Week of December 3 - 9 Discussion #3

I honestly don’t know what concept should have been further discussed throughout the semester. I thought that every concept that was given to us has been discussed thoroughly by everyone through our discussion. I felt that everyone knew what they were talking about when these concepts were assigned to us. Everyone knew what they were talking about during these concepts discussion and if they didn't  they would have understood from reading other’s discussions and learn from that. I thought that everyone’s responses were something we could learn from as well if we didn't understand a concept. And if that didn't help, the summarized concepts posts by the professor should have helped. Those posts by the Professor has clearly explained each concept from the book and helped me a lot as well when I wanted something to be cleared. Overall a lot of the concepts during the semester was thoroughly discussed through student responses and summarized posts and I believe that there shouldn't be any concept that needs further discussion.

Week of December 3 - 9 Discussion #2

My favorite thing about the class was the discussions that were assigned to us every week about the concepts we have learned about. I thought this was fun because I got to read other people’s thoughts about many topics that were presented in this class. I enjoyed reading other people’s thoughts about these topics and seeing how they viewed many things and it also helped me learn about the material(s) even more. Everyone’s responses was always different from one another making it a very diverse class and enjoyable to learn from. I would have to say that my least favorite part was the fact that there was only one due date for the group projects. I thought that there weren't enough due dates for the projects because it causes a lot of last minute project work. I think that there should be other due dates for the projects to help stop procrastination from other members. But in the end this was a critical thinking class, and this must have been one of the best ways of learning outside of the discussions and readings.

Week of December 3 - 9 Discussion #1

Over the course of the semester, I learned many things in this class. The most memorable thing I learned about in this class is about language. Language has many different forms other than just communicating. I learned that language can also cause very emotional responses depending on what kind of language is used, which is called emotive language. Language has many ways to sway people’s thoughts and feelings and I thought that was really interesting to learn about. Communication is a really strong tool for people and the use of language by others was really interesting about since there were so many types I learned during the semester. Emotive language was the most memorable because I learned that it was used a lot in media. I found that interesting because now that I actually look past on what the media is expressing, I can see that they use a lot of emotive language to capture a lot of attention from people.

Week of November 12-18 Discussion #3

I thought that the most important and also interesting in this section was the content about “Research Methodology and Scientific Experiments”. I thought this was important because I believed that these are the main basis to prove something whether right or wrong, the results could be anything. I believe this is the most important part because it helps determine something that one might find they are unsure about. I found it interesting that scientists have different kinds of variables to choose from when they want to run their experiment. These variables include: independent variable (controlled experiment that is being manipulated), dependent variable (controlled experiment that changes in response to the manipulation), controlled experiment ( all variables kept constant except for the independent variables), and confounding experiment (not accounted for or controlled by the experimental design. I found those really interesting because it showed different ways scientist can run tests, which then leads to the other concepts that were in the text called Field Experiments, Controlled Experiments, and Single-Group Experiments. Field Experiments are experiments where a scientist observes their intended subject in its natural state. Controlled is where scientist has full control over their subjects which can lead in much kind of results. Single-Group is a study of one subject and scientist base their results on only of that subject.

Week of November 12-18 Discussion #2

There was time I accidentally marked my white shirt with a ball pen during school and tried to wash it off with water and soap. At first it looked like it was going away because it started to look like the water was taking away the mark so then I decided to just let it air dry after. A few hours later I got home and looked at it, it just got worse. Now the mark became a spot of ink. This was an incorrect conclusion on my part because I thought that water and soap would just take away the ink stain I made earlier in the day when actually it would have made it worse. I thought that soap and water would take away the stain because those together would usually take away stains. But since it was ink, I realized that it would take much more than soap to take away this mark. Through experimentation of trying to take away the ink mark, my hypothesis about this observation clearly showed that this wasn't a good idea to do in the first place and I should have waited until I got home to care for this ink mark on my shirt.

