Your comment should be a review of the book. A book review is a critical assessment of the book in which you share your opinions about the book and back up those opinions with examples from the book. Be sure to describe the story and the style of the book.
Some questions you might want to think about as you write: What did you think of the book? What did you find most interesting? What are some new or surprising things you learned from the book? Why do you think Phineas was "lucky" or "unlucky?" Are there other texts (books, movies, etc.) that relate to the story of Phineas? Why or why would you not recommend it to a friend?
As with the last blog assignment, I will not show the comments until close to the deadline so everyone has a chance to work on the assignment without being too influenced by other peoples' work.
21 comments:
The book, Phineas Gage, is an interesting book. One can learn many things by reading it. The most interesting thing that i found in the book is that an iron bar went through a Phineas's skull and yet he survived, and stayed living after the accident for almost twelve years. As it says in the book that the accident happened September 13, 1848, and finally died in May 21, 1860. A few surprising facts i learned from the book are that the human brain and spinal cord have about one-hundred billion neurons.Also that certain parts of your brain do certain things, like for example the frontal cortex, the front of your brain affect how you communicate with others, that part is what helps us to be sociable. A new and interesting fact i learned is that more than any other organ, the brain is sealed off from the outside world and from the rest of the body. There are many layers of tissue that keep it protected from the outside.
I think Phineas was lucky because that iron bar missed a number of key areas that could have easily killed him. For example, it missed two key sections of the cortex, the motor and somatosensory strips. Which these areas integrate your sensory input of muscle actions so you keep oriented in space and in motion. There are many books, and text that relate to the story of Phineas, and John Fleischman uses them as sources. He also puts these sources in the back of his book. I would recommend this book to a friend, because it is an amusing book, and one can learn a lot from it, not just about Phineas Gage, but about the brain, and inventions.
Edgar R.
“Phineas Cage”
Like the book told us Phineas had a lucky/unlucky moment in his life when his tampering iron pass through his cheek bone all the way through his frontal lobe, yet he was still alive and concious he recover physically but mentally Phineas had problems "Cage was no longer Cage." his attitude change he wouldn’t make up his mind and he would treat workers bad this let him to lose his job. Though he went though this he was still working like nothing had happen to him but doing other jobs not what he used to do he wouldn't be satisfy so he changed jobs. He lived for a few years then his life was taken by "Hypothermia." I think that the book was very interesting in many ways that it helps many others to understand how the brain really works when I was done with the book I got interested in one day going to see the skull of Phineas were it is been exhibit. The most interesting thing I found was the fact that he still living his life like nothing ever happen, the situation that he was in I believed is both luck an unlucky because yes he did survive and lived his life but while he was living he could have acquire and infection of any type. I think that there are more cases like Phineas just like Hanna Damasio said that she has had patients just like Phineas. I would recommend the book to a friend because it has a lot information about how the brain works and how Phineas was lucky and unlucky by his accident and how our brain is localize and it doesn’t work completely as a whole. _Carranza, D
Phineas Gage was a very fascinating book. The story of how Phineas Gage lived through an accident that could have killed him was incredible. The fact that Phineas was still able to talk and sit up after the tamping iron had gone through his skull and brain was unbelievable. It was interesting to find out how much scientists had discovered due to Gages accident. Scientists changed their opinions and theories of the brain many times and they even came up with new theories on how the brain functions. Brain researchers thought that without the cerebral cortex you wouldn't be human. The cortex is where humans think, remember, learn, imagine, read, speak, listen, and dream. But since Phineas was struck through the forehead which means the iron must have gone through the frontal lobe of the cortex. This left the doctors thinking. If Phineas had survived when the iron pierced his cortex then what does the cortex do? What they thought was drastically changing as doctors went further in to studying Phineas' accident. I thought this book was a great way to be introduced to psychology. It really helped me understand certain areas of the brain and what their funtions are. What interested me more was how much research was done even after Phineas died. For example, how Dr. Hanna Damasio was able to reconstruct Phineas' brain to find out what parts of his brain were actually destroyed. it was amazing to read how she was able to do that through technology. Because of Phineas' "lucky" accident researchers were able to really discover what makes one human. I would also say that his accident was lucky because he was still able to live through such a blow to the brain and survive to tell the tale. Although his personality changed and he was no longer very social or able to get along with others, Phineas was lucky. I would surely recommend this book to a friend.
Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, is a book that in my opinion can be divided into three main parts. Not only was this book telling a story but it also gave plenty of facts and information about the subject at hand. Also the illustrations were a great compliment to the story because they gave us a vivid picture of what John Fleischman was describing.
The first part of the book is the story itself. This compelling story managed to keep me reading. After the tragic accident Phineas Gage didn't die. In fact, he was walking on his own and talking right after the accident happened. It was a medical marvel in his age because at that time doctors didn’t know about bacteria or living cells. The interesting thing was that Phineas wasn’t himself after the accident. Wanting to know if Phineas was lucky or unlucky persuaded me to keep reading and kept me on the edge of my seat.
The second part of the book was the history behind science. This book didn’t only tell us about a miraculous story but its also showed us how little Doctors knew about the brain at that time. There were 2 different groups of doctors, for example Republicans and Democrats. Each group had their own theory about the human brain. And the groups names were Localizers and Whole brainers due to what they believed was true about the brain Neither of these were 100 percent true but the book showed us in detailed why. Doctors were clueless about bacteria at the time that they practiced surgery in their everyday clothes. The history behind science and the evolution of it is revealed in this book.
The third part of the book consisted of information and facts. This was the downside of the book, but ironically it was the part where you did the most learning. Throughout the story the Author would interrupt by adding sections of facts about the brain and certain diseases that were in relevance to the story. This made the reading slower but in someway it was helpful.
Overall this was a Great book, well written. I would recommend this book to somebody I know. This book grabbed my attention, and wasn’t a book that takes long to read.
This book tells the story Phineas Gage a man who suffers from an accident and makes an inconceivable recovery. Although it is easy to read and understand, the book contains a lot of medical jargon; it tells the story of the world famous accident that happened to Phineas Gage a September afternoon in 1848. Gage was hard at work with his assistant who helped to clear space for a railroad to be built by building small charges of gun powder. The fundamental tool used to build the explosives is called a “tamping iron”; the taping iron was specially made for Gage by a local blacksmith. The rod was thirteen feet and seven inches long, and weighed thirteen pounds. Later in the story it is explained that after his accident Gage becomes almost attached to the rod and he takes the rod everywhere with him. On September thirteenth Gage went to work like any other day, without the slightest implication that his life would soon be changed. Gage’s assistant forgot to cover the gun powder and the mini bomb went off with Gage standing far too close. The iron rod went through his cheek up into his forehead. Miraculously Gage was able to maintain his composure. Although he was bleeding and had lost a lot of blood gage remained conscious and wasn’t complaining about any pains. Dr. John Martyn Harlow takes on the case, and follows Gage throughout his recovery. In time Gage’s personality shifted and he became like a different person, it was brought to question if Gages injury impaired his ability to “act human” Although he was an intelligent man, when he was offered a thousand dollars for a sack of pebbles Gage refused to make the exchange, here the Doctors questioned his judgment. The book explains that in this time period doctors had no knowledge of germs and the dangers they brought to an open wound like Gage’s. They also didn’t know what part of the brain operated and was responsible for different functions. During this time the doctors thought that if any part of the brain was harmed the victim would die instantaneously. Gage passed away on May 21, 1860, eleven years after his accident. The book is a good reference to the history of brain injury and how medicine has advanced within the past 150 years. I was intrigued by the history of medical technology that was presented and available during this time period. What I found that puzzled me the most was the picture of the surgeons in the operating room. There were about ten people in the room and they all wore their regular street clothing, their hands unwashed, and their tools weren’t sanitized. This was shocking to me because in today’s day in age we take so many precautions to fight germs and infection it’s hard to conceive that 150 years ago that didn’t exist. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend who is interested in learning about the history of brain science and medical advances in neurology as a tool to spark interest in further investigations.
