'Til Death Do us Part

In the 1967 best seller The Naked Ape, zoologist Desmond Morris wrote with comforting authority that the evolutionary purpose of human sexuality is “to strengthen the pair-bond and maintain the family unity” (Wright 279). Lately, this concept has undoubtedly acquired some blemishes. The modern world we reside in today faces many challenges when it comes to monogamous marriages. The meaning and sacredness of marriage has notably shifted, in a short period of time. It went from holding a sacred meaning and sharing a life long bond with someone whom to reproduce and start a family with, to something where it is very rare to reach a 20th anniversary. But what are some of the changes in the modern world that make monogamous marriages so challenging? Should the evolutionary purpose and sacred meaning be preserved, or should the meaning of what is “natural” be shifted to move along with the ever changing times?

There are many obstacles that could be responsible for complicating a monogamous marriage. Contraceptive technology was not available during human evolution. Things such as condoms and birth control did not exist. If an adult couple slept together for a year or two and produced no baby, it was likely that one of them was not fertile. Thus, from the genetic point of view there was little to lose and much to gain by ending their partnership and finding a new mate. In today’s times, it would be likely that the same situation would cause an individual to commit infidelity and thus turning away from a monogamous marriage.


Another possible challenge to monogamy lies in the media – movies, billboards, and magazines. There was no photography in the long ago world that shaped the human male mind. At some deep level, that mind may respond to perfect images of pinups, fashion models, and movie stars as if they were viable mates- as opposed to dull, monogamous devotion. According to the research of evolutionary psychologist Douglas Kenrick, men who are shown pictures of Playboy models later describe themselves as less in love with their wives than do men shown other images; while women on the other hand don’t feel any different about their spouse then previous to being shown the images (Wright 286). Almost all pornography that relies on visual stimulation- images of anonymous people, spiritless flesh- is consumed by males (Wright 282). These images and thoughts that the media implants into one’s mind simply aren’t realistic. Movies portray certain relationships to always be perfect, which isn’t reality, and when couples experience a bump in their relationship they feel discouraged, which could also lead to infidelity. The reality is, the media is an obstacle in the challenge of maintaining a monogamous marriage. One might jump from person to person in search of this fantasy world portrayed by the media, which frankly doesn’t exist.

Perhaps the largest modern obstacle to lasting monogamy is economic equality (Wright 286). In the ancestral environment, gaining a second wife didn’t always mean leaving the first. Donald Symons, author of the 1979 classic The Evolution of Human Sexuality, explains this concept by asking the following questions- why leave her? Why not stay near offspring and keep giving some support? He believes that men are designed less for opportune desertion than for opportune polygyny, but when polygyny is illegal, that impulse will find another outlet, such as divorce. This raises the question of what would have permitted the thought of a second wife. Symons answered that question by stating that possessing more resources, power, or social status than the average Joe, would be a desirable trait for some men, thus leading to fall out of the monogamous marriage (Wright 286).

As you can see by the graphs below, these obstacles seem to be overcoming the idea of monogamous marriage. The top graph shows that marriage rates have drops significantly since 1950, while the bottom graph shows that divorce rates are continually climbing.


All of these obstacles are challenging in the preservation of monogamy, but what could be at stake if these obstacles lead to cessation of what is suppose to be a sacred lifelong commitment and the rates of marriage continuously decrease, while divorce rates increase? What would happened if our idea of what is “natural” shifted to keep up with the times? According to evolutionary psychologists, our everyday, ever shifting attitudes toward a mate or prospective mate- trust, suspicion, revulsion, warmth, iciness- are the handiwork of natural selection that remain with us today because in the past they led to behaviors that helped spread genes (Wright 280). In the case of polygyny, it’s less powerful men grab extra sexual resources (women), leaving less fortunate men without mates- or at least mates young enough to bear children. With this concept, comes rampant divorce which not only ends the marriages of some men, but prevents the marriage of others. Which then trickles down and may cause an end to the family values we presently know. It has been proven that the restlessness designed by natural selection to encourage polygyny can bring divorce, and this can inflict great emotional and even physical damage on their children (Howle and Rowe 53).

While many of these obstacles may be argued as temptations which are part of our human nature, the concept which comes with overcoming them is a far more important part of our existence (Houle and Rowe 67). A moral being is one who is capable of comparing his past and future actions or motives, and approving or disapproving of them and moral life as we know it consists largely of battling human nature. Monogamy is something that should be preserved and can be done by overcoming the many obstacles the modern world has faced up with. While in no way do I believe we should lock people into unhappy marriages, but surely we should not reward for leaving their spouse either. Marriage is a joint between one man and one woman (not multiple men and women) in a special kind of social and legal arrangement that serves many purposes for a society (Houle and Rowe 60). The cessation of it could lead to the end of a ‘family’ as we know it. Monogamous marriages should not only be preserved for issues like social order, reproduction reasons, gender roles and organization, but for the key component of human experience- love.










Work Cited

Anderson, Craig. Media and Risky Behaviors. The future of Children, Vol. 18, No. Children and Electronic Media. 2008. pp. 147-180.

Houle, David and Locke Rowe. Natural Selection in a Bottle. The American Naturalist, Vol. 161, No. 1. Jan, 2003. University of Chicago Press. Pp. 50-67.

Wright, Robert. Our Cheating Hearts. Academic Communities/Disciplinary Conventions. August 15, 1994. Prentice Hall. Pp. 278-291.

Nicole Erickson's Greatest Hits

Chemical Reactions:
Your thesis statement was really strong and said a whole lot about what the body was going to be about. Also, I liked how you dicussed quotes from the article in your introduction paragraph, because it reminded me of what the article was about. I think if you researched more on this topic you could have a really interesting final essay! I would be interested in reading more on what you find and your opinion on the subject because you did make some valid points in your blog! Good job!

Robot Consciousness:
Again, you has a really strong thesis statment. I enjoyed your examples of movies that have had the concept of robots have a conscious and I thought it was smart adding that it your blog because in a way in helped the reader visualize what your talking about. I think if you expand your thoughts and get ideas from researchers other than Minksy this could be a really good final essay as well. I would like to read a little more of your opinion on the subject!

Good Without God:
I think this is one of your best blogs. You had some really strong points in it and it was really well written. You had a good introduction paragraph, however I would just read it through because some sentences might be better put in the condluding paragraph rather than introduction. I like the fact that you put the two different views on the topic! I would like to see more of both views in a final essay.


Overall I think your strong points are you ability to construct a well organized essay with a strong thesis statement. I enjoyed reading all of you writing and I appreciate the advice on my work! I hope my advice helped with your final essay! Good luck with the rest of the semester! :)

Jade Anderson's Greatest Hits

You always do a good job of combining facts from the articles we read, and your own opinion, which gets the reader thinking. I found that you had no grammatical errors and your citations seemed to all be correct. One strong point you have is your introduction paragraphs! They all have a strong thesis sentence and lead directly into your body but still contain what your going to be discussing! Another strong point was how all of your titles are very creative and grabbed my attention from the start! Good job on all of you work!



The Hungry Economy:

I think you did an excellent job of stating interesting and relative facts for the this blog! Sometimes research writings can tend to be a blick clunky because of so much information, but you did a really good job in organization and writing smoothly. I think with so much information out there about the topic, this blog could be a good one to think about expanding on for your final essay. Again, you had a very good introduction paragraph as well as conclusion, and it was clear what your thesis was. I found no grammatical errors and all of your citations were correct. I found your dicussion on Asian immigrants contributing to our economy to be very interesting and I would be interested to read an expanded essay on this topic!


