Blogs

"Culture as Disability," a 1995 essay by Ray McDermott and Hervé Varenne has been on my mind for more than a decade.  In it, McDermott and Varenne argue compellingly (for me at least) that human cultures have interrelated bright and dark sides.  By promulgating stories about what individuals in a given culture should aspire to, cultures provide individuals with a sense of motivation and achievement,  The same stories, however, also "disable" other individuals, by setting standards of achievement which they, for one reason or another, can't adequately satisfy.
 

 Neural and Behavioral Sciences Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Spring 2010

Manipulations of Memory

Neural and Behavioral Sciences Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Spring 2010

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head,  ‘Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse,’ thought Alice; ‘only as its asleep, I suppose it doesn’t mind, (Carroll, 68). 
How did this pathetic creature, the Dormouse, come to occupy a place in a fantastic tea party with Alice James, Emily Dickinson, Margaret Fuller, and Myrtha?  What might a much abused, semiconscious mammal contribute to the conversation?  What function might this character serve in fleshing out Susan Sontag’s portrayal of Alice James?

An interesting example of the constraints placed on inquiry by stories that make some things difficult to conceive came up in Neurobiology and Behavior last week, during a discussion of the ability of the nervous system to generate outputs by itself rather than simply in response to external stimuli.

"Perhaps I've just had the idea that 'cause equals effect' engrained in my mind for so long that it's just difficult to sway me, but I still feel that there must be some input to trigger reactions in our body" 

Neural and Behavioral Sciences Senior Seminar
Bryn Mawr College, Spring 2010
Imaging and the Question of Consciousness

Interesting conversation last week in the Neurobiology and Behavior course about .... class conversation (see A loopy classroom?), one that intersected in interesting ways with, among other things, a conversation in the Neural and Behavioral Sciences senior seminar (Some relevant thoughts from last week), and one on evolving systems (Bridging for commonality of expansion).

 Neural and Behavioral Sciences Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Spring 2010

The Neuroscience of Consciousness: From Cells to Self