How it Works

Here we will investigate the how & why of gut bacteria and its effects on the human mind and body. These posts are conjecture, but rooted in observation. While it is not yet conclusive, we do believe there is merit to be had in this research. Also, please note that these posts were written in chronological order, so later posts may contradict/correct earlier ones as new information was gained.


Table of Contents:

Gut Bacteria and Stress
Conjecture on Criminality
Looking to Literature
On Mistakes
Night People
Attraction & Connection
The Hidden Hand? Enter Candida Albicans
The Empire Cycle
Sins of the Father
The Hidden Value of Art

Gut Bacteria and Stress

We know that gut bacteria can influence our cravings for food, and while this makes sense on a surface level, it underlines the power of these microbes - to communicate with the host. When we have a craving, we assume it's coming from ourselves, that it's our thought. If gut bacteria can influence our thoughts about food, is it possible they could influence other thoughts as well?

Numerous conditions characterized by undue stress have been associated with gut bacteria imbalance (see the list of links on our home page) - could it be possible that microbes are influencing our thoughts to cause stress? And if so, why would they cause us stress? What would be the benefit for them? One explanation could be that stress increases gut permeability. If the lining of the intestines becomes permeable, microbes that are typically confined to the gut can escape into the bloodstream and spread to other organs - in effect, giving them new "lands" to colonize. Could this be their motive?

The scope of the influence gut bacteria can have on human thought is yet to be determined. On the extreme end we have schizophrenia, which has been shown in numerous recent clinical experiments to be linked to gut bacteria imbalance - so much so that researchers were able to determine if a patient had schizophrenia or not just by looking at their gut bacteria. This is a disease that is characterized by delusions and hallucinations and is extremely stressful for the patient. At first glance, we might assume this is too complicated a ruse for bacteria to pull off, but perhaps we have simply underestimated the depth of their ability to communicate with the host's brain.

Conjecture on Criminality

Once we understand that gut bacteria can make us suffer, it raises another question - what about when someone causes another person to suffer? Could one colony of gut bacteria be aware of a similar colony in another person? We understand that bacteria can send information to the brain in such a refined manner that it is naturally interpreted as the host's own thoughts - this would suggest a level of consciousness that is at least on par with a human's. Perhaps these bacteria can not only "write" but also "read" - perhaps they are able to see through our eyes, hear through our ears, and when they sense a target - someone with weak constitution (likely also afflicted with bad bacteria) - they know who to attack to benefit the colony residing within them.

A common trope is the bully who is abused at home, but it is irrational. When we see irrational behavior it should be a red flag that the person, the host, may not be in control. Why would someone who understands suffering cause another person to suffer? In sadistic crimes the motive is typically attributed to "power", but it seems more likely that the motive is to cause suffering rather than to simply boost the ego of the perpetrator. "Power" is the rationalization for the action, the reason for the action is knowable by its fruit. At the end of the day, all antisocial behavior is irrational and should be investigated further.

The way we respond to crime is further indicative of an infectious cause - we quarantine our criminals in jails and prisons. We can assume that the more serious the nature of one's crimes, the less control they have over their actions, and therefore the parasite must have a greater degree of control over the host. In response, the state quarantines more thoroughly infected people for a longer span of time, but this is for the benefit of society, little is done to rehabilitate the criminal.

I personally believe we can rehabilitate criminals by curating the gut microbiome. Without any attention paid to the gut, however, criminal tendencies are likely to persist after release.

Looking to Literature

By cross-referencing our new-found knowledge of gut bacteria with the world of literature, we can see we've actually known about this connection in some form for quite some time. Every villain has a tragic backstory - why is this? Because it wouldn't make sense if they didn't. Now that we understand that stress will increase gut permeability and allow colonization throughout the body by microbes that thrive by causing stress in the host and others he meets, we can see the behind-the-scenes biomechanical process of someone becoming corrupted by tragedy.

