1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from How Stuff 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: Weren't dot Com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your mind. 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Douglas, and 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: today we're rolling out an older episode we did Pennel 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: Optics My Third Eye. We think it's a really fascinating one. 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: We think you might enjoy it for the first time 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: or for the second time if you listened to it 8 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: during its initial errands. Yeah. And another reason why you 9 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: wanted to bring it out today is because Robert's third 10 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: eye has been winking all day at people, and so 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: we thought, yeah, this is it's time. This is what 12 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: the eye wants. Yeah, yeah, my my flash opened up. 13 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: It's it keeps making weird, awkward eye contact with people. 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: I don't know what I'm gonna do. I guess an 15 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: eye patches in order. We'll see how it goes. It 16 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: doesn't help that you put a smalllse eyelashes on it 17 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: as well. You know, I wanted to look pretty because 18 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: that's one of them. You know, you wanted to lend 19 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: in with the other eyes. You don't want it to 20 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: feel left out. That's true, all right. We hope that 21 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: you guys, enjoy this all right, So obviously we're gonna 22 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: talk about the pennel gland and also called the third eye. Yes, yeah, 23 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: so the third eye for for those of you who 24 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: have not been exposed to it. Where we're gonna start 25 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: out with just a brief discussion about the non scientific 26 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: idea of the third eye, that being that there is this, uh, 27 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: we have the two eyes with which we see the world, 28 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: but that buried inside us, there's this third eye that 29 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: if we are too if we open it, we can 30 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: see something that isn't there, or something that is hidden 31 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: from our normal perceptions of the world, that we will 32 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: be able to see, uh, the spiritual aspects of the 33 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: world around us. Sour see into the future or see 34 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: into the now. Um. It really depends on who's doing 35 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: the talking as to what a third eye actually only 36 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: consists of. You see, you see various takes on this 37 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: in Hinduism. Um, if you've ever looked at any Hindu iconography, 38 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: then you've you've no doubt seen like the flaming eye 39 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: of Um of of Shiva, that that burns and shoots 40 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: out flames. You if you're familiar with with with the dyoga, 41 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: for instance, you probably know of the ana chakra. This 42 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: is a positioned supposedly position in the brain right behind 43 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: the eyebrows center. And this involves you know, future site 44 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: clear sight, presence, or even occult powers depending on who 45 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: again is doing the talking. You see, uh, you see 46 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: the third eye in Kabbala, in Taoism, in various New 47 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: Age ideas and uh and you know even in heavy 48 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: metal lyrics from time to time as well. Also Gwen Stefani, 49 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: well you know she used to, Yeah, the bindy is 50 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: a reference to to the third eye, into the into 51 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: the chakra and all that. Um. So, yeah, anytime someone's 52 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: wearing a bindy, they may not know it. They might 53 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: just be wearing it for purely uh you know, ornamental reasons. 54 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,119 Speaker 1: But but there is this idea of the third eye 55 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: buried in that. What I think is so fascinating about 56 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: this topic is that the third eye has been something 57 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: that has been subolic symbolic to us, right, this idea 58 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: of seeing and seeing all. But really it does have 59 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: roots envision and we will talk about that via the 60 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,959 Speaker 1: pineal gland. Um. So, what is cool about this is 61 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: that somehow humans had sort of an inkling that this 62 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: third eye um might have actually been something within their 63 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: own brains that was giving them some sort of insight 64 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: or sensorial experience. And we'll talk more about that a bit. Yeah, 65 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: So first, let's let's back up just a little bit 66 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: about about the pineal gland and its history and its 67 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: connotations and associations with the idea of a third eye 68 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: and spiritual insight and all of this. If you go 69 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: back in time to around two thousand, you had this 70 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: man by the name of Galen Uh Greek medical doctor philosopher, 71 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: spent most of his time in Rome, and Uh he 72 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: wrote on a number of things, but he his writings 73 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: dominated medical thinking like on up until the seventeenth century. 