Ben's Blog

When trying to decide who I wanted to discuss in this assignment, there was one person who first popped into my mind, that person being my sister Hannah Kiggans. Who's better to understand one's personality than the person I grew up with? The person I experienced everything with, who I laughed with and fought with and lived with. Yes, my sister seemed like the best candidate.  I had never really paid close attention to the actions and personality type of my sister. There was no need. Now that I am actually searching for answers, I am able to pull a few out of my head.      Talking about the mental traits of my sister that I have seen, and of course being fair to her as this is public, I would have to say the main few that come to mind are humorous, well-organized and structured, adventurous, and determined/ confident. My sister, from day one, as always been a person of laughs and balance, always making weird faces on Snapchat and doing hilarious voice impersonat...

     A personality theory I thought was most interesting and preferable was Maslow's Theory. Maslow's Theory is the idea that, for a human to reach certain peaks in his life, he must go through a process of obtaining the essentials for surviving and prospering. Using a pyramid, he creates five different sections, the lowest or in other words the bare necessities of life in the first section, then each section after that evolving higher and higher on the scale of needs and desires, finally reach the top where there is a sense of purpose.       Looking at the picture above, you can easily see and understand Maslow's perspective on life and how we must go through it. I personally believe this is a fine and strong example of how we live. In order to focus on the bigger picture in life, we must fill all our needs. If you are starving or dehydrated, you definitely won't be thinking about passing your math final or hanging out with your friends. You'...

                The topic today I am going to discuss is Nature vs. Nurture. If you may have heard of these two ongoing debaters, but have never taken the time to truly understand what these two words mean, I am here to tell you the believed truth of both sides. Starting with the basis of the conversation, there are two different ideas about us (you and I) living organisms and how we are put together, from our anatomy to our skills and talents and every single part that makes up who we are.       If you are on the nature side, you believe that everything comes from genetics, from our height to being good at math or even the way we feel. Nature believes you are who you are because of your DNA, not because of your experiences or environments or own will power to achieve greatness. Nurture is the complete opposite. With the idea of Nurture, it is believed that you are you, not because of your genetics, but because of ...

When doing this experimental task, I was able to learn myself about the amazing connection of the brain and music. I now know how much important music is to society and all the different ways it affects others. Hearing from a musician, someone who has devoted their lives to such an amazing field of rhythm, was such a great experience, as I was able to learn from a different perspective the major impact music has had on someone else. Music is not just an enjoyment in life. It is such a beautiful and flourishing part of who we are and what we have been through. I love music, a reason why I chose this task, and I hope everyone enjoys this amazing ever changing tempo.  Interview Part 1: My Feedback                                                          Interview Part 2: Her Feedback Sources: Brain Appreciates Music: https...

          Our minds are, in a way, like computers. Just like our mind, computers carry such important hardware with limitless possibilities. The can remember and store everything you need, as well as forget what you don't (keyword: delete). They are able to process a load of information and assist you on any personal help, as well as communicate with others and just improve our lives. So yah. Computers can do so much for us, just like our brains, but what happens when a computer doesn't have the right answer or can't figure out the problem? The computer glitches. It does as much possible to get you where you need to go, but then that's all. It can't help no more. Our brains do the same exact thing. When you look certain objects or see a sorta unusual changed reality of things, our brains sometimes just don't see a difference. You see, the brain is structured in a way where it learns by repetitiveness and routine. When the brains is shown things...

     Studying the brain and its behavior, I read many different articles of how the brain creates, processes, and, most importantly, feels. Looking at two specific video assessments over the brain, I was overwhelmingly fascinated by about how the brain works, and I still cannot get a grip on it. In Anjan Chatterjee's "How your brain decides what is beautiful," and Rebecca Saxe's "How we read each other's minds," both of these speakers discuss the brain's ability to express itself  through desire, sympathy, and many other powerful emotions.      In Chatterjee's speech, he discusses the connection our brain makes when each individual person sees beauty. Some observed factors over the years stretch from the likes of having a symmetrical face/body to a preference of the stereotypical looking man/woman, and just simple hormones. In our brain, there are actual parts which are specifically activated when we see beauty. Our vision center connects with...