Another interesting note about villains is how commonly they have bad breath, which is obviously caused by bad bacteria that lives in the mouth. There is an extremely high correlation between gum disease and mental illness, in one study as high as 99%. Maybe this is a chicken-or-the-egg scenario, but given what we already know about gut bacteria and the fact that we're swallowing our saliva all day (and all the bacteria in it), it follows that the bacteria from the oral cavity is likely a major source for the bacteria in the gut.
TIP: try oil pulling for a very clean mouth.

In various religions we see passages about the importance of cleanliness. In Islam they talk about djinn (like demons, they have the ability to possess people) and where they live: dirty places like bathrooms, graveyards, and slaughterhouses - places with high amounts of microbial life. Interestingly, sage smoke acts as an antimicrobial and it just so happens to keep djinn away. It would seem that our old idea of spirits that control and cause harm to the living was our best explanation for people behaving out-of-character. Now, with the advent of the microscope, we know these environments are teeming with microbes - and through recent studies on schizophrenia, we know this madness-inducing disease is caused by colonization of the gut with particular microbes. It seems that a link has been clear for some time between dirty places and poor mental health - now obvious: the culprit is a microbe.

On Mistakes

Mistakes are a curious phenomenon. Since the word "mistake" has many uses, I would like to refine this to "an action that causes self-detriment, large or small". It's likely never in an organism's own interest to cause harm to itself, so why are mistakes so prevalent? If I could, I'd like to give you an anecdote from before I started taking probiotics about a simple but confounding mistake:

I was at the gym, walking behind a row of treadmills that were plugged into the wall. Noticing this, I thought to myself "I'd better not step on that cord, I'd hate to cut the power off to that treadmill while that guy is using it, could be embarrassing." Then, not three seconds later, I step on the power cord, it cuts off power to the treadmill, the guy on it was mad, and it was embarrassing! Now, as far as I can recall, my mind hadn't wandered to another topic, I was watching where I was walking, but I still managed to do the one thing I was actively focused on not doing. How could this happen?

After going down this gut bacteria research rabbit hole, I feel confident in saying I believe this action was performed by a second consciousness, one that wanted me to suffer the tiny bit that would come with a small embarrassment. I understand this might be traditionally interpreted as not accepting responsibility for my actions, or simply being careless, but given my focus on avoiding this very easily avoidable situation, I don't think such a simple dismissal is warranted here.

This is a very direct example, but think of how many people do things that are not in their best interest, things that will cause suffering maybe in the immediate future, maybe further down the line. For a while we can chalk this up to ignorance, but once the patterns of action and negative result are well-established and the person continues to engage in such actions, it becomes apparent that the suffering is the goal. Then the question must be asked, what healthy organism would cause itself to suffer?

There is a popular notion that human beings are irrational, and this is used to (poorly) explain away all the inconsistencies between our desires and our actions. However, if we accept the notion that we are irrational by nature then we have no hope of improving.

The notion of "intelligence" must also be called into question. Intelligence could simply be people who make fewer mistakes, people who are less burdened by a sabotaging microbial consciousness. Might it then be possible to make a genius from an idiot? It is certainly possible to create an idiot from a genius through unhealthy (pro-fungal) behaviors (drugs, lack of exercise, high-carb diet).

Night People

Like most (maybe all?) organisms, bacteria have circadian rhythms. And it seems their presence can affect our own circadian rhythm. In one study, it was found that mice treated with antibiotics, effectively destroying their gut microbiome, showed increased nocturnal activity but not increased diurnal activity. After using antibiotics, a "power vacuum" of sorts is created in the gut - where multitudes of good bacteria once kept order, now bad bacteria can thrive.