74 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: And he did discuss the pineal gland in his eighth book, 75 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: uh of his anatomical work on the usefulness of the 76 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: parts of the body. And he was really more interested 77 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: in the pineal gland than than anyone at that time 78 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: or for you know, for years and years afterwards. Now, 79 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: this was a time when when there there was this 80 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: idea that the ventricles in the brain flowed with something 81 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: called psychic numa, and numa is supposedly the breath of 82 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: life in Stoic philosophy. It's this uh fine vaporous substance 83 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: that Galen described as the first instrument of the soul. Okay, 84 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:52,599 Speaker 1: so imagine these these these old thinkers and philosophers, and 85 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: you know they're they're trying to understand how the world works, 86 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: how the human body works. Um there working with limited 87 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: tool though at their disposal, and they have only the 88 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: knowledge that came before them, with which you understand it. Right. 89 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 1: So there they have this idea of psychic numa in 90 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: their mind and they're poking around in um the brain 91 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: of of a corpse to see what they can find 92 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 1: and see what seems to do what. So when when 93 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: Galen looked at the pennel and uh, and he in 94 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: his book he describes the penel and talks about its 95 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: resemblance in shape and size to nuts found in the 96 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: cones of the stone pine. And that's where we get 97 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 1: the name peneal pine. Uh that next time you have 98 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: pine nuts about. Yeah. So he's poking around in the brain, 99 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: finds the pineal gland, but he doesn't see it as 100 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: really involving any of this numa, any of this spiritual stuff, 101 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: because he notices that it is outside that's something outside 102 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: of the brain, and he thinks that the part of 103 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: the brain that's gonna be involved in regulating psychic numa 104 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: is gonna be uh something that we call the vermis 105 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: Supper of Sarah Belli uh in the cerebellum. And he 106 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: figured that was much more proper to play, to play 107 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: that role. But uh okay, So after his death again, 108 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: his his work continues to remain important. Uh. In medieval texts, 109 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: it is misinterpreted a few times, and it eventually the 110 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: idea that the peneal gland is involved with the human 111 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: spirit um and in our spiritual essence resurfaces. And that's 112 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: a long run, by the way, right up to the 113 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,280 Speaker 1: seventeenth century. Yeah, indeed, I mean, you know, incertainly, these 114 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: classical thinkers, I mean many of them are still we 115 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: still hold them up high today. They were, they were groundbreakers. 116 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:30,479 Speaker 1: So the seventeenth century rolls around and we have a 117 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 1: guy named reneed to Carts, who most people are familiar with, right, 118 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: because what's his famous quote? I think therefore I am yes, yeah, 119 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: easy to remember for me, because it was there was 120 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: a money python song about philosophers. The Australian Philosopher's Song. 121 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,040 Speaker 1: There's a really bad joke too about how a way 122 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: to ask him if if he would like dessert and 123 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: he says, I think not, and then he keels over. 124 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: That's pretty good. Um. So reneed to Carts is, you know, 125 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: primarily known for his contributions to mathematics and philosophy, but 126 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: he was also really interested in anatomy and psychic and 127 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: in psychology as well. So he ends up doing a 128 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: lot of thinking about what it is to be human 129 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: and then the biological aspect of that. And in this book, 130 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: The Treaties of Man, he describes a conceptual model of 131 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: a human which consists of two parts, body and soul. 132 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: So the Cards works up this theory that the pineal 133 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: gland is the seat of the census communists. In other words, 134 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: it's the input. It's where the input of the senses 135 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: are bound into an understanding of the world. So we 136 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: see it involved according to the Deck hearts and sensation, imagination, memory, 137 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: and uh and bodily movement. Now Deckart's theory would would 138 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: go on to be very important. A lot of people 139 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: would really take this and run with it, because he's 140 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: an important man, saying some really awesome things about this 141 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: little tiny pine nut in our in our heads. However, 142 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: it's important to note that he was not really he 143 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: wasn't even really working with the best anatomical and physiological 144 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: asumptions of the time. So he's he's really kind of 145 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: going off in his own direction on this, but it 146 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: continues to be important. Towards the end of the nineteenth century. 147 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: You see Madame Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, and she 148 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: really gets into the idea of the third eye um 149 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: and in the pennel and compares it to the eye 150 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: of Shiva, and she really argues that the penneal gland 151 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: is an atrophied organ of spiritual vision. Switch Again, as 152 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: we've discussed, there's this idea of this third eye hidden 153 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: inside as that allows us some sort of sight that 154 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: we have forgotten and that can on some level be 155 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: attained again. Okay, so again what I find really interesting 156 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: about that is that there are seeds of truth to 157 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: that in terms of the tissues of the pineal gland. 