real name: Jodie Wims
user name: jodie_1219
email: jodie_1219@yahoo.com
Midterm grade: C
12. Mark Juergensmeyer explains what he learned during his visit to Iraq. He talks about terrorism and religion and how or why they are connected. He certainly does not have a biased opinion like one would see on the news here in the US. He has actually sat and talked with people on the other side of this war. What they told him was that this was God's war and they simply cannot lose.
He goes on to describe what is going on in the mind of terrorist and it comes down to pride. Pride and honor is something these men are willing to give their lives for. Many of them are angry about the US occupation in Iraq and feel that our government is trying to get rid of Islam. They of course, will not stand for this and are ready to go to extreme lengths to show their passion and faith is not something to take lightly.
The terrorists attacks were definitly a message to the government and whether or not the government will respond the way we hope is almost out of our reach. The only thing we can do is get involved and vote for the right people to represent us the way we want. Having people in office who dont have our best interest in mind is only hurting us.
13. There is evidence to support that Edgar Cayce was actually psychic. However there is also some evidence to support that he wasnt. Not all of his readings were accurate, so some could say that by chance, he was able to guess right on some but not all. If one were to take in all the evidence with an open mind, I think they would be swayed to believe. Although, I still think there would be some room for skeptism.
14. Proffesor Lane has done plenty of research and investigations on cults. He has found that most of the basis of these "religions" is lies and plagerism. He has found direct word for word plagerism (including incorrect grammar and typos) from one cult to another. His background checks have proved that these leaders are not who they say they are and are in fact living double lives.
Its hard to be open minded about something when time after time you have proven that its a hoax. To find out someone's dirty laundry and their real self can be somewhat dissapointing. Afterall these leaders are portraying themselves to be these great, enlightened beings that claim they want to help others. If one after another keeps proving to be the opposite, it would be hard for anyone to believe in any of these "religions".
15. The films reveal that Sai Baba was just good at putting on a show. there is no magical powers that allow him to perform miracles. He is simply good at gaining the trust of others by distracting them to see something other than what is actually there.
16.Thakar Singh believed that blindfolding kids would allow them to easily find their inner light. He believed this would help them with thier meditation which would eventually make them better, spirtiually enlightened people. THis of course cannot be proven, so his tactics seem odd if not abusive. These religious followers lack critical thinking skills because they are most likely missing something in their life. So something comes along and seems positive and true and they blindly latch on, hoping for a better life. They do not take the time to ask questions because they feel they must have good faith in order to be a good person.
17. John Polkinghorne has a unique way of thinking compared to other lectures from this class. He is involved in both science and religion and feels that they should both be acknowledged. He talks about how the life of animals comes together to work as a complex system and states that it couldnt have all occured just by chance. There had to be some plan or idea as to how would all come together. This, of course, leads to there being a God with such a complex design in mind that we cannot even begin to understand it fully but science can prove just how great of a design it actually is.
18. Nietzsche talks about religion and christianity as if it all just a bunch of nonsense. He criticizes Ernest Renan's writing: "Man is closest to the truth when he is most religious." Nietzsche calls this religious nonsense. He feels that for Christianity to be based on a Jew being the son of God makes the whole concept absurd. His disbelief in a God stems from what goes on here on earth. He feels if there was really a God, he wouldnt let certain things happen.
Bad things that happen to good people and sinners who get all the riches doesnt help Nietzsche to believe there is a god. He doesnt feel that God would be such a vengeful and jealous god if he were in fact the ultimate being. Nietzsche points are considerable. However, I dont agree with him and I think he is trying to put down people who believe in God.
19. James Watson has done extensive work with DNA and genetics. If certain physical traits can be passed on from parent to child through DNA then why not mental traits as well. A gene for mental disorders can be passed along. It doesnt mean that the person will have the disorder but the coding is there. Some people refuse to believe that are just made up of DNA because its too scientific. They want to believe in a soul and a more purposefullness rather than just scientific code.
This doesnt have to be a bad thing. Watson's research is leading to information on autism and could possibly find a cure or prevention. These findings are reached thanks to genetic coding. without that or other scientific methods we wouldnt have such medically advanced society. We now live longer and healthier lives thanks to a little thing called scientific research.
20. Intelligent design is regarded as junk science because there is no real evidence to support it. It basically calls for an intelligent creator (i.e. God) but there is no experiement or documentation supporting that there actually is one so it cannot be considered along with other realms of science which have extensive detailed data to support every claim made.
21. Fundamentalism is considered a mental disease because there is no rational thinking behind it. Those who support and teach creationism are not thinking for themselves or perhaps not thinking at all. Religion is something that people just believe in with no solid reasoning behind it. Faith is blindly believing in something with no questions asked. This is all according to the movie and not personal opinion.
22. The US government has brought on this war on terrorism. I feel that our government has its own alterior motives for occupying Iraq all this time and I dont think they are providing us with all the information we should have. The government acts on our behalf all the time. We really have no idea what kind of relationships they maintain with other countries or what promises they are or arent keeping to them.
I think other countries such as Iraq see all americans as evil or a threat to them because maybe thats the way our government is acting. They obviously wanted to send a strong message to us by the attacks of 9/11. Something is definietly going on with our government. I dont feel they are taking the correct actions and if people are trying to attack us so violently then we must be doing something wrong. I am not in favor of our troops being overseas and I think alot of reconciling needs to happen from our end if we ever want to see the end of this unecessary war.
23. The Beyond Belief session were definitely heated topics. Religion and science and where to draw the lines was an ongoing issue for this conference. I felt that everyone had strong points and voiced their opinions adequately but after such a long conference and so many speakers, only some remain memorable. I really liked Susan Neiman. she talks about having respect for something that is not fully understandable instead of disregarding it or being afraid of it. I feel if people took this sort of attitude then maybe there would be less conflict with americans and muslim culture.
Someone like Sam Harris would not take this approach. His thoughts on people who are religious is taken way too far. he thinks that religion should be something to fear because it usually makes people do crazy things because they feel so strongly about something. He is confusing passion with the kind of emotion that leads to terrorism. and to make a broad statement about all religious people is done with out clear thinking.
Ialso liked the speaker from session 2. He had a great mixture of science and religion together which is where i personally stand on the subject. He talked about how the bible can be a great reference as to how to live life but it doesnt state how it all works. So that's where science can come in and play a great part to add to but not take anything away from religion or God.
There was also another speaker who sort of made fun of the design of the universe and humans and calls it stupid. This is a bold statement to make but if you really think about it, it's halfway true. The way ou bodies are designed so that we constantly have to eat and get sleep doesnt seem that great. as we get older our bodies deteriorate and we become weaker. According to Tyson, this doesnt seem very intelligent. The universe is also questionable because our planet seems to be the only one to provide life. everything else has unstable atmosphere's and unlivable conditions. So one begins to wonder what is the planning in all that? What's the point in all the unending billions ofmiles of space if not to provide life? And what purpose does life have if we just start to shut down and requireso much maintenance.
Many valid points are brought up at this conference, however, I dont think any sort of conclusion was made or any minds swayed. People have thier opinions for what ever reason and only they can change inside themselves for the better or worse. Science and Religion will continue to compete against each other for as long as man has a mind to think and a voice to speak.
25. My favorite thing I learned this semester was about the different cults and how they are exposed as frauds. I found it so interesting to actually hear from people who actually fell into believing in them and then later realizing that they were tricked. It is sad that this still goes on but thats why critical thinking is so important to teach and to learn.
Friday, February 15, 2008
truth lies
I'm not sure if I actually agree with this film but it sits better with me than fundamentalism as a mental disease one. I suppose the point being made here is that its easier to believe in something like God and heaven because it makes us feel better. It helps us to deal with harsh reality to think that there is eternal happiness after you die or that there is always someone looking over you that can hear your prayers.
