https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017 en-us 2017-08-05 20:38:03 UTC 2023-06-19 02:32:07 UTC hello@padlet.com bozzo https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180180240 Although neurological measures were not heavily studied in this course, they have played a major part in my life growing up. 

As a young child, I was struck in the head by a grown adult's foot while playing soccer at a family party. At the time, I stood up and immediately ran to my father and started to cry. After evaluating my well being and seeing that I was "okay" he told me to go back to running around. Although nothing immediately happened, the following weeks, months and years were unforgettable.

3-4 days after the occurrence, I collapsed in the kitchen and started to seize. As you could imagine, I was rushed to the hospital and was immediately sent for a CT scan. There the doctors saw that my brain was enlarged, and was most likely due to the blow to the head I received days before. As my seizures continued to come and go, the neurologist suggested that they take an EEG to evaluate my brain waves. As you should know, asking a 4 year old to sit still for 30 minutes is an impossible task. When you add strobing lights, and loud noises it makes it all that much harder to do. So as one might have expected, 3 minutes into the exam I started to seize, and my brain waves began to spike. As the swelling dissipated, the physician ruled that out as a potential cause. When it finally came down to it, I was diagnosed with benign rolandic epilepsy with the rare tonic-clonic seizures.

As for the EEG, I hated them, from the time I was young until my early teens, I would have them every other month and they were seriously just a pain. They start by gluing pads to attach electrodes all over your upper body and hair. Seriously, it was like sticking gum into your hair, and then having them pull it out, terrific. But as I got older the seizures became less and less frequent to the point where I was taken off of medication. Eventually my brain waves completely leveled out and I have not had a seizures in 6 years, which is pretty amazing. However, I still go for EEGs twice a year to ensure nothing has reoccured, but I still hate walking out of the neurologist's office with my hair sticking straight up, and having to pick at it for days to finally come out.

]]> 2017-08-05 22:18:33 UTC https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180180240 bozzo https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180181452 My last semester of high school, I thought it would be fun to join the track team to spend time with my friends before we left for college. What I didn't know was how much of an impact on the program I would actually make.

At the start of the season I knew which events I wanted to run and which I would eventually be placed in. I really wanted to do jumping events but my coaches knew I could run, and would be more of an asset in sprinting events. As the season went on, I found myself in the super sprint medley, the 100, 200, and the 4x200. Mid way into the season I told my coach to sign me up for a high jumping event but he just laughed. I made a bet with him that if I didn't clear opening height (5'2"), I would run 200m repeats until I got sick, and he finally agreed. That day I ended up jumping 5'6, and he realized that I had some potential. Come a few weeks later, I break the 6 foot mark, and win one of the high school meets in the area.

What started off as a joke turned into something that I really began to enjoy. As we prepared for the state meets, I kept getting better and better, but couldn't wait to jump at the meet. The way state finals for track is set up in New Jersey, is that there are three stages, the first being regionals, sectionals, and then state finals. I ended up winning regionals, and coming in 5th at sectionals but stopped jumping as I knew I just had to make opening height.

Here we arrive at finals, I was not only involved in the high jump event but was placed in the 4x100. The day started terribly and we all underperformed in the 4x100. We were seeded in the top 4 teams in the state but fell very short. As I moved on to my own event I just sat there and hoped that the bar opened at 6 foot 4 inches. Although I could jump whenever I felt extremely confident at that height. The bar was set a little lower at 6'2 and I decided I would jump to get my name on the board and go up from there. I handed in my card and waited to find out which number jumper I would be. The women called six names at a time and allowed each jumper to complete all three jumps if necessary. Now the anticipation begins to build, I am sure she is going to call my name but doesn't. In my head I'm thinking how could this be there are 30 of us, and only 15 decided to jump at opening height. As I watch these jumpers go, my heart begins to race, but I should be calm, my name hasn't even been called yet. I stare at each person, awaiting to be called. And then it happens, the judges stop the event and group up. I think to myself, what could be happening, why aren't we jumping, 10 minutes goes by and they tell everyone that the bar was set at 6 foot 4 and that each person would need to jump again at 6 foot 2.

My heart sank, and I knew I wasn't going to jump well. When the time finally came to jump, I no heighted. I anticipated not only all day but for weeks to get to this point and I screwed up. I had a chance to jump 6'6 and break the school record but fell short once again. As anticipation for an event can be advantageous like waiting for the gun to go off in the sprinting events, it was just as advantageous in waiting to jump. My levels of arousal had gotten so high that I had work myself up, and caused my demise in the event. Although I had jumped poorly in the state finals, I thought about how well I did in such a short period of time, and realized our proud I was of myself.

