Blog Post #10

Hello,

One thing I learned from Chapter 9 on thinking is that aphasia or an impairment of language is usually caused by the left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area or Wernicke's area. Some people with aphasia can speak fluently but are not able to read. Others can not comprehend what they read but can speak. Some other cases are writing but not being able to read, reading numbers but not letters, or singing but not speaking. A French physician Paul Broca discovered that damage to the specific area of the frontal lobe called Broca's area would cause a person to struggle speaking words. A German investigator Carl Wernicke discovered that damage to a specific are of the frontal lobe called Wernicke's area showed people could speak only meaningless words and disrupts understanding. Today's neuroscience continues to provide research and understanding of the way of our language processes. They have discovered that there are several more sites involved in the way we protray things.

I chose creativity intelligence. Creativity is the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas. On a standard intelligence test a score of about 120 is necessary but not sufficient for creativity. Creativity can not be measured by a standard intelligence test because there is only one right answer while creativity has several answers. Sternberg and Lubart identified five components of creativity. They are expertise or well developed base of knowledge, which furnishes ideas, images, and phrases. Imaginative thinking skills provide the ability to see things in novel ways, recognize patterns, and make connections. A venturesome personality seeks new experiences, tolerates, ambiguity and risk, and perserveres in overcoming obstacles. Intrinsic motivation is driven by interest, satisfaction, and challenge than by external pressures. Then last is a creative environment which sparks, supports, and refines creative ideas.

I think I am more creative intelligent than emotional intelligent. I think it is easier for me to think about something to create, draw, or paint in art then understand some people or the things they do. I think being creative involves lots of things from designing to coming up with a weekend getaway. I think liking math and science helps me be more creative with my ideas and solving problems. I want to seek new experiences and I am driven by my interests. I am creative when doing my assignments in art, figuring out what to do with leftover foods, and solving friend's problems. I think it is a high asset because it keeps my life more interesting. I get to do new things and solve several problems with creativity.

The most interesting thing I read in chapter 10 was about brain size and complexity. Doctors have researched and studied many brains from several different people. They discovered that brilliant English poet Lord Bryon's brain weighed 5 pounds then the normal 3 pounds. They then looked at Beethoven's brain and found numerous deep convolutions. They found out that some geniuses have small brains and some criminals had huge brains. Brain size and intelligence tests scores tend to fall in constant. Activity within specific areas of the brain like the frontal and parietal lobes were found. Einstein's brain was 15 percent larger in the parietal lobe which just happens to be the center of mathetmatical and spatial information. Other areas were smaller than the average. This observation concluded that Einstein was slower at learning how to talk but quick at other things. If intelligence is related to brain size then that would cause differing genes, nutrition, and environmental stimulation as factors.