antwerp, Germany in 2021, then again drove the Northern Lights Arctic route (2500 kms) to witness the Northern Lights in 2022, would swim and kayak with my Rottweiler on weekends in the dam adjacent to my farmhouse. All this was perhaps a bit too much for subordinates, and some colleagues. Having too much of a good time for those perenially depraved, discontented collegues turning into darker and darker shades of green. 

There was an air of insubordination and rebellion within my department, lots of wrinkles on the foreheads of the management. My life was perhaps a far cry from the archetypical 'Professor'. I rode a Ducati to work, never had that solemn, grim look in my demeanor. The Bohemian curse that tagged me right through my medical career was knocking on the door again.

And then there was this very subtle nudge given by the management about the timings of my arrival and departure, which actually had no bearing on the quality and class of Neurosurgery I was doing.

The rumblings of some machinations were getting obvious. And then one fine day, I was given a tough ultimatum. Almost an euphemistic pink slip. My Deputy's relentless frivolous complaints to usurp my position, the growing resentment to my 'Live Life' philosophy all culminated in a rather abrupt resignation from my position. No farewells, sendoffs nothing. A taste of the grim reality that lies outside the comfort zone. Underneath the shining veneers of a glamorous institution lies the ugly face of sycophancy, discrimination and coterie culture.

  Akin to the backstabbing of Lee Iacoca who had to exit Ford Motors despite his extraordinary capabilities, which subsequently resurrected Chrysler Motors and brought it to the forefront of the US auto industry.

      I calmly stepped down, and got busy with executing my West coast to East Coast trans American road trip. It was indeed the trip of a lifetime, driving an SUV across California, Mojave, Vegas, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Tennesse, Carolina, Washington to end in New York.

One more ticked off the bucket list.

    Now was back to the grind of setting up my own center for Spine Surgery. There's something glorious about being on your own. No sycophancy, no anxiety, no politics, no being pushed around to settle another's agenda. Of course its really hard work. I had to operate a case at a hospital in the suburb, but had no instruments.

I made a dash to Mumbai, bought all the requisite instruments, and performed the surgery on a young kid with a tumor the same day. Life was throwing a challenge and I had to take the bull by the horns.

        The next couple of months went by in finalizing the agreements and arrangements for starting my own venture

'Spinexpertz'. I designed the logo, negotiated with the management of a boutique hospital nearby regarding the financials and got down to meeting the local doctors.

I simultaneously was working on being an influencer, and designing a 12 module workshop designed as a users manual for the Brain. It was called

'Mastering the Master'

Days were busy as I had to get my landing page designed, register my own OPC

(One person company) create separate pages for social media.

The Bohemian ways that were a curse as a full timer were now more a benediction.

Reminded me of that incredible philosophy of Henry Zacchary, that my father had gifted to me when I was in medical school.

I used to refer to it as the

'Bohemian Pledge.'

"I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon if I can. I seek opportunity – not security. I will refuse to be a kept citizen, to be humbled and dulled by having my state and nation look after me. I want to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed - never to be numbered among those weak and timid souls who have known neither victory nor defeat. I know that happiness can come only from the inside through hard constructive work and sincere positive thinking. I know that the so called pleasures of the moment should not be confused with a state of happiness. I know that I can get a measure of inner satisfaction from any job if I intelligently plan and courageously execute it. I know that, if I put forth every iota of strength that I possess – physical, mental, spiritual – towards the accomplishment of a worth while task, ere I fall exhausted by the wayside, the Unseen Hand will reach out and pull me through. Yes, I want to live dangerously, plan my procedures on the basis of calculated risk, to resolve the problems of everyday living into a measure of inner peace. I know if I know to do all this, I will know how to live and, If I know how to live, I will know how to die.”

These words still give me goosebumps.

     I was working at my own pace. My center was soon up, with its own signage.

I was meeting local doctors and also attending my clinics everyday.

And then, one day, I was referred a patient with a very unusual Atlantoaxial dislocation. This was a real test.

It was a case that ideally required an insitutional backup. Needed a microscope, microdrills, and many microinstrumenrs that are very expensive.

