Blog Post 12

This course was pretty challenging, but really push me as a writer and for that I am grateful. The difficulties I had in this course were turning things in on time and keeping up with the class. I usually don't have trouble in this area, but I think I found my way at the end. This class challenged me to think outside the box and find new ways to write and see things from different perspectives. In the future I plan on taking a lighter class load and planning things out better. I found each topic interesting, and each topic gave me an opportunity to learn more than just grammar. Through this course I learned about American history, technology, and how to achieve a happier life. I enjoyed the technology unite the most because while writing my paper and discovering different points to add to my essay I learned a lot about history and media. Aspects we learned in this class and by writing our papers really come into use in our daily lives and I really appreciate that. The blog is pretty cool because it gives us a chance to voice our oppinutes and read oppinointes of those around us. Overall the class was great. The first semester was easier to keep up with than the second and I would stress that to people planning on taking the second portion of this class, but in a whole the class really does challenge students so that is a definite positive.

Blog Post #11

Denmark seems to be the happiest place on earth, according to the article "The Secret To Danish Happiness" by Huffington Post writer, Jessica Alexander, Danmark exceeds in happiness because of the "Danish way of hygge...derived from the Germanic word hyggja, which means to think or feel satisfied".  The article describes hyggie as having no direct translation, but summed up to mean "drama-free togetherness", and "homey". I believe that having satisfaction in yourself and your life is happiness. When taking a look at some of the wealthiest people in the world, we see that some of them acquire material things like cars and homes,yet describe themselves as unhappy and even depressed. That should be a clear indication that money does not equal happiness. Measuring happiness is a lot deeper than what's in our pocket book.  As much as I would like to accredit positive self outlook to being the only driving factor for the Danish happiness, the UK Dailymail published an interesting article which states "According to research from the University of Warwick, genetics could be the key to explaining a nation’s levels of happiness". After looking at survey data from 131 countries, researchers at Warwick found that "Compared with people from other countries, Danes were less likely to possess a short version of the gene linked to low levels of life satisfaction". This of course got me thinking that if there are genes linked to depression, then why can't there be genes linked to happiness. Even though this research seems to be still pretty new I think genes could potentially be a big factor in why Danes rank so high in happiness. Happiness might be what you make it, but maybe moving to Denmark would make it a little bit higher.

Blog Post #10

Paul Keegan's article "Here's What Really Happened at That Company That Set a $70,000 Minimum Wage" is a real eye opener. The article highlights the daring entrepreneur Dan Price. His decision to equalize pay among his staff surprises me in the sense that I didn't believe moguls like himself really cared about what lower level workers had to say. Keegan describes Prices realization that his wage cuts were too extreme when "an entry-level employee named Jason Haley got really pissed off at him"(Keegan). Now I don't know about most people, but I think it's pretty crazy that Haley had the guts to go up to his boss and say "You're ripping me off", from reading that far I thought Price would fired Haley on the spot, but instead Price listened to Haley's complaints and actually sought out to make changes.It's pretty extraordinary that Price went as far as increasing pay up to 70,000 minimum. It's expected that he faced controversy from critics, but what I found most surprising was his brother Lucas Price sueing him. I can't imagine money getting to be so important that I would sue my own brother. It's wrong that Lucas would sue his brother over money, but I find it uplifting how upbeat Dan stays throughout the ordeals he's had to face.

