Out of body experiences

Neuroscientists are trying to understand out of body experiences instead of labeling them as paranormal. Like the rubber hand illusion which can be considered an out of body experience. During this illusion the body takes the rubber hand and adapts it to its own. In this article neuroscientist are giving logically explanations on why this is an occurrence that our mind create and not paranormal. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/amp/articles/318464

Disney

Walt Disney created famous theme parks around the world. It’s no secret that all the rides and shops around the park have certain smells that trigger different emotions for guest. For example, on Main Street by the bakery Disney pumps out the smells of bake goods making guest more likely to go in and buy a treat. As we learned that smells trigger emotions in our brains which is also used as a advertising tactic but the Disney empire. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oxWvZs8dQoY

Healthy girl completely loses sight

As we read, being visually impaired hasn’t stopped individuals from being successful. You tuber, Molly Burke has been legally blind since she was fourteen and has created a YouTube about her experience adapting to the different life style. Since she has a rare eye disease she was born healthy but soon lost all memories of childhood and even memories of what she has looked like before and explains that because she is blind she doesn’t have the ability to dream. When she was newly diagnosed it caused herself to fall into a sever depression but decided to turn that around and retract herself how to be as independent as she can. She uses brail and touch audio on her phone to text, online shop, use social media as well as post to YouTube doing makeup and even driving a car in Shane Dawson’s video “ A blind girl drives my car” 

https://www.youtube.com/user/MollyBurkeOfficial

Lip Reading

Lip reading is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue when sound is not available. Lip reading is mostly used by deaf and hard of hearing people even though most people with normal hearing have processed speech this way. Surprisingly, it is used more often than we may know. Lip reading is also used when learning a new language. This chapter has helped me learn that lip reading doesn't only influence the auditory brain. It can also influence the brain regions we use to produce speech. 

Attached video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1jLkYyODsc

Anosmia

Connor Crosby


          Anosmia is when a person has lost the sense of smell. This may be caused by a severe head

injury, an infection or a blockage of the nose. The loss of smell has a very large impact on other

senses as well. For example studies show that when you cannot smell food it does not taste as good.

Without the ability to smell our taste buds can only detect a few flavors. Some common causes of

anosmia are old age, certain medications, cocaine abuse, or exposure to toxic chemicals.

Tadoma

Connor Crosby


          Tadoma is defined as the a method of communication for blind individuals. It is when a

deafblind person places their hand on another individual lips and jawline. The goal is for the fingers

to pick up the speakers jaw movement and the other to pick up the speakers throat vibrations. This

seems to be a very effective way for deafblind people to communicate with others. When Tadoma

was originally created the hope was that the deaf and blind would discover proper ways to speak

by analyzing the throat vibrations and jaw movements of others.

Out-of-Body Experience

The out-of-body experience is when a person experiences the world from a location outside of their physical body. With out-of-body experience, you feel as if you're outside of yourself and looking at your body from another perspective. I am not a video gamer myself however an example of this would be when they wear goggles that places them directly in the game. It's as if the person is in the TV playing the actual role. I personally wouldn't be able to do that without feeling really weird. It would take time to adjust if I did do this. It's incredible how our brain can change to accommodate the simplest experiences. I provided a TEDtalk below that explains the experience, our consciousness and the cognitive neuroprosthetics. The book also explains this in chapter 6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD7NzrBgXwM

Auditory Sensory System

Connor Crosby

        The Auditory sensory system is a system that describes humans ability to detect oncoming or 

receding objects based on the ability to hear. According to the book this sensory system is the most 

adept at allowing people to asses a threat quicker than any other sensory system. According to the 

book monkeys have the same neurophysiological response when they hear objects getting closer. 

However research has shown that the ability to anticipate when incoming objects will arrive seem 

to be inaccurate for untrained listeners. Many anticipate a much quicker arrival than reality, however 

this is also the reason why the auditory system is most effective when it comes to survival and 

reactions.   

Sommelier

A sommelier is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional that works in fine restaurants who specializes in all aspects of wine services as well as wine and food pairings.The wine experts skills are based on learned conceptual knowledge, attention to flavor configurations and language use. I provided a video that explains what a person has to do to train for the world's most elite wine exam. The video explains that a person must pass 3 exams (portion covering history, how to perfectly execute wine service and the hardest which is blind tasting). I had no idea how difficult it would be to become a sommelier being as though it doesn't sound too hard. I have been to multiple wineries that provide the details on specific wines and its definitely a great experience however i'm sure its nothing compared to becoming a sommelier. The book explains into detail what happens to the brain when a sommelier takes a sip which is very impressive.

