...Huxley’s novel that if monogamy sometimes leads to unhappiness, then it does not have a place in their world. The most important aspect to bring from Huxley’s novel, is that it does not have a happy ending. This “perfect” society turned out to be not so perfect after all, even causing one of the main characters to become so unhappy that he commits suicide. This relates to what Postman is trying to prove, that if we too become obsessed with entertainment that as a society we will become unhappy. This is where the phrase “amusing ourselves to death” comes from...
Words: 1533 - Pages: 7
...piece of the brain) fires more than normal when we're in REM sleep (the time in sleep when we dream). In REM sleep, the brain fires in similar ways as it does when it's specifically threatened for survival. In addition to that, the part of the brain that practices motor activity (running, punching) fires increasingly during REM sleep, even though the limbs are still. In other words, Revonsuo and other evolutionary theorists argue that in dreams, we are actually rehearsing fight-and-flight responses, even though the legs and arms are not actually moving. They say that dreams are an evolutionary adaptation: We dream in order to rehearse behaviors of self-defense in the safety of nighttime isolation. In turn, get better at fight-or-flight in the real world. Theory #2 Dreams Create Wisdom If we remembered every image of our waking lives, it would clog our brains. So, dreams sort through memories, to determine which ones to retain and which to lose. Matt Wilson, at MIT's Center for Learning and Memory, largely defends this view. He put rats in mazes during the day, and recorded what neurons fired in what patterns as the rats negotiated the maze. When he watched the rats enter REM sleep, he saw that the same neuron patterns fired that had fired at choice turning points in the maze. In other words, he saw that the rats were dreaming of important junctures in their day. He argues that sleep is the process through which we separate the memories worth encoding in long-term memory from...
Words: 704 - Pages: 3
...psychological, physical, or emotional separation should distort the course that one sets for himself/herself. Even through the worsts of experiences and negativity there is still connections to the balance of goodness. Stout exemplifies this through the relationship of mortality and immortality saying, “It helps to have an awfully good reason to try, such as a suffocating depression or some other demonic psychological torment. Perhaps this is a part of the reason why philosophers and theologians through the centuries have observed such a strong connection between unbearable earthly sorrow and spiritual enlightenment,” (423). This personifies the concept of the struggle of everyday living with the reward of eternal happiness. This can explain why some individuals whether mentally stable or not, attempt suicide. They believe that ending life is the effortless route to reaching the truth of self. Even those such as monks search for the understanding of self and enlightenment simply by...
Words: 1111 - Pages: 5
...Dream Theories In latest one month, I clearly remember that I have a vivid dream that my mum ask me to manage my own Outbound Service Agency in USA for those Chinese people who cannot speak English to provide professional consultant services. My mother has come to America two times so that she feels America is a best place for her to live in for long time. She told me in the dream that China is not safe, for example, foods and beverages always have toxic elements, class distinction get worse those days that may cause social disturbance and so on. I have pressure of getting a position in the US, because nowadays non-citizen students outside America are difficult to find a job or get valid US. Working visa. When I wake up, I feel deeply sad that I do have pressure now after my graduation. Theory 1: Dreams Create Wisdom If we remembered every image of our waking lives, it would clog our brains. So, dreams sort through memories, to determine which ones to retain and which to lose. Matt Wilson, at MIT's Center for Learning and Memory, largely defends this view. He argues that sleep is the process through which we separate the memories worth encoding in long-term memory from those worth losing. Sleep turns a flood of daily information into what we call wisdom: the stuff that makes us smart for when we come across future decisions. I think the reason why this dream is important to me is memory. My mother always said that to me over time, so it has become a impression in my mind. ...