Week of November 12-18 Discussion #1

“Today will be a day to remember -- full of romance, intrigue, secrets and even one or two dramatic revelations! You will be in the thick of things right away, first thing in the morning -- so make sure you get a great breakfast and are prepared for some roller coaster hours. You are a featured player in this daytime drama, and whether or not you are the hero of the story is completely up to you. If you want to stir up some trouble, go for it! You are ready to deal with the fallout. “

I think that this prediction could be true or not be true depending on what decision I make tonight. I was invited to go to a party this evening for my friend’s Birthday surprise and I believe this prediction could be true in some way. It can be “a day to remember” if I actually follow through this invitation. This prediction I find 50-50 accurate just because it can go either way because of the decision I will make. I wouldn’t say that this prediction is falsifiable or not, but I do believe that these events can or not happen depending on what I choose to do. I am not really a big fan or user of horoscopes because I believe they can sway you to the decisions you make. After reading one, you would feel obligated to actually make those things happen because it says so. I don’t think that horoscopes are something people should rely on just to make it through the day, sure it’s fun to read but I don’t think we should take it to the heart and actually believe that we should fulfill these events that are said in our horoscopes.

Week of November 5 - 11 Discussion #3

This whole section about media was interesting and useful. I learned a lot how media can manipulate people through words and what they present through their media products. The concept that I found most interesting was “Sensationalism and the News as Entertainment”. This section talked about how most news stories revolve around heartwarming, crimes, or disaster stories. I found this interesting because it’s true, most of the time new stations present these kinds of news to the public more often. They often headline less serious things to the public because that is something that we usually find more entertaining. They play on human emotions so that we can engage with them. They find stories that will keep us attached to their channel even if it means exaggerating upcoming stories they have in stored for that evening. I’ll be honest, I have done that before. Right before they go to commercial break, they usually tell the viewers to stay tune for more news stories and usually the title is headline exaggerated and that’s what keeps me from switching channels because I want to see what that story is about.

Week of November 5 - 11 Discussion #2

Sadler’s argument revolves around how Internet Plagiarism is wrong presented through ten arguments. Each argument explains why it is bad and immoral and won’t help a student at all in the long wrong and how it motivates them to plagiarize more in the future. She explains that it becomes a practice that will have a negative effect in the student themselves and the society itself. She believes that Universities should have strict policies when it comes to students committing plagiarism. On the other hand Hunt explains that educators should be happy about Internet Plagiarism because he believes that this will help educators re-evaluate the old model of teaching that sparks Internet plagiarism and it’s a chance for them to make a new model. He believes that the motive of Internet Plagiarism is the fact that educator’s style of teaching is outdated and that students will easily plagiarize for an easy grade. Hunt believes that the University is built for encouraging plagiarism. I believe that Sadler’s arguments are more convincing compared to Hunt’s because she appeals to my values more. I believe that plagiarism is wrong because it is something that I grew up learning ever since grade school. It was never taught to be something that was positive but always taught to be a negative if were to be ever committed by someone. I was always taught that if it was ever done, it will result in major consequences. Sadler’s argument appeals to me more because I found those arguments something I can relate to in my moral values and was something familiar. In the other hand Hunt’s argument was something I've never heard before and was something that was shunned upon my most educators.

Week of November 5 - 11 Discussion #1

The media has been reinforcing my views and values for many years and grows each and every day. A lot of my time spent is in media and I see lots of information across many websites.  I find many in blogs, twitter, youtube, and major search engines. These media networks have really influenced my views mainly in politics, especially this year. I gained a lot of new knowledge on both party sides whether they were good or bad. It helped me realize what their values were and if it actually relates to my values. During this year’s election, it has really tested what I find must be valued. Both presidential candidates had different views and beliefs in which I thought were both good and bad. I thought it was a challenge for me in which to side with the most because both sides had conflicted issues in which I thought was either right or wrong. I knew that if I had to choose one side, it would still conflict with my values.

Week of: Oct 29 - Nov 4 Discussion #3

One concept that I enjoyed in this section was “Avoiding Confirmation Bias and Other Errors in Thinking”. The example that was given in this part was when companies over commit in trying to sell something. It was defined escalation of commitment, which means the over commitment of marketing to a particular answer. A good example that was talked about in this section was the manufacturing of Japanese automobiles that was supposed to sell in the US during the 1960s. It failed because the engines were smaller to the engines in US, which meant that there were no consumers buying the cars from Japan. The engines were smaller in the Japanese cars because it was sufficient enough to be driven in Japanese roads. But the fact that they were trying to sell here in America, the small engines were not sufficient enough to be driven in American roads. This section was a good concept because it basically says that if one thing sells in one place, it doesn’t always mean that it will sell elsewhere. Companies should research other demographics before committing on selling their products and wasting money for something that won’t sell.

