Abstract: The human brain is the most complex organ in the body. Its functions control every aspect of life. It is important to attempt to comprehend the workings of the brain and to learn the effects of natural and unnatural substances on it. In order to look at chemical effects on the brain, one must first get an understanding for the chemicals as well as how the brain works to interpret and react to signals set out by these chemicals, rhythmically and physiologically. Several chemicals observed include: cocaine (and other chemicals), seratonin, and melatonin.
Nature and life are full of rhythms. Rhythms in nature include: day and night, seasons, tides, and lunar and solar cycles. Humans are driven by rhythms like: heartbeats, breathing rates, sleep patterns and brain rhythms which include chemical and hormonal secretion. Without rhythms, life would be uncontrollable and chaotic.
We know relatively very little about the complex organ called the brain. Our brain responds to nature's eternal external rhythms like seasons, tides, the sun and the moon. Animal instincts for survival are based on rhythms and drives of the brain. The brain is a collection of tissues that perform and respond to basic functions, desires and needs. The human brain is the most changed, enriched and complex brain through evolutionary terms, however, in its most basic form, it is the same as other brains of the Animal Kingdom. If one eliminates the cerebral cortex, one basically eliminates humanity and the brain becomes identical to that of a cat. If one removes even more, the brain becomes like that of an iguana.
However, the human brain is not that simple, which makes it even more sensitive and fragile to outside forces...
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Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was a man unlike any other, a man who strove to be better than what he was, and who grew up with nothing yet died with everything (Carter 179; PBS par. 1; Bugsy Siegel Encyclpaedia par. 3). Unlike many who give up in life because of the many problems they may face, Bugsy Siegel strove to be better than his father was (Carter 179). Eventually, Siegel began forcing peddle cart vendors to give him payments for protection from himself (PBS par. 2; Carter 179). Thus began Siegel’s transformation to a true mafia man running around with “Lucky” Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and the Murder Inc. which Siegel himself created (Southwell 212; PBS par. 4; Carter 180; Bugsy Siegel Encyclopaedia par. 2). Siegel was on top of the world, he was in charge of Murder Inc., had many mistresses, and his dream of a Gambling Oasis in the Desert was starting to take-off ( Carter 187; Southwell 212); however, tragedy struck one summer evening after the suave Siegel was murdered in his mistress’ home on June 20, 1947 (Carter 189). Bugsy Siegel affected millions of lives worldwide, whether through his psychotic acts as a mafia hit man, or his revolutionary idea of the gambling oasis, that is now Las Vegas (Southwell 212; Carter 179; Bugsy Siegel Encyclopaedia par. 3). Siegel’s tragic death, furthermore, shall forever be in the history books as a tragedy that would forever cripple the world’s chance of being something greater than it is.
To make the chronology of the events described it was necessary to establish the time of sunrise and sunset in New York City for the days during which the action develops. These times change approximately one minute from one day to the next in December, so we can apply without error the times for December 20th. On this day in New York, with a latitude of 400 N, dawn begins at 06:46 and the sunrise is at 07:17, while sunset is at 16:37 and twilight begins at 17:08, which gives us a period of darkness of fourteen hours, form 17:00 to 07:00 next day (all times refer to the Official Standard Time of the East Coast).
In order to discuss Melatonin as a drug and its effects on behavior we need to define Melatonin and what role it plays in relation to brain and behavior. Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted into the bloodstream by the pineal gland. The pineal gland is a small, pea sized structure near the center of the brain. Signals from the eyes regulate the secretion of Melatonin. A person's internal clock, will fluctuate between a 23-25 hour a day cycle. Therefore, our Melatonin levels decrease and increase with the rising and setting of the sun, which aid to putting an individual on a 24 hour awake/sleep cycle.(1)
Henry David Thoreau was testing transcendental values when he took up residence at Walden Pond in 1845. During his time of simple living at the pond, he studied nature and applied those observations to humans and everyday life. He was always learning from the woods, pond, meadows and animals in the natural world around him. Nature was his classroom and everything was an opportunity to learn. In Thoreau’s book, Walden , written at the pond, he theorized that education could come through an intimacy with nature and the end of education would come with death.
Thoreau approaches Transcendentalism in a political sense, exposing higher governmental powers as a restraint to individuality, whereas Emerson admires Transcendentalism in a spiritual sense, valuing nature and one’s deeper self. Thoreau’s utilization of authoritative diction, such as “right” and “law,” emphasize the oppressor in the relationship between the regulation and overbearing nature of society, and the free-thinking individual. As a result, Thoreau’s focus on society makes him appear more aggressive, rather than compassionate with the individual. This vision of Transcendentalism directly contrasts Emerson’s. Unlike Thoreau, Emerson utilizes sympathetic and romantic diction, integrating the words “believe,” “private heart,” and “true,” to equably describe one’s role in life. To Emerson, the individual achieves their greatest self through introspection and independent thought. Notably, this viewpoint accentuates the oppressed rather than the oppressor, the controlled individual rather than the force limiting their self-determination. Although both writers convey a message of sovereignty for the societally oppressed, Emerson and Thoreau approach the matter from completely different
Imagine yourself in a place without electricity or modern technology. A place where you are alone, with only Mother Nature’s gift of animal and plant life for you to strive off of. Where it is necessary to be innovative with the tools you create so that you may survive in such uncharted territory. True, secluded wilderness is the only space on earth where this is possible. Lush, green forests, where the birds chirp and rivers flow blue, are the only places with no distractions of today’s society. Where everyone doesn’t live through the motions of one life, but where you can be true with yourself and learn what it means to be human. This is Thoreau’s point of view in Walden. He believes in nature’s simplicity, that man can survive alone in the wilderness by
The brain is the control center of the human body. It sends and receives millions of signals every second, day and night, in the form of hormones, nerve impulses, and chemical messengers. This exchange of information makes us move, eat, sleep, and think.
