On Friday, January 29th, I sat in on Professor Lovett's lecture, "The Biology of the Self." I like the subject of anatomy, and the brain is no exception, so I was interested throughout the lecture. I had already known a lot about the physical characteristics, but I ended up learning a lot from the different stories that we were told. For instance, I learned that if you were to cut the hypothalamus (which controls hunger) you would never be satisfied no matter how much you ate. The pictures that Professor Lovett showed us of the mouse and the man with this issue were shocking and disturbing.
I was surprised that the myth that people on use 10% of their brain is not true. I had heard it so many times from teachers and students alike that I had naturally just assumed that it was a fact.
The most interesting part of the lecture was when we viewed the slide "Self-help for OCD." In this slide it talked about a man who could not take his disorder any longer and so resolved to kill himself by shooting himself in the head. The bullet lodged in his frontal lobe, effectively severing his Caudate nucleus, ending his OCD.
The lecture, movie, and readings all helped me to learn more about my 'self,' by first introducing me to the concept. I had never put much thought into it, if any at all. Now I know the components of 'self' (awareness, drives, memory, and personality) and I can try to perfect it, like Franklin had. Also, I learned that if one of these components is missing it means that you are missing part of your 'self.'
(TZA. "brain." 20 January, 2009. Online image. Flickr. 30 January, 2010.)
"If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self-himself-he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it." - Sacks.
- Tia Lambert '13
I really like your observation and the picture and quote that you used in your post! All of them explain exactly what we learned from the lecture and the text!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your insights on the course material, I was also surprised by the 10% use of your brain myth. If I knew that when I first mentioned it in class I would have never said it.
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised when he said we are always using more then 10% of our brain. It makes sense to me that we would always be using more than that, but people have always said it to me, so i assumed that other people were right.
ReplyDeleteI always thought the 10% thing was true too, and it was very surprising when Lovitt told us otherwise.
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