Week of: Oct 29 - Nov 4 Discussion #2

Both Wooton and Liodice have different and compelling reasons on why they take such stance for children’s food advertising. Wooton believes that government regulation should be implemented into our children’s food advertising and that certain television channels should be watchful for what kind of food ads are being displayed in the channels that children watch. He believes that that the CSPI guidelines is the solution to end the childhood obesity that is going on in our society and that these criteria’s should be met if we want them to be healthy. On the contrary, Liodice strongly disagrees with the CSPI guidelines. He believes that it is violating the First Amendment and if the CSPI guidelines were to be implemented it would take away those rights. He believes that it shouldn't be the government’s duty to regulate what children see on television to help reduce childhood obesity. I believe Liodice had the most compelling argument because when it comes to violating the First Amendment I am for the person who defends that right. He gave strong evidence that if these guidelines were implemented, that would be a violation to our rights and if that happens who know what things the government might try to slip in. It shouldn't be their responsibility to regulate what children see, it should be their parents. The parents should be and are responsible for their health.

Week of: Oct 29 - Nov 4 Discussion #1

This week I the most memorable marketing strategies I encountered this week was through media. As a person who uses media every day, there is a lot of marketing strategies I see on a daily basis. Through Facebook, Youtube, Google, and e-mails all these types of media has some kind of advertising that I see every day. When subscribed to sales on line through e-mail I see daily sales on an online website that sells computer parts. These e-mails come in ad’s as if they were printed in paper a whole list of parts go on sale that go about to 50% off. I think that when they advertise a lot of their products, a lot of them go on sale and I think that’s the most effective way. Another effective way is letting their consumers choose if they want to be notified if there are sales. I thought that was effective because for sure if the consumer has bought there before they would want to be notified if there are great deals going on on the site. What I found least effective is the way the design their ads. I thought that they were sloppily placed around the page with unappealing design. I thought they could have organized the ad better in which would be appealing.

Week of October 15-21 Discussion #3

I thought that the section about Direct Experience and False Memories was in important concept that was talked about in this chapter because I believe this is something that everyone does experience and actually do in their everyday lives. In this section it talked about how language has the ability to alter one’s memories and this is a problem particularly happens a lot during people’s testimonials. The power of words can actually change the shape of our reality by the way questions are given to us. There was a study on how a person answers differently by just the change of verbs in the question. There was an example in the book where people were given a video of a car accident and was asked about the speed of the cars. Despite the fact they all saw the same video; participants responded with higher speeds based on the verb in the question. This was a good explanation and example used for false memory and direct experience for this is what people actually experience and do on a regular basis.

Week of October 15-21 Discussion #2

All three authors talk about the existence of aliens, whether they are real or not. They all have different views about this phenomenon. Condon believes that alien sighting reports should be addressed to the public and there should be a scientific field for it to be researched. Hynek also believes that the UFO phenomena have been overlooked by authorities resulting in it not being studied in a scientific manner. Paytner thinks that aliens don’t exist if there is no physical evidence and argues that without evidence we must remain skeptical about claims about aliens. Each author author’s conclusion is backed up with evidence that they used in their part. Condon has evidence from reports commissioned by the US Air Force that he used in his excerpt. With that evidence he concluded that he hopes to see that these reports can help those in the scientific field and those responsible in the public policy. Hynek uses evidence from his studies, his book, and the Blue Book Project. With his evidence he concludes that UFO investigations cannot be overlooked and should be studied in a scientific manner. Paynter uses evidence that revolves around “highest standards of scientific inquiry” and that if there is no physical evidence of aliens then we should remain skeptical about UFO/alien claims by people. He concludes by saying that if the UFOlogical community wants support for their claims, then they should have physical evidence to show proof. 

Week of October 15-21 Discussion #1

Knowledge and wisdom is almost the same thing because it is something that people believe in that is true through things they have learned from others or learned through experience. The difference would be is knowledge could be an influential beliefs caused by others and wisdom is caused by self-experience. I believe that in college I’m getting both knowledge and wisdom because I feel that the classes that I’m taking are through knowledge. I learn through Professors because I believe that Professors are a reliable source for knowledge in the subject I’m taking. With their expertise in the subject, it’s safe to say that they are a reliable source to acquire that knowledge. On the other hand, wisdom is something that you learn from everyone. I see wisdom as a teaching from the people around you and how you acquire information from them. Wisdom is something you acquire through self-experience about almost anything, especially in college. I believe that the information age has made us wiser because I believe that having the self-experience is how we learn about almost everything in life.

