I called my mom the day after the VMAs this year. She commented on Miley Cyrus’s performance by saying, “this is the dumbing-down of America.” She’s said this countless times before, but when the Eberly Dean, Daniel Larson, started talking about the fact that the Earth revolves around the sun, it really got me thinking. I mean, there’s a lot of oblivious people on the planet, right? So, I decided to investigate how many American’s aren’t very good with common knowledge.

According to The Huffington Post, we have lost nearly 14 IQ points, on average, since the Victorian Era (1830s – 1900). Shouldn’t we be getting smarter? With all the easy and fast access to technology, news, and facts? Some scientists claim this is due to the fact that there is a correlation between women with a higher IQ and having fewer offsprings. Meaning, since IQ is partially genetic, the pool of “smart” people is getting smaller and smaller. This article also mentioned the Flynn effect, which if you remember Andrew telling us, means that the child is smarter than the parent, the parent is smarter than the grandparent, etc. So which one is it, an increase or a decrease? Unfortunately, the article didn’t give a definitive answer. Personally, I think there is stronger evidence for a decrease than an increase. I mean, hello, there are people who don’t know what the Fourth of July is…seems like a pretty strong sign of a decrease to me.

Quite frankly, living on the Marcellus Shale sucks. Over the past few years, my town has seen a dramatic increase in loud trucks, idiotic drivers from out-of-state, inconveniences right and left, and ruined landscape. These are just a few side effects of what is known as “fracking,” or the process by which natural gas is retrieved.

It’s impossible to argue that increasing our available supply of natural gas is a negative thing. I’m not saying fracking is completely awful; it has provided many jobs and increased business within our small community from nearly every aspect of the industry. And, as Tom Mallouk mentioned last week in class, oil will never run out in our lifetimes (so long as we make the effort to extract it). On the contrary, fracking has also had a negative impact on my community. In 2010, a documentary entitled Gasland made its debut. The film featured friends from my high school and town that had been impacted by the fracking. At the time, one of the main concerns was contaminated water. People near me had dirty water, filled with mud, minerals, and methane. Yeah, METHANE. Not to mention air pollution and the fact that they seem look at us as a bunch of simple-minded hicks (yeah, I know I quoted The Beverly Hillbillies like two seconds ago). On a slightly less serious and more stereotypical note: these people are awful drivers. They can’t make a turn, they can’t keep up with the flow of traffic, their trucks ruin the road, which leads to lengthy construction, and essentially they just make getting anywhere a huge hassle (and I mean ANYWHERE). I also live in a large farming community, where disturbances to the landscape and ecosystem can actually impact the livelihood of my neighbors. While that may be more of a long-term effect, it’s entirely plausible to think that this will happen. When farms go out of business and the gas industry has moved out, what jobs will be left? The benefits now may only increase the costs down the road.

I’ve said this countless times. I refuse to watch Marley and Me. I hated I Am Legend in large part due to the fact that (spoiler alert) the dog dies. In 5^th grade, I bawled my eyes out reading Where the Red Fern Grows, and I still haven’t seen Old Yeller because I had the book when I was little and skipped ahead to the end. But, when Anne Hathaway dies in Les Miserables? Nothing. Not a tear (the rest of the movie was a different story) (and don’t even get me started on any of the deaths in the Harry Potter movies…but I digress). The point is, as a general rule I will cry every time a dog dies, but human deaths take a little bit more. I thought I was probably a horrible person, but studies show this is actually pretty normal.

            A study presented by the American Sociological Association showed that people are more likely to feel sorrier for a dog or puppy than a grown man. They went on to explain that empathy is inversely proportionate to age and directly proportionate to vulnerability, meaning the younger and more vulnerable something is, the more empathy we feel for it. The study also explained that the relationship people have with their dogs is very much like the relationship with their children. The compulsive need to protect animals also stems from their unconditional love, which is something that every dog owner understands.

            On the other hand, an article by researcher Marc Bekoff says that animals are also very empathetic. They offered a dog a less tasty treat as a reward for an action, and the dog was less compliant than those who got a better treat. However, I believe that this must be taken with a grain of salt. That is to say, when taking a dog’s empathy into consideration, what exactly does a dog feel is a violation of that unconditional love, and consequently make them feel less empathy towards a person or another animal? Other than treats and rewards, what is it that animals understand of the human culture and value highly enough to be offended by? I know that I’ve been at college for almost a month, and gave very little explanation to my poor, confused beagle at home.   Yet I know that she will still be very excited to see me when I go home next weekend. If I’d left for a month with little explanation to my mother, I think, needless to say, the ending of that story would be very different.

            It makes me feel a little bit better to know that I’m not the only one who would rather watch Air Bud than All Dogs Go to Heaven, and that my dog has empathy for me just as I do for her.

