Hell is story friendly

I think it is interesting about Gottschell’s views and ideas of fiction and reality. Here are my thoughts in reference to fiction concerning biology/chemistry and the sciences. Lets take for example the movie Avatar, great show and for me really hit home. Because I have suffered a SCI and the actor in the film Jake Sully also suffered a SCI I found it amazing. I found myself acting and doing a lot of the same things that his character was doing. After entering into the avatar body the first thing that Jake does is wiggle his toes. How amazing would it be to be able to wiggle your toes after years? Next he stands up, and next he runs! He runs and jumps until he stops and realizes that he can feel the dirt beneath his feet, he runs his toes through the dirt digging them in and remembering what that felt like. I can tell you from experience that it is AMAZING that the writers were able to hit this on the head. Given the opportunity I see myself acting much the same way. After Jake is taken out of the avatar body and the reality of his paralysis sets back in he is once again frustrated with his condition. But that is fiction, and in the real world we have not yet found a cure for a SCI. I am hopeful that this will happen but the reality is that real life is not roses, does not always have a happy ending, and in a lot of cases is just plain cruel and makes no sense. Not speaking just for SCI’s but anyone who has experienced lose in their lives things such as cancer, death of a child, disease, etc. Many times these experiences do not make sense, do not seem fair, and seem to be more than we can bare. But in these instances is when we as a race seem to make the most progress. We find the fight to find a cure. We are compassionate and bond together to help. I say this because I have experienced this first hand. Although reality is not as glamorous as fiction and does not always have a happy ending as fiction does it is real. It is my hope that the brilliant minds of fiction will spark for those physicists, doctors, chemists to continue to motive them to find cures for cancer, SCI’s, and many other diseases and injuries. It is my belief that this will one day be reality and just like Jake Sully I will be able to wiggle my toes once again. I think it is completely false that Gottschell's opinion of those who read more fiction are more capable social operators than people wo do not. In fact in his book no more than a paragraph later he states that "these findings are self-evident". Just because Gottschell feels a certain way does not make it so! I do find it interesting that the firing of neurons to fictional stimulous may lead to something in the future with the regeneration of damaged neurons.All in all this week was an interesting read, something to think about as far as the connection of fiction and the firing of stimuli in individuals.In the begining of my injury I would sit infront of a scene with electrodes hooked to my legs. I would watch a screen for hours and ask my muscles to fire. Electrical feedback would tell me if my muscles were firing or if there were no activity at all. For hours at a time day after day watching a screen for bio-feedback. I can tell you from experience it works. Neuro-science is making huge progress in the recovery of SCI's and stroke patients.