This TED Talk is crazy. In it, a woman who studies brain science describes her experience of having a stroke. In detail, she explains what she went through, what it felt like, and what she learned from it.
In order to complete this extra credit assignment, here's what you need to do:
1. Watch the talk. It's about 20 minutes long, so make sure you have that amount of time to devote!
2. In a comment on this post, respond to this talk. Speak in your comment about: your thoughts on the talk itself, AND your connections between this talk and the ideas of Transcendentalism that we've been studying. Be specific! (To post a comment, click on the link that says "[a number] comments", and add yours. I need to "moderate" comments, so don't be surprised if it doesn't post right away. Make sure you include your name--not your full name, just first name and last initial.)
IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CREDIT for this extra credit assignment, YOU MUST POST YOUR COMMENT BY 7:30 A.M., Tuesday, April 5, 2013, Eastern Daylight Time (that's specific enough, right?).
This video was interesting. It was cool to learn how the brain works (even though I found the actual brain kinda gross when she brought it out). The more she talked about our right side, the more she emotional she got. She talks about how our right side focuses on the present and how it was beautiful when your living with the right side. Live in the present with peace and happiness. It is very similar to what Thoreau said about how life is the best when it's simple and peaceful. However, he likes to be more of an individual where I think she was more interested in people being together as one. - Lindsay Hassard
ReplyDeleteI really liked this video, I thought it was so interesting and I think the brain is so cool. In relation to transcendentalism I think that when she was in the world of her right hemisphere she was in a perfect world of peace and no external stress which is what transcendentalists believe when they talk about knowledge coming from the inside and our inner instincts dictating our happiness. Jill Bolte Taylor explains how the right hemisphere controls our spatial thoughts and our creativity that makes up our individuality and that is what transcendentalism is really talking about. I thought it was really cool how her thoughts during her stroke made her come up with the idea of thinking more form our right hemisphere. Also, our left hemisphere is what controls our logic and our voice in our head about what we need to do next and what connects us to the outside world of reality which relates to what transcendentalists believe we shouldn't be focusing on. This part is also what connects us to external stress and society controlling our thoughts and Jill makes this part of her brain seem as if it is dragging us down and changing out thinking. I think the big message is that we should be thinking from our right hemispheres which brings us happiness and individuality and makes us focus on ourselves and our own thinking. Her points all connect to a more transcendentalism version of living and I think it shows a really nice message.
ReplyDeleteThis video was very informative and moving. I think it is so interesting to learn about the complexities of our anatomy and it’s unbelievable to think that our brains have total power over us. It was amazing how she could remember the details of her stroke, and how her outlook of life was forever changed by that event. I think this video has a powerful message that we can change how we live our life and that the more that the right side of our brains is working, the more at peace we can become. But this video also makes me question to what extent we can control that. How can we control which side of our brain is working more dominantly? I think this TED talk relates to the ideas we have been studying in class about transcendentalism because transcendentalism expresses the idea of the power of the individual, and how we have complete control over ourselves to seek peace. I think her stroke was definitely an experience of something a transcendentalist would seek to have- she felt no struggle to fight off stress and felt at complete peace. Transcendentalism also holds beliefs that people are inherently good, which the woman in this TED talk expressed. She talked about how we are all loving brothers and sisters, and that if we seek more of the ideas that the right side of our brains possess, we will come to complete terms with this idea. ~Melanie A.
ReplyDeleteI thought this video was very interesting! The brain is so amazing and unique. Before I watched this video I expected Jill Taylor to share how frightening the experience of a stroke can be, but she proved that it can be an enlightening journey. Its inspiring that such a scary experience resulted in the realization that our lives and peace are controlled completely by our brains. I was amazed that she remembered all the things she witnessed and how she comprehended the world around her as she was having a stroke. I understood her idea of seeing the world as if she were a baby and how she had an out of body experience. This stroke was an emotional event that made her see her life through a different view. I thought the most interesting part of this whole TED talk was when she described how she struggled to stay focused on calling for help and how she kept switching between the different hemispheres of her brain, also the fact that she could not understand language or relay the messages from her brain to her body. As I was watching I realized this did have a lot of similarity to what we have been learing about in class. Jill portrays how she views herself and life as she is experiencing a stroke. She realizes that without her left side of the brain life is much less stressful and more blissful. She thinks that this could be considered a good revolation and help better people's perspective on life and self.