I was walking through a field by my neighbor’s house in the middle of summer.  I was dehydrated and exhausted, and my dog was walking beside me. I was probably about 300 yards from my neighbor’s house, yet as I kept walking, I never seemed to get any closer. It seemed to be never-ending, going on for hours. The next thing I knew, I was laying in my bed, sweating, in my pajamas. This was one of my recurring childhood dreams, and it never got any less terrifying. Recurring dreams are a very common problem, but could there be a way to stop them? Scientists studied just that, and put together reports that look at whether or not dreams can be controlled.

            Remember that episode of SpongeBob where everyone’s favorite porous cartoon ran around Bikini Bottom jumping into everyone else’s dreams and, consequently, changing the “plot” of the dream? It turns out that isn’t so far-fetched (the changing-the-dream part…not the whole jumping-into-other-people’s-subconscious part).  In an article posted on Scientific American, assistant clinical psychology professor at Harvard, Deirdre Barrett explained that there are many different factors that play into if/how dreams can be controlled.

“…Whether you’re trying to induce lucid dreams, whether you’re trying to dream about particular content or whether you’re trying to dream a solution to a particular personal or objective problem. Another really common application has been influencing nightmares, especially recurring post-traumatic nightmares–either to stop them or turn them into some sort of mastery dream.”

                                    – Deirdre Barrett

She went on to explain that if you wish to solve a problem in a dream, AKA “sleep on it,” you should simply think over the problem before bed; both logically and visually. To dream about a specific person, place, thing, etc….you’d follow basically the same path as for problem solving. Then, there’s the interesting topic of changing recurring nightmares, usually from traumatic experiences; psychologists say that by simply envisioning and describing a different ending to the nightmare, one that makes you feel safe or less frightened. On the other hand, WebMD suggests that sticking to a constant pattern of sleeping at the same time each night will help reduce nightmares, as well as exercise and other means of stress-relief.

An image posted by Human Illnesses shows your brain activity while asleep, awake, and during REM, which is when most all dreams occur. As you can see, the brain is functioning much more during REM than other stages of sleep, and is more similar to the brain while it is awake. My hypothesis is that if you can influence, while awake, the same parts of your brain that are active during REM and while awake, it would be a link and would help to change the narrative path of a dream.

            Recurring dreams are awful, there’s no doubt about that – whether it’s walking through a never-ending field or something even worse, you want nothing more than to get rid of them. Now, with the help of the research of top psychologists, it appears fixing these problems are just a thought away.

Your alarm goes off before the sun comes up and you drag yourself out of bed. It’s snowing, you’re freezing, and now you’re going to be stuck outside in the snow for the next three or four hours. Welcome to softball season. I grew up playing softball, so I was no stranger to the art of layering; however, this also meant I was no stranger to injuries. Fractured ankles, twisted knees, and of course: whatever in God’s name happened to be wrong with my arm that day. Whether it was my shoulder, my elbow, my wrist, or all three (as usual), my arm never seemed to be working right.  The cold ruined whatever function I had in my shoulder, but there’s no crying in softball – you get out there and play anyway. Consequently, my days as a pitcher were limited, but I know that it is no easy nor painless task. For years, it was said that “windmill” pitching (the standard in fast-pitch softball) was a natural body motion. However, research has proved that isn’t true. More and more information is coming out about the risks of windmill pitching.

            As described in Columbia Sports Journalism, it has long been believed that softball pitchers exert less strain on their arm than baseball players. This is simply not true.  Research shows that while little league baseball puts a lot of stress on the elbow, softball exerts more strain on the shoulder, rotator cuff, and bicep. The stress of windmill pitching is also greater overall than overhand pitching. It is also important to note that baseball has limits on the number of pitches that can be thrown without having a certain number of days off afterwards, while softball does not.

            According to Phys.org when high-level softball pitchers were tested, the muscle force exerted on a typical pitch was much higher than that of a baseball pitcher. In fact, it showed most force was exerted between phases 5 and 6 (see image). In addition, phys.org stated that on a typical tournament weekend, a softball pitcher could throw 12-15 times as many pitches in three days as a baseball pitcher would in one night with a 4-5 day break in between. Combining these factors, it is almost alarming how much more exertion a softball pitcher’s muscles must put forth as compared to those of a baseball pitcher.

            Today, it is clear that windmill-style pitching is much more stressful on the arm than typical overhand pitching. However, there are many other dangerous habits within the world of softball. A major problem for many players is the dangers that come with throwing “sidearm,” or throwing from around the side rather than over the top. I have had many issues with this style for much of my life, but I suppose that is a blog post for a different day. Still, I think for now I will continue to stay away from returning to my former not-so-much-glory as a softball pitcher.

The ultimate awkward introduction: random roommates. You’ve randomly been paired with a total stranger and now you’re trying to get to know them via Facebook or text. Not that it really makes any difference of course – no matter what their personality, this is the person you’re living with for the next year, squashed into a tiny box in East Halls. Some people luck out (like me) and are fortunate enough to get a roommate that’s super nice and generally easy to live with. But then there are the horror stories. Some people have the unfortunate luck of spending their freshman year of college trapped in what feels like an infinitely more terrifying remake of The Roommate. But I digress…these awkward introductions often start with general facts about oneself, including the ever-popular, “What kind of music do you like?”  Thanks to the blog of a fellow classmate, I learned that someone’s taste in music may be partially influenced by their brain. So I decided to investigate the question “What other effects does music have on the brain?” As a Public Relations major whose dream is to work in the music industry, I found the results quite interesting.

