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134 Comments
- buyingastairway, on 10/10/2007, -6/+86Sounds like he's just becoming a grumpy old bastard.
- tehbored, on 10/10/2007, -1/+62I seriously doubt the loss of his original is the cause of these changes. The fact that he had a near-death experience and is now living with a piece of foreign machinery in his chest is bound to have some psychological effect. Also it could be a mid-life crisis (even if it is bit late). The article doesn't detail his personal life, so I don't know.
- lordtyros, on 10/10/2007, -6/+57Well if he doesn't like it, maybe he should shut the ***** up and return it.
- insomniac8400, on 10/10/2007, -7/+46What a liar. It's all in his head.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -4/+43Feh.
Asians all know that the seat of your soul is in the belly.
A better bet would be all the drugs he's on due to his artificial heart. - PARAPA, on 10/10/2007, -2/+31I would say I feel sorry for him but I had a heart transplant last year
- FireAtWill, on 10/10/2007, -1/+26We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz...
- Error601, on 10/10/2007, -0/+23I'd saw that's reasonable due to the diminished physical reaction to chemical and electrical stimulation. The brain may send out a "just got scared as *****" signal but it's the pounding heart you feel.
- coheedcollapse, on 10/10/2007, -2/+22Isn't the fact that he misses his old emotions an emotion itself? Crazy old man.
- happytron, on 10/10/2007, -1/+18Wow, some of those anecdotes really strain credibility. Like when a girl inherits memories leading to the arrest of a murderer after a heart transplant? I think some skepticism here is prudent.
- Jugalator, on 10/10/2007, -1/+18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosomatic_illness :-p
Not that I'm trying to sound like a shrink, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's caused by anxiety in this case. Anxiety of losing your emotions, because you think those are from your heart... So then the belief grows so strong that you think you do exactly that. :-p - coffeebot, on 10/10/2007, -1/+17sounds like a case of the Mondays
- 10goto10, on 10/10/2007, -1/+15I think that's perfectly reasonable, but then again, I have an artificial common sense.
- reichec, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14Train this man to be the ultimate killing machine!
- firedrillduckie, on 10/10/2007, -2/+13Did you guys even read the article?
He's a trained psychologist, and has been analyzing himself. Also, he was diagnosed with clinical depression 5 years after the surgery which he apparently recently overcame.
Of all people, I would think he would be one to realize emotions don't come straight from the heart... you know, being a psychologist and all. - Ngai, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10When an emotion occurs doesn't the rate of the blood pumping through the heart differ for every emotion?
- Spankov, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7WTF? A man gives his impressions of a personal experience and this is an educated man. But what do the morons on Digg say? "I know better than him", "He's an idiot", "What a whiner".
- Frozo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7LOL.. exactly... Every year I get older, I lose a bit of feeling too. It's called growing a thick skin. Now imagine how having a sickness so bad that a heart transplant was needed... worrying about if its going to fail too, on top of everything else. My emotions would be pretty shaken for a while too, methinks.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Capt. Jean-Luc Picard never really showed his emotions....
There may be something to this... - Jams, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6When we are scared or excited etc. our heart rate can change. An artificial heart may not respond in the same way in these situations (if at all). It is possible that this could explain why he feels "different".
- lordmetroid, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7If the heart do produce some hormone that do affect emotions then yes... The cells of heart can be necessary. But I need to see some evidence of that first!
- Zaggynl, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Bwahahaha. It's called depression, one of the more dangerous forms, because you don't feel anything, you not only threaten yourself, but others. Get ***** over it, you need to man, bright side, get on it.
- Godlike, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7It's completely unfounded BS that people convince themselves of. Surgery is a traumatic experience, especially organ transplant surgery. Apparently so much so that it makes people ***** crazy.
- ToadLeg, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6I'm skeptical of any article that says something scientific and the first thing it does is quote The Bible.
- bigtomrodney, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6It's only a valve in his heart. He still has his own heart.
