...An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks is definitely unlike any book I have ever read before. The books that interest me are usually fiction/fantasy or romantic. I like to think of myself as quite skilled in the subject of English and Literature, so I figured I could just grin and bear it and get through this reading easily using my same old strategies. I immediately found out that this was not going to be the case. Sacks is clearly a well-educated and experienced man, and it shows in his writing. A lot of the vocabulary utilized stumped me to the point where it made grasping the gist of the reading difficult. Although I have to admit once I got past the boring introduction of Temple Grandin’s autism, I was quite interested in reading more. I was very interested in reading and learning about autism once I was able to focus. The reading is about Temple Grandin, a high-functioning autistic, who has accomplished a variety of things in her life. I had never heard of her before but after reading this chapter I was very interested in her and autism itself. I happen to know some people that are autistic so this reading definitely allowed me to empathize more with them now that I understood their condition. One specific thing I learned which I thought was interesting was that individuals with autism often experience other disorders. “The genetic form may be associated, in the affected individual or family, with other genetic disorders, such as dyslexia, attention deficit...
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...In the second essay “The Last Hippie” in his collection titled An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks writes about a patient named “Greg F.” Greg was a “rather gifted boy” that grew up in a nice home in Queens (42). Later when he was a teenager in the late 1960s, he became rebellious, grew to love rock music like the Grateful Dead, and got addicted to acid. A few years later, Greg turned to the Hindu religion and stopped dropping acid. He stayed at the temple in Brooklyn for a short time before being transferred to the New Orleans temple. It was at the New Orleans temple that Greg felt his eyesight fading and the swami told him that it was just a sign of his spiritual growth. Eventually, his parents visited him, noticed that he was extremely sickly looking, and checked him into the hospital. The hospital doctors found that he had a massive benign brain tumor and removed it. He was transferred to the Williamsbridge Hospital and that is where Oliver Sacks met him. Sacks noticed that Greg had anterograde amnesia which caused him to have no memory past 1970. In the end, Sacks takes Greg, wheelchair bound, to a Grateful Dead concert at Madison Square Garden. Greg had the time...
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...Critical Thinking Assignment 1 Trusting Your Senses We use our senses in everything that we do. We use our eyes to see, our nose to smell, our ears to hear and our tongues to taste. Those senses communicate with our brains by sending tiny amounts of chemical substances called neurotransmitters across a synapse , the microscopic space between” adjacent” neurons (Kirby & Goodpastor, 2007, p.68). The question is “can you really trust your senses and the interpretation of sensory data to give you an accurate view of the world?” Many factors like proper rest, medication, and ones mental state come into play when considering the trust of your senses. For example, someone who has not gotten the proper amount of rest, their ability to perceive and interpret their senses may not be as sharp as someone who is well rested and alert. Although each of them may be looking at the same thing, the rested individual will probably notice numerous details that the weary person will not. Next, several medications cause side effects that can weaken senses such as taste and sight. If you see a muffin that you eat on a regular basis, you already know what it tastes like, however, that same muffin may taste completely different if you are taking a medication that has diluted your capability to taste. The same thing applies for those who have an obstruction to the ear; they may have trouble hearing things at a higher frequency than someone...
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...Overconsumption and Overpopulation and their effect on the Environment The effect of overpopulation and over consumption on the environment has had a massive negative effect. Overpopulation is an undesirable condition where the number of existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of Earth. We are now adding one billion people to the planet every 12 years. That's about 220,000 per day. (Howmany?.org) This makes overpopulation a big threat to our environment but the bigger issue is that we are not using our resources efficiently to solve the problem. The problem includes shortages of all our resources, war and social conflict, limits on personal freedom, overcrowding in large cities and the health and survival of other species. In the last fifty years, there have been a vast number of people and organizations rising up and speaking against this problem, searching for a solution to this detrimental issue. Howmany?.org is just one of many organizations that are empowering people to find the best population size for Earth. They do this through outreach and advocacy programs that are created to add population into conversations and get people thinking. While overpopulation is not the only cause of environmental problems, it is a root cause that people should be aware of. Growth in population, affluence, and technology are jointly responsible for environmental problems concerning overconsumption. We use technology to produce and gather most of our resources. ...
