Sunday, October 07, 2007
Digust
I found an interesting link on Kevin Donovan's "Bumblin' Along" blog. I always find good links there. Kevin really gets around on the internet.
Anyway, this link is to an online test in the Science & Nature section of the BBC. The test, which is easy to take - and, to be honest, pretty fun - is to discover what makes us feel disgusted. You run through a series of pictures and rate your level of disgust from high to low. When the test is over, each picture is explained in relation to how most people feel in terms of disgust. The point is that humans should naturally feel disgusted over things that are potentially disease-producing. When my husband and I went through it, we strangely were not as disgusted as the average person over most of the pictures. I can attribute this to a couple of things. We have three children and have seen pretty much every illness-related disgusting event you can see - poop, snot, gushing blood, etc., etc. - and as a parent, you just have to get over the disgust and deal. Also, we are adventurous eaters, being willing to try most any kind of new food. (It helps to watch Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern.) Hubby is more adventurous than I am with food, but I, at one time, considered becoming a naturopath and have long been fascinated with medicine, so I must have a stomach that can take the gross.
Anyway, this link is to an online test in the Science & Nature section of the BBC. The test, which is easy to take - and, to be honest, pretty fun - is to discover what makes us feel disgusted. You run through a series of pictures and rate your level of disgust from high to low. When the test is over, each picture is explained in relation to how most people feel in terms of disgust. The point is that humans should naturally feel disgusted over things that are potentially disease-producing. When my husband and I went through it, we strangely were not as disgusted as the average person over most of the pictures. I can attribute this to a couple of things. We have three children and have seen pretty much every illness-related disgusting event you can see - poop, snot, gushing blood, etc., etc. - and as a parent, you just have to get over the disgust and deal. Also, we are adventurous eaters, being willing to try most any kind of new food. (It helps to watch Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern.) Hubby is more adventurous than I am with food, but I, at one time, considered becoming a naturopath and have long been fascinated with medicine, so I must have a stomach that can take the gross.
Labels: andrew zimmern, anthony bourdain, bbc, blog, children, disease, disgust, husband, kevin donovan, test
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Superhuman Abilities
Several of my writer friends are aware that I have written a story where synesthesia figures prominently. I just found this posting via reddit that shows 8 Diseases That Give You Superhuman Powers. One of those listed is synesthesia. The post details a couple of the ways it can manifest. The list also mentions epilepsy. Epilepsy has been linked to a high artistic ability. Strangely enough, my grandpa had petit mal epilepsy through a portion of his life and was a prolific landscape artist. The final disorder listed is hypergraphia, something you writers out there might wish for. It's the overwhelming urge to write. Of course, to have this disorder, you'd also have to put up with mania and epilepsy.
Labels: artist, disease, epilepsy, grandpa, hypergraphia, reddit, story, superhuman powers, synesthesia, writing
