LIB 200 Critical Thinking 8: "Goodbye LIB, Goodbye"

     When I first entered the course, I was not at all excited about what was in store. Science was by far not my favorite topic, and I was unsure about how well I would do in the class. However, this course turned out to be my favorite class of the semester.
        From the discussions of great scientists' lives to the course articles and the books(such as "Einstein's Dreams"), I learned that science and humanities have a greater connection and link than I once assumed it did. I developed a much better understanding of some aspects of science along the way as well, influencing me to want to take a natural science course next term, not just as a requirement either. I cannot promise you that I will become and honors student in physics, but I can assure you that I can certainly try something new without judging it first.
          As a humanities person first, I can use my knowledge within the scientists to spread my opinion on how some technological advances may not always be what's best for our environment and world. Just as science can introduce us to futures we have only dreamed of, getting word out through the humanities can spread influence to inspire greater results for the environment we have only thought of. I am more than happy with the knowledge I have gained from this course and I look forward to maximizing my connection between science and humanities in the near future. I wish everyone the best of luck!

Lib 200 Critical Thinking Blog 7: “From a Scientist’s Point of View”

          Out of all of the scientists we have reviewed and discussed in class, I have to honestly say they were more interesting than I thought. Contrary to my strong belief that they lived boring lives, it felt good to be proven wrong. The one scientist I held a special interest for was Robert Oppenheimer. Similar to a “rise and fall” movie, Oppenheimer’s life was more complex than science itself. Learning about his life was also a reminder on how life can change in the most unsuspecting ways, sometimes ways we have no control over.

            Robert Oppenheimer was responsible for building the atomic bomb, which contributed to the bombing of Hiroshima, which is popularly known as “D Day.” Although he was so focused on his scientific advances, he refused to go any further in building a stronger natural weapon in fear of the consequence and damage it may cause. Because of his refusal to do so, it was revenge against him to make fraud him for being a part of the communist community. While matters could have been much worse, such as death, Oppenheimer’s name was ruined forever.

            He may have been described as anal, stubborn, and in many ways, prude, but there was indeed a humanitarian side to Oppenheimer’s personality. It was proven through his refusal to participate in another bomb creation. The terrible part about it is the fact that we, as a part of the “outside” world are commonly only told one side of the story. Some people who may portray as villains, may indeed be the secret protagonist. Oppenheimer may have had his flaws, as any person does, but to completely disregard his positive aspects is entirely unfair. From his life, I was reassured that sometimes personal and the professional life can conflict very often. It makes me second guess my career goals.

LIB 200: Critical Thinking Blog 6: “Research and beyond..”

LIB 200: Critical Thinking Blog 6: “Research and beyond..”

          Now that I have decided upon a research topic, I’ve finally come up with a few sources. My research topic deals with portrayal of robots in films. For my paper, I will be using the film “Blade Runner” to show how strong artificial intelligence is and how films have been showing “warning” about our technological advances which may not always be of benefit to the human race.

            The good thing is that I found a few great sources already from the links that were provided to us during class. Two of my stronger sources were both found on Lexisnexis and provided more information than I had intended to find. My first article is by Kate Forrester, called "Will Computers Become More Intelligent than Humans? The Debate." In her article, she discusses how machines are advancing at a very quick rate to the point that they are learning and progressing quicker than we “planned for.” Because I am using Ray Kurzweil’s essay about strong artificial intelligence, I figured it would make sense to use Forrester as well, since her article discusses Kurzweil’s predictions about the robotic takeover. I was also able to understand Kurzweil’s opinion a lot better after reading Kate’s article.

            My second source from Lexis Nexis comes is written by Mike Causey. Properly named “The Robots are Coming,” his article gives great evidence supporting my thesis statement within the article. I was also able to read about things I did not know was currently taking place. For example, machines are being used in the mailrooms? This partially explains why I have not been able to land a postal job yet! Using real life situations within my research paper can give background insight and show how, in this case, life is actually imitating art. I hope I do a great job!

LIB 200 Critical Thinking 3: "Research, Film, Tablet?"

I must admit that it was quite easy narrowing down my research paper ideas to two particular choices. I was not interested in most, vaguely interested in few, but two topics IMMEDIATELY caught my attention. Research # 1 and #6 are the two choices that I am deciding between. The hardest part about this milestone is making sure I pick a topic that I will have the most fun with. After all, since we are given a choice on papers, we might as well enjoy the project.