A Material World:
I really enjoyed this blog post! Again, you did a really job of choosing good quotes from Twitchells article to support your opinions and your thesis. Sentences like, Without such gifts, what would those holidays be like? I almost want to believe that they wouldn’t exist. Or maybe they would, but they just wouldn’t be that fun..", I found to be really interesting and very true! This is another example of how you get the readers attention and get them thinking! You had an excellent concluding paragraph and I think you would have no problem developing this blog into a well written, strong, essay! Good Job!

Screwdriver, hardrive.....brain?
I think the topic along was a very interesting topic, but your outlook on the assignment made it even more interesting. I think this is another blog that you could expand your argument that humans have superiority over machines. With the many different arguments that have been made by scientists and philosophers, along with the many examples you provided, your information was well researched and back up your opinion nicely! Only suggestion would be to make a stronger conclusion for the essay if you choose this topic. Overall I really enjoyed all of you work and I think your a very good writer! Thanks for the advice on my work, and I hope mine helped a little. Good luck!

Week 12 Blog Reviews

Susan Johnson:
Is Governmental Intervention the way to go?: I really enjoyed your discussion on the balance of "self-propelled dreams of the people while utilizing the assistance and presence of the government. " I thought it was a good way to begin your blog. Also, I thought it was smart of you to present some example of why some indiviuals have a hard time trusting the government. You made it clear in this blog that your main argument was to have balance. I, like you, stand somewhere in the middle. Overall I think you did a good job presenting your opinion and providing reasons why!

Money makes the World go round. : I found that you had a very creative title that went perfectly with your blog! I liked how you tied in finance in the modern world, by discussing our current economic situation, with also talking about finance in earlier years. You also provided good informative facts about finance, which essentially was the whole purpose of this blog! Good job! :)


Deirdre Cienki
Yes or No to Gov't Control : I liked how you chose to present your opinion as an introductory paragraph and then go on to discuss why some people want government control and others don't. I do agree with you...the subject could get a little tense, but I also agree that I, like you, fall somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. Overall, you did a good job presenting your opinion.

Money Madness: I thought the first two sentences of your introduction paragraph were an excellent thesis statement for this blog. You did a good job presenting facts about finance in the past and the roles it has played!



Jess Tavizon:
Two views One Country: You do a really good job in organizing all of your thought in all of your blogs that I have read! I thought you had a really strong thesis statement, and I liked how you restated some of the information from the article we read. I also liked that you gave reason why you fell somewhere in between of the two arguments, because you found valid arguments for both sides. I also really liked your second paragraph! The story of Ashton was really interesting, and it also provided reason as to why you would not fully trust them. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your opinion in this blog!

Crunching Numbers: First of all, I liked your title! Your introduction was very well constructed and I enjoyed your use of examples, such as that people spend money every single day because we have to eat, and we can't walk around in our "birthday suits". Overall you did a good job providing reasons as to why finance has became so big.

Moneychangers

There is no doubt that money is an influential, necessary component of our everyday life. Finance, the study of how money is acquired and invested, has developed into an academic discipline, deriving from borrowed elements, tools, and technique from mathematics (Chance and Peterson 446). The fields of probability, advanced economics and physics have been the most influential on the reputation of finance. Though a relatively young field, its roots go back centuries. In more ways than one, the field of finance has emerged tremendously. Job prospects in finance are expected to grow faster than average for the next 10 years. From way back when bankers were called "moneychangers" to now, the quantitative fields emerge together to open new opportunities in the world of finance.

The scientific character of finance arises largely from its preoccupation with risk (447). The advances in computers and the development of increasingly powerful statistical techniques have allowed finance to become a truly empirical science, demanding that its various experiments be as objective, accurate, and repeatable as those in particle physics of microbiology (447). Risk in finance is both complicated and pervasive, and that is where the element of what is known as derivatives come in. They are instruments derived from the values of stocks, bonds, currencies, or commodities. These instruments allow the buying and selling of financial uncertainty, so that firms needing to reduce risk can transfer it to firms willing to bear it (451). All of these theories came together to be called financial engineering.

Many of these financial theories and tests are now as likely to be formulated at major financial institutions as at universities. The creation of these theories along with its risk management tools is what enabled practitioners of this discipline to find a place in the world of the academy.

Two Sides of the Spectrum

As far back as I can remember, there have been certain set of rules I was brought up with. From being in kinder garden and being told to raise my hand if I had something to say, to learning how to drive and seeing "red means stop", we have been brought up with a certain set laws and regulations that are ultimately designed with one motive; to protect us. Even as simple as raising your hand in an elementary classroom, without that rule, a bunch of students would be speaking at once and it would be so chaotic that the teacher could not do what they are there to do- teach. Now being older, you realize that that are rules in almost every aspect of our live; school, family, work, law and society. I believe that the elimination of these rules we have grown to be so familiar with, would cause our country to become corrupt and unsafe, and ultimately result in chaos.


After reading the article "Politics for the Really Cool", it is clearly evident that Sameer Parekh was at the far end of the spectrum believing that all government should be stripped away. He has been selling a cryptographic product which would be useful to anyone who can't afford to leave behind a paper trail (McHugh 436). That would be someone running an illegal gambling business, distributing child pornography, or arranging details of a cocaine shipment, or simply someone who just doesn't want to pay taxes (McHugh 436). It is outrageous to think that these kinds of products even exist; that someone would think it is ok to produce a product that helps an individual get away with distributing child pornography! It is these same products and technology that federal authorities have been attempting to limit the spread of. But just think of if the government was completely stripped away, who would be fighting to limit such things? Without the government control these actions would be increasingly more common and nobody would attempt to control or limit them.

The article also discusses how a "key escrow" bureaucracy that would hold cryptographic keys that could, if law enforcement deemed it necessary, be used to unscramble any encrypted message (437). It brings up the question do we really want to put that much power in the hands of bureaucrats? If so, we are looking at kidnappings, terrorist attacks, banking scandals, and things of those sort possibly being prevented. I personally wouldn't mind giving up some of my privacy if it means preventing a terrorist attack or kidnapping, but how far is too far? If we discuss the opposite end of the spectrum which Parekh lays, we would be talking about complete government control. I do not believe in this side of the spectrum as much as I am against Perkhs side.

When the government attempts to control every aspect of our life, then that is too far. I lie in between these two sides of the spectrum, but more towards the side that prevents our country from total chaos. Our government is here for a reason. Without it, our safety and our country as we know it would be at stake.

Week 11 Blog Reviews

Susan Johnson:

Polish Prosperity:
I thought you did a good job in your first paragraph. I liked that you started off by discussing how many immigrants came to America in search of great opportunities. I also liked that you chose to write about Polish immigrants because of your own family came from Poland. I come from a hispanic origin, so I was unable to write about my own origin because of the intructions! You had a couple sentences that seemed to have ran on, maybe a couple commas could have fixed the problem. I did notice that you always seem to throw in creative phrases every now and then, for example, "...a piece of the great American pie", which always add a little extra to your writing! I really enjoyed reading about your great grandparents and their 11 children!

Buy Now! :
I liked how your title related to the first sentence of your blog. I found that statement, "Our modern world is driven by the desire to own or operate the most up-to-date technologies and possessions", to be very true and I agree with you! I also thought asking "...but is it really so bad?", was a good way to transition into your body paragraph. Also, you showed good organization by having a seperate paragraph to dicuss the good things about materialism, and another to discuss the bad. Your concluding statement summed up your blog nicely and overall it was very well written.



Deirdre Cienki:

Slovakia Calling :
I noticed that the first paragraph mostly consisted of facts about Slovakia, which could be good for anyone not familiar. Some of the information, though it was very informative, seemed to kind of just been thrown in. It was very interesting to read about their impact during World War II, and their family values, and also the American approach to their immigration. I would have liked to have read more about their impact on todays culture, but overall It was really interesting! I enjoyed reading and getting a little bit more familiar with the information you presented.

