IRB Intro Post #3

My third IRB will be My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. In it, she tells of her experience of having a stroke in her left hemisphere, and how that gave her insight into brain functioning. I have an interest in psychology and I hope that by reading this book I can gain a deeper understanding about the way our brains work. 

TOW #16- Words Don’t Mean What They Mean

            As simple as human communication is perceived to be, the logic of indirect speech is a complex subject matter. In his book, The Stuff of Thought, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker explains why speaking plainly may not be all it's understood to be. He compares examples from pop culture and uses a metaphor to underline the misleading, important details of language.

            In this essay, Pinker references the movie Tootsie and the TV show Seinfeld to display the complexity of communication in sexual relationships. He writes, “It is in the arena of sexual relationships, however, that the linguistic dance can be its most elaborate. In an episode of Seinfeld, George is asked by his date if he would like to come up for coffee. He declines, explaining that caffeine keeps him up at night. Later he slaps his forehead: “‘Coffee’ doesn’t mean coffee! ‘Coffee’ means sex!” The moment is funny, but it’s also a reminder of just how carefully romantic partners must always tread. Make too blatant a request, as in Tootsie, and the hearer is offended; too subtle, as in Seinfeld, and it can go over the hearer’s head.” This example clearly captures Pinker’s main idea: words usually have implied meanings that can complicate our thoughts and actions.

            Pinker also creates a metaphor to emphasize the importance in understanding the various meanings of language. To conclude the essay, he writes, “Language is a window into human nature, but it is also a fistula, an open wound through which we’re exposed to an infectious world.” This comparison beautiful summarizes his main idea by addressing the advantages and disadvantages that come along with language. It allows us to communicate with one another, but it also poses a threat of negative consequences. The details that Pinker includes to examine this aspect of language makes his essay interesting and effective.  

TOW #15- Girl at the Mirror

In my bedroom, there is a framed copy of one of Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers. Titled Girl at the Mirror, this painting depicts a young girl contemplating her own reflection. Rockwell’s details capture the poignancy and uncertainty of growing up.

Painted in 1954, the scene is mostly dark, with the brightest part of the composition focused on the young girl and her reflection. She has a magazine opened up on her lap that reveals a movie star. Scattered on the floor is lipstick and a brush, while a discarded doll is off the side. The way that these details are juxtaposed makes it immediately apparent that this girl is on the verge of leaving behind her childhood toys and her innocent unawareness of her appearance, and entering into the stage of her life where Hollywood and advertisers’ ideas of beauty are suddenly powerful forces in the understanding of identity.

Rockwell’s use of color and lighting, along with the sad and anxious facial expression of the girl, are important components of this painting that reflect a depressing mood. The dark colors blend to contrast with the soft white that the girl is wearing. While the child is pure, the world around her is dark and gloomy. These details are representative of the juxtaposition between childhood and womanhood that is being depicted in the painting.  

The girl is inevitably transitioning out of childhood and is faced with the harsh expectations and realities of growing up. Rockwell’s depiction of this is a work of realism that has and will continue to be relative in society and pop culture. 

TOW #14- You Don’t Need More Free Time

            The disproportionate cycle of long workweeks and cherished weekends leaves many Americans with the struggle of keeping a healthy balance between work and life. It’s understandable to assume that the reason problem is simply because people don’t have enough free time. But despite this commonplace belief, Cristobal Young, an assistant professor of sociology at Stanford University, argues it to be more complicated than that. He explains that it’s not just that we have a shortage of free time; it’s also that our free time, in order to be satisfying, often must align with that of our friends and loved ones.

            In a study that Young and his colleague published, they examined the day-to-day fluctuations and patterns in people’s emotions, week after week. They found that for both employed and unemployed people, well-being is lowest Monday through Thursday, rises on Friday, and peaks on Saturday and Sunday. Young’s parallel comparative results between employed and unemployed people support his argument by showing that whether or not someone has free time has minimal correlation to emotions.

            Young then raises the question: why is the weekend also so important to the unemployed? Directly answering his own question, he introduces the concept of “network goods,” things that derive their value from being widely shared. He uses an example of a computer to explain that its value depends in large measure on how many other people also have a computer. As communication technology, it is indispensable when everyone you know has one. But if you were the only person with a computer, its value would be limited. This analogy makes Young’s point about free time, because it is also a network good. Weekends are valuable because most people have them, not just because they are a respite from work. He concludes that you cannot get more “weekend” simply by taking an extra day off work yourself.