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...* Personality and Foreign Policy: The Case of Stalin Raymond Birt Political Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Dec., 1993), pp. 607-625 Page Scan Article PDF Article Summary Journal * 2. The Killing of the Father: The Background of Freud's Group Psychology Jaap van Ginneken Political Psychology, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Sep., 1984), pp. 391-414 Page Scan Article PDF Article Summary Journal * 3. The Secret Lives of Liberals and Conservatives: Personality Profiles, Interaction Styles, and the Things They Leave Behind Dana R. Carney, John T. Jost, Samuel D. Gosling, Jeff Potter Political Psychology, Vol. 29, No. 6 (Dec., 2008), pp. 807-840 Page Scan Article PDF Article Summary Journal * 4. A Kohutian Analysis of President Bush's Personality and Style in the Persian Gulf Crisis Robert H. Swansbrough Political Psychology, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Jun., 1994), pp. 227-276 Page Scan Article PDF Article Summary Journal * 5. Personality and Development in Childhood: A Person-Centered Approach Daniel Hart, Robert Atkins, Suzanne Fegley, Richard W. Robins, Jessica L. Tracy Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Vol. 68, No. 1, Personality and Development in Childhood: A Person-Centered Approach (2003), pp. i-iii+v+vii+1-122 Page Scan Article PDF Article Summary Journal * 6. Flight into Security: A New Approach and Measure of the Authoritarian Personality Detlef Oesterreich Political Psychology, Vol. 26, No. 2, Special Issue:...
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...Behavioral Sciences Subdomain 111.6 Shelly Hawley Western Governor’s University There are several research methods used in sociological studies, scientists use qualitative and quantitative research to study the organization of society(Mcleod, S.A., 2008). Qualitative data is information acquired through participant observations and is reported in the words of the informant. Quantitative data is gathered by measuring things and is analyzed by statistical inferences and numeric comparisons(Minichiello et al.,1990, p.5). Scientist use qualitative research to gather information that is not numerical in form such as openended questionnaires or unstructured observations. This type of is more descriptive and is more difficult to analyze. Qualitative research is a suitable method to identify how individuals think and feel such as case studies(Mcleod, S.A., 2008). Qualitative data requires that participant responses are accurate which can be difficult to describe. It is helpful if quotations from participant interviews in the studies are used to illustrate points of the analysis(Mcleod, S.A.m 2008). The individual conducting the research should have knowledge in the area being studied in order to get a proper interpretation of the data. Unstructured group interviews can be an example of a qualitative research method. This study would generate data by using open ended questions in which individuals respond in their own words. Res...
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...Trusting Your Senses The question is “can you really trust your senses and the interpretation of sensory data to give you an accurate view of the world?” We use our senses in everything that we do. We use our eyes to see, our nose to smell, our ears to hear and our tongues to taste. Those senses communicate with our brains by sending tiny amounts of chemical substances called neurotransmitters across a synapse , the microscopic space between” adjacent” neurons. Many factors like proper rest, medication, and ones mental state come into play when considering the trust of your senses. For example, someone who has not gotten the proper amount of rest, their ability to perceive and interpret their senses may not be as sharp as someone who is well rested and alert. Although each of them may be looking at the same thing, the rested individual will probably notice numerous details that the weary person will not. Next, several medications cause side effects that can weaken senses such as taste and sight. If you see a muffin that you eat on a regular basis, you already know what it tastes like, however, that same muffin may taste completely different if you are taking a medication that has diluted your capability to taste. The same thing applies for those who have an obstruction to the ear; they may have trouble hearing things at a higher frequency than someone who has not. These issues can cause doubt in the accuracy of your senses and the interpretation of sensory data. Chapter...
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...Smith Video Reflection James A.K. Smith is presenting contents of his book with several topics to the audience—worship, worldview, and cultural formation. He presents the point of if the assumption of religion was based on how it is practiced and preceded by its worship. Misinterpretations of religion can cause it to be ignored sometimes because practices can cause it to blend and allow it to happen in the least expected places. Worship is another concept that can go unseen. Smith illustrates an example about anthropologists from Mars coming to Earth to understand people’s religious behavior, and how in order to grasp how to worship you observe people around you. He continues to describe this explain this trip and then confesses it all describes a shopping mall. It is presented that this liturgical atmosphere shapes our identity and desires. The mall captures what we love and understand; love can be shaped through practice. Smith adds how worship changes our hearts, and how things such as love, forgiveness and baptism can expand worldviews. I enjoyed the message that James Smith gave. His examples were very relatable and easy to picture. His example about the mall caused me to realize that people of all ages visit malls annually or even daily and they unconsciously mistake desire and worship. People are confusing the images of display windows with real life situations. When Smith spoke about the mall in secular liturgies, I disagreed with him at first because I did not...