"Goods" for a reason:
I really liked the title and thought it went good with the content of your blog. I thought your first paragraph was really good! In the sentence, "While I know having all the newest electronics or the nicest car doesn’t make a person happy (or does it?), it’s okay to look and like… Isn’t it?", I thought it was kind of funny, and a good way to continue on with talking about if it is good or not. I also thought it was smart of you to include a paragraph on Twitchell's perspective on the issue, and then go on to talk about the down side of materialism versus the good. I thought you did a good job and it was very well written!

Jess Tavizon:
Armenians in America:
I thought you did an excellent job! I liked how you incorporated a little of your own background by talking about your parents and then went on to introduce how Armenians impacted America. You did a really good job in organizaing a summary with good background information, and you also cited everything correctly! I also thought it was cool how you said you didn't even know that the Republic of Armenia existed, yet you did a good job researching and explaining their impact on the country. I also loved how you threw in that System of a Down was also Armenian,( I didn't know that!), and how this country is only better by the talents of other ethnicities.

Thou Shall Not Covet:
Again, I thought your title was very creative! I like that you took a different approach that most of the blogs that I read, by beginning your blog with talking about taxes being places in the 1700's. Also, I thought you made a good point with using the example of being a pack rat! I probably am guilty of keeping things I KNOW i don't need. I loved your conclusion paragraph, especially the point you make when you say that although the material items may bring you pleasure now, when you leave this world you can't take them with you. Excellent point! I agree with you completely that materialism has its pros and cons and overall I think you did a good job! :)

Korean Immigrants

Korean migration to the United States has occured in three distinct phases. First, at the beginning of the 20th century, the second consisted mostly of students motivated mainly by educational opportunities following the Korean War, and the third started in 1965 with the liberalization of the U.S. national quota system (Noland). Although many of the immigrants were in fact white-collar, educated workers in Korea, the lack of competence of the English language led them to face problems in America. As a result of this, many of them began to shift careers and start their own small businesses. They are known for their entrepreneurial activity.

Korean immigrants have been found to have educational attainment nearly twice the US national average; to create businesses at a rate of roughly 70 greater than the general population; and to maintain savings and wealth accumulation rates roughly double the national average. The children of these immigrants exhibit even higher rates of educational attainment and incomes about 40 percent higher than the U.S. population as a whole. There is a statistical correlation between the presence of Korean immigrants and state economic performance.

In the article we read, John Maggs shares information from a study that argued immigration provides clear benefits to the U.S. economy. They boost supply of labor, which is definitly the case when referring to Korean immigrants. And although they experienced a language barrier, with the level of education and entrepreneurial activity shown by Korean immigrants, it is clear that they add to U.S. output, ultimately providing more wealth for all Americans to share.


Noland, Marcus. Impact of Korean Imimigration on US economy. http://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/365/4iie3586.pdf

A 'Mallcondo" Culture

Materialism seems to now be a central characteristic of modern life. Even the rest of the world is calling America a nation of consumers, and they are right. "The average American consumes twice as many goods and services as in 1950 (389)". That being said, two things are certain; Materialism in today’s culture is rapidly growing, and Americans love their 'things'.

As Twitchell states in his article, materialism may be the most shallow of the 20th century's various -isms (389). The article tells us how our commercial culture has been blamed for the rise of eating disorders, the epidemic of depression, the carnivalization of holy times like Christmas, and short attention span of our youth (390). This is clearly evident in today’s culture. These days, it seems like the corporate market is more focused about making profit during the holidays then ever. Did you ever notice how it seems like almost every grocery store or department store tends to somewhat overlook Thanksgiving and display all of its Christmas merchandise a week after Halloween!? Rather than acknowledging Thanksgiving, the corporate world skips straight to Christmas and they shift it's meaning from a holy holiday to a commercial holiday. Materialism can also be to blame to the short attention span of our youth. Rather than reading the newest book, a majority of the kids are worried about the latest release of a new video game.


Materialism - getting and spending- , though it has its flaws, is a major source of meaning and happiness in the modern world. "We live through things. We create ourselves through things. And we change ourselves by changing our things (Twitchell 389)." I can think of many situations where people have a bad day, and go out and buy something to make them feel better. Or have you ever seen a girl fresh out of a bad break up go out and essentially get a whole new makeover to make herself feel better or give herself a sense of a new beginning. In some cases, people collect a vast amount of things, and this is actually their hobby. It gives them a sense of satisfaction. It also contributes to an individual’s happiness to know that you have the freedom of buying whatever you want, wherever you want. After working for your hard owned money, it gives a sense of meaning to be able to spend it however you please. And when discussing owning the "best" or "latest" available possession, sometimes it’s less focused on the actual possession and more towards the meaning behind it.

There is no doubt that materialism has its pros and cons, but it isn't going anywhere. It is here to stay and will continue to grow as long as people continue to buy. Is it more good than bad? In my opinion, materialism is good as long as the individual doesn't over do it. The corporate market will continue to be the corporate market and do whatever it has to to make profit. But the consumer has control of the extent in which they consume. If you obtain easy credit for example, and over buy, then you will see that bad side of materialism and be stuck in endless debt. But if you watch the extent in which you buy, materialism can give a sense of happiness and satisfaction.

Week 10 Blog Reviews

Susan Johnson:
Move Over Miley!: I thought you had a really strong introductory paragraph! You made some good points and I like the perspective you took on this topic. I completely agree with you that the music industry should be less focused on appearance and image, and more on actual talent! It was also smart of you to also relate this topic to the movie industry as well, because it's obvious this issue applies to actors as too. All the points you made were nicely tied together in your conclusion paragraph and I enjoyed reading your opinion on how things need to change. I do agree that it gets a bit fustrating hearing Miley or other "disney" stars repeatedly on the radio. You had really good organization for this blog, and it all flowed together really good.The only thing I would add is in the second paragraph I saw a couple run on sentences that were a bit long and made it a little hard to comprehend. Overall this was a really well written blog and I enjoyed reading it!

Free Upgrade: Let me just tell you that I have been SO frusrated myself with T-mobile, I've had no signal for 2 weeks, theyve sent me 3 replacement phones and now I don't get my incoming calls and every time I call I stay on the phone for an hour come to find out they won't give me a different model unless i pay 400 dollars! So I know how your frustration :) . Again, I enjoyed reading this blog. You did a good job on being descriptive and using good narration. I also noticed your use of adjective throughout the blog and it made it interesting to read!



Deirdre Cienki:
Music: All about the Money Maker : I liked your use of quotes from the book. They served as nice segways to the points that you made. You did a good job incorporating your opinion into this blog. "But if the music is “good” and the public accepts it, it won’t be going anywhere anytime soon," was a good way to sum up your opinion and go into the concluding paragraph. I do agree with you that in the end, it comes down to consumer demand.

Wany a fun day? Simply pay $4.75 via E-Z Pass. : I enoyed your title, it was really creative! However, you mispelled "want" as "wany", but I know little typos can sometimes be over looked, as you noticed in my blog! I thought you did a really good job overall. The organization and narration was very interesting. I thought it was smart of you to first provide a descriptive paragraph of the area for those who weren't familiar. The fact that you stated the end first, then went on the describe the event that caused it, added alot to your blog. You did a really good job!


Jess Tavizon:

Tennis Racket Mishap: It was clear after reading your blog that you have alot of passion for this sport! I enjoyed reading about how your love for tennis developed. You also had good narration and provided descriptive details, which added alot to your story! I enjoyed how first you told us about the great deal you got on the tennis racket, and yet it broke the moment you got frustrated! What did your parents say when you showed up with a broken racket!!?? :) Overall you did a really good job narrating your story!

Parental advisory

Hip-hop has become part of the dominant youth culture around the globe. In almost every other country in the world, their youth scene involves a heavy element of hip-hop culture, and each country has put their own unique spin on the genre. In a lot of countries, one might find that hip hop is actually a way to express different hardships, real experiences, or a form of poetry and simply try to carry out their message. I think that the power of corporate marketing has a lot to do with the vulgarity, violence, and sexually explicit lyrics that some artists portray in their music.