Phineas Gage by John Fleishman is a very interesting educational book, which takes place in the 1800’s. It tells the tragic and unique story of Phineas Gage. It is very hard to believe that one can survive such a catastrophic accident: a “tampering rod that is three feet, seven inches long and weights thirteen and a half pounds” going right through his head. Medicine was not as advanced back then as it now, this makes it hard to believe Gage survived. Gage was fortunate because the iron rod pierced the part of his brain that is not vital. It affected his judgment and ability to be social, this is not bad compared to what it could have affected like his medulla oblongata which controls functions that are necessary to live: digestion, breathing, and the heart. He also very fortunate that the iron rod came out threw his cheek and not one of his eyes, which would have made him lose eyesight. Gage became very popular among medical scholars and professors. Many people die because their open wounds catch infections. Gage, thankfully, did not catch a life threatening infection. As an Allied Health student I found this book very interesting and as a review of last year. It was very interesting when Fleishman would describe the medical procedures Dr. Harlow performed and when he would describe the parts of the brain and it’s functions, even if I already knew them. The information he gave about Gage after the accident, when he worked in Chile, was not that interesting. Fleishman’s purpose was to demonstrate how close we humans come to death and surprisingly survive and how these experiences cause us to understand the human body even more. Gage served as evidence to the “Localizers”. The Localizers were a group of people who believed that each location in the brain had a function. The fact that the front of his brain got damaged and that he was still able to so many things proved that only the part of his brain that controlled judgment and his personality got ruined. Phineas Gage did not get to live a full happy life, he died when he was only 36, his story has been told a million times and changed little by little, Fleishman tells the real story with only facts.
Phineas Gage was man that was actually really lucky to survive such a tragic thing. If a tamping iron struck anyone else who knows if the same thing could happen. My thoughts about this book are that im shocked and surprising because he survived it’s kind of a miracle he stayed alive for quite a while. The most interesting thing that all these doctors from around tries to help this man, and even though doctors did not know much back then, thy all tries to cooperate with each other. That is something doctors don’t do much these days. Although Phineas was a lucky man because he did not die at that exact moment, he stayed strong for a couple months. On an unlucky he has finally died his wound could no longer cooperate with Mr. Gage. Similar stories are strange to find because he was lucky enough to survive, but people do go through his symptoms like for example seizures. It’s uncommon for people to go through this. I would recommend this to a friend, because it’s a story were you don’t hear every day
Phineas Gage is an amazing true life story that takes you through Gage struggle life in the 1800`s after his horrible accident he got working in blasting railroad. Something really interesting that got my attention and makes me continue reading was that a “minutes later” after the accident Phineas was talking and making it seeing like it was not a big deal to have an iron go through under his left cheek bone and past behind his eye and through the front of his brain. Continue reading the book I got see his extraordinary recovery with some difficulty. It really incredible to know that after all Phineas when through he survived; it would be more likely to die at the instant the accident happen, and knowing that in the back then there was not that much technology as today or doctor weren’t trained or have that knowledge as in our days.
The book dint just talk about Phineas Gage accident, it took us back in time through some medical history and discovery, teaching us new things about how doctor where and the way they dress, actually the way they dress was interesting. Looking in page 25 in the book there a picture of a man laying down on a bed which is the patient and there 10 men’s surrounding it, ass I can see they all dress the dress the same with suit like any other man of their time, the room it like any other and they are examining it without protection. This let us know that they dint know so much about bacteria and infection that could be transmitted by the patient or the doctors to the patient. Something ells I learn was that about the brain, we all know that the brain is the one that send signal to our body to move or do their function, but I dint know that the brain hade parts and they all have their own “job”. The cortex is one of the part I dint know about and it in the back of the brain, I learn that is the limbic system, which coordinates memory, sensation and emotion.
The story star by saying “the most unlucky/lucky moment in the life of Phineas” well I would say he is lucky for surviving that horrible accident and like I said it, “it could be more likely for him to die at the instant” for him surviving it like getting another change to live it may not the same but know he is alive it all it matter. About unlucky the only thing about unlucky it would be the accident he got, but anyone could get and accident. I would really recommend this book for other to read and just about Phineas Gage but to learn about the brain and its parts and how the medicine where in the back then and how the doctor would do there diagnostic.
This was a very interesting book. I must admit when I first started reading the book it didn't catch my attention but after it became a book I couldn't put down. This book showed a man that suffered because of a tragic accident. I think Phineas was a very lucky man to have survived this terrible accident, but he was also a very unlucky man to have lost who he used to be before the accident. It was a hard to make a decision of whether Phineas was a lucky or an unlucky man after his accident. Throughout the book it showed how he lost his job and struggled finding another job. He was part of a huge medical study that gave him the opportunity to travel to Boston so the doctors could see for themselves that he was the person how lived after having suffered the accident that should’ve killed him at scene. After his trip to Boston he was able to travel around the world. He was also a part of the renaissance fair where he traveled with his hammer. Over the years he kept traveling and visited his family. After he left his family’s home he began to travel once again. After a few months he became very ill and passed away. Throughout this book I kept switching back and forth whether he was luck or not by the end I truly believe that Phineas Gage was a very lucky man. I say this because he was able to travel and do so many things that he wouldn’t have done if he never had gotten injured with the hammer. Yes, indeed he became ruder and disrespectful. But he can honestly say he lived an adventurous 15 years.
