There are actually three stars in the Alpha Centauri system (The Earthside Trilogy). Most people know that our closest celestial neighbor is a binary system composed of Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, but there’s a third star not far from them – Proxima Centauri. You can’t credit the scientists with being very creative with their names, and at a distance of over four light years, we aren’t likely to visit there soon. There’s nothing to see there anyway, as there are no habitable planets in that system. So if Earth is destroyed and we have to find another planet to inhabit, we’ll have to look a bit further.
Dark matter is real, it’s everywhere, and we know nothing about it (Splinter). For all its appearances in scifi, it’s still a great mystery to scientists. We know it’s around, but nobody knows what it does, or why. Speculation makes for great stories, though, so here’s hoping they don’t discover anything that makes any of our stories completely wrong or irrelevant!
Medications for emotional disorders are a game of trial and error (Obsidian). I knew this from a few people that have struggles with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, but I didn’t realize how much doctors have to experiment and adjust medications for mood disorders to get the right balance until I was researching Obsidian. It happens with medications for physical ailments, but it’s more of a balancing act with the moods than with anything else, because no two people react the same. That’s why it’s vitally important for people on these medications to be under close watch by their physician. And by the way, antipsychotic drugs should NEVER be given to a person with dementia, because it can accelerate their decline, and even cause death quicker.
A word of warning: while this is good to know, it won't win you friends or influence people in a good way, especially with those in the medical community. For some reason, they get pissy when they find out that you know this tidbit of information.
Some people still believe that illness is a demonic attack (Anywhere But Here). It’s commonly known that people in Biblical times believed this, and that many of the “demons” that Jesus cured were physical or mental ailments that had people in bondage. When you’re sick, it’s certainly tempting to believe it’s demonic in nature, but there are still people in this day and time that believe any kind of sickness is a result of bad living or bad thinking. Science has confirmed that a positive state of mind is helpful in accelerating healing and keeping a balance that helps you resist disease; however, it can’t alter biochemistry, physical injuries and imperfections, or viruses and bacteria that don’t know or care what you think. I guess I could believe in demons making me sick a lot easier if I didn’t have narrow sinus passages prone to problems. I haven’t been able to ‘think’ those nasal passages any wider yet, and must rely on the ‘magic’ of antihistamines and saline rinses to keep them clear of those ‘demons.’
Djinn are to Islam what angels and demons are to Christians (Move). Genies are popular lore from the east for a reason: Islam believes a third race of beings was created made of smokeless fire called djinn. This is where the legends of genies in lamps that grant wishes like you see in Aladdin come from, but alas, they are not cute and fun. In fact, they’re quite dangerous, because they are the angels and demons that Christians believe in, and for better or worse, they believe that djinn on Earth are dangerous and humans should not intervene with them at all. Plus, those favors come at a price, and it’s usually big and painful. It gives new meaning to “be careful what you wish for.” Now when I get a pesky waiter at a restaurant or store that won’t leave me alone, it makes me wonder if they’re a djinn, and I try to get as far away from them as possible.
I’m always stumbling across more random facts, so stay tuned. You never know what I’ll discover next, or how it can come in handy outside the rabbit hole of my writing.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of your week.
Bye!