I didnt like that this was refered to as "silly nonsense" but I do find some comfort in knowing that at least people can understand why having faith is important to people. It doesnt necessarily have to be agreed with but seeing some good in it can help. Afterall a "life with meaning is better than a life with no meaning."
I didnt like that this was refered to as "silly nonsense" but I do find some comfort in knowing that at least people can understand why having faith is important to people. It doesnt necessarily have to be agreed with but seeing some good in it can help. Afterall a "life with meaning is better than a life with no meaning."
mental disease?
"Fundamentalism is a mental disease and creationism is taught by those who cannot think." This is a pretty harsh statement to make. I agree that the intelligent design theory is not a well thought out one but I dont think that calls for putting down Christianity. I dont feel that ID was suggested by Christians just to throw God back into biology. I just feel that there was probably some sense of urgency to come up with something that people on the fence could feel comfortable believing in. There's nothing wrong with knowing science and believing in God. It doesnt have to be one or the other.
This film said that once you knew and trully understood evolution then all other theories and "isms" fell to the floor. Calling evolution and natural selection the greatest idea ever is a bit much. I really feel there has to be some way to have an in between but, someone will have to come up with something a bit stronger than intelligent design.
This film said that once you knew and trully understood evolution then all other theories and "isms" fell to the floor. Calling evolution and natural selection the greatest idea ever is a bit much. I really feel there has to be some way to have an in between but, someone will have to come up with something a bit stronger than intelligent design.
java philosophy
The point of this film was to point out how many of us are trying to figure out who we are. We all want to be cool and accepted by society but sometimes its hard to figure out exactly what that is. Maybe in the 60's it was as simple as going to coffee shops and dancing to groovy music. But i think we live in a much more complicated world now. Our youth is faced with many different and more serious problems now than the kids of the 60's had to deal with.
I liked the quotes that went along with the film. My favorite was the one that said you only have two choices. You can either do it or not do it, but whichever you do, you will regret it. I thought that was funny but also true. we are hardly ever satisfied and i think we are always searching for the better life but dont even know what that exactly is.
I liked the quotes that went along with the film. My favorite was the one that said you only have two choices. You can either do it or not do it, but whichever you do, you will regret it. I thought that was funny but also true. we are hardly ever satisfied and i think we are always searching for the better life but dont even know what that exactly is.
intelligent design
I wish we would have read this article before watching the Ken miller lecture a few weeks ago. This article went in to much more detail about what intelligent design actually was and where the theory was coming from. When I watched the lecture video a few weeks ago I had actually never heard of the ID theory so it was all new to me.
When everything is layed out on the table, the whole idea of intelligent design seems pointless to me. I dont understand why they insist on calling it a scientific theory when there is no scientific evidence to support that there is a higher being (God). I'm not saying I dont believe in God because I do. I just feel there was no point in trying to throw out a theory in the Scientific world that has no scientific data.
When everything is layed out on the table, the whole idea of intelligent design seems pointless to me. I dont understand why they insist on calling it a scientific theory when there is no scientific evidence to support that there is a higher being (God). I'm not saying I dont believe in God because I do. I just feel there was no point in trying to throw out a theory in the Scientific world that has no scientific data.
James Watson
James Watson is known for his work with DNA and the famous double helix model. He explains in his lecture how genetics and DNA plays a part in neurological disorders. His current work is in research on autism and trying to study the DNA to try to prevent it. I think his work is fascinating and should be payed attention to. This is why science is so important. Finding cures and reasons to unstable conditions in life can only make life more enjoyable for us, so how is it that religious people are always trying to put down science when it has done so much good for our lives.
I think God instilled that quest for knowledge in us so that we could live fufilled lives. Without science we would all still be dying 30 and from such diseases as the plague. God wants us to enjoy life because thats what he created it for. Thanks to people like James Watson with a strong desire to research, we can now live life to the fullest.
I think God instilled that quest for knowledge in us so that we could live fufilled lives. Without science we would all still be dying 30 and from such diseases as the plague. God wants us to enjoy life because thats what he created it for. Thanks to people like James Watson with a strong desire to research, we can now live life to the fullest.
flame on
I like how this film took an approach to homosexuality and morality. The point I got from this was that its difficult to know what is morally acceptable or not because times change from century to century and decade to decade. What was not approved then may not even be given a second look now. So it is hard to know what your best or worst quality is because views change too often. So to feel ashamed about being homosexuality is pointless because it obviously stems from what society thinks and society will change either with time or location.
I think anybody who feels ashamed of something as personal as thier own sexuality should see this film. It does seem pointless to worry about what society thinks when they are not the ones living your life. What you do with your mind and heart is nobody's concern but your own. It has no effect on the lives of others, or at least it shouldnt.
I think anybody who feels ashamed of something as personal as thier own sexuality should see this film. It does seem pointless to worry about what society thinks when they are not the ones living your life. What you do with your mind and heart is nobody's concern but your own. It has no effect on the lives of others, or at least it shouldnt.
brain burn
The ending of this film sums it all up for me. "Philosphy is like heartburn: the result of something that didnt digest well." The film talks about how all our questions about life and the universe stem from confusion in our neural system. As if there are just sporatic sparks going off in our head that triggers us to question something so complex. I find it funny that man always has to find some scientific reason behind every single thing. I believe that we all have a inner soul which is curious and thats why we want to know more about things that dont seem clear.
I also find it humorous that the "four F's" came up in this film. I remember learning about that in psychology class. There has to be more to our brain than just fuck, food, flee, and fight. That gives so much simplicity to our much complex brain.
I also find it humorous that the "four F's" came up in this film. I remember learning about that in psychology class. There has to be more to our brain than just fuck, food, flee, and fight. That gives so much simplicity to our much complex brain.
crop circles
This short film was hillarious. I found it very entertaining that these two men were agrguing about the mystery behind crop circles. They kept talking over one another and you could tell they were both very passionate about the subject. One man was trying to prove that there had to be some paranormal activity behind the crop circles while the other was sure it just people trying to get a rise out of everyone.
I really had no thoughts either way. However I started to realize how silly it was to think that some extra terrestial being was behind some circles that could easily be done by hand on paper. So why couldnt they be done on a much larger scale as well. There was a good point made here and i dont feel the man trying to prove they were not man made had a very strong argument.
I really had no thoughts either way. However I started to realize how silly it was to think that some extra terrestial being was behind some circles that could easily be done by hand on paper. So why couldnt they be done on a much larger scale as well. There was a good point made here and i dont feel the man trying to prove they were not man made had a very strong argument.
electric surfing
Im not sure if there was supposed to be some underlying message in this video. It just seemed to be describing electrons and protons and how they work and interact. THis information was also given over a cartoon so I'm not really sure if that was supposed to mean something. However, I thought it was pretty cool. I also liked the music.
Nietzsche
I found Nietzsche's writing to be more like poetry or something else artistic and emotional. I'm not sure if I understood most of it but from what I could tell, he seemed to have a sort of harsh outlook on life. His view of religion actually offended me. He uses terms like "religious nonsense" and claims God has created a vicious circle of himself, since he makes himself necessary.
I personally think Nietzsche has it out for christianity and God. He seems to be real critical of the whole religous belief and I feel he is putting down people of faith. I know everyone is entitled to write what they feel but maybe I just took this too personally. I think Nietzshe has had some personal problem with his faith in God and now he's bitter and trying criticize the whole thing.
I personally think Nietzsche has it out for christianity and God. He seems to be real critical of the whole religous belief and I feel he is putting down people of faith. I know everyone is entitled to write what they feel but maybe I just took this too personally. I think Nietzshe has had some personal problem with his faith in God and now he's bitter and trying criticize the whole thing.
