Patrick Downs

4/23

2006-04-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

As our technology advanced we switched from the metaphor of our brains as printing presses to our minds as computers. Before we had computers printing presses were the closest things to our minds complexities. Printing presses take information and print it onto paper. Our minds take information and print it into our memory. The bad thing about this metaphor is that it doesn’t account for our brains ability to save information. A printing press prints information but it can’t save data like a computer can. Computers are better metaphors because they can save new information and they never loose any information. The computer doesn’t fully explain how a brain works because a computer doesn’t have emotions. A computer does what it is told to do while the mind operates on its own. When the printing press came out it helped us better explain the mind and some of its basic operations, it gave us a good metaphor to use but it still did not do the mind justice. When the computer came out it replaced the printing press and it offered a more complex machine to compare the mind to. The computer is definitely the closest thing to our minds but it still cannot compare to the mind’s complexity.

4/21

2006-04-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

In Women and Depression she used the metaphor of the brain as a washing machine. She said that the water in the washing machine is like serotonin in the brain. In Feeling Good he compared blue moods as scratchy music. When your feeling down you just have to retune the dials. In The Aetiology of Hysteria Sigmund Freud described how the mind works by exploration. He talked specifically about hysteria and trying to find its causes. Trying to find out how the mind works is like going on an exploration, it takes tools and a lot of hard work. Cecelia Tichi talked about humans as machines. She said that young men get an education to diminish force so that they can become a greater force in the economy.

I don’t think these metaphors have consequences for actions. I think that these metaphors are just explaining how the mind works. The metaphors are just explaining mental operations like depression.

4/19

2006-04-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

I think there are different degrees to which you can blame strange actions on spirituality or lack there of. Many times strong spirituality can cause people to do weird things that a disease cannot explain. But also a disease can cause strange behavior, I think it’s easy to tell if a person has a disease and they cannot control their actions compared to a person who chooses to do strange things. I’m not sure about Eve because we haven’t seen the movie yet but I think that you should treat both her and Margaret the same because it sounds like both suffer from a disease. I think that in Margaret’s case she wasn’t treated correctly, the people just constantly prayed and they thought that would solve everything but it realistically cannot. I can’t answer the last part because we haven’t seen The Three Faces of Eve yet.

4/9

2006-04-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

I think that anger and dynamite go well together because when you’re angry you get very excited and full of energy. When you’re really angry it sometimes feels like your head is actually going to explode. In Blake’s poem he used the metaphor of anger as a tree. As his anger built up the tree grew more and more. Blake’s metaphor highlights the aspects of built up anger and what happens when you don’t release your anger. Built up anger can take over a person and influence everything they do. In the poem Blake said he was angry with a friend and then he confronted his friend and it was over. He then said that he was angry with a foe but he kept the anger inside and it built up so much that he eventually killed his foe (I’m not sure about this interpretation). The message is that it’s important to get things out in the open and never keep your feelings locked up inside. If the poem was in ordinary language it would have said that he patched things up with his friend after they had an argument but he had a problem with an enemy but he never talked it out with that person. His anger toward the enemy built up and consumed him and he eventually killed his enemy.

4/4

2006-04-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

I would define technology as anything new that helps you get things done easier. I’m not sure that writing falls into the technology category now but I think at one point it definitely did. When writing was first developed it was a technology because it was a new way of communication just like the telephone. New gadgets aren’t the only form of technology; technology includes concepts and other non-tangible things. New technologies are always influencing us, it’s impossible to go through a day without using some form of technology.

4/2-cinderella

2006-04-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

In Anne Sexton’s poem, Cinderella she used very interesting language when describing some of the events. At one point she talked about a milk truck as being like an ambulance for the wealthy people. This was interesting because she is saying that the wealthy depend on luxuries like the milk truck when there are others who can’t afford milk. At the end of the poem Cinderella marries the prince and they live happily ever after. I think the ending is desirable because the two end up together and they live happily without anything coming between them. I think this is what most people hope for, getting married and living happily ever after. “Living happily ever after” seems to be a little unrealistic. At the end of the poem it said that Cinderella lived happily ever after without arguing ever. It’s impossible to never argue about anything.

