Initially, I thought I would write about how much of a space cadet I can be and tie that in with false memory, and my inability to properly reiterate just about any story. However, after reviewing some posts, you all helped me feel insanely normal, thank you. So I have decided, seeing as I happened to have attended a rather intensive military language course, I might write about that. So, nu-ladna (anyways, okay..).

My first intended assignment was to be a Russian linguist, didn’t happen, I don’t know any secrets, so no worries with breaking any crazy laws. I did complete the year long course however. And if you have had the chance to take a year of a language, you can appreciate how challenging that really is. This is a tiny bit different, its a college, we learned history, writing, grammar, so on, but it was all in Russian, we were not permitted to speak English, classes were 8 hours, and usually around 4 hours of homework that was designed for you to not be able to finish, but if you left a blank it was moosoar (garbage). It was a lot, but it was really putting us in the same spot we were in as children. Need a bathroom break? You had better pay attention to what Gaspasha (Ma’am, term of respect) says before she leaves.

In my group of other Russian linguist-to-be’s we caught on quick, learned jokes, watched movies, and found a whole new world and culture. So naturally we want to share it. We watch a funny youtube clip, and even if you don’t know Russian, they use “SO MANY COGNATES” you’ll get it. It was always very frustrating that they couldn’t catch the cognates. How did you not hear the blatant English words in this foreign language? So when our lesson went over Speech perception, specifically segmentation, I felt pretty silly. If you don’t know the grammar, you don’t know the adjectival endings, you don’t know anything about the language, how would you possibly know that the word ‘pause’ which is pronounced with a heavy Russian accent and slurred through with whatever was being said is actually your English ‘pause’.

Learning languages is a difficult task, for just about anyone. So it astounds me that children are so able to pick up so many at once, and I was tasked to learn one additional language at twenty-one years old, and it was a struggle. I did it, but I dedicated a year of my life to it, no hours of play time, and cartoons, no playdates. But their little brains are just more open to the possibility that ‘Nala’ (my pup) can be a sobka and a dog. We are all still capable of this, it just takes more persistence to add in that additional wiring to whats already there.

So, my year in an intensive military language program left me fluent in Russian, I still mix up my words, sometimes I have a hard time putting my Russian thought into English because Russian had a much better word or phrase. Never in learning Spanish, French, or German in a traditional classroom setting had I learned so much. I love language, I love culture. And I hope those of you with families keep those languages alive, for your family, your history, and your health.

So I am at Disneyland with my boyfriend and his family for the next few days. I am usually very cognisant of my belongings, I do not carry a large purse or valuable items. Part of my military service included a tour overseas, so I am aware of how easily things are taken without your knowledge. I thought the part of our lessons regarding attention were particularly interesting for this reason.

I have experienced and witnessed being robbed in a crowd, or while your things are unattended. What baffled me was the clip we watched where the man had his scarf, phone, and other items taken right off his body! Even watching it I missed some of them items. And why? Because he was telling me what to pay attention to? That blows my mind. I would like to think especially with my training I might be more aware, more adept to notice and be able to take action against a sly crook. The fact that it is just a part of how our brains are wired seems insane to me. Once I reviewed the video another time I was able to spot what was happening, but it still baffled me that most people, myself included wouldn’t notice as it was happening. In our lesson commentary, it is noted, “these top-down processes of attention can explain why we can easily miss things that happen in our visual environment. While we attend to certain aspects of our visual environment, we can completely miss important events.”

This lesson has made me very aware of my surroundings on this trip. While I have not had anything taken from me here, I can see where the opportunities lie. Especially in an environment littered with tourists. Thieves don’t even have to be sneaky if they simply understand how to distract our attention.

I suppose it isn’t all bad. On a positive note, I was able to write this blog post in a potentially distracting environment. I could watch TV, or chat, keep myself distracted. But we do have the ability to specifically focus our attention. So at least it isn’t completely out of our control. Maybe we will evolve with more situational awareness in the future 🙂

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a superhero, cliché, I know. There weren’t many little girl super heroes and I wanted to be invincible. That dream did not end up panning out, but I did meet a little boy, Ricky who I was almost certain had super powers. Unfortunately, his “superpower” would end up with some pretty scary downfalls, similar to the stories I wished so badly to be real.

Ricky, I would learn later had no super powers, he actually had a very rare disease called congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, or CIPA. (Lambert, 2007) While initially it might not sound so bad, our perception of pain is vital to our safety and survival. Lambert explains, “People with congenital insensitivity to pain and CIPA have a severe loss of sensory perception. They can feel pressure, but not pain, so they are likely to injure or mutilate themselves without meaning to. They might know they slammed their hand in the door, it just doesn’t hurt.” Ricky was a toddler when I met him, and a very happy and well behaved kid, but it very quickly became very clear how important the perception of pain really is. The other kids in the daycare had learned through experience not to play with sharp things, or cry out if they are hurt or need assistance. Ricky did not, he would continue whatever his activity was.

Parents with children afflicted with CIPA have to come up with some very creative ways to help keep their child safe. In Ricky’s case, his father had come up with a way to use operant conditioning to teach Ricky basic things to stay away from, Ricky learned if he got near or grabbed dangerous things (stove, sharp objects, electrical cords) he would get a warning via a walkie-talkie he wore around his neck. This still required full supervision at all times, but it did provide hope, he wouldn’t learn by getting hurt, but he disliked time-outs as much as any other kid.

As you might expect, this disease is of great interest to scientist and doctors worldwide. Cambridge University genetics professor Geoff Woods is one such scientist. His team discovered that these people had two mutated copies of the PRDM12 gene as well as missing nerve endings that play a vital role in pain sensation. While there is no cure as of now, identifying this gene has provided families hope at a cure in the future. The Cambridge researchers also feel strongly that PRDM12 could be the key to helping millions of pain sufferers around the world. (Brodwin, 2015)

In essence, having the super power of not feeling pain actually has a lot more negative repercussions than one might initially imagine. Meeting Ricky helped me open my eyes and gain a greater understanding for how and why our bodies work the way they do. Our understanding of the perception of pain has come a long way, but thanks to these individuals who will never physically hurt, we are able to broaden our understanding of pain, and possibly how to alleviate the sensation if a person is in a situation which necessitates it. In my eyes, that makes Ricky, and those in his same position kind of like real life super heroes.

Sources Cited:

Lambert, K. (2007, September 21). How CIPA works. Retrieved September 09, 2016, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/cipa.htm

Brodwin, E. (2015). People with a rare genetic mutation who can’t feel pain are revolutionizing how we treat it. Retrieved September 09, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/people-who-cant-feel-pain-helping-create-new-pain-meds-2015-5