See video below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB_dKX4Jhq4

Blind Baseball Players

I have played softball almost my entire life. I have also had glasses since I was in second grade, and I could not imagine trying to be a catcher without them. When I read about the Houston Heat blind baseball team, I was in shock! Of course, the modifications of the game are a little bit different than traditional baseball; however, the skill of those who are visually impaired in terms of their other senses was absolutely astonishing.

Because of the auditory approach system, the fielders are able to perfectly time when to dive for a fly ball. When they start to slowly hear the baseball coming towards them, they know it is not the time to dive. Then, once the sound starts to get faster, they know that it is coming near them and it is time to dive for the ball. The way that their other senses are able to be utilized to be able to play baseball is incredible, and they have their auditory approach system to thank for that!

Rubber Hand Illusion

Growing up watching medical shows, like Grey's Anatomy, I thought that I was well-versed in understanding how basic human functions go. However, with each psychology class I take, it is evident that I am still learning new things that the human body can do, particularly the brain.

The rubber hand illusion is when an experimenter places a rubber hand in front of a participant (where his/her hand would normally be) on a table in front of him/her. The experimenter will begin to stroke the rubber hand with something like a paint brush in synchronized motions. After some time, the subject will begin to feel as if the rubber hand is their hand, and will report feeling the motions of the paint brush. However, I feel as if I would need to actually partake in this experiment to really understand the illusion, but nonetheless, it is amazing what the brain can do. Because the participant is perceiving the hand as their own, they will actually begin to feel as if the paint brush is stroking his/her hand!

Echolocation

When reading the explanation of echolocation, the first thing that came to mind was sea animals, such as whales and dolphin. I was completely unaware that humans are able to utilize this when other senses, specifically sight, are impaired. Echolocation is when one uses sounds that he/she makes in order to feel vibrations of other objects that are near them, perhaps to avoid them or to get closer to them.

The first image that popped into my head was in the movie Finding Dory, when the beluga whale uses echolocation to find Dory when she is in the pipes and is trying to find her way out. However, those who are visually impaired are able to use this skill in order to partake in every day activities, such as hiking, bike riding, skateboarding, etc. It is not an easy skill to learn, but it can be helpful when wanting to do these actives!

Interpersonal Synchrony

Interpersonal synchrony has been shown in multiple experiments to enhance perceptions of rapport, and imitation has revealed social benefits that would facilitate positive behavior toward the person imitating you. The following video explores this phenomenon with infants, exploring the prosocial behavior of infants induced by interpersonal synchrony. 

Blind bike riding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAtVOK04XvA

I found this youtube video to be extremely interesting especially after learning about the blind baseball team. Just like the baseball team Daniel Kish also uses sound to be able ride his bike. He can use the sounds to tell when a car is coming or ever when he is suppose to turn. Daniel makes clicking sounds as he rides his bike as if he is own form of echo location so he can hear the sound bouncing off objects. Even when he is walking he uses his clicking sounds to hear it bounce off locations and he can tell where things are. With that sounds he can tell where buildings are, cars, poles, etc.  Daniel clicking sounds are his own human sonar and he is now able to live a everyday life without anyone else help. 

Smelling fear

It sounds crazy but you can actually smell fear.  Fear induced odors trigger improvement on certain tasks.  Certain odors can cause a heightened sense of cautiousness, which will make you act more carefully while doing certain tasks.  Smelling fear is very common in animals due to the fact that some animals are dangerous and other animals can sense that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmksQTVs_vU

The Uncanny Valley

The uncanny valley has become easier to avoid as better computer technology in mapping and generating proper faces have become more and more advanced. In recent video games, the characters' faces showed emotions that, when coupled with the realistic settings and environments, seem genuine. It gets harder for us to recognize something that may not be real when computer programs are being made to create realistic-looking faces. I found this website after watching a video and it is an artificial intelligence program that compiles a face together from different photos, within its database, to create a face that does not exist.

https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/

Post 3 Echolocation

In the book See What I'm Saying The Extraordinary Powers of Our Five Senses, a man named Daniel Kish was never able to see. At four months he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in both eyes and then eventually had both eyes removed. Kish does not let that stop his independence. He became an expertise with echolocation. Echolocation is the location of objects by reflected sound, they are particularly used by animals such as dolphins and bats. This allows Kish to know how close or far away an object is to him by using a clicking sound. By the age of 7 he was able to ride his bike and roller blade like any other child. Here is a video of Kish explaining about echolocation.

