Biology 103 Book Commentary
The Problem of the Soul: Two VIsions of the Mind and How to Reconcile Them
Submitted by bkim on Fri, 05/15/2009 - 12:57pmContrary to the book’s title about the reconciliation of viewpoints, the author, Owen Flanagan, attempts to defend the naturalistic, scientific view against the humanistic view, which argues that the mind is nonphysical and endowed by a higher being. Flanagan argues that we are “fully embodied creatures” (6) that have nervous systems that can give rise to minds, morals and self-identity. He posits that there is a physical, scientific explanation for everything and argues against the existence of God, free will and an unchanging soul that exists beyond death.
Daviel Tammet's 'Born on a Blue Day'
Submitted by K. Smythe on Sat, 05/10/2008 - 2:05pmThe book Born on a Blue Day, by Daniel Tammet is the autobiography of a man afflicted with Asperger’s syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder. Daniel Tammet is best known for his savant abilities in the field of mathematics. His most famous feat was his memorization of pi to more than 22,000 digits. One of the main factors allowing Daniel Tammet amazing mathematical skills is his ability to synesthetically “see” numbers and to visualize mathematical equations in ways that the majority of the population can only imagine.
Middlesex: How and Why Callie Became Cal
Submitted by MarieSager on Sat, 01/12/2008 - 10:14pm“Sing now, O Muse, of the recessive mutation on my fifth chromosome! Sing how it bloomed two and a half centuries ago on the slopes of mount Olympus…Sing how it passed down through nine generations, gathering invisibly within the polluted pool of the Stephanides family. And sing how Providence … sent the gene flying again…” (p 4).
Organs for sale?
Submitted by Kee Hyun Kim on Sat, 12/22/2007 - 8:17amBook commentary
Kee Hyun (Andy) Kim
I Am Not Myself
Submitted by LaKesha on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 7:49pmI Am Not Myself
Listening to Prozac by Peter D. Kramer
The Mystery Surrounding Our Layers of Skin
Submitted by ekoike on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 5:32pmThe Mystery Surrounding Our Layers of Skin
Reflections of Biology in Her Unquiet Mind
Submitted by ctreed on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 2:36pm
Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison’s book An Unquiet Mindprovided many examples of biological concepts that we discussed throughout thecourse in the context of an individual’s life. Due to the intricacies of her condition and her acuteawareness of death, her story embodies, perhaps to an extreme, the complexitiesof what it is to be fully human and not just a creature of chemical processesmoving through life.
Wider Than the Sky
Submitted by Paige Safyer on Fri, 12/21/2007 - 8:23amWider Than the Sky
This semester I read the book Wider Than the Sky: The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness by Gerald M.
Edelman, a writer who is also a Nobel Prize winning neuroscientist. This book explores the ideas of
consciousness—what it is, how it works and even whether consciousness actually exists. In the words of the
author, consciousness contains, “Many disparate elements—sensations, perceptions, images, memories
thoughts, emotions, aches, pains, vague feelings and so on. Looked at from the inside, consciousness seems
continually to change, yet at each moment it is all of piece—what I have called ‘the remembered
Book review of The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker
Submitted by Catrina Mueller on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 7:42pmI have always been interested in language. When I was small, I discovered my love of etymology through vocabulary tests. I realized that I remembered words much more easily if I knew how these words were “built”, so to speak. For instance, the word “decimate” was much easier to memorize when I knew that it basically meant “to kill one in ten” in Latin. Eventually, my love for language grew; so much, that I am probably going to major in one, if not two foreign languages here at Bryn Mawr. So it was very fortunate for me when Professor Grobstein recommended that I
