EPISODE 464: The Theo Philes XVI - A Coterie Of Peripheries / Smalldick & Shortpussy
Summary
Hosts Ben and T-Bird begin in a Japanese onsen, discussing the cultural nuances of communal nudity and modesty. The conversation shifts to a deep dive into recent research linking visual processing and cortical reorganization to schizophrenia, exploring how congenital blindness may offer protection against psychosis. They also examine the thalamus's role in identity and memory through the case of conjoined twins Krista and Tatiana Hogan. Finally, they humorously debunk the 18th-century medical myth that masturbation causes blindness by reading excerpts from the infamous text *Onania*.
Topics discussed
Intro: Theophiles theme and onsen anecdote
Discussion on onsen culture and modesty
Transition to vision and schizophrenia research
Overview of papers on vision and psychosis risk
Mechanisms of sensory reorganization in blindness
Neocortical function and visual processing
Schizophrenia as a processing disorder and eye movement deficits
The asterisk: Deafness and Usher syndrome complications
Thalamic structures and language development in blindness
Conjoined twins and shared thalamic memory
Saccades and the carrot vision myth
Introduction to 'Onania' and the term's origin
Historical context of 18th-century medical texts
Alleged physical harms: growth, phimosis, and gonorrhea
Claims linking masturbation to insanity and idiocy
The 'semen sustains health' theory and aging
Case studies of severe physical deterioration
1898 rebuttal: Correlation vs causation in insanity
Graham crackers, Sylvester Graham, and conclusion
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