Dog's umvelt or Conjecture of a Dog

When I started reading Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz I was interested. She started off with stating “a dog’s view is not immediately accessible to us” and I agree with that. Although I don’t think it is accessible at all. Throughout this column I found myself agreeing with some parts and completely disagreeing with other parts. I did not like how the author wrote in a way that she was speaking for the dogs like she knew exactly what they were thinking or what was really going on in their minds. Some parts were necessary but most of the time it was arbitrary and unavailing. I understand the fact that we are supposed to imagine this journey into the dog’s umvelt, but why must it sound so bias toward dogs? In a way Dr. Horowitz makes it seem that dogs are more advanced in senses than we are. Although, they might have some advantages in smelling and eyesight, our senses are more advance so I would think. How does she know whether or not dogs can see the time between our blinks? They might experience the world faster than us but how do we know whether they log all they see at one time? We don’t know and can’t because in order to we must become a dog and experience it for ourselves. I was not very amused by the way this article was written trying to explain the cognitive experience of a different life form. In order to do this, you must be that life form; in this case a dog.

Spencer

Evolution

During the readings on natural selection I was wondering why I was assigned to read it in the first place. It appeared very random compared to what we had just been discussing, which was something like how we perceive the physical world is just our senses making sense of things. At least that’s something I got out of what we’ve been learning. One reason I think we may have been given the readings was to give people a better understanding about evolution in general. It also may have been to show creationist that they can be religious and don’t have to deny evolution. Although I was at the recent Richard Dawkins lecture and he definitely was saying believing in any religion and believing in evolution doesn’t really work out because they contradict each other.

Corbin B.

Le Guin

The story of Buffalo Gals is a very diverse story. It begins with the idea that it will be a realistic story, with the little girls getting in a plane crash and then seeking out her father. After that, it becomes a much more imaginitive story with Coyote taking her in as her own. This kind of story pushes people to think beyond what they know and think interpretively about an animals way of life and the reasons behind it. It is difficult for people to connect a relationship between human and animal when it is not advertantly shoved in their face. In this story they give animals many human characteristics to make a comparison to them being humanistic. The animals take the form of humans even though they continue to live as animals. They live like animals, yet they are still are as civilized as most humans would be, such as taking in a wounded, scared child with no where else to go. I believe that this story is used as an eye-opener to get people to really think and use their imaginations to find the comparison and use that to interpret if and why, animals could really be as civil as humans.

Dog Umwelt/ Elephant Crackup?

Human and nature. Human nature. I suppose that when one thinks critically, it is safe to assume that though the two have different meanings, they can be interlinked.
When reading Horowitz's, Inside Of A Dog, and the article, Elephant Crackup, I definitely had to some critical thinking myself.
Though I have never had an actual pet, my family member around me did. My grandmother had a Great Dane. I never understood why friends cried when their dog died until our Rocky had to be put to sleep because of an enlarged heart. While reading the short article, it provided a small insight into a dog’s mentality. Their umvelt, their subjective or self world, is a perfect way of putting it. While they may participate in activities we engage in, it has a different meaning and difference to them. We as humans, for the most part thrive on our emotional senses. It was just amazing to also get a glance at how their sense of smell impacts other aspects of their life. Not just their noses.
An Elephant Crackup was an article that intrigued me. In reading this article I found myself asking,” What is going on with these elephants?” After reading more I found my speculations transforming from a defensive opinion to a thought of sympathy. It was amazing and heartwarming to see that the mentality and emotional state of these animals are a lot more sensitive than one would imagine. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is something that they can suffer from during their life span. Reading that young elephants can have this syndrome because of prior experiences of watching their parents poached, or killed in front of them causing them long term pain mentally and perhaps altering their behavior, really spoke to me. I also came to the sudden realization that took me back to certain events in my childhood that did damage to me. Things that I am recovering from that do have an impact and are factors in my thought process and values today. These animals have an amazing ability through action and way of life to express how they feel or state of mind and I find that amazing. I definitely agree with Bradshaw that there are ways to affect the lives of these elephants and our own to better live together instead of continuing with the cycle we are in now.

