At the beginning of Professor Vesna’s lecture, she stated
that Neuroscience is an exploding field that artists have always been
fascinated with. This comes as no surprise to me because after listening to the
lectures and reading through the resources for this week, I am completely
fascinated with this topic. I have previously thought about this concept of the
mind and the mind-body separation, but even after studying this week’s
material, I find myself just as amazed and puzzled as before this week. I think
that the power of the mind is so vast and intricate that no amount of research
of experiments could truly grasp its complexity. In my opinion, this state of
mystery that the mind, body, and consciousness create is the most interesting
and creative opportunity for artists.
What I found most interesting from this weeks material was
the lecture video on dreams. I have always been fascinated by dreams and where
dreams come from and what they mean. Professor mentioned in her lecture that
95% of what we dream is forgotten, which is something that is very puzzling to
me. From the Proust reading, the quote, “A memory is only as real as the last
time you remembered it,” really stuck out to me. I cannot wrap my head around
how crazy the concepts of dreams are and how you remember some but forget most.
As I was researching dreams more I came across a drawing by Salvador Dali. I
found the picture to be a funny representation of how bizarre dreams truly are.
I also liked Professors lecture video on drugs and the power
they have to completely transform your mind and consciousness. I found the
topic of LSD to be interesting because of the way individuals who take the drug
describe their “trip.” The way that the chemicals in the drug completely alter
ones mind is dangerous, but astonishing because perception is transformed and
what we see from artist painting and pictures becomes the individual’s reality.
Works Cited
"The Wonderful Mysteries of Dreams - Community of Lights." Community of Lights. Community of Lights, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015.
"Truth About LSD." Foundation for a
Drug-Free World. Foundation for a Drug-Free World, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015.
Max, D.T. "Swann’s Hypothesis." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2007. Web. 14 May 2015.
James, Matthew. "Conscious of the Unconscious." Psychology Today. Psychology Today, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015.
Linden, Sanderq. "The Science Behind Dreaming." Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015.
Hi Jessica, this week's lecture is definitely a fascinating one to explore. In particular, our dreams is definitely link to how our brain operates. One thing that is related to dreams, memories and our brain is the common phenomenon "Déjà vu", I am pretty sure a lot of people have experiences that a particular situation has happened before, although scientists still have not figured out what and why the "Déjà vu" happen, but this phenomenon is definitely linked to how we process memories in our brain. Our brain is definitely very fascinating to study and it is responsible for all of our physical functions. Interestingly, our brain can also be trained to see the inverted visual world and also determine what is we like or not !
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI, too, was fascinated by this week's lecture, specifically dreams. It is interesting that we normally forget 95% of our dreams, but I tend to actually remember all of it so long as I think hard enough. That quote from the Proust reading was also good food for thought.
It is super interesting that you brought in Dali and then drugs in your next paragraph. Looking at his work, it's hard to imagine thinking of such a scene without having LSD or some other drugs overflowing your system. But Dali famously claimed "I don't do drugs. I am drugs." It is quite peculiar if you think about it, how eerily similar weird dreams are often thought to be similar to drug "trips"; I mean, just look at Dali's picture! There's two tigers spewing out from a goldfish which in turn burst out of a pomegranate!
Since you showed interest in this week's lectures on drugs and its effects, you may want to check out this article: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/30-self-portraits-drawn-while-artist-was-under-influence-30-drugs This artists took 30 self-portraits while under the influence of 30 different drugs, and the result is just amazing.
Best,
Matthew
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI was completely intrigued by this week’s lecture. I thought it was extremely interesting how people believe that they have Déjà vu often, but in actuality we only remember 95% of our dreams. In addition, I found it particularly interesting that we can have hallucinations while on drugs such as LSD, that can actually create vivid images in your head. The brain is such a fascinating organ to study as it can also be trained to see what we like or not.