Blog Post #9

 I have come to the realization that happiness is subjective, it's dependent on our personal wants, goals and desires. The movie Happy made this realization even more apparent to me. From visiting different countries and people the movie shows that the idea of happiness is not universal. For example the  rickshaw operator in India. He lives a very poverty induced life but yet finds happiness in his situation. For most of us living in a first world nation we would see his life as a living hell, but he finds contentment in his situation. For the man the love of  his family and stability in resources are enough  to sustain overall joy. I couldn't help  but compare his life to the lives of many Americans I know who have beautiful things, but spend so much time working they don't find time to enjoy what they are working for. The most impactful part of this movie was when they traveled to Denmark and interviewed a single mom with two kids who  joined a co-housing community when she had financial difficulties. This portion of the film touched me the most because when I was younger my mother had to do a similar thing.  The film showed how co-housing communities took the financial burden off people and give them an extended family and sense of belonging which promotes a deep sense of happiness.  This was not the entry case during my situation, but the landlord was very helpful when pushing back payments for the complex. During this time of my life my family didn't have lot. but I remember my siblings and I being very happy in our situation. I also found it interesting how the people of  the Himalayas believe their government is responsible for the happiness of the people and therefore, keeps track of their gross national happiness through supporting spirituality.  In America the poverty in this country is not as extreme as the poverty in their country, but a lot of Americans blame government for the issues they face. I am interesting in focusing on 
the topic of happiness being contentment. 
All those who were interviewed in this documentary lived extremely different lives but found happiness because they were content with their situations. I believe this idea can foster an interesting paper. 

Blog Post #8

 Well I have heard of some crazy apps like ones which tell you whether or not you're a good kisser. This app requires you to kiss your phone for about 10 seconds while the app analyses your kissing skills. It's a bit of a ridiculous app, but after searching the internet I have found that the "kissing" app is just the brink of the iceberg.  Yes this is a real app where you just pop virtual bubble wrap on your phone. As much as I like to pop bubble wrap I really find this app quit crazy. 

The infamous Hot or Not app which rates your face on a scale of 1 through 10. Not only is beauty extremely subjective, but the idea of a computer rating your looks has to make you wonder what are the criteria of beauty the app is working off of? 

When I first saw this app I thought "no this can't be real life." This is a Korean made app which caters to those who wish to have a girlfriend, but are just not ready for the real thing. The app is called "Honey It's Me" it sends video messages and calls from 20 different women a day. Not only are these models sending an hello through cyberspace, but they also add interaction with their family and friends... the discovery of this app leaves me speechless.

Well as silly or extreme apps can get overall I feel as though they are fairly harmless. These silly things should never be taken seriously, but should be used as conversation starters, ice breakers and fun ways to take up time. I do believe apps like " Honey It's Me" can be easily taken seriously and sadly I believe it was created to be taken seriously. This app cries out social negatives in Korean society. I have seen documentaries about cities in Asia like Japan and countries like China which as so technologically advanced that the population is rapidly decreases because many people don't see a need for sex because they have supplimented such desires with technology. This can be seen as a scary foreshadow of America's future with our rapid progression in technology. 

Blog #6

The two sources I have found so  far are an article from Engineering and Technology wiki titled Fax Machines and an article from the The Glider Lehrman by Wendy Wall titled "Anti-Communism in the 1950's".

I chose the article Fax Machines because it helps he defend claims I make in my essay and it is a very reliable source. In my essay I write how advancements in technology are part of our natural evolution towards the furthering of our society, I use the Faxing boom of the late 1980's to early 1990's to defend this claim because it shows how faxing is a natural progression from mailing and improves our communication just as email and text do today. The article forces on the progression away from mail with emphasis on the faxing era. This is a reputable source because it is by Jonathan Coopersmith  an Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University. He teaches the history of technology and modern European history. He's a  former member of the IEEE History Committee, he is the author of numerous articles and a monograph, The Electrification of Russia, 1880-1926 (1992). Coopersmith’s Faxed: The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine will be published by The Johns Hopkins University Press in January 2015. The other article I chose is Anti-Communism in the 1950's" by Wendy Wall. It is about the 1950's and forces on the lies told by government to the American people. I use this article in my paper to show how before the internet it was easy to lie to the the general public because they had so little resources to fact check the information given, and to show how helpful resources like Google are to the world today. This is a reputable article be Wendy Wall is a Wendy Wall is an associate professor of history at Binghamton University and the author of Inventing the “American Way”: The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement, along with that The Glider Lehrman is a site that post artilces for the use of students on research assignments.