Sleep disorders are highly correlated with gut dysbiosis. It has been shown that different strains of bacteria have different cycles - some are 12:12 hours of light and dark, some are 15:15, and so on. Could it be that these bad bacteria have different circadian rhythms than good bacteria? And if they're up at night, does that mean the host will be kept up at night too? "Anxiety at night" returns nearly 60% more results on Google compared to "Anxiety during day". Based on prior observations connecting negative thoughts with bad bacteria, could it be that anxiety tends to be worse at night because that's when they're "awake" and more apt to communicate with the host?

A 2017 study by the FBI found that more severe violent crimes were likely to take place at night. This is also common knowledge - there is long-standing folk wisdom in not staying out late at night. If the people who are out and about at night are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior, perhaps now we have some insight into the biological drivers of these crimes.

On a more personal level, a recent Harvard Medical School study have identified a causal link in the gut between sleep deprivation and premature death. Molecules known as "reactive oxidative species" (ROS) were found to accumulate in the gut of fruit flies and mice when deprived of sleep, damaging DNA and leading to cell death. Luckily, they found 11 compounds including melatonin that act as antioxidants and can neutralize the ROS molecules. Melatonin is primarily produced in the gut, presumably by good bacteria. Could it be that depriving the host of sleep prevents good bacteria from adhering to their natural circadian rhythm, rendering them unable to produce these life-saving antioxidants? And if bad bacteria can induce insomnia, then their threat posed is clearly a deadly one.

Attraction & Connection

If we view the human consciousness as a collective of microbiological consciousnesses, it gives us a new lens with which to view our romantic attractions. Since this blog is more focused on aberrant behavior, let's take a look at those who are attracted to people that would make less-than-ideal partners.

Why would someone be attracted to someone with a severe substance abuse problem? Why would someone be attracted to someone who would be violent towards them? Why would someone be attracted to someone who was hopelessly depressed? These are not universally attractive features, but certain people are drawn to partners who will undoubtedly cause problems in their life.

We explored earlier the notion that detrimental microbes might influence us to suffer for their own benefit. In the case of romantic attraction though, it would seem this trait goes a level deeper. With physical connection comes the transfer of microbes, and likely cross-pollination between partners. If we think about a kiss and how many microbes live in the mouth, could it be that one person's microbes are able to notice a similarly affected person and initiate desire to invite in similar or symbiotic strains?

More deviant sexual behavior seems to have a correlation with increased microbe transfer. The "dirtier" an act is, the more attractive it becomes to someone who is unwell. Why would sucking toes ever be attractive to someone? If we look at it from a microbial perspective, the feet are going to pick up more microbes from the environment than any other body part, they are inherently "dirty". On the extreme end, we have analingus - an increasingly common practice. Viewed through the microbial lens, this is a massive opportunity for transfer of pathogens which no one who was looking to maintain their health would participate in.

This attraction to filth is inexplicable until we account for microbiological consciousness, however once we do, it starts to make sense - as does the attraction to unwell partners. In the West there is a cultural aversion to "kink shaming", the idea that no sexual practice should be demonized. This is particularly ironic given that the attraction to filth and the practices involved are literally transmitting what we may come to recognize as the source of our "demons". While not sexual in nature, I invite you to watch a short video on the world's dirtiest man, and think about how anyone could become like this.


The Bright Side Not all connections need to be negative, however, and I believe microbial connections are responsible for the bonds we share between our friends and families. In Rupert Sheldrake's study, "Experimental Tests For Telephone Telepathy", he explored the common yet mysterious phenomenon of knowing who's calling before answering the phone. For this study he had a pool of four people, one of whom would call the guesser, and the guesser would try and determine who was calling. He did two rounds of testing - for the first round, the guesser chose their pool of callers, and they would typically choose close friends and family members. One would expect by pure chance to guess correctly 25% of the time, but in this case, the guessers averaged 42% correct. In the second round of testing, complete strangers chosen at random were used, and for these callers the guesser only guessed right 25% of the time.

