David’s Comments (group member since Sep 24, 2012)

David’s comments from the The Brain and Mind group.

Thank you for your input. I have always considered them nothing but a new marketing avenue for the corporations, which it undoubtedly is. However, you added a valuable perspective and a cogent purpose with lots of redeeming value.

My nomination has to be "Proust Was a Neuroscientist," by Jonah Lehrer. It's available on Amazon for a mere $12.12. I am currently still reading "La Recherche du Temps Perdu" and probably will be for the next couple of years. Meanwhile, I've read many books investigating the novel as well as Monsieur Proust.

Interesting choice and one I could use as I can't seem to stop aging!

Hello,

I think you have a good idea. Now we need some input. I'll put some thought into it, look through my library then send off a couple of suggestions.

I've been running around this Fall, then also my wonderful lab of 13 years had a stroke and passed away this past Sunday. Dealing with the death of a person or animal is a challenge of the mind and soul.

Back to you shortly,

David

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm always hunting for new things to read and, rather unfortunately, I find them. I have another pile of new books!

Interesting thinking, Spencer. Your point is excellent. Will Dr. Spock ever be a teenager? Most likely, not. I've never been involved in a discussion that introduced the concept of the "teenage years." Having had them, I can't imagine how all that chaos and confusion could be replicated in an artificial brain? Teenagers twist your mind with the endless chaos they create. I didn't think I would ever live through 4 children, especially at the end of the night after the police have left and they tell you that they hate you!

I don't know if you are in Vienna Austria or in the US? Regardless, I didn't exactly read a book, however, I taught a volunteer course for a year on values & beliefs in a recovery program, in which the "students" were ex-convicts living together for 6 months as a requirement for release to the general population. They had all been convicted numerous times for drug and alcohol abuse. Most were high school drop-outs and had never successfully held a job or had a lasting personal relationship. We met once per week for two hours.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I learned from the students. They had, for the most part, never thought much about right or wrong. They didn't think much about other people when they made decisions. It had never occurred to most of them that their actions impacted other people.

Saying what I said, consider doing some volunteer work with people outside of your social/educational sphere. It is very enlightening and I can assure you that what you will learn will be worth more than one book.

It's definitely of interest to me, but I have absolutely no time left to take on another project. Good luck!

Steven wrote: "I have just got done listening to a video lecture fro my "The Science of Happiness" class I'm taking online through edX. It it the lecturer gave this quote from Anne Lamont: "Your mind is like a da..."

What would we ever do without it? Our minds are the greatest gift of all, an affirmation of our existence. I love my mind and I can't imagine what my life would have been like with a different one.

It's not the first time I've heard the word or come into contact with the concept. It's fascinating and the obvious solution and tool for blind people. It may be of help to many people. I certainly see it as an incredible enhancement of a sense that we can use to grow our knowledge.

I went to the events page, but nothing was listed. Could be me?

I'm following you from now on. I look forward to enjoying your articles and the posts.

Thank you Chelsey! I guess then I would very much enjoy working with you as a moderator. I should clarify the Hippy thing. You could say they were "in" the sciences since the whole movement was greased by the individuals and labs that were producing mass quantities of LSD. Unfortunately, the lifespan of the non-violent part of the movement was probably from 1964 - 1967. The "crash" was honestly very ugly when criminals took over the distribution of drugs and destroyed people's minds with heroin, meth, opium, mushrooms as well as numerous other drugs. During that period I lived in San Francisco and Berkeley. I was one of the fortunate few that one day just got on a bus and left it all behind me. Now, what we ridiculed, we have become. I seriously regret that I left the sciences. C'est la vie!

Hello,

I would enjoy being a co-moderator. However, I do need some time to think about how I could be of value to the group. My background is not in science. In high school I was a biology major. After graduation, I joined everyone else in Haight-Ashbury for the "Summer of Love" and that was the end of science for me. Hippies weren't in the sciences. All was not lost because in college I developed a strong interest in linguistics, philosophy and psychology which logically lead me to the brain. I find all of the new discoveries fascinating and I try to read in a way that adds to my overall knowledge base of the science as well as the humanity of this phenomenal mass locked inside of our heads.

I think the idea of starting a book club is great because the collective interest of a group should create a very interesting reading list.

That's it for now. Thanks.