Week of October 1-7 Discussion #3

One of the concepts that I found interesting was emotive language. This section was very interesting to me because it explained things about what people use for words to get a point across especially those in the media. Media was brought upon this section as one of the prominent use of emotive language. Clearly they use such language to get points across and attract the attention of people. Some examples of words used in this section were “change” from the Obama and McCain era which was to evoke a positive response rather than to convey any actual information, according to this section. Advertising slogans are one of most prominent of emotive language. Slogans capture consumers’ attentions and potential consumers as well. Such as Coke’s slogan, “Things go better with coke”. Words like these capture consumers’ eyes and maybe sucked in to thinking that coke does indeed go better with things. This kind of language are the kind that capture the emotion of others in hopes that they will be on their side or buy from them as consumers.

Week of October 1-7 Discussion #2

In the past few weeks or so, I believe I have used rhetorical devices: hyperbole, and sarcasm. Sarcasm means the use of ridicule, insults, taunting, and/or caustic irony. Hyperbole means a rhetorical device that uses an exaggeration. One of the latest rhetorical devices I used was hyperbole. Just a few weeks ago, I was explaining to a friend of mine about a how I believe a character in a certain game does too much damage. I used exaggerated terms to describe the damage done, for example: “1,000,000”, “tons of damage”, and “stupid damage”. “That character does stupid damage at that level! It’s ridiculous!” I used that rhetorical device because I wanted to express how much damage I feel was being done, and I thought exaggerating would show my point. Another rhetorical device that I used was sarcasm. Just a few days ago, I asked my brother to hand over a piece of paper. He threw the sheet of paper towards my way, but landed nowhere near me, then I said “Oh thank you very much for HANDING me a piece of paper.”

Week of October 1-7 Discussion #1

Ride exemplifies these qualities in its entirety with actions that relate to a good critical thinker. She showed almost every characteristic there is to a good critical thinker by showing analytical skills, effective communication, research and inquiry skills, and creative problem solving. She exemplifies these qualities throughout her life. According to the article her friends from college described her as what you would expect in a critical thinker. The examples given by her friends are good examples of her being a good critical thinker. Her analytical skills were showed by her realization of the importance of communications skills to achieve her goals. She also so showed creative problem solving skills by being able to express and develop strategies into her life goals. Just like the article state, she showed exemplary communication skills because she was chosen to serve as “Capcom” for the early shuttle flights to handle the ground-to-staff flight communication.

Week of September 24-30 Discussion #3

  I thought the most interesting concept in Chapter 2 was the “Dreams and Problem Solving” section. This section brought up a good point about reasoning is possible through dreams. We often believe that reasoning is a conscious activity, but in this section it says that cognitive scientists are discovering that much of reasoning is unconscious and automatic. I thought that was very interesting because that is something I didn’t know. Research has showed that “brain function has suggested that dreaming may also be involved with cerebral activity related to reason and problem solving”. When dreaming, our brains have the ability to solve problems that is present in our conscious world. There was an example on this section about a student had problems in her relationship and had a dream that she was driving a long boardlike scooter. Whenever she passed people who asked her for a ride, she let them get on the board until it became difficult for her to balance and end up falling over. When she analyzed the dream, she came to the conclusion that she would put others needs before hers and that is why she having problems with her relationships. In the end she planned and added to her goals: “Learn how to balance my needs and others”.

Week of September 24-30 Discussion #2

  Dawkins thinks that evolution and a belief in God is not compatible. He brings upon Thomas Aquinas’ “Proofs” and says that it doesn’t prove anything. He thinks that Aquinas’ arguments about a God existing are unsound. As he goes down to each “Proof” he has arguments stating, if not almost mocking, that God is just an illusion. It seems like in his counter argument he’s saying there is no logical that helps show evidence that there is a God that created all things. He brings up that Charles Darwin’s theory pretty much destroys any sign or existence of God because the theory says that Evolution is by natural selection of design and not by a God. If Aquinas were alive today, he would respond to Dawkins position as ignorance. Being a strong believer of God, a Catholic, and a philosopher, I think he would have explained it the same way as he did on his excerpt. He would reason the way he did, and maybe even more. He would stand firmly about his beliefs and maybe even try to reason with Dawkins and change his views about God.