Post 2 Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a systematic and involuntary sensory experience induced by an unrelated stimulus. In chapter 11, Zana Devitto imagines specific colors when she looks at letters and numbers. She states, "It's not as if the letters look printed in different colored inks. The colors are lessdistinct, and seem more like they're surrounding the letters, or being projected onto them. Either way, the colors are inseparable from their specific letters." There are varieties of synesthesia, such as sounds can also induce color sensations. If you are not like Devitto, according to neurophysiological theories, everyone was once was before development pruned the extra connections. Heres a video to see if you are.

Imitation

Believe it or not, there are actually benefits to imitation.  While doing tasks that require you to imitate another person, it likely makes you develop your perceptual abilities.  Motor involvement is key when it comes to imitation and most of the time we do not even realize that we are imitating.  Whether it be learning a new dance, new language, or even a new sport, we are always using imitation.

Blog Post #3 Phermones

    Being with my female friends for an extended period of time, or even now being in household with my sister and mother our menstruation cycles have been in sync. I remember always being so excited when me and my friends would all be in sync when I was younger and after reading chapter 4 I know realize there is scientific proof behind this thanks to Martha McClintock. 

    McClintock thought that synchronization in women occurs by repeated exposure to other women’s pheromones could induce menstrual entrainment across the women, even without their awareness. In  1998 with McCLintock and her colleague Kathleen Stern conducted a study where they took samples of underarm sweat (human pheromone secretors) of women and applied it to the upper lip of 20 other women before and during ovulation and the results showed that when the women were given the ovulation sweat, their cycles lengthened by two days. When, instead, the recipients were given the preovulation sweat, their cycles shortened by two days. This study is considered one of the more rigorous demonstrations of how sweat, and the putative pheromones it contains, can influence menstrual cycle timing.

Blog Post #2 Tadoma

Tadoma is a method of lip-reading from touch used by those who are deaf and blind to communicate with people who do not know sign language. In the book the author explains the Tadoma method used on him by a deaf and blind individual named Rick Joy. Joy did this by resting his thumb vertically on Rosenblum's chin so that its tip was just touching his lower lip. Joy then curled his index finger index under the bottom of Rosenblums' chin,  while his three other fingers gently touched Rosenblum's Adam’s apple.

Nowadays Tadoma is rarely used because there is an availability of portable text-to-Braille translation devices makes it easier for nonsigners to communicate with the deaf-blind, as well as there being a growing number of deaf-blind individuals receiving cochlear implants, and the choice of many deaf schools to deemphasize communication techniques other than sign language. 

Here is a video of one of the most famous users of the Tadoma method, Helen Keller. 

Blog Post #1 Anosmia

Anosmia is when an individual does not have the sense of smell. In the book See what I'm Saying: The Extraordinary Powers of Our Five Senses by Lawrence Rosenblum he mentions Karl Wuensch and his anosmia, and while I was reading this it made me think of this funny interview that Jason Sudeikis did awhile ago on the Conan show about having no sense of smell. Unlike Wuensch, Jason Sudeikis's anosmia has been something he has dealt with his entire life whereas Wuensch's anosmia developed over time.

Post 1 Anosmia

Anosmia is when you lose your sense to smell. Karl Wuensch lost his sense of smell which changed his like dramatically. This was a result of large polyps in his sinuses as well as severely swollen turbinates. Wuensch was unable to smell anything. Since he was unable to smell his food, he had no idea that it went bad and because 80% of flavor comes from smell, he could not taste that it went bad either. When asked what items he missed smelling he said, he did not expect to miss people as much as he did. Over 2 million Americans suffer from anosmia, just like in this video of Travis.

Post #3: Mirror Neurons

Mirror Neurons were discovered in an experiment involving monkeys by Giacomo Rizzolatti. In the mid-1990s, Rizzolatti performed an experiment at the University of Parma in Italy with monkeys by recording from cells as monkeys were grasping food (raisins) and eating them. A colleague of Rizzolatti was also grasping for raisins. The concept of mirror neurons stemmed from this experiment by the way the cells of the monkey reacted to his colleague grasping for the raisins. The motor cells of the monkey were acting as if the monkey was eating the raisins, though it was just watching. Therefore, the cells involved in receiving mouth movement were responsive to seeing mouth action, for which, the name is self-explanatory. Although there are skeptics, many researchers heavily believe in the concept of mirror neurons and believe it is a huge part of imitative behaviors, which we read on, are very significant. I attached an extremely interesting Ted Talk hosted by Shelly Richardson on mirror neurons.