Despite the fact that critics probably would agree that a lot of the music in today's culture is inappropriate for children, thus parental advisory. However, they know that this is what sells, which is probably one of the main reasons they defend it. I personally am I hip hop fan and I do agree with some critics when they use the defenses of artistic, poetic, and lyrically creative. I also however think that these defenses are just circling around the vulgarity of the music and somewhat setting it aside and looking more at how the artist expresses the message rather than what's being said. Regardless, it sells. Lil Wayne for example, uses sexually explicit lyrics, and vulgarity, but he has won four out of eight nominations for his previous album the Carter 3. However, I don't think that men are the only one's who carry out vulgar messages in their music. In today's culture it is also common for women to use sexually explicit lyrics, because they know that it sells.

Custom made furniture

It was a regular Sunday morning in Baltimore, Maryland, when my Uncle Jim was carrying out his usual Sunday routine. He woke up, read the newspaper, made some breakfast and went his woodshop to begin working on making another peice of furniture. My uncle is naturally artistic, but making wood custom furniture was a specific hobby of his. He had had years of experience, and sometimes was even requested to make special pieces for people. He would even display some of his work in his cousins antique shop, which he lived above.

Even with his years of experience, not even he could forsee the event that was about to occur that day in the woodshop. A regular customer of his cousins antique shop had specially requested him to assemble a dining room table. He began by setting up his workspace as he usually did. He set up the wood on the saw table and went to grab his Craftsman tablesaw. He turned the saw on and started to saw the wood. All the sudden, the saw must of hit a knot in the wood and the saw kicked back. The wood pulled in so quickly that as his hand was guiding it in, the momentum pulled it in and caught his hand. The next thing he knew his thumb was dangling off of his hand, nearly completely severing it off. He immediatly wrapped it up himself and being stubborn, drove himself to the hospital.

By the time he arrived at the hospital, he had almost passed out in the waiting room from losing so much blood. The hospital had to bring a special hand surgeon from a fellow hospital. The surgeon took a skin graft from my uncles chest to sew the missing part of his thumb back on to his hand. From there, they had to cut a square peice of skin from his side and stick his thumb in it. They had to put the flap over the thumb and bandage his whole arm to keep it flat against his skin so that the graft would take on his thumb. A couple weeks later, the skin graft took and his thumb was left permanetly numb, but still has complete function. Three months later he continued to use that same saw and the lady finally got her dining room table!!

Week 8 Blog Reviews

Mary Holtz:

No One Wants to be Alone;
I think you raised a really good point that I even failed to think about prior to reading your blog. I enjoyed reading your blog especially the second paragraph when you discussed how affection can be given in more than just romantic relationships, but father and son, bartender and the heartbroken, or even best friends. That was a good segway into talking about how these types of affections are very common and natural. Your blog had very good organization, first with discussion affection amongst human beings and then following that with a paragraph relating this affection to the affection being animals. Also, I agree completely with your concluding paragraph.

No More White Dress;
I thought you did a really good job in setting up your introductory paragraph so that the reader knew exactly what your blog was going to be discussing. I especially liked the concluding sentence of the first paragraph, " But what might happen if we just accepted that men and women may be biologically set up to flirt, date and mate with multiple partners?" This blog as well has a very good flow to it. You raised a valid point that if marriage was changed and was no longer sacred, then there would be a breakdown in society. You also did a good job ending the paragraph by giving the reading a quote from Fisher and closing with a question so that the reader can think about the points you just made throughout the blog.

Whitney Semmens:

Animal Instinct: Homosexual?? ;

I noticed you mispelled "Insticnt" in your title, but as you've noticed, I have a habbit of typing and not realizing my grammatical errors, so I know it must have just been an accident. In your first paragraph, I liked the point you made that many people against homosexuality might say it is unnatural, but Kruger says otherwise. Studies have found that animals take part in homosexual activity and it is very common. You did a good job in incorporating quotes from the article and making valid points. However, I would have been interested to see your opinion on the matter. Overall it was well written and organized like always.


Survey: Is Man Monogamous ;

I liked that fact that you chose the survey option because I noticed not alot of others did. I think you did a good job in choosing specific questions that would lead one to conclude that the person taking your survey would have a increased chance of infidelity. Questions like 1 and 2 would lead the reader to see the person taking the survey's likliness to be in a serious relationship, whereas someone who isn't likely would jump to person to person. Asking questions like are you parents married, or if either parent had cheated in a relationship, would make one believe that maybe being in that environment would make one more likely to cheat. Asking questions about their religion would bring in factors of having the religion be a reason they would not commit infidelity. I found all of the questions you chose to be great questions in finding whether someone is likely to be monogamous or not. Good job!!

"It's just not natural?"

How many times have you heard someone evaluate some moral matter with the words “it’s just not natural?” Even societies that have came such a long way continue to put some limit on human action based on "what is natural". Ideas about what is "natural" are used in dicussions of all sorts of human behavior, including homosexuality. For example, homosexuality could be condemned through the simple argument that biologically, human genitalia was naturally meant to combine with the opposite sex for the production of offspring. However, out of all the species who practice homosexual actions, humans are the only ones who are oppressed when they try (Kluger 337). Bagemihl suggests that if homosexuality comes naturally to other creatures, then maybe it is time to stop oppressing over the fact that it could possibly come naturally to humans as well (Kluger 338).

Since the middle of the twentieth century, societies have moved from what is “natural” to natural human rights like the protection against slavery, social persecution, and injury to person or property. The concept of nature condemns the behavior that these laws prevent. When also speaking of condeming, the term "unnatural" has been used to condemn everything from racial equality to female suffrage to homosexuality.

Nature is used to to justify as well as condemn many aspects of human behavior. This also applies to the idea of homosexuality. The animal kingdom is much more sexually complex than most people know (Kluger 338). As he also points out, witnessing same-sex activity and understanding it are two different things, and we shouldn't have to look to the animal world to see what's moral or ethical (Kluger 339). Althought the findings of homosexual tendencies in animals suggest that it is a natural tendency, the debate of this subject will most likely continue on.

The chemistry of relationships

There are several types of chemistry required in romantic relationships. An article written by experts at the University of Buffalo explains that the "something" that attracts us to somone more than another is actually several physical elements that, if they occur in a certain order, at the right time and in the right place -- can result in true love (University 1). The article goes on to provide various examples of different neurochemical processes and external stimuli that have to click in the right complex and the right sequence for someone to fall in love (University 2).

First there is smell. Smell forms part of the framework that conforms to cultural attractiveness standards and Mark Kristal, a professor of psychology at UB, uses the example of "smelling like a strawberry instead of mildew" (University 3). Shannon Brownlee also suggests that a man's smell could also trigger infatuation in a woman, as well as release a host of memories that could, at the right moment touch off vivid pleasant memories and possibly ignite that first stunning moment of romantic orientation (Brownlee 304). Then there are pheromones. "Pheromones are signals that enter the brain through the olfactory system. They can function in sex, alarm, territoriality, aggression, and fear" (University 4). Kristal also said, that while sex attractant pheromones may explain changes in libido, they don't explain why we choose a specific person for a mate.

The last neurochemical process discussed in the article in the brain itself and how it produces it's own substances that are involved in bonding. Two major brain peptides that have been been shown to be involved in both the permanent or long-term social bonding that underlies mating, are vasopressin and oxycotin. In Brownlees article, she discusses the major role of oxycotin in motherhood. "With the help of oxycotin, mothers are able to cater to their offspring's every whim and whimper" (Brownlee 295). "A woman with higher levels of oxycotin are more sensitive to other people's feelings and better at reading non-verbal cues than those with lower levels" (Brownlee 296).