Words: 647 - Pages: 3
...People were able to express themselves to the world, post pictures, and videos. It became bigger than the original reason for its creation which was for college students to reconnect and talk about homework, etc. Now we have sites like Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn that allow people to express themselves through words, pictures, or for business connections. But there is also a negative side of social networking, such as bullying, jail time for posting illegal activity, robberies, and possible job disqualification due to a post. The Influence of Social Networking Sites The media often portrays social networkers as social misfits more interested in chatting with virtual friends than making real ones. There also have been sensational stories about teens committing suicide as a result of "cyberbullying" taking place on social network. According to Bowles (2013). People tend to expose more personal or opinionated information on social media sites then what they should not aware of the consequences that could follow. But good can also come from using these sites, such as finding family and friends and making business connections. Some optimistic observers believe social networks could potentially change the world for the better by making it easier for people from different cultures to see—and better understand—viewpoints from different parts of the world. Bowles (2013) I believe if used the right way social media sites could do more good than bad and help businesses and...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...The Remarkable Tale of Mary Anning: An Analysis of Remarkable Creatures and its Merit as Historical Fiction Novels can do more that simply tell stories. Novels can enhance or emphasize thoughts and ideas. They can excite a wide variety of emotions. They can be the product of imagination, or they can be influenced by historical fact. Whether or not the events in a novel are true is left entirely up to the author, but it is truly an incredible feat to take a piece of history and turn it into a work of fiction that is plausible and logical. For our Senior Seminar, we have studied the aspects of fiction that have a basis in historical fact. They do so by applying certain literary devices that are necessary to the historical fiction genre. The novel I chose to research and present on is entitled Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Last Runaway. This work of historical fiction tells the story of Mary Anning, one of the first recognized female paleontologists whose discoveries changed many views on the world and how it began. Remarkable Creatures is a biographical novel, as it concentrates on the experiences that Mary Anning had during her lifetime, the people she meets, and the incidents that occur in her life. This essay will evaluate Chevalier’s work on the basis of its merit as historical fiction. Remarkable Creatures belongs in this category because it Chevalier implements the critical terms of the genre in numerous and intricate...
Words: 3656 - Pages: 15
...The emptiness seeking the inevitable emotion and desires of others to fill the void became a story that is true for many people today. Within the film, No-Face reflects the personalities and cravings of others around him, absorbing them like a sponge; he himself is inscrutable without them. Through the character development and resulting animation, the emotional void and emptiness becomes the fundamental essence that characterizes No-face at the beginning of his transformative emergence as a more enlightened being that comes to understand material gain does not lead to true...
Words: 1744 - Pages: 7
...important natural resources of earth. At the same time, it’s very much affected with pollution and trash. The photograph “Polluted Sushis” shows three sushis placed in a white platter, they are wrapped around plastic in place of the usual seaweed. This image leads to an understanding that nothing goes by without a consequence. The message that is being sent by this image is powerful in the sense of saying that what we throw into the ocean, will eventually come back. The JWT advertisement agency in charge of the add “Polluted Sushis” does a great job using ethos, pathos, and logos to help effectively persuade the audience to stop littering the sea. The use of pro environmental ads nowadays is quite usual. Some of them are very harsh and direct, they go straight to the point and leave no space to wonder. Nevertheless, there are some ads which are more subtle with their message. They suggest the problem in a more creative way giving the viewer the possibility to reflect upon their add. I find this mechanism much more effective than the first one because it gives a way to internalize the problem shown. Precisely, this is what happens with “Polluted Sushis”. It achieves that people are most likely to perceive the possibility of what is presented in the image to be real close. The credibility of the image has Porter 2 been built from showing a type of food that is usually perceived as fresh and healthy and altering it with plastic, which is clearly harmful for consumption. This aspect...
Words: 932 - Pages: 4
...In a world that continues to advance technologically machines titled “sociable robots” acquire life-like characteristics once exclusive to humans. They are able to express artificial emotions that seem real to the user. In “Alone Together” by Sherry Turkle we see how sociable robots interact with children. They begin to feel emotions that were once exclusive to human interaction. In the narrative “An Army of One: Me” written by Jean Twenge we see how prominent the generation gap is. Those under the age of thirty-five tend to focus more on themselves and making sure they feel worthy. This generation is appropriately called “Generation Me,” highlighting the fact that boosts of “self-esteem” leads to a rise in individualistic focus. Parents expose...
Words: 1501 - Pages: 7
...Religion 1 May 2013 William James 1.) How does the theorist define religion? James often defines religion through supernatural experiences. He believes that religion has an active and significant role in these experiences. With that being said, James refuses to place a single definition of the term ‘religion.’ Due to the fact that there are so many different personal experiences, expectations, and beliefs associated with religion, James believes that it would be wrong to define religion in a typical “dictionary” way. Instead of defining religion, James breaks it into two parts, institutional and personal. The institutional branch refers to the Church and like institutions, the written code of the religion, and the idea of a ‘divine’. The personal focuses on the beliefs and experiences of a person. In this writing James ignores the institutional aspect because he does not want to discuss God. Before there was God and written religion, there had to be personal beliefs; therefore, James argues that the personal branch of religion is more important to study when focusing on the fundamentals and basics of religion. James states that religion can be anything, morally, physically, or ritually engaging, as long as it has emotional ties to a person, in the sector of institutional religion everything has a strict definition. James questions who can truly define the idea of ‘divine’ in a general manner. He finds studying religiously active individuals and listening to personal religious experiences...
