Tag: medicine

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Madness

Posted on by Jinavie

“As mad as a hatter” – this is a well-known English idiom, particularly famous after Lewis Carroll created the Mad Hatter character in his work Alice in Wonderland. However, what is less known is the fact that this idiom is based on actual events.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, hatters used mercury to treat felt (traditionally made from rabbit fur or the more luxurious beaver fur). Unfortunately, mercury is a highly toxic heavy metal, which causes severe damage in the human body. In the case of mercury poisoning (also known as Minamata disease or the Mad Hatter disease), it infiltrates neurons to cause severe neurological symptoms. For example, it can impair vision and hearing, cause paresthesia (pins and needles), anxiety, depression, tremors and hallucinations. The famous physicist, Isaac Newton, also suffered from Mad Hatter disease.

Another mad character from Alice in Wonderland is the March Hare. As one may deduce from his name, he is modelled after a normal hare. The reason why the March Hare is mad is that March is around the time when rabbits enter their mating season, and male hares are in heat. They then have only one thing in mind: sex. 

Maybe, as the Cheshire Cat explains, “we’re all mad down here”.

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Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Locked-in Syndrome

Posted on by Jinavie

Imagine that one day, you wake up, but then no matter how hard you try, you cannot move a single part of your body. Trying to roll out of bed, lifting your arm, or even moving your fingers is impossible. You think it is merely sleep paralysis, but you soon realise that it is not as simple as that, or even a dream. No voice escapes your throat.
The only thing you can do is blink and roll your eyes around.

Welcome to the world of Locked-in Syndrome (LIS), a neurological condition where your brain has no connection to all the muscles in your body. The actual symptoms list is: quadriplegia, paralysis of most facial muscles, inability to speak, with complete preservation of cognitive function (sometimes sensation too). In simpler terms, a LIS patient’s mind is essentially trapped inside an unmoving body, with only the senses and eyes to interact with the real world.

It is caused by damage to a part of the brainstem known as the pons, which not only carries motor nerve fibres to the spinal cord (where it then carries on to supply the muscles of the body), but is also the origin of some cranial nerves. This explains the symptoms of paralysis, even the face (e.g. damage to the facial nerve, or CN VII). More specifically, the damage only affects the pons and not the brain itself, meaning that cognition (thinking), intelligence, memory and sensation (if the fibres are spared in the brainstem) are completely functional.
This can be caused by trauma, stroke, drugs, degenerative neuropathies, or anything that can selectively damage the pons.

Due to the nature of the disease, there are no treatment or cures for LIS. Prognosis is very poor and most patients are not expected to regain motor control. This can be very distressing news to LIS patients, as it essentially means that they will be trapped in a motionless, voiceless body for the rest of their natural lives, which could feel like eternity. Although over 90% of the patients die within 4 months, some continue to survive for much longer periods. To improve their quality of life, methods have been developed to allow the patients to communicate, such as Morse code (by blinking eyes) or alphabet boards. Technology is allowing even better options such as eye-tracking and brain-computer interfaces, where a machine tries to interpret a pattern in brain activity, trying to relate a certain action to a pattern. This may allow simple communication such as yes/no answers.

Because of the almost complete paralysis, even professional neurologists often miss this condition, diagnosing the patient as being in a vegetative state.
What would it be like to be trapped in your own body – or “living corpse” as described by Alexandre Dumas in The Count of Monte Cristo – and not be able to tell others that you were still in there?

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Brain Freeze

Posted on by Jinavie

When you quickly eat or drink something cold, you experience a sudden onset of a painful headache. This is commonly known as brain freeze, or medically, a sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.

Although the cause is not perfectly understood, it is believed to be due to the coldness on the palate (roof of mouth) causing a sudden cooling and rewarming of the sinus capillaries, which causes them to suddenly constrict and then rapidly dilate. Dilation of blood vessels in this area causes pain due to receptors in the vessels. This phenomenon is similar to the cause of a flushed face when exposed to cold wind, and why it sometimes causes headaches.

The only way to prevent a brain freeze is to slowly let the mouth get used to the cold, warming the food or beverage in the mouth instead of quickly swallowing it. Warming the palate with your tongue is another effective way to shorten the duration of a brain freeze.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

CPR

Posted on by Jinavie

CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation – or in plain English, artificially (and partially) restoring the function of the heart and lungs of an unconscious, pulseless person. As blood flow (perfusion) is critical in the survival of major organs such as the brain, this procedure can save lives by prolonging a victim’s life until the paramedics arrive to provide professional medical care.