I would honestly recommend it to any of my friends who are interested in how the brain works.
Catherine L.
Phineas Gage was a twenty-six year old man, at a construction site, who suffered a “horrible accident in Vermont.” (ch.1) Well, at least that’s how John Fleischman introduced him to us. The style in which the story was narrated was quite different. Fleischman guided us through Phineas’ story by setting the past as if it were the “present” or “near future”. This may sound quite confusing, but it’s much understandable once one has gone through the text and identified its ‘style’. “A minute or two away… it’s almost four-thirty,” (pg. 1) these are examples of phrases that Fleischman used to set 2011 as if it were 1848. The idea of incorporating time into the recitation of the text creates a feeling of suspense. Therefore, the reader appears to be more attached to the story. In other words, one is able to relate, compare, analyze, question, and predict from what is being read. The extra details that the author includes are to keep the audience entertained, focused, and to add on to their knowledge. Based on the “entertained and focused” part that the author expected from his audience, I can actually state that as I began reading, I felt as if I was watching a movie. If one was able to imagine/picture what was happening then that must mean that Fleischman must’ve been doing something right. In addition, Fleischman achieved another important task through the text: He went above and beyond simply narrating a story. Moreover, he carefully explained the life of Phineas Gage, before and after his accident. Fleischman also included information about brain science, its evolution, the way Phineas accident impacted science, and even compared the past with the present. For example, he spends the entire third page explaining how the tamping iron works and the tasks that Phineas had to complete during his work time. On page twenty-six one finds themselves learning about the cerebral cortex, and on page thirty-five we are introduced to the organs of veneration and benevolence. These are two examples of many presented in the book that allow the reader to learn about the brain and to improve their scientific vocabulary.
Diverging from the text as a whole, and focusing more on Phineas’ actual story: one can say that his accident was tragic and his recovery unbelievable. As Phineas Gage worked on September 13, 1848 something went wrong and caused an immediate deadly accident. A tamping iron that was “three feet and seven inches and weighted thirteen and a half pounds” entered Phineas’ left cheek and made its exit through the middle of Phineas’ forehead. Anyone would imagine that this accident would kill someone instantaneously—but not Phineas. As Fleischman stated, “Phineas Gage was lucky. His accident was horrible…and yet Phineas figured out how to live as a new person for eleven years” after this catastrophe. Despite the severe bleeding, the lack of medical knowledge, the shattered skull, the open brain, and bacteria Phineas survived the accident—that’s more than being lucky, he was blessed.
This “gruesome but true story about brain science” (cover) was filled with information, but the way in which it was set up it allowed the reader to learn in a way that wasn’t so boring. I would much rather read a book like this instead of having to go into a book of simple brain science and read over and over about the brain, because it’s more likely that I’ll forget everything that I’ve gone through. Based on this text I am now aware of the fact that the cerebral cortex is where you “think, remember, learn, imagine, read, speak, listen, and dream.” (pg. 28) The cerebral cortex is also where you feel emotions and where all five senses connect—the actual place where “you actually see what your eyes transmit.” (pg. 29) I’ve also learned that specific areas of the brain control specific functions. I’ve also learned vocabulary: aphasia, the inability to speak, and receptive aphasia, the loss of ability to understand speech, and the interhemispheric fissure, the division between the left and right hemispheres of the cortex. This book is probably one of the most interesting ways to learn about brain science.
As an overall evaluation of Phineas Gage, I believe that the book was great. It provided the reader with a tragic story and a large amount of information about the brain and its functions. Although the most interesting part was definitely the way in which Phineas survived and how calm he was, and how he was able to remember everything, learning about the brain doesn’t stay behind. I would recommend this book to a friend. However, lets face it, the book is really not for everyone. If one likes to watch 1000 ways to die, then this book might appeal to one’s interest. If one likes catastrophic accidents, and brain science then Phineas Gage by John Fleischman is a MUST read book.
Kenia R.