Are things like falling in love, physical attraction and coutrship based solely off of matters of chemistry and biology? With all of the neurochemical elements that trigger physical attraction and suggest the process of selecting a mate, it is becoming easier to say that these elements have alot to do with 'falling in love'. With providing such chemicals as a reasoning for infatuation, lust, and love, it would seem likely that this explanation would also lead us to monogamy, but also adultry. If these chemicals lead us to choose a mate, do they eventually fade, and does the process occur all over again, leading one to be unfaithful? If this is so, then pologamy would be more common, thus the idea of monogamous marriage would increasing decline over time. I do feel like there is more to relationships then the chemicals that drive us to infatuation and attraction. Yes, these chemicals may aid us in choosing a mate, however, these chemicals forcing us is definitely not the case.



Psychologist Says Neurochemical Processes Explain Romantic Attraction. University at Buffalo: News Center. 10 Feb. 2007. Web. 13 Oct. 2009.

Week 7 Blog Reviews

Mary Holtz:

For better of for worse, until death do us part:
I really enjoyed the title itself, I thought it was really creative. I also thought you made a good point when you said that now rather than "for better or for worse", it seems like “for better, maybe a few fights, but when it gets bad I’m out of here!” I also thought you made a good segway from your introduction paragraph to the body by asking the reader questions such as "Whats the problem" and "...is it something that we should get rid of as a “sign of the times?” I also noticed you chose one main reason for your reasoning which was untimately to have one partner is the most selfless thing a parent can do for the child. I agree. I also enjoyed your concluding paragraph when you make the point that if morality isn't enough, then maybe spoken word is. I really enjoyed your post, it flowed really well, all of your citations were correct and you made some good points!

"I just don't like talking on the phone"

Immediatly when I read the title of this post, it made me think of the same exact situation with my own boyfriend! We both took some of the same points Tannen made and incorporated them into our post. I liked how you kind of gave an explanation as to why your boyfriend used "I just don't like talking on the phone" by Tannens point that male relationships are heavily based off of time spent on activities together, and talking on the phone was hardly an activity. I thought that was a good point to make. I thought your next paragraph, was even more interesting. I also would think that since one would rather be at an angle and not looking someone in the eye, they would rather have a conversation on the phone. I really liked the personal experience you chose to write about, because similar situations come up with my boyfriend as well. I thought you chose the perfect points to explain why they do so! I look forward to reading future posts.



Whitney Semmens:

He said, she said:
First of all I really enjoy all the pictures you choose in your blogs and I expecially thought this weeks went with the blog perfectly! You and I both have similar situations with our boyfriends where we finish telling them something and feel like they heard nothing, or weren't paying attention. I thought this particular quote from Tannen that you used was interesting, "We also often agree with each others points of views and reassure each other that we have all been in the same place at one point." I found it interesting, because it's true. After reading all of the blog reviews, most of us girls agreed that we've had a similar experience and explain that we can relate. I enjoyed the experience about being stressed out that you shared in the blog, and I know the feeling of just wanting him to sympathize rather then say what you already know. I really like that you concluded the blog by saying that after reading Tannen's work, "I think I might take a breather before I feel so insulted by my boyfriend's responses to my rantings." I felt the same way. I really like this post, the only thing I would say is the paragraphs were a little lengthy and could maybe have been broken up into two seperate ones, but it still had a really good flow and you chose good points from Tannen to incorporate with your experiences.

Til death do us part:

I thought you had a really good thesis statement because it raised a good point. I agree, it isn't too far fetched to say it is more likely to get into a serious car accident then it is to have a successful marriage. I thought you made strong points, especially by saying how Wright makes a point that makes comparisons to humans and other mammals of the animal kingdom. I thought it was a good point, especially since you sort of turned this point into the theme of your post. You made really good points in your concluding paragraph. Saying that since humans are capable of so much more than animals, that they should be capable of a monogomous marriage. I found the last sentence of the post to be especially strong. The post overall had really good organization which made it easy to read and understand your point of view. I really enjoyed reading it!

Preservation of Monogamous marriages

On the surface, the basis of evolutionary psychology seems simple. Wright claims, " the human mind, like any other organ, was designed for the purpose of transmitting genes to the next generation (Wright 280)." The feelings and thoughts the human mind creates was best described as relating to how the feelings of hunger, no less than the stomach, is here because it helped keep our ancestors alive long enough to reproduce and rear their young (Wright 220). In this article, he explained the importance of having such feelings, because ancestors who would have lacked them, would essentially not have became ancestors due to their inability to survive. When referring to evoluntionary psychology, terms like 'sexual strategy' also come into play'. This term, like the examples Wright provided, refers to preferences for a particular mate, feelings of love, desire for sex, and jealousy, as psychological mechanisms.
Perhaps evolution of humans beings and sexuality, is actually the cause for the rise of failures in monogamous marriage, or marriage itself. The world has so greatly evolved, that the principles that Buss discussed, such as sexual strategies I discussed previously, or the process by which selecting a mate is sought out is no longer based off of their own personal need for survival. Although one may select a mate based off of their income and ability to support a family, it is not essential to their own survival. Another challenge with preservation of monogamy in the modern world lies in movies, billboards, and magazines (Wirhgt 286). In the long ago world, their was no photography that basically shaped the male mind. In the deep level, a male may respond to such photos and if they were possible mates alluring alternatives to dull, monogamous devotion (Wright 286).
If heterosexual monogamous marriage is not preserved then it very likely that is will permit social inequality. Practicing otherwise will lead them to believe they have more power or social status than the average Joe (Wright 286". Again, considering an alternative to monogamous marriage, such as polygyny, Wright says " it lets powerful men grab extra sexual resources (women) leaving less fortunate men without mates, or atleast without mates young enough to bear children. Thus, the divorce rate would not only end the marriage of some men but also prevent marriage of others, and possibly lower the possibilties of reproducing. People in all cultures experience love and have coined specific words for it (Buss 262). The fact that love has pervaded, convinces us that love, within the important components of commitment, tenderness, and passion, is inevitably part of the human experience, within the grasp of everyone (Buss 262). Monogamous marriages should not only be preserved for issues like social order, reproduction reasons, gender roles and organization, but for this key component of human experience- love.

Battle of the Sexes

This article pointed out a number of ways that miscommunication plays out. Even starting as children, the sex-seperate groups have different organizational structures. As Tannen says " For women, as for girls, intimacy is the fabric of relationships and talk is the thread from which it is woven." "Bonds between boys can be intense as girls, but they are based on less talking, more on doing things together."
When reading this article, I couldn't help but relate some of the situations to my own relationship with my boyfriend. When Tannen says , " when women tell men " you aren't listening, and the men protest, I am, the men are right". (Beedles 242)This happens all the time with me and my boyfriend. We will be conversating on the phone, or watching TV, and I will tell him a story of something that happened during the day, or some upcoming events, and I am finished and it's silent or he's still staring at the TV, and I, like what Tannen points out, say "You aren't listening!", and he replies " I Am", then casually repeats almost everything I had just said. Tannen points out that the fact that the tendency of men to face away can give women the impression they aren't listening even when they are, and this article, and him quoting me word for word, makes me realize he actually is listening.
Another example from the article that I can relate to is switching topics. "Switching topics is another habit that gives women the imprssion men aren't listening, especially if they switch to a topic about themselves. (Beedles 243)" I will again, be telling him something and the next thing I know he is bringing up his car or something along those lines. I know he hears me, but doesn't respond, which makes me feel like he didn't hear anything I said.
After reading this article, I feel that alot of the 50 percent divorce rate is derived from an "epidemic of failed conversation", and if couples would read some of the points pointed out about the opposite sex, arguments might be resolved much easier. Even within my own relationship, we have been together for two years and no eachother good enough to understand how eachother communicates, but regardless, this points Tannen points out in this article makes me understand a little better why is appears he isn't listening when he really is. I found this article really interesting and was glad I could relate to some of the points she made.