When the heart stops beating, or becomes inefficient due to erratic beating, blood flow stops. In the case of the brain, this means that the cells will start dying after 4~5 minutes if perfusion is not restored. CPR can restore about 30% of perfusion, delaying the onset of brain death.

This may be critical when someone suffers a heart attack (myocardial infarction) and paramedics will not arrive for over 10 minutes. Ergo, this is one of the most important emergency skills one should know to help people in need as soon as possible.

There are different guidelines for CPR in many countries, but here is a standard procedure guideline (NZ).
It is summarised into the acronym: DR’S ABCD (doctor’s ABCD), and is a flowchart that goes from one step to the next (detailed explanation after summary).

  1. Danger: check that area is safe and risk-free
  2. Response: check for patient response by shouting, shaking, pain
  3. Send for help: pick one person to call emergency services
  4. Airway: check airway, remove obstruction, tilt head back and lift chin
  5. Breathing: check for breathing, go to CPR if no breathing
  6. Circulation: check for pulse if breathing, if no pulse, start CPR (30 chest compressions : 2 breaths)
  7. (Defibrillation): follow AED instructions

The first rule of first aid is that you must not put yourself in danger. For example, if the patient is on the road, pull them to a safe area to minimise the risk to your own health.

Then, check for a response. The easiest way is to call loudly to them such as “Can you hear me”, and inflicting pain (such as rapping on their chest or shaking their shoulders) and see if they become conscious.

If they remain unconscious, immediately designate a person around you by pointing to them (otherwise they will be less likely to be responsible) to call the emergency service (111, 911, 119 etc.), alerting them the location and state of the patient.

This is the point when clinical skills come in.

Airway: An unconscious person may have their airway obstructed by vomit or their own tongue (which falls back by gravity into the throat). You must secure the airway by scooping out any material, and clearing the tongue out of the way. This is done by tilting the head back far (as if they are looking up), then using one hand to pull their chin out. This opens the airway up so that mouth-to-mouth becomes effective.

Breathing: Put one ear right next to the person’s nose and mouth and check for any breathing sounds or air flow. If they are breathing, check the pulse to see if they are pumping blood. If not, go straight to CPR.

Circulation: It is best to check the central pulses such as the carotid (side of neck, next to the Adam’s apple), brachial (squeeze inner side of biceps) or femoral pulses. The carotid is often the easiest as most people know how to take it. If you feel a pulse, put the patient in recovery position as they are just unconscious, breathing and has blood flowing. If not, proceed to CPR (as you do with when the patient is not breathing).

CPR is composed of two actions: chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing. The former is the strong compression of the chest wall to squeeze blood in and out of the heart; the latter is breathing air into the patient’s lungs and letting exhalation come out naturally.

Chest compressions are often misrepresented in medical dramas, and is extremely important that you do it correctly. First find where the sternum is (centre of ribcage, between the nipples) and place the heel of your left palm on it, then spread your fingers out. Put your right hand over your left and close your fingers around it for a good grip. If the patient is lying flat on the ground (with head tilted back), kneel beside them and stoop over their chest with straight, locked arms (bent arms exert much less pressure).

You are now ready to begin chest compressions. Press down hard, until the chest wall is compressed to about 1/3~½ depth (the chest wall is a springy structure, and do not worry about broken ribs, as being alive is more important for the person), then ease pressure to let it bounce back up. Ideally the time pushing and the time letting it bounce back should be the same, giving a good rhythm. Repeat this 30 times at the beat of 100/min, or in easier terms: to the beats of the Bee Gee’s song Stayin’ Alive (scientifically proven).

After 30 compressions, tilt the patient’s head back, lift their chin up, and lock your mouth over their mouth and nose to make an airtight seal. It is crucial that you use a face shield to prevent the spread of disease. Be aware that breaths are less important than the compressions, so if you do not have a face shield, let someone else do the breathing and focus on chest compressions. Pinch the nose closed to ensure air does not escape.
Forcefully breathe into them and look for the chest rising. Let go of the nose and pull away so that they can breathe out. Repeat once, then return to chest compressions.

After 2 minutes of CPR (30 compressions : 2 breaths, repeat 4 times), change places with another person capable of CPR, as otherwise you will tire out and become inefficient.