- RawShark, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6"the celebrated Acticon Neosphincter -- the artificial anus"
Nice. Now there is a bio-upgrade I never read about in any Bruce Sterling novel. - jimbobaii, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5For goodness sake won't someone read the damned article. The guy know's he isn't the tin man - he's a psychotherapist for god sake.
I know the article doesn't have pictures, but it's worth a read. Come on. - Alucardbsm, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5His heart is still there, they just put in a motor type thing to move the blood in his left ventricle.
- djgreedo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Quite possibly, but it seems a bit more serious than that. I would (not that I have any psychological knowledge as such) assume that the near-death experience and 'freakiness' of having a foreign organ replacing the heart have affected him psychologically.
I've had a metal plate in my arm, but the thought of an artificial heart seems really unsettling to me - the heart is so integral to our understanding of being alive and human. - Writher, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4However, isn't it possible that the artificial heart does not respond in the same way?
- zolaar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The only emotion he's left with is Buyer's Remorse...
Tough tacos, Mr. Robot. That's the price you pay for having the strength of five gorillas! - MiDri, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I'd say it is more the drugs you have to take for the rest of your life after receiving an organ rather then the organ it self that causes personality shifts. I do agree with a previous poster, however; that with the lack of a real heart you can't feel fear and other emotions that cause your heart to pound or flutter as vividly.
- kernelhappy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3If you read the whole article, you would realize it's not a artificial valve, it's a actually a pump implanted in his left ventricle that continuously pushes the blood through the circulatory system. He is entirely reliant on it to circulate his blood.
- narc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3That's right but in reaction to adrenalin, produced by the adrenal glands themselves controlled by the hypothalamus, part of the BRAIN.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_gland - MacEnvy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Perhaps ... but that has nothing to do with the source of the emotion, but rather it's an aftereffect of the emotion. HIs argument is still bunk.
- PeteyUK, on 10/10/2007, -4/+7Its called depression... ?
- AeonTorpor, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3shut up...FOREVER!!!! MUAHAHAHAHA... sorry.
- theholycow, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Actually, the missing aftereffect of the emotion could certainly be so disconcerting that it ***** you up.
Try to imagine what it would be like to be suddenly scared out of your wits, but not feel your heart pounding or your head throbbing. Now imagine that every time you _think_ you feel an emotion, the stuff that comes with it (and has for 60 years) isn't there. That could certainly lead you to doubt if you're having any emotions, a doubt that would eat away at you until eventually your emotions actually end up supressed or even missing.
Until I read this particular comment thread, I did not buy it, but now that I'm here, I believe that it's possible that his emotions really are out to lunch. Those physical symptoms that are caused by emotion, when missing, could result in emotions not having the feedback necessary to bother to happen again. - Binarydemon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Welcome to Digg, please continue to hold your breath while you wait for a mature and insightful response.
- Egoist, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2He was 61. According to your logic, because he has more money than most his life is worth less than those who don't? You are a bigot.
- NitrousFlare, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Give this bitch a sugar pill.
- Esstee, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2lol
- superal1394, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3but the heart no longer functions, no 'thump-thump'
- qwuinc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2That's what I thought too... maybe the rest of the body does not react normally to emotions when your heart keeps pounding normally no matter what happens.
- mushoo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Maybe William James was right.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James-Lange_theory
It might be more interesting to learn about him and his theory on radiolab.
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2006/05/05/segments/59011 - DephexTwin, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Why would you want to cure the 100s of people with lesser, but fatal, ailments? Isn't it their time to go too? Shouldn't they let it end gracefully?
- GraveyBrains, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I think you've both hit on the problem pretty well, but for one thing...his heart doesn't pound normally, ever. They replaced it with a *turbine!* That poor man doesn't even have a PULSE! I know if I woke up one day without a heartbeat, i'd have to seriously question if i was even alive any more. And aside from that, no heart, no adrenal response...fear, anger, lust all kinda go out the window without the flushed skin and racing heart.
- mushoo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception
- Tarnum, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The man's heart is still there and beating.
The Jarvik 2000 is not a "artificial heart", it's just an assisting device. "Augments the weakened heart's blood output". - mugnatto, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The technology he is helping develop may save millions in the future.
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