John Polkinghorne
From everything that we've read so far in this class, I found it odd that a theoretical physicist was also a priest. However I rather like John Polkinghorne. I think its great that he can recognize both sides of the argument on the creation of the universe. He feels that humans and animal life are far to complex to have just occured by chance or accident. Science can show us how life works but it cannot fully explain how it was created. Thats where faith and religion comes in.
I feel a lot like the way Polkinghorne feels. I'm not extremely religious but I believe in God and our life here on earth as his creation. I am not disregarding science because experiments and documentation prove most of it to be true. I just think they should leave science to figuring out benefical information for life now and in the future. Trying to figure out how it all began just seems like a never ending argument. I dont think it would benefit us any to know how it happened. All we need to do is know how to keep on going strong.
I feel a lot like the way Polkinghorne feels. I'm not extremely religious but I believe in God and our life here on earth as his creation. I am not disregarding science because experiments and documentation prove most of it to be true. I just think they should leave science to figuring out benefical information for life now and in the future. Trying to figure out how it all began just seems like a never ending argument. I dont think it would benefit us any to know how it happened. All we need to do is know how to keep on going strong.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Juergensmeyer
Mark Juergensmeyer shares with us his trip to Iraq and what he haslearned about terrorism and its relation to religion. I find it sointeresting that he goes and has actual conversations with people onthe otherside of this war. Its one thing to hear whats going on iniraq from the news but the media will hardly ever portray thethoughts and feelings of the iraqi people. It seems they just wantto show them as the enemy and emphasize the good that the US is doingover there. I know most of the american people support the troopsand what they are doing. This feeling was probably even more soimmediatley following the 9/11 attacks, however, these same peopleare probably not asking themselves why would someone actually want todo us harm.
The idea of a government is supposed to be there for us and have ourbest interest at heart. Our government does not seem to do so.There are alot of things that our government takes part in that we donot know about. The way they maintain relationships with othercountries is decided by them and we pretty much have no idea how theyare interacting with other governments. This is scary because the USgovernment may very well be doing things that we would not approveand they basically represent us as a whole. The people that we haveput in charge and our trust in could be completely evil. The worstpart of this is that other countries view us as a whole and possiblethink all americans are evil. This war is about the government.They made enemies and they should be the one fighting it not us.
The idea of a government is supposed to be there for us and have ourbest interest at heart. Our government does not seem to do so.There are alot of things that our government takes part in that we donot know about. The way they maintain relationships with othercountries is decided by them and we pretty much have no idea how theyare interacting with other governments. This is scary because the USgovernment may very well be doing things that we would not approveand they basically represent us as a whole. The people that we haveput in charge and our trust in could be completely evil. The worstpart of this is that other countries view us as a whole and possiblethink all americans are evil. This war is about the government.They made enemies and they should be the one fighting it not us.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Eckankar
Although this has been the longest reading so far, I actually enjoyedreading it. It's easier to read when its written as a story instead ofjust alot of complicated facts and complex words I dont fullyunderstand. The whole Eckankar movement is new to me. I had neverheard of the group before this class. This story helped me understandwhat it was about and how people become believers or followers. Atfirst, I didnt understand how people could get suckered into cults. Itjust seemed obvious that these "religions" were just tricking naivepeople into doing whatever the "leaders" wanted. It didnt seempossible that normal people could get involved in something like that.
After reading the article, I realized it was certain types of peoplethat became involved. They are searching for something they feel ismissing in their life which can be said for alot of people. So many ofthese people probably are normal as far as society expects. No one canreally define what normal is, however, I feel that these people arewell in their right to search for a new religion and have some sense ofbelonging. I'm not saying I believe in these religions now but I nolonger have the same judgement for the people who decide to follow.
After reading the article, I realized it was certain types of peoplethat became involved. They are searching for something they feel ismissing in their life which can be said for alot of people. So many ofthese people probably are normal as far as society expects. No one canreally define what normal is, however, I feel that these people arewell in their right to search for a new religion and have some sense ofbelonging. I'm not saying I believe in these religions now but I nolonger have the same judgement for the people who decide to follow.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sai Baba
The video was hard to see much detail, but from what i could see, itwas trying to point out what is happening when Sai Baba isperforming "miracles". It seems the video's main purpose is to isolatewhat is actually happening in his hands as if to try to prove that itisn't any magic. The people who are there probably are seeing a biggerpicture and perhaps distracted by other things going on. So, they arenot being skeptical or trying to catch every detail of the trick. Theyare in awe of the whole production and missing tiny little leaks ofproof that there is no magic, only quick, skillful hands that arefaster than the eye.
This is how these leaders are able to attract such a following. Theypull in weak impressionable people and put on a show for them. Peopleare led to believe that these leaders can do something that they cantand that they must desperatley seek to be like them or be around themfor their own spiritual enlightment.
This is how these leaders are able to attract such a following. Theypull in weak impressionable people and put on a show for them. Peopleare led to believe that these leaders can do something that they cantand that they must desperatley seek to be like them or be around themfor their own spiritual enlightment.
thakar Singh
I actually had never heard of Thakar Singh and after learning abouthim, I'm glad I hadn't. I found the accusations against him to be verydisturbing. I understand that it's just people speaking out andthere's no real evidence, however, the possiblility alone is cause forconcern. The most disturbing image was the children being blindfoldedonly because for us, that seems like some form of abuse. I would haveliked to hear from one of those kids to see what they thought about thewhole method of teaching.
The accusations of sexual and physical abuse were serious ones.However, I did find it rather difficult to determine whether theaccusers were completely on the level. Even those followers who weredefending Singh seemed "off" a little bit. I really feel that thepeople who follow these "leaders" are in search of something missing intheir lives and they are easily sucked in because they are not in theright state of mind. So I dont take what they are saying to the heartbecause there is obviously something wrong with their judgement.
The accusations of sexual and physical abuse were serious ones.However, I did find it rather difficult to determine whether theaccusers were completely on the level. Even those followers who weredefending Singh seemed "off" a little bit. I really feel that thepeople who follow these "leaders" are in search of something missing intheir lives and they are easily sucked in because they are not in theright state of mind. So I dont take what they are saying to the heartbecause there is obviously something wrong with their judgement.
edgar cayce
Open mindedness goes hand in hand with critical thinking. The wayKenneth Johnson approaches Edgar Cayce's psychic abilities leaves thereader free to make thier own mind up. There is no biased opinion thatmakes the reader feel that there is a right or wrong answer. The factsare simply stated and explained. However it is always easier toexplain something to an open minded person rather than a skeptic orsomeone who already whole heartedly believes in whatever the topic is.
Johnson's approach untangles fact from fiction. He acknowledgesmistakes and also possiblities for paranormal happenings. He seems torecognize both sides. He puts everything out on the table and nothingleft out or exagerated. This makes it alot easier for someone to thinkcritically about Cayce's readings and not to simply go along with whatJohnson thinks.
Johnson's approach untangles fact from fiction. He acknowledgesmistakes and also possiblities for paranormal happenings. He seems torecognize both sides. He puts everything out on the table and nothingleft out or exagerated. This makes it alot easier for someone to thinkcritically about Cayce's readings and not to simply go along with whatJohnson thinks.
critical thinking
I think this Manual on Critical Thinking might have been useful tohave read during week one. I feel I've been having a hard time withthis class and now, after reading this article, I know why. Ourschools really dont prepare us to critically think and that's why I,personally, am experiencing difficulty in the course. We have beentaught all the right answers and memorized all the facts but no wherealong the road has anyone showed us how to think for ourselves toreach these conclusions. We mostly memorize definitions and matchanswers or complete repetitive steps to come up with solutions.However, in this class we are asked to read and come up with our ownquestions or thoughts. My first reaction to this course was "Whereare the correct answers? What am I really supposed to do?" This isproof that critical thinking has not been exposed to me until now.
