Pain The Science of Suffering Book

I don't know why I was really curious about this book. As Wall writes, pain is usually a topic people want to steer clear from. However, despite how unpleasant the subject matter is, this book is really fascinating!

What I adored about this book is that it's truly interdisciplinary in the best way. Wall dips his fingers into philosophy when he discusses the connection between body and mind. He brings up research from anthropology to talk about the various cultural responses to pain. He talks about neurobiology and how pain works through the nerves. There's also a bit of neuroscience as he discusses the actual impact of pain in the brain. It all works together and it's fantastic when a subject is discussed through various disciplines.

What's the underlying message here? Wall claims that pain is related to the response we think is appropriate. That is, the way we respond to pain is closely related to what we assume the pain is. He talks about how pain can be better if the person knows what will happen, if they are treated as an active member of their recovery.

I liked the chapter where he talked about different cultures. It reminded me of how, in my seminar before working in an American summer camp, they gave us a lecture about how Israelis tend to react to pain by shrugging it off while Americans are more used to be given attention and how that impacts the way Israelis work with children (because yeah, if a child falls and I see they're okay, my response is really going to be something like, "you're fine!").

All in all, if you'd like to know more about how pain works, this is a good book, I believe. If you're interested in seeing a broad view of a subject, this is also a nice thing to read.

What I'm Taking With Me
- Reading the descriptions of diseases was like, "oh no, I have experienced a headache, what if I have cancer", "I think I feel short of breath right now, what if this is a heart attack?"
- This idea that pain is not just a sensation but also comes with a desire to get rid of it.
- And really, when we think about dualism and all of that, pain is something that impacts your mind as well as your body. I'd rant about this more but I have a 2000 word essay to write now so I should keep my ranting energy for that.

Uni Adventures:
- I know I'm finally at home here because (a) two uni guards know my name and (b) a friend from the dorms told me "you know, when I first saw you, I thought you're this really quiet introvert but you're literally the loudest person I know".

- I actually met up with friends this week, it feels like a miracle, I forgot that I actually do enjoy hanging out with people.

- So I've experienced failing an exam and yeah, it's sad but also, I feel like I absolutely understand why and that I'm going to be able to make it through. Or I just have an unhealthy amount of faith in myself, despite this.

- In my essay for Comparative Politics, I'm tempted to write about racism in the states again (guys, did you know that the us government has consistently created voter policies that harm the ability of black people to vote? it's a literal strategy and it makes me sick) but I feel like at this point, my TA is just going to be like, "Roni, please, there are other problems in the world, are you able to write an essay without talking about racism in the states?".

- We talked to a guy who had been involved in built the security fence around the West Bank as well as Oslo and Camp David peace procedures. It was so fascinating but the thing that I want to remember the most from it all was him saying that just like the Berlin wall fell, that wall is also going to and that when it does, he wants to be the first to knock it down.

- On other interesting things that happened this week, I had a long conversation with a Jewish Dane and in the beginning of the conversation, he said he isn't religious at all. Then throughout the conversation, he told me about how he helps run the Jewish organization at his university, that he's going to be working as a Jewish tour guide and teacher, that he helps organize Jewish sport competitions. At this point, I was like, "you seem awfully connected to your Jewishness for someone who's not religious" and it led to such a great conversation about culture vs faith.

- You know that bit in Harry Potter when Snape assigns an essay about werewolves in the hopes that the class will recognize Lupin is one? That's exactly what the essays in politics are like. It feels like such a dystopian idea and then you look around and you see the polarization and the crisis manufacturing and realize that democracy backsliding is a very real problem.

- I'm going to have to eventually pick one subject to do more credits and like, there's a very real fear that it'll be politics and not philosophy. Or maybe I'll surprise myself and everyone around me and do economics (let's be real, that'll never happen because if I end up as an economist, I will feel like I have literally failed at life).