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I have really enjoyed our NBS seminar and the breadth of topics covered. In this course I have broadened my understanding of biological topics by viewing them through a more social and cultural aspect. I think that the field of neuroscience has many complex issues that have not been fully explored, and this course has started to explore these issues through excellent conversation and leading questions.

I was really impressed with the openness of conversation in the course and I think that everyone brought up important issues. The course has stressed the importance of critically analyzing the sciences to develop a deeper understanding of the field. Although I have greatly enjoyed all the topics covered in the course, I think the conversations about consciousness have really tested my understanding of how we interact within the world. I really enjoyed the “gorilla in the background” study and think that it is interesting how everyone can be at a different level of consciousness or be conscious about different environmental cues.

I also really enjoyed our discussions about gender and I think that allot of science is driven by gender stereotypes and neglects the inherent variability between the human populace in terms of gender associations. I think that allot of conclusions made about gender are pushed to extremes within the gender spectrum. This class has really taught me to be more skeptical of scientific results and question the evidence.

I think that our discussions about disabilities have also brought me to think about how society molds our understanding and definitions of disabilities. I think that our society searches to find people that are different from what is considered to be “normal” or not the majority and attempts to label them as “different” or “disabled”. I think that “disabled” does not make these individuals any less capable than the majority.

The course has not only introduced many interesting topics, in the field of neuroscience, but also has engaged the class to come to new and novel conclusions. The course has introduced me to a new way of thinking about science and question the facts.