I had already hunted and located a microscope manufacturer in Delhi. Discussed with him about the specifications I needed and he had delivered the microscope to my center.

I needed a very sophisticated micro drill with angular handpiece, diamond burrs. Luckily it was being locally manufactured by a firm with whom I had a long asoociation. I pushed hard to get one delivered at the earliest. The startup involved expenses in a couple of million rupees. But almost everything got delivered in time. My self respect was certainly much more important and could never be held ransom for just a few million rupees worth of equipment. I knew my value was worth far more than what the management could ever fathom. 

     The moment of reckoning had arrived. My setup was fully geared up for performing this highly delicate, complex spine surgery.

     The patient was a young 25'year old girl with atlanto axial dislocation.

The surgery was scheduled and after explaining all the risks involved, I proceeded to operate on her two days ago.

      Thanks to my father's blessings, my wife's undying support, and the benediction of all the patients I had operated upon, the 4 hour surgery went off like a dream.

   I always listen to music whilst operating and quite ironically, as I was finishing the surgery, the sound system in the operating room was playing the immortal Queen's -

"Bohemian Rhapsody' perhaps the song of my Life. Transported me to that idyllic Lake Monteaux, in Switzerland, where stands a statue of Freddie Mercury. 

Here's raising a toast to the best phase of my Life and Career. Everything that happens in life is for evolving to the next level. Some souls are autonomous, Bohemian, non-conformist, mavericks....... born free. Their souls, services and spirits can never be bought. 

May their tribe increase.

Dr Deepak Ranade.

Epigeneticd

 Epigenetics and Quantum Healing 

Watson and Crick determined the structure of DNA. It was double-stranded and took the shape of a twisted ladder or double helix. They also proved that complementary bases paired up with each other in the double strand of DNA. Adenine always pairs with thymine and guanine always pairs with cytosine.

The micro had been decoded to understand the macro. 

Very soon, the race was on to crack the human genome or the blueprint of man.

The human genome includes the coding regions of DNA, which encode all the genes (between 20,000 and 25,000) of the human organism, as well as the noncoding regions of DNA, which do not encode any genes. By 2003 the DNA sequence of the entire human genome was known.

The genome is the entire set of DNA instructions found in a cell. In humans, the genome consists of 23 pairs of chromosomes located in the cell's nucleus, as well as a small chromosome in the cell's mitochondria. A genome contains all the information needed for an individual to develop and function. It holds the information about every aspect of the structure, biology, physiology and perhaps pathology of the organism.

There has been growing evidence to implicate a genetic basis of many ailments and diseases.

   Does this mean that we are totally helpless against our genetic predispositions? Do genes seal our fate? 

Enter the world of epigenetics.

The genetic code is essentially the hardware, the blueprint of every individual. The genome can be viewed as a blueprint of the organism, that contains all the information pertaining to its structure and function. But yet again, there's a software, that operates this hardware.

This software is epigenetics. A system operating above (epi) the level of the genetic code (genetics)

Within the complete set of DNA in a cell (genome), the modifications that regulate the activity (expression) of the genes is known as the epigenome. Epigenetics determines whether genes are turned on or off. Epigenetics in other words is a set of buttons that controls gene expression. A possibility that could salvage the individual from what was earlier considered an inevitable, uncontrolled expression of an inherited genetic program.

Epigenetics reveals an intriguing dynamic aspect of our genetics. While we cannot change the DNA sequence we inherited, we can influence the behavior of our genes. Understanding this can guide us to make informed lifestyle choices and even open new avenues in personalized medicine.

How can this tool be deployed? 

     The journey of understanding the structure of an organism has been from the macro to the micro but still at the level of the gross. The journey of understanding 'function' will eventually have to include the subtle.

Epigenetics will be a 'subtleware' that impacts the software which in turn will modulate the hardware.

Examples of such subtleware are CBT.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy. A therapy that is often used to help people think in a healthy way. Therapies that use the power of thought. 

Epigenetics could be operational in a quantum field. The genetic structure could well be in Quantum Superposition, i.e. all possible permutations and combinations.

