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Cuentos de vacaciones:
Estos Cuentos de vacaciones revelan al lector una faceta poco conocida de Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934): su habilidad como escritor de ciencia-ficción. Los cinco relatos que componen esta obra, a los que Cajal calificó de narraciones seudocientíficas, compaginan el realismo que les confiere el estar basados en hechos o hipótesis racionales con otros aspectos que para su autor son fundamentales: las contradicciones de la personalidad humana, los matices del Bien y del Mal, el interés por los misterios del subconsciente, la sugestión, la hipnosis, todo ello impregnado del sentido poético y detallista de los escritores de principios del siglo xx y de una intención moralizadora. A lo largo de los cinco cuentos desfilan personajes que, premeditadamente, no son símbolos, sino hombres y, en consecuencia, ofrecen las pasiones, los defectos y las limitaciones de las personas de carne y hueso.
204 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1905
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About the author
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
191 books119 followersSantiago Ramón y Cajal ForMemRS (Spanish: [sanˈtjaɣo raˈmon i kaˈxal]; 1 May 1852 – 18 October 1934) was a Spanish pathologist, histologist, neuroscientist and Nobel laureate. His original pioneering investigations of the microscopic structure of the brain have led him to be designated by many as the father of modern neuroscience. His medical artistry was legendary, and hundreds of his drawings illustrating the delicate arborizations of brain cells are still in use for educational and training purposes.
Ramón y Cajal's early work was accomplished at the Universities of Zaragoza and Valencia, where he focused on the pathology of inflammation, the microbiology of cholera, and the structure of Epithelial cells and tissues. It was not until he moved to the University of Barcelona in 1887 that he learned Golgi's silver nitrate preparation and turned his attention to the central nervous system. During this period he made extensive studies of neural material covering many species and most major regions of the brain.
Ramón y Cajal made several major contributions to neuroanatomy. He discovered the axonal growth cone, and experimentally demonstrated that the relationship between nerve cells was not continuous but contiguous. This provided definitive evidence for what would later be known as "neuron doctrine", now widely considered the foundation of modern neuroscience. In debating neural network theories (e.g. neuron theory, reticular theory), Ramón y Cajal was a fierce defender of the neuron theory.
He provided detailed descriptions of cell types associated with neural structures, and produced excellent depictions of structures and their connectivity.
He was an advocate of the existence of dendritic spines, although he did not recognize them as the site of contact from presynaptic cells. He was a proponent of polarization of nerve cell function and his student Rafael Lorente de Nó would continue this study of input/output systems into cable theory and some of the earliest circuit analysis of neural structures.
He discovered a new type of cell, to be named after him: the interstitial cell of Cajal (ICC). This cell is found interleaved among neurons embedded within the smooth muscles lining the gut, serving as the generator and pacemaker of the slow waves of contraction that move material along the gastrointestine, vitally mediating neurotransmission from motor nerves to smooth muscle cells.
In his 1894 Croonian Lecture, he suggested in an extended metaphor that cortical pyramidal cells may become more elaborate with time, as a tree grows and extends its branches. He also devoted a considerable amount of his time to studying hypnosis (which he used to help his wife with birth labor) and parapsychological phenomena, but a book he had written on these areas got lost during the Spanish Civil War.
Cajal received many prizes, distinctions and societal memberships along his scientific career including and honorary Doctorates in Medicine of the Universities of Cambridge and Würzburg and an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy of the Clark University. Nevertheless the most famous distinction he was awarded was the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906 together with Italian Camillo Golgi "in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system". This was seen as quite controversial because Golgi, a stout reticularist, disagreed with Cajal in his view of the neuron doctrine.
The asteroid 117413 Ramonycajal is named in his honor. The Spanish public television filmed a biopic series to commemorate his life.
Ramón y Cajal's early work was accomplished at the Universities of Zaragoza and Valencia, where he focused on the pathology of inflammation, the microbiology of cholera, and the structure of Epithelial cells and tissues. It was not until he moved to the University of Barcelona in 1887 that he learned Golgi's silver nitrate preparation and turned his attention to the central nervous system. During this period he made extensive studies of neural material covering many species and most major regions of the brain.
