Mo-Mos

Thursday, January 19, 2012, 2:00 pm

Last night the cook prepared Mo-Mos for the group.  Mo-Mo is a Tibetan dumpling that is filled with a mixture of mutton and vegetables and then steamed.  They are eaten after they are dipped in chili sauce.  Everyone ate their fill and then had papaya for dessert.

During the first classroom session in the morning, we started with questions.  One monk asked about conjoined twins and if they had one or two brains.  I explained that conjoined twins were quite rare, but sometimes they are attached at the head with two brains that are somewhat independent of each other.

We then went into another neuroethical debate.  This time I posed the question about the use of machines, such as a brain scan, that might some day be able to read thoughts.  Should this device be used to prevent crimes, detect lies in court, or be used during a job interview?  Is it acceptable to extract thoughts without a person’s consent even if it could save lives?  Like the debate yesterday, things get quite animated with each side providing their strongest arguments.

After the debate, we discussed the results from yesterday’s activities:  light through a magnifying lens and mapping the visual field with a protractor.  My impression is that the monks and nuns understand this information without a problem and they should have no trouble explaining these concepts to others.

The blindspot was the next topic we examined.  They had all done some basic experimentation with the blindspot in the previous workshop.  However, we went a bit further by using simple geometry to estimate the actual diameter of the optic disk.  I should have given the monastics more time to finish, but the numbers many of them calculated were all reasonable.  

After tea, we discussed central visual pathways.  They quickly were able to correctly determine the consequences of damage to various parts of the visual pathway from the retina to the primary visual cortex.  The monastics enjoyed many of the visual illusions that illustrate how the visual system operates.  These illusions should be good additions to their teaching boxes.

We ended the second session with depth perception and the benefits of having two eyes.  However, we did not get to the activities.  Rather, we will pick up with the activities the first thing tomorrow morning.

Class Is Finished For The Day