CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS: THE ART OF WAR

When Napoleon launched his lightning attacks against the European powers between 1796 - 1810, his opponents felt that they had been hit by a whirlwind. Napoleon seemed unstoppable despite various coalitions that came against him. That is until he entered the vast horizons of Russia. From that time on, in 1812, the defeat of Napoleon was certain.

What is so important about this? Namely the major ASSUMPTION that took hold of the consciousness of military strategists. That assumption was, ATTACK IS SUPERIOR TO DEFENCE. Despite the check on Napoleon in Russia, this assumption was not seriously shaken.

It is so vital that one regularly challenges assumptions. As I shall briefly discuss, holding on to unchallenged assumptions can lead to horrendous, and needless loss of life. I will even go so far as to say that deeply held, unconscious assumptions are rarely shaken except by trauma.

I intend to look at three examples: the strategy at the Battle of Gettysburg; the foolhardiness of the conflict at Passchendaele during the First World War;  and the final shaking of the the 'attack is better than defence' assumption, ironically once more in Russia.  Commenting on  the virtual destruction of the Wehrmacht in the attack on Russia, from 1941 onwards,  I shall propose a reason why the Napoleonic assumption was exposed as faulty.

On the left is the COUNCIL OF WAR planning the shattering campaign.


The Battle of Gettysburg was the  most famous and most important Civil War Battle occurred over three hot summer days, July 1 to July 3, 1863, around the small market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I shall concentrate only on the final battle to illustrate the point I am trying to make concerning unconscious assumptions. I definitely believe that General Robert E Lee had absorbed the Napoleonic assumption. In spite of the protests of General Longstreet, his deputy commander, Lee would not allow any challenge to his view. The result was disaster.


Let us see how this unchallengeable assumption led to total catastrophe.



As the day for the final battle approached, the Union commander General Meade decided his army would remain in place and wait for Lee to attack. It is important to appreciate the layout. Meade's army held the HIGH GROUND behind a stone wall and fortified by cannons.


To carry out an attack Lee's army would have to cross a slightly rising OPEN FIELD and be strung out in a line. Obviously a target for the Union Cannon and rifle fire.


General Longstreet tried to unlock Lee's dogmatism protesting the folly of attacking such a strong position. However, Lee would not be shaken. He  thought the battered Union soldiers were nearly beaten and would collapse under one final push. In short, 'attack will prevail over defence.'

Lee decided that by attacking the Union line at the centre he could at one stroke win the Battle of Gettysburg and in effect win the Civil War. 


When the time for the final push arrived Longstreet again protested vigorously. Lee estimated that by launching 15,000 men across the open field and charging against Meade's entrenched defenders he would win the day. Longstreet has been recorded as saying, 


     "It is my opinion that no 15,000 men ever arrayed for battle can take that position." 


But Lee was unmoved. He would not let go of his Napoleonic assumption. The charge would take place  as ordered.


Reminding one of similar barrage tactics of World War One, around  1 p.m. 170 Confederate cannons opened fire on the Union position on Cemetery Ridge. This was in preparation  for the Rebel charge. Although this was the heaviest artillery barrage of the entire, war many of the artillery shells missed their targets and flew harmlessly overhead. The Union cannons also opened up in response from the high ground.


When a lull in the firing from the Union canons occurred General Picket, who was to lead the charge, approached Longstreet and asked, "General, shall I advance?" Longstreet, now overwhelmed with emotion, did not respond, but simply bowed his head and raised his hand.


The order was given and the fatal charge across the mile long stretch of open territory began. "Charge the enemy and remember old Virginia!" yelled Pickett at the head of  around 12,000 Confederate soldiers. These  formed an orderly line that stretched a mile from flank to flank. 



Slowly the Confederate army advanced.  As they  got within range, Union cannons using grapeshot (a shell containing iron balls that flew apart when fired) and deadly accurate rifle volleys ripped into the massed Confederate line. The slaughter was horrendous. The line was smashed to pieces. Undaunted the battered Confederate army pushed on. 


Almost at the stone wall, the Confederates  stopped and fired their rifles at the Union troops, lowered their bayonets and commenced a running charge while screaming the Rebel yell. A fierce battle raged for about an hour characterised by  brutal hand to hand fighting, shooting at close range and stabbing with bayonets. Eventually Union reinforcements arrived and and opened fire on the melee of Confederate soldiers.


