Boice's explanation about why depression/hypo-mania can lead to writing problems was quite interesting. I found what he said helpful and elucidating as to why these can be real problems.
I'm more interested, however, in his discussion about the brain scans of people who suffer from these maladies. On 142 Boice talks about how the brain scans of shy people show their 'right frontal brains are dominant [and] tend to be temperamentally shy, wary, and reticent."
This is not the first time Boice has cited brain scan literature (and Donna does this quite a bit as well). I must admit, I'm always a bit skeptical about the conclusions researchers derive from this type of evidence. To me it sounds a little bit too much like the type of Eugenics and Phrenology research that was so prominent in the 19th and 20th centuries, that we look back on now and scoff at the way 'science' was so instrumental in the rationalization of slavery, hatred, and discrimination.
Not to say that's what's happening here, but I'm really finding myself skeptical of this type of research. The brain scans are cool looking, but I question what a pink section of the brain tells us about a person, and what a blue section of the brain tells us.
Thoughts on brain science?
No comments:
Post a Comment