Even though humanity has shown clear examples of its preoccupation with astral influences during centuries or millennia, it remains unclear whether or not heavenly bodies influence the behavior of living beings. Of course, the proportion and form of this influence are even more uncertain.

Also from time immemorial, there were those who believed, or still believe, in the influence of the spirits. Above all, the ancestral spirits of living people. In this way, all around the globe, rites are practiced to attain the supposed benefits or dangers of these invisible forces. The last word on the real existence of these paranormal phenomena has yet to be said. Regarding this matter, popular wisdom has coined the phrase: “one should neither believe nor disbelieve.” The day will come when perhaps Costa Rican science might find answers to these great enigmas.

Circumscribing these reflections to the real limits of our planet, we can already perceive extremely alarming signs. In regards to our habitat, we erroneously assumed that our natural resources were inextinguishable, but the overexploitation of them is now evident. It is also clear that, for the Earth to recover from the damages suffered, it is increasingly more difficult than most would think. Continuing down this path will only lead us to extinction. Let’s focus our attention on the excessive proliferation of cars. It isn’t a secret that the indexes of contamination produced by each of these cars are alarmingly high. Is the day approaching when it will become impossible to reverse this dangerous situation?

Socio-cultural factors such as race, religion, ideologies, the media and others also have an impact on human behavior, but it’s not as obvious. A single example suffices to clarify this idea: many of the decisions of the U.S. President affect millions of people around the world.

The hereditary factor also determines in great measurement the type of behavior of any given person. In reference to this topic, lapidary phrases are heard all around that perhaps in most cases are unjust. For instance, “a genius is born,” “what nature doesn’t bestow, Salamanca can’t loan,” “such and such is retarded,” “the IQ”, etc., etc. It is to be expected that the field of genetic engineering will shed more light on the matter and thus illuminate the possibilities of controlling this phenomenon.