Pre-Reading Blog #4

While there have been several interesting chapters by Susan Jacoby, I have to say that the last assigned chapter was not very compelling to the writing process. I had a very hard time forming an opinion or even gaining any insight from the last reading. I am really hoping that these next two chapters will be more thought provoking than the last one. And since this is a "pre-reading" post, I haven't read the chapters any more than the titles of them. I am curious to see where these next two chapters will take us and end the semester. I hope I don't offend anyone, but I am slightly disappointed with the reading selection from this class. While some of the reading has been invigorating, overall I was left hoping for more. I like to have a variety to develop the critical thinking process. If we only base our critical thinking process off of a single author, doesn't that limit our to ability to broaden our skills? Then again I am having a hard time writing this without any real direction. As I am writing, I keep asking myself why I am writing this. I know it is an assignment, but it still has little direction without the prompt. Sorry if this is a little short, but I really don't know what else to say. Enjoy the reading and good luck with the rest of the semester!!

Critical Thinking Blog #3

I don't think you can really compare the current youth culture to those of say the sixty's and seventy's. Time have changed. Children in each decade have grown up extremely different from the previous. While a lot of this has to do with technology, another explaination can come from the home and how the children are raised. While in the sixty's, TV was still relatively new. Today it is called by some the babysitter. The regulations and restrictions on TV are not what they used to be, which means youths are being exposed to more ideas and shock entertainment. As for me personally, I grew up on the outskirts of Auburn. I have never lived in a city which I feel a lot of cultural influences come from. For the most part, my siblings and I didn't participate in the popular culture. My parents raised us on 5 acres with quads, motorcycles, and firetrucks. There weren't a lot of kids around, so we kept to ourselves and liked what we liked and did what we did. I don't think it was until I reached middle school that I really started to see brands and realize the status associated with them. Even then though, I wasn't overly interested in it. I was comfortable with who I was and didn't pay attention to what I wore. I just have a really hard time comparing myself with the youth culture. Also I think that I don't really remember a lot from then which is another reason I am having a hard time with this post. I don't really recall any movements during my youth. I know some of the music changed throughout these periods, but I still stuck with the things that I enjoyed regardless of what was overly popular. Even when I read the chapter, I was having a hard time relating to the passages and arguments. Unlike in the previous chapters, this chapter wasn't one I could form an opinion on.

Pre-Reading Blog #3

I really don't think I understand the current popular culture. The first thing that came to mind when I read the phrase "popular culture" was fashion. Looking at the current fashion style, I will say I don't fit in the criteria at all. Straight leg pants were around in the eighty's when I was growing up and then went out of style. Now the fad is back and I really don't understand why. The same thing of course happened with bell bottom pants that were popular in the sixty's and in the late ninety's. As for what the celebrities wear, I don't know who tells them that this is the new thing, but half of the time I am amazed they are out in public. I am definitely glad I am not in Hollyood lights because I prefer to be comfortable in jeans and t-shirts. As for TV, I really don't watch it anymore. I can't stand all of the reality shows on TV now. Of course we can thank the craze to MTV with first making the Real World and Road Rules. However, I will admit there is a few shows, such as Top Chef, Iron Chef, and other Food Network shows, I find entertaining because I learn new techniques and ideas. However, the amount of commercials in these breif episode periods is unbelievable. And I will also admit that there are a few fictional TV series I enjoy watching, but I usually wait until they come out on DVD so that I can watch them when I want to. Some of these shows include 24, House, Bones, and Rescue Me. I enjoy the stories in these shows and that is what attracts me to them. The music I listen to is mainly country with a mix of everything else mixed in. I understand why I like country. The songs and music tell a story and has a purpose. Some of the songs are just for fun, but overall it is how I feel and how it makes me feel. I don't think people can say that I follow main stream culture and popularity. I chose to be who I am. If the current popular culture happens to suit me, then it happens to suit me. I think the only thing about popular culture I do follow is technology. Since it also happens to be my job, I think this is a great thing to keep up on.
The next part of the prompt I don't really know how to respond to. The history is of course there, but does it matter? I guess that answer will vary person to person.
How do you determine what the current popular culture is? Does popular culture pretain to groups or individuals and how do you determine where it begins and ends?

