Human brains have no “special sauce”

28 Sep 2011, Posted by Mary Hoch in News, 1 Comments

Forget what you think you know about the supremacy of human beings.

Special to The Chronicle

Mark Changizi, a speaker at Duke’s first neurohumanities seminar last week, thinks the human brain doesn’t have the “special sauce” we all assume it does.  And by “no special sauce,” he explained he means that the human brain isn’t much different from an ape’s.

In his newly-released book Harnessed: How Language and Music Mimicked Nature and Transformed Ape to Man, Changizi describes how the human concepts of music, language and writing are not revolutionary human inventions, but rather an adaptation of forms and sounds found in nature.

“Cultural evolution [shaped] language to harness brain regions specialized for ancient, non-language functions,” Changizi wrote in an email.

He explained how the “no special sauce” theory replaces the prominent theory about specialized brain regions for language.  You might have read about Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s area in your psychology or neuroscience classes, but these labels are just theory.

“Languages have evolved so that words look like natural objects when written and sound like natural events when spoken,” Changizi wrote in his book.

Modern human language, Changizi said, is an amalgamation of what’s around us in nature, and shaped by the capabilities of our brains into what we know today.  It is not, he added, proof that man is innately superior to other beasts.  He acknowledged that man has more “brain power” than apes, but it’s just “more of the same.”

Changizi’s new theory is a bold departure from the commonly-accepted assumption that humanity is innately superior to all the beasts and lower life-forms on the planet. Whether you realize it or not, you have acted under the assumption that humans are awesome—much more so than dogs and chimpanzees, of course. And whether you noticed or not, this shaped your actions in a certain way.

“I’m suggesting there’s no special sauce. And that ought to be the baseline hypothesis that other theories should argue against,” Changizi wrote.

This new hypothesis—the “no special sauce” theory—could change the way we think about not only our brainpower, but also our relationship with the rest of the planet. Ecology is at stake here: once we accept that humans are just animals (mind you, really smart animals), this could knock down ourhuman egotism and open our minds to a world where the Earth isn’t meant for homo sapiens conquest.

Who knows where it could take us?

Saudi women gain voting rights

28 Sep 2011, Posted by Tiffany Lieu in News, 0 Comments

Saudi Arabia, one of the most traditional Arab countries, finally opens its voting polls and municipal elections to women starting in 2015.

Special to The Chronicle

“This is a pretty historic event,” said Jen’nan Read, associate professor of sociology and global health.  “A lot of people thought this would never come about, especially not this soon.”

Since its establishment, Saudi Arabia has maintained traditional gender roles mandating that women not have the right to vote, hold office or drive cars. For the government to reverse these long-established conventions then speaks to the magnitude of these developments says Read.

Frances Hasso, associate professor of women’s studies, is more skeptical about the ultimate significance of these new developments.

“The changes are significant in some ways and insignificant in others,” Hasso said.  “It’s a ridiculously sexist context.  The fact that it’s so controversial to give women limited voting rights and the right to drive tells you something about the nature of the regime and the political forces in the country.”

Both Read and Hasso agree, however, that the changes are certainly steps in the right direction.

The new developments were instigated by the intersection of three central factors, Read said.

One factor was the uprisings occurring throughout the rest of the Arab world. Although few believed revolts would spread to Saudi Arabia, Read said, the tumultuous developments elsewhere caused many people to question the social policies governing the country.

The efforts of a rising class of wealthy, educated women who have traveled to other countries also contributed to the change.

“We may not see it overtly,” Read said.  “But behind closed doors, with their husbands and father, women were probably privately lobbying for a long time.”

Many of these such Saudi women have traveled to more liberal Western nations where they were exposed to cultures in which women enjoyed more rights. It is important to note, Read added, that Saudi women do not necessarily desire to emulate the West. Rather, the more liberal cultures of the west expanded their notions of possibilities for their own rights.  These sentiments have been developing for some time.

“It has always been like this,” Read said.  “It did not happen overnight.”

Change was imminent. If Saudi Arabia wished to continue as an influential constituent on the global political stage, the country would have to modify its policies regarding women.

“People in charge realized that if they wanted to be powerful on the world stage, they had to have equality,” Read said.  “Even the monarchy knows that they were living in the dark ages.”

The convergence of these three central factors precipitated the change.

“It was the perfect storm where everything came together,” Read said.

It is too early to tell whether these policy changes, which will not come into effect until the 2015 elections, will be meaningful or if they are merely conciliatory gestures from the government to pacify public uprising.

