Color Blindness

Throughout chapter 4, we learned about different senses such as vision, hearing, smell and touch. But vision is one of our most valued senses. Our eyes see an image and send it through the retina and back to the Visual Cortex, here the image is then processed and our brain tells us what we are seeing. One of the defects people have with vision is color blindness. I thought that color blindness was really interesting because I couldn’t imagine not being able to see the world in different colors. I then researched about color blindness and read an article about a man who was an artist but was color blind, how did he do it??
Neil Harbisson, 25, is an artist who was only able to paint in black and white but is now able to paint in color ever since he discovered a device called the Eyeborg, invented by Adam Montandon. The Eyeborg allows him to convert colors to sound. Harbisson said, “When I paint it is as if I am composing music on a canvas.” The device uses light vibration, vibrating fastest from violet and slowest from red. With this device, Harbisson has been able to expand the horizon for his paintings and has also traveled around the world showing off different paintings he has created.

Drugs and Neurons

Throughout chapter three, the main idea was about the brain and how information is sent from your brain to the rest of the body. Neurons are tiny brain cells that transmit information to different parts of the brain. Each part of the brain then controls a certain area of your body or a certain function such as language or balance. But what happens when a drug is taken? I always hear about different drugs and how they might make a person feel or act, but I never knew why this was happening. So, I thought it was really interesting to learn about why you act differently when you take certain drugs.
One substance that I looked at in depth was cocaine. Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a stimulus that affects the body's central nervous system. When cocaine is introduced to the body it blocks neurotransmitters from being able to bind with the opposite side of the synapse. When this happens, the brain is not receiving the correct signals and the user generally feels invincible, carefree, alert, and energetic. Then when cocaine is leaving the body and neurotransmitters and slowly making it across the synapse, the user typically feels depression, and anxiety. With something as small and complex as a neuron, even a small amount of a chemical, that is not typically involved with the sending and receiving of information in the body, can have a dramatic change on how the body feels and acts.

Naturalistic Observation

Throughout chapter two, I have learned about different types of research methods. There is experimental, naturalistic observation, case studies, and surveys. Each of these studies has different pros and cons that might influence the information found. The one study that I found most interesting was naturalistic observations. Naturalistic Observation is when researchers engage in careful observations of behavior without disturbing the natural state of the subjects. This kind of observation is good for seeing behaviors unfold naturally and not in artificial conditions, but it also makes it hard to get these observations without affecting the participants and how they behave.
A show that I have recently watched, that is a great example of naturalistic observation, is Undercover Boss. During this show, the researcher (the Boss) goes undercover to fit in with the natural flow of a company. The bosses have to go undercover so people act how they would on an everyday basis and not change their behavior to be more professional or try to work extra hard to impress the bosses. After observing the subjects (the workers), for seven days, the boss reveals who he actually is. By seeing workers and interacting with them on their own level and seeing problems first hand, the bosses were able to change policies and rules to make working at their companies enjoyable and people friendly.