Critical Thinking Blog #2

For me, evolution is the logical explanation. The idea that “poof” there is Earth, then “poof” here is man seems strange and foreign to me. Essentially, creationism is just a belief and idea that lacks any provable foundation. This belief also gives zero explanation of the dinosaurs, though according to Jacoby “one out of four public school biology teachers believe that human and dinosaurs inhabited the earth simultaneously (Jacoby 25).” Uh, if that were the case, without any kind of technology, how did we come to be at the top of the food chain? Also how are we still here when the dinosaurs are dead? Oh right, because that is how God made it. Another great argument, provided by Susan Jacoby in her book Age of American Unreason, argues about the lives of the emperor penguins. Honestly, what kind of being would put a living animal or person in such conditions? For fun and amusement, while that being watched from above? I have a hard time things like this. While I believe everyone has their own right to religious beliefs and personal beliefs, they are just beliefs. They are emotions, feelings, and a sense of the mind that is very fuzzy. It is also interpreted by each individual differently. When it refers beliefs, there are a lot of variations. But, when dealing in science, one experiment executed in California and the same experiment tried in New York, given that they do the same process, will provide the same outcome. Science has backing, but it is also willing to factor in reasonable variations to try the experiment again. Science is always growing and adapting to new knowledge. Creationism says “this is the way it was done!” It leaves zero flexibility. If you have a question that cannot be easily explained, you are told “that is the way the Creator designed it to be.” Logic and reason will always win the battle against emotions and feelings in my book. I do not enjoy a lot of grays in my life, so I choose not to add another gray area by backing creationism. While the topic has never had an extreme or mild impact on my life, I know where I stand with the information I received on the battle between evolution versus creationism.
In today’s world, the topic of evolution and creationism is a hot topic for a lot of people. I personally don’t see the point in arguing about the subject. There are bigger issues in today’s society that need to be worked on such as health care and civil rights. We are here. I understand the reason to know your history, but do we all need to argue about it. We exist! Now let’s move on.

Critical Thinking Blog #1

For me, critical thinking is the process of analyzing the problem and logically determining a solution. By using logic and reason, I have had success in solving problems at work and in everyday life. One way I use critical thinking is by using my math knowledge to successfully determine hours and budgets at work in addition to my home life. However I understand math may not be a critical thinking process for all. Another way I use critical thinking is at school. When I am given an assignment, I analyze my possibilities to come to a conclusion of the best practice for the assignment. Even now, I am trying to think critically to answer the questions for this blog. However, there have been the occasions in my life where I have failed to look at things critically and I always suffered for it. For example, on occasions, I have jumped in head first on an assignment and either failed miserably or had to redo it because of the quick action.

"We often long for surefire, step-by-step procedures [to help us solve problems] and the more personally threatening a situation is, the more we want foolproof rules. But there are no rules that guarantee our thinking will be correct . . . The only way we can decide whether to follow certain rules is if we use our best reasoning to determine that those rules are reasonable, that they lead to reasonable results when followed." – Gerald Nosich, Learning to Think Things Through
I enjoyed reading this quote. The quote reminds me of learning as a child what you can do and cannot do. For instance, the child is jumping on the bed and the parents tell him/her to stop or they will hurt themselves. The child decides to not follow the rules the parents provided and ends up breaking his/her arm when they fall off the bed. It also remind me of a song entitled "Don't Ask Me How I Know" by Bobby Pinson, in which he gives advice on what not to do. I think there is a great deal to learn from others mistakes and on most occasions should adhere to the warnings. In my opinion, itellectualism is a positive meaning in my world. I grew up around smart individuals who wanted to share their knowledge with those in their lives. If someone were to describe me as an intellect, I would be extremely proud. As for the words logic and reason, they go hand in hand in my everyday life. I am a very fact and reality based person. I struggle with emotions and feelings mainly because they are not black and white. Even when a problem comes from the emotional side, I usually look for a solution with logic and reason.

I just wanted to add that while I was a little skeptical about the assigned book, I am finding myself really enjoying it. The entire passage that Susan Jacoby writes about the March of the Penguins had me nodding my head and laughing.

Pre-Reading Blog #1

I have to say so far this week seemed at times to move very rapidly and at other times extremely slow. I am now working on my second semester at Sierra after a little over three year leave. I stopped going to Sierra for my job and in truth, I really wasn't in to the school atmosphere at the time. Now that I am back, I am excited and enthused about the classes I am taking. I am using this semester, like the last one, to discover my strengths and passions to help decide what future path I am going to choose. I really enjoyed the career development class I took last semester. It made me realize the career I had always wanted really isn't what I want in my life anymore. With this knowledge, I am now open to new ideas for careers and my future. My high school education was decent, but it had its ups and downs as far as effectiveness.
Rationalism is accepting something with proven logic, where as anti-rationalism would be believing something that is completely unverifiable. In some cases, anti-rationalism and fundamentalism can have parallel definitions. Fundamentalism is the belief in a higher power and obeying said power without questioning the reason or legitimacy. How do you determine the difference of anti-rationalism and fundamentalism?

English 1C at Sierra College

Hello there. I have never really done the blogging thing, but I set it up for this class. Maybe I end up enjoying it and become a regular user. We shall see. Thanks for looking.