When a conscious observer observes a particular specific combination, that combination remains viable and all other combinations collapse. This ability to consciously impact genetic expression could be the way forward.

Genetic structure cannot be altered, but its expression most certainly could, by consciously observing it. 

Conscious observation of one's immune system targeting the mutinous maverick malignant cells. Conscious observation of the viciously destructive immune system releasing it's stranglehold on the unsuspecting host tissues in autoimmune disorders. These modalities might hold the key to unlock the latent healing power within. Modern Treatment modalities will have to source the medicine from within and not from without. Most certainly not any chemical or biological external agent. This quantum phenomenon could hold the key to the new field of Quantum Healing advocated by Deepak Chopra.

Matter will have to acknowledge the Mind. The tangible Genetic foundation of the form being controlled by an intangible 'epigenetic force'- The thought. The journey from the gross to the subtle is the next quantum leap in the evolution of medical interventions. 

The Mind will eventually matter. And Mind will triumph over matter.

Dr Deepak Ranade.

The author is a Consultant Neurosurgeon.

(deepakranade@hotmail.com)

Link Delink Elon Musk

 WRITE FOR TOI BLOGS

OPINION

LIFESTYLE

To link or delink neural connections

February 6, 2024, 8:05 AM IST Speaking Tree in TOI Edit Page, Lifestyle, Spirituality, TOI

FACEBOOK TWITTER LINKEDIN EMAIL 

 

Speaking Tree

By- Deepak Ranade

Communication with outer world is one of the most important attributes of human nervous system. Neural networks in our brain communicate via a complex mechanism, initiating a wave of depolarisation effected by sodium and potassium ions. This impulse or wave then propagates across synapses at lightning speed to effect signal transmission to the effector end.

For instance, if one has to press a laptop key, the thought initiates a sequential firing of requisite neural pathways that eventually pass a neuroelectric impulse to the motor nerve to lift the hand and press the requisite key. In case of an illness that renders motor areas of the brain ineffective, the signal will not reach its destination and consequently, action will not be possible. Electrical impulse to initiate action will be normal. This could be referred to as Initiator Wave. This initiator wave gets aborted when it encounters nonfunctional neural pathways.

However, if this wave can be detected by implanted sensors and transmitted to an out of body device that interprets this signal, the latter can thereafter use an interface to effect the requisite action.

This sensor and effector assembly has been developed by Elon Musk as Neuralink technology. The device is designed to intercept a person’s neural activity, so they can operate a computer or smartphone by simply intending to move – no wires or physical movement are required. The implanted chip is equipped with sensors that transduce electrical initiator impulses. The tip is only 10 to 12 microns in width – only slightly larger than the diameter of a red blood cell. The small size allows threads to be inserted with minimal damage to cortex.

Thoughts, which have always been considered as constructs of intangible mind ever since the times of Descartes, are now being treated as electrochemical bioprocesses that can be cognised by sensors.

Thinking has been the greatest distinctive feature of human race. Quest to decode and transduce our basic, functional thoughts is earnestly underway. Intercepting more complex thought processes might not seem too distant considering the breakneck speed at which technology is developing. Neural link technology will in the not-too-distant future objectify, measure, process and transduce thoughts and link them to external devices as well.

There, however, remains the one most crucial link that is extremely subtle and sublime – the link between observer and Self. The Sanskrit word for that is sakshi, a word derived from the meanings of its two parts: ‘sa’ means ‘with’, and ‘aksha’, ‘senses, eyes’. Sakshi is pure awareness that observes thoughts without identifying with them. The objective of all spiritual endeavours is quite paradoxically, to disconnect or delink observer from observed. Yog is defined by Sage Patanjali in his ‘Yog Sutras’ as ‘Chitta vritti nirodhah’.

He recognised that true Self-realisation could only be attained when chitta, pure consciousness, is disconnected from vrittis, ripples, disturbances, as in thoughts. Salvation for mankind lies rather in delinking thought processes from the true Self. Any neural link would then be redundant in that exalted state of non-dual awareness – Aham Brahmasmi.

The writer is a neurosurgeon

FACEBOOK TWITTER LINKEDIN EMAIL 

DISCLAIMER

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

•