Second in a Series

LEARNING CURVE
Brain and Behavior: Psychology 20

Andrew Bradley
SOPHOMORE STUDENT

am composed of water, neurons and energy. I am also composed of ideas, dreams and ethics. By drawing the microscope of science intensely close to the interface shared by these two states, “Brain and Behavior” makes one ponder what it means to be a human and to realize the amazing circumstances that are life.

This interface has special significance in a university setting, where we compartmentalize classes into “Mechanical Engineering” or “American Studies” and create insurmountable psychic barriers dividing regions of study. As a student with an undeclared major, I am conditioned to think that a fundamental ocean of thought separates the studies of a computer scientist and an economist. On the verge of deciding where my academic path will next lead, I am led to believe that declaring a major will open a door of one kind, while it tightly seals all others.

Unfortunately, most of my colleagues fall victim to this illusion of separateness; many think philosophical questions might be avoided by declaring a science major, or that by taking non-science classes they might evade the mental processes that make science possible.

By taking courses like “Brain and Behavior,” students avoid this kind of trap. A Symbolic Systems student might take the course to analyze the operation of an amazingly effective system; a student interested in business could monitor the maximization of resource potential within a strictly regulated one. Although I am interested in psychology, my reasons for taking the class are essentially philosophical ones. But whatever the nature of one’s interest, the inquiry into the brain and behavior must be rooted in biology.

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