The Vocab Sentences, Round 1

Here are the sentences that feature the words we have chosen for vocabulary study this week.  Don't forget:  you work on the eight I provided, and then eight more that you chose.

You don't  have to cram the entire sentence in the little box, but get enough of it to give you the necessary context for the word.

extrinsic, (Shirkey, 135)
This explains why both experts and amateurs are willing to contribute -- the structure of participation is not tied to extrinsic rewards, so people capable of adding to the technical explanation of complex mathematical shapes end up working alongside people who only know enough to be able to proofread descriptions of same.

tautological, (Shirkey, 70)
...who, exactly, should enjoy journalistic privileges?  The tautological answer is that journalists should enjoy such privileges, but who are journalists?

ephemeral, (Shirkey, 57)
In these cases, the scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for a professional class...[in] these cases professionals become gatekeepers, simultaneously providing and controlling access to information, entertainment, communication, or other ephemeral goods.

Is Instagram the new snapchat

Instagram has recently updated its system to include stories on a persons profile. Many argue that they stole this idea from snapchat. In the book Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson he introduces the idea of the adjacent possible. The adjacent possible is the process that ideas are influenced by other ideas. Instagram may have been influenced by Snapchat but the ideas seem way to similar. Has Instagram plagiarized snapchat? What do you guys think about this? Should Snapchat fight back for what was their idea or should they leave it alone?

"Unique" Names

When i did my Room for Debate I came across a topic that was talking about how peoples names can effect the way people view them. The article talked about how if you have a "ghetto" name you would be less likely to be hired for a job before they even meet you. This topic was not something that i was oblivious to, but I never really gave it though or cared. Now that i am getting older it is something that i real have to think about because I myself do not have a traditional name.

For those who do not know me my name is Tiara and some people may see my name as ratchet, which i find interesting because for all my life it has just been a normal name to me. What do you think about this topic? Do you think that this article is true or do you think it is not true. If so think imagine you had a different name and think about if you meet a person with your current name what would you think about that person before you meet then based off there name.

Large Groups vs. Small Groups

I remember reading about the dynamics of large and small group in Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky. It made me think about an incident that went on with a group of my previous friends. I thought about how small groups are easier to handle because there are less opinions and its easier to decide on things to do. When our friend group started to expand, things became more and more harder to get us all together and to agree all on one thing to do. Like what Shirky talked about in the novel.

I personally never realized or though about how the number of people could effect the dynamics of a group until i experienced it for myself. Still I didn't really think about it and try to strategies how things could have went different until i read Shirky's book. Have you ever experience a similar situation to mine, if so how did it play out?

Do we really want the truth?

In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman states how we are told what we want to hear. Then the society of Brave New World, revolves around nothing but happiness. I could not help compare it to a movie that I have always enjoyed. If you have seen the movie Horton Hears A Who, you could see how it shares some similarities. In the small world where the Whos live, they do not believe in bad news. They only know of good news, and whenever bad news about to be mentioned it is repressed. Even when they begin to notice bad things happening, they still choose not believe that it is bad. 

I find ironic how want the media to tell us everything and not keep any secrets from us. After all, we have the right to know. Yet, we still prefer good news. We want to know, but we also don't because then it will be true.

Should A Prison Record Be Required?

In a recent "Room for Debate" question, people were asked whether or not employers should be able to see their employee's jail record. One debater, Dorsey Nunn, argued that employers should not be able to see their employee's prison record because it decreases the chance of that employee receiving the job. He adds that all people should have the have same opportunities, no matter what race, background, or gender. He mentions the "Ban the Box" movement which was supported by the Obama administration and how it has impacted multiple states.

In my opinion, I don't believe that people should be required to notify their employers if they have a jail record because it doesn't seem fair for their opportunities to manipulated by their past. I doesn't matter if someone has a prison record, as long as they can professionally complete the roles of their job. Additionally, by eliminating this requirement, it allows for people to get back on their feet and stay clear from further crime.