Defibrillation is only possible if you are near an AED (automated external defibrillator). Nowadays, AEDs are designed to be completely user-friendly so simply follow the instructions on the machine.

It is important to note that not all abnormal heart rhythms are “shockable” (see Flatline). Follow the AED’s instruction, as it will state whether shock is advised or not. Make sure that CPR is still happening continuously.

Repeat until help arrives.

As a final note, remember that the patient is dead whether you do CPR or not, so there is nothing to lose. Believe it or not, this will be of incredible help in calming your mind when struck with such an emergency. Even with CPR, there is a maximum 30% chance the patient will survive, 10% if it occurs outside the hospital. But if you do nothing, their survival chance will be 0%, so put all your energy into resuscitating them, and you may just save a life.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Flatline

Posted on by Jinavie

When people think of the word “flatline”, they immediately visualise a medical crisis where a patient is lying unconscious, with doctors and nurses shouting out medical terminology while administering drugs, all to the suspenseful music and apathetic monotone and single horizontal line on the ECG machine. The doctor then shouts “Clear!” and proceeds to shock the patient with two paddles. This is repeated until some structures appear on the ECG, symbolising that the crisis has been resolved.

Of course this is a scene from a typical medical drama. Television shows, especially medical ones, are notorious for sacrificing medical accuracy for the sake of drama and tension. The “flatline” is the most cliché, repeated mistake made by almost every medical television show ever made.

The proper terminology for a flatline (a colloquial term), is asystole. This means that there is no systole, or contraction of the heart. An ECG (electrocardiogram) measures electrical signals in the heart, and in asystole there is insignificant amounts of electric activity, and the classic QRS complex is not seen. In this state, the heart is not pumping any blood and is electrically silent, meaning that the patient is clinically dead.

When asked how to treat this condition, the majority of people (even medical students) will shout “Shock!” or “Defibrillate!”. Defibrillation is the administering of an electrical shock to try “reboot” the heart, and correct the fibrillation – the chaotic electrical signal interfering with the normal, rhythmic electrical activity. Unfortunately, this is completely wrong yet so often depicted on television and films.
As asystole is a state of no electrical activity, there is no fibrillation to remove, nor is there anything to reset. Defibrillation in this state may even cause harm, causing tissue damage and lowering the chance of survival.

The correct treatment is injecting adrenaline (epinephrine in the U.S.A, atropine may be administered also) and CPR. Unfortunately, asystole is a condition that cannot be reversed, unless the heart somehow restores its own electrical activity. CPR merely keeps the patient’s perfusion going to preserve the organs for a longer time. Ergo, asystole signifies certain death, especially after 5 minutes where the heart will not respond to any drugs or electric shocks. In fact, asystole is one of the conditions required for the certification of a patient’s death.

Another related example of a (potentially fatal) misrepresentation of medicine in the media is the adrenaline injection. As mentioned before, this is the treatment for asystole. However, it is administered intravenously (into a vein) and never directly into the heart as in Pulp Fiction. This is more likely to kill the patient than save them, as the heart muscles could be damaged and delicate coronary arteries may become ruptured.

So why is it that the media continues to depict such blatant errors, that set a “common sense” that affect even medical professionals? This is most likely due to the audience wanting to see a dramatic scene, in a gripping life-or-death situation with drastic, powerful action. For example, the audience would much rather see the use of paddles or a giant needle being stabbed into the patient than seeing continuous CPR with no showy movements.

The next time you watch a medical television show, count how many times the doctors try to defibrillate a flatline.

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Posted in Psychology & Medicine, Special Long Essays

Lucid Dream

Posted on by Jinavie

Dreams are wonderful things. Within a dream, nothing is impossible and the mind unleashes its full potential creativity. Is there a way to harness such power? The short answer is: yes.

Lucid dreams are defined as the state of being aware that you are in a dream. This means that unlike normal dreams, you know that you are dreaming. Although this may sound easy, it is quite hard to enter and stay in a lucid dream. Many people experience a lucid dream a few times in their life, but tend to pass it off as a normal dream or some paranormal event (many “out-of-body” experiences can be explained as lucid dreams).

