PDF-(EBOOK)-The Hand: How Its Use Shapes the Brain, Language, and Human Culture

A startling argument provocative absorbing The Boston GlobeAmbitious arresting celebrates the importance of hands to our lives today as well as to the history of our species The New York Times Book ReviewThe human hand is a miracle of biomechanics one of the most remarkable adaptations in the history of evolution The hands of a concert pianist can elicit glorious sound and stir emotion those of a surgeon can perform the most delicate operations those of a rock climber allow him to scale a vertical mountain wall Neurologist Frank R Wilson makes the striking claim that it is because of the unique structure of the hand and its evolution in cooperation with the brain that Homo sapiens became the most intelligent preeminent animal on the earth In this fascinating book Wilson moves from a discussion of the hands evolutionand how its intimate communication with the brain affects such areas as neurology psychology and linguisticsto provocative new ideas about human creativity and how best to nurture it Like Oliver Sacks and Stephen Jay Gould Wilson handles a daunting range of scientific knowledge with a surprising deftness and a profound curiosity about human possibility Provocative illuminating and delightful to read The Hand encourages us to think in new ways about one of our most takenforgranted assetsA mark of the books excellence is that it makes the reader aware of the wonder in trivial everyday acts and reveals the complexity behind the simplest manipulation The Washington Post. Adapted from https. ://sites.google.com/site/highlandhsp3m/unit-1-what-makes-us-human. What does being human mean to you?. What distinguishes humans from animals?. Take a moment an think. REALLY think.. Box, 2014. Debates on Mental Lexicon and its Cerebral Basis: . Evidence from Russian . Tatiana . Chernigovskaya. St. Petersburg State University. Russian Academy of Sciences. Outline. (1)... half a billion years ago. (Dunbar . Ch. 2). Biologists often commented on behavior and adaptation. Physical traits. Altruism (Group selection). Natural Selection. Focuses on . individual. survival. According to Darwin, noble behavior is a death sentence (for the genes). Jordan Zlatev. Lecture 5. Body and brain for language. 1. Projects. Spell out your main question(s). Make sure that it is relevant to language origins!. Define your main terms: “language”, “gesture”, “cognition”, “adaptation”, “culture” – at least provisionally. Russian Formalists (early 20th cent.).. Literary language transforms, distorts, violates ordinary language. – why?. . h. abitual, automatised. , economical. existence. e. nergy-saving mode of living and communicating . One Brain or Two?. Gazzaniga, M. S. (1967). Get into your group!. Group1:Lori, Liza, Alyssa, Erin, Baylee. Group2: Alicia, . Kalyee. , Spencer, William, Travis. Group 3: Katrina, Holley, Hallie, Landon, Kayla. Lecture 5. Body and brain for language. 1. Projects. Spell out your main question(s). Make sure that it is relevant to language origins!. Define your main terms: “language”, “gesture”, “cognition”, “adaptation”, “culture” – at least provisionally. LO: We will analyze world culture/religion. . What. is . Culture. ?. Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shared and passed on by a group. Are you born with culture, or is it taught to you?. Culture is learned. Notebooks due Thursday 3/27. Calendars due 3/27. Expressive test due Monday 4/7. See next slide. Expressive Test. INDIVIDUALLY (no groups!) make a video. You will walk us through directions on how to make your favorite dish. Notebooks due Thursday 3/27. Calendars due 3/27. Expressive test due Monday 4/7. See next slide. Expressive Test. INDIVIDUALLY (no groups!) make a video. You will walk us through directions on how to make your favorite dish. Studying language helps us learn about:. The brain regions responsible for . language. What goes wrong in language . disorders. Language is located in the left hemisphere of the . brain. How do we know this?. In a sweeping synthesis of new research in a number of different disciplines, this book argues that we humans are not who we think we are. As he explores the interconnections between cutting-edge work in bioanthropology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, human language and learning, and beyond, James Paul Gee advances, also, a personal philosophy of language, learning, and culture, informed by his decades of work across linguistics and the social sciences. Gee argues that our schools, institutions, legal systems, and societies are designed for creatures that do not exist, thus resulting in multiple, interacting crises, such as climate change, failing institutions, and the rise of nationalist nationalism. As Gee constructs an understanding of the human that takes into account our social, collective, and historical nature, as established by recent research, he inspires readers to reflect for themselves on the very question of who we are—a key consideration for anyone interested in society, government, schools, health, activism, culture and diversity, or even just survival. A startling argument . . . provocative . . . absorbing. --The Boston GlobeAmbitious . . . arresting . . . celebrates the importance of hands to our lives today as well as to the history of our species. --The New York Times Book ReviewThe human hand is a miracle of biomechanics, one of the most remarkable adaptations in the history of evolution. The hands of a concert pianist can elicit glorious sound and stir emotion those of a surgeon can perform the most delicate operations those of a rock climber allow him to scale a vertical mountain wall. Neurologist Frank R. Wilson makes the striking claim that it is because of the unique structure of the hand and its evolution in cooperation with the brain that Homo sapiens became the most intelligent, preeminent animal on the earth. In this fascinating book, Wilson moves from a discussion of the hand\'s evolution--and how its intimate communication with the brain affects such areas as neurology, psychology, and linguistics--to provocative new ideas about human creativity and how best to nurture it. Like Oliver Sacks and Stephen Jay Gould, Wilson handles a daunting range of scientific knowledge with a surprising deftness and a profound curiosity about human possibility. Provocative, illuminating, and delightful to read, The Hand encourages us to think in new ways about one of our most taken-for-granted assets.A mark of the book\'s excellence [is that] it makes the reader aware of the wonder in trivial, everyday acts, and reveals the complexity behind the simplest manipulation. --The Washington Post By Olga Lapteva. Why dyslexia? Why ESOL?. Focus of this presentation . Culture is the way that every brain makes sense of the world (Hammond, 2015). Culture is the software for brain’s hardware.. Surface culture.