Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Genetic Engineering and Frankenstein

1.  Genetic Engineering is the process of trying to manipulate cells and DNA so that humans can use them to our advantage.   http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/science/what-is-genetic-engineering.html
2.  The hope to create replacement organs for people suffering from heart, liver, spinal cord damage, and other health problems.
A way for humans to produce the crucial nutrient in our own body that is found in salmon.
goats that produce the milk of spiders.  http://popsci.com/node/49778
3. Genetic Engineering has not been able to solve cancer, make chickens resistant to disease, or create a living person. http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/glenn.html, http://www.upc-online.org/genetic.html, http://jetpress.org/v18/gunderson2.htm 
4. Ethical risks include, the actual safety of experiments, what, if any limits should be placed on the science, and is it right for humans to “play God”? http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/glenn.html, 
5. Victor made a promise that he would create glorious life and instead he created a monster.  Then another promise is made between monster and creator.  The promise is broken on Frankenstein’s part, but the monster keeps on his promise and kills Victor's loved ones.  Both also talk about a science that isn’t fully understood but can have enormous results.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Christmas Time

1.  Before Jesus was born and Christians began the holiday of Christmas to celebrate his birth.  Ancient Europeans and individuals from Scandinavia celebrate in December as a time to celebrate light and freedom in the years darkest time.  they would celebrate the winter solstice, because it meant that the cold would reseed and the sun would return bringing warmer weather, longer days, and new life to their animal herds.  Many other cultures throughout time would celebrate this time in their on way, but the over all idea was that their would be plenty of food and drink from the years work and everyone would be praising a good year to come. http://www.history.com/topics/christmas
2. Christmas has its roots in the Saturnalia Festival, it being nine months after Mary is believed to have become pregnant with Jesus, and old pagan celebrations. http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/christmas.asp
3.Many old traditions did not consist of individuals running to the stores and get the greatest thing for their family, instead they would make/create these gifts.  The name Black Friday emerged from the Philadelphia police wanting to discourage shoppers from rampaging over the first sales of the holiday season, because it was getting hard for them to control crowds and individuals were getting hurt. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2011/11/black-fridays-dark-origins/
4. anti-consumerism holiday caroling groups 
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dawn-dc/message/4533
The Compact  
http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/classic/A25871141 
  Freecycle Network
http://www.freecycle.org 
5.  To me the holidays are a time of chaos.  Family comes into town and we try to jumble our calendars so we can all be together for the holidays.  4 or 5 mothers are in the kitchen preparing a feast for us all, while the dads are yelling at the older kids to stop playing tricks on the younger one's.  it is a time were my mom and dad go to bed early on thanksgiving that way they can stand in line at bass pro for 3 hours just to get a t shirt and a fishing pole, and to send me a video of two guys fighting over a trial camera.  Christmas day isn't all joy either, even though it is happy there is still a hustle to try and get everyone and their presents into one house so we can open them together.  Then before you know it the 30 long days of hustle and bustle are over, all the holiday magic has disappeared, dads are still mad over all the toys they have to put together for their children and mothers/grandmothers have mountains and mountains of dishes that have to be done before new years.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Dove beach

1. Science is the new way of life and religion is becoming fiction.  Basically the poem says that people began to question their world with the loss of faith.  Individuals began to question their beliefs with the advancement in science, because this new knowledge gave them a better understanding of their environment.  As Beach states “The Sea of Faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating, to the breath of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear and naked shingles of the world.” 

2. "Dover Beach" speaks of loosing faith. In Frankenstein, Doctor Frankenstein losses his belief in science after his creature that he believed would set him free. Arnold states, "for the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, hath really neither joy, nor love." This quote shows that the world was once thought to be a safe and sacred place, but was actually defiled and unclean. This theme applies itself to Frankenstein very well. Victor Frankenstein believed in simple studies of alchemy, but learned that true science is sometimes hard to understand and even harder to control.

3. Arnold is saying that the role of religion is diminishing in our world. As our knowledge and comprehension of the forces around grows, many start to lose the other all belief in a so-called “God”.  This new sense of knowledge answered many fundamental questions, but ironically destroyed many old answers and created numerous new questions.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Reflection on Frankenstein


In the novel Frankenstein, an ingenious doctor tries to fight the laws of nature and create life.  No matter what the odds, he continuous to try until he creates life.  Reading a story of this “triumph” can be a great influence on the thinking of today’s society and the way we strive towards a better tomorrow.  It brings to my attention that part of the doctor’s success was due to the fact that he never gave up, because he was passionate about what he did, a lesson we can learn from in today’s society.

