Blog Post #12

            I have not taken a serious English course since junior year of high school. I had not written a real, revised, quality essay in over a year, so I came in with excitement to this class to write things about things that inspired me. This class allowed the kind of creativity and allotted amount of time to write about interesting topics. I was having confidence issues before this class about writing and doubting my ability to be able to come up with creative, new ideas for essays. I think the very first chapter on how to come with ideas for writing really helped me with the ideas of free writing and outlining. It allowed me to apply those universal skills to create interesting topic ideas. I was shocked at the topics I was able to come up with, but this class was a perfect place to build my confidence back up and explore new ideas. It has taught me to be a more creative writer while also teaching me the importance of time management. I still need to work on structure and continue practicing the things I have been taught in this class.

Blog Post #11

In Sociology, we read an article about an Italian family named the Rosetos. It was about this Italian family that moved from Italy to Pennsylvania whom created this close knit group of people mimicking that of an Italian family in Italy with all sorts of problems. These people were heavy smokers and grossly overweight, but they were actually all in great health despite all their glaring flaws. Researchers could only contribute their health to their happiness found in community. Denmark is Roseto. Hygge is the idea of doing community for community. There is no selfish gain, and it allows not only for a release for these people but an opportunity for them to find real happiness. The articles that talked about Denmark not being a “real” happy place were comparing Denmark to other places, and that is why they say they are not happy because they are comparing. Denmark, I believe had created a Roseto type effect and that is why they are so happy.

Blog Post #10

I think of behalf of Dan Price this is admirable. A boss who is not only going to listen to the needs of his workers but is also going to take a pay cut so others can make more is noble. My church holds a conference called the Global Leadership Summit, and one of the speakers said, “If you do not know what to work on as a leader, everybody else does.” Dan Price did just that. He listened to the contentment of his workers, and he thought about what would make their lives more fulfilling and “happy”. He was a good boss to do what he did, and I truly believe it will raise the quality of life at his company exponentially; however, the principle of the hedonistic treadmill comes into play here. You have the people who worked for years who frankly want more than that, and you will have the people who also expect more money in time regardless of it being larger than a 100% increase in their pay. I applaud Dan Price, but I believe it will still leave the egoists unhappy.

Blog Post #9

I have always been fascinated by the idea of what a higher power does from a psychology standpoint. In my experience, I truly believe the “we all need something bigger than ourselves” is the key to happiness. There is something to write about with regards to how when your life is in service to others there is little to no time for you to be self absorbed. There is no time to think about all your issues because it is occupied by the concerns of others which is beautiful. I think I would like to write about a blend of the key to happiness is finding something that is bigger than yourself and living your life in service to others which could be an extension of finding something bigger than yourself. The video did a good job of displaying the 40% of intentional activity that determines your happiness, and we have a lot of forces working against us with genetics and circumstances; however, if we find something bigger than us, we pay little attention to things that we are predisposed to.

Blog Post #8

Stupid Apps

There is an App for just about everything. If you want to create an App, it is probably too late because someone has already had the idea. I think the Apps can be extremely useful, but I do believe these stupid Apps could have some bad repercussions. Apps when used correctly can help you time manage, figure out the weather, and even help you figure out with what you have in your cabinets what dinner to make. You have a handheld genius in your pocket if you allow it to just be a smartphone; however, with the power Apps have, it can be abused. The problem with stupid Apps is in the hands of a young, pliable mind there is no cognitive ability to tell real from virtual therein lies the problem. Children are attracted to these fun, stupid apps because well, they are fun. It is a source of mindless entertainment which at some point in the day, we love to experience. If a child think imaginary girlfriend is enjoyable, they learn little about how stupid that App really is. My problem is not with Apps because they have great potential, but I have a problem with the hands Apps fall into.

Blog Post #7

Instagram Star

The essay I want to write about is how technology has done its job, but now we are misusing it to do things it was never intended to do. This article talks of how this girl from Instagram had a hard time pulling herself away from the obsession that is Instagram. She found herself finding her identity in how many followers she had while comparing herself to everyone else on the internet. Seeking real human attention and connection through the internet, was not what technology was created for. Social media is a wonderful example of a piece of technology that could be seemingly harmless. You have the opportunity to share with your friends and family what is going on in your life. You get to connect with people you have lost touch with; however, we have made social media larger than life. The fact that Essena O’Neill felt she had to publicly announce her removal of all things social media is a wonderful reason as to why technology is not fulfilling its purpose anymore. Technology is supposed to free our time to do the things we love not to rob us of our time to look at unreal images to feel inadequate.