This suggests some sort of "familiarity factor" is at play, and I believe the answer may lie in the participants' guts. If we think about the behavior of friends and family, it becomes obvious that they would come to share microbes. Chances are you share an environment, and likely share meals. Environmental microbes are everywhere, but often location-specific. Maybe a colony of mold lives in your air conditioning, for example. Everyone in that environment will end up with microbes from the same colony split between them - and if microbes can influence or perhaps even generate our consciousness, could a shared colony result in a shared consciousness between two people? And could this shared microbial consciousness be the "familiarity factor" that allows for this telepathic connection?

I aim to test this in the next couple months. I will be conducting an experiment you can read more about here.

The Hidden Hand?
Enter Candida Albicans

In researching gut dysbiosis and the various conditions associated with it, I have found strong correlation with Candida Albicans overgrowth (Autism, Schizophrenia, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, just to name a few). It would seem that in the absence of beneficial bacteria, C. Albicans can flourish, and perhaps in the presence of C. Albicans, bacteria become stunted.

Furthermore, we know the first course of action in treating gut dysbiosis is to change one's diet. These changes are always to cut out sugar, alcohol, and carbohydrates, essentially a ketogenic diet - and these are exactly the foods that C. Albicans thrives on. When C. Albicans is starved, symptoms from any number of associated conditions are reduced, and if their preferred foods are reintroduced, the symptoms flare again. C. Albicans is hard to kill completely due to its tendency to form biofilms in the GI tract, making it resistant to antifungal drugs (many of which are somewhat toxic to the heart and liver). The mental health benefits from a ketogenic diet can be seen after just a few days, with an added boost by taking coconut oil daily (a natural antifungal). I believe the "sharpness of mind" that people report on a ketogenic diet is due to the reduced influence of C. Albicans on one's consciousness.

Could C. Albicans be the cause of this seemingly wide array of psychological and autoimmune illnesses it's correlated with? We can only hope for such a concise target to attack. If anyone is questioning the ability of fungi to control their host, I would like to share with you this dramatic NatGeo video on Cordyceps. Cordyceps are fungi that infect ants and then direct them to climb to a higher location, clamp their pincers down to lock themselves in place, and die. The Cordyceps fruiting bodies then emerge from the ant, and rain spores down on the colony below, infecting more ants.

C. Albicans's goal is likely similar, but its mechanism for spreading is clearly different. It could be primarily through sexual contact as suggested in this study on fungi and Multiple Sclerosis. In it, they found that MS is very rare in children, and starts to become prevalent upon sexual maturation, leading researchers to believe the fungus can be transmitted sexually. As far as C. Albicans's effects on the host's behavior - could C. Albicans incite sexual promiscuity to spread itself? To my knowledge, no study has been conducted, but it seems a likely avenue of reproduction for C. Albicans, and it wouldn't be the first time a parasitic fungus has induced hypersexuality in the host to spread itself.

The Empire Cycle

We've explored a bit about the impacts of gut dysbiosis on the individual, but now let's take a moment to consider the group. How many people acting in a destructive manner can a society support? The answer may be impossible to determine, but there is surely a tipping point where a society begins to fall apart.

The average lifespan of an empire is about 250 years, and it seems they share a series of stages over their lifetime. Military historian Sir John Bagot Glubb identified them as:

The Age of Pioneers (Outburst)
The Age of Conquests
The Age of Commerce
The Age of Affluence
The Age of Intellect
The Age of Decadence
The Age of Decline & Collapse

We will focus on the Age of Decadence since that is most likely associated with loss of control and therefore probable parasitic interference. This age was marked by defensiveness, pessimism, materialism, frivolity, an influx of foreigners, the Welfare State, and a weakening of religion. Glubb attributed this decadence to an excessively long period of wealth and power, selfishness, love of money, and the loss of a sense of duty.

This is a curious notion - why should any period of wealth and power be considered excessive? Why couldn't an empire have indefinite wealth and power? There seems to be a sort of built-in limiter on human prosperity that prevents us from growing an empire past a certain point.

