|
|
|
|
|
The Dying of Enoch Wallace: |
| In
1929 Alexander Fleming developed penicillin. Just over twenty years
later, James Watson and Francis Crick were credited for creating the
first accurate model of DNA. Then, fifty years later, scientists made
a third epic discovery of the century; the revolutionary new conception
of the brain. Ira B. Black and his book, The Dying of Enoch Wallace;
Life, Death, and the Changing Brain, outlines the neurological
advancements of the time, and how, in what seemed like a day, the
theories of how the brain functioned were replaced with a new set
of conjectures. Ira B. Black, through studies, theories, and discoveries,
explains how science can inhibit mental defects, brain damage, and
continue to protect one’s memory.
Black’s writing techniques proved to turn what many would consider a not-so-exciting subject, into an adventure through the history of neurosciences. He was direct with his facts, and clearly stated them so that even the readers with the least knowledge of neurosciences could understand. The book however, was not straight facts and figures. Black used anecdotes from his experiences as a medical scientist, and stories of neurological patients that help the reader link mental ailments and behaviors with the neuronal connections within the brain. His use of diagrams and charts outlined his knowledge of the brain in a simple form to help clarify the discoveries to the readers. Black furthermore takes the studies into the future and analyzes how the advancement of the complex system of neurons and transmitters will develop over decades to come. He suggests that one day scientists will be able to eliminate the emotions of anger and hate, sending the reader into a whirlwind of divergence, contemplating the moral ethics that may correspond with the scientific studies. The morals of whether the cure for Alzheimer’s and other mental ailments outweighs the negative technologies that encompass the power to toy with a human’s cognitive ability. Black’s usage of stories, however, compels the reader to support the new advances to find a cure to free the victims of mental disorders, and hopefully someday, turn neuroscience into such a simple process, its no harder than fixing a broken bone. ~ Erik J. of Cumberland, ME |
Jocelyn Hubbell
jhubbell @ curtislibrary.com
(207) 725-5242 ext. 238
Cornerstones of Science
Last updated May 29, 2007