The major difference between a normal dream and a lucid dream is the ability to control your dream. This concept is explored in detail in the movie Inception, where characters utilise the creative power of dreamspace, tricking the victim that they are in reality to manipulate information out of them. Inception is actually a great example of what a lucid dream is like: the architect can manipulate the dreamspace to her wishes, even going as far as ignoring the laws of physics and conjuring objects out of nothing. This ability is not exclusive to movies – you too can exert this power within your own dreams, every night.

The most important point to remember is that lucid dreams are based on memory. Reason being, if you cannot remember the dream, then it might as well not have happened. Also, you need the ability to distinguish a dream from reality, as otherwise it will pass you by without you realising. There are a few tips and tricks that can help the induction of a lucid dream.

Firstly, keep a dream diary – a record of every dream you have in excruciating detail. This not only trains your ability to remember dreams in detail, but also lets you prepare for when a lucid dream comes. So every morning when you wake up, record whatever you can remember from the night’s dream. Many people complain that they never dream, but this is false – they are merely forgetting it. After keeping a dream diary for at least a couple weeks, you will find that the frequency of dreams increase dramatically, with increasing creativity.

Secondly, look for dream signs. You will notice from your dream diary that certain things appear often in your dreams. This may be a certain person, an impossible object (such as the staircase from Inception), meeting a deceased person or something happening (e.g. falling). A classic example is a clock. In a dream, when you look at a clock (preferably digital) and blink, time suddenly leaps around, such as 3pm suddenly becoming 6pm. Looking for these signs in your surrounding can easily alert you to the fact that you are dreaming.

Lastly, do reality checks as often as possible. These are actions that confirm that you are in reality, or conversely if the check fails, that you are dreaming. Reality checks are represented as totems in Inception, and although the risk of “getting lost in a dream” is close to nothing in a lucid dream, it is an extremely useful tool. Reality checks (RC) are based on the fact that the laws of reality do not function in dreams. For example, a common RC is bending your fingers backwards. In real life, your fingers will only go back so far. In a dream, the fingers can touch the back of your hand: a definitive proof that you are not in reality. Other examples include breathing through a pinched nose, pinching yourself (no sensation in a dream) and… anything creative actually. The general rule is: “habituate what is not your habit” – i.e. make a habit of something that is not usually your habit, so you can do it in a dream as a RC.

After a few weeks practising using the above skills, prepare your mind for a lucid dream. Every night before going to sleep, keep thinking “I will dream” or “I will stay awake in my dream”. Continuous reinforcement directly increases your chance of “waking up” in your dream, and allows you to begin your journey into lucid dreams.

As mentioned above, within a dream, you have almost godly powers as you can manipulate the entire dreamspace to your will. However, there is a catch: you have to control the dreamspace. This may sound absurd, but it will be relevant when you have your first lucid dream. Dreams are like wild mustangs – they will spiral out of control as soon as you try to take control. For instance, a novice lucid dreamer (or, in Greek, oneironaut) will find that as soon as they acknowledge that they are in a dream, they will instantly wake up. This is a form of defence mechanism as the boundary of reality and dream is faded, causing your brain to become confused.

There are methods to help your stay in dreamstate. It has been suggested that when you notice signs of waking up (e.g. the surroundings become blurred and slowly disappear), spinning on the spot can prolong the dreamstate. Rubbing your hands together also helps. The duration you stay in the dream becomes longer as you become more proficient in lucid dreaming.

This is only the first step. The more you manipulate your dream, the more your brain will “reject” your dream-self. Again, this is seen in Inception (it is actually quite an accurate depiction of lucid dreaming). You will find that through practice, you not only lengthen your lucid dream, but also increase the power to manipulate things. In the advanced stage, you will not only be able to completely recreate the world around you, but also achieve flying and the ability to summon people.

A final point to learn about lucid dreaming is that there are two ways into a lucid dream: DILD and WILD.
The first, and the most common, type is Dream-Induced Lucid Dream. This is by far the easiest method. In DILD, you “wake up”, or become self-aware, in a dream and then continue to dream the same dream (except now it is lucid). It is easier to achieve this during a nap or when you go back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.

The second, and more advanced method, is the Wake-Induced Lucid Dream. WILD is when a lucid dreamer can go straight into a lucid dream from a state of alertness. This lets you enter a lucid dream anytime at will, and can be more powerful than a DILD. However, there is a catch. WILD easily induces sleep paralysis (see Sleep Paralysis) due to the forced induction of REM paralysis. This can be a horrifying experience for the unprepared, especially due to the nightmarish hallucinations it brings. But after practice and the correct mindset, you can easily vanquish this state with willpower, and freely enter a lucid dream. Sleep paralysis should not deter you from attempting lucid dreaming, for it is only a temporary side effect.