Anosmia

What is anosmia? This key term is defined as a loss of sense of smell. It can be caused by an infection, injury or blockage. In the book, The Extraordinary Powers See of our Five Senses What I’m Saying the author includes a perfect example of someone who suffers with anosmia. Karl Wuenschu story begins when he discovered he had anosmia due to a large polyps in his sinuses. In his life he has lost and regained his smell four different times. Anosmia affects Karl when sense of smell and taste. He expresses in the book that he misses the smell of his loved ones the most. Someone who suffers from anosmia may struggle when interacting with others dye to no longer being able to smell them. 

The video that I have included is an experiment that young adults performed trying to taste different foods as they block their nasal passages. As viewers watch, it is important to recognize the reactions that are being made as they can no longer taste the food. Not only is this video educational, but it also brings a great deal of appreciation to those who can taste and smell.  

Sommerlier

What is a sommelier? A sommelier is known as a wine expert that is hired by restaurants, country clubs, and more to test the best tasting wine to be served to their customers. It is very important to know that to become a sommelier it is a very challenging process. Someone who is interested in becoming a sommelier must train their palate and learn the history behind wine. It is also required that a sommelier earns their certification by taking an exam that is divided into three phases. After reading the book, The Extraordinary Powers See of our Five Senses What I’m Saying the author explains how rare it is to become a sommelier. There are only 167 mastered sommeliers in the world. This profession must really focus on using their senses to taste and smell the wine. Researchers have found through testing that sommeliers show an advance activity in regions where someone would taste and smell. 

In this video, pay close attention to Vinncent Mora as he is preparing to become a mastered sommelier.  

Structured Reflected Sound

What is structured reflected sound? This key term was addressed in the book, The Extraordinary Powers See of our Five Senses What I’m Saying. The author, Lawrence D. Rosenblum describes structured reflected sound as a sound wave that strikes a surface and can give off a direction of its location. Why is this important? The brain uses structured reflected sound to perceive silent objects. An example of this was shown in chapter one when the author introduces Daniel Kish. Kish is known for being a blind mountain biker who uses echolocation to not only complete everyday tasks, but to purse his passion in life. He may have lost one of his major senses, but he is able to navigate himself through life by clicking with his mouth and focusing on the sound that is given off of these silent objects.

The video that I have provided shows Daniel Kish himself performing echolocation. It is important to notice how structured reflected sound is used. At the end of the video, you will see Daniel Kish making a specific noise with his tongue to reflect sound off of these outdoor objects to navigate his way on his bicycle. 

post 3,Daniel Kish

In chapter 1 we hear the story of Daniel Kish. Daniel was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in both eyes, retinoblastoma are cancerous tumors of the retina in both eyes and can be fatal. Although this diagnoses was extremely serious Daniel did not let it reflect his own Independence. Kish talks about remembering himself always echolocating.  Daniel Kish says echolocation is like "opening one's eyes , echolocators instinctively increase the intensity (or loudness) of their clicks, and click more frequently when an object is off to the side or behind them. I think the use of echolocation is extremely impressive and the fact Daniel Kish used it to make a difference in his own life.

post 2,you taste what you understand

In chapter 5 we read about how we taste what we understand. While reading the chapter something I found most interesting was how the  book explains the recent brain scans of sommeliers . These sommeliers reveled that as we taste wine , out brain react differently from those of novices.As the sommelier sips, out brain shows enhanced activity in the regions where taste and smell inputs coverage. The enhancement likely provides the sommeliers with a more vivid representation of flavor. I thought that was really interesting how much our brain is apart of what we are tasting.

post 1 ANOSMIC

Being anosmic is losing the sense of smell. A person who becomes diagnosed with anosmic can be a result from a large  polyps in the sinuses as well as severely swollen turbinates which is the curving of the bone shelf that guides the air to the nasal receptors. Research has shown that there is currently, no known cure or treatment for congenital anosmia. However, other types of anosmia may be improved or cured when the underlying condition is treated. For example, if the cause is swelling in the nose or sinuses, steroids can usually clear this up and restore your sense of smell.


                                     


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCkvZFoIgDk   here is a video  i found about anosmic that I think is very interesting.