            In the research of today’s modern world, we are driven by necessity.  The needs for a cure, the need for a better weapon then our enemy.  This leads to many new discoveries, but only allows research in certain fields.  I have figured out that true discovery, the greatest discoveries come from passion, not necessity.  Frankenstein was fueled by passion, which led him to his monster; Newton was fueled by passion when he created the scientific theorem and his 3 laws.  My understanding of this novel leads me to believe that for today’s world to achieve another great invention, discovery, or understanding, then we have to change to what drives us.  Emotion is the doorway to discovery: Passion, hatred, anger, love.  These are the things that steer us to greatness.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Age of Reason

1. microscope, telescope

2. How the universe functions

3. the Renaissance

4. Printing press

5.1642

6. mathematical principles natural philosophy

7. obstructing the flow of human thought.

8. Calculus

9. Scientific method

10. Industrial Revolution

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Lost Tools of Learning


·      Sayers stated that everyone has the right to obtain a proper education no matter what.
·      Sayers tells us that she doubts that her plans will ever be carried out.
·      Sayers asks the audience to remain open minded and to hold judgment on her.
·      Individuals from the past aren’t necessarily stupider then
·      She questions the effectiveness of modern education.
·      The ability of many to debate is often found to be lacking.
·      The standard of newspaper or other forms of writing is stunningly poor.
·      People lose the majority of the knowledge they gain in school once they leave school, and struggle to gauge the validity of sources of information.
·      The word subject has been pigeonholed into small explicit material.
·      The logic of written arguments is found lacking.
·      Sayers points out flaws in a modern work of science. The flaw infects the entire paper, and provides a poor foundation for the piece.
·      A quote again has a double meaning, and comments that men “remember what they learn, but forget how they learn it.”
·      Sayers draws attention to the last sentence of the previous paragraph and begins to enter in the main part of her argument.
·      She claims that the “great defect of education today” is that instead of learning how to learn, schools teach students specific subjects. She claims that locking down students and forcing them to learn a before b is not always the best way to instruct.
·      Sayers details the medieval system of education, praising its structure and emphasis on teaching how to learn.
·      She continues to describe the medieval system.
·      She details that the medieval system places emphasis on building a basis that can provide a launching point for the rest of students learning.
·      She continues to provide information on the medieval system and how it provided the tools needed for one to defend them.
·      Teachers should broaden the scope of their classes.
·      Sayers pulls back on her criticism of subjects and claims that their are necessary to create a lens with which to focus their learning upon.
·      She spends this paragraph defending her position.
·      While much hard work is put in, it is not effective work.
·      Sayers claims that although it is true we cannot literally return to the medieval era, we can return to the medieval style of education.
·      She proposes completely revamping the education system and installing a program modeled after the medieval style.
·      Sayers claims that education should begin at a young age.
·      Her views are unorthodox, but she believes them to be correct, and helpful to learning.
·      Sayers discusses the first step in learning is grammar.
·      Russian, while primitive in structure, is not as helpful as Latin because many modern languages are based in Latin.
·      The early a child tries to learn Latin the better.
·      Children should be taught multiple languages at a young age.
·      The lively brain should be filled with classical legends and stories.
·      The memorization of dates provides a strong reference for future knowledge of history.
·      Learning how to identify animals can be highly beneficial to a young students
·      Multiplication tables should be learned at a young age, and complicated mathematics should be saved for later specialization.
·      The curricula as thus far discussed do not differ greatly from that of modern education, but the style by which it is learned is drastically revised.
·      Knowledge of theology helps to tie together all learning.
·      Once a child’s capabilities for argument begin to become apparent, they should be moved into learning formal logic, and are equipped with an inquisitive mind.
·      The readings shall shift from narratives to arguments.
·      Because mathematics is a “sub-department” of logic, it shall now be more formally studied.
·      History provides ample material for discussion.
·      Books, and other current events also provide additional discussion materials. 
·      Focus should be on quality argument and ability to demonstrate the skill through writing.
·      Young children are intolerable anyway, so arguments should be used to grow their minds.
·      Subjects are used to supply the material, not the whole educational experience; students should be encouraged to explore for themselves.
·      Once the stage of argument ends, the teaching of rhetoric should begin. This is where classical education begins to provide its greatest benefit. Students will have been equipped with the necessary tools to learn anything.
·      Everything will have been proven to be inter-related, and thus it is difficult to create a plan to teach rhetoric. Therefore, students should be guided in the ways to defend their beliefs.
·      Sayers ponders at which age the education should begin, and begins to offer suggestions as to who should continue their education.
·      She believes this education system to be sufficient for many, and would lessen the need for complete university learning. With this method, those who wish to work with their hands would not be burdened with additional rote review.
·      Discipline is a wonderful thing, and although many would refuse to admit it, everyone lives by a somewhat Christian code of ethics.
·      Teachers should be better then they were in the past.
·      The purpose of education is to teach people how to teach themselves.
I agree with Sayers in that education has to begin at an early age.  Children retain more knowledge when they are young so the more basic taught to children at a younger age, the better they we do in their futures.  I also agree when she criticizes the modern teaching method, because this new system has made America fall behind in national standards for education. 
I also agree with her that grammar is a very important concept for young children, because without a firm grasp of the language it becomes very difficult for them to learn other subjects, especially in the field of science.  Many science terms and theorems come from Latin roots, so the firmer grasp a child has on grammar, the easier science courses will become to them.  However, math is also a very critical area that every individual must know in today’s technological era.
Overall Sayers makes a good point throughout the article, except when she says that logic should be taught to children.  Children should be educated at a young age, so they can be more successful when they are adults, but you still have to allow the kids to be kids.  Teaching children logic is the same thing as destroying their imaginations and creativity.  If you teach a child that it is impossible for a human to fly no matter what, then they will stop dreaming about saving people as a superhero, then they might not become a firefighter or police officer.  Children should learn at a young age but there must be restrictions put on learning.