Finally, the blooded Confederate  troops  began to give way and  drifted back down the slope. Lee's army had been smashed and left over 7,000 men dead on the field of battle. 


Lee was psychologically devastated, bitterly blaming the outcome upon himself. 


With this disaster  the tide of the war was now permanently turned against the South. As a result of Lee's assumption the Confederate causalities in dead, wounded and missing were 4,708 killed, 12693 wounded and around 5,830 missing. The Union suffered similar casualties.


Such was the hold of this Napoleonic assumption that it dominated the strategy of World War I. Even when the German armies and their opponents, the Allies were bogged down in the trenches, the command issued again and again was, "over the top" The field commanders of both sides, holding to the assumption, 'attack is better than defence,' exposed their troops to withering machine gun fire. The trauma of casualties was still not strong enough to shake the assumption.


Nor did the military strategists learn from history. Even though the Battle of Passchendaele (31 July to November 1917) had many features in common with the Civil War conflict, already discussed, the parallels were either ignored or rationalised away. The Napoleonic Assumption was too strong.


The battle of Passchendaele in Belgium was a horrendous sacrifice of men and animals. The situation is fairly easy to describe.


On the right is the STRUGGLE THROUGH MUD ON OPEN GROUND under withering German Artillery.


The Germans occupied the high ground complete with heavy artillery. This area came to be known as the Passchendale Ridge. Down below was a valley which the German artillery could easily rake with shellfire. Because of the flatness of the plain any attempt at surprise attack was impossible.


In fact, the Germans had prior warning of an attack on the ridge when in the middle of July the allied bombardment began. It lasted for two weeks with nearly 5 million shells expended from 3,000 guns. As at Gettysburg this horrendous barrage failed to destroy the well fortified positions or to dislodge the Germans from the Ridge. 


Nevertheless, Haig, the commander of the British and Allied forces influenced by the same assumption, which had dominated General Lee, ordered an infantry attack. This began on July 31. Unfortunately for the attackers, the heavy shellfire had  churned up the clay soil and damaged the drainage systems. But there was worse to come. Within a few days the rain began, the heaviest rainfall for thirty years. This immediately turned the plain, over which the infantry must advance, into a swamp. The thick mud clogged the rifles, bogged down the tanks and drowned many of the men and horses that were hauling the gun carriages.


All under the withering fire of the German defenders.


Without going into too much detail, the attacks went on through August, September and October  with the same result. Meanwhile casualties mounted. Haig's assumption 'attack will always overcome defence'  was being severely tested and found wanting.


Eventually, a combined force of British and Canadian troops captured the Passchendaele village after the Germans had withdrawn from the Ridge. Haig proudly boasted that his strategy had been a success. This is not the opinion of all military strategists. For, the Passchendaele village, the object of this murderous campaign was only five miles beyond his starting point. It had also taken over three months to achieve this object. Worst of all was the cost in human life and other casualties was horrendous. The Allies under Haig's command suffered some 325,000 killed or injured. The Germans also sustained 260,000 casualties.


Once more such assumptions held by commanders in the First World War needed to be seriously challenged. What Napoleon advocated was not in the same context as a major war in the 20th century. Technology for one thing had moved on. It was easier to kill or maim a soldier at a distance in the First World War. 


Even so, the assumption, 'Attack is superior to Defence" had not been shaken sufficiently. 


In 1939 German strategists, and Hitler's Generals, holding fast to this assumption, launched the Blitzkrieg tactics that propelled the Nations into World War One. Initially, this assumption seemed to have merit. The German Panzers swept through Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, Denmark, and Norway in just over a year. No defence could stand against them.


Then came the fatal blow to this assumption. The Wehrmacht took on the might of Russia. Several factors were responsible for the crushing defeat of the German arms. Not simply the Russian Army, but the vast distances that seemed to go on for ever, the terrible Russian Winter, the difficulties involved in supplying the German forces, and even preventing  the tanks and artillery from seizing up.




On the left a Russian soldier attacks the fleeing German Army.




However, what shook the Napoleonic assumption to its core was that the Russians had learned how to DEFEND IN DEPTH and to RESIST the invader who attempted to capture their cities. Again and again the Wehrmacht bludgeoned itself to death against the Russian defences. 


Suffering a humiliating defeat, the Wehrmacht crawled out of Russia.


What is the point of this discussion, one thing and one thing only: CHALLENGE THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT ARE FOISTED UPON YOU, no matter where they come from. It may mean the difference between Life or Hardship and Suffering.


