What Caught My Eye Today - Ghana, Mathematics, Presidential Gifts, College Football

Ghana - In Ghana, where deeply held religious beliefs unite much of the population, a new group, the Humanist Association of Ghana, has formed around a shared disbelief in religion. Humanism is a philosophy based on emphasizing humans over deities or religious texts. Us God-fearing folk have a name for types like this--heretic. While many humanists are atheists, it’s not required, and some humanists believe that you can practice the philosophy while still being religious. Nonetheless, humanism is seen as at best an oddity and at worst an offense in deeply devout Ghana. A recent survey said that 96% of Ghanaians are religious, the highest percentage of the 57 countries polled. Really? I would have gone with Italy or Mexico, but Ghana?   Nigeria came in second, with 93% of people claiming religion. About 70% of Ghanaians are Christians, 17% are Muslim, and the remainders belong to traditional religions or other theologies. Atheists are a tiny minority in Ghana; so tiny, in fact, that survey said 0% of Ghanaians identified as such. But not believing is becoming prevalent worldwide. The number of religious people dropped globally by 9% since 2005, according to the survey, while the number of atheists rose by 3%. The poll also showed that less prosperous countries tended to be more religious, while the ranks of the faithful were thinner in countries with more money. I'm probably in the minority here, what with religion being a rather emotional topic for many, but I don't see what the big deal is. Believe in a higher power or don't. To me this is a personal matter for individuals to decide for themselves and should not be subject to public scrutiny. To be honest, I think there is something to be said for having a little faith in humankind. For the record. I'm far from what one would call a practicing Catholic but have no qualms about my religious affiliation. 

 Mathematics - You all might want to sit down for this next item. Difficulties with math can cause some people to feel genuine pain. I knew it!  A recent study examined the brains of people with high levels of math anxiety as they performed algebra problems. For me it was trigonometry. While the volunteers waited for each question, the dorso-posterior insula, the region of the brain involved in processing pain, became especially active. The same region also appears to register intense emotional anguish, like the feelings surrounding a bad breakup. I'm going to have to disagree with this one. Solving for x was so much easier on my mental well being than that time in high school when my girlfriend ripped out my heart and left me an emotional cripple. Luckily, I'm so over that. The dorso-posterior insula became active only while volunteers waited to receive their next problem, now while they were actually doing it, leading researchers to conclude that it is not the math itself that hurts, but rather the anticipation of it. Don't I feel foolish. Here I was thinking that jumping of the cliff wasn't the painful part, but smashing into the ground was. Consider me enlightened.

Presidential Gifts - Great news everyone. You know those gift baskets that you sent to the President when he won a second term? He might have actually gotten to keep. Whenever President Barack Obama receives a gift, it's fate comes down to who gave the gift and how much it cost. If a foreign leader gives a present valued at under $350, the president can keep it. But if it costs a penny more, it is considered a gift to the American people. The State Department catalogs the worth of each gift the president receives and the haul is usually stored in the National Archive until it becomes part of the presidential library. If the President really wants one of these gifts, he is allowed to purchase it from the American people at market value. If an American citizen sends a gift, the President is free to keep it under one stipulation: He has to pay taxes on the gift. Yo POTUS, you know those Cuban cigars that I didn't send you? Those Coronas Gigantes might have set me back two c-notes, but you would so totally be worth it, my man.  Gifts the president rejects are usually sent to the National Archives or given to charity.

College Football - I don't usually like to brag about my alma mater (mostly because there is rarely an occasion to do so), but my Spartan blue and gold have managed something quite extraordinary. San Jose State has 10 wins for the seventh time in school history. This is the first time the Spartans have won 10 games since 1987. San Jose State is enjoying its best showing of the season in national polls released a day after their victory over Louisiana Tech. The Spartans received 78 votes in The Associated Press poll, more than any other team not in the Top 25; they received 105 votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, second-most among unranked teams; and they are ranked 25th in the Bowl Championship Series. I took a snapshot of the BCS rankings for posterity (that and the fact that I'm not sure this will happen again in my lifetime). A bowl game victory would give them 11 wins for the first time in more than 70 years. San Jose State declared itself a major college football program in 1950.