Words: 1363 - Pages: 6
...even more importance is what allows us to see the entertainment value in the shows that are presented to us? Shows on television may tend to look good, yet may not affect our emotions or share a connection as deep as others. Other shows go as far as trying to make something unfamiliar to us much more realistic and “real-life like”. To categorize such shows one has to understand what is “Quality” television versus “Good” television, and to help describe the relationship between these categorical descriptions of television the show Nip/Tuck by Ryan Murphy on FX is a show that shares both “Quality “and “Good” T.V. aspects. Television is considered “Quality” when; a show has a type of textual characteristic that definitely is important in representing its value to the Audience, and an audience that is majority “middle class” (Cardwell, 23). At most the show will have “a carefully constructed storyline, well acted, and well filmed”(Cardwell, 20), but the biggest thing that separates it from a “Good” show is that it may be seen as boring or non attractive to the interest of it’s viewers even though, “it may be perceived as being “Good” for its viewers… at the same time it is dull and pretentious”(Cardwell, 21). In much more basic terms it is seen as “generic” because of its non-emotional impact. Even though “Quality” T.V....
Words: 1889 - Pages: 8
... * a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. * source:www.howstuffworks.com * date: February 13 2013 * We've all been there -- dead asleep, caught up in the middle of a cinematic dream that feels so real you think you've actually experienced it, even after waking. Maybe it was a nightmare that left you in a cold sweat, heart pounding. Or if you're lucky, it's a liaison with your favorite movie star. Sigmund Freud believed that dreams are a window into our unconscious, and some studies indicate that he may have been onto something. For example, in one study, amnesiacs reported dreaming about activities that the scientists knew the patients had participated in before they'd gone to sleep -- even though the amnesiacs had no memory of those activities, outside of dreaming about them. This validates Freud's theory to a certain degree, but there are hundreds of competing theories about what dreams are and what their purpose is. * So what are dreams? Strictly speaking, dreams are images and imagery, thoughts, sounds and voices, and subjective sensations experienced when we sleep. This can include people you know, people you've never met, places you've been, and places you've never even heard of. Sometimes they're as mundane as recalling events that happened earlier in the day. They can also be your deepest and darkest fears and secrets, and most private fantasies. There's no limit to what the mind can experience during a...
Words: 920 - Pages: 4
...Essentially if one loses contact with an intersubjective environment one loses a sense of identity. As German philosopher Edmund Husserl said during the twentieth century, “consciousness is consciousness of something; the mind is not a thing but a relation.” ‘Meaning’ and associations are not stored in the brain like a message in a mailbox; rather, they emerge and develop through an ever-changing relation between the act of thinking and the objects of thought. Moreover although people are uniquely different, essentially humans are social beings that harvest new observations and perceptions from interpersonal connections. Just as disconnection from others can allow for reflection in a mental, emotional or spiritual way; connection to others and practical engagement with the world can challenge ones perceptions and abilities and furthermore instigate personal growth and aid in shaping ones...
Words: 1713 - Pages: 7
...Fear * Economic Dependence * Children 3. What are the differences between sex, gender and gender expression? Explain. ( See chapter 9) * Sex: is biological. It is what you were born male/female * Gender: is the psychological as well as roles and behaviors * Gender expression: how one expresses themselves to the world Multiple choice and T/F (See chapters 9-11; pages 399-482) 1. Definitions of sex, gender and gender expression 2. Understanding social construction of gender * Society shapes the idea of men/women * Is it biological/ societal 3. Differences between men/women (see page 407) * Review bullet points 4. Sexual Harrassment (see page 412) * define quid pro quo * hostile work place * if being harassed must tell someone in authority * don’t need to show proof * ie. no promotion, demoted 5. Rape/sexual assault * why is it under reported * ie. embarrassment, stigma, shame, fault, justice system 6. 3 therories of rape/ why rape happens (see page 418) * victim precipitated * rapist psychpathology * feminist theory * What is it about our culture that makes rape common; Why is our culture not teaching boys not to rape 7. Domestic Violence (see page 426) * Why victim stays * Cycle of violence 8. Biology of young and middle adult hood (see page 433-444) * Breast Cancer * areas of greater...
Words: 569 - Pages: 3
...distraction, and the decayed expression of languages and emotions. The rise of technologies is leading to the collapse of our communication. Technologies are ruining social interaction among humans. Without a doubt, technologies have dominated our choices of interacting with each other. While the purpose of technologies was to improve the communication between humans, people now prefer using these tools to talk, rather than face-to-face conversations. In fact, human civilization has been always developed based on the connection between people, but now, we are losing that real connection in order to exchange for a virtual one. As a case in point, today, we can easily see people, especially teenagers, going around with their phones or tablets on their hands all the time. Some people even spend more time talking on the phone, texting, video calling, or emailing… than meeting other people. Eventually, we are living in a virtual world where we are no longer real. During the summer, parks...
Words: 2198 - Pages: 9