ReplyDeleteWoah that video was amazing. It is mind blowing that she was able to remember step by step what was going on in her brain during the stroke. She was able to think about how to get herself help and realize that she was having intervals of in and out consciousness. It is crazy that she knew what was going on, without her recognizing it was a stroke and calling work she might have died. Her background in brain science definitely was in her favor here because she recognized the issue, and was able to keep track of what was happening all the way through it, and now can share her story. Her story is really moving because it gives you a different perspective on life. First of all the life that flashed before her eyes shows people how fast and precious life is. Secondly the message that came of of the whole thing, be yourself. While having the stroke her right hemisphere is being attacked stripping her of her memories and her individuality. Without this part of your brain you are nobody. This connects to transcendentalism because is shows how our brain connects our selves and who we are to society and the outside world. During the stroke Jill could not tell the difference between what she was and what a wall was. It was all blurred together, there was no individualism. This gives the message that it is important to be who you are, and stand away from what society makes you. Jill know has a knew outlook on happiness and individuality and how to live a more peaceful life.
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I found this video to be so intereting and I thought it was unbelievable that she could recall what had happened during her stroke. Throughout this video I kept making connections to transcendentalism and how her description of our two hemispheres is what makes us individuals from one another. Thoreau explains that living in the present moment and not worrying about anything is how people should live, and Jill got to unwillingly experience that. She says our right hemisphere is our creativity and what makes up our individualism. I think the right hemisphere is an example of ourselves and what we think while the left hemishpere is our language and logic that includes our environment and outer energy. Her experience during her stroke is what Thoreau describes as Transcendentalism, being at peace and carefree giving us no stress or anything to worry about. I believe Jill's experience of a different way of life and seeing things in a new view has changed her aspects of life completely and also changed her ways of thinking. If people had the same outlook as Jill's experience, they would be able to live a stress free life and what Thoreau and other authors describe as transcendentalism.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting video. Jill was a very powerful speaker, she gave us another perspective on how the brain works. During a stroke according to Jill you see yourself working and can feel every muscle in your body. It seems surreal and it was very cool how she was fascinated with how she felt. It connects with transcendentalism in the way that your own brain thoughts and ideas can transcend with your spirit to human nature. She was in tune with her brain and everything about her body which allowed her to get that perspective while in a stroke. There are a lot of different ways to interpret it but she thought it was really cool. I thought it was also very shocking that she remembered everything that happened within the stroke. She went in depth about each step and process she went through which is remarkable. I think she sent a really good message which is that the more we interpret our right hemisphere the more peace we can bring out in ourselves. She felt a feeling that was so different and out of the ordinary and she is pondering the idea : what if everyone could feel that by looking deeper into their own right hemisphere and feel that spiritual peace. I think this video gave a lot of insight into how the brain works and how people can interpret their own thinking.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought that this video was a bit weird and confusing, but once I got into it I understood she was talking about the stroke she experienced. It was interesting to understand her experience while she was having a stroke. I thought that it shared value of transcendentalism because it described how inside our brain it connected two different worlds; connecting a world of reality and a world of dreams. The world of dreams seemed to follow transcendentalism as it described being peaceful, with no distractions from the world. which is similar to what Emerson details in his writing, that there is no need for the society influence. People can be peaceful with simpleness in there life and this simpleness. Overall I enjoyed watching TED video because they are very intellectual and there is always something you can learn from them, as I learned from this one.
ReplyDelete- Andrew Wienen
These whole topics on life and being energy beans or beams can be very interesting and abstract. Usually we don't think about ourselves the way she did. The thing that I really connected to was when she talked about not being in her body but being some outside spirit that was watching herself. I have felt that before and if sure was a weird thought. These thoughts to me are what transcendentalism is. It doesn't always agree with what is normal but you still should express these feelings. I also think like people like Emerson and Theraue would have enjoyed this TED talk. It isn't a normal thing to hear about, a woman describing her experience of having a stroke. It is different but from her describing this she is succeeding.
ReplyDeleteWow, this video is just amazing. The way she talks about her brain and how she remembers the stroke is something that you don't hear about everyday. She was fully aware of her stroke, and as she was having it she was even able to think how amazing it was that she was having a stroke and knew it. The way she vividly remembers the events of that day and what was happening in her brain is just amazing, especially since I can relate it to when my grandfather had a stroke and he was unaware of it. Her stroke experience and his are both so different it's just amazing what new discoveries and experiences can happen in the world. Relating to transcendentalism, she is a woman who is very aware of herself and is expressing her feelings even if it's seen as different.
ReplyDeleteI watched this video repeatedly few times, wondering about what was the purpose of share her story to people. Her brain stroke story helped people to get a deep understanding of human brain, meanwhile I think she used this story to tell people about how does it feel to be empty in soul and she was enjoy the moment of stroke. It was scary, she was a busy women that doesn't have a chance to take a rest and relax her brain, she also convinced people to try to put down things they held so tight, take a rest to not think and care about everything that going on in this world, try to be a fool and enjoy life. Actually, I don't like the idea of Transcendentalism, some people think it's fine to relax and enjoy life like she said. What if everyone trying to be relax and not care about everything drop their responsibility away and what's the differences between men and animal. In addition, sometimes people are necessary to take a rest to continue their journey.
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