Post #2: Anosmia

Anosmia is simply the loss of smell. When Karl Wuensch was diagnosed with anosmia, it took a toll on his life. Wuensch was diagnosed with anosmia due to large polyps in his sinuses and critically swollen turbinates. This disease is also remotely difficult to cure, about two million Americans are currently uncured of anosmia. Not only was it difficult to taste foods, but it also affected his relationships with those who surrounded him. He claimed the smell of people is what he missed the most out of every scent; as it affected his intimate and casual interactions. For food, he learned to enjoy more spicy dishes, which was something he could taste better. Fortunately, Wuensch's anosmia typically gets better with several treatments and he has been in remission for around three years now.

Mirror Neurons and the Evolution of Language

I was very interested while learning about mirror neurons in chapter 9, especially pertaining to the evolution of language, and how in humans, the neuron mirror system responds to both transitive and intransitive acts. This article that I’m linking makes an argument for how human language evolved from gestures and vocalizations as opposed to the hypothesis that human language was independently created by the human species. It refers to the experiment of Rizzolatti that was in this chapter, as well as others. 

https://psych-neuro.com/2016/02/15/mirror-neurons-and-the-evolution-of-language/

Blog Post #3 - Multisensory Perception (Chapter 10)

Chapter 10 discusses the multisensory perception, like lip reading. I have never really thought about lip reading and how often it is done and how much it is used since the day you are born. You lip read when you are in a quiet environment, learning a new language, as well as when you were learning your first language. The McGurk effect relates to lip reading, it demonstrates that we all lip-read and use visual speech information. I find it really interesting that this effect is used as a tool for us to understand the type of facial information we require for visual speech perception. We have always lip-read according to a study on a five-month-old baby. Babies perceive speech from faces.

Blog Post #2 - Seeing (Chapter 8)

Chapter 8 discusses the phenomenon, the uncanny valley effect, that describes how we react to seeing humanoid forms that posses nearly human characteristics, like robots or animated characters. I thought this was really interesting because humans can perceive robots, animated characters, and even stuffed animals as familiar and acceptable due to a few human characteristics these non-human objects may possess. The acceptance of the object falls into a "valley" where its appearance seems "uncanny". Once it lies in the valley we react to the appearance and discover that it is just human enough to notice that some human characteristics are not there.

Blog Post #1 - Sense of Smell (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3 discusses the sense of smell in relation to retrieving memories, specifically how scent adds emotion to how you remember your life. I found this really interesting because I can associate certain memories with scents. Odor-induced memories can bring a person back to a specific time and context. Research shows that scents can make a memory seem more emotional too. I have a difficult time remembering my early childhood, but I can remember certain times from smells. 

Anosmia (chapter 3)

Losing the ability to smell is something I could never imagine. Personally, I love to smell things as funny as that sounds. The smell of candles, fresh baked cookies, coconuts, anything you can think of. During my time here at stockton I met one of my best friends who actually no longer has the ability to smell. I always ask her how she can deal with it and if/how it affected her life. After reading about it in our textbook I figured it would be a great opportunity to ask her some questions about loosing one of her five senses.

1. What age did you lose your sense of smell? 

8/9

2. What smell do you miss the most? 

It's been so long I don't even really remember.

3. In what ways did losing you sense of smell affect you life? 

Honestly, I do not really feel that it has impacted me by much.

4. Has loosing your sense of smell affected your tastebuds? 

it's possible, I feel like I don't taste things the same way as everybody else. I need my food to be super salty or super sweet to like it.

5. Would you want to be able to smell again? (why or why not) 

No, I'm fine with out a smell. Like I said, it has not really impacted me and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxzvCDg09P0

In the youtube video listed below, it explains what anosmia is and how it is caused. It's a short video giving you some feedback on what you need to know about it such as warning signs, effects and treatments that are available for it. 

Mirror Touch Synesthesia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ccnu-1Hkuc

Mirror Synesthesia is another rare variation of synesthesia that blows my mind. Mirror synesthesia is when an individual is able to experience a similar sensation in the same or opposite part of their body that another person is feeling. In the youtube video that I have listed, you will be introduced to Carolyn Hart, a women with this rare type of synesthesia. Carolyn talks about how she can look at someone with a cast, for an example a broken arm, and just by looking at it she can feel the pain. Carolyn describes her mirror touch as a helpful aspect in her life. In the video she talks about how helpful it can be for the individual in pain. For Carolyn, having this changes how she lives her life such as watching certain shows such as Game of Thrones. She mentions how she loves this show and is so interested by it yet there is so much violence she is not able to watch it because it will trigger her senses and she will be able to feel the violence on her own body. 