Week 6 Blog Reviews

MARY

Virtual Family:

I really enjoyed how you introduced your blog with personal experiences relating to the subject. I find it funny that my mom has a facebook also! Yet, she takes about 5 minutes to text two words to me. I also thought it was smart of you to point out that there are many different definitions for a family. I also thought your blog had really good organization; you started by relating to the topic, then stated facts and quotes from the book, and then closed with answering the original question. I like your writing style, it is almost as if you were talking about the topic in person. Overall, I thought the organization was good, I liked the personal relations to the topic, and you made some good points!

Disney Gone Wild:

I really liked the title you chose for the blog! I kind of laughed as soon as I saw it, but everything you pointed out in your blog was entirely true and probably applied to more than just Ariel. I never would of thought about that in that way. Again, I saw that you had really good organization, by having an introduction paragraph, a paragraph stating facts which support your claim, and so on. This makes it very easy to read and comprehend. I also thought you chose the perfect quotes to go along with your claims. I enjoyed reading both of these blogs, especially this one!!




WHITNEY:

The Evolution of Family:
I thought you made some really good strong arguments in this blog. I thought you also had a really strong thesis statement, with pointing out how much technology has changed in the world. I liked how you pointed out how different gender roles have chnaged within the family as well, by using the following examples, "The man of the household evolved into the breadwinner while the woman continued to stay home to take care of the children, cook, clean, and accomplish any other homely duties." You, like Mary, also pointed out how there could be many definition in the family these days.

Girl Power:

I haven't watched the movie Anywhere but Here, but after reading your blog, I would be interested in watching it. I really liked how you pointed out that in American fiction, heterosexual marriages are rare, and this could be Hollywoods way of portraying the truth because more than half of marriages are divorced. I also thought it was smart to talk about the daughter contrasting to the mother, both have very different plans, yet stay true to them, which I agree with you, is inspiring. I think that you used perfect quotes to relate to your topic as well. For example, how they both used their sexuality, like Thelma and Louise. I thought your blog has alot of interesting point of views and I liked that you closed you blog with an opinion.

Technology within the family

D'Emilio states, " I have suggested that the relationship between capitalism and the family is fundamentally contradictory. (Beedles, 235)" He says on one hand, capitalism continually weakens the material foundation of family life, making it possible for individuals to live outside the family, and for a lesbian and gay male identity to develop. On the other, it needs to push men and women into families, at least long enough to reproduce the next generation of workers (Beedles 235). I find these same statements to be held true when relating the impact of technology in the family.

Technology, like capitalism, allows even further for individuals to live outside the family and has made it possible for a lesbian and gay male identity to develop. Things like surgical procedures that allow a sex change take lesbian and gay indentities to another level. Contradicting, technology also pushes men and women into families, or allows them to be closer, and when talking about the gay and lesbian community, technology has also made it possible for a homosexual couple to reproduce and develop their own families. New technology has provided lesbian couples or other families with the option of IVF and GIFT and fertility clinics that provide donated sperm. This is becoming a increasingly more common part of society and it allows people who otherwise wouldn't be able to develop a family, have that option.


Our world has changed dramatically due to the impact of technology. There are positive and negative effects, although I believe the positive effects outway the negative. Technology has increased means of communication all around the world. With cell phones, interenet, blog sites, video chat such a skype, and website such as facebook, there are numerous ways to communicate with family members and makes it so much more accesible to keep in touch with family members who may live far away. Some may argue however, that this same technology, keeps us occupied in front of our TV's, on our cell phones, or in front of our laptop, rather then spending time face to face with family members. However, I do believe that this is not the case for a lot of families, and that technology has provided many great opportunies far beyond communication that will allow us to adapt to our constantly altering world.

Enough

The movie enough is about a stereotypical perfect marriage that turns in the wrong direction. The main character role is a motherless young woman named Slim, played by the Jennifer Lopez. Slim works as a waitress in a diner and meets a guy named Mitch. A few years later, they become the stereotypical happy couple and seem to have it all; happily married, a perfect house, a precious daughter and a comfortable lifestyle. Slim then discovers that Mitch is sleeping around behind her back, and things begin to take a turn for the worse. The perfect Cinderella story turns into a nightmare when a former waitress' perfect marriage gives way to adultery and physical abuse and revenge. When Slim tries to protest on Mitch's cheating way, he slaps her around and uses their daughter to keep her in line. With the help of her friend, Slim tries to escape, and Mitch attacks and nearly kills her along the process. Slim then has to resort to changing her identity, by using wigs and different residencies, but Mitch still hires people to try and retreive her.
Basically, Slim becomes so terrified and helpless that she resorts to turning herself from the hunted to ther hunter. She begins going to trainers to help her with defense. In the end, Slim comes out safe and no longer bothered by Mitch.
This movie depicts the gender role of a female who is abused and takes action. Like the movie Thelma and Louise, this movie too depcits a battered woman seeking liberation. In the article Genre and Gender, it says that the stereotypical protagonist is increasingly entrapped the more desperately he/she seeks emancipation (Boozer 209). This is seen within the movie Enough. From the moment Slim finds out Mitch has cheated behind her back, she tries to protest. When she does so, he slaps her around, and the abusive side of Mitch shows. From this moment on, Slim seeks emancipation from him, only to become more and more entrapped. She confronts him and he slaps her around, she runs away and he attacks and almost kills her, she changes her identity and he hires people to seek her out. This film has an emphasis on the protagonist (Slim) forces response to an abusive male and her determination to regain control of her private destiny. The male character, Mitch, failed to maintain what we assume is the proper masculine image, and becomes a cheater, abuser, and along the lines of psychopath.
I chose this movie because it is a stereotypical gender role of a feminine response to male aggression (Boozer 213). It depicts more than one stereotypical aspect, ranging from the stereotypical perfect marriage, to the cheating, abusive husband trying to hunt her down, to her running, and her fighting back. The storyline could be inspirational to some, seeing that she remained strong for herself, her daughter, and did not remain with him after he was unfaithful, event if it meant the abusive things she had to endure.

Week 4 Blog Reviews

Krista Sigala:

Frida Kahlo ; You followed the guidelines for the first paragraph very well. You made a good point that in most of her paintings, she is the center of attention. You did a good job at pointing out her surroundings as well. At first glance, I didn't even notice the nails scattered throughout her body until I had read your first paragraph! I also got the same interpretation from the painting you chose. Frida pieced her life back together after enduring the agony, just like the broken column was. This painting strongly represents the pain she went through, as you pointed out. I thought this blog was very well organized. I liked how you described Frida in one paragraph, and the background in another.

Can machines think? ; In the first paragraph, you start out with a brief summary of the article and go on to talk about Wrights views on the things that were being said. Using all the examples in your blog from the article helped to support your final statements. Overall it was a very good, detailed summary.

Lauren Petrovich :

Frida Kahlo; In the first paragraph, you did a very good job at decribing every single detail in the painting! I found your second paragraph to be very good as well. Getting the idea that she is marrying into wealth or is wealthy herself is a good observation, because of the "royal" curtains you pointed out. Saying that from hr clothes and her posture she looks like a nice woman is also a good obersvation. I agree with your last paragraph that she looks like she might be confused, and possible is that way because of her marriage. In the article we read about her, she called her marriage somewhat of an accident. So saying that she looks confused makes sense.

Will Machines have Consciousness like humans?; This was a well written summary. It had very good examples, such as "Cog", and the chess game. Also, I liked how you included that emotions are one of the key things that make us human. I also liked how you ended your blog post with this statement from Wright, " Machines will not have the abilities humans have, and to create one that would have equal consciousness as a human would "exercise powers reserved for God".

