His poem "complains" that during our discussion we treated people as a number and not as people! So I wrote him a poem back! Here it is. Dont be too critical with me. It is my first poem! Sorry it is in German...
Der Klippel auch wenn er's nicht gerne mag
lebt auch als Sammlung von Atomen Tag fuer Tag
Er verspuert sich wohl als stotternde Einheit,
Ist berueht von deren Geistes und Seelesfeinheit.
Doch, bitte schoen, soll er nicht vergessen,
Wer der Krankheiten weiss sich zu messen.
Es ist die Wissenschaft, die stets rational
Sich erweist des Unerklaerten Todespfahl.
Drum soll er uns streiten lassen,
Und vor unserer Aufopferungsgabe erblassen!
Le poete Tom
3 comments:
Just wanted to drop in and say 'hello'and to state that I like your blog because it takes a very analytical view of stuttering.
See that Dr. Pinker's "How the Mind Works" made your list of favorite books. What did you think of his "The Blank Slate"?
I have also read "The Blank Slate", and I really enjoyed his combative, common sense, and physicist-like thinking in destroying science distorted by both left and right ideologies.
But I liked "How the mind works" better, because it has my first book to psychology, and opened up my mind. Suddenly, I understood the human mind and evolution much much better. I never quite understood what psychologists were saying. Freud just didnt make sense to me... So it was a revelation that a psychology prof (and most of the field nowadays) think on exactly the same wavelength that I would think. Sure there are still many unknowns and uncertainties, but the way they do it nowadays is good.
Actually, I was thinking about posting something about the blank slate attitude in stuttering!
I concur that Freud is full of *It* and the entire psychoanalytical school of psychology for that matter, though it has it's moments like anything.
Dr. Pinker I nearly assign icon status . Though I was fairly well read in evolutionary psychology in the laymen's sense before I picked "The Blank State", still, scales fell from eyes. Ironically, I loved it for the reason that you gave: he demolished the arguments of both the political Left and Right regarding the nature vs. nurture debate with directness that mere mortals such as myself can understand, and also humour.Who said scientists are devoid of humour? I like Pinker for this and also his 'rock-star' panache, kind of like Roger Daltry back in the day; defies the *nerd* stereotype that many scientists have been pegged with, but I digress.
Confess that I have not read "How the Mind Works" in its enterity as of yet but it is one of the many books that I plan to complete this early part of '06. This thread has motivated me more, daresay.
This may sound totally silly, but I wonder if our Primate cousins such as Chimpanzees have members that have their own 'verbal communication problems' with their peers? I know that ChimpSpeak is not as elaborate in verbal communications are with humans, but we share so many things in common.Would personally like to see more studies in Primate communications and if dysfluency exists, how this can be tied in with evolution in general.
'Blank State stuttering" sounds like it would be a juicy post! I have noticed that many speech pathologists and people who stammer, some of them, seem to take this view of it. Something that I find not only naive but irresponsible.
Well, I'll get off my own virtual soapbox here. Thanks for sharing. It has made my day thus far.
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