Blog Post #6

Sources

I chose “Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32” by John Green. It is a youtube video in which John Green does a lot of segments of history. I chose the source because he talks in specific about how the industrial revolution started a 100+ years ago, but we have never stopped industrializing. The reason it is reputable is because John Green is not the only writer. He has help from his old teacher, Raoul Meyer, who is a history teacher. Two very educated men writing this videos. The reason this video helps is it because it highlights why technology was originally created. John Green hits on how the industrial revolution never ended; therefore, my point about how technology has fulfilled its originally purpose because it has never stopped being produced.

I also am thinking about using a journal entry found in The Futurecast by Raymond Kurzweil called “The Age of Knowledge.” I chose this source because of how eloquently this author writes. The article is about how technology has changed our society and made our lives easier. The author is an inventor and what the article states the “authority on artificial intelligence.” The author knows what he is talking about, and a lot of this article is strictly factually based. I would possibly use this in the article because he talked of the first industrial revolution was to make us more physically able, and the second revolution which we are in now make us more mentally capable. I would talk of how we succeeded in the first but halfway did the second.

Blog Post #5

Research Essay Idea

Has technology set out what it originally intended to do? It was originally intended to make our lives simpler. Technology was meant to free up our lives to not do the mundane, survival tasks. Years ago we lived merely to survive. We had to make or kill our own food, build our own shelter, and do things that would allow us to live until tomorrow. Technology was supposed to revolutionize the way we live, and I want to explore if what we set out to do many years ago with technology, we have achieved.

I think we have achieved in the USA making our lives unconcerned with where our next meal is coming from because someone does that for us. On the agricultural front, I believe we have succeeded in technology. I think as far as the internet goes we have succeeded in making unlimited knowledge at the tips of our fingers available. I think we have succeeded in technology, for we send machinery in the sky and wheels on roads to get us to wherever we want to go. We have radically changed the opportunities we now have because of technology.

As a counterargument, I would like to bring up the dependency we now have on it. We cannot “live” without a smart phone, computer, or car. Our lives revolve around the things we have created. The intended purpose was to free up our lives not to bring us back to more distractions that are technology.

Blog Post #4

Technology has revolutionized the world we live in today. It has made minuscule tasks such as finding out the weather to tasks like moving our very beings from one place to another. Technology has made our lives the easiest they have ever been. We have technology that made simple, day-to-day tasks nonexistent. We have every opportunity to do the things we love and chase after our dreams because we no longer have to do the things we once did. There is no more farming to live, killing our own cattle, and retrieving our own water because something has already done that for us. Unlimited amounts of information is at the tips of your fingers, and you have the opportunity to seize it at any moment. Unfortunately, there are not just positives to technology.

Technology was supposed to free us up to do people things like interact. Technology was supposed to allow us to move past the mundane and into marvelous, but now the very thing that was supposed to set us free has us in chains. Instead of allowing us to be people, technology has sucked us into a virtual world that seems better than our own. We are losing human connection and interaction. Nowadays, there is less eye contact with a human and more of a screen. Technology was supposed to let me follow my dreams and not be tied up by the monotonous daily activities; however, it takes up the time it was supposed to free.

Blog Post #2

Summary of “Connected, but alone.”

Sherry Turkle tackles the topic of technology and people in her Ted Talk “Connected, but alone.” Sherry says in her introductory statements she is a “central paradox.” She stood on the same Ted talk stage years ago claiming the profound and magnificent effects technology would have on humans and their relationships, but this talk was about her new take on technology. In her talk she speaks of the new direction technology is taking humans. It is taking us to a place where we can perfectly control and edit who we are to present to people with whom we want to connect, but rather, we are presenting only the best part of ourselves. We want so badly to not be lonely and to find solace in other people, but Sherry says, “We expect more from technology and less from each other.” She talks of how we are social in nature, and we have a need to heard and never be alone, yet somehow we believe we can also edit our lives in a way that filters out any unwanted conversation or content. Ultimately, Sherry Turkle is not against technology, but she believes we are relying on it to do our jobs; therefore, she says let us let “technology … lead us back to ourselves.” 

Blog Post #1

Research Can be Fun

Research means stepping outside of your own head to join the exciting world of outside knowledge. Research can be the most exciting or dreadful part of an essay. When I think of the word research, my experience in high school with our big research essays come to mind. Research is note cards, organization, and endless amounts of sources.

In high school, we had to do at least one large research paper a year. I remember those times being extremely stressed or proud because I either put in the work necessary to make write a well-crafted essay or I blew it off until the last minute and had to work my butt off to finish it. My favorite part was always do research because it was exciting to get to learn about things I am interested in. It was exciting to have free reign on what I studied and wrote about.

My experience with research is always something I look forward to. I look forward to being a student to these strangers who know significantly more than I do in fields of study I am interested in. I am excited to be humbled by these people’s work. I am dreading the length as most of us are because sometimes I feel like I insert a lot of filler due to length. It is going to be difficult to be challenged to write all things to be grade “A” quality.