Blog Post #3

Psychologist, Sherry Turkle's Ted Talk "Connected, But Alone?" is one that comes off a bit self righteous, but yet inspires  listeners to do a little self reflection. Turkle begins the talk by quoting a text she received from her daughter, Rebecca moments before her talk telling her "she will rock"(Turkle). Turkle describes receiving Rebecca's text as "getting a hug". Regardless of the pleasant feelings texts can bring to Turkle's life, she still dedicated a majority of her talk to focus on the negatives of technology. From there Turkle continues her lecture by reveling to the audience her history with technology. To explain her relationship with technology Turkle takes the audience back to 1996  when experimentation with chat rooms and virtual communities was just beginning. Turkle describes her self as excited by the technological evolution taking place. Turkle was so  moved by the events taking place in technology that she "[wrote] a book that celebrated our lives on the internet [and because of her book] was about to be on the cover of Wired magazine" (Turkle). Turkle's introduction shows listeners that Turkle's views on technology are not completely biased against the technological movement and is useful as she devoulges deeper into the downfalls of technology.Today, Turkle states she is "still excited by technology, but believe[s]... we're letting it take us places that we don't want to go"(Turkle). Turkle informs listener that it is because of this belief she has been doing further research about the effects of advancing technology in our world. Since 1996 Turkle has done numerous studies on technologies of mobile communication and have interviewed hundreds of people about "their plugged in lives" (Turkle). From her studies Turkle found "that our devices, are so psychologically powerful [and] they don't only change what we do,[but] they change who we are" (Turkle). This statement might be true for an older generation who grow up without cell phones and tablets, but for the younger generation who have always had these advancements in technology  this statement could be seen as false. From there Turkle further explains how technology cause people to be withdrawn from the now and completely submerged into their different devices. Turkle uses the explain of an " an 18-year-old boy who uses texting for almost everything says to [her] , "someday, someday, but certainly not now, I'd like to learn how to have a conversation." Turkle uses the explain of the 18 year old boy as though he speak for an entire generation, but does not take into account that there are a lot of young people who do enjoy social interaction along with their technology. Even before cellphones and the internet many people had trouble socializing so all blame cannot be directed toward our devices. Even though the majority of Turkle talks is points out the negatives of technology  she still acknowledges that internet will not be forgotten anytime soon, but ends her talk urging  listeners to  "use digital technology, the technology of our dreams, to make this life the life we can love" (Turkle).

Blog Post 2

Psychologist, Sherry Turkle's Ted Talk "Connected, But Alone?" confronts the subject of too much time spent on devices such as smartphones and laptops. Turkle introduces her discussion quoting a text she received from her daughter, Rebecca moments before her talk telling her "she will rock"(Turkle). Though Turkle found Rebecca's gesture sweet, she describes herself as embodying the "central paradox" because even though technology is very prominent in her life, her talk mainly focuses on the negative aspects of technology on our text savvy world. From there Turkle divulges further into her history with technology. She takes listener back to 1996 when experimentation with chat rooms and virtual communities was just beginning. From her interaction with these early revolutions in technology Turkle became excited, "[mostly about] the idea that we would use what we learned in the virtual world [to learn more] about ourselves, about our identity, to live better lives in the real world" (Turkle). Today however, Turkle states she is "still excited by technology, but believe[s]... we're letting it take us places that we don't want to go"(Turkle). Turkle informs listener that it is because of this belief she has been doing further research about the effects of advancing technology in our world. Since 1996 Turkle has done numerous studies on technologies of mobile communication and have interviewed hundreds of people about "their plugged in lives" (Turkle). From her studies Turkle found "that our devices, are so psychologically powerful [and] they don't only change what we do,[but] they change who we are" (Turkle). From there Turkle further explains how technology cause people to be withdrawn from the now and completely submerged into their different devices. She explains how this outcome is negative to our wellbeing, because it is causing us to lose our ability to have natural human connection. Turkle believes technology is  causing us to isolate ourselves from face-to-face conversation because we " don't cultivate the capacity for solitude, the ability to be separate, to gather [ourselves]" when speaking face-to-face like we do when texting. When closing her talk Turkle does not encourage the end of technology, but instead encourages the audience to "use digital technology, the technology of our dreams, to make this life the life we can love" (Turkle).