I almost feel angry about what our school system has been lacking andwhat they have deprived me of. Critical Thinking seems like such acommon sense tool that we should have but without excersising it wecan never achieve the goals that should be attained from it. Its sadto me that all I have to do is think about the readings and writeabout it from my own critical thoughts, but somehow, I find thatsimple task to difficult because no one is telling me what to think.We really need to make a change in our school because raising peopleto not be able to think for themselves is a serious problem.
I almost feel angry about what our school system has been lacking andwhat they have deprived me of. Critical Thinking seems like such acommon sense tool that we should have but without excersising it wecan never achieve the goals that should be attained from it. Its sadto me that all I have to do is think about the readings and writeabout it from my own critical thoughts, but somehow, I find thatsimple task to difficult because no one is telling me what to think.We really need to make a change in our school because raising peopleto not be able to think for themselves is a serious problem.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
midterm
Real Name:Jodie Wims
user name: jodie_1219
email:jodie_1219@yahoo.com
11. Richard Dawkins considers religion to be a virus of the mind because it is something "implanted" in us by our parents or family around us. This is usually done at a young age when our minds are easily subjected to absorb whatever is fed into it. I wouldnt say I disagree completely. Most of us do grow up believing whatever religion we happen to be is the right one. There is no choice or alternate view until your'e old enough to make that discovery on your own. For most people it's hard to give up something we've held on to so long, so in that sense, it is like a virus because it's just in us and many times it's hard to make it go away. At the same time, I think it's nice to have something to believe in. In many cases, it can make you a better person. So I wouldn't go as far as to call it a "virus" because that would make it sound like it was a bad thing.
12. One example of a Cargo Cult Science could be superstitous beliefs. For example, my grandmother strongly believes that if her purse ends up on the floor, then she will have money problems. So under no circumstances is her purse ever to be on the floor. One of the only times she ever yelled at me was when i put her purse on the floor just temporarily so I could move something. Of course she's had money problems here and there just like anyone else but they cant be linked to her purse being on the floor. It isn't something that happens instantly so how can it be proven? And when she is in good financial standing, I dont hear her owing it to her purse NOT being on the floor. Also to refer back to the "virus" analogy, I now have a fear of putting my purse on the floor as well, even though I know how ridiculous the claim is!
13. Richard Feynman talks about going beyond the surface and really trying to find things out. To find out the reasons why things happen and how makes everything much more interesting and beautiful as well. One really appreciates what is happening in nature when they fully understand what is going on and how complex nature can be. For example, the growth of a baby during pregnancy. So many changes are occuring at every moment to transform a tiny cell into full human life. When you understand the process and steps that happens before a baby is born, it makes the experience so much more worth the wait.
14. The movie Karma gives a quick look at life and consequences. Bad things done in life come back eventually in some way or another and good things come to those who do no harm. Whether or not this is true cannot be proven but many people believe in it regardless. It's seems to be easily falsifiable because there are numerous occasions when bad things happen to good people. There are probably even more incidents where incredibly good things happen to people full of evil. Karma is a nice thing to believe in because it can make you become a better person but it doesnt seem to be totally accurate.
15. John Maynard Smith was not afraid to turn away from his faith and in that sense he was able to take a more scientific approach to the evolutinary theory and come up with his own theories. He believed that only after one turns away from religion is he free to ask questions and figure out different answers without holding back because religous fears.
16. Freeman Dyson believes that you cant understand life and the universe without having some sort of faith. He thinks that science and religion can be compatable and one does not have to choose one or the other. God is beyond our understanding but with faith and facts we can begin to learn
17. Faqir learned that faith and belief comes from within yourself. No outside force can truly make you believe. It is something that develops in your own mind and in that sense you are your own helper.
18. Eleven talks about our thoughts about others and what happens when we think our way is the only right way. When it comes to something we dont understand fully, we tend to react in an undesirable way. For those who dont know much about muslim culture, and who also have hostility towards muslims because of certain events, understanding and patience can be difficult. The members of the group eleven must have had it in their heads that they were doing a good deed by ridding the world of muslims. This irrational way of thinking is the same reason why terrorists decided it would be a good idea to crash some planes into the twin towers. Those who lash out against innocent muslims are no better than the terrorists who started all the hostility in the first place.
19. People can sometimes get caught up in the medium when really, the message should be their only concern. Sometimes there is confusion when taking in a message from someone. The message can be so powerful that the person relaying the information can be seen as great and powerful as the message. This is usually not true. People who try to live their life like someone who "talk a good talk" will be sadly dissapointed in most cases. Many of these people who speak positive things still do alot of negative in life as well. If we look at these people as role models and think that everything they do in life reflects living life by their message, then the point of the message is lost. People are merely following other people instead of taking in the words and living thier own life.
20. Bertrand Russell had plenty reasons for not being a christian. The most imortant one probably is that he didnt believe that jesus was one wisest and virtuous men. He was among others according to Russell, who probably deserved more regocnition. There were also things about hell and bad things happening to good people that Russell didnt feel added up to the type of world God would create. I agree with some of his points. There are plenty of things inthe bible that i question as well and it makes me wonder if all of it is true. But I wouldnt go as far to say that I'm not a Christian. I believe in God but i think man has played his part in some of things we have come to believe, such as things written in the bible. Therefore, i would say i am a christian but not a firm believer of everything that the church puts out there.
21. This six step guide is to help decipher whether or not a claim is realor not. FiLCHeRS stands for Falsifiability, Logic, Comprehensiveness,Honesty, Replicabilty and Sufficiency. Falsifiabilty is interestingbecause in order to prove something is true, there must be a way todisprove it as well. For example, i cant make a scientific claim abouta dream i had because there is no way to prove that i did or didn'thave that dream. Logic talks about evidence being sound. Drawingconclusions from incomplete information can result in unsound or invalid answers. That leads to comprehensiveness which says that allevidence must be presented, which ties into honesty. One must presental information and accept the conclusion honestly. Replicability has to do with any previous claims or experiments having to dowith the current claim. Tests should be repeated to obtain the same conclusions before being able to move on.
22. Kurtz believes that skepticism should be applied to religion in a historical sense. That is , for religous claims that are made, there should be record of investigation for validity purposes. I agree. I think science can play an important role in religion for certain aspects. Such as dating artifacts that date back to when jesus was alive. There is scientific evidence that jesus existed. That does alot for our faith. Whether or not people want to acknowledge him as the son of God is up to them. Science can only go so far in the religous aspect but nevertheless it can play an important role
23. Simply knowing letters or knowing how to read does not mean that you can truly understand what a book is about. Most of us can read out loud but there are also some that do not actully comprehend what the words are coming together to form. So knowing all three parts of the book ( text, pretext, and context) is imperative for full comprehension.
24. A transformative UFO encounter is one that happens during consciousness and can seem more real than actual life. However, Scientists compare it to hallucinations. The author does seem to think that there may be some chance that UFo's actually exist but according to current evidence it doesnt seem likely.
25. When using online sources, it is hard to differentiate real from fabrication. One must really know how to critically decide what the actual facts are. Also, when looking for information online, there is a big difference from looking in a library. Libraries have everything categorized and somewhat easy to find. The internet has information scattered all over the place which can make it difficult to decide which way to go in search of the right anwers.
