The Unspeakable Odyssey of the Motionless Boy
Erik had a stroke at the juncture where his body meets his brain. What is that place called? I'm not exactly sure. Maybe the brain stem?
Anyway, the car accident that caused the stroke caused him to have "Locked-in Syndrome." Erik had no ways of communicating with anyone because his muscles and his brain were no longer connected. The only muscles he was still capable of using were the once that allowed him to look up or down.
A man named Kennedy devised a way to turn Erik's thoughts into speech. When he asked Erik to form vowel sounds, such as "O," a pattern of neurons fired when he thought about moving. But there wasn't any motion, it was like "a light switch with a dead bulb."
I couldn't imagine anything like this happening to anyone I know or love or care about in any way.
And the fact that he had such liveliness and such a strong personality when he was alive makes the story all the more sad. While watching 60 minutes with his mother (and he has no choice because its not like he can leave the room), he asked her "Why do you watch such crappy shows?"
37 minutes
Learning From Mistakes Only Works After Age 12, Study Suggests
I found this article extremely interesting, I read it several times to make sure I fully understand it, and I'm still a bit confused.
So, up until age 8, humans only respond to positive feedback. Negative comments like scolding rarely make an impact on the brain for them. So when they do something wrong, scolding doesn't really do anything and is essentially pointless? That's where I'm confused.
According to the article, "learning from mistakes is complicated." And according to the research, "young children respond better to reward than punishment." Which makes sense, I suppose. I think I still respond better to reward sometimes.
But I just can't seem to agree with the statement that the young children don't respond to negative feedback as well. I remember specific times when I got in trouble in elementary school, because I was mortified that I did something wrong. Like when I didn't do my homework? That was the worst thing in the world, I was so terrified of what would happen to me. Now, if I don't do my homework, I just kind of say oh well and move on. Maybe its because I have SO many other things occupying my time, whereas when I was 6 or 7 all there was left to do other than homework was play.
I found this section of the article in particular to be most interesting:
"Is it experience?
Is that difference between eight- and twelve-year-olds the result of experience, or does it have to do with the way the brain develops? As yet, nobody has the answer. 'This kind of brain research has only been possible for the last ten years or so,' says Crone, 'and there are a lot more questions which have to be answered. But it is probably a combination of the brain maturing and experience.''
So no wonder I'm confused, no one else knows the answer to my questions.
32 minutes
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Attraction
Both of my parents had been in serious relationships before they met each other.
My mom had a steady highschool boyfriend named Fred. She didn't go to college, and instead, she followed him to where he went to college.
My dad had a steady girlfriend in highschool named Linda, and they were engaged for a period of time before he broke it off.
Then, one fateful night, both of my parents happened to be getting drinks at the California Brew Haus. My mom claims that she thought my dad was an idiot, and my dad claims it was love at first sight.
Either way, they developed some sort of attraction to each other and are now happily married with 3 kids.
My mom had a steady highschool boyfriend named Fred. She didn't go to college, and instead, she followed him to where he went to college.
My dad had a steady girlfriend in highschool named Linda, and they were engaged for a period of time before he broke it off.
Then, one fateful night, both of my parents happened to be getting drinks at the California Brew Haus. My mom claims that she thought my dad was an idiot, and my dad claims it was love at first sight.
Either way, they developed some sort of attraction to each other and are now happily married with 3 kids.
Conflict.
Right now, I'm having a conflict in my life that has to do with people not minding their own business.
I'm dating a boy who has been one of my best friends for a long time, and we're really happy together, right?
And we have a mutual friend, who will go unnamed. She told both of us she didn't have a problem with us dating before we were, so we went ahead and got into a relationship.
But now she's on an angry rampage, because she is also best friends with his ex-girlfriend, who is apparently really hurt by this whole thing.
I think the mutual friend must be experiencing some cognitive dissonance. She is friends with me and my boyfriend, but she is also friends with his ex-girlfriend. She doesn't know who to agree with, especially because the ex-girlfriend made some bad choices in college that she doesn't agree with, which is mainly why her and my boyfriend broke up in the first place. So even though my friend doesn't agree with the ex-girlfriend's lifestyle, she is still supporting her side over ours.
I'm dating a boy who has been one of my best friends for a long time, and we're really happy together, right?
And we have a mutual friend, who will go unnamed. She told both of us she didn't have a problem with us dating before we were, so we went ahead and got into a relationship.
But now she's on an angry rampage, because she is also best friends with his ex-girlfriend, who is apparently really hurt by this whole thing.
I think the mutual friend must be experiencing some cognitive dissonance. She is friends with me and my boyfriend, but she is also friends with his ex-girlfriend. She doesn't know who to agree with, especially because the ex-girlfriend made some bad choices in college that she doesn't agree with, which is mainly why her and my boyfriend broke up in the first place. So even though my friend doesn't agree with the ex-girlfriend's lifestyle, she is still supporting her side over ours.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Video, Outside Readings, Experiments
Video:
It was interesting that the BBC replication of the Milgram experiment ended up with the same results as the actual experiment. Since we already thoroughly discussed and examined the actual Milgram experiment, there really isn't anything different to be said.
Outside Readings:
I was curious about whether or not the people being tested during the Milgram experiment ever wondered if something else was going on, and according to the article, this man did.
"This struck me as bizarre, and although the instructions were in accord with what we had been told, I wondered if something else was going on.