158 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,959 Speaker 1: And again we'll talk about that more and more scientific terms, 159 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 1: but this inkling that this there's this uh sensory perception 160 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: center in the pineal gland is correct. Yeah, And you 161 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: can also get behind the idea that there is an 162 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: ancient form of sight involved in the pineal gland. Some 163 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 1: of the theories back that up as well, but it's 164 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: not attuned with the spirit per se. By the end 165 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: of the podcast, will come back around to an inkling 166 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: of some of those ideas. But but for the most part, 167 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 1: from here on in, put the spiritual world behind you, 168 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,359 Speaker 1: because it's all going to be about seeing an evolution. 169 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: So if we crack open the skull as uh as 170 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 1: Galen did, uh and we take a look at the penial, 171 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 1: what are we gonna see? We're gonna see a small 172 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: organ to shave like a pine nut. And it's located 173 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: on the midline, attached to the posterior end of the 174 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: roof of the third ventricle in the brain. Now, in 175 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: a human it's roughly a centimeter in length, varies and 176 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: it is composed of penniless sites and glial cells, and 177 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: in older animals the o pennial often contains brain sand, 178 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: which are just calcium deposits. But I do love the 179 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: idea of brain sand. Um, yeah, it is essentially an 180 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: endocrine organ, right, But I did want to mention that 181 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 1: when the human embryo is in the earliest stage of development, 182 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,559 Speaker 1: cells that will form the penel gland have the potential 183 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: known as the differential excuse me to Frenchian potential to 184 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 1: become I cells such as lens, epiphilial layer or retina 185 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: neuron cells. So in other words, it has all the 186 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 1: ingredients to make a brand new eye, but it forms 187 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: into this endocrine organ which produces the hormone melotonin. Yeah. Again, 188 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 1: and at a cellular level, it is astonishingly similar to 189 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: the eye um, particularly to the cellular structure of the retina. 190 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,839 Speaker 1: So it's not just a thing where someone founded they're like, 191 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: it kind of looks like an eye, because it really 192 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 1: doesn't really look like an eye. But but at at 193 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: a cellular level, and again in early and it's in development, 194 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: we see the connections to our actual eyes. Yeah, and 195 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: there's a great connection to as you say, evolution when 196 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: we look at the reason for this why this penel 197 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: gland exists. But before we do that, let's talk a 198 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 1: little bit more about the melotonin um and its role, 199 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: because what we have found is that the human peneal 200 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: gland regulates the rhythm that beats out of the biological 201 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: clocks of ourselves by secreting melotonin according to light stimulus 202 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: received through the eyes and from the skin as well 203 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: as other cells. So in the morning, the level of 204 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: melotonin secreted is low, in the evening it's high. And 205 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: then the benefit of exposure to natural light in the 206 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,719 Speaker 1: morning is that the secretion of melotonin is curbed, enabling 207 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 1: the body to keep its daily rhythm on track. Now, 208 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: that seems kind of straightforward and so what, but that's 209 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: kind of a big uh, that's a big deal production 210 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: going on. Yeah, And we've talked before about the importance 211 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: of melotonin and serotonin in the human mind and the 212 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: human body. I mean, it's it has everything to do 213 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: with our our biological patterns. It had with our our 214 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: our level of contentment with the world and uh, and 215 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: certainly has come up in our discussions of various um 216 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,320 Speaker 1: psychedelic properties as well. Yeah, And if you think about 217 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: the peneal gland too, it's kind of like the control 218 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 1: tower of the body trying to really sense to what 219 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:02,319 Speaker 1: degree it needs to secrete the melotona. Remember that it's 220 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 1: getting these cues from skin cells, other cells in the 221 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: body um as well as the eye. Yeah, you can 222 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,319 Speaker 1: think of it as a transducer, Okay. The pinnel transduces 223 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: signals from the sympathetic nerve system into a hormonal signal. 