26. Steven Weinberg's view on religion is non existent. He feels that science has the answers to everything. since there is no scientific evidence of there being a god, then according to Weinberg, there must not be one. He seems to be a fact based person and strongly believes in evolution rather than intelligent design.
28. In contrast to Weinberg, I felt the best speaker came on after he did. I couldnt really catch his name but he is the speaker from session 2. He talked about earlier contributors to science such a gallileo and newton. He stresses that there can be science and religion and one doesnt have to choose between the two. He talks about galileo who actually was a religious man but he recieved bad looks from the church because of what he was trying to prove. The point that is trying to be made in this lecture was that religion was different from science and didnt have to be compared. One can read and believe in the bible which states how the universe was created but it doesnt explain how the universe works. Science is a different field that religion and doesnt have to be integrated.
29. In Ken miller's discussion, he talks about how the evolution theory has a bad reputation simply because people believe that it goes against religious views. Miller argues that the idea of evolution must be critically considered as should all aspects of science. After all, many of the things we learn in science are simply theories and should not be thought of any differently than the evolution one. I do agree with his views on intelligent design which would be that intelligent design has no real data proving its accuracy. The big controversy between science and religion doesnt have to be such a complicated one. People can have religous beliefs but it doesnt change scientific fact. Science is great for understanding how things work and not necessarily how they were created in the first place.
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11. Richard Dawkins considers religion to be a virus of the mind because it is something "implanted" in us by our parents or family around us. This is usually done at a young age when our minds are easily subjected to absorb whatever is fed into it. I wouldnt say I disagree completely. Most of us do grow up believing whatever religion we happen to be is the right one. There is no choice or alternate view until your'e old enough to make that discovery on your own. For most people it's hard to give up something we've held on to so long, so in that sense, it is like a virus because it's just in us and many times it's hard to make it go away. At the same time, I think it's nice to have something to believe in. In many cases, it can make you a better person. So I wouldn't go as far as to call it a "virus" because that would make it sound like it was a bad thing.
12. One example of a Cargo Cult Science could be superstitous beliefs. For example, my grandmother strongly believes that if her purse ends up on the floor, then she will have money problems. So under no circumstances is her purse ever to be on the floor. One of the only times she ever yelled at me was when i put her purse on the floor just temporarily so I could move something. Of course she's had money problems here and there just like anyone else but they cant be linked to her purse being on the floor. It isn't something that happens instantly so how can it be proven? And when she is in good financial standing, I dont hear her owing it to her purse NOT being on the floor. Also to refer back to the "virus" analogy, I now have a fear of putting my purse on the floor as well, even though I know how ridiculous the claim is!
13. Richard Feynman talks about going beyond the surface and really trying to find things out. To find out the reasons why things happen and how makes everything much more interesting and beautiful as well. One really appreciates what is happening in nature when they fully understand what is going on and how complex nature can be. For example, the growth of a baby during pregnancy. So many changes are occuring at every moment to transform a tiny cell into full human life. When you understand the process and steps that happens before a baby is born, it makes the experience so much more worth the wait.
14. The movie Karma gives a quick look at life and consequences. Bad things done in life come back eventually in some way or another and good things come to those who do no harm. Whether or not this is true cannot be proven but many people believe in it regardless. It's seems to be easily falsifiable because there are numerous occasions when bad things happen to good people. There are probably even more incidents where incredibly good things happen to people full of evil. Karma is a nice thing to believe in because it can make you become a better person but it doesnt seem to be totally accurate.
15. John Maynard Smith was not afraid to turn away from his faith and in that sense he was able to take a more scientific approach to the evolutinary theory and come up with his own theories. He believed that only after one turns away from religion is he free to ask questions and figure out different answers without holding back because religous fears.
16. Freeman Dyson believes that you cant understand life and the universe without having some sort of faith. He thinks that science and religion can be compatable and one does not have to choose one or the other. God is beyond our understanding but with faith and facts we can begin to learn
17. Faqir learned that faith and belief comes from within yourself. No outside force can truly make you believe. It is something that develops in your own mind and in that sense you are your own helper.
18. Eleven talks about our thoughts about others and what happens when we think our way is the only right way. When it comes to something we dont understand fully, we tend to react in an undesirable way. For those who dont know much about muslim culture, and who also have hostility towards muslims because of certain events, understanding and patience can be difficult. The members of the group eleven must have had it in their heads that they were doing a good deed by ridding the world of muslims. This irrational way of thinking is the same reason why terrorists decided it would be a good idea to crash some planes into the twin towers. Those who lash out against innocent muslims are no better than the terrorists who started all the hostility in the first place.
19. People can sometimes get caught up in the medium when really, the message should be their only concern. Sometimes there is confusion when taking in a message from someone. The message can be so powerful that the person relaying the information can be seen as great and powerful as the message. This is usually not true. People who try to live their life like someone who "talk a good talk" will be sadly dissapointed in most cases. Many of these people who speak positive things still do alot of negative in life as well. If we look at these people as role models and think that everything they do in life reflects living life by their message, then the point of the message is lost. People are merely following other people instead of taking in the words and living thier own life.
20. Bertrand Russell had plenty reasons for not being a christian. The most imortant one probably is that he didnt believe that jesus was one wisest and virtuous men. He was among others according to Russell, who probably deserved more regocnition. There were also things about hell and bad things happening to good people that Russell didnt feel added up to the type of world God would create. I agree with some of his points. There are plenty of things inthe bible that i question as well and it makes me wonder if all of it is true. But I wouldnt go as far to say that I'm not a Christian. I believe in God but i think man has played his part in some of things we have come to believe, such as things written in the bible. Therefore, i would say i am a christian but not a firm believer of everything that the church puts out there.
21. This six step guide is to help decipher whether or not a claim is realor not. FiLCHeRS stands for Falsifiability, Logic, Comprehensiveness,Honesty, Replicabilty and Sufficiency. Falsifiabilty is interestingbecause in order to prove something is true, there must be a way todisprove it as well. For example, i cant make a scientific claim abouta dream i had because there is no way to prove that i did or didn'thave that dream. Logic talks about evidence being sound. Drawingconclusions from incomplete information can result in unsound or invalid answers. That leads to comprehensiveness which says that allevidence must be presented, which ties into honesty. One must presental information and accept the conclusion honestly. Replicability has to do with any previous claims or experiments having to dowith the current claim. Tests should be repeated to obtain the same conclusions before being able to move on.
22. Kurtz believes that skepticism should be applied to religion in a historical sense. That is , for religous claims that are made, there should be record of investigation for validity purposes. I agree. I think science can play an important role in religion for certain aspects. Such as dating artifacts that date back to when jesus was alive. There is scientific evidence that jesus existed. That does alot for our faith. Whether or not people want to acknowledge him as the son of God is up to them. Science can only go so far in the religous aspect but nevertheless it can play an important role
23. Simply knowing letters or knowing how to read does not mean that you can truly understand what a book is about. Most of us can read out loud but there are also some that do not actully comprehend what the words are coming together to form. So knowing all three parts of the book ( text, pretext, and context) is imperative for full comprehension.
24. A transformative UFO encounter is one that happens during consciousness and can seem more real than actual life. However, Scientists compare it to hallucinations. The author does seem to think that there may be some chance that UFo's actually exist but according to current evidence it doesnt seem likely.
25. When using online sources, it is hard to differentiate real from fabrication. One must really know how to critically decide what the actual facts are. Also, when looking for information online, there is a big difference from looking in a library. Libraries have everything categorized and somewhat easy to find. The internet has information scattered all over the place which can make it difficult to decide which way to go in search of the right anwers.
26. Steven Weinberg's view on religion is non existent. He feels that science has the answers to everything. since there is no scientific evidence of there being a god, then according to Weinberg, there must not be one. He seems to be a fact based person and strongly believes in evolution rather than intelligent design.
