How can brain disorders tell us more about brain function?

The most fundamental reason is this: There are vastly more ways to be wrong than to be right.

For example, if I ask you, "what is 6 times 7?" there are literally infinitely many possible wrong answers you could give me, but only one right one: 42.

The human brain has been optimized by millions of years of evolution. In the vast majority of circumstances---particularly those similar to our ancestral environment on the African savannah 200,000 years ago---it gives the right answer.

But giving the right answer doesn't tell you how the underlying mechanics work; all it tells you is that they work... well. There are many different possible architectures that could yield that same correct response: both I and a calculator can give you the answer "42", but we work in radically different ways.

In order to understand the underlying mechanics of the brain, you need to see it work wrong. You need to watch it take shortcuts (heuristics, one of the main things I study in my own research), or see what happens when it gets damaged (neuropsychology, the subject of this question), unless of course you can actually look inside the brain and see what it is doing (neuroimaging, which due to the technology required is a field of study no older than I am).

Before we had brain-scanning equipment or clever experimental methods to detect heuristic judgments, we had people with mental disorders and brain injuries. Indeed, we've always had people with mental disorders and brain injuries, though our ability to treat them has improved dramatically over time.

Yet simply by observing what happens to people's behavior as a result of injuries to particular parts of the brain, we were able to learn a great deal about what those particular parts do.

Imagine if you didn't know what the various parts of a computer did, but you took a bunch of computers, and hit various pieces with sledgehammers. This would give you at least some sense of how computers work: The one with a smashed hard drive lost a bunch of data, so the hard drive must store data. The one with a smashed screen doesn't display things properly, but will still perform computations just fine; so the screen is involved in display but not computation. The one with a smashed processor doesn't do anything at all, so that must be a really important component.

This is basically what neuropsychology does, only with human brains.

To use a particularly famous example, Phineas Gage infamously took a railroad nail to the prefrontal cortex, and then became impulsive and aggressive; so the prefrontal cortex must be involved in inhibiting impulsive behaviors.

Other brain structures discovered this way include Broca's area and Wernicke's area, both discovered due to particular speech problems (aphasia) that people with damage to each area have. People with Broca's aphasia can understand language but have trouble speaking it, and often speak primarily in swear words because (for whatever reason) those are the last to go. People with Wenicke's aphasia can speak language fluently and eloquently, but can't understand it very well and often speak in utter nonsense. Thus, we know that Broca's area is involved in the production of speech and Wernicke's area is involved in the comprehension of speech.

The kind of knowledge you can get this way is limited, and studying more requires you to either get "lucky" (the patients don't feel so lucky) and find patients with particular types of brain damage to study, or else intentionally induce brain damage (usually in cats or monkeys). The former is improbable, the latter questionably ethical. As a result this was more of a way for us to find out some of the basics of brain function about a century ago before we discovered cognitive science methods and invented neuroimaging technology.

What role did women play in the Mongol Empire?

Women had a role of influence in the Mongol Empire as compared to other cultures at the time.  An example of this was that Genghis Khan sought counsel from his mother and his wives at times.  He listened to the opinions of his wives when he was considering who to choose as his successor.  Other men in Mongol society sought advice from their wife or wives.  

In the Mongol Empire, women had more freedom...

Women had a role of influence in the Mongol Empire as compared to other cultures at the time.  An example of this was that Genghis Khan sought counsel from his mother and his wives at times.  He listened to the opinions of his wives when he was considering who to choose as his successor.  Other men in Mongol society sought advice from their wife or wives.  

In the Mongol Empire, women had more freedom in how they were required to dress.  Foot binding was common in nearby regions, but it was not done in Mongol society.  Women also avoided covering themselves with chādars.  Women also had more freedom to do tasks usually associated with men.  Some women even fought in battles.

In many ways, the Mongol Empire had a traditional society.  A young woman's father gave a dowry to the groom's family when she married.  Arranged marriage was common.  It was also common for a man to have more than one wife.  Each wife had her own dwelling.  Once married, a woman's primary role was to be a wife and mother.  Remarriage for widows was uncommon.

Differentiate between Julia and Katharine on the issue of intimacy in the novel, 1984.

In 1984, we see very differing attitudes to intimacy in the characters of Julia and Katharine, both of whom play an important role in Winston's life.

Katharine is Winston's wife and she appears in the novel through a memory, as she and Winston have long since parted. Katharine did not share any imtimacy with Winston, as he describes in Part 1, Chapter 6: "As soon as he touched her she seemed to wince and stiffen....