Celebrities with Synesthesia

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/88417/12-famous-artists-synesthesia

After reading and learning about synthesisa, I found it not only interesting but that it is quite common, especially in the world of Hollywood. In the article listed above, it shows a handful of celebrities with different variations of synesthesia. 

One artist that I am a huge fan who also has this "superpower" is, Billie Eilish. The article listed below talks about how Billie sees her music. In the article, Billie mentions two of her hit songs as colors,"Bury a Friend" as gray, black, brown—anything dark—while "Xanny" is more velvety, “like if you could feel smoke.” Synesthesia is something I find extremely interesting especially when it comes to people seeing their music as colors. For me personally, I have always associated and saw the number four as purple and the number 8 as green. Before this class and reading the chapter on this, I never really understood why or how. After learning and researching it more I find it so interesting that so many people see and learn this way and have different variations of this "superpower". 

https://www.iheart.com/content/2019-05-29-billie-eilish-explains-how-synesthesia-affects-her-music/

Lip reading

People that are either deaf or hard of hearing rely on reading lips to understand what is being said to them.  The tongue plays in important role in distinguishing many vowels and consonants to help a deaf person have a conversation.  A person that is hard of hearing also uses face motion to detect the words being said.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1jLkYyODsc

Post #3 Anosmia

Anosmia can be exceptionally hard to learn to deal with. Anosmia is referred to as a loss of the sense of smell. I can be totally or partially loss. This can be caused by a head injury, upper respiratory tract infection, or blockage in the nose. It has a second name as smell blindness. Many people do not see how this can be very upsetting to be diagnose with. I personally could not imagine.  The attached video is very educational on a year of hope for anosmia. 

Post #2 Auditory Approach

I find it so interesting learning about our auditory approach system. Auditory approach system is defined as changes in sound as the loudness increases from the sound that is being projected. Our use of auditory approach system is something that many of us could be completely unaware of.  I personally never knew there was a name for this! We all can hear him coming sounds and unconsciously do what we need to do to guard ourselves to a safe environment. Our auditory approach system kicks in and warns us. A great way for us to hear an approaching sound and know how to defend ourselves.

Post #1 McGurk Effect

The McGurk Effect is known as a change in auditor perception induced by incongruent visual speech, resulting in a single percept of hearing something other than what the voice is saying. This is very interesting to learn about. In the video I attached explains it very well. When they did a side-by-side it was interesting how just by looking at two different sides of the computer I heard two different things. On the left all I heard was “va” and on the right I heard “ba”. This video is very important to understand and to know the accuracy of unisensory components is reflected into audiovisual speech perception!

Our Sense of Body Ownership

The rubber hand illusion, as well as the out-of-body experience explained in chapter 6, led me to question the components that allow us a sense of body ownership. We know from the rubber hand illusion that visual and tactile input together, synchronously creating an illusion, can trick our brains into feeling as if the rubber hand is our own. It appears as though the movement (the synchronous stroking) in both of the aforementioned experiments was critical to creating a false sense of body ownership. Our own movement, or action, is intimately connected to our sense of body ownership– we know what is part of our body from our conscious control over it. The article I’m linking explores our sense of body ownership, suggesting that action is critical to self-recognition, which is a key component of ownership.  

https://www.the-scientist.com/features/understanding-body-ownership-and-agency-31597

A Cat Born Without Eyes

We probably don't think about it often, but humans are not the only ones that may have trouble in perceiving the world as it is. This cat was born without eyes but it was able to adapt through the use of its whiskers and ears. The cat was able to detect changes in the air through its whiskers, similar to how humans were described to do in Rosenblum's book about our five senses. The video shows how the cat was able to adapt to the point where the owners would occasionally forget that their cat is blind and it would difficult to remember as their cat is able to play, move, and jump around without any difficulty. The cat is even able to go up and down the stairs without any problem now, due to the owners having taught it the distance between each step by tapping. It's amazing how an animal is able to adapt so well without sight.