My first inclination is that this is likely due to diet. After x many years, an empire has had so many generations without significant food scarcity. I believe it could be that it takes so many generations to cultivate a decadent gut microbiome in a typical agrarian society. I do believe this limiter is able to be bypassed, but it would require a non-grain-based diet, which would be extremely expensive to maintain for a large population. Grains are by far the cheapest way to feed many people. Unfortunately, they also feed Candida, and before you know it you've reached that tipping point, that magic x% of people that have become selfish and lost their sense of duty, and things just start to not work right.

Selfishness is a good indicator of Candida overgrowth - like our other indicators, it is irrational. A rational person would understand that supporting the group is key for long-term group success. Candida, by its nature though has other plans for us. Fungi are decomposers in nature, turning fallen trees and animal carcasses into rich soil for the next generation of plants. Parasitic fungi, it would make sense to assume, want to hurry along our dying process so that they can feast and flourish on our bodies. And so, the more influence parasitic fungi have over the host, the more they are likely to drive them towards death through bad decisions - and selfishness on a large scale will eventually dissolve the group, and leave each member that much more vulnerable.

Sins of the Father

Certainly of note is the fact that gut microbes are passed down from mother to child. It seems that a transfer process takes place during birth, and if it is avoided (as in birth by C-section), the child will have significantly fewer bacteria from the mother and an increase in strains common in hospital environments. Given the apparent links between the gut microbiome and consciousness, a shared microbiome would probably confer a stronger bond. Interestingly, mothers that give birth via C-section display a weaker bond with their child than those born through normal vaginal delivery. Interestingly too, the "new baby smell" seems to be missing from babies born via C-section. This could be due to the gut microbiome's influence on body odor. Perhaps because the baby doesn't share the mother's microbiota, he doesn't register as "hers" by smell, affecting their ability to bond. Nevertheless, this microbe transfer does not discriminate between good and bad microbes, so if a mother has a Candida overgrowth, it will likely be passed on to the child during childbirth.

In this blog we've primarily discussed psychological and autoimmune disorders and their ties to pathogenic microbes in the gut. Both of these types of disorders "run in the family", but scientists are left scratching their heads as to what genes are responsible (hint: it's not genes). When we analyze the behavior of people suffering from psychological disorders through a religious lens, we see a lot of sinning - so let's take a look at the seven deadly sins from a microbial perspective.

Lust: this one we touched on briefly in "The Hidden Hand? Enter Candida Albicans" and it's pretty straightforward, microbes want to colonize other bodies and hijack our sexual urges to spread themselves via our bodily fluids to achieve that goal.

Gluttony: also pretty straightforward - we only need to eat a certain amount to survive & thrive. If one is driven to indulge past that point, the influence of a parasitic infection is likely.

Greed: I believe the driving motivation behind greed is stress. If one is greedy, they're never satisfied, and in a state of stress, one's blood sugar raises. This benefits parasitic fungi who need sugar to sustain themselves. If they can keep the host in a state of stress, they will remain well-fed.

Sloth: This one I believe is two-fold. First, in a physical sense - when you move, your blood circulation improves. This brings more oxygen through the body, and Candida prefers a low-oxygen environment, so it would prefer you stay as sedentary as possible. Not only this, but exercise will lower blood sugar, which Candida wants to keep as high as possible. I think this could explain why people who are depressed, for example, will avoid exercising even though they know it will improve their condition. The other form of sloth is mental - if you are unwilling to put forth the effort to solve your problem, then you will never defeat it.

Wrath: I think the impetus behind wrath is to inflict stress, both on an external target and the wrathful person. If wrath escalates to violence, all the better for parasitic fungi, they love a weaker, injured host. Self-injury as well (cutting, etc) would also be beneficial to parasites. When the skin is broken, any microbes that were on the skin can now easily enter the bloodstream. If wrath escalates to murder, this is also good for fungi, who are natural decomposers and will feast on the corpse once the immune system dies with the person.