28. In contrast to Weinberg, I felt the best speaker came on after he did. I couldnt really catch his name but he is the speaker from session 2. He talked about earlier contributors to science such a gallileo and newton. He stresses that there can be science and religion and one doesnt have to choose between the two. He talks about galileo who actually was a religious man but he recieved bad looks from the church because of what he was trying to prove. The point that is trying to be made in this lecture was that religion was different from science and didnt have to be compared. One can read and believe in the bible which states how the universe was created but it doesnt explain how the universe works. Science is a different field that religion and doesnt have to be integrated.
29. In Ken miller's discussion, he talks about how the evolution theory has a bad reputation simply because people believe that it goes against religious views. Miller argues that the idea of evolution must be critically considered as should all aspects of science. After all, many of the things we learn in science are simply theories and should not be thought of any differently than the evolution one. I do agree with his views on intelligent design which would be that intelligent design has no real data proving its accuracy. The big controversy between science and religion doesnt have to be such a complicated one. People can have religous beliefs but it doesnt change scientific fact. Science is great for understanding how things work and not necessarily how they were created in the first place.
week 2 post 7
himalayan connection '
I honestly dont think i understood this article. I know it was talkingabout UFO's and how to categorize alleged findings, but I think therewas something more to it than that but i just didnt catch it. The termpiano cover kept showing up and at first i thought it was a type errorbut then i realized it prob meant something but i didnt know what. It'shard to do a reading when your'e not sure what's really going on. Sorry
I honestly dont think i understood this article. I know it was talkingabout UFO's and how to categorize alleged findings, but I think therewas something more to it than that but i just didnt catch it. The termpiano cover kept showing up and at first i thought it was a type errorbut then i realized it prob meant something but i didnt know what. It'shard to do a reading when your'e not sure what's really going on. Sorry
week 2 post 6
eleven
This film brought back alot of memories of 9/11 for me. It showed theridiculous ways of thinking people started doing after the terroristsattack. Mostly out of fear, some people started having a bad lookouton the muslim community. This was also because people didnt understandanything about the culture. I understand that people were angry andhurt over the loss of loved ones for no apparent reason. However, thisdoes not permit careless and reckless behavior against an entirecommunity of innocent people.Having a negative racist view on muslim people is just as bad asterrorists making innocent americans pay for whatever governementissues had occured. We didnt deserve it and neither do they. I wouldhope that by now people have a better view of whats really going on andnot just going by what they see or what other people are telling them.It time to start thinking smarter and for ourselves and getting moreinvolved with the issues.
This film brought back alot of memories of 9/11 for me. It showed theridiculous ways of thinking people started doing after the terroristsattack. Mostly out of fear, some people started having a bad lookouton the muslim community. This was also because people didnt understandanything about the culture. I understand that people were angry andhurt over the loss of loved ones for no apparent reason. However, thisdoes not permit careless and reckless behavior against an entirecommunity of innocent people.Having a negative racist view on muslim people is just as bad asterrorists making innocent americans pay for whatever governementissues had occured. We didnt deserve it and neither do they. I wouldhope that by now people have a better view of whats really going on andnot just going by what they see or what other people are telling them.It time to start thinking smarter and for ourselves and getting moreinvolved with the issues.
week 2 post 5
field guide to critical thinking
This six step guide is to help decipher whether or not a claim is realor not. FiLCHeRS stands for Falsifiability, Logic, Comprehensiveness,Honesty, Replicabilty and Sufficiency. Falsifiabilty is interestingbecause in order to prove something is true, there must be a way todisprove it as well. For example, i cant make a scientific claim abouta dream i had because there is no way to prove that i did or didn'thave that dream. Logic talks about evidence being sound. Drawingconclusions from incomplete information can result in unsound orinvalid answers. That leads to comprehensiveness which says that allevidence must be presented, which ties into honesty. One must presental information and accept the conclusion honestly. Replicability hasto do with any previous claims or experiments having to dowith thecurrent claim. Tests should be repeated to obtain the same conclusionsbefore being able to move on.
This six step guide is to help decipher whether or not a claim is realor not. FiLCHeRS stands for Falsifiability, Logic, Comprehensiveness,Honesty, Replicabilty and Sufficiency. Falsifiabilty is interestingbecause in order to prove something is true, there must be a way todisprove it as well. For example, i cant make a scientific claim abouta dream i had because there is no way to prove that i did or didn'thave that dream. Logic talks about evidence being sound. Drawingconclusions from incomplete information can result in unsound orinvalid answers. That leads to comprehensiveness which says that allevidence must be presented, which ties into honesty. One must presental information and accept the conclusion honestly. Replicability hasto do with any previous claims or experiments having to dowith thecurrent claim. Tests should be repeated to obtain the same conclusionsbefore being able to move on.
week 2 post 4
skeptical inquiry and religion
The question is posed: Should skeptical inquiry be applied toreligion? I really think it can't and probably shouldnt. I like thepoint the author made about comparing science and religion. He said itwas like comparing science and sports or science and music. They justarent' the same. Religion is more of an expressive uplifting field.It's not something that can be defined as true or false.
The article does, however, talk about science being applied to religionin a historical sense. Religous and historical events that have takenplace can be proved with scientific evidence. It doesnt make everyaspect of a religion true. For instance, there is evidence ofartifacts that can be scientifically dated back to the days of jesus.So it can be proven that jesus did exist but how can science prove thathe was the son of God? The point is science and religion can worktogether at times but for the most part are two completely seperatethings.
The question is posed: Should skeptical inquiry be applied toreligion? I really think it can't and probably shouldnt. I like thepoint the author made about comparing science and religion. He said itwas like comparing science and sports or science and music. They justarent' the same. Religion is more of an expressive uplifting field.It's not something that can be defined as true or false.
The article does, however, talk about science being applied to religionin a historical sense. Religous and historical events that have takenplace can be proved with scientific evidence. It doesnt make everyaspect of a religion true. For instance, there is evidence ofartifacts that can be scientifically dated back to the days of jesus.So it can be proven that jesus did exist but how can science prove thathe was the son of God? The point is science and religion can worktogether at times but for the most part are two completely seperatethings.
week 2 post 3
Four amazing physics demonstrations are revealed in this article. Thisone reminds me of the cold reading article. You have this idea of howcool or great something is then after you find out how its done, itjust diminishes the excitment for you. Having never taking a physicsclass, some of the concepts were still not clear to me after reading.However, for the most part it seems to make sense. The bed of nailstrick was the most intriguing for me. Of course, this trick is donecarefully with certain types of nails and making sure weight is evenlydistributed. I did find it interesting though, that the person couldstill get hurt if the person hitting the hammer swings a little toohard. That is still a risky chance to take, depending on someone elseto hit it just right.
I assume the point of the article was to get you to realize that thereis a logical answer to everything. There aren't any "magic" tricksand things can just seem mystical when you dont know what's going on.This article encourges you to not be fooled and to find out as much asyou can then critically consider the information. This keeps us frombeing fooled into something easily avoided.
I assume the point of the article was to get you to realize that thereis a logical answer to everything. There aren't any "magic" tricksand things can just seem mystical when you dont know what's going on.This article encourges you to not be fooled and to find out as much asyou can then critically consider the information. This keeps us frombeing fooled into something easily avoided.
week 2 post 2
intelligent design
I am really starting to get interested in this whole debate onevolution and the battle between science and religion. It's quitethe heated debate. Ken miller argues in this lecture aboutintelligent design and how it stands up against evolution. He makessome very good points in his lecture but i think his main goal is forpeople to stop criticizing the evolution theory. Yes, there areplenty of facts to support it but of course it will always be seen asa theory. As is plenty of other aspects of science but none with suchcontroversy as evolution. He points this out by showing stickersplaced on biology books that warn readers that these books containinformation on evolution but should be read with an open mind andcritically considered. Miller argues that the warning should beplaced for the entire science field. Anything contained in thosebooks is science theories based on facts and should always beapproached with an open mind. Singling out evolution makes it seemlike everything else stated in a science textbook is true. This ofcourse is not nescessarilly the case.
