Today's Whirlwind of a Class

Today's class left me feeling like I'd gulped way too much coffee in way too little time--and not in a good, oh-wow-I-have-so-much-energy way, but more like the clouded, headache, all-I'd-like-to-do-is-sleep kind of way. I remembered Celia saying on Tuesday that Dr. Widman would be coming in to talk about biopsychology and the like, but I completely forgot.

Admittedly, I was a little grumpy/frustrated (sleepy, mostly) at the beginning of class because I'd woken up early to finish today's assigned readings only to discover that my early-morning scramble was sort of unnecessary. Okay, I suppose the Clatterbaugh reading was pertinent, but I had learned a lot about sociobiology and its controversies in Xinli's Human Nature class last year. In any case, I don't think reading the articles/chapters was a total waste; at least I'll have something more to blog about later :)

What interested me most in class today was:

1. Dr. Widman seems super intelligent in his field. It seems like he loves what he does (both teaching and researching), and that made his lecture all the more enjoyable.
2. I appreciated his confidence. Toria (I'm not calling you out, girl!) gave him a run for his money, and their arguments were entertaining, but he held his ground (and so did she, for that matter). Maybe if there hadn't been an issue raised after every sentence Dr. Widman said (semi-frustrating after the first few times), we could've covered more or perhaps covered it in a more organized manner, but that's okay. Like I said, the arguments were entertaining. I'm also grateful that some comedy was added by members of the class and by Celia and Dr. Widman throughout the lecture (i.e. Amidia's comment that skinny, blonde girls are mean because they're hungry) to make light of the moderate tension I (and anyone else?) felt while Toria was arguing with Dr. Widman. I really don't mean to insult Toria, but I just didn't understand why she was so defensive. I didn't feel like Dr. Widman was saying anything too controversial (he seemed very open-minded and all-inclusive [culture counts for something most of the time]) and she just kept arguing. Oh well...
3. I liked how Dr. Widman stressed the importance of biology AND culture in shaping an individual's personality. I think professors in certain fields often tend to ignore the importance other fields have one theirs. Basically, everything's a mix!
4. I had no idea about all of the differences in brain psychology/biology between males and females (and even homosexual males!) Okay, so rats aren't humans, but that's so interesting! I'd be open to learning more about this.
5. I liked the discussion about "attractiveness" with respect to an evolutionary/biological standpoint. That males generally prefer different sizes of women--different hip-to-waist ratios for different purposes (one-night stand vs. marriage)--is crazy to consider. Even the places where women store fat can be attractive or unattractive! I had never really considered this so explicitly. And! Smarter children from fatter-hipped women? So interesting!

Overall, today's class was an interesting surprise. I enjoyed it (and large group discussions in general) more than breaking into small groups, I think. On Tuesday, for example, I felt like I was missing out on other people's discussions and that I wasn't actually getting all that I could out of each question because we only really got a preview of what was discussed in each group. Anyway, I'm not damning small group discussions (they'll be a welcome break now and then, I'm sure), but I take much more from large-group discussions.

Reflections on the readings to follow...