224 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,400 Speaker 1: So it's like, you know, if you're assembling the human body, 225 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: you say, out of an IKEA kit, and you might 226 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: see the pennel in its own little little plastic bag there, 227 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: and you might well leave it out during the confusing 228 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: assembly process, but you would definitely notice that result. That 229 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: is a that is an important little nut to screw 230 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: into the finished works. That's right, even with that tiny, little, 231 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: tiny little uh what is that supposed to be? I 232 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: guess like a screwdriver, Alan rinch, the Alan rich That's 233 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: the thing is crazy? Um that that has got to 234 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 1: be the most frustrating tool in existence. UM. I wanted 235 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 1: to mention that in the animals, the pineal gland is 236 00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: really paramount to reproductive functions since the detection of increased light, 237 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: let's say in this spring, by the peneal gland adjust 238 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:06,080 Speaker 1: the secretion of melotonin and then that sends this whole 239 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: symphony of cues to the animal's body to begin preparing 240 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: for the breeding season. So if you look at horses 241 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:17,080 Speaker 1: and sheep, This involves a hypothalamus secreting the anterior pituitary 242 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: hormones which then essentially said nowt yep, I'm gonna say it, 243 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: go now a tropin. And this is a hormone aimed 244 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: at bolstering the animals go now ads and getting them 245 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: ready for breeding. Yeah, yeah, I was. I read a 246 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,559 Speaker 1: bit which said that and when you're breeding sheep, um, 247 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: sheep that normally breed only once a year can be 248 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: induced to into two breeding seasons if you dose them 249 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: up with melatonin. Yep, exactly. And we've seen this in 250 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: the examples with other animals too as well. Um. So 251 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:47,599 Speaker 1: I wanted to mention this because I think this is 252 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: really interesting. Um this role of melotonin. Again, we just 253 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: think of it as well that helps us to sleep 254 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: and um, you know, have this wakefulness and not have wakefulness. 255 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,840 Speaker 1: But I read this really very interesting study about how 256 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: malfunctioning circadian rhythm genes could be the basis for bipolar 257 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: disorder in children, many of whom are plagued with the 258 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: onset of sleep disorders at an early age. Um. And 259 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,679 Speaker 1: this is really a big detail that sets bipolar disorder 260 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: apart from a d h D and kids um this 261 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: sort of messed up sleep cycle or sleep disorders. R 262 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: O r N genes are expressed in the eye, brain, 263 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: and peneal gland, and in a study of one hundred 264 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: and fifty two bipolar children and one hundred forty children 265 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: as a control these children, obviously we're not bipolar or 266 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 1: thought to be, Psychiatrist Alexander Nicolausku of Indiana University found 267 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: four alterations to the r O r B jene that 268 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: were positively associated with being bipolar. So r O r 269 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: B expression is known to change as a function of 270 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: the circadian rhythm in some tissues, and mice without the 271 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: gene exhibit circadian rhythm abnormalities. So what they began to 272 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: see is that this this correlation with mal a tone 273 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: in and with disorders like this are hand in hand, 274 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 1: and Nicolaski says that every time we investigate some abnormality 275 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: of molecular machinery linked to the clock genes, we find 276 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: an association with bipolar disorder. So obviously there needs to 277 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 1: be more research, but it shows promise in the treatment 278 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: and that researchers have been on the right path and 279 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: strictly regulating a bipolar patients sleep schedule to improve extreme 280 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: mood cycles that you see in bipolar disorder. Again, here's 281 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: this pineal gland, the controlled tower, but you know, trying 282 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 1: to give out the signals to the body. And it 283 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: shows that something like this can really sort of go 284 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: awry if if it's not all regulated. So, I know 285 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: what you're wondering, where does it come from the pineal gland? 286 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: How do how do we end up with this this 287 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: thing that is in many ways, in many interpretations, a 288 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: kind of primitive eye buried in the center of our 289 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 1: skull without any actual um chance to glimpse the light. 290 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 1: It ends up being this is mere transducer. Well, it's 291 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 1: a good question, and I'm glad you asked it because 292 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: because that's what we're going to talk about you. So 293 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: this really gets down to questions of the evolution of 294 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: the human high and the evolution of sight and um. 295 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: And when you start thinking about ocular evolution, we're talking 296 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: about really old business here, like really important like when 297 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: you're starting a business, like what are some of the 298 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 1: first things you have to have, right, You've got to 299 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: have you gotta have the building you had at the bathroom, 300 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: and the first people you hire, maybe you know, you 301 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,200 Speaker 1: you've gotta have the key people on staff before you 302 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,600 Speaker 1: staff up from there. So when we're talking about the 303 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: development of the eye, we're talking about some very old 304 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: business and a lot of stuff ends up built up 305 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 1: around it. So it it makes sense when we start 306 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: talking about the ramifications of of melotonin levels on all 307 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 1: these varying levels of of of animal activity, because it's 308 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 1: it's route down to the to some of the earliest development. 