            Research topic #1 deals with writing a paper about a novel, story, or film that uses science and technology. While I am highly interested in getting started on Einstein’s Dreams or Cloning, I am unsure if I will have enough to actually write 9-12 pages about. Even if I do get up to 9 pages, I want to make my paper interesting instead of a drag just to get through the assignment. Research #6, however, deals with films featuring robots and clones, and how they are portrayed. Once reading that some of our choices included The Terminator, AI, and I, Robot, I immediately picked this as one of my two choices. However, I need to be careful that when viewing the film, I don’t get caught up in reviewing the film and stick to the requirements of the essay. While I am sure that each topic will be equally fun and interesting, I need to make sure that I can write a paper that is going to land me an A! Choices choices….

                                    After a two hour break of downloading music…..

            It took no longer than thirty minutes for me to spontaneously pick a choice. It’s quite surprising to find that listening to Jill Scott can bring about research paper ideas. I’ve decided to go with research topic #6! However, since I have seen all of the movies I’ve previously named, I am going to “explore” and choose between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner. I have only seen clips of both movies, so it will be a new experience to view either film. It’s also a plus to compare our “hi definition” to their “pre-21^st century” technology. In my opinion, the best movies were made before my time anyway. I’m quite excited about this project for two reasons: I get to watch classic films for the first time, and it gives me an excuse to experience my Nook Tablet. After all, that is a part of science and technology, right?

           

LIB 200 Critical Thinking Blog 2: "To Science, or Not to Science?"

“Humanity almost seems extraneous; some special-effects planetarium shows introduce

us to the most exotic aspects of matter and time, but are not very revealing about the

ordinary human experience of the heavens. Of course, the insignificance of human

existence is one of the fearsome lessons of modern science. But when we are young,

we learn differently. We begin by learning to value our own understanding and only

gradually come to recognize its limits.”- Edward Rothstein

                After reading this quote, I would have to say that I completely agree with Rothstein. As a child, I loved watching the “Frankenstein” remakes. Why? Because it was interesting! It captured my attention and enlightened my imagination. Although based on scientific possibilities, I was still intrigued because of the way entertainment introduced science to me. However, once reaching junior high school, I became aware of the fact that I will never be intrigued by science unless shown to me in some form of entertainment.

                To be frank, the “realistic” way that science is explained to students and as adults is quite boring. I find it terrible that when science is presented, the human significance is barely mentioned, thus, lacking inspiration to even pursue the area. It is no wonder that most children are interested in the sciences through television shows and video games. From the $700 million dollar earning in the United States from the movie, Avatar, I believe it is argumentative that adults feel the same way.

                Having a younger sibling, nieces, nephews, and a two year old daughter, I am often forced to watch children’s shows such as Dino Dan.  A series about a boy with a love for dinosaurs, Dan often comes in contact with dinosaurs during his paleontology experiments, although he has few witnesses. My younger generation of family, and myself, enjoy the show and its incorporation of science. However, when confronted about their view on science in school, my nieces, nephews, and younger brother all agree that “it sucks.”

                The issue is not that science itself is a hassle to deal with and a suicide mission to learn. The issue is the way it is presented. You cannot expect one to be enthused with science when you strip people of human significance in the sciences. While we all know that there is a “larger than life” universe out there, that goes far beyond our five senses, it will be much better if science teaches to inspire the human creativity and incorporate it to pursue scientific discoveries and explorations. After all, it took creativity and imagination to encourage scientists to explore the once hidden jewels of the world and universe we inhabit.

LIB 200 Critical Thinking Blog 1: "TEAM HUMANITIES?"

   

Hello world!

                       My name is Wednesday Moore and I am a Liberal Arts major soon to transfer to Queens College for English (and possibly some other area that may catch my indecisive attention). From viewing my current and future major, it is obvious that I am on the humanities team, but I can guarantee that after this semester, I will have to reconsider my dislike for the sciences due to my interest in the class.

                Having majored in philosophy at my previous school, and studied for years of classical music, I fell in love with the “human condition,” therefore making it a natural choice to pursue liberal arts at LaGuardia.  So why choose this class? Although I have never been too fond of the sciences (How I HATE physics!), I have always possessed an inner craving to learn about the advancing, quite out of this world, technology. I find it hard to adore my iPhone and my Xbox Kinect, yet not wonder about the background story to these products and the motive to continue with technology’s advancement. I often ponder if the continuous advancements break any rules of morality, which is exactly where the humanities sector comes into play. Thus far, the class is doing a great job exploring both science and the humanities areas, both equally significant to the world’s contributions and survival.

                I apologize to getting off to a late start with the class. However, I will be indulged with the blogs and I hope you all are as equally excited as I am to hear each other's thoughts. Nice meeting you!