Link is to my 6 foot jump at groups
https://www.instagram.com/p/3TrrzsHtd7/?taken-by=highintensitytrack]]> 2017-08-05 23:37:59 UTC https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180181452 bozzo https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180182701 As I walk down the stairs in preparation to leave for the gym I hear my mother yell, "Christopher"! Of course I roll my eyes and respond, "Yes". My father then yells, "Where are you, can you come to the garage". I think to myself, perfect, I'm on my way out, but I should probably grab my headphones before I go into the garage. I get there and help my father, only to hear my mother yelling my name again. I sprint up the stairs to help her. I proceed to walk out down the stairs, out the door and drive away. So what did I forget?

As I arrive at the gym, I grab my keys, my water, and my head.... oh wait, I left my headphones. I was too caught up with everything going on at home that I left my headphones on the counter. My attention had slipped, and now I'm paying the consequences as I run aimlessly on a treadmill for 30 minutes. 

So what happened might you ask? As I attempted to leave physical, visual, and audio cues inhibited my abilities to collect my thoughts and belongings. My original idea of grabbing my headphones and driving to the gym was sidetracked due to both structural and capacity interference. Because I was unable to grab my headphones at the time as my hands were full and thought that I would grab them on my way out after helping my mom. However, as my attention was lost due to the requests of my parents, I forgot what I needed. I was unable to keep track of my thoughts and respond to theirs. As we are constantly busy throughout the day, we forget to realize how important our attention is, and how easy it is to become side tracked. Because we can only store so much information at a given time, when a second task, and even a third presents itself, we cannot devote all of our attention to one thought, and disperse it to all three. In my case, my attention was lost, and my headphones were ultimately left at home. I have learned my lesson and now leave them in my car to prevent things like this from happening.]]> 2017-08-06 01:07:29 UTC https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180182701 bozzo https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180231595 According to Fitts and Posner, learning occurs in three stages. The first stage is the cognitive stage, the second is the associative stage, and the final is the autonomous stage. However, some of us never reach that final stage no matter how hard we try. 

Growing up by the beach I had always watched people surf. I would grab my boogie board and attempt to mimic the moves of the surfers but would just sink as those board were not made to be stood on. However, around the age of 12 I begged my mother for surf lessons for my birthday, so as you might expect she gave in. So come to the fun part, I meet the instructor and his name was Marko, he had been surfing for over twenty years and taught people to do it all year round. All I can remember was me thinking that this guy was a pro and that I was going to ride waves in no time. However, that no time became a long time, and what seemed like such an easy task was not at all. Although I was a tiny child with great balance, surfing was not for me. I couldn't paddle hard enough, I never could find my center on the board and would end up crashing into the sandbars. What seemed like such an automatic task for this guy, seemed to give me a headache. If I were to follow Fitts and Posner's three stages of learning, I would have made the most progress during the first stage, but I made little to no progress. I don't think I understood what was going on enough. The amount of information I was soaking in, was becoming too much. For an activity I thought I would grow to love, I could never find a place for it. So as you might expect I stopped surfing.

What I realized from this experience is that not all learning is equal, some people may make the largest leaps in the first few weeks and months, while others build gradually through trial and error.]]> 2017-08-07 03:06:43 UTC https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180231595 bozzo https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180232730 As little Christopher stood in the front yard throwing a baseball with his neighbor, his parents warned him to make sure he had his glove on at all times. And like any 6 year old, he didn't listen and tried to catch a ball bare handed, and ended up breaking his thumb.

Now as my hand sits in a hard plastic cast for 6 weeks, I am unable to use my dominant right hand. Remember now I am in first grade at the time, one of the most important times, when it comes to motor development in one's hands. And of course, computers and iPads weren't extremely popular yet, and especially not among my generation. So what was I going to do, school was in session and I couldn't grab a pencil with my writing hand?

What seemed like such a hard task at the time actually benefited me in the long run. Because I could no longer write with my right hand, I had no option but to use my left. Although I do not remember all of the details at this time, I actually loved to right with my left and thought that it was so great because everyone else were right handed. This transfer of skills from my right hand to my left started at a young age but is still with me to this day. As this was a crucial point in development in my youth, I accidentally took advantage of it. I threw baseballs with my left hand, I opened doors using my left hand, I used silverware all with my left hand. This one silly accident attributed towards my bilateral proficiency. Because I am now fully ambidextrous, anything I do with my right hand, I can do with my left. This positive transfer has allowed me to perform task which require two hands with high amounts of accuracy. With all of that being said, I do not suggest that you break your hand to try an become better at tasks with your opposite hand, it will not work.