Helping at wrong times

Suicide is taking ones life. It's usually when person is hurting and is depressed. Suicide shouldn't be taken lightly. One of my friends had suicidal thoughts and it was hard to make her understand that she shouldn't commit suicide. Now she is getting professional help and is doing much better. Once you get depression, its hard to overcome it. The feeling of always being sad or irritated kills the person slowly on the inside. Though you can get over it. Hanging out with friends and family can make your mood better but its still there. Some people cut with razors or even knives. They find a release in doing it. It does sting later but some don't regret anything. Some take excessive pills or drink hazardous fluids such as bleach. The urge to end their own life is strong. If you know someone with depression please help them.

Happiness or Freedom?

I was reading a Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and he came across the topic happiness and freedom. In the book everyone would rather be happy than free. Which is where the whole soma ordeal comes to play. Everyone takes soma whenever they start to feel any emotion other than happiness or sexual stimulation. A person could argue why would anyone want to feel sadness, anger, or even experience losing a love one. A few characters in the book would rather feel freedom rather than happiness, which is not excepted in the story.

I personally would rather feel free than happiness, because you can abstain happiness from freedom but I don't think you can abstain freedom from happiness. I would not want to mask my feelings. Feelings are apart of life and although you experience bad feelings you also experience good ones. I personally would not trade my freedom. What do you think about thus topic.

Cyber Bullying

Many people can get threatened online. Sometimes it could be serious. When someone gets threatened online, they get scared immediately. Anything can be posted, its permanent. There is no way you can remove it unless the creators remove it. There are officers but the most they can do is ask the person to take off their post. The officers aren't trained for anything that is related to online. Social media sites such as Snapchat and Facebook can cause cyber bullying. Many kids struggle with cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is a big issue right now. People commit suicide because they get sick and tired of the hate. One of my friends struggled with cyber bullying. i supported her through it because no one can go through it alone. This needs to stop.

jbbbn

Poor John

When reading Brave New World, I found it difficult to put myself in John's situation. John was constantly treated like an outsider with the Indians and spent so much time alone. Then when he went London, everything was not what he expected. The "civilized society" his mother praised so much turned out to be completely corrupt and terrible. Everything was so sinful and it was all a facade that people accepted.
It is like he does not belong anywhere, unless he was sent to an island. I find it hard to go from one terrible place and then go to another horrific place. If i were John, I do not which place I would prefer if I was not allowed to go to an island. In one I would be lonely in another I would be the center of attention and still feel lonely.

Proper way to treat depression?

In the Room for Debate, I came across an issue focusing on whether it was good to have depression therapy as an app. Some said therapy should be meant for human interaction because only people who will listen are the best help. Therapists can understand the emotions someone is feeling, whereas an app cannot. When depressed people use the app, they could be in denial about not actually having to see a therapist. Then of course, people are just more comfortable with a app when it comes to their personal feelings.

Personally, I think it is not bad to have the app. I would still prefer advice from a human than my phone, but they do not always have confront their therapists for every issue. Having the app can help when your not you are not feeling the need to talk about the problem.

This sort of reminded of Brave New World because the people constantly use drugs to keep themselves happy all the time. They believe they are happy when they really are not or they just do not notice. With the app, if someone depressed is constantly looking to a phone for guidance, they could be forcing themselves to believe they are okay and that they do not need professional help or any human type of human interaction.

The Trends of Fashion

After finishing up the summer assignment, I read a "Room for Debate" discussion about fashion. The title was "Who Owns Fashion", it interested me because it is time for back-to-school shopping! New clothes make me feel good about myself and is a passage of happiness.

Anyways, the article debates on whether original fashion designers deserve laws to protect their original, creative ideas. As I came in and out of stores, I noticed a lot of the same products in different stores. For example, there were light-distressed denim jeans at H&M, Forever 21, and Levis. The copying of clothing products is perfectly legal because the fashion industry doesn't have the luxury of copyright laws. However, the price points differ due to the varying quality of a product.

I am all for cheap alternative clothing mainly because I'm broke! These companies that release nearly identical products for a extremely affordable price are blessings in my life. What do you think about clothing companies mimicking original ideas? I honestly think it is just adds to the competitiveness of companies and is a key part of trends in fashion. As designs become sold everywhere, they become old news and more original clothing styles arise. It is all a big trend cycle. Do shop at stores that offer cheaper alternatives? And have you picked up new clothes yet for the new school year!?

Do Online Relationships Count???

