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Many of the comments in this topic, and yesterday's "Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?[1] have a skeptical tone. reader5000: "I would like to see these sorts o

by getpost 16y ago

Many of the comments in this topic, and yesterday's "Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why?[1] have a skeptical tone. reader5000: "I would like to see these sorts of studies controlled with a group" Swizec: "What I'd really like to know is whether these changes are permanent" andrewwingram: "I'd like to see if this is backed up by similar studies." haecib, "what I really want to know is do those changes in the brain's structure manifest in any sort of measurable cognitive improvement." It's possible no skepticism is intended in the above cases, but let's say it is. Certainly there are some skeptical people. And hesitation is implied, as if, 'Once it's proven that meditation has certain benefits, then maybe I'll try it.' There's nothing wrong with skepticism and hesitation. These traits can be lifesaving, but there's an opportunity cost whenever these traits guide behavior. The opportunity cost for a 6 or 8 week meditation trial is very low. We know enough to see the potential for a positive result, which may be modest or huge. So you don't see a few movies, so what? It's not like you can't see them later. Just try it. I'm fine with a modest benefit, whatever it may be, but what energizes my practice is the big stuff: seeing clearly, substantially more skillful action, happiness not based on conditions, equanimity, even the big E. I can't think of any other activity, not even starting Google, with that kind of return. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2125115 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2125115

jonhendry 16y ago
I was definitely wary when I started getting into meditation. Walking up to the relevant shelf at Borders, it can look like a bunch of aging hippies and new age woo. Which is normally a big GET AWAY sign for me. One thing I found useful was the book "Zen and the Brain" by Dr. James H. Austin, published by MIT Press. Austin is an emeritus professor of neuroscience, and has been practicing Zen since he spent some time in Japan in the late 60s. The book is a massive, thousand page, dense doorstop, with lots of information. He tries to come up with possible explanations of the phenomena experienced in meditation, and for how meditation can cause long-term changes. The Table of Contents even includes a listing of chapters with "Testable Hypotheses". The book goes through other phenomena similar to those experienced in meditation, which are caused by known influences such as drugs or localized tissue damage. If I recall correctly, his main idea for how meditation might cause long-term changes in behavior is excitotoxic action of glutamate, etching away certain neural connection pathways.

by getpost 16y ago

jonhendry 16y ago

I was definitely wary when I started getting into meditation. Walking up to the relevant shelf at Borders, it can look like a bunch of aging hippies and new age woo. Which is normally a big GET AWAY sign for me. One thing I found useful was the book "Zen and the Brain" by Dr. James H. Austin, published by MIT Press. Austin is an emeritus professor of neuroscience, and has been practicing Zen since he spent some time in Japan in the late 60s. The book is a massive, thousand page, dense doorstop, with lots of information. He tries to come up with possible explanations of the phenomena experienced in meditation, and for how meditation can cause long-term changes. The Table of Contents even includes a listing of chapters with "Testable Hypotheses". The book goes through other phenomena similar to those experienced in meditation, which are caused by known influences such as drugs or localized tissue damage. If I recall correctly, his main idea for how meditation might cause long-term changes in behavior is excitotoxic action of glutamate, etching away certain neural connection pathways.