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...GENERAL AND THEORETICAL 363 map, tables, chapter references, suggested reading. $2.00 (paper). Reviewed by L. L. LANGNESS University o f California This volume grew out of a series of Staff Seminars on Social Change and Human Behavior held at the National Institute of Mental Health during 1970. The ten papers that comprise the collection are almost uniformally both interesting and worthwhile, but they do not, together, make up a particularly coherent or useful book. Papers by Jerome S. Bruner (“The Uses of Immaturity”) and Sherwood L. Washburn (“Aggressive Behavior and Human Evolution”) have the evolution of behavior as their major theme. Alan Lomax contributed a paper on cultural evolution (“The Evolution of Culture and Expressive Style: A Comparative Approach to Social Change”). Robert J. Lifton’s effort (“Psychological Man in Revolution: The Struggle for Communal Resymbolization”) deals with the “breakdown of certain communal symbols that have sustained human societies up t o now” and the dangers inherent in a mental health model that depends upon the assumption of social stability. In his essay (“Cognitive Control of Perceptual Processes”), Herbert A. Simon deals with recent research on “the magical number seven” which takes him into memory, mental imagery, information-processing, cognition, and emotion. W. Cody Wilson (“The American Experience with Pornography”) describes the problems encountered by the U.S. Commission on Obscenity and Pornography as an example in changing...
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...TPO TPO Applied Arts and Fine Arts..............................................................................................................2 Opportunists and Competitors......................................................................................................3 Lascaux Cave Paintings ...................................................................................................................4 Electricity from Wind......................................................................................................................5 Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction ..................................................................................6 Groundwater ...................................................................................................................................7 The Origins of Theater....................................................................................................................8 Timberline Vegetation on Mountains ...........................................................................................9 Architecture....................................................................................................................................10 The Origin of the Pacific Island People .......................................................................................17 The Geologic History of the Mediterranean ..............................................................................22 Ancient...
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...The Dreaming The Dreaming is a term penned by famous anthropologist W.H. Stanner in 1956. (Fryer-Smith, 2002) It defines the conception of mystical spirits of the universe and encompasses everything within. This concept allows for explanations about the ‘Ancestral Beings’ and their travels, creating everything we see today. (Fryer-Smith, 2002) In customary principles, these ‘Ancestral Beings’ hold the power to arbitrate and guide the Aboriginal people’s lives. Indigenous Australians are the oldest inhabitants of the land with the most extensive practise of religion and customs, what we know as the Dreaming. (Edwards, 1998) The role and function of the Dreaming is to teach the Aboriginal people about the norms and mores of the sacred laws. Also known as customary law, these guidelines are an integral part of the Aboriginal culture as it maintains societal normalities. (ALRC, 1986) The Dreaming is a philosophy that binds every aspect of life together, it assists in knowing the past, present and future, and how to make conscious decisions to ensure the world continues triumphantly. According to Korff (2015) white man cannot comprehend the depth of the Dreaming, as it is more an analogy for providing identity and spiritualism to individuals. The diversity within the various communities explains how in-depth the spirituality is and how important this religion is to each Aboriginal person. Each tribe has their own definition and reason behind the Dreaming. The Ngarinyan kin...
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...Authenticity,” to explain how refined consumer taste inhabits the Tenderloin and relates to authenticity. The term “gentrification” was initially identified in 1964 by Sociologist, Ruth Glass. Glass used the “gentrification” to describe how “one by one, many of the working-class quarters of London have been invaded by the middle classes-upper and lower. Shabby, modes mews and cottages-two rooms up and two down-have been taken over, when their leases have expired, and have become elegant, expensive residences. Once this process of “gentrification” starts in a district it goes on rapidly until all or most of the original working-class occupiers are displaced” (Smith 33). This ideology also has roots in settler colonialism, which according to anthropologist Patrick Wolfe, is a structural violence that erases the native communities (Wolfe 52). It begins with the land theft and exploitation of the indigenous populations and then proceeds to assault them through norms and/or religion, education, food, etc. (Wolfe 33). Gentrification also reinforces “the myth of native incompetence: That people need to be imported to be important, and that a sign of a neighborhood’s “success: is the removal of its poorest residents”” (Kendzior). The entire city of San Francisco has been experiencing a gentrification that has pushed residents from their homes and since the Tenderloin was one of the last few affordable areas still available, it absorbed many of the lower income from other sections of the city...