In a recent "Room for Debate" question, debaters were asked whether relationships online can be considered real. In other words, do the friendships that we make online count? One debater, Jazmine Hughes, gave a quick anecdote through her personal experience of online relationships. She explained how, one day, she was at the bookstore when she began to talk to another girl. They later became friends and have kept in touch through Facebook. Their online connection allowed for them to connect, both emotionally and mentally, even though they miles from each other. On the other hand, making "friends" online can be a dangerous thing. For example, people can become victims of catfishing, which is when a person lies about their age, gender, or appearance etc.

Personally, I don't believe that real relationships can be forged through the screen. People need face-to-face conversations and be able to connect to people's real emotions and expressions, and not just their emojis. 

America's First Tyrant - Trump

In the article Is Tyranny Around the Corner? on Room for Debate, it's argued that Americans want a tyrant figure to rule America.  The evidence behind this is that Donald Trump has gained a surprising amount of supporters even though he has an outspoken personality.  Donald Trump is looked at as having the personalities of a tyrant.  This statement is not far off and is very scary to think about.  Even though Trump won't become a tyrant, he signifies that the American people want a tyrant figure.  This could affect everyone because a tyrant could one day be elected and take America in a new direction.  A tyrant seeks to control everybody's lives through a large government which seems to be what Hillary and Trump want.  They have both pushed to have a larger government.  This is not what America needs.

The Network Behind Ideas

As I concluded the summer homework assignment with the birthday book, Where Good Ideas Come From, I certainly enjoyed the read and was specifically intrigued by the way Johnson connected the concept of an idea to liquid networks. Personally, I had never given much thought to everything that must occur in order to result in the creation of these new and innovative ideas. Firstly, Johnson decided to show us the metaphor of an idea as a network, which is not commonly referred to as it specifically focused on an elemental level. The author goes on to explain the two key fundamentals that allow the network to function the way it does. The first is based on how densely populated the networks are because as explained, a few neurons will not be enough to fuel an idea. The second of the essential necessities is the flexibility that the network needs in terms of adapting and accepting changes. The concept of flow that was originally brought up by the psychologist Csikszentmihalyi is introduced in the book to show how important it is to allow ideas to flow freely in order to rise levels of productivity. This final read was definitely a more enjoyable one as it was filled with interesting thoughts and ideas I had never come across.

Hallelujah!

      Hallelujah! As the final hours of desperately trying to cram summer homework comes up, I have finished. Through all the nights I told myself I'd do it later, I finally did it. Every year when summer homework is due I tell myself not to wait till the last minute, but when it comes to the following year when homework is due again, I wait till the last minute. I guess somethings never change.
      Through the stressful nights of trying to finish reading all three books, I enjoyed reading Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson the most, because it was a pretty easy read. Johnson talks about this adjacent possible which is the possibility that something greater can happen. It is almost like the millions of doors behind doors of opportunities waiting to be opened. The adjacent possible is part of this liquid network of connected ideas that flow together to create a greater idea. Johnson explains that through mistakes, ideas can formulate into something bigger over time.

Social Media Worthy?

After reading, Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, I got a sense that people are using social media for the wrong reasons.  After reading Chapter 1, it really got me into the book. I understand how important it is to lose a phone.  But to end up arresting a 16-year-old girl is unnecessary.  I understand it is all about the principle, but to get to that extreme is very inapproprite. Things like credit cards and drivers licenses are things that should be addressed immediately.  People lose phones, laptops, tablets all the time.  You should go to the police to state you opinion. You can go to social media and address the situation without making a big deal. There are more important situations to be addressed.

Accepting Defeat

I just turned in my summer homework for this class.  Incomplete.  The majority of the work is done, but the work is not finished. After staying up all night, around 10:30 this morning I reached the limit to my mental and physical strain. My body and mind finally told me, "STOP."
So that's that. I'm praying that I get a good teacher for college prep English and I wish you all the best of luck. It was fun while it lasted for me. Please don't forget that whether, like me you aren't making AP this year, or even if you are, to put yourself first. Don't let class or school come before your health. <3

Living With Terrorism?!

