Rhetoric paragraph

Article analysis

In the article "Whoa, Dude, Are We Inside a Computer Right Now", written by Ben Makuch, one can clearly distinguish some persuasive elements in terms of ethos, pathos and logos. Introducing the hypothesis' scientist, Rich Terrile, as a "well regarded" scientist and the director of an influential department at NASA, it accounts for his credibility and is therefore persuasive regarding its ethos. The article also appeals to the readers' sympathy, although not through emotion, but rather through colloquial language, describing how a Korean boy might be controlling us from his Xbox or referring to a well-known film. In this way the article seems more casual and the readers can relate well to his statements. The article's logos, however, is sometimes lacking some convincing elements. Apart from the argument that there are observable pixelations as well as similarities between quantum mechanics and video games, the scientist does not draw an utterly comprehensive connection between his hypothesis and his reasons why he assumes that we might be in a simulated world. In other words, his arguments are not proof enough for the reader but the article definitely is a matter for reflection.

PATHOS! -> missing

to read the article, click HERE

CAJ: Neuroscience, Memory Implants

Imagine Alzheimer's disease, problems after a stoke, dementia or multiple sclerosis which cause severe memory loss for a person, would not be that huge of a problem in a not too distant future. Neuroscientist Theodore Berger's colleagues called him absolutely crazy when he told him about his plants to develop a silicon chip which imitates the signals neurons process in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the part of the brain which is responsible for formation and retrieval of long-term and short-term memories. So, what Berger did the last two decades of his life is, to find out haw neurons function in the hippocampus and, therefore, enable patients to have the ability to form new long-term memories. Which turned out to be more difficult than it sounds.

Berger and a team of scientist have conducted experiments on rabbits, rats and monkeys which was a great success. They discovered that a computer could establish a long-term memory code from input signals recorded in rats' brains while they learned a specific task. After the researchers dulled the animals' ability to form long-term memories, they fed their brains with this memory code and they were able to retrieve the "lost" memory again.

The next steps in Berger's research is to implant memory prothesis into animals, which could result in difficulties as these memory codes stem barely from mathematical equations. His goal for the near future is to design memory implants that will be beneficial for humans.

We all possess two hippocampi 

For more detailed information, you can read this article by Jon Cohen: 
Memory Implants 

In terms of ethos the author illustrates Theodore Berger as an utterly credible person in two ways. Firstly, he introduces Berger (and his idea) in a very convincing manner in mentioning that he is a biomedical engineer and a neuroscientist (wow!) and that he works at the University of Southern California in LA (not too bad either!). Secondly, the author emphasises multiple times how nobody believed Berger's idea to work out and how it in the end actually did. I believe that the second point does not support the ethos although it would if it was not mentioned that often.

Concerning the pathos the author did a quite good job in mentioning that these implants might help patients in a not too distant future. Also, in mentioning that Berger's colleagues thought him a lunatic and he proving the opposite, it somehow arouses empathy in the reader.

Finally, the logos is very plain in the article. Cohen describes, very understandably, what Berger's experiments are, how they work (or did not work) and why it might not work out in the future how Berger has planed it, as he might stumble across certain difficulties.



source: http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/513681/memory-implants/

Neuroscience (CAJ) an introduction

Have you ever wondered whether you (should) feel or make decisions with your heart or your brain? A neuroscientist would probably argue it is the latter that is crucial for a human being.

But what is neuroscience? In a nutshell, it is the study of our nervous system. And our nervous system is divided in the central nervous system (CNS), consisting of the brain and the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS), consisting of nerves. Our nervous system is made up of billions of neurons, which are the transmitters that enable us to feel, think, learn and do almost everything we do. There are multiple types of neurons, however, they all consist of a cell body (or soma), dendrites, the axon which is protected by the myelin sheath and synopses or axon terminals.

Neurons transmit signals whenever there is some kind of sensory input. The dendrites' task is to receive the electrical signal, or action potential, and the axon passes it on to the next neuron through axon terminals. In fact, these axon terminals do not touch the next neurons' dendrite directly. So there is a little gap in-between. But if there is an empty space how is the signal passed further on?

Within each axon terminal there are vesicles (little bags) that contain neurotransmitters, acting like a chemical messenger that diffuses from the neuron across a junction to the next neuron in order to stimulate it.

This is just a summery of how transmission of signals approximately works in our nervous system. I am sure, everybody has at some point heard about it in school, depending how intensive your grade of interest for the functions of the human body at that moment was. And I assume, as you were in puberty, your interest was well-trained although not the way it was supposed to be. Speaking of which, neurotransmitters and hormones also play a major role this.

As we know now, our nervous system is responsible for everything we perceive. In other words, everything you sense, think and feel is the result of how our nervous system works. You can be sure there is something incredible going on in your body when you, for example, taste the best piece of cake on earth, or have an interesting conversation, or when you are studying, listening to music, feeling depressed or completely over the top.

As our brain does all these things, the study of neuroscience has spread its wings to many other disciplines, such as medicine, linguistics, psychology, engineering and many more. In my further blog posts, I am going to give insight into several fascinating studies, new technologies and developments or just some delightful facts.

Public Service Announcement

The loss of a beloved person, be it family member or friend, is the worst that can happen in your life. Except from not being able to come to terms with your past.

 It is crucial to experience all five stages of grief, psychologists warn, as it brings along 

dangerous consequences otherwise. 

Never having to give up on a person you loved seems like a good idea. The first obvious reason why this is not the case is that an avatar is only a shell filled with information which are not complete. The more treacherous reason is that you will be stuck with an idea which will destroy you in the end. 

A day in the life of a sock

In the first drawer of a wooden wardrobe lived my favorite sock with his wife. It was not a nasty or dirty drawer, but rather one of the comfortable kind. By some curious chance one morning, when my favorite sock felt extraordinary fresh, he felt the drawer opening like it does every morning.

He and his wife did not care and minded their own business, when suddenly they felt dragged out of the drawer they had to face the bright morning sun. Puzzled, my favorite sock looked up at me so I explained: "Good morning, my dear favorite socks. I think it is way past time to accompany me on an adventure. And today's the day!" Not quite sure what to think about the overwhelming situation, my favorite sock said nothing and, without any objections, I put them both on. His first doubts about going on an adventure vanished the moment he looked into the mirror and saw how perfectly my foot fitted him. 

Confidently, he slipped into a shoe, realizing too late how much it actually smelled, and made his way to...indeed, he did not know exactly where they were going because it was awfully dark inside the shoe. That was when he started thinking about the true meaning of life. What is the point of going on an adventure and not being able to see, smell, taste, hear or feel anything of the world? Suddenly, he felt very upset about being trampled on his feelings and about not being able to enjoy the day in the drawer instead. Back home, I slipped out of my shoes and saw how angry my favorite sock was. Before he had the chance to yell at me, I said: "My dear sock, what a pleasure it was to experience this day with your incredible comfort. Without you, the adventure would have gone terribly wrong and my day would have been ruined. Thank you for your support and cosiness; and sorry for any inconvenience I might have caused you. So, good night now." Lying in the laundry basked, my favorite sock started smiling. Now he knew what the true meaning of life was.