In 1984, we see very differing attitudes to intimacy in the characters of Julia and Katharine, both of whom play an important role in Winston's life.

Katharine is Winston's wife and she appears in the novel through a memory, as she and Winston have long since parted. Katharine did not share any imtimacy with Winston, as he describes in Part 1, Chapter 6: "As soon as he touched her she seemed to wince and stiffen. To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image." She was also a staunch supporter of the party and subscribed to the view that procreation was the sole purpose of marriage. She made Winston attempt this once a week, though she clearly hated it. Furthermore, she and Winston did not share any characteristics in common. As Winston states, she "had not a thought in her head that was not a slogan." Over time, when attempts at conceiving a baby had failed, Katharine grew bored of Winston and left. 

In stark contrast to Katharine is Julia, Winston's girlfriend. From their earliest moments of their relationship, we see how different Julia is to Katharine: she sends him a note which says 'I love you' and she acts on this feeling when they first meet in the woods: "She had clasped her arms about his neck, she was calling him darling, precious one, loved one." The pair also share a genuine hatred towards the party which they discuss in their meetings. This physical passion and shared interests helped bond Winston and Julia together and create a strong sense of intimacy between them.

To sum up, then, Katharine shied away from intimacy with Winston and only had sexual intercourse with him for the purposes of creating a child. But Julia is very different: she has a genuine love for Winston which binds her to him and which grows as they rebel against the party. In fact, torture is the only means of destroying their sense of intimacy. From that point on, they learn to love Big Brother, instead of each other. 

Is Anne Frank's diary a commentary on war and its terrible impact on human life?

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl tells the story of a Jewish family and their neighbors attempting to hide from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam. By itself, the diary is not a commentary on war's terrible impact on human life. Yet when studied alongside the history of World War II and the Holocaust, the diary presents a clear picture of how these two events destroyed the lives of millions.

The reason that the diary,...

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl tells the story of a Jewish family and their neighbors attempting to hide from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam. By itself, the diary is not a commentary on war's terrible impact on human life. Yet when studied alongside the history of World War II and the Holocaust, the diary presents a clear picture of how these two events destroyed the lives of millions.

The reason that the diary, by itself, is not a good commentary on war is due to its limited point of view. Hiding in the secret annex, Anne is rarely able to learn about the progress of the war and/or what has happened to their Jewish friends and neighbors deported by the Nazis. Though Anne makes it a point to record important information, such as the family's joy when hearing about D-Day, the reader does not learn much about the war or its horrors through the diary alone.

When reading the diary as part of studying the Holocaust, though, the book takes on new meaning. Anne Frank's own death just two weeks before the British liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp adds to the diary's emotional impact. Also, the diary has taken on special significance as it is one of the few records of its type from the Holocaust. Anne Frank may have been only one of millions of Jews who died in the Holocaust, but her kindness, wit, and humanity lead the reader to realize that every person killed by the Nazis was just as devastating a loss as the death of this one girl.

In what ways did Reconstruction, industrialization, and westward expansion influence how Americans viewed both themselves and their country?

Reconstruction, westward expansion, and industrialization impacted how Americans viewed themselves and their country. As the United States expanded westward, it had a positive impact on how most Americans viewed themselves and their country. They saw the movement westward as a sign of progress. The United States was spreading its ways and influence, and our citizens were a part of that. People seized opportunities to move to the West to get land and to start new...

Reconstruction, westward expansion, and industrialization impacted how Americans viewed themselves and their country. As the United States expanded westward, it had a positive impact on how most Americans viewed themselves and their country. They saw the movement westward as a sign of progress. The United States was spreading its ways and influence, and our citizens were a part of that. People seized opportunities to move to the West to get land and to start new jobs. Many of the people who moved westward became miners, ranchers, or farmers. The people realized that they were somewhat responsible for the growth of the country. Westward expansion had a positive impact on how Americans viewed themselves and the country.

Industrialization also positively impacted how Americans viewed themselves and the country. In part because of all the westward movement, industries grew. People in the West needed products, and industries provided those products. Some industries expanded their operations into the different areas of the West. Americans felt proud of the ingenuity of our people that helped make the expansion of the country and the growth of the West possible. People realized they had a role in the development of and the growth of our industries. They viewed themselves in a positive manner because of this feeling.

Reconstruction also impacted our country and our people. While many southerners resented Reconstruction, they also saw how the reconstruction process helped themselves and their country. The South became less dependent on farming as more industries grew in the South. The people were proud that they were part of this transformation. They felt a sense of accomplishment that our country was able to move beyond this difficult time in our history. It showed the people that our country’s system of democracy could solve difficult problems.