When reading a Room For Debate article this morning, I encountered an article called, Can We Just "Live with" Terrorism? At first I was shocked. Live with terrorism? After further examining the debate and reading about the reccent attack on Nice, France I realized, maybe the idea isn't so ridiculous. I am not supporting terrorism but terrorism happens so often that if we let each attack get to us, we can never progress as a society. Terrorism happens so often  now that when the public hears about another terrorist attack, it is not surprising. It's sad but some people just go, "Oh another one?" or "Thank god that didn't happen here." Can you imagine if everytime an attacked happened, the country made it a huge deal about it each time? People would live in constant fear and the country would shut down. However,  just "living with" terrorism isn't the best idea either. After a terrorist attack, the government should reassure the public and address the matter, but still encourage them to move on with their life. If they give into the fear the terrorists want, the terrorist have achieved their goal. Forgetting about the attack all together is insensitive. Instead the government should learn from the attack and enforce more security to keep its citizens safe from harm. By doing this, the country can get through the tragedy and learn from it.

Do privilege people get a "Get out of jail free card?"

One of the "Room for Debate" articles I choose was, "Should an Unpopular Sentence in Stanford Rape Case Cost a Judge his Job?"  I remember hearing his situation and thinking it was very disrespectful but absolutely not fair.  In California, the general causes for rape is three, six, or eight years in state prison. Sentences increase depending on the age of the victim.  Lately, crimes towards people that are poor or average have been overlooked and hasn't be appropriately dealt with.  Eric Garner died a form choke hold from police brutality.  He lost his life over a box of untaxed cigarettes.  Even though he had a past history of selling marijuana, doesn't mean he has to have different rights as other people. There has always been leniency towards people with certain race and privilege.  For example there was Casey Anthony.  The mother who drowned her 2-year-old and was found not guilty.  Eventually, year later evidence and her lawyer showed that she indeed killed her daughter.

Do you think judges are giving leniency crime sentences for those who are privileged according to race and financial class?

Counter Intuitive

Recently, there was a law passed that the smoking age was raised from 18 to 21, including E-Cigarettes. They also banned E-Cigarettes from a lot of places that they were previously allowed. While I agree that making cigarettes age requirement higher, E-Cigarettes should be a little different. E-Cigarettes sole purpose was to help people to quit smoking, by purchasing juices that have lower percentage of nicotine compared to a pack of cigarettes. You can also get juices that have no nicotine in it, so smokers can cut off nicotine completely, but still be able to get the act of smoking in their system, if that makes sense.  Now that the age has been restricted for those as well up to 21, It seems a little strange to me. There are people addicted to smoking that are below the age of 21, so why make the product that helps people quit smoking, higher now? I can see them making nicotine based juices up to 21, but the ones with no nicotine, should still be 18 in my opinion, along with the units. What do you guys think? Should E-Cigarettes still be 21, or should certain kinds be moved back down to 18?

Reforms in Police Recruiting

Police Officers have been at the center of controversy for awhile now because of the frequent overuse of force by some officers. A recent Room for Debate "How Can Police Do a Better Job of Recruiting Officers?" tries to tackle this issue to by focusing on reforming the police recruiting system. Some of the mentioned reformed include adding more diversity of races to the police force so there isn't a big race gap between the police force and the minority communities they serve. There is also attempts to add more women to the police force as studies show that female officers handle more situations with less use of force compared to male officers. One often overlooked part of police recruiting is the use of outsourcing the recruitment process. By leaving recruitment to the companies, the recruits are missing out on valuable experiences and knowledge that can only be learned by veteran officers. One that was brought up by a military veteran was to have a police version of sensitivity training so the police can be better prepared for random encounters and be better informed on the communities they serve. These are all reforms that I agree with and think should be implemented in the near future. What do you guys think of these potential changes? What else can police departments do to improve the recruiting process?

The Power of the Internet

After reading the Room for Debate article on internet addiction, I started to think of whether people are truly using the internet for pleasure, for in fact many people are addicted and cannot using the web. Technology has taken up a lot of people’s precious time and I think we need to get out more and reduce our internet usage. What do you all think? Should we reduce our internet usage for our well-being?

