Saussure and Structuralism

Ok, so lets get this straight. This is a car.

BUT, the word car does not actually mean car. Why is C-A-R different from C-A-T? That over there could just as easily be a C-A-T as it could be a C-A-R. This has been the topic of Professor Alan Girelli's Rhetoric of Visual Design for the past few weeks. It's exciting stuff and really makes you think about the meaning of language.

For example, remember that book, Frindle by Andrew Clemens? It's about this unruly boy who, as an act of teacher-student rebellion, decides to call what we say is a P-E-N a F-R-I-N-D-L-E. His teacher is defiant and as student by student joins him in referring to pens as frindles, he does worse in school and his teacher gets him in trouble with the school.

Then, at the end, there is a narrative of the teacher walking up to a house, carrying a dictionary, and knocking on the door. The grown up boy opens the door and sees his teacher. His old teacher gives him the new edition of the dictionary, which happens to have F-R-I-N-D-L-E in it. They hug, part ways, and you're left with a feeling that you can accomplish anything and that maybe you'll starts calling a L-A-M-P a M-I-N-D-A-M-I-N-G.

Was Clemens aware of Saussure? I certainly did not know anything about Saussure and the arbitrariness of language. Clemens got me thinking, though. Language is not constant. If it were, humans would all speak the same language and even when separated the same one would form. This isn't the case though. Languages form all the time from French to English, from Chinese to Gaelic. They aren't the same and some have completely different rules, syllables, and tonal qualities.

So, language must be arbitrary. It must be someone looks at a big, gray, roundish thing on the ground and says, "rock." Then, if he goes and points to it and shows it to his friend, saying "rock," then his friend will call it that. Then the whole tribe of humans will. But, the question is, why didn't he call the big, gray, roundish thing "peanut" or "book"? Why... how do languages develop?

I don't have the answer. I don't think anyone does. But I think understanding the devlopment of language can eventually lead to a better understanding of the evolution of humanity. Missing links are certinally something to be on the look for, but maybe filling in some of the other gaps is necessary, too.

Please, let me know any thoughts you have :-)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Just thought I'd let my Dad know that I was thinking of him today. I don't know how soon he'll check this, but I thought I'd write him a poem of sorts.

More than a whisperer or rules

More than a harbinger of hate

Lacking in the nurture

but full of the nature

and always late, late, late

A cynic, a pessimist

A romantic, a lover

A writer, a reader

A father, a brother

More than a man and less than a God

I hope to some day travel as he's trod.

Thanks Dad for being there. I was a Daddy's little girl when I was a kid and I'll never forget it. I love you, am always thinking of you, hoping for you, and would be willing to do anything for you.

Happy Birthday :-)

This is the first decent article I wrote for the local school paper, "The Towers." And if you can, I strongly suggest you meet Dr. David Adams. He is brilliant, interesting, and entertaining!

Biology Research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Siobhan Barton

Worcester Polytechnic Institute is one of the top schools for science and technology research in the country. Although most well-known for its engineering focus, WPI has a well-developed life sciences program in which many students take part. In President Berkey’s Vision Statement, he concludes that there needs to be a greater effort to expand life science studies at WPI.

There is, however, already a large life science contingency on campus. The MQP and IQP experiences are a big part of undergraduate student research. Professor Michael Buckholt runs the Biology Project Lab in Salisbury Laboratories, which is where students work on their research. With the new edition of the Biomedical Engineering Sciences Building, Gateway Park, life sciences looks to be an expanding field at WPI. Faculty research is a big part of any university, and WPI is proud to have the work of several professors on display, most notably the research Professor David S. Adams.

Dr. Adams’ contribution to the study of Alzheimer’s disease has provided the springboard for all further attempts to understand this debilitating disease. On February 9th, 1995, Dr. Adams published as second author the cover story of Nature, sharing his research with the world.
Alzheimer’s disease is not fully understood. The general concept is that every person has on their brain cell membranes amyloid precursor protein, but, when cut incorrectly they form beta amyloid which is neurotoxic (poisonous to brain cells). The beta amyloid aggregates together and forms senile plaques. Although senile plaques are not directly linked to Alzheimer’s, they are present in almost all Alzheimer’s patients.

Dr. Adams hopes to reverse this process. There are already several drugs on the market which counteract the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, but the cause of the disease is still untreatable. Dr. Adams is working with neurotrophic (neuro=brain; trophic=growth) factors, which will hopefully increase the growth of nerve cells in the brain.

The only issue is that there is a protective layer surrounding the brain called the blood-brain barrier. Neurotrophic factors are unable to pass through this wall and are therefore incapable of encouraging the growth of new brain cells. The goal is to use mimetic neurotrophic factors, which have shorter amino acid sequences and are thus smaller, to get through the blood-brain barrier.
Looking ahead, Dr. Adams thinks the future is bright for those affected by Alzheimer’s disease. “I think the wave of the future is going to be combined therapies.” Elan Pharmaceuticals is currently using antibodies which can cross the blood-brain barrier and indirectly remove the neurotoxins from the brain. This however does not restore memories. Dr. Adams believes that a combination of antibodies and mimetic neurotrophic factors will one day soon work to regenerate the brain.

The goal of medicine is to make the world a better place to live. Research in biology and biotechnology at WPI is working to succeed in this field. The project mind-set means that students and faculty are continually involved in work that can change the world, making WPI an innovative leader in biological research.

Got Mono?

I do.

Yep, I'm 18, in college, have a boyfriend, and therefore, I have mono.

For the record, mono is horrible. At present, it feels like I have the flu; headaches, soar throat, inability to swallow without some God-awful pain, nausea, aching, and general unhappiness.

It is Valentine's Day though, and because of that I suppose it's alright. My wonderful boyfriend made me soup, jello, and gave me lots of hugs (and kisses). Of course, since I have mono, he has mono, which means we are equally feeling terrible and equally taking care of the other.

Hopefully, this mono won't last too long, although I've been hearing horror stories from friends and my darling biologist. At least it's a day of celebration and love, and we're doing that best; cuddling on the couch, eating soup, drinking water and orange juice, and working up enough energy to say "I love you."

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!