Hope you liked this blog.


Any comments?


KS (UK)


Picture Credits 


1. www.picture art-catalogue
2. engelisk wikipedia
3. Library and Archives Canada
4. German Federal Archive

THE PARANORMAL IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE: PHRENOLOGY

In order to absorb the real flavour of the Victorian novelists, some of which I have already mentioned, it is helpful if one can plug into the Victorian Consciousness, in short, see the world as they saw it.

There were many things that pre-occupied the Victorians such as Spiritualism, Telepathic Communication, Out of the Body Experiences, the Transfer of Magnetic Vibrations from one person to another, Mesmerism, and many many more. Why?

The answer is fairly straightforward. They lived in a world, the certainties of which were being eroded.  For example, Lyell's investigations in Geology were casting doubt on the age of the earth that Archbishop Usher had calculated as around 6,000,years old, creation having taken place around 4004 BC. German Biblical scholars were busy at work examining Biblical Documents and casting doubt on the authenticity of the Bible. Medical research seemed to suggest that man was merely a material Being without a soul. Darwin was coming on board, which was a denial of direct creation by God

What then was the consequence of this, namely that a number of intellectuals and writers could not let go of  the view that man was more than flesh and bones, and that at death human existence was over. So they started to look at the latent powers, which they believed humans possessed.

Thus underpinning the Victorian novels which I shall comment on from time to time, is the FIRM BELIEF that humans had what we now call paranormal powers.

Today I want to look at PHRENOLOGY. We shall encounter this when I comment, in future posts on JANE EYRE.

Phrenology was concerned with the study of the structure of the skull. In short the bumps on the head were alleged to reveal  a person's character and mental capacity. In England when deciding whether a criminal was reformable by a dose of prison or was beyond redemption and should be shipped off to Australia, an 'expert' in Phrenology was called in. After passing his hands over the prisoner's skull, the report was made, and the fate of the prisoner was decided on that basis. Also in England the sort of education one should receive was also based on this sort of diagnosis.


The Viennese physician Franz Joseph Gall  (1758-1828) claimed there were a number of "organs" on the surface of the brain which affect the contour of the skull. These even included including a "murder organ". These peculiar skull contours were supposedly  present in murderers. 


The notion caught on and Kaspar Spurzheim (1776 - 1832 ) along with George Coombe (1788 - 1858), who founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society, spread the word so successfully that it caught on in the United States. Thomas Foster called the work of Gall and Spurzheim "phrenology" (phrenos is Greek for mind) and the name stuck.


Ironically, phrenology was correct in suggesting that the  the human brain is the seat of character, emotions, perception, intellect, and so on. It was wrong, however in proposing that these mental characteristics manifested themselves in the contours of the skull. In the time of Gall, Spurzheim and Coombe, it was only possible to study the brains of the dead. This therefore led to the false notion concerning the contours of the skull.


Today few people take  phrenology seriously. Nevertheless, throughout the 19th century both in the USA and in England it had an immense following. One can gauge its popularity because Combe's, The Constitution of Man sold more than 300,000 copies between 1828 and 1868.


When we look at JANE EYRE we shall see the influence it had on Charlotte Bronte.


Hope this was enjoyable. Any comments?


KS


Picture Credit WikiMedia Commons

THE PARANORMAL IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE

It is time to shift ground for a change. Let us discuss something which believers ardently pursue and sceptics condemn as total rubbish. This is the fascinating topic of the Paranormal.

Many years ago I studied under an eminent Professor, an expert in Victorian Literature. As an MA student he recommended that I write a Thesis based on 'The Paranormal in Victorian Literature.' This was quite fortuitous, for I had been interested in what at the present time is described as 'The Paranormal.'

I had wondered for years whether the human mind had latent powers which could be harnessed. Or, whether there was 'something out there,' which one could tap into. Whatever is the case, from the time of writing my Thesis until now I have had numerous experiences which confirm that there is an energy, a power, call it what you will that one can communicate with.

I shall come to all that in future posts on and off.

Anyone who is familiar with the writings of George Eliot (The Lifted Veil), Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre), Thomas Hardy (The Withered Arm),  and Bulwer Lytton (A Strange Story) if one reads carefully one will notice many allusions to the paranormal.

I will perhaps go deeper into this at some future time,  but for now let us take a brief look at the background in which the Victorian writers were enmeshed.