Frankenstein - Technology, Personhood, Science

1. The invention of explosives have overall been more harmful to the world then helpful.  Used in war to kill, used in construction to destroy land and cause homes to be destroyed.  Also used by terrorists to use as threats.
2. Overall I believe that all boundaries should be pushed, because the human is made to push forward.  Military boundaries get pushed and new forms of transportation are discovered and money from this can then be transferred to research in medical fields that will have to continue to be pushed, because new diseases are always found and some have not been found.  However, there are some areas in military research that should not be

1.The waking dream she had of a man laying on a table and a doctor giving him life.

2. biological, chemical, DNA, electrical

3. Anything that is created, but can not be control

4. Steam engine

Friday, November 11, 2011

Wikipedia paper Draft


Duane Robbins
Mr. Roberts
AP Literature
11/1/2011
Over the years there have been many debates over the issue on whether Wikipedia can be considered a creditable source for true research.  Many think that wiki’s function to allow any individual to change information on any topic even if it is not accurate.  However, individuals base their decisions on popular gossip, ability to change information, and their assumption that Wikipedia is the only site that allows unreliable information.  A high school class did a study and the truth is that Wikipedia does an outstanding job making sure any incorrect information is fixed within a minimal time period.  Also there have been several studies that prove, many other online encyclopedias have had more mistakes within their sites then Wikipedia as a whole.  Overall most individuals create these false assumptions about Wikipedia, because it is the world’s most popular online encyclopedia, so most don’t know about the problems other informational sites have.
In the article, Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica, there is a study conducted that compares Wikipedia to another online encyclopedia.   The results show that the Britannica had just as many mistakes as Wikipedia had on average.  These results shows society that Wiki is not the only informational site out there that has inaccurate information.  To expect that a resource, which has been open to an entire world of people, to not have any imperfections, is not possible.  It is the responsibility of the individual retrieving the data to compare his findings to another resource to compare their findings.
In 2011, the Carroll County High School AP English class conducted a study to determine how quickly Wikipedia finds and fixes inaccurate data.  The data showed that 54% of the classes’ changes had been fixed within a 4-hour time frame and 89% of the classes’ changes had been fix within a 24-hour time frame.  Within a 2-day frame all the changes that the students had made, had been fixed.  This data shows that any information that is changed to facts that are not accurate are located and changed back to normal within a short time period.  The study also showed that individuals that changed information to outrages facts are sent a warning informing them that if they continue doing this, then that individual will be denied access to the ability of changing information.   (AP Literature)
Wikipedia originated as an encyclopedia available to anyone with an Internet connection. Internet entrepreneurs Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger wanted to create a “community, as well as an encyclopedia” that could be used by everyone so people would have a place to share information,  (SD Tribune). Wikipedia has also evolved a precaution to lock all popular search topics so that no individual can change the data located on those pages.  This precaution helps eliminate many delinquents that create Wikipedia accounts as a way to change popular facts as a joke for their amusement.  These locks prevent said delinquent from changing anything therefor their motive for being on wiki is taken away and thus also saves the less popular sites from being changed.
  Overall Wikipedia is as trustworthy as other reference source, and should be considered as credible as standard encyclopedias. Instead of arguing over the credibility of Wikipedia, students should avoid using this encyclopedia as a direct source and instead use it for more of a personal informational site. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales himself said in a 2005 interview with BusinessWeek that Wikipedia and other encyclopedias should be used as background information sources only. On the bottom of the pages, there are links available that can show you websites with more in depth information on the searched topic.  Overall it is important to remember that no source is 100% accurate and it is the searchers duty to do enough research to get a strong answer. 