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...Although my last food journey as a Paleo was difficult, it was very rewarding as I learned much about the differences between our diets and ancestors’ diets. The one entity the Paleo diet lacked, however, was a religious backbone. When I was offered the opportunity to embark on a new venture, I was excited to explore the practice of eating kosher-style. While keeping my Lenten promise of avoiding sweets, I decided to dabble with the some Jewish food rules. I find it very interesting that we often regard food as an enemy—avoiding sweets during the season of Lent and never mixing dairy with meat when following the rules of kashrut—but why do we partake in such food rules? Perhaps, we abide by these rules so that we remain in good standings with God or maybe because we want to attain salvation. Throughout my kosher-style expedition, I searched for an answer and turned to several notable texts for insight. According to the rules of kashrut, there are several impermissible food combinations. Kashrut forbids one from cooking or eating meat and dairy products together. Furthermore, some Jews wait one to three, or sometimes six hours after eating meat before eating dairy again. Similar customs impose waiting periods for eating meat after one has consumed dairy; however, these periods are typically shorter in length (Sigman). The laws of kashrut extend so far that food must: (1) come from a proper source (no shellfish or pork), (2) be prepared in a specific manner and (3) not be combined...
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...or psychological disease or even the result of imbalance in neurotransmitter. We need to see all three perspectives in this syndrome. Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder, which becomes stronger in early childhood or adolescence. This syndrome happens almost one person in a thousand; the first symptoms usually are involuntary movements or tics of the arms, face, limbs or trunk. These tics are frequent, repetitive and rapid. There are too many mathematics, musicians, social workers, and actors all over the world who suffer from Tourette’s. The most common first symptom is a facial tic such as nose twitch, eye blink, grimace, and sometimes is replaced or added to by other tics of the trunk, neck, and limbs. The author of an anthropologist on mars invest his time to consider a doctor’s life who suffers from this syndrome. The author dwells much more on how his colleague, and those around him, has adjusted to the tics caused by Tourette’s syndrome. Tourette’s is not a common disorder, and it can be seen hardly. The author of the book studies Dr. Carl Bennett, and explains in his book that this syndrome is like an obsessive. As the author explains in his book, first he met Dr. Bennet at a scientific conference on Tourette’s in Boston. According to the book, “When [the author] expressed incredulity about his choice of profession, he invited [him] to visit and stay with him, where he lived and practiced, in the town of Branford.” Therefore, Oliver Sacks went to Branford and met...
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...post-encephalitic parkinsonian patients I described in Awakenings, told me how during her frozen states she had often been “confined”, as she put it, in “a musical paddock’- seven pairs of notes (the fourteen notes of “Povero Rigoletto”) which would repeat themselves irresistibly in her mind… This might go on for hours on end, and did so at intervals throughout the entire forty-three years of her illness” (Sacks, 78). Sacks includes this in his writing to show what can occur with these brainworms. He uses strong words in this anecdote like “a musical paddock” to show the seriousness of some experiences that people have with these brainworms. “This was very striking with Carl Bennett, the surgeon with Tourette’s syndrome whom I described in An Anthropologist on Mars. “One cannot always find sense in these words,” he said. “Often it is just the sound that attracts me. Any odd sound, any odd name, may start repeating itself, get me going. I get hung up with a word for two or three months. Then, one morning, it’s gone, and there’s another one in it’s place” (Sacks, 89). Although this one isn’t directly talking about brainworms it still helps Sacks purpose in his writing. This still supports it because it talks about repetition that occurs with Carl Bennett because of Tourette’s syndrome, and compares it to the brainworms. Like the brainworms the Tourette’s syndrome repeats and repeats and then suddenly stops but, then comes back and repeats itself again. Both of these anecdotes provide the idea...
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