Gatto Against School Response

I did not agree with Gatto’s idea against school. Of course we all think that our education system is holding us back from our intellectual potential. But we have to go to school becausewe have to learn to adapt to our society. Courses in high school may seem pointless but their purpose is to help your mind grow so that when you come upon later courses such as medicine or business you’ll be mentally prepared for them.

Gatto enforces his argument with people who lived over a hundred years ago. It was a different time back then. Only a few were to have a school education. It was an entirely different culture. Today if we were to not go to school most of us would even have the discipline to contribute enough back to society. How will doctors know the necessary information to perform medicine? Or how would entrepreneurs start successful companies if they didn’t know the necessary actions to run a business. Without education society would go down. It’s hard to believe but I think that it is the simple truth.

Garret K.

Secrets of the Mind overview

Secrets of the Mind

I’m going to use this entry to provide a quick overview of the events of the video to inform your discussions, since you have no text to which you can refer back. Of course I’m brimming w/ interpretations and connections, but I’ll try and resist the temptation to dive in for the moment. You, on the other hand, should have at it. What do these dysfunctions tell us about normal consciousness and awareness?

Neurologist : V.S. Ramachandran

Phantom Limb Sensations following amputation. Pain and sensation of a limb which is gone. (the sensory neurons which delivered information from the limb to the brain survive the loss of the limb, any activation of those neurons is perceived as occurring at the limb) Reassignment of the somato-sensory cortex region from arm to cheek

Blind Sight. Perception of motion, but no conscious awareness of an object's shape, color, size etc. Ramachandran uses the phenomenon to illustrate that our brain can be receiving visual information without our being aware of it. I find it a better demonstration that the various components of vision (color, shape, motion, …) travel by different pathways and then are reassembled for conscious awareness in the primary visual cortex in the rear of the cerebrum (occipital lobe). He talks about “What” pathways by way of the temporal lobe which are involved in the identification of objects and “How” pathways which are more concerned with how we move through the environment (the visual cues that you use to ride a bicycle or hit a baseball or duck an oncoming tree limb). When is consciousness helpful, when is it detrimental? Peggy was the woman whose stroke in the parietal lobe interfered w/ her awareness of the left visual field including her memories and her daisy drawings

Capgras Delusion: Impostor Syndrome. David thinks that his parents are impostors. When he only hears their voices he acknowledges them as his parents. Ramachandran proposes that the delusion stems from an injury in the connection between the “What” visual center in the temporal lobes with the Amygdala which is the area where visual info enters the Limbic System, the source of your emotional reactions.

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: epilepsy is a disease in which there are episodes of uncontrolled brain activity resulting in seizures. In this specific case the patient experiences periods of enlightenment or rapture following the seizures in which he perceives a wide range of events as having profound, even religious, significance. Ramachandran points out the areas affected include the links between the Amygdala and the Temporal Lobe.

Gatto response.

As a student, I agree with Gatto. Young adults shouldn’t push themselves so hard to reach social acceptance in terms of education. I don’t like the rigorous schedule we are forced to undergo from the time we enter primary school to the day of our graduation. Why must a simple letter determine our worth? If I get an A in chemistry, for example, I’m determined to be intelligent… but what if I simply memorized the text? That means I’m capable of jumping through the hoops placed in front of me, not that I proved I can actually succeed, or that I challenged myself. Critical thinking and intelligence comes from learning how to apply the information I have absorbed, not just displaying the capacity to satisfy the instructor's commands and instruction.

It really disturbed me when Gatto mentioned his job loss. For someone held in such high-esteem to be replaced so easily, it really shocked me to know that it could happen to anyone, because the corporate mindset doesn’t focus on us individually. Gatto was completely right. I feel like my talent and unique personality is hidden away in the pursuit for the good grade. I loved this article, it made me realize I can still achieve my dreams regardless of how I am judged by society’s standards.

Clara G.