Entry 6

I Know the Truth, So Don’t Bother Me With Facts

     Nowadays, not only media but people itself can use its power to make foolish to others as always. In the passage “I Know the Truth, So Don’t Bother Me with Facts” from Jeffrey Kluger,  humans have been easily surrounded by rumors and gossip since long time ago. All that need is a bit of exclamation like the rumor about building a mosque at Ground Zero in Downtown Manhattan.  Kluger mentions a recent research at Ohio State University to determine how easy people believe in a rumor. The new study done it by R. Kelly Garret and Erik Nisbet  on 750 people, showed that they were aware of the rumor about Ground Zero and then they were set in order to determine if they would change their minds, once they were aware of the truth. However,  less than the third of people showed  a probability to change their minds. Garrett said that the result s of a lot data shows that people are so attached to their beliefs that bring them in contradiction with their prejudices. People seem to be confused and scare when either their religious beliefs are involved or they surrender by their fantasies.

      In one of the studies done it by Garret, from the University of Ohio, that Kluger mentions, and which shows that people are so attached to their beliefs that even the truth is presented to them, they continue stock on their prejudices. For instance, a few months ago a huge campaign about the end of the world was everywhere in the United States, saying that the end of the world would be May 21, of 2011. Even though the people knew that it was a lie, they were scared and everyone was wondering, “what if” and all that because one of main religious in the world which is Christianity believes in that to occur or sort of. Moreover a lot of people who really believed in that event got foolish since they invested all their savings on such a campaign that was nothing than a exclamatory lie.

      Kluger also states that people is not only surrender by their biases or religious beliefs but also by enigmas or fantasies. For example, everyone knows that the United States is one of the richest countries and well armed. However, we don’t know this because we’ve been informed, but thanks to the media and in this case more precisely call Hollywood, we think that we know about it. It might be true, or it might not, but everyone thinks that if there is any difficulty in this country or with this country an organization like the CIA or FBI would find a solution. Moreover, we think that a super hero would come to save us, and it can be a coincidence but in cartoons the USA is the country that has more superheroes and the most powerful.

     In brief, people can be real foolish by rumors and fantasies but it gets worse when liers and themedia get involved too.

         

Entry 5

1. People can be easily fool or surrender by rumors, even thouhg they have the real facts.

2. I believe that people is weak about gossip.

3. a) Their religious beliefs.
    b) Their fantasies and enigmas

4. Indeed, people can be easily fool or surrender by rumors as Jeffrey Kluger says. Even though they have the real facts. I believe that people is weak about gossip because of their religous beliefes and fantasies about enigmas.



Reflection

     I have learned an other way to state a Thesis Stament. Even though it seemed easy at the begining, it became a bit confusing later. It was like answering questions like What and Why, and in the first example was very easy that I got impress, but I got confused when we had to give a Significant Idea then a claim. It sound like the same that I didn't know what to write, but then it got clear when some one of my group told that that Significan Idea could be the main idea. On the other hand, it's a litlle complicated for me to refrase. Once I understood the difference between the Signican Idea and The claim, the resons were the easiest part. For the Thesis Stament was just to conect the significant idea,claim and reasons. I believe the hardest part was to have an agrement with my group and think the main problem is our lack of comunication and shyness, and  I hope to have a hand on it. Definetely, this new approach on how to write a thesis stament was very useful, and it will be more easy write, yet I would thank some more practice.
    

Entry 4, part 2

                                                           My Place in the Cave


     According with the lecture " The Allegory of the Cave" from Book 7 of the Republic by Plato, my place in the cave would be the starting in the  amazed of the real world because I believe that once I got in college was like getting out of the cave, which for me represents the ignorance. I used only to go and work but I realized that I wasn't doing anything different, than watching shadows like the prisoners from the lecture, and my life would it be the same all the time as much others have, so I didn't like it or wanted it. Then I decided to set myself free and break my chains in order to understand other things around me and enjoy the real world. In compare with the lecture I won't just go back to the cave like the man did, actually, I' ll go back prepared to enlighten others.