Post #3 Just add some paint

While reading See what I'am Saying by Lawrence Rosenblum chapter 6 introduces blind painter John Bramblitt. A man who could see all his life until his late twenties he was hit by an unseen car, leaving him blind. If you a familiar with the chapter, John talks about how he uses a special brand of paint that dries quick to allow him to feel what he is painting. He makes comments about how different color feel different, like black being thin and slick while white feeling thick. So after reading this chapter I decided to look up some of the art that John made, and I wanted to share it with anyone who reads this post. John even has a website and book that I will be linking below, there you can see the art he drew, and a short video on John.



https://bramblitt.com/

Post #3- The McGurk Effect

The McGurk Effect occurs when what you see by reading lips while simultaneously listening to a similar audio clip overrides the auditory sound. In other words, what we see overrides what we see. The video attached features Lawrence Rosenblum, the author of “See What I’m Saying”, and in the video, he shows the viewers first hand, the McGurk effect. The video opens with Rosenblum moving his lips to spell out “ba”. Simultaneously, the audio is playing the sound “ba”. After a few seconds of this, Rosenblum changes his lip movement to sound out “va”, while the audio remains untouched. However, as a viewer, you should hear the audio change as the lip movements change.  To prove the theory, creators of the video put the two clips side by side and played the same audio previously heard. When one looks at the “ba” lip movements, they hear ba and vice versa with the “va” lip movements. This video proves to viewers that visual perception has the power to override auditory perception. 

Post #3: Becoming a Sommelier

When reading the chapter about becoming a sommelier, it was interesting to learn how much work and time goes into their training. To be able to taste a wine and know exactly which it is and where it was made is extremely difficult considering there are so many different types of wine from all over. Before even reading the book I had watched a video on the process and training to become a master sommelier which followed Vincent on the road to his exam. As the book explained, many take the test multiple times before passing and this was the case with Vincent. Working so hard and not passing is extremely difficult. Below is the video documenting Vincent's journey to the master sommelier test. During the time Vincent was taking the test, it was actually revealed that one of the members on the panel had leaked information that would be on the test. Due to the leak, Vincent and everyone in his testing class was required to take the test again.

Post #2- Tadoma

I have always naturally been very interested in the way deaf-blind people communicate. I have heard about Helen Keller, but never understood how she communicated until now. Tadoma is used by deaf-blind people to properly communicate. In Tadoma, the deaf-blind individual places their hand on the talker’s face and tries to accurately interpret what they are saying. Most Tadoma users place their hands on the lips of the talker while some place their hand on the chin and cheek of the talker. The hand placement comes down to experience and comfort for the Tadoma-user. In the video, you can see, deaf-blind individual David Geyer places his hands on the lips and cheeks of the talker. To answer the talker, he then places his hands on his own lips and chin to ensure he is making the right movements with his lips and is conveying what he wants to say. The article attached speaks about how research proves that the performance of this technique “is roughly equivalent to that of normals listening in noise or babble with a signal-to-noise ratio in the range 0-6 dB.” Following lip and jaw movement, airflow, and vibrations can help users of Tadoma communicate very efficiently, almost as efficiently as normals.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3973218/

Post #2: Sense of Smell

    When reading about anosmia and the loss of the sense of smell, I felt as though this would be the easiest sense to lose. I thought that dealing with the loss of smell would be easier than going blind or losing my sense of taste, but then after reading, I was reminded how much smell has an effect on our sense of taste. and in Karl Wuensch's case, I wondered if it was better to be born without the sense of smell all together or to lose it later in life as he did. I began to look up information on anosmia outside of the book to see stories about others with anosmia, some who were born with it, and others who developed it later on in life as Karl did. The video below is an example of a person who was born without a sense of smell. 

Post #1: The Rubber Hand Illusion

When reading about the rubber hand illusion in the book, I realized that I have seen this often on television. Until reading the book, Although the book explains how this happens fairly well, I have seen the video below on a television show and felt that this was also a great explanation of the rubber hand illusion.

Post #2 The highest form of flattery - Mimicking

While reading "See What I'm Saying" by Lawrence Rosenblum, Chapter 9 talks about mimicking, how at a young age you begin to mimic facial expressions and how you change your facial posture. In the begining of the chapter we are introduced to Marilyn Micheals, a famous impressionist. She has appeared on Tv's shows since the 1960's. But you might be asking yourself, why bring her up, why this topic? As the title might tell you, I firmly believe that the highest form of flattery, is mimicking. You have people, who look, act, or even dress like the person they idealize the most. in the link below is famous singer Ariana Grande, watching tik toks of other girls, impersonating her, Grande does state how its crazy that someone looks like her, and is mixing her two worlds, one being when she was on Tv as a child star, and now how she is an adult and song writer. But I ask this to anyone who comments, would you be freaked out if someone starting mimicking you, would you be flattered or freaked out? Me, I think I would be flattered if it was harmless, but the moment it gets like weird, I would be freaking out, but I am not a famous million dollar song writer.