In the poem Cinderella’s sisters cut of pieces of their feet to fit the slipper. I think that this definitely happens in our society. People are always trying to alter themselves to fit different molds. People often act differently to seem better and people also try and look differently physically. Our society has a strong perception of beauty and people are always trying to become better looking.

According to Sut Jhally advertisers convince people to buy things by showing things that will make them happy. This can be done several different ways by showing a happy family, a loving relationship or even just a relaxed atmosphere. Jhally also talks about the commodity-image system. The commodity-image system is Jhally’s theory that one cannot buy happiness. Advertisements cause us to develop an image of happiness which is then connected to their product. We as consumers then buy the product because of the image the ad gave us.

4/2

2006-04-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

My advertisement is a picture of four guys drinking Canadian Mist whisky. In the ad the guys are sitting around a table drinking whisky and laughing together. The slogan of the ad is, “Nothing real heavy. Not even the conversation.” The message this ad is trying to portray is that if you want to relax and have a good time you should drink their whisky. While I was looking for advertisements I noticed that every alcohol ad had people in mid laughter. Alcohol ads always convey the message that drinking and having a good time go hand and hand. I definitely think that these ads have an effect on people. When people view these ads they see how happy the people are in the ad and they think that drinking will make them happy. I think it’s a little unreasonable how alcohol ads make it seem like you have to drink to have a good time.

3/7

2006-03-07T22:21:00.000-08:00

In Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s monster feels very inadequate to the human race. I think he realizes that he is different not only by human interaction but also through the reading he did. In the readings he learned about humans and different values and morals and he realized that he was very different than the descriptions he read. The monster’s sense of loneliness was what led to his violent behavior. He felt that he would never fit in so he got very frustrated and he took his anger out on others.

I don’t think viewing movies makes people feel excluded. People are able to differentiate between reality and fiction. Movies offer us entertainment and they make us feel different but not excluded. A good movie will make you think a lot but eventually you get back to reality.

Pipp first finds his identity when he is met by the old man. Pipp was very frightened and he was unsure what to do and this is when he found his identity. This situation is sort of like the monsters. In both instances the characters were very frightened and also confused. The monster wasn’t really sure what to think of himself and he became very frustrated. Pipp’s situation wasn’t as direct as the monster’s but it was the same general situation of finding an identity. The monster’s lack of identity was symbolized by his hideous appearance as well.

2/21

2006-02-21T23:28:00.000-08:00

The narratives are different from the real life experience because the actual experience wasn’t really as dramatic as the letter made it seem. In the real life experience other kids were talking and reacting to their own tests as well so it wasn’t as if everyone was staring at me. A published account would be different from a letter because published things are usually much more formal. Letters are just a way to communicate and people don’t really spend much time revising a letter. I don’t really think the “you” really differs in this case. In both letters the you in talking to the intended reader.

2/14

2006-02-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

The Wizard of Oz has many life messages contained in it. Throughout the story Dorothy goes through many challenges and she keeps moving on towards the Emerald City. In life everyone goes through hardships but it’s very important to keep going and not give up on your goals. The “yellow brick road” is used as a metaphor for a person’s dreams or goals. Throughout the movie the phrase, “follow the yellow brick road” is repeated many times. In our lives we are often told follow your dreams. These two phrases have the same meaning; don’t give up no matter what. Nothing good in life comes easy and this is also evident in The Wizard of Oz. In life people are constantly striving for happiness and in the movie this is represented by the Emerald City, which is what Dorothy and her gang are trying to get to. Everyone hopes to eventually find true happiness but many times people fall short and stories like The Wizard of Oz are used to motivate us to follow our path towards our dreams.