Envy: more stress induction, leads to division/isolation and harming one's neighbor.

Pride: again, more stress induction. You've got a disconnection between your perception and reality, and this is bound to cause friction and stress. On top of that, you will be unlikely to see a problem with yourself and therefore unlikely to change. There is certainly a mental sloth element to pride. This inability to see flaws in oneself I think is a defense mechanism of Candida - after all, if it's not a problem, why treat it? In my experience, people who have significant health issues, whether autoimmune disorders, psych disorders, or both, are the least likely to consider gut health as a possible cause. Even when these people will admit they have issues, they often refuse to treat them. I can see the cognitive dissonance playing out in front of me when I offer them a solution, and it is both sad and terrifying. It seems Candida can prevent them from coming to the conclusion that it could be the source of their problems.

Now that we understand how the seven deadly sins benefit the parasitic fungi, we can see them in a different light. And when we combine that with the knowledge that these microbes can be passed down to the next generation, passages from the bible revolving around intergenerational sin and suffering start to make a whole lot of sense:

"The Lord...visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."
(Exodus 34:6–7)

The relationship between sin and fungal infection doesn't end there, however. If Candida is inside everyone, can integrate into our consciousness and steer us towards sin - well that sounds a lot like Satan. Could it be that the personified character of Satan was created to express a much more complex concept, an invisible (before microscopes) force that led men astray? If that is the case, they were sure to include one very important detail - Satan is a separate entity from those under his influence. Evil thoughts are not one's own, but the devil whispering in one's ear. This acknowledgement of the separation of the source of evil thoughts from the person experiencing them is of crucial importance, it allows the individual to retain their divine and uncorrupted nature and accept forgiveness. This separation is mirrored in the host/parasite relationship, and if Candida is in fact the source of evil thoughts (which, given its prevalence in those suffering from various types of madness, seems possible), perhaps by eliminating Candida mankind could finally free ourselves from the burden of "Satan's influence".

The Hidden Value of Art

Art is unique in that what it is communicating doesn't need to be true/proven to have value. It is solely the expression of its creator, and in that sense, acts as a lens into their mind and lets other people see how they feel. This in itself has tremendous value, because it allows us to see trends in how people were feeling at a particular time, in a particular area, etc. Art, if viewed properly, can be an incredible diagnostic tool for analyzing the psyche of a culture.

If I may, I'd like to take you on a brief photo tour of art in the Western world.


We can see a general trend of art improving in complexity and realism in the West up until the fall of Rome. When the Roman Empire collapsed, the people's ability to make art seems to have collapsed with it - but why? I believe it has to do with stress. When times are good people don't have to worry about basic survival as much and are free to hone their skills. When Rome fell, it introduced a great amount of chaos into Europe and the Mediterranean, and the crudeness of the art produced during that time reflects that.

While not permanent, it took nearly 1,000 years for European artists to return to the level of those in ancient Rome. This is the price of collapse: 1,000 years of progress lost. European artists in the 15th century finally hit their stride again in what is known as the Renaissance and produced works of art that to this day are revered as the most beautiful ever created. Artists were able to capture scenes in stunning detail, achieving both photorealistic and dramatic representation in their works.

These glory days continued until the latter half of the 19th century when Impressionism took root in France and spread throughout Europe. Impressionists chose not to focus on the details of their subjects, instead using loose brushwork and vibrant colors to capture their subjects in the moment. This might sound fine by today's standards, but it was a striking divergence from the artistic orthodoxy of the 19th century and the Impressionists were initially met with harsh criticism.

Now you might be thinking, "who cares? Art is all about breaking the rules and pushing boundaries. Why are these realist painters bothered by Impressionists?" Well, consider this - maybe art has been about breaking the rules for the past several generations, but it was not always this way. If we look to the greater history of art, we see a tradition building upon the works of its ancestors, becoming increasingly more impressive. Then, the Impressionists come along and decide that what has been important, what has been valued for all our history is no longer the ideal. There is an orthodoxy to art, and I use that term intentionally because the rules that make good art are religious in nature.

