The Mystery of Reflexes
The Mystery of Reflexes
I found a story on quakestories.wikispaces.com that really touched me. Lisa Takagi is a girl who lives in Japan and experienced it as well. In her story she talks about her experience. Her story made me think people act differently in situations (any kind of situation in this case). It made me think about how human beings have a reflex for everything they do. For example, if somebody came up behind you and yelled. The first thing you would do is jump back screaming. That is normal for us to do, but I now wonder why we do that. Is there a big explanation or is it some obvious thing that was overlooked. The reflex of jumping back screaming may look like the thing to do when someone scares you, but why is it the normal thing to do.
How do we know exactly what to do in situations? Or if we don’t know what to do, what do we do? How does our “reflexes kick in?” Simply I am just asking why there is a reason for what we do in situations. The reason for the people in Japan getting worried and scared is perfect for their situation. When we experience an earthquake (like Japan did), the first thing we do is panic or find a safe spot to stay in so we don’t get hurt. From all the stories I read at quakestories.wikispaces.com, all the people in them did something that would protect them. In some stories kids went under desks or tables. People do this in Japan to protect themselves.
But, where did they get this reflex? They would not know to go under a table when an earthquake happens from birth. No, people learned to do this. One reflex that is always at our side is the reflex to protect ourselves from danger. When we know that something dangerous is going to happen, then we get ready for it or try to avoid it. This is a reflex for us humans and it saves us many times. For the people in Japan their reflex for staying safe when the earthquake hit was to go find some place safe and stay there until the earthquake was over.
Getting back to Lisa Takagi’s story, she saw a different side to her mom and felt the pain of not seeing her family and friends. In her story her mother acted differently that she normally does. I noticed that her mom in the story was very nervous about her family. Lisa Takagi then tells about how her mom talked to the travel agency man. Her mom shaked the travel agency man’s hands saying that she didn’t care about the price for the flight and she just wanted her family to get a flight to Hong Kong. Lisa Takagi said, “I think my mom scared her with her anxiety and fear.” This shows how distressed and scared her mother was. Her mother acted this way because this was her reflex. The questions about where do reflexes come from will stay a mystery for me, but what do you think?