Spiritualism was all the rage. I for one do not believe in it at all. Be that as it may, seances were held throughout England including Buckingham Palace. There were a number of charlatans that were exposed. Reading about it is all quite amusing. However, there is one case which was sensational in its day and for students of the paranormal, holds interest at this present time. This is the case of Daniel Dunglas Home, who I shall return to shortly.




Look at this  photograph of seven Spiritualists taken in 1906, getting ready for a seance. For some reason, the followers of the Spritualist Movement were mainly women.








 Below is a shot of Charles Dickens at work. Perhaps he was cracking out a Ghost Story.

The great writer Charles Dickens was an avid pursuer of the paranormal. As my early post showed he was proficient at making Magnetic Passes, and what is perhaps not so well known is his acquaintance with a young man who could apparently read in total darkness, and play cards blindfolded. An interesting book which explores the activities of Dickens in detail is entitled, Dickens and Mesmerism.' Well worth a read.

At the top of the page is an illustration of the famed Victorian Daniel Dunglas Home. His name is pronounced 'Home".

Home was once described as the greatest 'medium' of all time. Whether you believe in Spirit Mediums  or not, ( I do not) some of the facts of Hume's life are rather strange and well authenticated. For example, Hume claimed that all the powers he had were a result of possession by the Spirits. Modern investigators do not necessarily hold that view, rather that the mind has latent powers which Hume somehow harnessed.

In EVERY single case, Home insisted on performing in broad daylight, unlike the plethora of Mediums who insisted on semi darkened rooms. In addition Home allowed investigation of his feats by the famouse scientist, Sir William Crookes (Cathode Rays) and acknowledged witnesses such as the Chairman of the London Stock Exchange and Lord Adare. Home even performed in front of the Czar of Russia, Alexander II.

When Home performed in front of the Russian Czar he placed an accordion in a basket at one end of the square in St Petersburg, whilst he stood some distance away. At a word of command from Home, the accordion rose in the basket and began playing a number of tunes. All of this was done in broad daylight, in front of the Czar and other witnesses. Not once did Home touch the basket.

On another occasion Home, again in the presence of a number of reliable witnesses, in his apartment and in full daylight, wandered around the room, elongated his body until his head touched the ceiling. Then returning to normal height began to levitate. Within a few moments he opened the window, stepped out into thin air and walked in at an adjoining window.

Home seemed able to lift burning coals out of the fire, place them on the heads of people in the room without any ill effects. We could go on. he was able to move. at a word of command, heavy tables across the room, which required at least three men to move.

The activities of Home enraged the poet Robert Browning (Picture below)

The reason for this was that Hume had somehow bewitched the mind of his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning to such an extent that Robert Browning wrote a long poem attacking Hume. It is cast in the form of a dialogue wherein the Medium is apparently caught cheating and the observer seizes him by the throat.

The title of the poem was, Mr Sludge, the Medium' ( 1864)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning picture Right


Anyway, enough on Home. If you are interested in his abilities plenty of books and articles exist.

What must be said, in spite of those wishing to debunk him, not once was Home convicted of deception.

I think I shall leave things at that for the moment and return to the Victorian Background to the Paranormal in the next post.

Hope you enjoyed it.

KS

All photograph sources Wiki-Media Commons

PLANT CELLS DEFY EVOLUTION

I will post something on the complexity of plant cells and how they seem to defy the theory of Evolution because of their sheer intricacy. I cannot see how such precise interlocking processes can possibly have arisen by chance. All of the components must have arisen at the same time or else the cell could not function.

Let us look at the details.

_{I said in the blog on Animal Cells that I did not consider it possible that such complexity could arrive by undirected, blind chance. I take the same position here.}

_{Let us look for a moment at this diagram of a simple plant cell, which is so small that it cannot be seen with the unaided naked eye.}

 _{Look how intricate it is. Let us examine it in detail.}

 Cell Walls are made of cellulose and are only found around the cells of plants. What purpose do they serve? Cellulose does not dissolve in water for a particular reason. Plants are out in the rain, so it is important that the walls of the cells do not dissolve in water and wash the contents of the cell away Hence the clever use of cellulose. But who thought of that?

But there is even more, Cell Wall are really cleverly constructed. There are small holes in the cell wall that let nutrients into the cell and allow waste products to pass out. One wonders how the cell wall discriminates what should pass in and out. But there is a problem. Water can also be lost through these small holes. But even when the plant cell loses water, the basic shape of the plant is maintained by the cell walls. Therefore, even when a plant starts to droop due to the water loss, once water is added it will fully recover.

