Leaving aside the title of this video (sorry it's not porn), I have to say that this story chilled me to the bone. Kind of reminded me of The Human Centipede or reading of Dr. Mengele's experiments in Auschwitz. It really is horrifying how one could play with human lives in the name of science. And, in the end, you know what? Screw animal rights! If I have to choose between a scientist experimenting on my child or on myself and experimenting on a lab rat, well the choice is really not that hard to make.
Showing posts with label neurobiology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neurobiology. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Food for thought or How the materialist theory of history is related to my lazy study habits
I think I fell in love today.
For the very first time in my meager 20 years of existence, I am looking forward to a course and I am NOT disappointed after the first class!! And I bought the book and I started reading it right after class (and a bit before) and taking notes and....now I sound like a nerd. That's what my friend told me when she saw me studying on the first day back to school. I don't caaaarrreee!
But that rant wasn't the purpose of my post (I know, could've fooled you). I actually wanted to share a piece of information that I learned and that I find shocking (even though it really isn't when you stop to think about it). So dear reader, imagine this: in humans, the frontal lobe of the brain, which is largely responsible for personality and organization, doesn't fully develop and continues to change until well into one's 20's!!!
Ahhhh I know, right? I can see your face right now. Amazing, incredible, fan-freakin-tastic, why are you getting so worked up over this useless piece of information, you nerd? Aha, well I shall tell you, avid reader of mine! This means that from certain points of view, there is still hope for me, while from others I just might be doomed.
For example, like many students in this world, I have a fundamental flaw and which is that I do everything (or almost) at the last minute. Which means that I'm very familiar with the concept of starting to cram 6 chapters 3 days before an exam. And that is not good. I always wondered what my grades would be like if I actually studied on time (or if I could actually remember the material from a course for more than a semester). BUT, with this new fact put into light, it might mean that my organizational (or lazy) habits are just a consequence of the not-yet-development of my brain (just as teenagers are more prone to depression over small things because they are not yet mentally equipped with the maturity needed to deal with them...that is not a judgement, it is a fact). So yey for that (though I'm not kidding myself too much)!
On the other hand, personality traits that I used to admire in myself no more than 3 years ago from which I have strayed and which I thought still hidden deep down inside, just waiting to come out again, well I might have to face the very real possibility that they are gone! So my creativity might have been blown out the window (maybe I still have some hope for this one), my environmental sense gone down the drain, my empathy completely dried out and my cool, aloof, non-mushy-huggy-touchy-feely character completely broken down. And I have noticed in the last couple of years that people and experiences to which I am extensively exposed have changed who I am and have shaped the way I see the world. I initially thought this might be a phase caused by the afterglow of the exposure (like a cake that is still hot when you take it out of the oven) . However, I might now be forced to reconsider that assumption and come to terms with the fact that these changes might be permanent. This has also made me realize that when you choose a field of study or a job, even though you might not pursue a career in that field, even though you tell yourself it is a temporary disposition until something better comes up, it might still affect your personality for better or for worse. The same reasoning applying to the people you spend your time with. And it might bring some credit to Marx's materialist theory of history. What he basically says is that human nature does not exist and that human behaviour is only dictated by the mode of production which causes the social conditions available. Therefore, capitalism would encourage individualism and selfishness in people, while communism would encourage a sense of collectivity and of selfless involvement in the community. However, I don't think Marx was talking only about people under 30 years old.
Anyway, I think that pretty much resumes what I had to say on the subject. Therefore dear reader, I hope that this discussion will make you think twice before making a choice in the future for it might affect you more than you think!
For the very first time in my meager 20 years of existence, I am looking forward to a course and I am NOT disappointed after the first class!! And I bought the book and I started reading it right after class (and a bit before) and taking notes and....now I sound like a nerd. That's what my friend told me when she saw me studying on the first day back to school. I don't caaaarrreee!
But that rant wasn't the purpose of my post (I know, could've fooled you). I actually wanted to share a piece of information that I learned and that I find shocking (even though it really isn't when you stop to think about it). So dear reader, imagine this: in humans, the frontal lobe of the brain, which is largely responsible for personality and organization, doesn't fully develop and continues to change until well into one's 20's!!!