Lucid dreaming is one of the most useful skills one can learn. Not only does it let you explore your mind freely, you can go deeper to discover your subconscious (often through imagery), solve complex problems you couldn’t in real life and relieve the stress built up from reality. An interesting feature about dreams is that time is completely relative; this means you will enjoy a lengthy dream much longer than your actual sleep, giving you a better rested sleep. If you are lucky, you may even enjoy the delightful experience of a “dream within a dream” (or go even deeper).

Oneironauts, dream on.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Sleep Paralysis

Posted on by Jinavie

Sometimes just before you fall asleep, or just after you wake up, it is impossible to move any muscles. The panic caused by this sudden paralysis is soon followed by a sense of impending doom and unknown horror. When trying to look around to figure out what is happening, you see a ghost or demon sitting on your chest, pinning you down.
This is a typical scenario of sleep paralysis. It occurs when the mind wakes up before the body (in loose terms) and is experienced by everyone at least once throughout their life. 

Sleep is divided into two phases: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. These two phases cycle to make up sleep at a 1:3 ratio (i.e. about 90 minutes non-REM, 30 minutes REM, repeat). NREM sleep is often thought of as “shallow sleep”, but this is incorrect as the third phase of NREM is literally “deep sleep”. This is followed by REM sleep, characterised by relaxation of muscle tone and the eyes darting in all directions (rapid eye movements). The brain cuts off motor signals to the body during REM sleep to prevent it acting out the movements in a dream (without this, many people would injure themselves or others during sleep). For example, patients suffering from diseases such as Parkinson’s disease with REM sleep disorder show vigorous movements during sleep, often hitting their partners in the process.

The problem occurs when the onset of REM atonia (relaxation) comes before the person fully falls asleep, or fails to disappear after waking up. As the motor system has been shut down, the muscles cannot be moved yet the person has regained consciousness. The more frightening thing is that sleep paralysis is usually accompanied by an intense visual and auditory hallucination, which is almost always related the person’s worst nightmares and fears. This explains why so many cultures associate it with demons and ghosts, and it is also possibly the cause of alien abduction experiences and ghost sightings. Reason being, the hallucination is so vivid the person easily believes that it actually happened.

Sleep paralysis can be caused by excessive drinking, stress or the induction of lucid dreams, but tend to be spontaneous and can happen to you on any day.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Cranial Nerves

Posted on by Jinavie

Nerves can be divided broadly as spinal nerves and cranial nerves: the latter which is directly from the brain. There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves:

  1. CN I – Olfactory nerve (smell)
  2. CN II – Optic nerve (sight)
  3. CN III – Oculomotor nerve (eye movements, control of pupil and lens)
  4. CN IV – Trochlear nerve (eye movements)
  5. CN V – Trigeminal nerve (sensory information from face and mouth, chewing)
  6. CN VI – Abducens nerve (eye movements)
  7. CN VII – Facial nerve (taste, tear and salivary glands secretion, facial expressions)
  8. CN VIII – Vestibulocochlear nerve (hearing and sense of balance)
  9. CN IX – Glossopharyngeal nerve (taste, swallowing, parotid gland secretion, sensory information from oral cavity, information about blood)
  10. CN X – Vagus nerve (sensory and motor signals to and from many internal organs, glands and muscles)
  11. CN XI – Accessory nerve (movement of SCM and trapezius, which are neck/shoulder muscles)
  12. CN XII – Hypoglossal nerve (tongue movements)

As there are so many nerves and the names are all varied, there is a simple (yet very obscene) mnemonic to help medical students remember the names and order of nerves:

Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel Virgin Girls’ Vaginas And Hymens
or
Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel A Girl’s Very Soft Hands
(where vestibulocochlear -> auditory)

It is also worth noting the mnemonic for the types of nerves is:

Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother Says Big Boobs Matter More

Perhaps the only way to survive medical school is through humour.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Gaze

Posted on by Jinavie

A gaze is defined as “to look fixedly, intently, or deliberately at something”, but its true meaning is far deeper than that. In art and psychology, the “gaze” is described as a complex medium of communication between the subject and the object being gazed at. There are many theories as to what the gaze signifies.

