In this episode of The Nature of Things, multiple techniques are explained by Dr. Norman Doidge, that help to improve the function of brain; allowing for better injury recovery. This study includes treatments for, severe causes of autism, traumatic brain injury recovery, Parkinson’s, and a girl missing one-third of her cerebellum. Specifically, these treatments include light treatment, sound treatment, using other brain regions to complete everyday tasks, and passing electrical currents through the tongue. These tests had miraculous results for the patients; as many participants stated, the treatments gave them ‘their life back.’
In this documentary, there are two men with autism who both made little to no eye contact, threw severe temper tantrums, …show more content…
It covers the most major psychological claims as outlined in the textbook Psychological Science Fifth Edition, by M. Gazzaniga, T. Heatherton, and D. Halpern. Each treatment shown is are described in depth, thus it is very unlikely anyone will misinterpret what is being said, by failing to think critically. To fail to think critically, they would have to practice the tasks of ignoring evidence (confirmation bias), failing to accurately judge source credibility, misunderstanding or not using statistics, seeing relationships that do not exist, accepting after-the-fact explanations, taking mental shortcuts, and failing to see their own inadequacies (self-serving bias) (M. Gazzaniga, T. Heatherton, and D. Halpern 7-9). The experimental treatments that are presented in Dr. Doidge’s documentary all do not allow the audience to easily make these mistakes, as it is made easy for the audience to properly critically evaluate the information presented to them. Methods used to properly critically evaluate information include, avoiding common misunderstandings, separating the believable from the incredible, evaluating the design of experiments, and critically evaluating claims made in the media (Callaghan 2). These points are all important when evaluating this documentary, with a strong focus on the last one. To ensure a person has these skills and the knowledge to understand new, complex scientific information, the
In this documentary, there are two men with autism who both made little to no eye contact, threw severe temper tantrums, …show more content…
It covers the most major psychological claims as outlined in the textbook Psychological Science Fifth Edition, by M. Gazzaniga, T. Heatherton, and D. Halpern. Each treatment shown is are described in depth, thus it is very unlikely anyone will misinterpret what is being said, by failing to think critically. To fail to think critically, they would have to practice the tasks of ignoring evidence (confirmation bias), failing to accurately judge source credibility, misunderstanding or not using statistics, seeing relationships that do not exist, accepting after-the-fact explanations, taking mental shortcuts, and failing to see their own inadequacies (self-serving bias) (M. Gazzaniga, T. Heatherton, and D. Halpern 7-9). The experimental treatments that are presented in Dr. Doidge’s documentary all do not allow the audience to easily make these mistakes, as it is made easy for the audience to properly critically evaluate the information presented to them. Methods used to properly critically evaluate information include, avoiding common misunderstandings, separating the believable from the incredible, evaluating the design of experiments, and critically evaluating claims made in the media (Callaghan 2). These points are all important when evaluating this documentary, with a strong focus on the last one. To ensure a person has these skills and the knowledge to understand new, complex scientific information, the