In contrast, technology is being used in all aspects of our lives. It is inevitable to not use at least one technological apparatus during the day. We are brought up using technology, for it makes our lives easier than ever before. It is almost like our cultural norms are a product of technology. For example, when people sit together as a group they are all often using their smartphones. It is common that they will be on ‘social media’, but is it really social if people are not engaging in thoughtful conversation. We are not becoming so engaged with technology that it is becoming a part of our daily lives, thus I believe that Internet is becoming addictive for the people of the world. 

PLEASE HELP

Okay so I'm trying to find the Room for Debate articles and I can only find one while searching for the names in the instruction document. Anyone know how to help??? I'm panicking. Thanks and love and luck to you all!

Much Praise for Brave New World

I’ve always been a fan of non-fiction ever since I was a kid whether I read books about George Washington or economics in the modern era. It was hard to like non-fiction because many of my fellow pupils were often interested in fiction and curriculum's were mostly fiction based. Anyways, after reading the science fiction novel Brave New World, I would have to say that the novel is one of the best that I have ever read. I thought it was going to be the most boring; however, I was intrigued after I completed the first chapter. I love how Aldous Huxley brings the reader into a society where industry and technology are at the forefront. This novel has allowed be to step back and take another look at the library of fiction and to reexamine my literary preferences.

Brave New World surprised me due to its human engineering, hypnopedia, and classical conditioning. I have never read a book similar to this, so I was very interested in the novel. It was exciting to read about a world that has customs very different from ours. 

A Pleasant Surprise

I think my favorite book out of the three I had to read was Amusing Ourselves to Death. Personally, I don't really like non-fiction books all that much. All the non-fiction books I've had to read are pretty boring. Being able to read all these books about these fictional worlds full of crazy events, and then going to read a non-fiction book about George Washington, which one would you pick? I think most of us would pick the fictional book. However, in comes Amusing Ourselves to Death and it was a great book. The reason I thought it was so good was because we could all connect to the book. He is hitting right into the ballpark of all people in my generation, technology. I now find myself questioning a lot of things about TV and technology after reading this book, which I find really interesting. What was your favorite book?

Amusing Oursleves to Death

As I come down to a final analysis of Amusing Ourselves to Death, I have nothing but good things to say about it. I found the book to be very different because it wasn't your typical charcter conflict book, it was just pure facts and suggestions. Throughout the novel, the claims Postman made were so relatable to today's modern life. Everything is evolving and people are changing with it as well. Campaigns aren't campaigns anymore, their just a competition to see who essentially looks better or appeals the most to the audience. Now, Television is the new learning system for young children, however, it doesn't teach them what school teaches them. Moreover, It doesn't teach them the morals and common sense knowledge that their parents are supposed to be providing to them. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this book an 8 1/5 and most definitely recommend this to other interested readers. It's just an amazing book that makes u see the world in a whole different light.

Daily Procrastination

Everyday, people struggle between getting the job done or just putting it off until the next day, in other words procrastinating. This summer, I have to admit, I really procrastinated a lot, and I wasn't expecting this to happen. Everyday I would think about the homework, but there was so much that I had no idea where to start, so, I would just hold off on it. In my mind I would plan out how much time I would spend of the homework a day, however, I never got around to it. This summer for me mostly consumed of staying home sleeping. I went to a few places as well, but when I came back I would just watch a movie and soon fall asleep. Ugh, I know this sounds like lazy behavior but it's not, I just got so used to these few months off of school. However, this isn't my behavior when school is in. Before summer started and I knew there was homework to do, I told myself that I wasn't going to procrastinate this year, but I just don't know what got to me in order for me to become so distracted and side tracked. Last summers homework was a breeze because it was only honors English which just involved reading and basically analyzing. Proscrastinating is something that I am going to start working on heavily.

The Power of Possibilites

I have just reccently finished reading Where Good Ideas Come From and I loved it. It was refreshing to read about the origin of innovation. Steven Johnson did a great job using anaolgies, imagery, and metaphors to explain where good ideas come from. Although each chapter provided interesting explanations to the origin of many great ideas, my favorite chapter was "the Adjacent Possible."

A few of my favorite quotes from the chapter:
"The adjacent possible is a kind of shadow future, hoverng on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself" (31).
"The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore those boundaies" (31).
"Think of it as a house that magically expands with each door you open" (31).
"The adjacent possible is as much about limits as it is about opeings" (36).

