Blog Entry 9

The Perfect World

      I believe that in the movie “Truman Show”, Cristoff, the TV producer, creates the perfect world, and tries to give the perfect life Truman just as any father would do for his son. Some parents think that if they give everything their kids need, it would be the best for them. Parents always want to raise their kids in a good environment and far away from gangs, drugs or anything that can hurt them so their children would grow, graduate, find a good job and get married which equals a “perfect life.”For example, me at the age of 8 and as the youngest of six siblings, I was very spoiled that my parents almost didn’t let me do anything on my own. One day that I was about to cut an orange in half, and my mom came from somewhere and said not use the knife or I could hurt myself. Then my sister who was there asked to my mom, don’t you think that the Sleeping Beauty wouldn’t have hurt by needle, if their parents had thought her how to use it? My mom just nodded and from that moment and on she thought me to be independent. However, my parents always were very overprotective, especially my dad who besides everything was very traditional. He wanted me to graduate as secretary or accountant, and I had to live with them until I get civil marriage and in the church with a lawyer or sort of it, so that I would have a “perfect life.” It seems that it would be perfect for parents to create a world for their children out of bad people or anything that can hurt them and including thousands of cameras, so they can watch any moment their babies need them just like Cristoff did with Truman and just like my parents would have wished.

Blog Entry 8

                                            “The Allegory of the Cave” and The Truman Show

     While I was watching The Truman Show movie, the reflections of the past readings came to my mind. A poor child, who was a product of undesired pregnancy and was taken for an ambitious TV producer in order to create a perfect environment, life and world for a human being, Truman’s life wasn’t more than a reality show, so everyone outside in the real world could enjoy his life step by step without his knowledge since he was the only real one in it. Truman grew up in a manipulated world surrounded by obliviousness, lies of media, and hype perhaps as everyone of us.

      The scenario where Socrates sets up in “The Allegory of the Cave”, written by Plato, he describes to Glaucon, his student, a situation on where human beings are prisoners since they were born and all that they know about life are the shadows that are reflected on a wall in front of them because a blazing fire is behind them and between these two a long way with people crossing and talking producing echoes. Then one day one of the prisoners is set free, and in his way out he cannot distinguish well until his eyes get used to the light and he becomes amazed for what is outside in the real world. Similarity, Truman was like a prisoner since his first time alive inside this TV set living in ignorance like in a cave, seeing shadows who were the people around him talking things that sounded like echoes, words that nobody understand. However, that was his world until he wanted to be free, yet he couldn’t distinguish well at the beginning because people around him, the actors and actresses didn’t let him to see. Moreover the TV producer Chistof did everything in order to keep him inside as the chains of a prisoner would do, but Truman found his way out of his cave called “Seaheaven.”  Obliviousness doesn’t only happen in movies or literature work, but it also happens in real world. For instance, I know many people who came from my country to the US as they were trying to escape from a cave. They cave was their town surrounded by poverty due to corrupted government, but it was every that they have known since they were born. All that they knew is that they had to grow up, work, and get married, but they didn’t think about their education and the lack of it, were the chains that kept them in the cave of ignorance until they decided to come here, and set themselves free from the shadows of corruption and poverty. Mostly of them are trying to get “enlightened” as Socrates says, but others have just changed to a different cave.

Entry 7

                 

Reflection on Writing Skills

     The information given in class has been very useful because it has improved my annotating and summarizing skills, as far as significant idea to thesis is concerned, has helped me a lot since it’s much easier to get ideas but specially, saves time.

     I have noticed the improvement of my writing when I have to collect my ideas and put it together which is really satisfactory because I always take too long in the introduction of an essay.

     Despite of my improvement on summarizing, I’m still confused because I don’t know how much information I am suppose to write in the introduction or how I should add my opinion. On the other side,  I also think that my main problem is my lack of vocabulary that makes me spend a lot of time to figure out the right words. Therefore, I have been reading a lot, and I know that has nothing to do with what we have been seeing in class, but it is just part of my reflection.

     I feel a bit more confident on my writing skills than before, but I know that I still have to work on it.

    

                                

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.