Although it is significant that conservative Muslim clerics supported the addition of women’s voting rights, it remains to be seen if women will indeed run or if they will be voted into office.

Women still do not have the right to drive, the newfound rights to vote and run for office is definitely progress.

Durham SAT scores dip 12 points

28 Sep 2011, Posted by Nguyen Tran in News, 0 Comments

Brittany Zulkiewicz/The Chronicle

Although the college admissions process becomes more competitive each year, students may not be getting smarter.

The mean SAT score dropped four points this year nationally, three points in North Carolina and 12 points in the Durham Public School district, according to a press release.

DPS’ mean combined math and reading scores is 951 this year, down from 963 in 2010. This is the sixth straight year that the DPS has posted a decline in students’ SAT score.

Jeff Nash, interim chief communications officer of the DPS, believes there is no easy explanation for this decrease, but noted that one possible explanation may be because of an increase in participation.

“When students who are only on the fringe of wanting to attend college, or perhaps carry a GPA that is borderline acceptable for college entry, are added to the list of test-takers, the scores will naturally be lower than the [college-bound students] subset,” Nash said.

The percentage of DPS students taking the exam rose from 71.6 to 73.1 in the past year, according to the press release. Additionally, 64 percent of North Carolinian seniors took the SAT, compared to only 50 percent nationally.

This lowered average SAT score will not prevent DPS from encouraging its students to participate in the test, he added.

“We believe it is helpful for the kids to take it because they may change their mind and decide to go to college, or they may realize that they can indeed be successful in college,” Nash added.

Although SAT scores dropped overall, African American and Hispanic students’ mean SAT scores increased by eight and 61 points, respectively.

Nash said that he believes SAT scores do not fully reflect how well the students have prepared for college.

“There has been no recognizable drop in student aptitude or preparation—as evidenced by the ACT results (both scores and participation have gone up),” he said.

The DPS has made plans to help its students improve their SAT scores. Some of the measures include developing an SAT/ACT Advisory Board, increasing partnership with the DPS Office of Public Affairs to advertise current SAT Prep opportunities and increasing enrollment in advanced courses for high school students.

“While the increased participation is a very good indicator, I still have higher expectations for our scores,” said Superintendent Eric Becoats in the press release. “Moving forward, I fully intend to see our scores rise, our participation rates continue to increase and, most importantly, I expect our students to be prepared for success in college and in all future endeavors.”

LoYo your way to a lower weight

28 Sep 2011, Posted by Dylan Peterson in Digging into Durham, News, 0 Comments

Jisoo Yoon/The Chronicle

This is the first post in our new series called Digging into Durham. In this series, we will highlight restaurants and stores restaurants that are popular among Duke students, and also some that we think Dukies should know about. This blog post features Local Yogurt, and the next will feature Devines, a popular sports bar on 9th street.

Who says you can’t have your cake and lose weight too?

Durham’s first independently-owned frozen yogurt shop, Local Yogurt, offers this fantastical dichotomy to all who enter the shop. Staying thin and eating dessert are no longer enemies.

Described on their website as “The Happiest Place in Durham,” LoYo offers delicious frozen yogurt at 25 calories per ounce for all flavors and all yogurts are either nonfat or lowfat, said Jenny Paul, manager of the Erwin and University Drive locations.

“Our yogurts are all natural,” Paul said. “Yogurt is healthier than ice cream around the board, and you’re getting good bacteria for your digestive system.”

Calorie-wise, a person weighing 150 pounds who walks from the bus stop on West Campus to the Local Yogurt on Erwin and back will burn more calories than consumed in a small frozen yogurt—and will burn all but 60 calories if consuming a medium froyo. Besides leaving LoYo losing weight, you will also save money on a taxi that could cost anywhere from $3 to $7 each way.

Local Yogurt always has plain and chocolate yogurt on the tap ready to serve and has 2 additional flavors that are switched either weekly or bi-weekly depending on the month or season. This fall, for example, they will be serving their homemade pumpkin yogurt that historically has sold really well, Jenny Paul said. Flavors range from thin mint and peanut butter to dolce de leche and red velvet.

In addition, toppings include fruit, cereal, candy, chocolate, coconut, sprinkles, peanut butter and the traditional ice cream shop toppings. Like their specialty yogurts, LoYo offers specialty toppings like homemade organic brownies and chocolate chip cookies. They also work with local organic bakeries and farms.

“You can splurge on the toppings with froyo because it is so low calorie and low fat,” Paul said.

Besides pleasing your taste buds and losing weight, LoYo has employees that are health conscious and genuinely happy to be there. Paul offered me free samples, suggested her favorite healthy and unhealthy options and the decorations around the shop are bright and cheerful, as the website suggests.