]]> 2017-08-07 03:22:41 UTC https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180232730 bozzo https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180233980 Throughout this course I have found a large amount of the information to be quite interesting. However, my favorite topic covered was on proprioception, and receptors on the human body. I found it unbelievable that someone could suffer a cut, and end up losing feeling throughout their entire body. It seemed strange, but also impossible to think that it was possible.

As I read further into the loss of proprioception, I realized that it is a much more common issue than I had thought. At the time I only thought that some ridiculously rare disease could cause such a tragedy but realized that at least 5.6 million Americans experience some sort of sensory deprivation. I didn't realize how somebody who lives right next door to me experiences this issue everyday. Proprioception or the sixth sense as many refer to it, tells your body where you are and what you are doing. It is like an internal compass which can dictate your movements and how you operate on a day to day basis. There are two types of receptors, proprioreceptors and cutaneous mechanoreceptors. Cutaneous mechanoreceptors can be stimulated by light, touch, and pressure. An example of these receptors can be found in your nerve endings, while others may be found deeper into your skin. Proprioreceptors are located in the muscles, tendons, joints, and in the vestibular apparatus.  They provide knowledge about the position of your body parts and the general orientation of our body. 

These receptors play a huge role in our everyday lives and we do not even realize it. As I sit here and type this post, I can feel the cold air and wind circulating my room on my skin. I also feel the plastic keys move underneath my fingers as I click. This topic of sensory contributions was one of favorites as it brought to light information I had not previously heard of.

This photo is of me skydiving, and I wanted to say that whatever proprioceptors you had before jumping out of a plane are all gone once you leave. The experience was like no other and I suggest to everyone to go out and try it.]]> 2017-08-07 03:43:19 UTC https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180233980 bozzo https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180235278 For some people, remembering somebody's birthday is no big deal, am I right? I can just log onto Facebook and look at my daily notifications to see if any of my friends have become a day older. However, for one of my friend's, he has forgotten my birthday for the the past 3 years and I just laugh. I do not know whether he puts the effort into encoding it, or it just doesn't matter much to him. 

There are three reasons for forgetting, the first being trace decay, the next being proactive interference and the last being retroactive interference. trace decay occurs over time, whether your do not encode or rehearse the information or it has slipped you mind entirely. Proactive interference occurs when old information disallows your from recalling new information. Retroactive interference is the exact opposite in that you cannot recall old information due to new information. For my friend however, I think it is a matter of all three. I personally do not think birthdays are a big deal but some people live for them. My friend doesn't even celebrate his own birthday, so why would he celebrate someone else's? As well, maybe it hasn't dawned on him that remembering to call a friend on their birthday is nice to do, but thats just me. Many times we become so busy that we forget what's going on, on a day to day basis, and forget things like birthdays. This does not mean that our ability to consolidate memories is bad, or that we are bad people but teaches us the importance of memory consolidation. When we trying to encourage memory storage, it works, but when we neglect to use it, we pay the consequences. So the next time you forget that it might be your friends birthday, check Facebook and you will know for sure.

]]> 2017-08-07 04:04:50 UTC https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180235278 bozzo https://padlet.com/bozzo/Motorscrap2017/wish/180236754 Another extremely interesting topics covered in this course was keystroke analysis and the identification of fraudulent activity. Although I have never personally been the victim to such a crime, I know friends and family who have fallen prey. Before reading the excerpt on keystroke analysis and identifying fraud, I had no clue it even existed. I did not know programs were able to monitor the way in which you type in your passcode, or even recognize the way in which you type. Its crazy to think that a single chain is as unique as a finger print. The idea of such cyber security never dawned on me nor did the simplicity of it.

A simple search of keystroke analysis provided me hours of reading. The topic is unbelievably interesting! Some companies place keystroke recognition softwares on computer's as safety precautions without their employees ever noticing. You might say no way Jose, but yes they can do that. Some of these programs are designed to create a bank for your sample typings and produce key logs for your entries. From a security stand point, I find this to be absolutely amazing so nobody else could access your computer, but find it frightening as well. I find it scary that keystrokes are as unique as fingerprints, and that somebody could use my keystroke in conjunction with an internet crime. I feel as if it is even more dangerous for somebody to learn your keystroke then to take your fingerprint. Not only can they steal your identity online, but can cause even more damage than in person. Internet security is no joke. And as we here from time to time, that a major retailer has leaked 5 million accounts, it is time that we step up and protect ourselves.



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