Thursday, June 30, 2016

Echolocation

As a marine science major, I could tell you all about the functions and processes behind the echolocation of a toothed whale.  I could tell you about how sounds originate in a dolphin's melon, or how resident killer whales echolocate while transient killer whales do not.  I did not, however, know that humans could echolocate until recently.  After reading about it, it makes sense that we would be able to.  The extent to which some blind individuals can use echolocation is truly astonishing, though.  I can barely navigate my room with my eyes closed.  To think about a group of individuals successfully navigating a mountainous trail on a bike is something I can barely comprehend.  The brain's ability to adapt and change to it's environment is impressively intriguing.

5 comments:

  1. I have to say I did not pay much attention in my intro to marine science class, and while echolocation was impressive I was not awestruck. Reading about blind individuals gaining freedom using this skill with expert precision was truly amazing, and gives us so much to think about when considering the brain's ability and plasticity.

    Kathleen Oswald

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Element of thoughts # 1: Questions which target purpose 
      What is your, my, their purpose in doing________?
      What is the objective of this assignment (task, job, experiment, policy, strategy, etc.)?
      Should we question, refine, modify our purpose (goal, objective, etc.)?
      What is the purpose of this meeting (chapter, relationship, action)?
      What is your central aim in this line of thought?
      What is the purpose of education?
      Why did you say…?

      The purpose of choosing the topic Prosopagnosia is because I find it interesting that some people are able to recognize faces more than others. To understand this topic, one must understand the definition of Prosopagnosia. Prosopagnosia is a form of visual agnosia in which the people cannot recognize faces. The objective of this assignment was to choose a topic that interested me, and Prosopagnosia is certainly something that I found interesting because I am personally horrible with faces. One may question the morality of this finding because of the unethical values due to research such as psychologists Charles Gross, who based this decision on research that showed removing parts of the IT cortex in monkeys affected monkey ability to recognize objects. The central aim in this line of thought is that people with temporal lobe damage may be susceptible to Prosopagnosia. In the video, Terry Sweener, has Prosopagnosia when she damaged part of her temporal brain when she was on duty as a firefighter. The purpose of education can be helpful because understanding the risks and consequences of head damage on an individual. I would say that people should be aware of the severity of head injuries because it can honestly effect the way you perceive things. 

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwCrxomPbtY

      Element of thoughts # 2: Questions which target purpose
      What is your, my, their purpose in doing________?
      What is the objective of this assignment (task, job, experiment, policy, strategy, etc.)?
      Should we question, refine, modify our purpose (goal, objective, etc.)?
      What is the purpose of this meeting (chapter, relationship, action)?
      What is your central aim in this line of thought?
      What is the purpose of education?
      Why did you say…?

          The purpose of choosing the topic Anosmia is because I find it interesting that some people have the inability to smell. To understand this topic, one must understand the definition of Anosmia. Anosmia is the loss of the sense of smell, either total or partial. I find it interesting that the participants in this video are not affected by their disability. I also find it interesting that in their opinion, their lack of smell does not affect their sense of taste. One thing that both parties did wish they could do was smell fire or gas leaks in case of emergency. They were actually positive about their inability to smell because this meant that they did not have to be exposed to unpleasant smells in the world. The central aim in this line of thought is that people with nasal cavity damage may be susceptible to Anosmia. The purpose of education can be helpful because the inability to smell is not really a chronic disability. I would say that people with Anosmia aren’t suffering from a debilitating disability. However, it is unfortunate that they cannot smell the beautiful things in the world.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcdQ9XyUIv8

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hYkUGd2CWo

      Delete
  2. hey guys. how do i upload my post???

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Element of thoughts # 1: Questions which target purpose 
    What is your, my, their purpose in doing________?
    What is the objective of this assignment (task, job, experiment, policy, strategy, etc.)?
    Should we question, refine, modify our purpose (goal, objective, etc.)?
    What is the purpose of this meeting (chapter, relationship, action)?
    What is your central aim in this line of thought?
    What is the purpose of education?
    Why did you say…?

    The purpose of choosing the topic Prosopagnosia is because I find it interesting that some people are able to recognize faces more than others. To understand this topic, one must understand the definition of Prosopagnosia. Prosopagnosia is a form of visual agnosia in which the people cannot recognize faces. The objective of this assignment was to choose a topic that interested me, and Prosopagnosia is certainly something that I found interesting because I am personally horrible with faces. One may question the morality of this finding because of the unethical values due to research such as psychologists Charles Gross, who based this decision on research that showed removing parts of the IT cortex in monkeys affected monkey ability to recognize objects. The central aim in this line of thought is that people with temporal lobe damage may be susceptible to Prosopagnosia. In the video, Terry Sweener, has Prosopagnosia when she damaged part of her temporal brain when she was on duty as a firefighter. The purpose of education can be helpful because understanding the risks and consequences of head damage on an individual. I would say that people should be aware of the severity of head injuries because it can honestly effect the way you perceive things. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwCrxomPbtY

    Element of thoughts # 2: Questions which target purpose
    What is your, my, their purpose in doing________?
    What is the objective of this assignment (task, job, experiment, policy, strategy, etc.)?
    Should we question, refine, modify our purpose (goal, objective, etc.)?
    What is the purpose of this meeting (chapter, relationship, action)?
    What is your central aim in this line of thought?
    What is the purpose of education?
    Why did you say…?

        The purpose of choosing the topic Anosmia is because I find it interesting that some people have the inability to smell. To understand this topic, one must understand the definition of Anosmia. Anosmia is the loss of the sense of smell, either total or partial. I find it interesting that the participants in this video are not affected by their disability. I also find it interesting that in their opinion, their lack of smell does not affect their sense of taste. One thing that both parties did wish they could do was smell fire or gas leaks in case of emergency. They were actually positive about their inability to smell because this meant that they did not have to be exposed to unpleasant smells in the world. The central aim in this line of thought is that people with nasal cavity damage may be susceptible to Anosmia. The purpose of education can be helpful because the inability to smell is not really a chronic disability. I would say that people with Anosmia aren’t suffering from a debilitating disability. However, it is unfortunate that they cannot smell the beautiful things in the world.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcdQ9XyUIv8

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hYkUGd2CWo

    ReplyDelete