I definitely believe that watching a movie or T.V. is sort of an escape from reality. When people watch a movie you could say that they are going to the Land of Oz because they are leaving their lives for a short time and they eventually have to go back. People watch movies or T.V. to take their minds of their responsibilities for a short time. Everyone needs to take breaks from their work and for the time they watch T.V. they get to forget about everything and feel stress free. I haven’t seen The Wizard of Oz in a long time and I’m not sure what happens at the end but I believe Dorothy returns to her normal life back in Kansas. I think the message this is trying to portray is that it’s o.k. to take breaks and forget about your worries for a while but you must return to reality and make sure your life is on track.

2/8

2006-02-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

After finishing The Caves of Steel I thought a lot about robots and how they are portrayed in today’s society. I think that robots can be very helpful to us in many ways. Robots are very useful because they can compute things instantly that would take humans several minutes to do. I think that robots are useful in certain scenarios but I think a lot of times robots are allowing people to become lazier. One example of this is the robot secretary, it would be much more effective to have a real person behind the desk but the robot allowed for someone to not work. This same example shows how robots are also threatening our job markets. As our technology is progressing jobs are becoming easier for robots and computers to do and a robot will always get the job over a human because they will work for free. In Caves of Steel there were a couple examples of robots directly taking the place of humans in society. An example of this is the robot clerks in the shoe store, our society isn’t quite as advanced as this but someday I’m sure it will be.

In the book Daneel appears to be human and everyone assumes that he is. This concept alone is pretty creepy. Living in the same world as Daneel and other advanced robots would be very weird because there would be no way to tell if someone was a human or robot. Anyway I think that robots that appear to be human are much more threatening than machine like robots. When looking at a machine people don’t really feel threatened but if the robot was like Daneel then people would see it as superior to them. An example of this is Terminator, he appeared to be human but he was much stronger and smarter which pretty much made him a super human but he was actually a machine.

I wouldn’t really ever compare a robot to a human because intelligence wise they will always be superior to us. I think that we compare primates to humans because they have very similar biological systems. Humans are the most advanced life form and we try and find other species that contain some of our advanced characteristics. I don’t really think we anthropomorphize them, I think we are just trying to understand how their brains function. Since humans have the most complex brains we tend to use our own behaviors as a basis.

assignment 2.1

2006-02-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

In The Caves of Steel the character R. Daneel Olivaw seems to be very human like but I wonder if it’s really possible for us to create a Robot that can imitate a human so well. I know that now we are not capable of creating such a machine but in the future I think it will still be impossible to create a robot that can interact with the same ability as Daneel. One example is Tank, the robotic secretary. Sure it can answer basic questions that are programmed into it but it still can’t communicate like a real human. This is what makes us human, the ability to communicate and develop our own thoughts. A robot can only do as much as it is programmed to do. It takes someone else to put the information into the robot where as humans are responsible for their own knowledge.

In the book Daneel appears to be a human but he is still a robot and no matter what, it would be impossible for him to emulate a person. What makes us human is our ability to make mistakes and learn from them, a robot could not do this because they don’t have the same thought process of a human. In one passage Baley’s wife is worried that Daneel can hear their conversation and Baley says, “Not Daneel. They made him human-type on purpose. They wanted him to be accepted as a human being, so he must have only human senses.” I thought this passage was interesting because it shows how robots can only do what they are made to do. Robots are made for specific reasons and they usually are designated to one responsibility.

