The biology of warfare

A little while ago Michael Dembinski posted a blog concerning, among other things, the diversion of testosterone in a world of highly advanced and depersonalised military conflict. I was a little surprised the blog didn't receive more controversy/attention. After all, the debate about violence on the person has been settled, no?

I remember as a boy playing the usual school game of some sort of beat-em-up chase thing, where if you got caught you could be punched and slapped and so on. I remeber pausing at the foot of a winding staircase on the entrance to the school chapel, knowing I had beaten my pursuers: grinning, heart pumping, completely alive and happier than I have ever been before or since. The memory of that moment has stuck with me, but I've since realised I was completely off my head on adrenaline.

There are several strong reactions when adrenaline starts kicking in. What are they?

• catecholamines and corticosteroids (stress hormones) pump through the body, increasing cardiac output and thus strength. 
• Endorphins pump through the body, allowing you to fight through normal pain barriers
• Energy in the form of sugars and fats is pumped into the bloodstream
• Breathing rate increases which improves greater oxygen saturation to muscles. 
• The eyes dilate to improve vision, other senses improve rapidly, blood is diverted from the digestive system to the heart, brain and muscles. 

Returning to my thoughts on Pan Dembinski's blog, I really do feel that most adult males between 15 and 35 will experience some form of adrenaline rush watching ustawki videos on youtube. If you don't feel it now, imagine what it was like to be a younger man, surging with testosterone and physical ability. This reaction betrays an inbuilt ability, even need, to attack or defend in moments of crisis, whether voluntarily or involuntary, and so in the process to define ourselves. We woz 'ere.

The triumph of Mankind has been to rise above these baser instincts, but we shouldn't forget them in the process. It's not something I want glorify, but I really believe that ustawki play an important place in a safer outlet of societal tensions in Poland than binge drinking with all its attendant social disorder problems does in the UK.

Anyway, here's some Polish Hip-Hop, kiedy jem tosty.