.

Read:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/no-brain-no-pain

Glossary

• unassuming – modest
• to bill sth as sth – to describe something in a particular way
• avuncular – friendly, kind, or helpful, like the expected behaviour of an uncle
• to wrench out – to remove or take away someone or something by pulling in a violent manner
• vselike – very tight and strong
• souped-up – (of a vehicle or vehicle engine) modified so as to be more powerful

 

There is a mistake in each of the sentences below. Find it and correct it.

 

Dennis Rogers is unassuming guy. He’s on the short side. And though muscular, he didn’t come across as the kind of towering Venice Beach, muscle-bound Arnold that you might expect from someone billed as the World’s Strongest Man. Rather he has the kind of avuncular intensity you find in a great automobile mechanic—a mechanic who happens be able to lift an engine with one hand while using the fingertips of the other hand to wrench the spark plugs out. (…)Rogers, who has been knew to keep two U.S. Air Force fighter planes from blasting away in opposite directions by holding them back with his bare hands, performed at the most recent Gathering 4 Gardner—a conference that celebrates the interests of one of Scientific American’s greatest columnists, the late mathemagician Martin Gardner. We asked Rogers about the source of his incredible powers after the show, and we surprised to learn that he did not know. (…) He claims that does he feel pain and is actually scared of dentists. (…) during one stunt in which he held back four souped-up Harley motorbikes with straps, he beat down so hard he split a tooth from top to bottom. (…). Confronted with severe pain, most people fear that they will damage their body permanently if they will persist, so they stop well before they are in real danger, Rogers explains

 

Key: an (unassuming guy); doesn’t come; (who happens) to (be able); (has been) known; were (surprised); he does feel pain; bit; if they persist

Practice Makes Perfect

Watch and answer the questions below:

 

• What’s the catch in Robert Nozick’s thought experiment?
• Why was the experiment designed to rebut the notion of hedonism?
• What’s the best choice that a person can make according to hedonists?
• Why would hedonists say we are better off remaining in the dark (in certain situations)?
• Would you prefer to know the truth if you were in Betsy’s shoes?

 

 

 

Discuss:

• What’s the worst pain you’ve ever felt?
• Do you have a high pain threshold?
• Do you often take painkillers?
• Why does some pain feel good?

 

 

Explore it more to create your own teaching-learning experience!

Scientists Find a New Way to Measure Pain

 

Read or listen:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/scientists-find-a-new-way-to-measur-11-09-20

 

 

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