The "professor" said we would draw straws to see which of us would be the learner. He offered the straws to the other man, then announced that he had drawn the short straw and would be the learner. I hadn't seen either straw, and my doubts became suspicions that I was being deceived."
He asked the person doing the test a number of questions because his suspicions increased as he got deeper and deeper into the experiment.
"The professor brought in the learner and I was flabbergasted. His face was covered in tears and he looked haggard. He offered his hand and thanked me for stopping the experiment, saying that the shocks hadn't really hurt but anticipating them had been dreadful...After about a half hour he had not appeared, and I was convinced that he was an actor and that my suspicions about the experiment had been correct."
Experiment:
Game OverYour Score: -1020Average reaction time:Black Armed:661.92msBlack Unarmed:534.96msWhite Armed:603.72msWhite Unarmed:612.44ms
I don't really understand what this experiment was supposed to show. But by the results, i'm assuming it was trying to tell if i'm racist or not. And if i'm reading the results correctly, it shows that i am not. Any suspicious looking man, white or black, i shot. Though sometimes i was wrong in judging if they were dangerous or not.
It was interesting that the BBC replication of the Milgram experiment ended up with the same results as the actual experiment. Since we already thoroughly discussed and examined the actual Milgram experiment, there really isn't anything different to be said.
Outside Readings:
I was curious about whether or not the people being tested during the Milgram experiment ever wondered if something else was going on, and according to the article, this man did.
"This struck me as bizarre, and although the instructions were in accord with what we had been told, I wondered if something else was going on.
The "professor" said we would draw straws to see which of us would be the learner. He offered the straws to the other man, then announced that he had drawn the short straw and would be the learner. I hadn't seen either straw, and my doubts became suspicions that I was being deceived."
He asked the person doing the test a number of questions because his suspicions increased as he got deeper and deeper into the experiment.
"The professor brought in the learner and I was flabbergasted. His face was covered in tears and he looked haggard. He offered his hand and thanked me for stopping the experiment, saying that the shocks hadn't really hurt but anticipating them had been dreadful...After about a half hour he had not appeared, and I was convinced that he was an actor and that my suspicions about the experiment had been correct."
Experiment:
Game OverYour Score: -1020Average reaction time:Black Armed:661.92msBlack Unarmed:534.96msWhite Armed:603.72msWhite Unarmed:612.44ms
I don't really understand what this experiment was supposed to show. But by the results, i'm assuming it was trying to tell if i'm racist or not. And if i'm reading the results correctly, it shows that i am not. Any suspicious looking man, white or black, i shot. Though sometimes i was wrong in judging if they were dangerous or not.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Violating a Social Norm
What Social norm was violated?
Well, normal people don't typically wear prom dresses to school. Or any type of elegant outfit, for that matter.
In high school, there are certain clothes that are known to be appropriate. Most people wear jeans or sweatpants, and sometimes girls wear skirts. T-shirts and sweatshirts are acceptable, as are sneakers and flip-flops. While it is not typically said out loud, when someone wears something different from everyone else, it is noticed and commented on. My friend Hannah does New Visions and comes to school in her scrubs, and naturally, people want to know why.
So, when me and Emma wore out prom dresses to school, people were naturally curious. Because we weren't dressed like all the other kids, people wanted to know why.
How did you violate this social norm?
We brainstormed articles of clothing that would not violate the dress code, but would still stick out. So in the end, we decided on wearing our prom dresses.
How did you feel before and during your actions?
Before, I felt self-conscious but excited. I was curious to see how other people would react and hoped that I didn't look dumb. While I was performing my experiment, I had mixed emotions. I was uncomfortable in my dress and I didn't want people to think I was weird. But at the same time, it was fun doing something out of the ordinary.
How did the observers of your behavior react?
There were 3 different reactions.
1. People looked angry. I don't really know why, but I got some pretty nasty looks.
2. My friends laughed, because they know I can be kind of crazy.
3. People said we looked pretty and actually asked what we were doing.
P.S. I have 2 videos but they wouldn't upload onto my blog.
Well, normal people don't typically wear prom dresses to school. Or any type of elegant outfit, for that matter.
In high school, there are certain clothes that are known to be appropriate. Most people wear jeans or sweatpants, and sometimes girls wear skirts. T-shirts and sweatshirts are acceptable, as are sneakers and flip-flops. While it is not typically said out loud, when someone wears something different from everyone else, it is noticed and commented on. My friend Hannah does New Visions and comes to school in her scrubs, and naturally, people want to know why.
So, when me and Emma wore out prom dresses to school, people were naturally curious. Because we weren't dressed like all the other kids, people wanted to know why.
How did you violate this social norm?
We brainstormed articles of clothing that would not violate the dress code, but would still stick out. So in the end, we decided on wearing our prom dresses.
How did you feel before and during your actions?
Before, I felt self-conscious but excited. I was curious to see how other people would react and hoped that I didn't look dumb. While I was performing my experiment, I had mixed emotions. I was uncomfortable in my dress and I didn't want people to think I was weird. But at the same time, it was fun doing something out of the ordinary.
How did the observers of your behavior react?
There were 3 different reactions.
1. People looked angry. I don't really know why, but I got some pretty nasty looks.
2. My friends laughed, because they know I can be kind of crazy.
3. People said we looked pretty and actually asked what we were doing.
P.S. I have 2 videos but they wouldn't upload onto my blog.
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