2 Sources
BLOG #6

My Research topic is about ‘bridging two cultures” together.  I will discuss how literary work relates to the sciences and how humanity and science are both connected.  I used many online sources to complete my paper.  Some of which are located on Lib200 web site which made it very easy for me to research my topic.  Jstor is a site that assist with scholarly articles as well as Lexis Nexus that has many journal sources.

Temple Grandin. Dir. Emily Saines. Perf. Claire Danes. HBO Home Entertainment ;,  2010. Film.

 This is a film about a a true story about a girl who was brain impaired but nevertheless extraordinarily talented. Through her talents and love for animals she was able to create one of the greatest inventions that is still being used today.  Her only weakness was autism although it was a challenge it never was a negative aspect in her life.    Her story is very inspiring.

Sacks, Oliver W.. An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales. New York:  Knopf, 1995. Print.

I chose this book because Sacks helps his readers understand these neurological disorders by allowing to enter into a realm of humanity that has been labeled as different.  Through his work he introduces several case studies that allow his readers to understand the lives and disorders of his patients.  Through his creative literary works I was able to incorporate the relationship of science and humanity in my research paper.

Thinking Critically about a Scientist life and Work

Blog #7

By thinking critically about the works of Albert Einstein I begin to wonder what inspired his scientific theories?  His questions about humanism, life and science have made it possible to hypothesis, predict and experiment to conclude his inquiries. This works well with my research topic in the way that Alan Lightman uses his expertise to discuss how he believes Einstein’s thoughts were processed.  This shows the relationship between the sciences and humanities in the way that Lightman proves through literature the thoughts of one of the greatest theorists.  Reading Einsteins Dreams allowed my to understand how a scientist thinks.  For example one of the excerpts that were assigned discussed time and the importance of it.  Such a simple analogy makes more aware now of the way people live at a constant pace.  Life is always a rush and in this book readers can relate to Einstein and begin to think like a scientist and remember that time is of the essence.  Through trial and experimentation we will be able to see how to better measure time. Thanks to Lightman’s work on Einstein he shows how to bridge the two cultures and allow people to become better understanding of scientific predictions, theories and experimentations.

Blog post #5

For the practice midterm I chose prompt #2.  I have chosen a few quotes that I may use for my midterm.  These are just some ideas and are subject to change.

I disagree that Darwins theory always opposes altrusim and humanistic values because :

1. reproduction benefits-
2. cooperation McEwan
3. evolution

Darwin’s theory teaches us that there is a reason for which animals and humans react due to the circumstance given.  The reasons are the benefits of behaving altruistically.  The benefits may be the cause of the selfish gene in action for example in a life or death instance.  The selfish gene may come in to play to save someone or themselves but the reason to risk yourself for another will be in turn for a selfish reason.

‘Let us try to teach generosity and altruism because we were born selfish’ (Dawkins 138).

--Altruism is a behavior that can be taught. It is because of nurture that we can learn how to behave altruistically. Depending on the situation of the animal or human, they will behave in a certain manner for the well being of themselves or not.  Although Dawkins thinks that it is a behavior that is learnt and doesn’t come naturally, we can argue that humans and animals don’t neccessarily express selfishness naturally and if their nature requires it then we can teach alturism to correct it.

‘Presumably there is indeed no purpose in the ultimate fate of the cosmos, but do any of us really tie our life’s hopes to the ultimate fate of the cosmos anyway?’ (Dawkins 142)

‘It is trying to get  more numerous in the gene pool.  Basically it does this by helping to program the bodies in which it finds itself to survive and to reproduce’. (Dawkins 147)

‘...reproduction expectancy, rather than ‘life expectancy’, or to be even more strict, ‘general capacity to benefit own genes in the future expectancy’. (Dawkins 154)----evolution

‘It was my duty to hang on, and I thought we would all do the same.’ (McEwan 172)

‘There was no team, there was no plan, no agreement to be broken. No failure. So can we accept that it was right, every man for himself?’ (McEwan 173)

‘Cooperation--the basis of our earliest hunting successes, the force behind our evolving capacity for language, the glue of our social cohesion.’ (McEwan 173)

‘But letting go was in our nature, too.  Selfishness is also written on our hearts.  This is our mammalian conflict-what to give to others and what to keep for yourself.



Brain Storming...

As I scrolled through many of the research topics, I was impressed with all the different one's I was interested in digging deep in to.  Which then brought me to research idea #4,  'bridging two cultures'.  I thought this would be a good topic to dig into because by the time I graduate I will have obtained an associates degree in social science and humanities.  Then I said to my self I should become an expert. And so...Science and humanity
When I think of bridging the two cultures i think of bringing together two pieces of a puzzle together. They both go hand in hand in many ways. One for example is that in order to understand science you have to think analytically. When reading a kind of text, in order to understand characters  or plots about a story you must be able to analyze. Likewise in order to understand a theory you must analyze the method and experimentation that allowed you to create that idea.  Humanities is the study of human culture and so are the sciences.  These two are bridged together to allow us to think critically about the study of humans, life and so much more. Moreover what is most interesting to me is being able to distinguish science and humanities and science being the study of our world, naturally.  Humanities would be the study of the inner part of life, how we think, how and why we feel and act the way that we do. All these questions all related to the study of the brain--its structure and function.I decided to take on learning more on bridging these two cultures with the works by Oliver Sacks.  I am interested in taking on the effects of music on a damaged human brain.  More specifically, autism.

"Popular Science"

Is science a threat?  Questioning oneself about humanism, about science, technology and about the reality of life...what role do each of these play in our lives?  We begin to see the positives and negatives that come with this information. We can learn a lot just by the flip of a switch.  Instinctively we begin to wonder, is this all true? Can we believe what we see on television or read in the paper? Some people might say they are inspired by the knew found information we learn about each day in regards to science.  In Revolution, a science oriented television show we are shown a futuristic series about a cast of people that have been impacted greatly due to a loss of electrical power.  By living in a world that is dependent on electricity, Revolution shows how upside down our world can become.  The character in this popular science series encounter circumstances that threaten civilization.  No power means no fresh food, lack of light, heat. With these new and unfamiliar challenges the whole population becomes stressed and chaotic. You can only imagine the crisis our society, our world would encounter.  Human life relies on the source of energy. Can you imagine--no cell phones, computers, refrigerators and cars etc.--SO why is this show so "popular"? I begin to think that television is often used to inform the public who isn't aware of the possibility of these things that can actually happen. But can this actually happen? The way science is depicted in Revolution makes me feel scared by the thought of not having electricity.  I am sure many people living in the United States would say the same becuase of how much we depend on power. Science fiction is definitely inspired by what can really happen and I think that is what attracts the audience.  The thought that some day this may in fact be the likely hood of our existence.  Although at times it can be exaggerated a lot but again, it is science fiction after all.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I am a sophomore at LaGuardia C.C. I will be graduating in the Fall semester.  As a student here I learned the fundamentals of education that will allow me to achieve the goals which I have set fourth for the years ahead.    I will continue on to City College to further my education.  My goal is to obtain a degree in Education, more specifically ESL.  I believe that this course will broaden my ideas and provide me with new information that I will share and teach my future students.  I am excited to learn more about science, technology and the humanities and share my insight with you all.  On my blog I will share and discuss my critical thinking process on these topics.