309 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: So the eye has been around for a while and 310 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: if you look at the eye of a human the 311 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: eye of a fish, they're not all that different. So 312 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: it goes back a long ways in evolution. But if 313 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: you go back far enough in our development, you find 314 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 1: a cyclops, or more specifically, you find something called a lanceolate, 315 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,200 Speaker 1: and these are primitive creatures. They're still around to day, 316 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 1: and they have just one eye. Now, a couple of 317 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: the main theories about the pennial evolution come down to 318 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:23,800 Speaker 1: this idea of developing two eyes from one. All right, 319 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 1: so back in the day simple organisms one eye, and 320 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: then his evolution progresses. This ide divides into left and right. 321 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: Now this is all predicated on the primordial brain. Like 322 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: this primitive brain that's just the solid mass, that's a 323 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 1: big ball. It hasn't divided yet into the right and 324 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 1: left heap sphere. So the brain divides into two and 325 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 1: then from one eye we get two eyes now and 326 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 1: then there there you can the various takes on which 327 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:53,400 Speaker 1: came first, chicken or egg? Does the brain split because 328 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 1: the eye splits? Or does does the eye split because 329 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: the brain splits? Um? You can sort of go either 330 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:03,000 Speaker 1: ways on that too. Particularly interesting theories that stem from that. 331 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: First of all, there's one here from Professor Masusuki Iraqi 332 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: of nar Women's University, and Professor Araki believes that the 333 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 1: third eye comes into being during the transition from one 334 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: eye to two. The position that Iraqi is describing is 335 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: that this the single eye pulls to the left and 336 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: right and uh and divided. Uh, an eye remains in 337 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 1: the spot where the single eye had originally been. So 338 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,960 Speaker 1: the third eye then is not the third to be created, 339 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: but the first, the original. So it's uh so we 340 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:35,160 Speaker 1: what we think of as the third eye is essentially 341 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 1: the tissue, the prime big primordial tissue, primordial eye, really 342 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 1: very simple I right, that had that was able to 343 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: then sort of secrete itself back into our brains a bit. Yeah, 344 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: because we've discussed with the way the human body works. 345 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,520 Speaker 1: It's something doesn't just become useless overnight and fall off 346 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: of us, you know. It's that gets sometimes sometimes well 347 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,200 Speaker 1: sometimes but but but but for for the most part, 348 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: things get tucked away, Things get to get to get 349 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: hidden in case they're used later. Our body can be 350 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,960 Speaker 1: sort of a hoarder in that example. Another theory comes 351 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 1: to us from David Klein, PhD. And he and he 352 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: works for the National Suit of Help UM. He has 353 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: this theory that it all comes down to UM to 354 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: melatonin again and in the head, in the brain, and 355 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 1: then the idea here is that roughly five million years ago, 356 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: the ancestors of today's animals became dependent on melatonin as 357 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 1: a signal of darkness, and as the need for more 358 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 1: and more melatonin grows, the pineal gland develops as a 359 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: structure separate from the eyes to keep the toxic substances 360 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,199 Speaker 1: UM needed to make melotonin away from sensitive eye tissue. 361 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: That's because this whole process of adoption and all other 362 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: chemicals sort of interacting with one another, right, and the 363 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: more distance you have, the better UM. In this making 364 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: of melatonin so if you have that distance, then you 365 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: are making sure that your eyes are not going to 366 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: be effective the chemical that's sort of like the really 367 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: very shallow dive on that. But I kind of feel 368 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: like both of them are correct because if you have this, 369 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 1: you know, primitive brain, that's just a ball, but then 370 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: uh evolved into this right and left hemisphere, and then 371 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: you've got the tissue. Well, as you say, the body 372 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,680 Speaker 1: is really good at saying okay, hey, you're sitting around, 373 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,959 Speaker 1: why don't you do something? You jumping some some toxic 374 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,080 Speaker 1: stuff in there and end up some allotron and we're 375 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: not using that room for anything. And so we see 376 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: the same thing with our office here. We only have 377 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: so much room to work with, and in an office 378 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: goes empty for too long, the video department will move 379 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 1: some stuff in there and start filming some some skits 380 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,679 Speaker 1: and segments. The void gets filled. Yeah, um, and then 381 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:42,879 