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Why are we scared or disturbed by thoughts or images of death? Macabre thoughts disturb us and most of us feel irritated and an aversion for such things. Is there a reason behind this? Do we have an inborn aversion for macabre thoughts? Priori knowledge?
All this occurred to me while I was reading about neuroscience. One controversial event in the history of neuroscience was that of Phineas Gage, a man whose skull was pierced by a tamping iron yet still survived. Controversy was sparked by the accounts that his personality significantly changed after the traumatic incident, that despite regaining conscious minutes after the incident and making a full recovery, the limited damage to his frontal lobes initiated a behaviour change.
What was controversial was first the frontal lobes were previously unlinked to behaviour patterns and second the accounts of personality change of Gage was only made significant and embellished in accounts written after his death in 1960. Before his death, little mention of his behaviour change was documented or talked about. A story or a true case study, the Phineas Gage incident has been more circus than useful scientific research.::

.:firestarter blogged on 2:16 PM:.
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