Molly Tamulevich's blog

Oliver Sacks' , “ An Anthropologist on Mars” is an exploration of the senses. Using seven case studies, Sack's describes the lives of people whose sensory experience is markedly different from the majority of the population. These different neurological conditions are illuminated and made more poignant by the individuals who learn how to live with them. Sacks chooses to highlight unusual neurological conditions by describing their manifestation in people who seem as if they would be totally debilitated by them. He blends the creativity of a gripping and interesting narrative with an easily understood explanation of the conditions making the neurobiology accessible to the average reader.

Borderline Personality Disorder affects more than 2 million adults in the United States. It is more common than schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder and has a suicide rate of nearly 10%. It was previously thought that Borderline personalities were incurable and rather than try to treat patients who were manipulative, angry and not making progress, psychiatrists turned them away. In the past twenty years, however, new therapeutic approaches to treating and interacting with Borderline patients have increased the number of people who can lead healthy lives with fewer episodes of psychosis and depression.

This semester, I designed and participated in a praxis class entitled Abuse and Relocation in Shelter Environments. My field work takes place at PACCA, the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association. After working with dogs in a poorly funded shelter in Mérida, Mexico last year, I thought that I would be mentally prepared to launch myself into work in the U.S. However, what I discovered in Philadelphia is that cruelty towards animals in this country parallels the cruelty I found in Mexico. Every week, I see new evidence of abuse and neglect: starvation, scars, open wounds and overwhelming fear. I have learned about mange, pit-bull fighting, animal branding and pressure sores, which are abscesses that appear when a bone begins to protrude from the skin of an emaciated animal. As I conduct research about animal abuse and the people who commit it, I wonder where cruelty originates. Is there a template for cruelty laid down in the human brain? Is it something that is unique to our species? Why do human beings find pleasure in deliberately inflicting pain on other living things?

The first time my father told me how everything was energy, I assumed he was embarking on one of his neo-pagan, folk-singing tangents that would wind circles around our original conversation and end with an awkward silence. I didn’t expect it to become a recurring theme in our household, prompting the purchase of various movies and books such as “ What the Bleep do we know about Anything” and “The Secret”. I didn’t expect to be so intrigued by the notion that there may be logic behind the mysteries that puzzled me since I was a child, a link between lucid dreams and extraterrestrials, serendipitous events and the moments when I felt like I had stumbled across a great truth. Controversial as it is, the Holographic Theory of the universe explains how many unexplained phenomenon occur in different disciplines, especially when it comes to understanding the brain.