Speaker 1: they all that you know. Of course, then someone is 382 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: the control tower of the light source and all the offices, 383 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 1: much like the pineal gland, controlling the to what degree 384 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:53,719 Speaker 1: we are exposed to them. Um. So yeah, I think 385 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 1: that is our earth. I think it's so fascinating to 386 00:20:56,160 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: to see how the human body can adapt like that. Um, 387 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:02,320 Speaker 1: and not just human body, but if you look at 388 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: the lancelet, this is really primitive creature. How the beginnings 389 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 1: of that show, how this this evolvement of our eye 390 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,360 Speaker 1: systems and our penny all gland also it came together. Yeah. Now, 391 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: when I was describing Iraqi's theory and you're imagining this 392 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,200 Speaker 1: one eye in the middle of a head, I ended 393 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: up imagining a human face. Um, well actually your face 394 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: since it's the one I'm looking at, imagining an eye 395 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:27,360 Speaker 1: in the center of your head, and then the two 396 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,640 Speaker 1: eyes coming out and then this uh, this primordial eye receding. 397 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,159 Speaker 1: So you're you may be wondering, was there ever a 398 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 1: time when you have three eyes? Three or at least 399 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: three ocular units on the face. And yes, we're going 400 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 1: to discuss. We're glad you asked, because we're going to 401 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,240 Speaker 1: discuss after this quick break. There are plenty of animals 402 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:52,440 Speaker 1: around today which which do have there two highly evolved 403 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 1: eyes and then also this remnant eye, this uh, parietal eye, 404 00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: which is very closely connected. Do everything we're talking about. 405 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,159 Speaker 1: All right, We're gonna take a quick breaking when we 406 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:21,359 Speaker 1: come back more pinny a lotrips. Okay, we're back the 407 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 1: parietal I. Now, if we look to some examples in nature, 408 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: we can get a fine, fine feeling for what this 409 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,040 Speaker 1: parietal eye does. Yes, now we're not again, we're not 410 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:33,920 Speaker 1: talking about you look at the face and you see 411 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 1: three distinct eyeballs. But if you look at the certain 412 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,920 Speaker 1: lower vertebrates such as fish and lizards, um, you'll actually 413 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:45,119 Speaker 1: see this kind of you could almost mistake it for 414 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: some sort of like gray pimple. Uh. This this kind 415 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,880 Speaker 1: of gray little dot, gray little slit um around the forehead, 416 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 1: and that is this parietal i. Um. They typically it's 417 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: like I said, it's a gray oval. And the animals 418 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 1: don't actually see out of this structure like they can't. 419 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 1: They can't look out of it like they're they're not. 420 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: You don't see an eyeball in it, right then, since 421 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: data is not going in it and then forming a picture, 422 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: that's what the other eyes are doing. This uhi. The 423 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: throat all is more. It's a it's photosensitive and it 424 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 1: does influence circadian rhythm, but it's unable to capture images. 425 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 1: And it's believed that its sense it's light and regulates 426 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 1: body temperature and hormonal balance. So in a way you 427 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:30,640 Speaker 1: can think of it. And we'll discuss this a little 428 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 1: more here. It is an eye that sees only one thing, 429 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,440 Speaker 1: and it sees what time it is. It sees where 430 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,159 Speaker 1: if you can even applies a concept like time to 431 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: to an animal, but it can see where it is 432 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,639 Speaker 1: in the cycle of night and day. Yeah, And what 433 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 1: I think it's really cool about it is that it 434 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:52,920 Speaker 1: does have this sense of passing of time through its 435 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:56,280 Speaker 1: pridal eye and these two kinds of neurons. So unlike 436 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:58,680 Speaker 1: the human eye, which makes use of five different kinds 437 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: of neurons called photo receptors to analyze light, the parietal 438 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: eye has only two, as I said, but these two 439 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,760 Speaker 1: neurons help frogs, fish and lizards figure out what time 440 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 1: it is. Um. This is from Seed Magazine, the article 441 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 1: the Secrets in the third Eye. The comparison of the 442 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:19,119 Speaker 1: color signals now begin at the photo receptor rather than 443 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,920 Speaker 1: in the retinal neurons as in the regular human eye. 444 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: So when this happens, the photoreceptors in the parietal I 445 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:28,879 Speaker 1: are able to give information about the passage of time because, 446 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: and this is key, the color spectrum changes over time 447 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 1: during the day so the signal that comes out of 448 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 1: the photo receptor is sort of a readout of what 449 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,320 Speaker 1: time it is, which very cool. I mean, this is 450 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,439 Speaker 1: sort of a superpower that we don't possess, even if 451 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,760 Speaker 1: we do have pocket watches, pocket watches when it's like 452 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century now yea. And this tridle is often 453 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,080 Speaker 1: retained in burrowing lizards. Uh. And the idea here is 454 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: that these are animals that are occasionally exposed to light, 455 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: and the ridle eyes more suitable photo receptor for a burrower. Right. 