The main point of religion, as far as I can see, is to acknowledge that there is an ideal way to live, and to strive to meet that goal. The ideal way to live is derived from many generations of experience, observing what happens to those who try different things and seeing what generates health and prosperity for the individual and the community.

One might wonder, what is the value in art anyway? A nice pastime? Decoration for wealthy estates? No, I think it's much deeper than that. To be able to draw photorealistically, you have to be able to see your subject. Not just look at your subject, but really see them. You need to be able to focus on what you're seeing in the real world as it exists in front of you. When a child draws a picture of a person, it looks awkward and simple, why? Because when they're drawing, they're not drawing from the subject, they're drawing from what's known in psychology as a schematic memory. If you've seen eyes before and you have a general sense of what an eye should look like, your mind saves a blueprint of "eye" for efficiency in recognizing eyes. So when a child draws an eye, they will draw from this schematic memory, even if a model is in front of them to reference. The practice of art is to disregard what you think something looks like, and instead to acknowledge what it actually looks like. The accuracy of your drawing is a measure of your ability to defer to reality over your own inner suppositions. Drawing is, in effect, an exercise to defeat the ego.

The people at the time may or may not have been able to place their finger on what was so bothersome about this new, loose style of painting, but I think on some level they realized that this was a movement away from the ideal, a movement that bolstered the ego above our shared reality. The instability that could be caused if every individual's perspective lost touch with the commonality we use to communicate and collaborate, it would spell death for a civilization. I believe this is why the people in late 19th century France had such a disgusted reaction to this "soft and playful" style of painting - they could see right through it, and knew there was something terribly wicked behind this movement.

As the 19th century drew to a close, the art got weirder and uglier with each passing year. By the beginning of the 20th century we had full-on abstract art becoming mainstream. What defines abstract art? Form drawn from no subject, no connection to our shared reality, the creation is completely from the mind of the artist, it is 100% ego-art. What is the implication of artists deciding they don't need to be at all grounded in reality? Communication must be meaningless, otherwise they would want to paint something recognizable. Skill is worthless, otherwise they would hone their practice instead of just smearing color like an animal. Human life is without value - if this is kind of artifact one would produce and leave for future generations, they must hold humanity itself in contempt. When unsuspecting museum-goers view abstract art they too are imprinted with the message that humanity is something past its prime and best put out of its misery. It is a style of art designed to destroy the soul and to weaken anyone who takes part in it.

Art has yet to recover from this degradation. If you ask the average person what they think of abstract/modern art they will likely either tell you they hate it, or if they're a coward and have been brow-beaten and manipulated into thinking there is something "advanced" or "cultured" about it, they will lie and tell you they enjoy it. If they are truly sick, they may actually enjoy it.

But how did this happen to our art? What shift occurred in the late 19th century that could have so drastically changed our cultural products for the worse? One which we will explore in our next segment - the electrification of cities.

Life in the Big City

Many environmental changes were taking place during the late 19th century, the introduction of chemical food preservatives, increased pollution from factories, but the change that likely damaged our collective gut microbiomes the most is perhaps the least talked about - the electrification of our cities.

How does electric power affect the gut microbiome? Well, each power line has an electromagnetic field around it and gives off electromagnetic radiation. These fields have a frequency, and certain frequencies can harm particular organisms, while promoting the growth of others. Therefore depending on which frequencies one's body is exposed to, the makeup of their gut microbiome could be steered in a particular direction. Since we know the gut microbiome can affect one's mental state, it follows that one's mental state can be influenced by their exposure to various electromagnetic frequencies.

It is common knowledge that there are huge personality differences between urban and rural people. Urban people are known specifically to be more neurotic - this is seemingly the defining trait of city dwellers.