Next. The Cell Membrane.  The cell membrane allows waste material to leave the cell and essential materials to enter. In short, the cell membrane is like a barrier between the inside of the cell and the outside. It ensures that the chemical surroundings on both sides of the cell can be different. Cleverly, therefore, it regulates the movement of materials into and out of the cell.

Third. The Cell Vacuole. The main job of the vacuole is to store water, nutrients, and other substances for future use. In plant cells the vacuoles tend to be larger because plants receive large quantities of water. This water collects in cell vacuoles helping to make the plant rigid. In short each plant cell has a large, single vacuole that stores compounds which the cell needs, helps in plant growth, and plays an important role in the structure of the plant.

Turning now to The Cytoplasm. This is the material or protoplasm within a living cell, excluding the nucleus. It has several important functions: to distribute oxygen and food (nutrients) to other parts of the cell; to support all parts within the cell; to store energy, and various salts. It therefore, contains nutrients and also assists in dissolving waste. Many biologists see the cytoplasm as the workhorse of the cell.

Fifth. The Golgi Complex. If you think of the Post Office and the enormous volume of mail it handles, packaging, placing it on the right delivery trucks, and finally delivering the letter or package to your door, then you gave some idea what the Golgi Body does. Golgi bodies are found in both plant and animal cells, they package and ship proteins throughout the cell.

Up to now, one just sits back in sheer amazement at just how intricate the whole organisation is of a living Plant Cell. Surely, such could not have arisen by blind chance. What do you think?

The Lysosome  Every factory, and the cell is like a factory, produces waste. Consequently, it requires a garbage disposal system. The Lysosomes fulfill this role. They are constantly patrolling the cell and cleaning up the waste at the same time. Sometimes the cell is invaded by other organisms. It is the job of the Lysosomes to kill and dispose of these intruders.

Let us have a look now at the Endoplasmic Reticulum. The endoplasmic reticulum  is respsonsible for the production of  protein and lipids (organic compounds of various sorts), which it then directs their movement to various parts of the cell, such as to the Golgi Apparatus, the Plasma Membrane, and the Lysosomes.

Quite a complicated job, eh! for something which is supposed to have arisen out of unintelligence.

Now to the Mitochondria. The Mitochondria is like a battery. It provides all the energy the cell needs to carry out its operations.

The Chloroplasts. Chloroplasts produce food for the  cell. They are extremely efficient. Think of the solar panels now being installed in various houses and you have some inkling what the chloroplasts do. The chloroplasts contain chlorophyll, the green pigment that is needed for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process which, green plants use to convert the energy from sunlight into sugar and starch. These feed the plant. Fortunately for us, this process also releases Oxygen and absorbs Carbon Dioxide.

Now we get to the real powerhouses and control centres.

First, The Nucleus.  The nucleus regulates all the activity of the cell. Within the nucleus are the chromosomes. The chromosomes are threadlike structures which carry the genes. So the nucleus contains all the information that directs, the growth of the plant, also how it will reproduce, and based on the information about its heredity, what it will actually look like.

Next  The Nucleolus. Is a highly specialized part of the cell. It contains information relating to the manufacture of the key components of the cell. I do not want to make this a long-winded discussion. But if you are interested you might look up why the Nucleolus has been described as ‘the brain of the cell’

Well, that should do for now.

Again, my only purpose is not to give a biology lesson. Others can do that better than I can. All I wanted to show is why I cannot possibly accept that all living things have arrived by unintelligent, chaotic, chance. That is why I selected the basic unit to show how complex it is.

If anyone can show me how all of this can have arisen from unintelligence, please comment on my blog.

Next time I shall look at some extracts from my MA that discuss the paranormal in Victorian Literature.

KS

1.Picture Credit bynyaa-birdles-perch
2. Wikipi-media. org From a drawing by Robert Hooke, 'Micrographia' using in 1665

THE LIVING CELL DEFIES EVOLUTION AND CHANCE

THE LIVING CELL ANIMALS CANNOT HAVE ARISEN BY CHANCE

Hello, Sherry, perhaps there is some stuff here that Caspian can use for his Biology lessons.

It is impossible to my mind to conceive that even the so called simple organism, the living cell, could arise by a random interaction of molecules, arising by chance.