Through this chapter I discovered the power of possibilities. Although adjacent, meaning only certain changes can happen, the fact that there is even a one percent possibility of it happening, creates even more potential for something great to come out of that possibility. The idea that something, even the tiniest thing, has the potential to amount to something else with the power of possibility.

Television Is Not All Entertainment

After finishing Amusing Ourselves to Death, I began to realize how much technology effects our lives.  Although I did not enjoy this book one bit, I was still able to be more aware of how television was having a negative impact on the way we think.  It effects the way we currently learn things and how learning something new has to be entertaining as we go.  Postman states that children nowadays are so dependent on entertainment that they will only learn something just for the pleasure, not the relevance of the content they are watching.  Things being shown on television now is believed to have no relevance at all, but in my opinion I believe that these shows come with a life lesson.  Even though television is entertaining it does come with an important message attached to it.

Funny Chanting

After reading Brave New World, I found it to be my favorite out of the three books that were assigned.  Even though it was really weird, it only made me want to continue reading it.  One thing I found odd was the Solidarity Service that Bernard was to attend.  The things they were chanting were pretty awkward when I was reading to myself, but it made sense with the type of society they live in.  At first I had no idea what a couple of words in the chant meant, but when I looked it up it was way more understandable.  After reading and understanding the chant all I could do was laugh.  How were thoughts on this chant?  Did you find it as funny as I did?

Names

Looking at all the blog posts honestly makes me so happy.  Because, seeing who is and has posted is so fun to me. I see names of people I know are doing this because I've talked to them in the past week.  I see names of people I just knew would be taking the class.  But also, I see names of people that I haven't seen or thought about for years!  People that I remember from middle or even elementary school that I don't talk with anymore, but am excited at the prospect of having a class with them. Am I the only one excited by this?  I see my best friend from fourth grade, and from fifth grade, and from seventh grade (couldn't forget you, Jenica,) and maybe it's because its WAY past my bedtime, but it makes me really happy. For those of you who don't know me, I hope I get to know you and I hope I make it into this class because I'd love to know all of you wonderful marvelous people.  I'm also just really terrified that I won't make it into this class and- and- I really need a hug.  All of you are beautiful, stellar human beings. <3

What to eat

A few day ago I was with my two cousins and sister and we were talking and the topic of food came up and there began a debate over what we were going to eat for lunch. We were a small group of four yet we managed to argue over what we were going to buy to eat for over 40 minutes. We were all craving different things; finally my sister, cousin, and I had agreed on what we wanted to eat when my other cousin walks into the room and that is when we remember he had his wisdom teeth taken out a few days ago so he couldn't eat a what we had already settled on. So we had to scrap the idea and think of something we wanted and at the same time something he could eat. After about another 20 minutes we finally decided on what to eat and  as I went to get my wallet and keys I saw the book Here Comes Everybody on my desk and remembered reading how the larger the group of people the harder it is to organize them and I could definitely relate. The three of us had already picked what to eat then came another person and we had to reorganize in a way that accommodated to his needs. After picking the food we still had to pick a place to go buy it from that also accommodated the factor of money.   

Happiness

There have been several post on this topic and I am here to post one more.

The book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has opened my eyes in concern to the topic of happiness. Happiness is what most people want and thrive to achieve one day, just as I. Yet we don't take the time to look around and actually look deeper to find it. Something as small as a song that triggers happy memories or even a smile from a stranger can make us very happy, yet we ignore them because we want greater happiness in some other form that WE don't even understand. I strongly believe we should always have a positive outlook in life on the good days and even on the bad days because we are alive and healthy and that should always be a reason to be happy. There will be days where everything that could go wrong goes wrong because that's life and all you can really do is not let is defeat you because everything happens for a reason either to teach you a lesson or to bring something better.

Whenever you feel like you can no longer bare the pain or sadness, just remember there is ALWAYS something greater awaiting for you, you just have to be patient.  

