Both topics this week again were
very interesting! I have always known that sciences use animals to test things
but I have no idea about the Alba Bunny.
I am kind of on the fence about using animals as science experiments. I do not think it is right but then again how
else are we going to discover new things and test new drugs etc. I can totally see the negative side but I see
the positive side as well. The story of
the Alba Bunny really caught my attention and I began googling more about
it. I do not agree at all that these
types of experiments should be done for “art” but I agree that these type of
experiments should be done to learn more about genetic
engineering.
Genetic
engineering is something that blows my mind.
I find it crazy that you can take DNA from one thing and put it into
another to genetically modify it. I would love to learn more about this
topic. It really is insane how things
can be changed.
Another
topic from this week that I love learning about is the brain. I believe the
brain is the most fascinating part of the human body. The fact that the human brain is pretty small
and it does so much is just crazy. The
brain holds so much information from consciousness, sub-consciousness and
unconsciousness. I found on a website a
good description of each:
Your conscious mind is best represented by the keyboard and monitor. Data is inputted on the keyboard and the results are thrown up on the monitor screen. That is how you conscious mind works – information is taken in via some outside (or internal) stimulus from your environment and the results are thrown up instantaneously into your consciousness.
Your subconscious is like the RAM in your computer. For those who don’t know, RAM is the place in a computer where programs and data that are currently in use are kept so they can easily be reached quickly by the computer processor. It is much faster than other types of memory, such as the hard disk or CD-ROM.
Your subconscious works in the same way. Any recent memories are stored there for quick recall when needed, such as what your telephone number is or the name of a person you just met. It also holds your current programs that you run every day, such as your current recurring thoughts, behavior patterns, habits, and feelings.
Your unconscious is like the hard disk drive in your computer. It is the long term storage place for all your memories and programs that have been installed since birth.”
-http://www.mindset-habits.com/conscious-subconscious-unconscious-mind
The
last topic that really caught my attention was about Cocaine and LSD. I have always been very interested in how
drugs work and the history of drugs. In
2006 my uncle died from an overdose and in 2010 my family found out my brother
was an addict (He has been clean for almost 2 years). Drugs were so accepted back in the day and like
the video said LSD was used for so many different remedies. I believe that
drugs were a lot cleaner back then. Now
drugs are mixed with so many chemicals and other things because drug dealers
want to make more money for their products. Drugs alter ones thinking and
really has a big effect on the human brain.
Admin. "The Human Mind – How Does It All Work? Part 1." N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2013.
<http://www.mindset-habits.com/conscious-subconscious-unconscious-mind/>.
Genetic Engineering Picture 1. Digital image. Gentics: Dugging through Our past. N.p., n.d. Web.
17 July 2013
Hugs not Drugs. Digital image. Bipolar-planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2013.
Working Brain. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2013.
Hi Paige,
ReplyDeleteAs a computer science major, I found the computer analogy that you used for the brain really fascinating. Going back to the previous week's topic of robotics/transhumanism, it would be very interesting to see if the subconscious, unconscious, or conscious mind could be improved by implanting and integrating computer RAM/hard drives into our brains.
I was also fascinated by the history of cocaine and LSD. I wonder if the lack of social stigma surrounding the drugs back then actually changed how users reacted or behaved in relation to them. It would be very interesting to see if since those drugs were made illegal whether or not there have been more addictions.
- Ty
Hello Paige,
ReplyDeleteUnlike Ty, I am not a computer science major but I was also fascinated by the computer analogy. From previous studies in biology and in psychology classes I know that our mind has the power of many incredible things but I had never thought about our brain as a machine.
Your commenting on the CD-ROM and the hard drive by comparing them to our consciousness has been my favorite on this topic and I am curious to learn more about it!
Thanks!
Paige!
ReplyDeleteLove your Blog, but wow, that computer <---> mind metaphor link is so hilarious it made me spit up my coffee hahahaha ;)
Just to engage the first part: If one thinks about it, consciousness is far beyond simple interface/input...sure, perception from our senses is input, but that is hardly the same thing as consciousness...if that were true, then creatures such as ants, for instance, could be considered to have consciousness, and the usual definitions out there have consciousness as "self awareness"... I, for one, have never heard of an ant being self-aware (except, perhaps, in a certain Dreamworks movie)...
Sure, there are so-called "neuro-philosophers" out there that argue that there is no such thing as "consciousness", and, instead, argue there are only neuro-chemical "events" called "brain-states", but one has to admit that the problem is so metaphysically deep, convoluted, and elusively complex as to not be so easily reducible to a computer model! :)
It was an entertaining read though!
P.S. one could also argue a different track from this reductive model of mind...if even the simplest creatures can be argued to have consciousness (such as my ants above), then, really, all things are Conscious. All matter is Conscious. The Universe is Conscious...this would be more of a Hylozoic/Pantheistic (and even Buddhist/Taoist) view of the universe which is quite interesting itself!