tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post7574406501745478871..comments2024-03-28T05:13:13.921-04:00Comments on Books, Inq. — The Epilogue: Let me not ...Frank Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-3024496370142439322008-07-30T10:25:00.000-04:002008-07-30T10:25:00.000-04:00Perhaps I was being a bit flip about the grammatic...Perhaps I was being a bit flip about the grammatical error in the "quoted" prose clip; and, I ought to know better since I make more than a few when commenting on the cy-fly-by. (PKB on me.)<BR/><BR/>The bigger question certainly involves the idea of a "better" brain post-stroke. When Marshall McLuhan had his first stroke, he wasn't better after its cause was removed, a fact well-documented by everyone who's written a biography of him.<BR/><BR/>His son, Eric, sadly, in his capacity as his right-hand man, suffered from his father's outbursts and related frustrations more than most; and, since I know Eric, I believe it hurt him more than it would most first-born sons (because he's v. sensitive).<BR/><BR/>Too, McLuhan found the notion of right / left brain dichotomy irresistibly fascinating.<BR/><BR/>Maybe this "better" assertion provides further justification for trepanning; but, I highly doubt all post-stroke victims (and their close friends / family) would agree with it. Dr. Jill discusses achieving a freer state when forced to live in her right brain; and, then, having her left brain regained over time.<BR/><BR/>McLuhan *was* left-handed; therefore, he was naturally inclined or predisposed to live in his right brain. So am I (so, I better not have a stroke because I'll be sunk). My father, who had a stroke, was right-handed; and, even after its cause was removed, he didn't improve at all. He declined, in fact (until his death in 2000).<BR/><BR/>I don't know anyone who's improved post-stroke, actually; thus, anonymous, you raise a valid query, one I hadn't considered but ought to have done. I think Dr. Jill's experience is a grand one; but, she may be the proverbial exception, a fact which ought not detract from some of the lessons she's learned and is trying to teach; but, again, the mind / body split's been disparaged so frequently of late, it's impossible not to be aware of the consequences of ignoring this interdependence and overwhelming body of proof supporting it.<BR/><BR/>(Erm, yes, as a matter of fact, I am procrastinating; I must write a report and I hate writing reports, especially in the morning which ruins the whole day unless, of course, I remember the ninety-second rule and use my right brain to leave it in the left-brain cloudstorm.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-46638525522040425172008-07-30T06:41:00.000-04:002008-07-30T06:41:00.000-04:00The bigger question I have is the presumption thro...The bigger question I have is the presumption throughout this and other reports of this person’s stroke that the damaged post stroke brain is a “better” one -- that there really is no reason for the damaged part -- and each of us could be better off without it.<BR/><BR/>Hmm. If that is true why did it develop in the first place? and why wasn't it removed after development as being evolutionarily deficient?<BR/><BR/>Or am I just failing to see wonderful new insight this am? And despite the birds?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-90537212986228696772008-07-30T06:02:00.000-04:002008-07-30T06:02:00.000-04:00Good thing I'm taking the month of August off from...Good thing I'm taking the month of August off from onlining it, eh? BUT, it's hard to have confidence in a writer who cannot distinguish between the contraction, "it's," and the possessive pronoun, "its," in their work. In the penultimate sentence of the excerpt Frank quotes, there it is (and the italics are mine):<BR/><BR/>". . . You can continue to make yourself mad all day and the more you obsess over whatever it is, the more you run that loop, then the more that loop gets energy of <I>it's</I> own to manifest itself with minimal amounts of thought, so it will then start on automatic. And it keeps reminding you, "Oh yeah, I was mad, I have to rethink that thought."<BR/><BR/>A copy-editor ought to have caught this; and, if not, why not? Doubt Frank would have let it stand if he were still editing for the <I>Inky</I>. [*SIGH*]Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-24906421504947266892008-07-30T02:42:00.000-04:002008-07-30T02:42:00.000-04:00Terry Gross of the NPR radio show "Fresh Air" inte...Terry Gross of the NPR radio show "Fresh Air" interviewed Jill Bolte Taylor on June 25. An audiocast of the 45-minute interview can be found on the show's website. It's worth the time spent listening.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com