The other part of the film that really interested me was the skitabout The theory of evolution and inteligent design both explainingthier points of view and finding out at the end that they pretty muchsound the same except the intelligent design theory sounds likethere's no real support behind it; just magic. Even though I foundthe skit humorous, i still felt bad because I felt that they weremaking fun of a religious standpoint. I feel like the morescientific the world get, the less room there is to be a person offaith.
I am really starting to get interested in this whole debate onevolution and the battle between science and religion. It's quitethe heated debate. Ken miller argues in this lecture aboutintelligent design and how it stands up against evolution. He makessome very good points in his lecture but i think his main goal is forpeople to stop criticizing the evolution theory. Yes, there areplenty of facts to support it but of course it will always be seen asa theory. As is plenty of other aspects of science but none with suchcontroversy as evolution. He points this out by showing stickersplaced on biology books that warn readers that these books containinformation on evolution but should be read with an open mind andcritically considered. Miller argues that the warning should beplaced for the entire science field. Anything contained in thosebooks is science theories based on facts and should always beapproached with an open mind. Singling out evolution makes it seemlike everything else stated in a science textbook is true. This ofcourse is not nescessarilly the case.
The other part of the film that really interested me was the skitabout The theory of evolution and inteligent design both explainingthier points of view and finding out at the end that they pretty muchsound the same except the intelligent design theory sounds likethere's no real support behind it; just magic. Even though I foundthe skit humorous, i still felt bad because I felt that they weremaking fun of a religious standpoint. I feel like the morescientific the world get, the less room there is to be a person offaith.
week 2 post1
john maynard smith
Growing up in a private school setting, I was always told that theevolution theory was something scientists came up with to prove thatthere was no god or higher being. If i considered myself a Christianthen evolution must just be a theory to me and I shouldnt haveanything to do with it. However, in my college years i(and plentyother students most likely) have found that many things I havelearned up through high school are not exactly true.
John Maynard Smith had this same sort of religous upbringing until heread Darwin's evolutionary theory. He then realized that there werealternative ways of thinking and for him, that was a great relief.He often questioned things about his original way of thinking butfrom a religous standpoint, the answers only go so far. Also, mostpeople of faith are told that it is wrong to question and that yourfaith should just lead you blindly. Now Smith had something in frontof him that made more sense and something he could investigatefurther.
While I do think its great that Smith learned what else was outthere, I still feel a bit sorry for him for turning away from faithcompletley. I consider myself a person of God and although I amlearning about new theories and facts, it doesnt take away my heart.I still believe in God but maybe there are some things that need tobe considered or changed. Otherwise we might still be debating onthe earth being flat or round.
Growing up in a private school setting, I was always told that theevolution theory was something scientists came up with to prove thatthere was no god or higher being. If i considered myself a Christianthen evolution must just be a theory to me and I shouldnt haveanything to do with it. However, in my college years i(and plentyother students most likely) have found that many things I havelearned up through high school are not exactly true.
John Maynard Smith had this same sort of religous upbringing until heread Darwin's evolutionary theory. He then realized that there werealternative ways of thinking and for him, that was a great relief.He often questioned things about his original way of thinking butfrom a religous standpoint, the answers only go so far. Also, mostpeople of faith are told that it is wrong to question and that yourfaith should just lead you blindly. Now Smith had something in frontof him that made more sense and something he could investigatefurther.
While I do think its great that Smith learned what else was outthere, I still feel a bit sorry for him for turning away from faithcompletley. I consider myself a person of God and although I amlearning about new theories and facts, it doesnt take away my heart.I still believe in God but maybe there are some things that need tobe considered or changed. Otherwise we might still be debating onthe earth being flat or round.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
week 1 post 6
critical thinking in an online world
This article was hard to follow but it focused on the proffesion ofthe librarian and how the internet has affected it. Many of us willprobably never step foot in a library again. The internet is themain source for information, not to mention the fastest. before theinternet, people depended on libraries to get the information theyneeded for research, book reports, or just reading for personalenjoyment. Now all the information you need is right at yourfingertips.
Inside the library, there are also librarians there to help you findthat book you're looking for or to point you in the right directionfor your research paper. This seems almost unessescary now that allwe have to do is google a few words and find more than enoughinformation to get through what needs to be done. But this doesn'thave to be the case. Librarians can still be of great use to us.Sometimes the answers aren't right there in front of us. We oftenneed to go beyond the minimum expectations and see what else we canfind. Thats where the librarian comes in. They can help usdistinguish between the right and wrong information.
The internet is an open market for anyone to put whatever they wantup for the world to see. THis doesnt make it accurate. So we cantjust believe everything we read. A librarian can help us criticallyanalyze what is being read and filter out things that are false ornot helpful to the goal one is trying to reach. So even thoughinformation is easier to get nowadays, it doesnt make your work mucheasier. There is still the task of better judgement, which many ofus do not have, but the librarians are always there to help.
This article was hard to follow but it focused on the proffesion ofthe librarian and how the internet has affected it. Many of us willprobably never step foot in a library again. The internet is themain source for information, not to mention the fastest. before theinternet, people depended on libraries to get the information theyneeded for research, book reports, or just reading for personalenjoyment. Now all the information you need is right at yourfingertips.
Inside the library, there are also librarians there to help you findthat book you're looking for or to point you in the right directionfor your research paper. This seems almost unessescary now that allwe have to do is google a few words and find more than enoughinformation to get through what needs to be done. But this doesn'thave to be the case. Librarians can still be of great use to us.Sometimes the answers aren't right there in front of us. We oftenneed to go beyond the minimum expectations and see what else we canfind. Thats where the librarian comes in. They can help usdistinguish between the right and wrong information.
The internet is an open market for anyone to put whatever they wantup for the world to see. THis doesnt make it accurate. So we cantjust believe everything we read. A librarian can help us criticallyanalyze what is being read and filter out things that are false ornot helpful to the goal one is trying to reach. So even thoughinformation is easier to get nowadays, it doesnt make your work mucheasier. There is still the task of better judgement, which many ofus do not have, but the librarians are always there to help.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
week 1 post 5
cargo cult science
This article was a bit humorous. There were several different topicsthat Feynman touched on but all with one central theme or idea: thingsare not always what they seem and that we need to take a scientificapproach to things in order to not fool ourselves. The people of theSouth Seas who tried to replicate something in order to get planescarrying goods to land again, obviously did not take a scientificapproach to things. One person probably suggested that if they re-created the scene of when the planes landed the first time then surelythey would return again. This must of sounded like a great idea toeveryone else so they all went along with it and trully believed thatthis theory had to be right without even testing it or putting it upagainst other ideas.
Our society has a tendency to do that as well. We hear something from,lets say, a psychic and without much question, we believe that there isprobably some truth in it. We allow ourselves to be fooled bysomething we dont understand. Or we allow people who seem to be quiteknowledgable stop us from questioning certain things. After readingthis article i feel like maybe its time to stop taking people's wordfor it and start finding things out on my own.