Overall, industrialization, westward expansion, and Reconstruction helped Americans view themselves and their country in a positive manner.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, why might some people misjudge Judge Taylor's ability?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the south during the time of the Great Depression.  It centers around the trial of Tom Robinson, a negro who stands accused of raping a young white girl.

Judge Taylor is not a prominent character since the story is told from the perspective of a six-year-old girl by the name of Scout.  Her involvement is due to the fact that she is the daughter of the...

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the south during the time of the Great Depression.  It centers around the trial of Tom Robinson, a negro who stands accused of raping a young white girl.

Judge Taylor is not a prominent character since the story is told from the perspective of a six-year-old girl by the name of Scout.  Her involvement is due to the fact that she is the daughter of the defense lawyer, Atticus Finch.

Judge Taylor is well advanced in age.  He is a man of simple pleasures such as singing and partaking of his dipping tobacco.  He is a singularly unremarkable man.  The only clue that one might have that he knows more than it seems he does is his appointment of Atticus vs. the newbie lawyer, who would have traditionally "drawn the short straw" in such a controversial case.

A senile, simpleton of a judge who did not even have the good sense to assign the "correct" defense counsel!  Those are ample reasons to misjudge the good judge's abilities.

What was the evil that Miss Strangeworth saw in "The Possibility of Evil?"

Miss Strangeworth did not actually see any evil. She didn't even guess that anybody in the town was doing anything evil. She sensed that there was evil behavior going on in the town, and she saw the possibilities of evil in many human relationships. The poison-pen letters she has been writing for the past year mostly hint at the possibility of evil, except for the letters she sends to Don and Helen Crane about the possibility that their adored six-month-old daughter could be mentally retarded. (The victimizing of Don and Helen Crane is a clue to Miss Strangeworth's real motivation.) According to Miss Strangeworth's twisted mind, if she hints at enough possible wrongdoings, a certain percentage will be correct. There is an element of truth to this strange hypothesis, because there is bound to be a certain amount of misbehavior going on in any community; and the bigger the community, the bigger the amount of undisclosed vice, crime, perversion, peculation, etc. If we knew all the guilty secrets of all the members of our community, all the skeletons in all the closets, we would be astonished. We do not know for sure whether Mrs. Harper's husband is having an affair with another woman. We do not know whether the grocer's grandson is stealing money out of the cash register. We do know, however, that Linda Stewart and Dave Harris, the high-school kids who love each other, are not going beyond the usual teenage necking.

Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion. Mr. Lewis would never have imagined for a minute that his grandson might be lifting petty cash from the store register if he had not had one of Miss Strangeworth's letters. Miss Chandler, the librarian, and Linda Stewart's parents would have gone unsuspectingly ahead with their lives, never aware of possible evil lurking nearby, if Miss Strangeworth had not sent letters opening their eyes. Miss Strangeworth would have been genuinely shocked if there had been anything between Linda Stewart and the Harris boy, but, as long as evil existed unchecked in the world, it was Miss Strangeworth's duty to keep her town alert to it.

The problem with Miss Strangeworth's method of policing the morality of "her" townspeople is that, if a certain number of guesses are correct, a much larger number must be incorrect. She is not a psychic. And she fails to appreciate the evil that exists inside herself. She tells herself she is motivated by civic responsibility, but the truth appears to be that she is full of envy and jealousy. She causes trouble for people who are reasonably happy and untroubled. A good example is Mrs. Harper. Miss Strangeworth as an old maid probably feels jealous of an old acquaintance who seems happily married. Miss Strangeworth has never had a baby, and therefore she seems sufficiently envious of Don and Helen Crane to try to poison their happiness in having a new baby. Miss Strangeworth has never known love, and therefore she could hurt inside every time she views the loving relationship between Linda Stewart and Dave Harris. Her real motives for writing her anonymous letters are evil, but they are buried deep inside her unconscious.

Actually, Miss Strangeworth is most unlikely to see much evil because she is a lonely old woman who spends most of her time in her home or in her rose garden. Agatha Christie's amateur-detective heroine Miss Jane Marple may somehow see all kinds of real evil in her little village; but Miss Strangeworth is not as intuitive as Miss Marple. When real evil comes to Miss Strangeworth in the form of having her rose bushes vandalized, she is clueless. It doesn't occur to her that Don Crane could have sent her the anonymous letter reading:

LOOK OUT AT WHAT USED TO BE YOUR ROSES