Musings on our one track minds and butt prints in the sand

One of the more exciting trick plays in football is when a receiver gets the ball and throws to the quarterback. It is a role reversal that catches defenses off-guard if executed with finesse. Role reversal has a wow factor in sports. The same is also true in science.

One of the most interesting findings I have seen in a long time comes from a study just published in Science. Activation of neural pathways has always been thought to be a one-way street. The German and British research team lead by Tamar Dugladze found evidence of "back-propagation" under specific conditions. Instead of activity moving from axon to cell body to dendrites of one neuron to the axon of the next neuron, they found that signals could sometimes originate in the axon (typically the receiver) and move backwards to the dendrites of another neuron. More study is needed, but the findings indicate there are important exceptions to the rule that activation only goes in one direction.

The study in Science is fascinating for several reasons. Electrochemical signals were found to flow in the "wrong" direction during times of high levels of activation, such heightened arousal during intense concentration or "fight or flight" reactions. The researchers even identified the gating mechanism that normally keeps activation moving in "right" direction. The researchers suggest that it could revolutionize treatment of disorders like epilepsy. I could not help but wonder if the bigger revolution may come in treatment of psychiatric disorders like anxiety and mania which involve high levels of arousal. Perhaps the same gating mechanism fails and allows dysfunctional neural network activity, contributing to poorly controlled emotional states.

As a person of faith, I have always been astonished at the idea that science and faith are incompatible. Science can be thought as a gift from God to better understand the world around us, manage our limited natural resources, improve quality of life, and alleviate suffering. All too often, people of faith demonstrate profound ignorance in attacking science. If science challenges your faith, then your faith is weak or you simply do not understand how science works. We are all diminished by such ignorance.

During the 2012 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, cancer survivor James McDonald described how going to the doctor was part of his active faith and an important part of the miracle of him becoming cancer free. To make the point, he modified a popular poem about footprints in the sand to "Butt prints in the sand."

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
"But Lord they are too big for feet."

"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."

"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know.
So I got tired, I got fed up,
and there I dropped you on your butt."

"Because in life, there comes a time,
when one must fight, and one must climb.
When one must rise and take a stand,
or leave their butt prints in the sand."

Rejecting the miraculous gift of science is a great way to make sure there are many butt prints in the sand. Applied sciences like medicine, technology, and engineering cannot move forward without basic sciences. Attacking science is a clear sign of immature or fragile faith. I call it backwards propagation.