Ahhhh I know, right? I can see your face right now. Amazing, incredible, fan-freakin-tastic, why are you getting so worked up over this useless piece of information, you nerd? Aha, well I shall tell you, avid reader of mine! This means that from certain points of view, there is still hope for me, while from others I just might be doomed.
For example, like many students in this world, I have a fundamental flaw and which is that I do everything (or almost) at the last minute. Which means that I'm very familiar with the concept of starting to cram 6 chapters 3 days before an exam. And that is not good. I always wondered what my grades would be like if I actually studied on time (or if I could actually remember the material from a course for more than a semester). BUT, with this new fact put into light, it might mean that my organizational (or lazy) habits are just a consequence of the not-yet-development of my brain (just as teenagers are more prone to depression over small things because they are not yet mentally equipped with the maturity needed to deal with them...that is not a judgement, it is a fact). So yey for that (though I'm not kidding myself too much)!
On the other hand, personality traits that I used to admire in myself no more than 3 years ago from which I have strayed and which I thought still hidden deep down inside, just waiting to come out again, well I might have to face the very real possibility that they are gone! So my creativity might have been blown out the window (maybe I still have some hope for this one), my environmental sense gone down the drain, my empathy completely dried out and my cool, aloof, non-mushy-huggy-touchy-feely character completely broken down. And I have noticed in the last couple of years that people and experiences to which I am extensively exposed have changed who I am and have shaped the way I see the world. I initially thought this might be a phase caused by the afterglow of the exposure (like a cake that is still hot when you take it out of the oven) . However, I might now be forced to reconsider that assumption and come to terms with the fact that these changes might be permanent. This has also made me realize that when you choose a field of study or a job, even though you might not pursue a career in that field, even though you tell yourself it is a temporary disposition until something better comes up, it might still affect your personality for better or for worse. The same reasoning applying to the people you spend your time with. And it might bring some credit to Marx's materialist theory of history. What he basically says is that human nature does not exist and that human behaviour is only dictated by the mode of production which causes the social conditions available. Therefore, capitalism would encourage individualism and selfishness in people, while communism would encourage a sense of collectivity and of selfless involvement in the community. However, I don't think Marx was talking only about people under 30 years old.
Anyway, I think that pretty much resumes what I had to say on the subject. Therefore dear reader, I hope that this discussion will make you think twice before making a choice in the future for it might affect you more than you think!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Psychobable
Not necessarily the most interesting or captivating ideas and it's a bit too optimistic and esoteric for a cynic like me (not to mention that she sounds like an actor giving a monologue and her voice really starts getting on my nerves at one point), but I love the way she describes reality and how our brain functions to interpret it. It kind of pulls you out of your conscious mind for a while and gives you a glimpse of how the world could be seen differently. We already know that we are limited by our senses (we can only see or hear a small portion of the stimuli available in the universe), but this video also makes you aware for those 18 minutes of how your brain limits your view of reality and just how trapped you are by those neurons and those synapses. Then again, I don't know if always seeing the world as Jill Bolte Taylor describes it in this video is better than the way we usually see it. Probably not, since you can't read nor speak. But it's a good way of expanding your understanding of reality, not to live like this, but to at least experience it once in your life. I guess the general purpose of this video (as far as I see it) is to show us that the realm of possibilities is not as narrow as we might think and that the mysterious and bizarre world we see in particle physics IS real and it's all around us. And this has to be the longest introduction for a video ever, so I'll just shut up now.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
On your mind, on my mind, on everyone's mind
In response to my earlier post on the human brain, here are a couple of videos that, although they don't answer my question, they do vaguely touch on the subject (not to mention that they're highly interesting and the speaker is quite charismatic). And I think that they have brought the answer to one of my existential questions: what to do with my life. The answer: from now on, I shall study the phenomenon of phantom PMS! Or maybe not...
Hmm synesthesia...well I always thought every number had a personality. Does that count?
So to summarize:
- art and creativity are genetic malformations of the brain
- the only thing that separates us from another human being is our skin...literally.
Hmm synesthesia...well I always thought every number had a personality. Does that count?
So to summarize:
- art and creativity are genetic malformations of the brain
- the only thing that separates us from another human being is our skin...literally.
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