456 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:01,160 Speaker 1: And um, that's what I think is really cool about 457 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: these partial eyes is that they do differ. In a 458 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,720 Speaker 1: paper by Gundy and Works entitled Parietal Eye Peneial Morphology 459 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:12,680 Speaker 1: and Lizards and It's Physiological Implications, they looked at seventy 460 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: five species of lizards in their parietal eyes and they 461 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 1: found that there were seven different morphological types. Um. Some 462 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,159 Speaker 1: of these types were the lateral parietal eye, the borode 463 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: eye as you mentioned, and this is my favorite, a 464 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:31,959 Speaker 1: fingerlike projection that extends towards the parietal eye, so from 465 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,919 Speaker 1: thee inside the head. Yeah yeah, and this actually allows 466 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:39,720 Speaker 1: for the maximum absorption of light. This sort of configuration Yeah, 467 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: so it's like the prietal eye and the pineal gland 468 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: sort of reaching to touch each other, like like Adam 469 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,800 Speaker 1: and UH and God on the Sistine Chapel. Right, I 470 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 1: hope someone, I really hope someone paints that. That would 471 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 1: be a lovely Surely that's on the side of a 472 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:57,440 Speaker 1: van somewhere or Alex Gray has done it. This seems 473 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: like a great Alex great topic right there. So there's 474 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 1: a lot of really cool study, especially in lizards are 475 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: a great way to study the bridal eye, and they 476 00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:07,440 Speaker 1: found a lot of interesting stuff about the the evolution 477 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:11,440 Speaker 1: of of the parietal eye and the evolutionary conjunction between 478 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 1: invertebrate and vertebrate ways of seeing color UH pristance. John 479 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:19,160 Speaker 1: Hopkins University study found two pigments in the pridal eye 480 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: of the side blotched lizard UH, two different structures of 481 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: protein communication. One of these is a pigment communicated with 482 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:32,159 Speaker 1: transducent like protein called gustucin as vertebrates used and now 483 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 1: there is a pigment that uses GO protein. It's an 484 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,680 Speaker 1: invertebrate way of of seeing. So the theory here is 485 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 1: that early on this go protein this was the norm 486 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:46,000 Speaker 1: and then his evolution progresses, translucent pathway developed, and then 487 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,680 Speaker 1: as a and as it progresses even further, you move 488 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: up to the lateral eyes, which are actually very highly 489 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 1: specialized structures that allow us to have depth reception. And 490 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:57,640 Speaker 1: then the go pathway is dropped and we retain only 491 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: the transducent pathway. So like in we see in the 492 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: pridal eye, an ancient form of seeing, an ancient way 493 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 1: of just barely peeking out from the darkness of consciousness 494 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 1: into the light of the world. That's beautiful. Well alright, 495 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 1: so we uh, we couldn't tidy up the rest of 496 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 1: this podcast without making a mention of hallucinogens, right, because 497 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 1: you feel really heavy into them as a topic lately. Um, So, 498 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,480 Speaker 1: what do hallucinogens have to do with the penel gland 499 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: in the third eye other than people feeling like they 500 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:35,639 Speaker 1: have tapped into them when they're on hallucinogens. Yeah. We 501 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: have a guy by the name of Rick Strassman, m 502 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:42,159 Speaker 1: D who researched the hypothetical energy yet unproven connection between 503 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,760 Speaker 1: the pineal gland and the production of d mt uh. 504 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 1: The first he was very interested in the pineal gland. 505 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:51,159 Speaker 1: Then he got very interested in d MT. He actually 506 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,639 Speaker 1: performed the first new human studies with psychedelic drugs in 507 00:27:55,640 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: the US, and over twenty years back in between when 508 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 1: he was he does about sixty volunteers with d MT. 509 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,280 Speaker 1: Eventually ended up canceling the research because he grew too 510 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 1: concerned about the pot of the negative effects that some 511 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:13,639 Speaker 1: of these individuals were having on these trips, seeing some 512 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 1: frightening things, uh, lizardman, godlike beings freaking out as they 513 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:21,960 Speaker 1: dissolve into light, that kind of thing, which, as we 514 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 1: discussed in our psychedelic episodes, can certainly happen. But he 515 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:28,880 Speaker 1: he did formulate a number of just kind of really 516 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,960 Speaker 1: out their ideas. I mean, from the time you you 517 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: you read what the man has written, and he's not 518 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,880 Speaker 1: a complete lumin or anything. I don't want to paint 519 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:39,959 Speaker 1: him like that, but he has some very far reaching 520 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,560 Speaker 1: ideas about what the pineal gland might consist of in 521 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 1: what it's doing, and and he gets into some some 522 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,200 Speaker 1: really interesting territory where he's entertaining the notion that d 523 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: MT actually affects the brain's ability to receive information not 524 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:58,480 Speaker 1: just in turping and