tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post1402469896208305717..comments2024-03-28T07:49:04.960+00:00Comments on nickhereandnow: Stroke surprisenickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10472673041193755894noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-87963690193479790422011-11-20T19:02:16.795+00:002011-11-20T19:02:16.795+00:00Liz - At the bottom of your brain is a mini-Einste...Liz - At the bottom of your brain is a mini-Einstein ready to solve the mysteries of the universe.Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-29128982533870282892011-11-20T18:01:42.518+00:002011-11-20T18:01:42.518+00:00I hadn't heard about him; that's amazing!
...I hadn't heard about him; that's amazing!<br /><br />It makes me wonder what secrets my brain is hiding ...Liz Hindshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04646532093872561703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-21312342808053298752011-11-14T07:38:06.521+00:002011-11-14T07:38:06.521+00:00Blackwater - That's a thought, it could have b...Blackwater - That's a thought, it could have been new chemical balances rather than new brain connections that changed his personality. Or both.Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-70872836568320400242011-11-13T23:53:33.725+00:002011-11-13T23:53:33.725+00:00I don't know whether he has discovered his tru...I don't know whether he has discovered his true self, or his true self has evolved, but... It is interesting the extent to which our character or personality is related to chemical balance - depression, vivacity, optimism, sociability, etc. It somehow feels wrong that character/soul/whatever you want to call it - something innate - could be based on something so prosaic or manipulable as drugs.<br />(I realise I may have wandered off the subject.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-79647026104122286772011-11-13T21:53:33.247+00:002011-11-13T21:53:33.247+00:00Secret Agent - It's possible the stroke made h...Secret Agent - It's possible the stroke made him aware his life could be cut short and that he should be the person he really was before it was too late.Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-36234660570133509382011-11-13T20:28:48.841+00:002011-11-13T20:28:48.841+00:00The evidence I've read suggests that there are...The evidence I've read suggests that there are some in utero hormonal influences that alter brain structure, so I suspect that he had been socialized not to accept his own homosexuality. The stroke may have freed him. But I'm extremely skeptical that it "turned him gay." That doesn't make the transformation any less remarkable in my eyes - there's something pretty amazing about any event that causes us to do a wholesale re-assessment of the life we're living.secret agent womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03763879283931347382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-53628783073777029582011-11-11T07:46:52.777+00:002011-11-11T07:46:52.777+00:00Baino - Oh, I think you're too cynical. A stro...Baino - Oh, I think you're too cynical. A stroke can radically affect a person's brain functioning and a change in sexuality seems quite plausible.Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-65091953992439913512011-11-11T07:43:28.330+00:002011-11-11T07:43:28.330+00:00Heart - That's what happens, I think, the brai...Heart - That's what happens, I think, the brain makes all sorts of new connections after a stroke so this could easily change your personality. My dad had a stroke but unfortunately it did nothing for his foul temper.<br /><br />www - I'm sure there are many fully developed skills tucked away in our brains, which can come to the surface in freak circumstances.Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-17227273842150326752011-11-11T07:10:42.374+00:002011-11-11T07:10:42.374+00:00I think it was probably being faced with his own p...I think it was probably being faced with his own possibly demise that allowed the latent feelings to surface. I can't believe a stroke will suddenly turn you gay. Good on him for realising life's too short to live a lie.Bainohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14156193098088048637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-78570448364629222072011-11-11T04:09:00.682+00:002011-11-11T04:09:00.682+00:00There is so so much we don't understand about ...There is so so much we don't understand about the brain.<br />CBC had a radio programme about one stroke victim recovering and playing the piano like a pro. Never had touched a piano before.<br />More things in heaven and earth, Horatio, etc.<br />XO<br />WWWWisewebwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15281689872840844191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-27441894808803073082011-11-11T02:38:43.370+00:002011-11-11T02:38:43.370+00:00I tend to think that the stroke rewired his brain,...I tend to think that the stroke rewired his brain, and every aspect of who he had been was up for grabs. Such stories are most fascinating.heartinsanfranciscohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07535397382991383931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-84134388564431389462011-11-10T21:17:48.992+00:002011-11-10T21:17:48.992+00:00Myra - I didn't know anything about that, but ...Myra - I didn't know anything about that, but Google has some interesting stories, like the woman who had a kidney transplant and suddenly developed a taste for Dostoevsky and Jane Austen.Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-88685620675919041632011-11-10T20:36:21.053+00:002011-11-10T20:36:21.053+00:00The same thing is purported to happen when people ...The same thing is purported to happen when people have organ transplants. The illiterate boozer starts writing poetry, the exercise junkie becomes a couch potato, the extreme sportsman becomes a devout monk, chronic dieters become gourmands..... all lifestyle choices that their donors were interested in.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-51276477822537986542011-11-10T13:58:50.724+00:002011-11-10T13:58:50.724+00:00John - Charlie's Angels? Your reference has go...John - Charlie's Angels? Your reference has gone over my head, since I wasn't a CA fan....<br /><br />Ramana - I wouldn't want a stroke either, especially if the effects are as likely to be negative as positive.Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-33690690592838951722011-11-10T13:31:30.132+00:002011-11-10T13:31:30.132+00:00No matter what unsuspected talents are lurking in ...No matter what unsuspected talents are lurking in my brain, ready to be triggered by a drastic medical trauma, I don't want a stroke. My brain has already been replaced once, thanks to my sense of humour getting the better of me.Rummuserhttp://www.rummuser.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-57290820829182894302011-11-10T12:46:59.063+00:002011-11-10T12:46:59.063+00:00queeny bollocks!
what's with the hairdryer? ve...queeny bollocks!<br />what's with the hairdryer? very charlie's angelsJohn Going Gentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14958171262765033946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-46788858599305301902011-11-10T08:54:55.274+00:002011-11-10T08:54:55.274+00:00Jenny - The reports I've seen are all very sim...Jenny - The reports I've seen are all very similar and presumably from a single source, so other journalists might shed new light on it. I've read some Oliver Sacks a long time ago. As you say, we're still pretty ignorant of how the brain works despite centuries of research.Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3467242994126386706.post-12141223502924523152011-11-10T08:35:49.525+00:002011-11-10T08:35:49.525+00:00That story caught my eye too, Nick, and it's v...That story caught my eye too, Nick, and it's very strange. I suspect there were some gaps in the reporting or slightly more to it than meets the eye. Just call it my journalist training. Have you read any of Oliver Sacks' books? They're a bit creepy (I think the whole subject is) but very fascinating. The truth is that even top neurologists have a fairly hazy idea of how the brain works. I have seen quite a few savants (people who may be handicapped but who also have amazing abilities.Jenny Woolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16881781466502273314noreply@blogger.com