This article was a bit humorous. There were several different topicsthat Feynman touched on but all with one central theme or idea: thingsare not always what they seem and that we need to take a scientificapproach to things in order to not fool ourselves. The people of theSouth Seas who tried to replicate something in order to get planescarrying goods to land again, obviously did not take a scientificapproach to things. One person probably suggested that if they re-created the scene of when the planes landed the first time then surelythey would return again. This must of sounded like a great idea toeveryone else so they all went along with it and trully believed thatthis theory had to be right without even testing it or putting it upagainst other ideas.
Our society has a tendency to do that as well. We hear something from,lets say, a psychic and without much question, we believe that there isprobably some truth in it. We allow ourselves to be fooled bysomething we dont understand. Or we allow people who seem to be quiteknowledgable stop us from questioning certain things. After readingthis article i feel like maybe its time to stop taking people's wordfor it and start finding things out on my own.
week 1 post 4
karma
The short film was a little fast at first, but when i watched it again,the message was clear: what goes around comes around. Though therewasn't much time for character development, it was easy to tell whatwas happening. Those who did good in life had good things happen tothem such as winning money. Those that did wrong, suffered theconsequences. A guy steals a purse; he gets hit by a car. While thistheory seems simple and easy, it's not one that alot of people believein.
This theory cannot be proven no matter how hard you try. Too often,good things happen to bad people and no one knows why. It a niceprinciple to live by though. It's nice to believe that if we do noharm, no harm will be done to us in return. This simply is not thecase. While I do still personally believe in Karma, I do not letmyself become naive or blinded by it. It's good to have something tobelieve in. I think it makes you want to be a better person. But thefact is that there are just plain bad people out there and no matterhow much good you do in life, it wont give you some magical shieldagainst all bad things out there. Life is life and it just happens.
The short film was a little fast at first, but when i watched it again,the message was clear: what goes around comes around. Though therewasn't much time for character development, it was easy to tell whatwas happening. Those who did good in life had good things happen tothem such as winning money. Those that did wrong, suffered theconsequences. A guy steals a purse; he gets hit by a car. While thistheory seems simple and easy, it's not one that alot of people believein.
This theory cannot be proven no matter how hard you try. Too often,good things happen to bad people and no one knows why. It a niceprinciple to live by though. It's nice to believe that if we do noharm, no harm will be done to us in return. This simply is not thecase. While I do still personally believe in Karma, I do not letmyself become naive or blinded by it. It's good to have something tobelieve in. I think it makes you want to be a better person. But thefact is that there are just plain bad people out there and no matterhow much good you do in life, it wont give you some magical shieldagainst all bad things out there. Life is life and it just happens.
week 1 post 3
viruses of the mind
I have to admit that these readings are a bit hard to follow attimes. It's hard to stay interested when the articles are full ofcomplex words and thoughts. I'm not even sure if i'm grasping thefull concept or not. I dont know much about the technical side ofcomputers but i think i can see the point that the author is tryingto make.
He is comparing viruses such as the ones that travel throughcomputers to the mind of perhaps a young child. Viruses on a computercan make the computer do certain things that seem to have no reasonbehind them. For example, one day your entire hardrive may be deletedwithout any warning. The same way these viruses are implanted are,in a sense, the same way that young minds come to believe certainthings without actually knowing why. As adults, we implant certaininformation into children because we know they will just accept itand maybe it's easier for us to have them this way. But what we aredoing is programing our children to just take in any information ororders and accept them. We are not teaching our children to thinkabout the "hows" and "why's". Children are then growing up doing andthinking certain things because of the "viruses" that we havesubjected them to.
I thought is was clever the way the author went into full detailabout how viruses work and what they are capable of doing and thentaking a turn to the human mind. The way we think sometimes, seemslike something may be wrong with us. Maybe we've all been infectedwith viruses but they are hard to detect.
I have to admit that these readings are a bit hard to follow attimes. It's hard to stay interested when the articles are full ofcomplex words and thoughts. I'm not even sure if i'm grasping thefull concept or not. I dont know much about the technical side ofcomputers but i think i can see the point that the author is tryingto make.
He is comparing viruses such as the ones that travel throughcomputers to the mind of perhaps a young child. Viruses on a computercan make the computer do certain things that seem to have no reasonbehind them. For example, one day your entire hardrive may be deletedwithout any warning. The same way these viruses are implanted are,in a sense, the same way that young minds come to believe certainthings without actually knowing why. As adults, we implant certaininformation into children because we know they will just accept itand maybe it's easier for us to have them this way. But what we aredoing is programing our children to just take in any information ororders and accept them. We are not teaching our children to thinkabout the "hows" and "why's". Children are then growing up doing andthinking certain things because of the "viruses" that we havesubjected them to.
I thought is was clever the way the author went into full detailabout how viruses work and what they are capable of doing and thentaking a turn to the human mind. The way we think sometimes, seemslike something may be wrong with us. Maybe we've all been infectedwith viruses but they are hard to detect.
Friday, January 18, 2008
week 1 post 2
The mystery behind fortune telling and psychic readings is revealedin this article about cold readings. It seems every mystical detailone would experience at a psychic reading is easily explained assomething far less exciting. For instance many psychic readers willwear a costume and have a foreign accent. This is all justto "mystify" the customer. The infamous crystal ball is mostly usedto create a distraction while the reader thinks of something tosay. Furthermore, the facts which are stated are usually prettyvague and only seem accurate beacause the customer is sort of takenin by the whole experience.
Most people who go to visit a psychic are having some sort ofproblem. The majority of issues which bother people enough to seekhelp fall under love, money, career or family. So all a readerreally has to do is mention one of these topics and be somewhatclose to accuracy. A reader can also tell by making stereotypicaljudgements what to say to people. A young female, for example,would most likely be there for romance problems. Or a middle agedmale dressed in a business suit may need help in a career choice.
These readings seem far less amazing after reading this article. Italmost makes me think I could probably give cold readings a try. Mycuriosity about having a reading done for myself has now vanished.It's amazing what we allow ourselves to believe. I feel a bitchildish now for ever thinking there could be some truth to psychicreadings.
Most people who go to visit a psychic are having some sort ofproblem. The majority of issues which bother people enough to seekhelp fall under love, money, career or family. So all a readerreally has to do is mention one of these topics and be somewhatclose to accuracy. A reader can also tell by making stereotypicaljudgements what to say to people. A young female, for example,would most likely be there for romance problems. Or a middle agedmale dressed in a business suit may need help in a career choice.
These readings seem far less amazing after reading this article. Italmost makes me think I could probably give cold readings a try. Mycuriosity about having a reading done for myself has now vanished.It's amazing what we allow ourselves to believe. I feel a bitchildish now for ever thinking there could be some truth to psychicreadings.
week 1 post 1
Richard Feynman's lecture talked about his early experiences withlearning and critical thinking. His father was probably one thereasons Feynman became so successful. He taught his son from an earlyage to really ask the right questions and not just accept things forthe way they are. His dad also didnt take any shortcuts in explainingthings to his curious young son. When explaining the concept ofenertia, he really put it in terms his son could understand instead ofjust saying thats just the way it is. Some parents easily avoidexplaining difficult concepts to children by lying or making up somecute story because they know the child will believe whatever they tellhim.
It seems to pay off to be more like Richard Feynman's father becuaseFeynman became very successful in life. He won a nobel prize inphysics and here we are listening to his lecture in a philosophyclass. More parents should strive to be so involved with theirchildrens learning path. I am a mother myself and although my childis only a year old, I am already trying to model the parent role thatRichard Feynman had.
It seems to pay off to be more like Richard Feynman's father becuaseFeynman became very successful in life. He won a nobel prize inphysics and here we are listening to his lecture in a philosophyclass. More parents should strive to be so involved with theirchildrens learning path. I am a mother myself and although my childis only a year old, I am already trying to model the parent role thatRichard Feynman had.
Monday, January 14, 2008
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