Huffington Post...Post

When the banks first bailout plan first hit the ears of the public, it was strongly denied. When the plans for a bailout hit congress, just like with the public, it was turned down; consequently, as it was rejected, the stock market all but crashed. This prompted a second appeal to the government to allow the bailout plan. Once the banks received their billions of dollars, they slowly crawled back to their status as wealthy banks. Now, though, the bailout plan has not done enough. According to Arianna Huffington, the plan for the bailout was not enforced nearly enough to keep the crisis at bay. She says “If you jump halfway across a chasm you fall into the abyss.” implying that the job to solve the bailout problem was only half met. I agree with her that because of the economy problems we have today that a special cabinet in our government should be created in order to address the problem. How would society benefit from having a cabinet full of economy experts in the white house in your opinion?

stiff discussion questions

Is it, in anyway possible, to go too far in studying the bodies of the deceased as a line of work?
Is their limit on what should be done to the bodies of the dead without it becoming mutilation or disrespectful to the body?

Mary Roach’s Stiff presents many different topics as to what is done with the bodies of the dearly departed. Her book is both interesting and informational. She presents the information in detailed anecdotes of her interviews or meetings with the different types of people whose lives directly involve dealing the bodies of those who have donated themselves to science after death. Her book ranges from plastic surgery practice to weapon testing. Each topic in her book can argue that testing with the bodies of the dead is an important way to discover how to better our lives as the living. For example on page 132 of her book she states that research had been done to actually limit the deaths caused by gunshots and gunshot wounds. Other research is done to identify the cause of death and ways to prevent more deaths than what are necessary (and yes death is necessary). The tone within the text is both formal and amusing. In my opinion she wrote the book this way in order to present ideas in a way that the reader would both enjoy and remember reading them; also as a marketing technique to get the word around that her writing is interesting and informational.

How important is it that we study the dead in order to find ways to increase the length of our lives? Are there other means, in your opinion, of ways to study the anatomy of human bodies without dissecting the deceased?

In my reading of Mary Roach’s Stiff, I have found many different themes and arguments that are presented in her text. She uses different historical events in order to indentify when the study human body and dissections become essential in order to learn how to prevent and repair damage done to the body. So far in my reading I have deciphered that the central theme in the text is the importance in the use of deceased human bodies in the advancement of our everyday lives.

stiff discussion question

is it alright for those people who have donated their body for scientifical reasons to be used as pratice dummies for amatuers learning the ins and outs of plastic surgery? should these bodies only be used for important research? if so what other means would you create as a way to pratice cosmetic(plastic) surgery?

Stiff (Chunk 1/3)

In the beginning of Mary Roach's book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, she gives detailed desciptions on the actions taken with the dead who have, while living, donated their body to science. In the book she also tells of the feelings that the surgeons give as they perform each surgery. The Book is extremely enjoyable and I have liked what Ive read so far, unfortunately my actual copy is still in the mail and i am unable to read further.