For this extra credit blog I will talk about representativeness heuristic.  This is when someone makes a judgement about someone based on looks, careers or where they live.  People tend to judge others this way.  Just because someone dresses very nice and in expensive looking clothing does not make them rich.  Just because someone dresses a little provocative does not make them a slut or promiscuous.  We all have a choice in how we represent ourselves but others will still judge.  Growing up, my sister dressed very wild and somewhat provocative and that lead her to have a “bad” name in school as being a ‘slut’, etc.   This is by far the farthest from the truth.  She did not sleep around and in fact did not even have a boyfriend but because of her state of dress, people used representativeness heuristic and labeled her wrong.  Others are judged the same way and this should stop.  People need to be judged by their character and actions, not how they look, dress or where they live.

Short term memory and stroke

I would like to talk about short term memory and strokes.  Strokes can affect the short term memory where they can’t remember things in short terms.  My father had a stroke and although he can remember long term memories, he has a very hard time with short term memory.  When his stroke first occurred he seemed fine.  He could remember everything except for what happened right before his stroke and immediately after.  Then, about a week after his stroke his short term memory started to fail.  He would forget to shut doors, turn lights off, turn the water off, flush the toilet, brush his teeth, among other things.

The doctors told him to rehearse everything and try to remember by repetition.  He tried doing this but he could not master it.  He still forgets to shut doors and turn things off, like lights and the tv.  He will forget where he laid his car keys.  He can remember things from his childhood and other memories that were before his stroke.  These memories are his long term memories.

It’s odd how the mind works.  Just a little damage and things are forgotten forever.  I do not know if it was the swelling on his brain or perhaps the medicines they put my dad on, but his short term memory has been affected for life.  It has been 10 years since his stroke and he has come a very long way and is back to normal as much as possible, but will never regain his short term memory.  This frustrates my father because he can no longer work on things around the house because he forgets how to do things.  He has an idea, which would come from his long term memory, but when he actually starts on the project, he will forget mid-way what he was doing.  This has also been very frustrating to my mom because she feels that he is not the same person.  Strokes are a pretty bad thing, and if they can be avoided, it is best to listen to your doctor’s advice.

Language and the mind

The mind is an amazing organ.  The way it processes and analyzes things is truly a mystery.  The way we learn and keep all the things we learn in our memories, whether it be short-term or long-term memories.  You can see it almost immediately where children are concerned.  To watch my children grow and learn and maintain all those things is truly amazing.

I can remember when my children were very little, infants actually and I marveled at how fast they would learn something and then be able to keep doing it, for example, speaking for the first time.  Just talking to my children, you could see they wanted to talk back.  I fully expected them to say ‘Mama’ for their first word but of course they said ‘Dada’, much to their Dad’s delight.  But once they started talking, they never stopped. To be able to mimic and then repeat a word and then to understand that word is mind-blowing.

They would learn new words almost on a daily basis and just repeating the words they were able to keep those words in their memory bank.  They knew when they said Dada, they were talking about their dad.  All the words they learned, from the very beginning, were processed as short-term memory then stored in their long-term memory.  They wanted to learn.  Children are eager to learn.  I love watching their faces when they learn something new.  What they learn, they keep and are able to use what they learned in later years.

Children are able to pick up on a language and use that language to communicate and express ideas.  They learn quickly what to say and what the meaning of what they are saying in order to talk to others.  I love watching the expressions on their faces when they learn a new word.  To be able to quickly process the new word and apply meaning to it is fascinating.  The mind is a beautiful thing.

For this blog, I am choosing to write on the topic of perception.  Perception of the disabled and that everyone has the perception that if you are disable and/or handicap then you need help with everything that you do in your life.  That those that are disabled are ‘outside’ of being a normal human being or that they belong in a different group.  We are all human beings, whether disabled or not.  People have the perception that everything in a disabled persons’ life is by far very different and that they should be pitied or treated differently.  Depending on the disability, some people are shunned or ignored.  ‘Normal’ people can be very harsh and nasty to those less fortunate.  If a person is in a wheelchair, the perception is they need help pushing that chair or that they need help driving, when in reality they do not need this help.  They are quite capable of pushing their own chair and there are vehicles that are equipped for persons that are in wheelchairs.  It’s unfortunate that they are bound to a wheelchair but they are very capable of living a productive life.  Persons with Down Syndrome is another example.  They are disabled but they are able to live a productive life without assistance.  They are able to live on their own, hold down good jobs and do everything that a ‘normal’ person is able to do.  Disabled is having certain handicaps but that does not hold them back.  Most people automatically reach out and try to help but in all honesty, they should ask first.  This perception that the disabled, or handicapped persons, need help all the time is something that needs to be changed.  Being disabled does not mean they are helpless or different.  It is a hardship, just like any other hardship people have to deal with, whether it’s poverty, health, or any other hardship man has to deal with in their life.  Disabled individuals should be commended.  They have a very hard situation to deal with, and do not need the scorn from others.  Those that are disabled are very strong and my heart goes out to them but they are very proud and just want to be independent like all of us.  For this reason, the perception that disabled people always need help is false.