Ramón y Cajal made several major contributions to neuroanatomy. He discovered the axonal growth cone, and experimentally demonstrated that the relationship between nerve cells was not continuous but contiguous. This provided definitive evidence for what would later be known as "neuron doctrine", now widely considered the foundation of modern neuroscience. In debating neural network theories (e.g. neuron theory, reticular theory), Ramón y Cajal was a fierce defender of the neuron theory.
He provided detailed descriptions of cell types associated with neural structures, and produced excellent depictions of structures and their connectivity.
He was an advocate of the existence of dendritic spines, although he did not recognize them as the site of contact from presynaptic cells. He was a proponent of polarization of nerve cell function and his student Rafael Lorente de Nó would continue this study of input/output systems into cable theory and some of the earliest circuit analysis of neural structures.
He discovered a new type of cell, to be named after him: the interstitial cell of Cajal (ICC). This cell is found interleaved among neurons embedded within the smooth muscles lining the gut, serving as the generator and pacemaker of the slow waves of contraction that move material along the gastrointestine, vitally mediating neurotransmission from motor nerves to smooth muscle cells.
In his 1894 Croonian Lecture, he suggested in an extended metaphor that cortical pyramidal cells may become more elaborate with time, as a tree grows and extends its branches. He also devoted a considerable amount of his time to studying hypnosis (which he used to help his wife with birth labor) and parapsychological phenomena, but a book he had written on these areas got lost during the Spanish Civil War.
Cajal received many prizes, distinctions and societal memberships along his scientific career including and honorary Doctorates in Medicine of the Universities of Cambridge and Würzburg and an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy of the Clark University. Nevertheless the most famous distinction he was awarded was the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906 together with Italian Camillo Golgi "in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system". This was seen as quite controversial because Golgi, a stout reticularist, disagreed with Cajal in his view of the neuron doctrine.
The asteroid 117413 Ramonycajal is named in his honor. The Spanish public television filmed a biopic series to commemorate his life.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 4, 2010
These stories are very amateurishly constructed by today's standards. For example, information is often simply dumped on you in huge chunks right at the start, and characters frequently pour out their streams of consciousness to the ether in the most lengthy, grandiose and utterly unrealistic fashion. However, there are more than a few surprisingly beautiful turns of phrase, and the vocabulary on display is impressively vast, such that at times the writing approaches an almost poetic lyricism that you wouldn't expect of someone who was a scientist first and a writer second (or maybe even third). Although I haven't read the Spanish originals of these stories, I'd be very surprised if this isn't an excellent translation of them. Either Laura Otis is extraordinarily knowledgeable and talented or else this translation must have taken her an extremely long time to complete. Unfortunately, none of the above can quite make up for the failures in construction or the fact that too often there's just not that much of interest going on with the plots. Some of the messages and conflicts did strike me as still being relevant today, but this book remains a curio that will have little to offer to people who aren't familiar with Cajal for his scientific work. Nevertheless, I'm glad that it exists, and I'm glad that I sought it out.
January 31, 2024
Excelente para conocer a Santi (increíble el cuento de hombre artificial (quitando capitulo 1)). Escribe redundante de más, como en la época por lo que he leído a ortega. Muchas veces es un coñazo, pero las ideas en general son válidas. Hay un resumen de todos los cuentos antes de empezar
June 18, 2025
Tu porvenir depende del grado de originalidad e independencia con que juzgues la realidad del mundo . En la máquina social hay q ser motor, no rueda; personalidad, no persona.
Dibujar es analizar, disciplinar la atención errabunda, observar corrigiendo y meditando
Dibujar es analizar, disciplinar la atención errabunda, observar corrigiendo y meditando
April 4, 2020
Cinco cuentos imaginarios y científicos, algo visionarios, dándole prioridad a la razón y la lógica. La casa maldita es el mejor. Una faceta que no conocía de uno de mis ídolos.
April 29, 2023
I couldn't get into any of the stories besides the first
January 25, 2011
enchanting collection of short stories. they're not really science fiction so much as philosophical fiction about science. the translation seems to make great efforts to preserve the polysyllabic qualities of Spanish, which is interesting. the stories sound like they were written around the turn of the century, a nice trick in translation. i borrowed this from my softball teammate Chris Vyce and it was a good time.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews