Blogs

Breastfeeding Limitations: Are some women incapable of breastfeeding? Are formula mothers neglectful?

The Tipping Point: telling us what we want to hear, or changing the way we see the world?

            OnIntelligence: How A New Understanding Of The Brain Will Lead To The Creation ofTruly Intelligent Machines offers a new perspective on the inner workingsof the most complex human organ. Written by Jeff Hawkins, this book links together the science of thebrain and the logic of the world of computers.  Hawkins is founder of Palm Computing and Handsping, twocomputing companies which invented the Palm Pilot and the Treo, respectively.  Known for his ability to innovateintelligent technology, Hawkins is yearning for more. 

In the age of technological gadgets, music has become more than just background noise at a party.  Mp3 players and music downloading sites such as iTunes have made music a part of people’s everyday routine.  For some, music has become a vice.

            This book has helped me to understand the self, identity, and social interaction as often guided by processes below the level of consciousness. In this book Gladwell describes a construct he terms the “adaptive unconscious,” that processes incoming information without our conscious awareness, producing judgments and behaviors within seconds. Themes elaborated here expand on discussions we have had in class, particularly those of accountability for our actions and what constitutes conscious choice. (Gladwell argues that although unconscious processes occur automatically and without our awareness, that through concerted effort or practice and through altering our environments we can in fact learn to control even implicit aspects of the self). For me this book was a highly useful part of the course and advanced my understanding of the nervous system’s relationship with behavior and identity.           

Autism: A New Look at Consciousness

Aside from the beautiful and charismatic style which makes the procession through The Diving Bell and the Butterfly absolutely enthralling, complete appreciation of this book requires an acknowledgement of the implausible efforts of its creator. It is rare that a book can be inspiring based not only on the content of the writing but also on the process of its creation. Jean-Dominique Bauby does not explicitly give details about his condition, nor about how he went about writing this book. This seems to be the main theme of the book: it is not why, but how. He does not want the reader to know much about his accident or the painstaking method of communication he has been forced to resort to, but

Diagnosis of Meanness?

My Initial Question

A Girl’s Experience

A Book Review after Reading: Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher, Ph.D

The practice of meditation is concerned with eliminating duality (the separation of body and mind) and instead strives for a state in which the body and mind work together as one system (1). The brain can be viewed as a dualist system: it is a physical component of the body, yet gives rise to an abstract component, the mind. Drawing from discussions in class, I would argue that because the mind arises from the physical workings of the brain, it is often influenced by the various processes in the physical structure even though the mind likes to think of itself as being a component beyond the influence of the neurophysiologic processes of the brain. Thus the noise in the mind, its