Phineas Gage by John Fleishman is a true story of a man who miraculously survived an open brain injury that could’ve instantly killed him. John Fleishman describes Gage’s incident as a collection of data gathered from many sources. Fleishman puts together an educational piece that serves as both an introduction to brain science and a story. On September 13, 1848, Phineas Gage, a normal everyday man was at work blasting rocks with a tamping iron and unfortunately the tamping iron strikes explosive granite which caused the tamping iron to blast into Gage’s left cheek, passing behind his eye, and out through the middle of his forehead. What is truly amazing about Gage’s accident was that even though the tamping iron was inside his face, Gage was still alive. The fact that Gage was still alive was doubtful and that caused many doctors and scientists to question how the brain functioned (since Gage’s character had distorted after the incident). Debates went out about the brains functions and were they were located and throughout the years, brain scientist used Gage’s incident, as well as his actual skull, as a tool of research to find out more about the brain. What I found most interesting about this story is that back then it took knowledge and patience to take care of an open wound. I find extraordinary the fact that now we have advanced in medical procedures, but back then a couple of bandaging was needed to keep open wounds clean. And also the fact that doctors didnt know much about bacteria which can cause death and illness. I think that overall the book Phineas Gage is an extraordinary piece of information which provides us knowledge on the way one story completely changed the way the brain works and the way doctors developed. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend not because it’s a gruesome story but because it provides information that can make us a bit less ignorant about our ways of functioning.
The book Phineas Gage really caught my eye because not only the amount of information given, but the details on how Mr. Gage lived his life before, during and before his accident. Yes, it’s interesting the Phineas lived nearly twelve years after the accident where the iron bar went through his left cheek and out the front lobe of his brain, but there’s more to it then just the physical damage; what really interest me was the change in personality he had after the recovery of the accident. He became indecisive, unreasonable and unreliable, and became gruesome with vulgar speech (as described on pages 19, 20, and 21. The story wasn’t just about the accident that happened to Phineas Gage and the problems he encountered, to me, it was more about the change of life he had and the decisions he made to cope with them.
I did like the style of the book, which was very informing; Even though I found it a bit aggressive with throwing so much at the reader within only a few pages. I found pages 65 to 71 very interesting. Dr. Hannah and Antonio Damasio found out ways to figure out the mental injuries Phineas encountered along with the reasons why he did not die. Using Phineas’s skull as a way to research where the Tamping Iron stuck Phineas and what kind of damage would it cause to every other patient that was struck in the same area. Using 3D software and sophisticated technology then the 1850’s. In my opinion, I believe Phineas Gage was unlucky; yet he was very lucky to have lived and still be able to cope with his mental and physical problems, he still became some sort of lab rat that was followed and studied for a decade of his life. He suffered through seizures (which by the way was the cause of his death), and was viewed quite differently by his employees and peers. On page 19, 20 and 21 and fellow peers believed his change in personality effected him for the worst, where he was unable to get rehired and pushed him away to become more lonesome. Would I recommend this book? Yes. Would I inform others if they read it they must be prepared to take in a lot of information? Yes. The book is very well informing; I believe it gives a bit to much information to the reader that can be confusing.
-Xavier A.
The Phineas Gage: Is Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science is the story of a railroad construction foreman who endured a tragic accident in 1848. While working on site, a thirteen pound iron rod striked him, shooting directly through his brain. Miraculously, Phineas survived another eleven years, six months and nineteen days. He recovered physically, but mentally, the accident changed his life forever. Loved ones and people who were close to Gage saw him change into a completely different person after the accident. People felt that he was no longer himself, he was no longer Gage. Phineas was a very well liked person. He was dependable and considered very hardworking and respectful. After the accident, Phineas became very rude and wasn’t reliable anymore. He used vulgar language and made rude remarks towards his friends and he became someone that no one wanted to be involved with. The main question throughout this book is whether Phineas Gage was lucky or unlucky. The story also ties into science; it explains how this accident led to new discoveries on the brain and how the brain itself really works.
Author, John Fleischman created this book with a very different or you can also call it a unique style. He explains the entire story of Phineas Gage’s accident while tying it into new theories on the brain and showing his audience how the brain works and how people act human. He gives us a better understanding on how this horrible accident led people to unravel new discoveries about the nervous system and why people act the way they do. He also discusses the different views people had on the brain and how many views people had about the brain were both correct and incorrect. Fleischman had a talented way of telling us a very gruesome story while intriguing us with scientific information at the same time.
