My Group Experience

I found my group experience to be particularly enjoyable. We were all familiar with each of the three movies, so we were able to split them up without too much difficulty. My group clicked pretty well, and we had similar ideas on how to arrange our presentation.

The only problems that came up were some technical difficulties. We had a hard time figuring out how to insert a video into our presentation so that we could have a smooth transition without having to jump between different windows. The problem was exacerbated when we had trouble converting back and forth between Mac and PC.


But that aside, I found my group experience to be overall very pleasant and friendly.

Neuroscience Talk: Sense Lab

For this semester's neuroscience lecture, I went to a panel featuring Brian Massumi, Erin Manning, and Ralph Savarese of the Neurohumanities Research Group. Their talk was focused on their lab - called the Sense Lab - which is a lab composed of artists, academics, researchers, dancers, and writers all working together to explore the active passage between research and creation.

The Sense Lab focused on the relationship between the physical senses and the manner in which we "make sense" of the world. They hypothesized that there is an implicit connection between the creation of art on the sensing body and philosophy,

I was particularly interested in the Sense Lab's laboratory of philosophy of radical empiricism. They focused on bringing people together not through what they produced but through the beginning levels of processing. They explored how knowledge is produced, as well as how to articulate with people in different areas of thought. I was surprised at how many people were interested in the project when they first began in 2004, whether they were academics or beginning artists. Additionally, the are not supported by any university. Their funds come through their processes, and not their products.

DNS Experiment

I took part in an fMRI study by the Duke Neurogenetics Study. They were studying the relationship among genes, brains, and behavior. Specifically, they were looking for how brain pathways shape how we react to our environments.

Prior to the experiment, I was required to fill out a form so they could determine my eligibility to participate in the study. I had to answer no for a bunch of questions such as if I had a pacemaker, if I had any metal fragments in my body, etc. The experiment itself was very boring. They made me go tasks with a lot of repetitions. I can understand why people can feel claustrophobic in the machine. There isn't much space and it is extremely loud. There are also plenty of noises in the background like fans blowing.

Afterwards, I agreed to give them a blood and saliva sample. They told me that they will analyze my DNA sample later and that it will be shared with other researchers.

Overall, I wouldn't say it was the best experience I've ever had... but I did get paid. So not too bad.

Little Toto

I remember meeting my friend’s dog Toto. She was a tiny terrier. She barked at me pretty furiously when we first met, so I assumed she either didn’t like strangers, or she didn’t like me in particular.

After staying at my friend’s house for some time, Toto gradually grew accustomed to me. Instead she would circle me and sniff around my legs. Sometimes she would approach me cautiously. Soon, she let me scratch behind her ears, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Toto would even jump onto my lap and snuggle there while I scratched her.

As I spent more time with Toto, I noticed certain habits she had. Whenever the doorbell rings, she would jump up and start to bark in the direction of the front door. However, this seemed to be a conditioned response. The source of the doorbell sound was nowhere near the location of the front door. Toto must have learned that the door usually opens when the doorbell sounds.

I also noticed that she tended to bark at anything that startles her, such as a cuckoo clock. She isn’t scared of the sounds, which suggests that her owners are protective of her. She is very sheltered living in a house, so the natural fight or flight response she has probably decayed over time. There’s less of a need for survival instinct because everything is handed to her.

My Favorite Philosopher

Confucius is hands down, my favorite philosopher. I admire the way he revolutionized Chinese politics, education, and attitudes. He was so influential that the emperor himself decided to implement Confucius' teachings as national policy. Confucius was so wise that his teachings had even spread to Western culture.

I learned about Confucius through my parents repeatedly showing me historical videos of his influence in China. His teachings of piety, loyalty, and etiquette were well respected to the extent that even the emperor would abide to them. He affirmed the need of a virtuous leader with moral integrity who will shift the country towards good.

"If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself."

My Favorite Game

The economic game that I find most interesting is the trust game. I find it fascinating how easily people's trust can be swayed based on subtle information. It also shows how quickly people can judge others when all they know about them is a tiny bit of information about them. It can also reveal innate discrimination within individuals, whether it's racial, gender, or others, especially when paired with an fMRI.

I also think it's amusing that you can throw in a punishment aspect to the game. It's interesting to see how a participant's decisions can change when given such a power to punish others. I think it can partially reveal the innate natures of people, whether they are naturally generous or greedy people. Also, also enjoy the trust game because it is so easily manipulated. With larger sums of money, are people more or less ready to invest in someone else given a certain level of trust?

Personal Bubble Issues?

Yesterday, I decided to violate someone’s personal bubble. I approached one of my friends and struck up a conversation. However, instead of standing a few feet away, like a normal person, I stood right next to him so that my face was a few inches away from his.

His instantaneous reaction was to back away. He pretended that it was just some sort of accident and tried his best to continue the conversation as if nothing happened. However, I followed him as he stepped backwards, so I was still in his face. Then he got annoyed and asked me what I thought I was doing. I answered him saying, “I’m just having a chat with you.” He asked me, “but why are you so close to me?”

“Well what’s wrong with me being close to you?”

“It’s uncomfortable”

“Why is it uncomfortable?”

“It just is!”

After seeing that he was getting angry, I backed off and told him that it was something I was supposed to do for this class. We both laughed it off afterwards. I thought it was interesting how my friend was unable to explain why he felt so uncomfortable when I was so close to him. Why do we have a personal bubble? Speaking from an evolutionary perspective, it could be for safety reasons, so it gives you time to react should anything suddenly attack you.