Blog Post #7

I found Kerry Chan-Laddaran's article " Social Media is Not Real, Says Instagram Star" as  

interesting but unnecessary. I assume its veered more towards young teens, but I don't know how many young 

teens go on CNN.com. The article had a lot of information I feel like older teens and adults should already know, like "what you see on social media isn't always true to life."  I will agree sometimes I see a flawless picture of a celebrity and in that moment think" their life must be perfect" but then I remember that no one really posts pictures celebrating hardships. The true difficulties we face often don't appear on social media, mostly because they're hard to talk about, or show us in an unfavorable light. I find it kinda weird that CNN would write about someone deciding to no longer post on social media. With so many more important things going on in the world I really don't understand why they would take the time to write about something so trivial. By writing about Essena O'Neill  decision to quit social media, the article glorifies social media, putting it at a standard it really doesn't deserve. Social media is meant for fun, something to do in your leisurely time, if you find it taking over your life, get help. 

Blog post #5

The topic that I I'm interested in exploring in my research essay is the idea of technology’s improvement on our ability to communicate. I’ve heard time and time again how technology is weakening our ability to communicate, how it’s hurting our social skills. When I think of the topic of communication in relation to technology I think of how, technology has given us the ability to speak to, face to face, with people half around the world. How technology has granted us the possibilities of meeting and interacting with people we would once have never been able to meet. I believe that there are people who are naturally reclusive when it came to being social, but yet again there are also people who are social butterflies, and thrive on social interaction. Both types of people can be given the option of facial interaction or textual interaction through texting or any other technological outlet. Depending on who the person is he or she chooses their outlet of social expression. This does not mean that technology is to blame for some people’s inability or want to socialize face to face or verbally, it just means that technology has given those who may have once spent more time isolated in their room playing card games or doing a more isolated task, the opportunity to indulge in a new form of entertainment. 

Blog Post #4

Technology definitely has positive effects on society. It has upgraded our world in ways that thirty to forty years ago might have seemed impossible. Thanks to technology we have the ability to talk to people half around the world without having to move out of our seat, we have the ability to better insure the safety and life expectancy of people during and after surgery. Thanks to the power of technology we dream bigger and strive for better. As for me, without small adjustments like spellcheck to my typing I would find myself in a disarray when it comes to writing papers. Now realizing it the dependence I have in technology, even if it’s just spellcheck, has a major impact on my life. This impact, even though widely positive, is a bit negative as well. My reliance on technology can easily hinder my grade, if ever technology was to fail me. The fear of technology falling short in our drives, I would believe to be more prevalent with the need of technology increasing. This could cause an increase of delay and even ruin outcomes in our lives in a whole. The perpetuating problem of technology is that in as much connection we get with technology it can disconnect us in a multitude of way.

"Research is"

Blog Post #1

Research is the ability to find answers to questions by searching through books, web sites, videos, pictures, and speaking to reliably people who know or can help you find the answers to your questions. The ability to research is crucial in everyday life, whether it's to finding the best grocery store to buy produce or choosing a great book to read this summer, research is vital when trying to make the smartest decisions. When it comes to school work being able to research holds a strong importance in writing meaningful papers.

When it comes to research writing I tend to do well in identifying reliably sources, but not always so well including them in my paper. It has definitely taken me  practice to come towards this point in my life where I can add researched information seamlessly into a research paper. Research writing is a skill that absolutely takes practice to perfect.

In English 152, I am looking forward to learning more about interesting topics like technology’s current attributions to society, and how censorship in colleges is over sensitizing the youth, just to name a few learned in English 151.  I have to say incorporating citations to papers and understanding proper uses of commas, colons, and quotation marks and so on can get a little hefty, but I plan on reviewing and issues I feel I might have in a paper with Mrs. Crizer before turning in my work.