Vocabulary:
1) (pg. 92) dystonia- abnormal tone of any tissue.
2) (pg. 93) congenital- a condition present at birth, inherited or caused by the environment
Figurative Language:
1) (pg. 106) "[...] unable to distinguish betweenadjacent tones and semitones. Without these basic buildig blocks [...]" Sacks refers to these parts of music as building blocks, giving them a very simple term to express their importance in music.
Quote:
(pg. 102) "Music, I regret to say, affects me merely as an arbitrary succession of more or less irritating sounds." The quote is of one of Dr. Sacks' patients, describing how music does not affect them as it would a normal person. It shows how different some people's brains function compared to the majority.
Emerging Theme:
The emerging theme is that many people who seem to be affected by music have a wide variety of brains types. It was proven and talked about in Musicophilia that the brains of full time musicians function differently that non musical people and they even have a difference in brain size
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
II. Post 6B
The main point of part II of Dr. Oliver Sacks' Musicophilia is that so many people have differently structured brains, and it makes Musical hallucenations sometimes hard to track over large groups of people. For example, Sacks wrote about the proven study that professional musicians have differently structured brains than a nonmusical or averagely musical person.
He also brings up the recently coined term, "dystimbria," and describes it as "a distant form of amusia that may coexist with defective pitch discrimination or occur on its own" (Sacks 108). In fact, the term is only known by certain members of the medical world, and is so new that no definition for the words exists on either dictionary.com or google: define. I wanted to learn more about it, so I checked these sites and learned that the word didn't even officially exist. I found a short discussion of it, though, on an obscure website about music and the brain. It made me realize how new the topic of music is to the medical world. It was recently added to the category of neurology, due to its relevance in the brain, and the fact that it relates to conciousness is a complete mind blow to many educated people. It seems like much will be discovered for the topic of Musicophilia in the future.
He also brings up the recently coined term, "dystimbria," and describes it as "a distant form of amusia that may coexist with defective pitch discrimination or occur on its own" (Sacks 108). In fact, the term is only known by certain members of the medical world, and is so new that no definition for the words exists on either dictionary.com or google: define. I wanted to learn more about it, so I checked these sites and learned that the word didn't even officially exist. I found a short discussion of it, though, on an obscure website about music and the brain. It made me realize how new the topic of music is to the medical world. It was recently added to the category of neurology, due to its relevance in the brain, and the fact that it relates to conciousness is a complete mind blow to many educated people. It seems like much will be discovered for the topic of Musicophilia in the future.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
II. Post 5A
Vocabulary:
1) (pg. 49) otolaryngologist- a specialist in the disorders of the ear or nose or throat
2) (pg. 53) iterating- doing (something) over again or repeatedly.
Figurative Language:
1) (pg. 52) "I said we have no 'cure' for musical hallucinations, but perhaps we could make them less intrusive." Oliver Sacks puts emphasis on cure because he is using it as a loaded word, implying that the outcome could have various benefits surpassing just getting rid of the disease.
2) (pg. 58) "He wondered whether, with the 'iPod' in his brain, he was taking the easy way out [...]" The patient of Dr. Sacks compares his psychological disease as if it is an iPod in his head, making it a metaphor.
Quote:
"I consider myself a kind of living laboratory, an experiment in nature through an auditory prism... I have been living at the edge." This comment from one of Sacks' patients describes how many people with musical hallucinations attempt to discover more information about the disease. (pg. 86)
Emerging Theme:
The emerging theme of Musicophilia is that many of the people who live with musical hallucinations learn to deal with a sudden onset of music in their brain. Many of them claim that they sometimes enjoy hearing the music in their head.
1) (pg. 49) otolaryngologist- a specialist in the disorders of the ear or nose or throat
2) (pg. 53) iterating- doing (something) over again or repeatedly.
Figurative Language:
1) (pg. 52) "I said we have no 'cure' for musical hallucinations, but perhaps we could make them less intrusive." Oliver Sacks puts emphasis on cure because he is using it as a loaded word, implying that the outcome could have various benefits surpassing just getting rid of the disease.
2) (pg. 58) "He wondered whether, with the 'iPod' in his brain, he was taking the easy way out [...]" The patient of Dr. Sacks compares his psychological disease as if it is an iPod in his head, making it a metaphor.
Quote:
"I consider myself a kind of living laboratory, an experiment in nature through an auditory prism... I have been living at the edge." This comment from one of Sacks' patients describes how many people with musical hallucinations attempt to discover more information about the disease. (pg. 86)
Emerging Theme:
The emerging theme of Musicophilia is that many of the people who live with musical hallucinations learn to deal with a sudden onset of music in their brain. Many of them claim that they sometimes enjoy hearing the music in their head.