            So why IS music such an enjoyable experience for humans? According to an article by the New York Times, music has the ability to reach into the “reward system” in our brain. This is the same part of the brain that releases dopamine, a chemical that is sent out in response to sex, food, and certain types of drugs. In other words, when music is particularly enjoyable, dopamine is released and it simply makes you feel really good. However, questions still remain.  What exactly is it about those certain musical moments that trigger the release of dopamine? I would hypothesize that it has to do with our musical tastes and often comes at a moment of high intensity or emotion in a song. Examining the points at which the brain showed an increase in dopamine could easily test this hypothesis.  It also makes me curious to know how much dopamine is released while listening to music as compared to during sex, while eating, or while doing cocaine; this could also be very easily tested.

             Time Magazine also posted a similar article, yet they read more into what causes a “craving” for music. The same part of the brain that releases dopamine is also in control of addictions. Consequently, this makes music much more desirable. Their research also showed that brains have a certain way of “predicting” the melody and musicality of how a song will progress based on their prior musical memory and the preceding tonality within the song. One thing that seemed curious to me was that animals do not have higher levels of dopamine while listening to music, yet they do while eating or having sex. This poses the question: What is different about that area of an animal’s brain that causes them to have no neurological reaction to music?

 Last but not least, CNN attempted to answer the question, “Why do we like what we like?” They found that this can be affected in more than one way, yet the most scientific was through different neurological pathways and brain structures. I would hypothesize that they can have an impact on how a brain processes different stimuli and therefore act as the cause of different musical tastes. Their studies also showed that people would pay more for a song that caused stronger positive reactions in their brain, which is highly unsurprising since those songs were obviously more pleasurable to the listener/consumer.

So, the next time you’re faced with an awkward introduction and the topic of music comes up, you can simply spiel off these facts instead. This, however, runs the risk of coming across as a total nerd (of course, if this person is worth truly getting to know they will probably find this rather interesting).

Do you ever contemplate the idea that one miniscule event in your life could have changed you forever? Imagine that you’d been just 30 seconds earlier to class that day and sat in a different seat; you could have missed out on sitting next to the person who may one day be your best friend. Perhaps you missed a song on the radio, and you may not have ever heard of what is now your favorite band. The opportunities that we take, as well as those we skip over, have the chance to mold and shape who we are and where our lives take us. Some facets could be due to pure chance, or our background may affect some aspects of who we become. Continuing with the idea discussed in class as to whether or not worms can impact intelligence, I decided to look into what else can have an effect on a person’s academic success.

             There are a few obvious factors that play into a person’s measured intelligence, such as their upbringing, environment, and role models. It’s very easy to see how these could have a huge influence on an individual’s academic success. A healthy upbringing in a happy and well-off home will allow a child to focus more on their studies, and positive role models give children something to aspire towards which usually gives them a more powerful drive to do well in school.  According to The Discovery Channel, there are five main factors that influence a person’s intelligence. The first is genetics, which they refer to as “nurture.” Studies show that genetics can influence anywhere from 40% to 80% of a person’s intelligence. It is also connected to the brain structure, as brain pathways with “better” development allow for better IQ scores. The next reason they list is early nutrition. They state that the nutrients received from a mother’s diet before a child is born, as well as the nutrients they receive within the first few years of life, can enhance brain structure, as well as enlarge the caudate. The caudate is a region in the brain that involves the way we learn as well as our memory. As previously mentioned, they also list “nurture” as a factor, which is essentially the environment in which a child grows up. Another factor listed is what is referred to as “birth order,” meaning that there was once an understanding that the oldest child would be more intelligent than any child born after. While this is neither proven nor disproven, it is often accepted to be true. The final factor they list is environment, which they essentially describe to be the same thing as “nurture.” They did not form a clear line between “nurture” and the “environment” or how they may each have a different impact on a child (“Curiosity”).

The question that now remains is: what other factors play into a person’s intelligence?  Also, what steps could parents take before a child is born to improve their IQ? Nutrition was mentioned, but what specific nutrients benefit the brain and its development in particular?

And, as for experimenting to test these theories, wouldn’t be unethical to purposefully deprive an unborn baby or a toddler of the proper nutrients it needs? How did they create a control group?These are just a few of the many questions left unanswered by The Discovery Channel’s research.

The fact that something like genetics or prenatal nutrition, both of which are so far out of our control, could influence our intelligence and consequently our whole life is a scary concept. Life truly is a game of chance and coincidence.

“Curiosity.” Discovery Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013. <http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/5-factors-that-affect-human-intelligence.htm>