E. H. Shackleton’s adventure mapped out in The Heart of the Antarctic illustrates the British Antarctic Expedition from 1907-1909. This personal narrative ends in Shackleton’s account of his team’s return to New Zealand and their welcome back to civilization. This final chapter reveals just some of the struggles the team encountered, including the mission to rescue a ship struggling in blizzard-like conditions that had not returned to their base. The description of their experience on this rescue mission exemplifies the power of nature and how it can affect our actions despite our best effort to combat it.
Some other things considered in this final chapter include the relationship between nature and emotion, the requirements and equipment needed for such harsh conditions on these expeditions and the use of dogs or other companion animals on scientific expeditions. This article sparked my interest especially in the presence of dogs on these ships in the middle of the Antarctic. I remain curious about their relationship to the expedition and why they’re there.
For this essay, the question that I would like to research is “Why do humans personify and anthropomorphize non-human animals and objects, and what is the effect on humans’ interactions with those objects/animals and other humans?”
The Heart of the Antarctic, Appendix I wasabout all the unique organisms the research team saw while exploring the Antarctic. The climate was extremely cold so, one can imagine how surprised the researchers were to find several single celled organisms living in these temperatures. It is amazing that these organisms have adapted to such extreme conditions.
This article got me to think about how certain animals can adapt to there environment no matter what it is. There are some organisms that can live in the extreme cold, as mentioned in the article. However, there are certain shrimps that can live in extreme heat near vents deep in the ocean. There are also organisms that can give in extreme salinity. After reading about all these adaptations, I started to wonder if humans lived in extreme conditions, how would we adapt?
Why do certain organisms adapt faster and better to radiation while other do not, and is it possible to make the organisms that are less prone to adaptation, to adapt faster to radiation?
For today’s post, I read Appendix I: Biology – Notes by James Murray, Biologist of the Expedition, from Heart of the Antarctic. In it, Murray describes all of the organisms that they encounter on they expedition, as well as analyzing population and species distribution and various behaviors, especially towards the humans. Murray is consistently surprised by the variety of life that is present, even in one of the most hostile possible terrestrial environments.
One thing that I thought was interesting was Murray’s habit of anthropomorphizing all of the animals that he came across. He refers to penguins as “jolly fellows” many times over and continues to personify organisms throughout the passage. Is there some kind of benefit to humans in anthropomorphizing animals or objects? Why is personification (of animals, plants, objects, etc.) so widespread?
In her article “On Immunity”, Eula Bliss writes about the “herd mentality” vs. the “homestead mentality” when concerning vaccination as well as the trend of those who receive the most vaccinations based on socioeconomic status. The herd mentality regarding vaccination is used to describe the method of the mass vaccination of a population in order to greater protect the community from the spread of disease. Those who disagree with this prefer the homestead mentality, where if you take care of you’re family’s health it anyone who is ill around you won’t matter, as “herd mentality” leads to the thought of masses of people making stupid decisions. Concerning socioeconomic status, wealthier, more educated citizens don’t get as many vaccines due to the mindset that because of their status they won’t engage in risky behavior that leads to greater risk of infection.
I feel that all citizens should receive all recommended vaccinations regardless of any circumstance because in doing so you are ensuring the safety of the community as a whole. By getting vaccinations for you and your children, you are ensuring the family’s safety from infection but also all the families around you, as well as preventing the spread of contagions.
The paper I read focuses on the effect of singing on different disorders that cause speech-motor abnormalities. Overall the study suggests the continuous voicing of singing helps patients to apply it to speaking more easily. Neurologically the study also shows that singing engages both the left and right hemispheres of the brain while speaking seems to favor the right. Singing also engages muscle memory and may help those affected to apply that muscle memory to their singing. In cases of stuttering, fluency increases with the continuous action of singing as opposed to speaking. Brain imaging shows more activity during singing than speaking based therapy. In those who suffer from aphasia, or loss of motor function or comprehension of speaking due to stroke, brain repair and development was improved in the left hemisphere for those who were treated with singing compared to those treated with speaking. Parkinson’s patients often suffer from short, disconnected speech patterns. Those treated with singing could lengthen their speech and add a better rhythm. In autism, while there is limited studies on the effects, evidence on the effects of singing on the brain suggests that it can also aide in speech patterns for sufferers.
Singing is a pastime that many people enjoy, but according to the National Institute of Health music can help combat neurological disorders. I found this piece extremely interesting because I have never viewed singing as being physiologically beneficial. This piece magnificently demonstrates the relationship between the arts and sciences because it shows how singing can directly impact the personal health of someone. An example of this is that singing has been proven to enhance the fluency of individuals who stutter because of the increased duration of phonation. Singing is so effective against stuttering that it reduced the stuttering of the participants by over 90%. I really enjoyed this piece for the reason that while I was reading this piece it was very easy to sense the author’s enthusiasm and passion for the studies that have been conducted.
“The Therapeutic Effects of Singing in Neurological Disorders” looks at a variety of studies conducted on the use of singing to aid people with a variety of conditions that affect speech, including stuttering, Parkinson’s disease, aphasia caused by stroke, and autism. The article exhaustively reviews the effects of treatments involving singing on each condition, as well as the physiological and physical changes that occur in the brain when singing as opposed to speaking, and how these changes could potentially allow those with these disorders to speak and communicate clearly.
This connection between unusual brain activity and music is not novel. In my personal experience, it’s always easier to remember lyrics to songs than any other sequence of words, and I have often been told to use melodies to help myself remember information. I’m glad that this thinking has been applied to helping those with neurological disorders, and I wonder what else these methods could be applied to.
Prior to reading this article, I had a basic understanding of how singing benefitted the respiratory, and circulatory system. I had no idea however that there were neurological advantages of singing and singing could benefit those with speech impediments. According to this article singing is “the behavior that lies at the boundary between speech and song”. As a result, singing is a sort of hot-wiring trick that has can in some circumstances, have more perks than reading. Singing enables people with learning disabilities , speech difficulties, and even recovering stroke victims to retrain their bodies to articulate what they want to say more fluently. Even in a disease as severe as Parkinson’s disease, patients showed an improved ability to control and monitor their pitch, loudness, and rhythm when they speak. This case study made me curious about how these studies could benefit former football players, fighters, and athletes that suffer from severe and frequent head trauma. Additionally, has this studied proved a more effective substitute for medication, or should this form of therapy used with standard medication as a compliment?
