culture

Scientists, physicians, and patients use metaphors to understand the complex condition called cancer.  These metaphors direct the process of research and treatment.  It is sometimes useful to make explicit existing metaphors and their problems and to suggest new metaphors that might overcome them.  Thinking of cancer in evolutionary rather than military terms offers new possibilities in connection both with research and treatment.

Cancer as a Metaphor:

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Here is my reflection/explanation of my final project:

Beauty and the Botox Beast

Interesting conversation this morning growing out of, among other things, "The Design of Learning Environments," Chapter 6 of How People Learn, together with some college student comparisons of experiences in their own courses with observations of elementary school classes at a local K-6 Quaker school.  The upshot was, for me at least, a clearer understanding of what one needs to do to create not only more effective learning environments in classrooms but more humane exchange environments generally.

A month ago I spent  several hours watching an opening session in the development of the dance piece "Dance is Hard to See," and talking with choreographer Kathryn Tebordo and the dancers about what I had seen and what dance was, or might be, all about.  "Dance is the purest form of knowledge" emerged from that conversation, which was a rich experience for me, one I have been mulling ever since.  I'm very much looking forward to this coming Sunday's performance of "Dance is Hard to See," to seeing how it has evolved and talking more with Kathryn, the performers, and other audience members about, among other things, what it says about what dance is (see

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Why did I decide to write a paper about menstruation?

The answer to that question is fairly easy, the rest is not.

 Recently many Americans have been reevaluating their food choices, and have started to choose organic and local produce as opposed to conventionally grown products. Green markets and Whole Foods stores are springing up across the country; even Wal-Mart has begun to carry organic meats and produce. Advocates of “green” food cite many reasons for opting for organic food, however I am most interested in the claim that organic food is healthier than conventionally farmed products, and whether or not there is actually any nutritional benefit to eating organic.