Category: Paris 2018

It isn’t an official trip to Paris if you don’t go and visit the Eifel Tower, and it is arguably most beautiful at night when it is all lit up. This is why I went to see it one night when I felt claustrophobic in the house. The view of the Eifel and the breeze over the Seine if definitely a great study break. However, I am glad I do not live very close to the tower, because it would be rather hard to sleep with all that illumination. With all our technology nowadays, it is a known concern that our sleep schedules are getting thrown off. I am at least happy for the people of this neighborhood that the Eifel uses high temperature yellow light that puts you at ease, and not the cold, blue light that comes of off computer screens, which has been shown to have alerting effects.

The Thinker has been a representative figure of a man philosophizing about life for many years. But how many of us actually know that this figure was originally made by Rodin for his depiction of Dante’s Gates of Hell? Inferno is an epic that informs the reader of the fates of several different levels of sin and how they are punished, it is also Dante’s way of taking a jab at his contemporaries who have failed to see his genius, by condemning them to hell for their several sins (I can’t help being reminded of Dr. Canavero here, as he also feels disenfranchised (Ren & Canavero, 2017)). My neuroethics class has shown me that as neuroscientists, we tow the line of science and the spiritual beliefs people hold, especially about their selves and the brain. It may be good practice for us to ponder about the next life too, or at least the implications of our future innovations on peoples already held beliefs on the topic.

Citations:

Ren, X., & Canavero, S. (2017). HEAVEN in the Making: Between the Rock (the Academe) and a Hard Case (a Head Transplant). AJOB Neuroscience, 8(4), 200-205. doi: 10.1080/21507740.2017.1392372

I am sitting in front of the Château de Chenonceau, a French château spanning the River Cher. I’ve noticed that the closer I am to rivers, lakes, or oceans, the happier I am. This made me wonder about the how much self-reported health correlates with real health– why would being near water automatically make me happier? According to Wheeler et al. (2012), the closer you live to the English coast, the healthier you are which may, in turn, affect your overall mental health. There is science behind everything after all!

Reference:

Wheeler, B. W., White, M., Stahl-Timmins, W., & Depledge, M. H. (2012). Does living by the coast improve health and wellbeing? Health & Place, 18(5), 1198-1201. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.06.015

This photo is of the first electrostatic machine built by the Englishman Jesse Ramsden for the Cabinet of Physics of the Duke of Chaulnes in the 19th century taken at the Musée d’Histoire de la Médecine. I was amazed to find out that Louis XV made his entire court “get electrified” simply because electrotherapy was “in fashion” at the time. Listening to this story made me think about the wide-use of hyperbole we discussed in our NBB471 (Neuroethics) to generate hype for different neurotechnologies. If someone was well-educated and held high status, I would be easily inclined to believe what they had to say about new devices. Although it is very easy to get caught up in the hype, it is important to remain cautious and form a well-substantiated opinion about new technologies before following others simply because it is “in fashion”.

 

 

 

After very little planning and some last-minute bookings, my roommates and I embarked on a spontaneous trip to Nice for the weekend. The first thing we did when we hopped off the plane was drop our stuff off at the hostel and head straight for the beach! Two weeks of working our butts off for our classes and attempting to hit every tourist attraction in the city meant we deserved this break. We settled down to decrease our cortisol levels by soaking in the fresh air (Hofmann, 2018), enjoying the view, and listening to the waves crash against the rocks.

https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy.library.emory.edu/pmc/articles/PMC5800131/

 

  

One of our class excursions was a trip to the Musée des Arts et Métiers. While here, I came across a section dedicated to musical instruments. It took me back to my childhood days of playing the violin as well as the simple fact that music is such a significant part of this generation. Seeing one of the first iPods in the museum made me gasp a bit actually. What many people might not realize about music, or practicing tasks in general, is that the more you use something (say, your fingers to play the cello), the better your brain gets at remembering the task. This is because the cortical representation of a task expands with repetition (Purves, 5^th edition). So, if you want to be the next Yo-Yo Ma, you better get back to your lessons!