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June 01, 2007
Cat Allergy & Cognitive Dissonance
Today I learned that I have an acute histamine reaction to glycoprotein Fel d 1, which is usually secreted by the sebaceous glands of the Felis catus species, and found most prominently on their skin and in their saliva. In other words, I am allergic to cats, which is sad because I was convinced I was the Cat Whisperer. The symptoms basically mirror those of asthma, and can be mild to severe. One of the possible side effects is sleeplessness, which is why I know all these things, because I couldn't sleep last night after my housemate's girlfriend moved her cat into our house and I started having difficulty breathing and sleeping, two things which are generally considered to be important to human health.
I also picked up a better understanding of the term cognitive dissonance after stumbling upon a review of Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) on the front page of the UCSC website (the author is a social psychologist and presumably a faculty member).
Um.. "booyah."
Posted by Nathaniel at June 1, 2007 08:40 AM