generated, and that it can potentially 525 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: allow us to perceive dark matter in parallel universes. So it's, uh, 526 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: it's all very theoretical. Um, you know, don't take that 527 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 1: to the bank. But but I do find it really 528 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 1: really interesting. It is interesting. I mean, it's certainly in 529 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:17,160 Speaker 1: an extrapolation on what Nobel laureate Julius axel Rod found 530 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,760 Speaker 1: is that the brain does have naturally occurring trace amounts 531 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,440 Speaker 1: UM of d m T in the brain. And then 532 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: some people have taken this to say the peneal brain 533 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: is is um where it's made, and perhaps there's some 534 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:37,760 Speaker 1: sort of um connection connection between psychosis and even hallucinogens 535 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: or I should say hallucinations. But again, a lot of 536 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: this is all unproven at this point. We just all 537 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 1: we know for sure is trace amounts that are naturally 538 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 1: occurring in the brain of d MT, d MT being 539 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: this hallucinogen substance. Yeah, to what extent are we coming 540 00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,840 Speaker 1: back around to the same mistake of attributing spiritual and 541 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,800 Speaker 1: ordinance to this little nut in the brain, or are 542 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: we coming around to some truth about it that it is. 543 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: I mean, obviously it has something that it has. It 544 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: has stuff to do with the way that we since 545 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: and understand the world. But to what degree, so exactly. Yeah, 546 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,480 Speaker 1: you know, we we didn't talk about the third eye 547 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:21,440 Speaker 1: is being a Freemason symbol. Oh of course, yes, the 548 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 1: what the the name for it at the top of 549 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:28,880 Speaker 1: the dollar, the triangle with the eye, Yeah, yeah, I 550 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 1: mean that's the third eye. But whatever we've we've seen 551 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,840 Speaker 1: that in It's in the US Great Seal on dollar bill. 552 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 1: And of course there's a lot of conspiracy theorist who 553 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: will point to that dollar bill and say that, you know, 554 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: that's that's that's the work of freemasons. Um, But from 555 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 1: what I understand, Ben Franklin, who was the only Freemason 556 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,880 Speaker 1: who worked on the currency at that time, proposed a 557 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,440 Speaker 1: design and it did not have that third eye in it. 558 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: So also, um, that dollar bill third eye symbol was 559 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: in you I think, uh far, maybe like a decade 560 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: or more before the Freemason's even began to use it. 561 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 1: The eye of Providence, that's right. Yeah, yeah. And actually, 562 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: if you want to know more about that, you should 563 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:12,320 Speaker 1: totally check out stuff they don't want you to know 564 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,560 Speaker 1: because they do some deep dives into that territory. And 565 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: I really need to look it up because I was 566 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 1: not familiar with the term. I have providence to like, 567 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: just a couple of weeks ago, I was in yoga, 568 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,080 Speaker 1: and this is gonna sound hippie dippy, but during Shabasna, 569 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 1: I saw this, uh that when you're in rest. Yeah, yeah, 570 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: I saw this, this triangle, like a pulsating triangle. It 571 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: seemed like it might be God or something, you know, 572 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:37,000 Speaker 1: like that was the kind of vibe I was getting 573 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,800 Speaker 1: off of it. So afterwards, like, hi, I wonder if 574 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:41,720 Speaker 1: there are any ideas out there of like that interpret 575 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:46,240 Speaker 1: God or a divine being as like a like a triangle, 576 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,240 Speaker 1: you know, like in a very geometric, like stripped down 577 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 1: since and that was the closest thing I have to find. 578 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,840 Speaker 1: It was like Shiva's that call. Yeah, only the yogi's 579 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,160 Speaker 1: gonna laugh at that. Oh and I should also mention 580 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 1: that one of the things that got me into this 581 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 1: particular podcast, as I was thinking back to, the old 582 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,640 Speaker 1: horror movie From Beyond, was based on a Lovecraft story 583 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: and that has a lot to do with monsters with 584 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:12,400 Speaker 1: pennil glands that end up poking out of their head 585 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,440 Speaker 1: and squirming around like worms, and it's a lot of fun. 586 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 1: Do you have a great blog post on that? Yeah? Yeah, 587 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:19,720 Speaker 1: you can check it out. I do the Monster of 588 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: the Week deal when I have when I have time. 589 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:26,160 Speaker 1: All right, So there you have it. We hope you 590 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:29,239 Speaker 1: enjoyed this classic episode. As always, be sure to check 591 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: out stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. That's where 592 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,640 Speaker 1: you'll find all the past episodes, all the blog posts, 593 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: all the videos, and links out to our various social 594 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 1: media accounts, and if you have thoughts, send them our way. 595 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,880 Speaker 1: You can do that by emailing us that Blow the 596 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:48,200 Speaker 1: Mind how Stuff works dot com for more on this 597 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how Stuff Work 598 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:51,320 Speaker 1: dot com.