Final Blog Post

We've talked about so many different, abstract things in this course and gone so in depth in them in so little time that I think it will be hard to remember a lot of it - just because there was so much incredible information. The one thing that I doubt I'll forget anytime soon is the very first thing we talked about - apotemnophilia. This was such a bizarre concept that I had never heard of before andit was just crazy enough to pull me into this course and hold my interest through every topic that cme after it. It really set the tone for me on how this class was going to go. I started out thinking, "this is weird," but quickly moved to, "well, they aren't hurting anyone else, so we should let them do what they want." There is so much more behind this, though, than what's at the surface, and I think that truly embodies what this class is about.

I think this is a perfect example of how science and culture are so present in our world. Why do people think it's so insane to want to cut your leg off? They don't think it's that wild to cut part of your nose off to enhance your facial beauty. That got me thinking - has plastic surgery led to this fetish? And how did plastic surgery gain popularity? Did people think that was crazy when people first started getting nose jobs? Science is constantly advancing, and why shouldn't we use it to enhance features of ourselves to increase our self-confidence and happiness - whether it be by making my nose smaller or having my arm surgically removed? When does our culture move from calling this apotemnophilia and start accepting it the way we've accepted other forms of plastic surgery?

This single concept summarizes this course very well. How has science shaped our world, and how do our cultural standards shape our idea of actions others are taking? It has caused me to take a second look at things in this world that I would call "weird." Why is it weird? Is it really insane, psychologically insane as some suggest apotemnophilia is? Or is it just different? A future cultural norm that we are waiting to evolve?