A popular explanation is the exertion of dominance by the subject by gazing at an object. In essence, this act objectifies something, such as a painting or a person, placing it on an inferior level relative to the observer. This applies to the concept of the “medical gaze” – where the doctor can see the patient as just an anatomical body, or a holistic being with a soul – or the “male gaze”, which feminists claim to be the tendency for films to objectify women and play to the male audience, providing them with the power and dominance. In this case, the gaze acts as a projection of the viewer, placing himself as a dominant figure indirectly interacting with the female being gazed at in the movie. Although the male gaze itself is questionable, there is no doubt that people tend to project themselves into the characters in a movie through gaze.
This theory explains the uncanny feeling brought on by a gaze, as it gives the impression that you are being defined by someone’s gaze, whilst becoming dominated.

The gaze plays a vital role in the development of babies as they pass through what is called the “mirror stage”. This is when babies first conceive the idea of self, as they see an external image of themselves in the mirror. At this point, the baby’s gaze defines the external image (reflection) while the reflection’s gaze gives the baby an uncanny feeling of “self”.
The concept of the gaze has been well-known throughout history, and is reflected in myths such as the evil eye (that brings bad fortune to those being gazed at) or Medusa (the gorgon who petrifies those who make eye contact with her). Interestingly, the story of Narcissus shows the danger of gaze by misidentifying “self”.

Artists use this concept of gaze effectively by either letting the audience simply gaze at the picture, essentially letting it be defined only when being looked at, or invite the audience in a “conversation” with the painting. This can be achieved when characters in the painting are gazing at the audience, giving the illusion that they can actually see past the two-dimensional plane, gazing into the viewer’s eyes. This produces a strange feeling, while also giving the viewer a heightened appreciation for the painting as he/she feels at level with the painting. 
Furthermore, as the gaze is a two-way conversation, there are also examples of “setting oneself at gaze”. This means that they are exposing themselves to be gazed at, a common example being nude art. Of course, this ties into voyeurism and scopophilia, showing just how complex the meaning behind the word “gaze” can be.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Power Of Thought

Posted on by Jinavie

The power of thought is extremely potent. Beliefs can drive people to extreme actions, or let those who lost everything pick up and carry on. Not only does this apply to religion, but all beliefs have a powerful effect on us.

The most easily observed effect is that the mind has over the body. In the 1950s, an accident occurred where a sailor was trapped in a refrigerated container on a cargo ship. There was plenty of food, but he knew he had no hope when his fingers and toes begun to go numb, and as his body started go stiff. Instead, he decided to record the pain and suffering of freezing to death on the wall using a piece of metal. By the time the ship arrived at the port, he had already frozen to death. However, the container was not refrigerated as it was not being used – the sailor had killed himself with the power of thought.
This shows how thought affects the way we perceive the world, which forms the basis of the placebo effect. If you give a patient sugar pills and tell them it is medicine, it is common to see an improvement in their health. This is due to the body’s amazing ability to repair itself, yet the brain believes the drugs helped it recover.

Thoughts and beliefs affect society as well.
Private property, the monetary system, authority and ethics are all products of the human mind. This is called the Tinkerbell Effect, where some things only exist because people believe in them. The name comes from how Tinkerbell from the play Peter Pan is revived with the belief of children.

Furthermore, believing can determine the future. In philosophy, there is something called the Thomas Theorem, which states that “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences”. For example, if there is a rumour that a bank will go bankrupt, people will withdraw their money and cause the bank to go bankrupt. 
This theorem explains self-fulfilled prophecies, a type of prediction that causes the events to take place because of the prophecies. Horoscopes and fortune telling are largely based around this effect, where telling a person that “good things will happen” (or bad) will cause the person to think positive (or negatively) and result in them acting in favour of positive results (or negative). 
This strange phenomenon is described very well in the movie “The Matrix”. When Neo visits the Oracle, she tells him “Don’t worry about the vase”. When he says “What vase” and turns around, he knocks over the vase behind him, causing it to fall and shatter. The Oracle then questions whether the vase would have broken if she had not told him about it. A similar case is seen in “Terminator” and “Back To The Future”.

As shown above, thoughts and beliefs contain immense power, and all humans need to do to make a better world is imagine and believe in such a world. However, the problem is that we seem to be unable to utilise this potential.