Kim Kida: Unable to review.

"Self Portait on the Border Between Mexico and the United States"

Frida Kahlo's Self-Representations and Questions of Identity employees.oneonta.edu/.../women/kahlo.html>



The main focal point of "Self Portait on the border between mexico and the United States", is Frida herself. She is holding a mexican flag, standing on the border of Mexico and the United States. The left side of the painting is the side of Mexico. From the roots in the groud are various types of flowers. There are three different statues lying on the ground, one of which resembles a skeleton commonly used to represent "Dia de los muertos". There are a pile of stones, leading up to a building with multiple stairs. In the sky the image of a sun and a moon is displayed. On the right side of the painting, the United States is portrayed. From the ground, instead of roots, it looks like plugs leading to different machinery, rather than flowers. The Ford Hospital is shown, along with many industrialized buildings. The American flag is shown in a cloud of pollution.

The painting obviously portrays her to views and experiences in her life in Mexico, as well as in the United States. Her view of Mexico can be taken as traditional, this can be seen from the roots in the ground leading to the flowers. Also, the statues and buildings give off a traditional side of her Mexican heritage. She seems to view America as very industrialized and caught up in materialized items. The fact that she showed the Ford hospital was symbolizing the time she spent there while being in the United States. Frida used her self image in the middle of the two sides to portray the time she spent in both. The fact that she is holding a Mexican flag shows that she favors her home country.

I chose this painting because after reading the article about Frida Kahlo's life, when I saw this painting I immediatly thought back of the story of how she pleaded Rivera to return to her home country. With the love she had for Rivera and how much she enjoyed her paintings being praised by him and those in the United States, she favored her hometown more. This painting portrayed perfectly her view on Mexico and her views and experiences in the United States. Putting her self image in the middle of the two was a perfect way to show how she was being torn, and by places the Mexican flag clearly showed which of the two she favored.

"The lights are on, but is anybody home?"

In this essay, with his main question being "Can Machines Think?", Wright discusses the progress machines have made in being 'more like us'. He states that the field is making computers more like us, not just their actions, but how the actions are carried out- more like us on the inside. Considering this fact that they are trying to make machines more like humans on the inside, he points out the following questions relating to consciousness or mind. Could Deep Blue ever feel deeply blue?; Does a face recognition program have the experience of recognizing a face? Can computers ever have subjective experience? ( Wright 142). Wright makes the point that for AI, the hardest thing for computers is the simple stuff. Things such as small talk, recognizing faces, cleaning, recognizing jokes, or even common sense.

If machines cannot carry out simple things like these, how can they relate to us on the inside? Why are humans feeling undermined by machines? Wright states that computers are bringing about an identity crisis in humans, and he feels that such a crisis possibly is in order. He says that the crisis isn't just that as these machines get more powerful they do more jobs once done only by people, but also that in the process, they seem to underscore the generally dispiriting impulse of scientific request for knowledge and information(Wright 140). One of Wrights main points, he states, is that as the information age advances and computers get brainier, philosophers are taking the existence of mind, of conscious, more seriously, not less (Wright 140).

Wright makes a point that conciousness- the existence of pleasure and pain, love and grief- is a fairly central source of life's meaning (Wright 144). Wright opposes Chalmers statement that consciousness is "extraness", and that there is no apparent role for subjective experience. Wright says that consciousness actually does something in the physical world, like influence behavior. The robot Cog, has the ability that upon touching an object, the "skin" will send a data packet to the "brain" and could have impulses to recoil from an object, an example a hot object, jsut as humans do. Cog, however, would not experience the pain felt by humans.This goes back to his main question...Can machines think? If he has no experience, then how is it even possible? The only reason the robot could even recoil away from the heat, is because of the "skin" that was applied to him. This whole idea that they could even get a robot to so call "feel" the heat, arises the thought that they are creating a new species of sentient life and it is being taken seriously by philosophers. However, there is on going debate on whether machines can think, and personally, I do not think that humans will ever be underminded by machines.

Week 3 Blog Reviews

Kim Kida
I was unable to critique.


Krista Sigala
BLOG 1: The title "Genius Computer" was very creative. She had a good opening paragraph, which stated what Minksy beliefs were, which was part of the assignment. I really liked how she related her past personal experience of her first time with a computer. Relating what she saw back then, to the things that exist today was a very good point. We shared the same idea that whether they can surpass the human brain is questionable. She clearly started that technology does hold some advantages of how much they can accomplish, but ended the paragraph well by saying that surpassing humans is questionable. Condluding her blog with her personal belief that computers won't be able to surpass humans because of things like feeling and small things that go unoticed was good. I also really liked how she ended her blog with a question, leaving the reader to contemplate about the points she just made.


BLOG 2: The overall flow of this blog was really good. She made a point that she feels that all ideas are thoughts, but not all thoughts are ideas, which I think could be true. She also made a good point that our ideas and thoughts assist our intelligence to progress further and our desire to continually learn and progress. Overall both blogs had really good points made and were written well.


Lauren Petrovich

BLOG 1: The first two paragraphs are very informing and strictly about Minsky's beliefs. I also agree with her that computers will not surpass the human brains and they are not capable of having emotions like humans. The main reason she thinks computers will not surpass humans is because emotions, she says since emotions can lead to so many other actions, the act that computers lack emotions sets them behind humans. I like that in the condluding paragraph, she stated that Minksy had some good points, but also stated her own beliefs as well.

BLOG 2: I really liked the first paragraph of "Any Ideas?" To start off both paragraphs with the definition of an idea and a thought was very informing. I do agree that people take personal pride in ideas., and depending on the type of idea, I also agree that morals can reflect or change it. To say that a variety of things can morph off of an idea and lead to different events was a very good point. I liked how she ended by saying that an individuals thoughts and ideas could possibly change someones life.

Is my computer smarter than me?

The advances made in technology, even within the last decade, have grown so enormously that one can only imagine what the level of technology will be in the future. To think that a machine can grow to be smarter then its' creator is almost frightening. But, think back a few decades.....to say there would be devices in your car that will lead you in the direction you were headed, or that you could have one device used for internet, telephone, email, text messaging was almost unspeakable. So who is to say that a machine surpass the human brain someday?


Minsky and Aleksander refer to the "walking state of mind"; which they say is a synthesis of a number of attributes- learning, language, planning, attention and inner perception (Minskys 119). He throughouly provided evidence that demonstrated how a machine could complete each one of those tasks. But does that mean that they surpass the intelligence of a human? Some scientists and philosophers argue that mechanical intelligence is not the same as the mind. I agree with this statement. Yes, I do agree that computers have the ability to perform tasks involving reasoning, learning, planning and other functions usually associated with the human intelligence, but they can only do so because they were programmed by a human. Simple phrases like "on top of" or "to the right of", that the article points out, could not be understood by the machine. A machine could not complete everyday tasks such as cleaning, as the article pointed out.

Minskey and Aleksander are developing sophisticated neural networks and computer programs, which they believe will mimic, and possibly surpass, human consciousness (Davidson 115). I do not agree with Minsky's belief that machines could be even more conscious and intelligent than humans, for the same reasons that he himself pointed out. For one, common sense. Humans have the ability to adapt to their environment and develop common sense. I think that consciousness goes way beyond Minky's definition of awareness. I believe that consciousness is a mixture of thoughts, ideas, emotions, common sense, intelligence, and many of these factors machines lack. I do not think that computers have the capabilities that human beings hold.

A thousand thoughts a day

The "Great Uknown" was an excellent title for the article written by Robert Hazen. A thought, an idea, and consciousness are three concepts that are so in depth with questions and information yet to be discovered, that they baffle even scholars and scientist. Our mind undergoes numerous thoughts everyday. But what is a thought? What is making me 'think' of the ideas that I continue to express in my everyday work... including this blog? It seems almost impossible to come up with a single definition of what a thought and an idea is, which is why "the great uknown" is extremely appropriate.