II. Post 5B
I have now finished part one of Oliver Sacks' Musicophilia, and I have decided to do a brief recap of the main points of this section. He begins the section by giving a definition of Musicophilia, and expresses it as a chronic and sudden onset of musical hallucinations. The title of part one is "Haunted by Music," so logically one would think of musicophilia as something inescapable and malicious. Early on, he supports this belief, expressing how some of his patients find that Musicophilia affects them every day. Sacks also differentiates the difference between having a tune stuck in your head, and having Musicophilia. Catchy tunes, as he explains, usually leave the brain after two weeks at most. Dr. Sacks also explains how many people who have musicophilia also have epilepsy, and in some cases, their musical hallucinations are only sparked by seizures of the temporal lobe. Later in the section however, he writes about how many of his patients learned either to deal with their musical hallucinations, or they completely got rid of them with the help of pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the claim that musicophilia can only be bad, and that it cannot be stopped, is disclaimed and proven wrong by the end of this first section.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
II. Post 4A
Vocabulary:
1) (pg. 43) inadvertently- unintentionally
2) (pg. 39) analogue- something having similarity or comparability to something else
Figurative Language:
1) (Pg. 36) "I was reminded, now I was on land again, of my painful, arhtritic old knees." This Quote is an emotional appeal because it makes the reader sympathize with the author for his arthritis.
2) (Pg. 43) "Two days later, the narrator meets an old friend, a pastor, and inadvertently 'infects' him with the jingle; the pastor, in turn. inadvertently infects his entire congregation." The author uses "infects" as a loaded word, because it implies more than just passing on the tune, but also having the inability to get rid of it from ones mind. It also implies that the tune is unwanted.
Quote:
This quotation involves one of Oliver Sack's patients when she was given a cochlear implant (like a hearing aid, except much more intrusive) to improve her hearing: "I'm terrific! I hear every word you say! The implant is the best decision I have ever made in my life [...] Unfortunately, there was a downside, too: she could no longer enjoy music." (Pg. 55) It shows how people's interpretation of music can change when their hearing instruments are given the slightest adjustment.
Emerging Theme:
The emerging theme in Musicophilia is that there is no substitution for natural things. This is shown in the previous quotation stating that the recipient of the cochlear implant ended up not being able to enjoy music. Today, cochlear implants cannot help the mind detect tonal intervals in music. They are also less effective than natural ears at hearing relative pitch. These two things happen to be the "building blocks of music." (sacks) This proves that artificial means of receiving natural outcomes never turn out as well as the real thing.
1) (pg. 43) inadvertently- unintentionally
2) (pg. 39) analogue- something having similarity or comparability to something else
Figurative Language:
1) (Pg. 36) "I was reminded, now I was on land again, of my painful, arhtritic old knees." This Quote is an emotional appeal because it makes the reader sympathize with the author for his arthritis.
2) (Pg. 43) "Two days later, the narrator meets an old friend, a pastor, and inadvertently 'infects' him with the jingle; the pastor, in turn. inadvertently infects his entire congregation." The author uses "infects" as a loaded word, because it implies more than just passing on the tune, but also having the inability to get rid of it from ones mind. It also implies that the tune is unwanted.
Quote:
This quotation involves one of Oliver Sack's patients when she was given a cochlear implant (like a hearing aid, except much more intrusive) to improve her hearing: "I'm terrific! I hear every word you say! The implant is the best decision I have ever made in my life [...] Unfortunately, there was a downside, too: she could no longer enjoy music." (Pg. 55) It shows how people's interpretation of music can change when their hearing instruments are given the slightest adjustment.
Emerging Theme:
The emerging theme in Musicophilia is that there is no substitution for natural things. This is shown in the previous quotation stating that the recipient of the cochlear implant ended up not being able to enjoy music. Today, cochlear implants cannot help the mind detect tonal intervals in music. They are also less effective than natural ears at hearing relative pitch. These two things happen to be the "building blocks of music." (sacks) This proves that artificial means of receiving natural outcomes never turn out as well as the real thing.
II. Post 4B
Dr. Sacks,
I find it very cool that you are one of the few (if not only) neurosurgeons who writes books. I myself have aspirations to become a doctor, and have considered neurosurgery as a very interesting field. When I thought of a neurosurgeon though, I got the mental image of a very mathematically precise person with little consideration for the arts. You however completely destroy the stereotype which I made for your proffession. It seems interesting that you commit yourself to both research and surgery, as if you have taken both the jobs of the neurologist and neurosurgeon at once. Upon looking you up on Wikipedia, I found and interesting picture of you. It tells me that your'e a very interesting guy with a dry sense of humer who doesn't care what people think about him. I have become very fond of your writing, so thanks for such a great read.
I find it very cool that you are one of the few (if not only) neurosurgeons who writes books. I myself have aspirations to become a doctor, and have considered neurosurgery as a very interesting field. When I thought of a neurosurgeon though, I got the mental image of a very mathematically precise person with little consideration for the arts. You however completely destroy the stereotype which I made for your proffession. It seems interesting that you commit yourself to both research and surgery, as if you have taken both the jobs of the neurologist and neurosurgeon at once. Upon looking you up on Wikipedia, I found and interesting picture of you. It tells me that your'e a very interesting guy with a dry sense of humer who doesn't care what people think about him. I have become very fond of your writing, so thanks for such a great read.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