I thought this was a very interesting book that gave me a different outlook on how the brain works. I actually didnt think i would like it but in the end i liked the fact that this was all based on factual information and how I was able to learn a lot from it. I would definitely recommend it to a friend because it gives people a chance to better understand why people act certain ways and how amazing the brain actually is. It makes people who are not really interested in psychology become at least somewhat intrigued by it. In my opinion, Phineas Gage was not lucky. Although he did miraculously survive a terrible accident, his new personality was not a very popular one. His actions and his new character traits caused him to lose what friends he had and he went from being a well liked man to losing everything. He was known as a man who was very dependable and who respected everyone and he became a man who couldn’t work at his old job because of how rude and disrespectful he was. He lived the rest of his life with an iron rod as his companion. Even though I felt he was unlucky I greatly believe that we were lucky because people were able to learn much more about the brain and come up with new discoveries because of the abhorrent accident that Phineas Gage encountered. Jennifer C
"Possessing an iron will as well as an iron frame". -Dr. John Harlow
These words were used to illustrate Phineas Gage.
Gage, a resident of Cavendish, Vermont was the foreman among his fellow railroad constructors. He literally possessed an iron tool called a tamping iron. While blasting rock on September 13, 1848 a premature explosion went abominable. Gage's thirteen-pound rod went through his left cheek, out the top left side of his skull. Eventually Phineas does recover physically, not mentally. Now, this accident did in fact kill him but it took another 11 years to do so. Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman is an informative nonfiction publication. It's freaky, yet intriguing content reveals the importance the Phineas case has had in understanding the brain's different functions. It goes more into details in explaining his permanent brain injury and change of character.
This man, in my point of view was unlucky. Phineas survived, lived to tell his story but that's all, "Gage was no longer Gage".
Evelynn M.
Jalen Brown//
The Book on Phineas Gage tells a sad but very interesting story of a railroad construction foreman who has a horrible accident. On September 13th 1848 Phineas Gage has an Iron Rod go through his face due to the sand not being all the way poured down the hole. The flat end of his tamping iron slips down and strikes the granite, creating a spark which causes the pointy end of the rod to shoot upward and enters through Phineas left cheekbone and passes behind his left eye through the front of his brain and out the middle of his forehead. The thing that had me scratching my head is once when the accident happened Phineas gets up and begins to talk about the explosion even though there is blood leaking down his face. After Phineas is picked up by his men and put into a cart and taken to a hotel where Phineas lived. He sits on the porch talking away as if he isn’t seriously hurt. When Doctor Williams arrives he can’t believe what he sees. This part made me laugh, when Dr. Williams approaches him Phineas says “Well here’s work enough for you doctor” (pg.8). Phineas shows toughness through his life threatening injury. If that was me, I would be crying my eyes out but Phineas shows sense of humor and heart. An hour passes and Doctor Harlow arrives and takes Phineas to clean him up.
After this horrible accident, Phineas evolves into this entirely new person. He was unreliable, rude and insulting everyone he came across, even when in the presents of women. His Personality was affected after this incident and caused his friends and workers to hate him. During the eleven years, six months and nine-teen days Phineas was alive he had very severe seizures that later grew worse and more violent, it left him weaker and weaker after every seizure.
Phineas Died in 1860, twenty days short of his 37th birthday. The cause of death was hypothermia. Knowing what hypothermia is, I thought it had something to do with very cold water that people drown in but when I researched hypothermia it all made sense. “His body can’t control its internal” (pg.53). When I was reading, this shocked me. It really opened my eyes and made me think of how selfish the brain is in those last moments before you die of hypothermia. The brain cuts off all blood circulation in the body and when it comes down to the brain and the heart, the brain decides to cut off blood circulation to the heart and that’s how he died.
This book was better than I expected. It really opened my eyes and made me think about my brain and how it actually works. It even made me watch a few videos on YouTube on the brain and look up a few things. This book is very interesting.
The thing I found most interesting about this book is when the accident happened he started talking and joking with people as if he didn’t almost die.
I learned a lot from this book but out of all that I have learned I would have to say the most surprising thing I learned is how you can damage a part of your brain and that will cause you to act different and even cause you to do things differently.
Phineas Injury was both lucky and unlucky. Phineas was lucky because he was given another chance to live on this earth. God could have easily his life right then and there but he didn’t, therefore he was lucky. He was unlucky because that injury turned him into a complete different person. “Phineas went from being the most efficient and capable foreman on the railroad to a man who couldn’t be trusted because he couldn’t get along with anyone” (pg.59). He turned into a harsh man. The rod ruined Phineas ability to get along with other people and to me that is very unlucky.