Let us look at some of the highly complex components of a typical animal cell to establish this point.  In fact in the human body alone there are several trillion cells. Each cell fulfils a specific function, making us what we are.

The nucleus, which carries hereditary information, is enclosed in a double membrane and communicates with the other components of the cell. This information, once conveyed determines the particular characteristics of the animal.

Within the nucleus is a structure called  structure the nucleolus. This also carries a great deal of genetic information and has been said to be the brain of the cell.

The centrosome is an area in both animal and plant cells. The  centrosomes play similar roles in cell division, enabling the cells to divide and multiply. In the process of division new copies of the cell are made. Imagine the complex instructions needed to carry these tasks out.

Next we come to the Golgi apparatus. This is also enclosed within a single membrane. The Golgi apparatusis responsible for modifying, packaging, and distributing proteins and other macromolecules throughout the cell. It does a better job than any transport manager in a haulage company. Components made within the cell have to be arranged and sent to the right place at the right time

The Cytoplasm  is the liquid portion inside of a cell in which other parts of the cell reside, eg, ribosomes, mitochondria.

Every production and distribution operation needs to deal with waste. This is where the Lysosomes come in. Lysosomes are the garbage disposal system of the cell. They  digest food for the cell and in the process get rid of unwanted cell material such as bacteria.

Every cell is enclosed in a membrane. The cell membrane is the outer cover of the cell. Without it the contents of the cell would spill out and be lost. This membrane is a highly sophisticated instrument. It has the ability to discriminate what should be permitted to enter the cell and prohibits essential elements from leaving the cell. Nutrient materials and gas exchanges occur so that some molecules enter and waste products leave through the cell membrane.

This is such a comprehensive filter and control device, that I cannot possibly see how it arose by chance.

Mitochondria are the power centers of the cell. They  provide the energy a cell needs to move, divide, and produce whatever substances the body needs.

 Within the cell there is also a vacuole. This is a sac enclosed in a membrane that plays a dual role in digesting materials and eliminating waste. Without it the cell would die.

How on earth would processes such as these, which seem to sense exactly what the living cell needs, possibly have arisen by chance?

Throughout the cell, especially those responsible for the production of hormones and other products, is a vast network called the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER for short. Its varied functions suggest the complexity of the cell. For example, depending on the specific cell type including the maufacture of many natural oils, fat, and steroids. They also breakdown toxins, poisons,  in liver cells, and controls the release of calcium in the contraction of muscle cells.

Ribosomes  are the sites of protein synthesis, where RNA is translated into protein. Every single operation of the living cell depends on protein. What is RNA? RNA plays a major part in helping DNA to copy and express genes, and to transport genetic material around in the cell. RNA also has a number of independent functions which are no less important. We cannot go into all that here. When cells need large numbers of proteins, they must first build numerous ribosomes. Because the manufacture of protein is so important to cells, there are large numbers of ribosomes found within the cell, often running into thousands. Without the ribosomes the message would not be read and proteins could not be produced.

Don’t forget these are packed into a cell smaller than the unaided eye can see.

If anyone can explain how blind, undirected chance can possibly produce such complexity, please let me know.

Remember each component must be in place at the same time or else we have no living cell. Without these specific functions produced simultaneously … well I’ve said enough.

Next time I shall look at plant cells.

KS


Photo source Wikki Commons

STILL ON EVOLUTION

Those who believe sincerely in Evolution somehow think there is a chain of fossils which show the links from prehistoric creatures who eventually branch off and ultimately lead to man.

From the material I have read this does not seem to be the case. For example what is known as the Cambrian rock strata laid down millions of years ago reveals an abundance of DISTINCT living forms The   major groups are still with us today.

In the rock layer below, known as the Pre Cambrian all one finds are traces of very primitive organisms, not the organisms themselves. Then Bingo! the Cambrian strata. Life suddenly bursts into existence. No 'Missing Links'

KS

REIKI HEALING

Does anyone know how successful REIKI HEALING is?

Is it in any way linked to the Victorian idea of 'Magnetic Passes.'? Charles Dickens was an expert in using the 'Magnetic Pass' technique, particularly with a woman, Madam De La Rue. He often worked to heal her deep depressions. In fact, he became so expert that he could perform the healing at a distance.

On one occasion, on the way to the Lady's house he made a number of Magnetic Passes in his coach. Unfortunately, his coach driver must have picked up the vibrations. He fell asleep, almost causing an accident