Summer Reflection

Reflecting back upon this summers worth of homework I came to the realization that the Room for Debate articles were my favorite assignment. The topics discussed were very interesting, and I enjoyed the freedom of being able to choose five of my own articles. Recently, I have found that although I have finished the assignment I continue to read different debates for fun. Not that I didn't enjoy the books, I feel their work pushed me is more rigorous ways beings a good thing, but also making them feel seemingly less enjoyable. I loved getting to read different peoples positions on issues to see whether or not I would agree with them or hold my own views. Often times I found myself only half agreeing with a certain debaters views and feeling my own sort of way about different opinions of theirs. Other times I would find myself completely disagreeing with the ideas of others. The beauty of the Room for Debate articles was in the fact that you were able to here multiple points of views about a issue before deciding your own view over it. What did you all find to be the most enjoyable assignment?

Driven like an olympian

While on Room for Debate I came across an article called How do Olympians Stay So Driven. I realized that Olympians struggle as much as we do when it comes to staying focused and doing what needs to be done. They find a way to get out of bed in the early morning to train because they love what they do. I found this article relatable because I know that being in high school we tend to procrastinate on things. As if I did not learn my lesson with the spring break project I struggle to find motivation to do anything. Some of the debaters pointed out the feeling they get after getting a medal because they knew the hard work was worth it. I think that once we all finish the homework we will enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and relaxation. What motivates you to get out of bed and actually do some homework?

Parenting With Electronics

There was an interesting article on the Room for Debate website called "Bringing up Baby -- On the iPhone" which was about how the many media companies that produce apps and television programming geared towards toddlers and babies causes a disagreement with many. With the belief that babies should avoid excessive screen time, they question the effects of these virtual toddler toys. Some say parents are relying too much on technology to entertain their kid while they are busy. 

1.      In my opinion, I believe babies and young children should really have limited use of technology. As stated in Palladino’s article, the structure of the brain proves how limiting technology is for a developing brain. Her argument is much stronger than Sen’s argument, who uses trial-and-error without understanding what the brain is doing. I chose this article because I desired intellectual insight on a very common case throughout America. What do you guys think? Were you brought up with electronics or without?

Mistakes to Great Ideas

In the book Where Good Ideas Come From one of the seven main points that Steven Johnson discusses is how error contributes to outstanding innovations. Error is commonly known and viewed as something negative. Therefore, when scientists or anyone performing an experiment encounters an error during their operation they automatically dismiss it. The reason why many have the tendency to ignore experimental errors has to due with the outcome of the procedure not resulting in something what they expected to happen. They don’t think that maybe what they were expecting is actually wrong and the possibilities of the result can actually be something different. However, some people acknowledge their mistakes and some mistakes end up resulting in a remarkable invention. For example, when Greatbatch helped an engineer create an oscillator, his errors while working on the device led to a new discovery which would eventually lead to the invention of an implantable cardiac pacemaker. It’s surprising how a mistake can contribute to a new idea.   

Animal Rights

 Recently I was reading an article that was on Room for Debates called Enforcing the Legal Rights of animals and tells the story of a man that violently kicked a stray cat and it was caught on video. Many people were outraged and couldn't believe that the man did such a thing to an innocent cat. Animal abuse is considered a felony in all 50 states which I believe is a good thing since I do not look down upon animals. (well I do figuratively speaking) Until the early 1900s,  animals were considered useless and it did not matter if they were killed, beaten, or stolen. Society has come a long way from that because now animals have the privilege of being protected by the law. While they are still considered property in some people's eyes in others they have become members of the family. Animals are becoming more important to our society and it shows with the increase in the products that are sold for animals, and the services that are available now. Also, some people even go as far as to celebrate their dog’s date of birth.    

Is Soma a Metaphor For Happiness?

In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Soma is a drug that is given to those who work as a reward. The people often would say things such as “half a gramme for half a holiday” and so on due to the happiness that befalls anyone who takes it. If Soma, which is an incentive for people to work, is a metaphor for happiness, then it would mean that Soma is not just a mere plot tool, but an entirely hidden lesson. Huxley is suggesting that people are lusting for this false happiness and that the people would work for their whole lives just to receive a gramme of happiness. In addition to that, Huxley is also suggesting that people are addicted to that false happiness while true happiness was available to them all along in the form of love and literature. Discreetly, Huxley was tackling the mentality of the working class, as well as the false happiness that they pursue.