I think I would be able to work with Daneel but I don’t think I would be able to live with him. Daneel might be able to communicate well but he still has no personality. You could talk about work related issues but you couldn’t joke around with him or have a real conversation. I think it would be really weird having to live with a robot like Daneel because he is very human like but it’s still impossible for him to become completely human.

assignment 3

2006-01-26T22:08:00.000-08:00

In the book the monster monitors the Delacey family and from them he learned how to speak their language and he also learned the history of humans by listening to Felix read to his daughter. I definitely think that the monster’s ability to read and observe things made him more violent. When he first discovered reading he was intrigued and he became very curious about himself and why he was different than the cottagers. After listening to Felix he learned how humans became respected and he became discouraged because he had none of these things. After hearing about man and his values he says, “And what was I? Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man.” This quote shows how the monster’s knowledge of technology is actually a bad thing because he now sees himself as a monster, which he actually is. Another thing the monster learned about was justice and evil. In one passage he said, “As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil, benevolence and generosity were present before,…” I thought this passage was especially interesting because he said how he saw crime as evil and yet he still found enough evil inside himself to kill others which is probably the most evil crime of all. I think that in the end the monster’s knowledge of society and culture lead to his violent behavior because he learned how people interacted and accepted each other and he realized that he would never fit in. Throughout his life the monster became very lonely and he eventually persuaded victor to make him a girlfriend so he could share a life but Victor failed to finish the second monster and the monster became even more violent and lonely.

assignment 2

2006-01-19T22:07:00.000-08:00

After re-reading both passages about the motives of Walton and Victor it’s very evident that they share the same persistence. Although their fields of work are very different the two men couldn’t be any more similar. In Walton’s letter to his sister he talks about how he got interested in finding the Northwest Passage. Walton said that “This expedition has been the favourite dream of my early years.” When he was young he became fascinated with sailing to the North Pole and he would spend his time reading about past voyages in his Uncle’s library. Since his father died at sea his Uncle forbid him to become a sailor. I think one reason why he is so fascinated with sea exploration is because his father died at sea and he wanted to learn more about his father’s life.

Victor is a lot like Walton in the way that he wants to stretch the limits of his field. Victor became fascinated with chemistry when he entered the university. As soon as he was introduced to it he became obsessed. Victor devoted all his time into attending lectures and furthering his learning. Victor became especially fascinated in living organisms and being able to actually create a living being. Once he determined that creating life would be possible he worked all day and night to prove his theory. I thought it was interesting how he said he would “spend days and nights in vaults and charnel- houses” examining the decay of bodies. And then he stated, “Remember, I am not recording the vision of a madman.” I would have to disagree with this statement because studying decaying bodies is pretty crazy to me. But this extensive studying paid off when he finally came up with the right formula.

I think that when the author wrote this book she definitely purposely wanted Walton and Victor to be similar. Both men were trying to defy the impossible. The author also made it evident that both men didn’t really consider their work as an occupation but as a passion. They were both deeply intrigued and they devoted their lives to accomplishing their goals. These same characteristics were evident in many of the great inventors of the past and also people who are still living today. Bill Gates is a good example of a person who is always trying to push the limits of technology. All people who are trying to make advancements in anything must have extreme patience and dedication. These people are taking huge risks in devoting their time into something that they really have no idea if it will succeed or not. If their aspirations fall short than they have wasted countless hours and many times they become humiliated. Bill Gates risked his whole future by dropping out of college to start his computer company. I’m sure many people were very skeptical of his decision but he worked extremely hard and he became a great innovator and not to mention the richest man on earth.

assignment 1

2006-01-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

The debate over whether or not scientists should play "God" is one that has many different arguments. In the case of "The Birthmark" Aylmer used his scientific power to cosmetically change the appearance of his wife and he failed. I think that the removal of birthmarks or other unwanted marks is alright because in today's age it's very easy to remove such defects. But I think altering the genes of someone in order to get a desired physical appearance is wrong. If people got to choose what their future children looked like then we would live in a world where everyone is physically perfect. Scientists should only use their technology to alter disease carrying genes and physical traits that would greatly affect someone's life. The message of "The Birthmark" was that we should not take advantage of our technology and we should let nature take its toll. Because of this message Hawthorne displayed in his story I would definitely say that he thinks scientists should be limited.

test

2006-01-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

test