Entry 4

Summary

The Allegory of the Cave

     In the lecture  “Allegory of the Cave” from the Book VII of The Republic by Plato, there is state a conversation between Socrates , who was a philosopher, and Glaucon his follower. Socrates is trying to explain him with an allegory, a parabola, how different we are when we are “enlightened”  meaning educated, and how we are when we lack of it. Socrates starts describing the scenario where are prisoners in knees and their arms are hold by chains and who have been there since they were children. Behind them a fire is blazing and between those two there is a long way, where people are crossing carrying statues, furniture made by wood, stone and various materials, so their shadows are reflected on the wall in front of the prisoners. Then Socrates tells Glaucon to image that one of the prisoners is set free and at the same time asking how it would be? Socrates continues and says that it would be difficult for him to get used to the light of the sun but then he would be amazed by the real world. Even though, Glaucon says that the world that Socrates has created is very strange he seems to understand. Then Socrates adds more and says to him to image that the prisoner goes back to cave and tries to tell his old partners how amazing is the real world and what they sees on the wall are only shadows. However, what the others prisoners would see won’t be more than shadows and would not understand a word of what he says due to the echo that would distort any sound. Finally Socrates asks Glaucon that what would it happen if the man who has been already liberated, were put it in the old situation? What the prisoners would do? Socrates explains that for the prisoners the man won’t be more than a ridiculous man who has lost any sense, and for the man nothing that the prisoners would offer or do, would have any value.  

Entry 3

I Know the Truth, So Don’t Bother Me With Facts

     Nowadays, not only media but people itself can use its power to make foolish to others as always. In the passage “I Know the Truth, So Don’t Bother Me with Facts” from Jeffrey Kluger,  humans have been easily surrounded by rumors and gossip since long time ago. All that need is a bit of exclamation like the rumor about building a mosque at Ground Zero in Downtown Manhattan.  Kluger mentions a recent research at Ohio State University to determine how easy people believe in a rumor. The new study done it by R. Kelly Garret and Erik Nisbet  on 750 people, showed that they were aware of the rumor about Ground Zero and then they were set in order to determine if they would change their minds, once they were aware of the truth. However,  less than the third of people showed  a probability to change their minds. Garrett said that the result s of a lot data shows that people are so attached to their beliefs  that brings them in contradiction with their prejudices. People seem to be confuse and scare when either they religious belifes are involved or they surrender by their fantasies. 

Entry 1

  

Hype

                                       

  When people think about pollution, they often refer to air, water and soil contamination, yet there is another type of pollution that might not be physically but psychologically. According to the excerpt “Hype” from Kalle Lasn, the continuous increase of commercial advertising has become a mental pollutan since they can be found everywhere around us including buses, taxis, trains, billboards even restrooms with ads trying to catch our attention and persuade as into buy their products or services. Moreover, publicity has influenced people’s behavior and habits.

     Kalle Lasn states that everyday an estimated 12 billion display ads, 3million radio commercials, and more than 200,000 TV commercials are dumped into North America’s collective unconscious. It is easy to believe such estimated, especially if living in a place such as New York City, where publicity is everywhere. One of the most famous  places in New York City its Times Square which has every kind of advertisements such as some of the biggest screens and billboards in the world announcing sodas, cars or stores, people giving flyers in every corner, people giving samples of food promoting a restaurant, taxis and buses announcing movies or TV shows and if you take a look at your coffee cup, you will notice an sleeve around it announcing more products and services.

Lans also mentions that he used to hear Beethoven’s music in his head, but now he hears a kid singing the Oscar Meyer wiener song. That can be because publicity goes really deeply into our minds that can affect our behavior and habits. For instance, people use some slogans to make comments or jokes. Last week I was drinking a Red Bull while working and a regular costumer saw me, so he smiled at me and said, “don’t fly to high” because “Red Bull gives you wings.” It is amazing how advertising can affect us even in our habits like why to cook that may be will take 30 minutes if we can go to McDonal’s  and get food for less than $5.00 in 90 seconds.

     Indeed advertisements are the most prevalent and toxic mental pollutants as Kalle Lasn said and there might not be a way to escape, but people should rather to think wisely before doing anything.

blog entry 2

Reflection on Annotating

     Once more I’ve learned that annotating is very useful. However, is the first time that I’ve really used it, and it has helped me a lot because it’s easier to catch the main ideas and vocabulary on which I’m very weak.

     It also   by doing annotations was easier to find the main ideas for the passage “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, so I Know where to attack since I disagree with the author’s point of view. I believe that it will be an argumentative essay. About my partners, we were able to share, yet was not easy because we just met, but I’m pretty sure that our team work will improve in the future. In addition, while we were sharing our ideas, we could get better ideas of what was the text about.

     In general, annotating result in to be very useful while reading. We underline main ideas, circulate points for support or writing a little note as clue for a new word so that I can write faster and to be more objective while writing an essay.