Note: This was the final ADD column of the original MyWeek…Scott passed away a few short days after publishing it. -DD – Dec. 2009

Ask Doktor Dave

December 2008

I’m going to keep asking you – Please take 2 seconds to leave a comment. Thank you very much, in advance. [SMILE]   Now, on to the Q&A!

AE Asks: I heard this question on a TV commercial – What came before the Big Bang?

Doktor Dave Answers: The big foreplay. [GRIN]

Ok, no joke…here’s my point of view, based on my admittedly limited understanding of existing theories. And yes, I have read a few books on the subject.

1. In theory, our universe came into being as a by-product of the Big Bang.
2. All of our accumulated knowledge, theoretical and otherwise, has been accrued by comparison. Simply put, we know stuff because we observe that one thing is different than another thing, or different than “normal”.

For instance – we’ve observed a condition where air pressure could be notably less than the “normal” pressure we live at everyday. We call this condition a vacuum. If we couldn’t compare the difference in air pressure, we wouldn’t have knowledge of the phenomenon.

Given these concepts, how can we know of anything that might have existed or caused the big bang? We have no other universes to compare ours to.

So “the big foreplay” is as good (and useful) an answer as any. It’s not that we don’t know, it’s that we can’t know.

Incidentally, the currently popular universe creating theories are known as “string” theories and require 10 or more dimensions to be plausible.

Suggested reading: A Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking; The Whole She-Bang by Timothy Ferris; Connections by James Burke; The entire Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy series…just to keep perspective.

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JM Asks: What’s the difference between depression and just being depressed?

Doktor Dave Anwers: The Great Depression began in 1929, while being depressed is what happens to various buttons on many devices. Yeah, I can even joke about a mental illness that disrupts the lives of possibly a third (or more) of the nation.

Depression is an ongoing clinical condition related to chemical imbalances in the brain while being depressed is a temporary bout of sadness or melancholy. You might FEEL depressed. You might HAVE depression.

As one living with depression, I could kick the person that gave it that name. It’s caused so much misunderstanding and lack of recognition or empathy for the condition.

Most people mistake depression for “being depressed”. Depression doesn’t go away, you don’t “get over it”. Medications help depressives cope; they do not cure the condition.

If you or someone you know seems unduly sad or subdued, has problems sleeping, cries too easily or seems to be withdrawing from friends and family…please do what you can to get them to a doctor (a REAL one) for a diagnosis. Thousands, maybe millions of cases go undiagnosed every year.

You owe it to yourself, as well as those you might know that have depression, to educate yourself about the condition.

Just Google “clinical depression” and you’ll find thousands of resources.

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Dang, more serious questions…let’s lighten things up next time, ok?

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year…may the gift you get, as well as the gift you give, be the gift of love.

‘til next year…WOOT!

>Doktor Dave<