I would recommend this book to all my friends and family because it would be nice for them to learn something new on the brain, not only that but get to read the difficulties Phineas had to go through.
This the book “Phineas Gage” wasn’t interesting, but it did give me a lot of informational facts and knowledge and mad me look at the book more differently. The most interesting part of the story is when Phineas survived. Phineas went through a lot; he had a desire situation and severe brain damage. Phineas situation went from people loving him to people hating his guts. The most surprising thing I learned from the book is the alternation due to the critical incident that phineas had to go through in his life.n I would most likely recommend this book to a family member or a friend because it make you look at your body differently and it tells you good informational facts that you will need to know.
Darriyan S,
Phineas Gage by John Fleishman is the story of a man who survived a terrible head injury due to a railroad construction accident. As Phineas was placing charges to blast away at the stone and mountain he was working on, he slips and his tampering iron falls and sparks an explosion. Within a fraction of a fraction of a second, his three foot seven inch, thirteen pound tampering iron pierces right under his left cheek bone, passes behind his left eye, penetrates through the frontal cortex of his brain, and ejects out of the middle of his forehead-leaving with fragments of skull and chucks of brain. Not only does Phineas survive the accident but makes a full physical recovery. He was walking, talking, taking care of himself, and even working again. However, he did not fully recover mentally. After the accident, Phineas' social ability deteriorated. He became rude and vulgar, something his friends and family were not accustomed to. His ability to mix emotion and action was not what it was. He started to lose what some would say made humans human. The trauma caused damaged to the frontal lobe of his brain, whatever was left. The frontal lobe deals with our social skills and with the damage, he lost his ability to be sociable; his ability to get along with other humans.
Because the book went off into different topics of neurology and wasn't just a biography of Gage, it keep me constantly interested and became a very quick read. The way the author was teaching you and telling a story at the same time left an effect that textbooks don't. The book left me questioning and wondering about neurology and the functions of the brain; it even left the curiosity to take a trip to Harvard and see Gage's skull and tampering iron. I would recommend the book to a friend with a love of learning or better yet anyone having trouble choosing a major in college, because it left me second guessing. Reading the book also left me anxious to move forward in the AP Psych class. I've always been interested in the way the brain works and with the class I can link it to behavior and mental processes.
3Phineas was the forceman of a track construction gang.He live in the small town of Cavendish Vermon.On September 13, 1848 he had a terrible accident a tamping iron entered under his left cheekbone, passed behind his left eyeball and continued on upward through his frontal lobes.It exited his forehead between the two hemispheres of the cortex it left him alive and concious but he was not the same anymore.He recovers and goes on with his life and finally dies.His accident help scientist understand the way the brain function.The book was very interesting I learned from it.It made me get intrested on how the brain works and why we make the choices we do.I will recommend it to a friend because you learn something new in every chapter.
Lucia ,G
"PHINEAS GAGE, A Gruesome but True Story",the story about a man with both a lucky and unlucky incident. The way I see this book it is setup more towards evolution and developement. What I mean is that it starts with the gruesome accident, moves on to the aftermath of the accident, and finally the evolution of the brain science. Fortunately, for many doctors back then, Phineas was, Let's just say, a perfect subject that to help them with the study of the brain. As bad as it sounds, we were lucky to have record and take out as much information from Phineas' accident that helped many scientist and doctors understand how much more complicated and advanced the brain is. What I found most interesting was the actual accident and how it was both lucky and unlucky. Although the increase on the knowledge of the brain was minimal back then, luckyly, Phineas was, what I believe to be, one of the greatest brain science advancement ever made. I would really recommend this book to a friend due to the fact the our knowledge comes from a man who had a 13 pound iron rod go through the side of his face and out his brain.
"PHINEAS GAGE, A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science" tells the story of a man who was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky for the reason that he suffered an open brain injury and managed to physically recover. Unlucky because he never managed to go back to who he was, in other words, never recovered mentally. The way I see this book, it is setup in three parts. First the lucky/unlucky accident, moves on to the aftermath of the gruesome accident, and finally the advancement of knowledge that the accident caused to the brain science. In other words, this book tells the evolution of the brain science. What interested me the most was the actual incident and that the fact that this accident showed us how complicated and advanced the brain is. I would recommend this book to a friend because it shows and explains the evolution of the brain science.
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