Thursday, July 2, 2015

The Brain is Best, According to the Brain

The debate class today was not filled with debates. It was filled with kittens. Just kidding, there weren't any kittens. I had you on the edge of your seat there though, didn't I? Instead, it was filled with brains. There were two presentations about brains, and diagnosing mental illness, because on Monday we are going to have a debate somehow related to that information. We haven't been told anything specific.

Interesting fact, mental illnesses today are diagnosed much like physical illnesses were diagnosed in the pre-lab era. This means that it is based on symptoms and evidence from the patient or witnesses. In the pre-lab era, physical illness was diagnosed based on symptoms, and it wasn't until doctors could identify germs that caused illnesses that there was actual proof of what sickness someone had.
The beautiful Balch building.

The human brain has the consistency of tofu. It doesn't taste the same though. The cerebellum is the part of the brain that prevents us from being able to tickle ourselves. Try tickling yourself. It won't work. And if you are in public it would be weird.

After the brain explanations, it was time for the quiz. Yay. There were 15 multiple choice questions, and four narrative response questions. I feel like I did well on the test, but I'm waiting to get my results back before making any assumptions about how well I did. I know I didn't fail it, but there were a few questions I wasn't sure on. I feel good about it though.

Of course, just because the test was over doesn't  mean I don't have work to do. This weekend I'm going to be working on my affirmative case for why the United States government should legalize (partly legalize) marijuana in all fifty states. It's a lot of research and hard work, but the class TA Austin is always willing to answer questions so that's really reassuring.

After class, Justice and I went to the Day Hall to meet with Janna Bugliosi to talk about our scholarship through the ILC and how the classes are. It was a short meeting, and she asked what I thought of the debate class, and if there was anything during the application process that wasn't that great. She was very kind and comfortable to talk to, and I feel like the Cornell Summer Program will always be a success with her helping out. (I'm not kidding)

The evening activity was ultimate frisbee, since it is Thursday. It was not quite as satisfying as it was last week, but it was still enjoyable and any chance I get to throw is a good day. I talked with Adam, who is an RA and a rising sophomore at Cornell, and Evan who is a student from New Jersey. Almost everyone I've met is from a different place, which is really cool.




No comments:

Post a Comment