In my own opinion, thought and ideas, lead us to form our awareness that is our conscious. A thought can be numerous things; a judgement, a reflection, reasoning, imagining, expectations, beliefs. Simply put, our mind is constantly running. Thoughts are an essential part of being human. Humans are able to use information, thoughts, and ideas, to reason and solve problems, even when the information is partial or unavailable. Thoughts lead to emotions and ideas. From these ideas and emotions comes our conscious, and some may argue vice versa.

Where do these thoughts and ideas originate? I agree that the complete answer to this question, what is thought, and what is an idea, and where do they come from, can be found somewhere between the realm of philosophy and science (Hazen 94). The answer will be found, when Hazens "hard problem" is solved. This 'hard problem' relates to the physical brain and self-awareness, emotion, perception, and reasoning. The article gave examples which support my opinion that thoughts lead to ideas and emotion. "How can music evoke a sense of longing, or a poem deep sadness", and "How does reading a book stimulate curiousty or fustration"; these questions are examples of how our cognitive thinking goes hand in hand with emotion and the blossoming ideas that we come up with daily(Hazen 95). The ability to think ande develop thoughts and ideas are one of the greatest elements that make us human.

Week 2 Blog Reviews

Kim Kida;

I was unable to critique due to the posts not being completed.

Krista Sigala;
I really enjoyed her introduction paragraph in her "Impressions" blog. It was short, has a thesis statment that would grab the readers attention, and by the end of the paragraph, I had an idea of the points she was going to be discussing. In her third paragraph, she stated that first impressions in an online class can be misrespresentative of who you really are because they can be controlled; I agree with her. Every statement she had made was backed up with facts and her opinions. She covered bothed sides of the argument, the traditional and online pros and cons, and at the end stated her conclusion. Our condluding paragraphs were very similar in that we both have the opinion that both the traditional and online classroom settings have advantages and disadvantages but it really comes down to the individual. Although in this blog, she didnt borrow any ideas from the book, it was really well written.
Again, her introduction paragraph in the blog grabbed my attention. I liked that she began with asking a question. In her third paragraph, she backed up her statement with not only a good example from Beedles, but a sociologist Alfie Kohn who studied the relationship of religion and behavior. This example was relevant to the purpose of the blog and was used in a proper way to have a background for her opinion. For the most part, I saw we share the same opinions of each topic. Overall, both blog posts were well written, interesting, and I enjoyed reading both.


Lauren Petrovich;
The introduction paragraph of the "Expressing ourselves through writing" blog jumped right into her opinion of the pros and cons of online versus traditional class settings. She used a number of ideas from Goffman to support her opinions, and each were properly used with MLA in text citations. I also agree with her when she says that she does feel like we can get to know one another through an online class, as long as we all remain truthful. She stated that she felt like she can express herself better in writing than she would face to face with someone, and I can see how that would be true. After reading her blog posts', I felt like they each gave off a sense of her personality.
From her introduction paragraph of "Who is God? and can we be good without Him?", right away she let the reader know that in her opinion, the answer an individual would have, would depend on who God was to them or if they believed. Although I do share the same belief in God, and I feel like I use God as a foundation for the goodness in my life, just as she does, we had different opinions on whether one can be good without him. I really did enjoy the fact that she shared a little of her background and that she was raised in a Christian home, all of her opinions really shined in both of her blogs and as I said before, gave me a feel for her personality. Overall, I enjoyed both blogs!

A world without His foundation?

Can we be good without God? "Religion alone, many researchers agree, does not determine personal moral behavior. (Conyers, Harvey 63)." Although I am religious in my beliefs, I believe that that are many factors, beyond religion, that can determine an individuals morality. An individuals moral beliefs can be molded from numerous factors, such as the way they were raised, the household and surroundings they were raised in, past experiences, and the influential people in their lives. The article by Conyers and Harvey stated that even certain social groups in ones upbringing can mold behavior and determine whether a person will behave morally (Conyers, Harvey 64). The moral values a person holds and whether they are based off of their faith in God, is entirely based on the individual.

I personally believe that my morals and values coincide with my faith and my religious values make me a better person. I live my life, upon these beliefs. I believe in doing good deeds without personal rewards. However, I do not feel that one has to be religious to do these good deeds. I also do not believe in the idea that crime and religion are associated with eachother. Consider the ten commandments; Thou shall not steal , Thou shall not kill....many of the laws we have today are based upon these very commandments. I believe that God is a foundation for many of the laws and values that we consider moral. Which brings my question...without this foundation, how would we have a base of judging what is immoral and what is moral?

Since this foundation does exist, and having been raised in a Catholic household, I firmly believe God as well exist, hence my personal morals are stronger because of him. However, I do believe that one can be "good" without God. A persons moral values depend entirely on the individual.

Online interaction vs. Face to face setting

It can be agreed upon that both the online and the traditional class setting can have various pros and cons. Personally, I do not believe that one is better than the other. I believe that the way an individuals personality will be shown depends on a wide variety of variables; such as the professor, the class size, the students personal learning and social interaction abilities and even the course. For example, in a 400 student lecture, the concept of self is basically lost. Although you may be face to face with fellow students, there is no, or very little interaction. The first impression is made solely based upon appearance and the way one carries themself. However, there is the possibility of learning large amount of information about someone, just by their words, actions, dress, mannerisms, etc (Gergen, 53). To answer the question if we as online classmates can ever really know eachother if we haven't met in person, my opinion is yes. This is my first online class and after reading everyones introduction blog, I feel like I know more about my fellow classmates than I would with a traditional lecture classroom setting, where I would get lost in the crowd. However, in a small traditional class setting I have had certain professors who like to do introduction workshops, but even then I still haven't told more about myself than the constant, " Stand up, tell us your name, grade, and major."
I do agree with Goffman when he assumes that when an individual appears before others he will have many motives for trying to control the impression they recieve, however I think this can go both ways, in an online as well as the traditional (Goffman, 49). In an online class one can express whatever personality they wish and never really give their true self. Using his example of the "dormitory girl", in the traditional setting many assumptions can be made for many actions, whether they are are false or true, only the indivudual knows.
The main difference between the two is that online classes lack the face to face interaction. The assumptions and judgements are skipped, and you know about the individual only on what they choose to share. As long as they are truthful in their description of themselves, it is easy to get a feel of what their personality is like. Do i prefer one setting over the other? No. But by being able to read from the individual themself, on what their likes and dislikes are and even on what they view themselves as and having the option of reading their opinion on the given articles makes it easier to get to know one another. After completing this course, I do not feel like we will be strangers!

Introduction

As I mentioned in my about me, my name is Lauren Angulo. I have a very large extended family, but in my immediate family, I am the middle child of three, an older brother and a younger sister (right). To me, family is one of my most important values. If I had to desrcibe my personality it would be that I am caring and goal-oriented. I am a very positive person, I strongly believe the more positive you are, the happier and more smoothly things will turn out. I am a very friendly person. I have a boyfriend of two years, whom I met in highschool. I spent most of my time working and attending ASU, and when I am not doing these things I am with family, friends, or my boyfriend.


I am nineteen years old and am in my second year at ASU. I am currently in pre-nursing and my goal is to apply to ASU's nursing program by next semester. If I get in to the program, I will start in the fall semester of 2010. I absolutely love kids. I want to work in pediatrics one day. Depending of what the future holds for me, I would like to continue to med-school eventually.


Likes:
Playing the piano
Music (all kinds!)
Movies
My dogs (both black labs)
Vacations
Hot cheetos
Italian or mexican food
TV shows: House, Law and Order, NCIS, Keeping up with the Kardashians
Phoenix Suns basketball
Laughing :)

Dislikes:

Seafood
Cats