Down below I linked the youtube video of Ariana Grande giving her thoughts about the subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLmewz29sVA

Synesthesia

Honestly, the first thing that came to my mind when reading about synesthetes was the movie Ratatouille because I have never really had a solid idea as to what synesthesia was. So, I thought of it as something close to what the main character, Remy, sees when he eats food. Whenever he describes the flavor and texture of the food he eats, colors appear in waves and changes in pops and snaps as Remy describes the food. The colors also mix together when he combines different foods together. I'm not sure if this would be considered as synesthesia, as I still don't have a good grasp on what synesthetes experience, but I have come to associate Remy's experience with synesthesia.

Post #1- Synesthesia- What color is Tuesday

While reading "See What I'm Saying" by Lawrence Rosenblum, I particularly found the topic of synesthesia very interesting. Though I am not a synesthete myself, I have paired colors with numbers and days of the week for as long as I can remember. I do not stick by these colors and it is more of an afterthought for me but people with synesthesia experience these types of things on a daily basis. In the video attached, Richard E. Cytowic, speaks about how 1 in 90 people experience synesthesia with graphemes in which they experience written elements as saturated in color. The most interesting type is when people experience synesthesia with phonemes. When a synesthete hears a word, they, in some cases, taste a specific flavor. For example, the video mentions that when one particular person heard the word "message", they tasted sausage. The video also speaks about how synesthetes typically have a better memory. Their synesthesia leads to better memorization. For example, the pairing of colors to names helps them to remember names. This to me is very interesting and the video attached clearly illustrates how interesting it really is.

Post #1 Out-of-body, out-of-mind

While reading See What I'm Saying: the Extraordinary Powers of Our Five Senses written by Lawrence D Rosenblum, I was reading chapter 6, Rubber hands and Rubber brains. At the end of the chapter it gave an experience know as the Out-of-body experience is when someone strokes your chest wit a stick, your vision is obstructed( you who is received the experience has video goggles on that only allow you to see a what a camera is projecting) so you only feel the strokes, and with the other hand from the experimenter, he strokes the air  at a position below the camera, this making you feel that the arm used to stroke the air is the one stroking your chest. But people say out-of-body experience can be a sort of witchcraft, or in other words Astral projecting I put the link of the article down below because I am not sure if I linked it right via the post settings. But I am a practicing witch, I have no doubt telling and posting about it, but from what I about astral projecting is that it dangerous. Most people say out-of-body experiences are usually caused by drugs like hallucinogenics. To me, it hard to just cause a out-of-body experience without the usage of drugs, everything has to be and set perfectly. But who knows maybe one day we will be able to use technology to allow anyone to have an out-of-body experience.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318464

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/07/the-neuroscience-of-out-of-body-experiences/534696/

Post #1: The Importance of Scent Aroma

The way different scents affect moods in distinct situations or places is pretty interesting to me. I remember learning about environmental aromas in previous psychology courses, however, the book definitely goes more into depth. In my opinion, it is interesting how casinos and retail stores can lure you in to stay longer because of scent manipulation. A casino in Las Vegas discovered an aroma that is capable of keeping the public gambling for longer amounts of time. Retail stores also use this strategy by using scents tailored to each department, such as a baby powder scent in the baby apparel section, etc. Although scent aroma is a psychology-based strategy, it also plays a huge role in marketing. Individuals shopping will rate the store a higher rating if it is infused with a delightful scent and will be more likely to purchase something. I have definitely experienced scent aroma while shopping, for example, if I am buying swimwear and it smells like sunscreen or coconut I feel like I'm more influenced to buy a bathing suit than not.

Beep Ball Blind Baseball

Having played baseball most of my life, admittedly I would never think this would be so possible! I wouldn't say I was skeptical when reading this, I was more in shock. To be able to begin or continue a sport you love without having vision to see is truly remarkable. It shows us how strong our senses can really be. This section showed me how much value our hearing, and feeling has, as you are able to continue every day living and activities with sight being taken away. As described in the book, it certainly isn't an easy task, but as beep baseball shows when you put work in to what you love, anything can be possible. I think this also gives a lot of hope for people who may be losing or have never had the gift of vision.