Especially with the looming threat of the freshman 15, it is relieving and delightful to know that LoYo not only offers a mouthwatering and healthier alternative, but also may help you lose weight if you walk there.

Soundoff: Homecoming

28 Sep 2011, Posted by Arden Kreeger in News, 0 Comments

Samantha Schafrank/The Chronicle

Homecoming was a burst of Duke culture, and everyone on campus cheered on a win football win against Tulane Saturday. Alumni flooded Duke campus homecoming weekend to return to the place of happy memories and carefree times. Cases of beer and cameras for souvenir pictures in hand, they returned to their old dorms, classrooms and professors. The Chronicle‘s Arden Kreeger talked to Dukies about their opportunity to witness a bridge between old and new. 

“I think it was a great weekend. We had a lot of alumni come back. We had different academic sessions during the day that visitors could come to. It was a nice varied offering of educational discussions, and I think we had a great turnout. And Duke won its football game, so that’s always a good thing.”

—Susan Berndt, senior regional director of development

“It was funny to see some of the alumni. I don’t know if they didn’t realize Tailgate is over—or maybe they wanted to bring tailgate back—but some people definitely missed the no Tailgate memo. While it was great to see a Duke win, it was still disappointing how few fans were in the stands. The camera man had to pan over the same sections a couple of times because there just weren’t enough all blue sections, probably because of the weather.”

—Anna Knight, freshman

“My fondest memory was during [President Broadhead’s Homecoming Dance], when I got on stage and sung ‘Proud Mary’ with the seventies band. I think that wraps up the [Homecoming Dance]. It’s weird, because there were a lot of older people on campus. For freshman, it’s more like, ‘ooh, free food!’”

—Fedner Lauture, freshman

“I didn’t go to the events just because I had other things to do, but it’s really cool to have the entire fraternity from all the old years come back. We ran into a bunch of alumni at McDonalds in the middle of the night one night and just hung out and talked about funny stories that people had.”

—Billy Baumgartner, sophomore

“I thought homecoming was a great opportunity to have all the graduated seniors back, and it felt good to have them here. It felt more normal, honestly. I went to the Hoof ‘n’ Horn homecoming cabaret. It was awesome. We had several alumni return, including alumni from the 70s so that was pretty awesome.”

—Lindsay Samuel, sophomore

“I think homecoming is a great way to connect past students and past alumni leadership. It was a nice way to bridge the gap between leaders in the alumni community, recent graduates and current students. The alumni had several educational sessions in the morning, and I think [current students] really appreciated that. And the President’s Ball was a really big success in that it didn’t rain, and they also had a new set up this year, so I think it worked out a lot better logistically.”

—Beth Gordon, junior, alumni relations intern

“I love how the Homecoming Facebook event always appears [first] during spring semester. This year’s ball was both exciting and nostalgic. It was cute to see the freshmen all dressed up. As seniors, my friends and I couldn’t help thinking, ‘Wow, in one year we’ll be back as alumni—if we’re lucky enough to get off of work!’”

—Jean Gan, senior

“Returning to campus for homecoming is an emotional touchstone that allows us to reconnect to a place and time of friendships, learning and amazing experiences. We all share this incredible experience called ‘Duke,’ and while the campus and the [people] change, it remains a place where we began our adulthood and formed into the us that we are today…. Duke is a very special place made special by the unique and amazing people that pass through the gothic wonderland. While many return for the academic experiences and the campus tours, homecoming to me is sharing this time with my classmates and re-connecting with them and the lives they live today. Whether it be at the football game or the homecoming dance or class gatherings, spending time with fellow Dukies is always a special time.”

—Shep Moyle, ’84, director of the alumni association

“I went to the game and the dance…. The dance wasn’t really as great as I thought it would be, just because the music wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be. In terms of noticing people, obviously we just stuck to ourselves, the freshman. So I didn’t get as much as kick out of it. But I know my friend—she saw Zoubek—and that made her day.”

—Caroline Hermann, freshman

“I really wasn’t involved in any of the homecoming activities. My only incidental involvement occurred when one of our majors from about five years ago came over to my office and we had an interesting discussion about his intellectual pursuits since graduation.”

—Michael Ferejohn, professor of philosophy 

“Highlight of the night was [Brian] Zoubeck, obviously. I spazzed. That was amazing…. At first I thought he was Ryan Kelly, because I was caught off guard. But no, it was Zoubeck. It was a lot more emotional in the moment, I was almost crying.”

—Nicholle Romero, freshman