The Tempest was written in 1610 by William Shakespeare. Now I ask, how could it relate to the new world when it was written centuries back. Such as the treatment of Caliban, the indigenous slave, is compared to racial attitudes in the 17th century. Other relations include more that compare characters to important parts of the new world, as well as very specific explanations that trace over to new world ocurrances. Here is how Shakespeare’s The Tempest relates to the new world.
Transcendentalism is a belief that would, in a way, consume Thoreau`s thoughts and it would be portrayed throughout his many works that he published and wrote. “Transcendentalism regarded nature, both as symbol and actuality” (http://www.notablebiographies.com). Thoreau wrote about being a transcendentalists in Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Another belief that he had was that he wanted an end to slavery. Thoreau was an active abolitionist until the end of his life. Thoreau wrote about being an abolitionist and how he felt on the topic of slavery. One of his works that focus on the abolition of slavery is Slavery in Massachusetts. In Slavery in Massachusetts, Thoreau wrote about taking a stand. He took a brave stand for Captain John Brown, an abolitionist. Thoreau wrote about taking a stand for him because Captain John Brown led an uprising against slavery and eventually got convicted of treason and died for this uprising against slavery. Thoreau really admired Captain John Brown for his bravery. His beliefs were portrayed throughout all of his works of literature. Thoreau was an outspoken man and defended his beliefs without a doubt. He was not ashamed to speak what he had on his mind and he did exactly
Henry David Thoreau begins his novel of Walden with giving a brief summary on where he is, and the philosophy on why he is there. He also describes how he feels about the people in the society and how he will be narrating the novel. In the first few paragraphs he explains how society judges him about his actions on moving out onto the pond. Thoreau makes clear that this is not a permanent lifestyle, but an experiment on life as a whole. Henry David Thoreau explains that people feel like they have to live up to a hidden standard, and that people feel they must own certain things and have certain quantities of other things. He points out that all this does is add worry and trouble to people and that people are wasting valuable life and existence. Thoreau makes sure that he does not believe that everyone should live as he does, but that everyone should value their inner freedom and live their own authentic lifestyle.
“Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself” (Thoreau, 2,3). Thoreau starts off this statement by referring every morning as a cheerful invitation; which, I believe, means that he looks at it as a welcomed opportunity to accomplish his goal in making his life of “equal simplicity”. This means that he doesn’t need the luxuries associated with life today. Instead, he only needs the necessities that can be provided by nature itself if order to be happy. He continues by striving for the innocence that is provided by nature, without the corruption of the constantly progressing world. Thoreau finishes by capitalizing Nature, I feel that he is showing his large amount of respect towards Nature and making it clear that he does not take Nature for granted. Throught his experience living in the forest I believe that he discovered just how pure nature was and the way society has corrupted the world. Thoreau then continues by explaining his reasoning for going into the forest which further supports his earlier criticism of society and his respect for nature. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” In other words, he went into the woods to learn how to live with a purpose that was different from the commonly held believe that life is meant to be lived in order to progress society. By embracing the answers that nature had to give, he relocated how to live with the essential facts of life, rather than what society has promoted such as money and possessions. This led into another example of the lack of independence of thought produced by the people of society. “The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for the
Set deep in our brains is a tiny gland called the pineal gland. This tiny
William Shakespeare's The Tempest presents ideas that have been deemed ahead of their time and at a first glance, there appears to be little more to this story than an exiled ruler and a shipwrecked crew. However, the many ways of interpreting this text vary greatly, and may rely on the context of the author to be related, where the text is found to be filled with intricacies and complex comments on society and reflections of the human experience. The first way this text may be interpreted is in a colonialist way, directly reflecting the new age of explorers, traversing into the New World, at the expense of the 'natives'. Shakespeare has used the characters of Caliban and Prospero to represent the colonised and coloniser , as well as all
"Patterns of activity in small, more primitive areas of the brain are recapitulated in larger, more advanced parts," Sutton says. "This means that nature did not have to develop new rules of operation for different levels of the brain from small clusters of cells to large systems."
Wells, M., & Vaughn, B. V. (2012). Poor Sleep Challenging the Health of a Nation. Neurodiagnostic Journal,52(3), 233-249.