Works Cited
AP Literature Class. “Excel Data Representations”. N.P. Web. 1 Nov. 2011 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ari4TF8SssJKdGFXeFBhbEh5YkdWU0NVdzViMnE1N3c&hl=en_US&pli=1

Helm, Burt. “A Vote of Confidence in Wikipedia.” Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P., 14 Dec. 2005. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2005/tc20051214_035216.htm

 Keats, Jonathon. “Why Wikipedia Is as Important as the Pyraminds.” Wired. Conde Nast, 1 Nov. 2011. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/st_essay_wikipediawonders/

Seelye, Katharine Q. “Snared in the Web of a Wikipedia Liar.” New York Times. New York Times, 4 Dec. 2005. Web. Oct. 25. 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/weekinreview/04seelye.html

Terdiman, Daniel. “Study: Wikipedia as Accurate as Britannica.” Cnet. CBS Interactive, 15 Dec. 2005. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://news.cnet.com/Study-Wikipedia-as-accurate-as-Britannica/2100-1038_3-5997332.html

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Rough Draft


Duane Robbins
Mr. Roberts
AP Literature
11/1/2011
Over the years there have been many debates over the issue on whether Wikipedia can be considered a creditable source for true research.  Many think that wiki’s function to allow any individual to change information on any topic even if it is not accurate.  However, individuals base their decisions on popular gossip, ability to change information, and their assumption that Wikipedia is the only site that allows unreliable information.  A high school class did a study and the truth is that Wikipedia does an outstanding job making sure any incorrect information is fixed within a minimal time period.  Also there have been several studies that prove, many other online encyclopedias have had more mistakes within their sites then Wikipedia as a whole.  Overall most individuals create these false assumptions about Wikipedia, because it is the world’s most popular online encyclopedia, so most don’t know about the problems other informational sites have.
In the article, Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica, there is a study conducted that compares Wikipedia to another online encyclopedia.   The results show that the Britannica had just as many mistakes as Wikipedia had on average.  These results shows society that Wiki is not the only informational site out there that has inaccurate information.  To expect that a resource, which has been open to an entire world of people, to not have any imperfections, is not possible.  It is the responsibility of the individual retrieving the data to compare his findings to another resource to compare their findings.
In 2011, the Carroll County High School AP English class conducted a study to determine how quickly Wikipedia finds and fixes inaccurate data.  The data showed that 54% of the classes’ changes had been fixed within a 4-hour time frame and 89% of the classes’ changes had been fix within a 24-hour time frame.  Within a 2-day frame all the changes that the students had made, had been fixed.  This data shows that any information that is changed to facts that are not accurate are located and changed back to normal within a short time period.  The study also showed that individuals that changed information to outrages facts are sent a warning informing them that if they continue doing this, then that individual will be denied access to the ability of changing information.  
Wikipedia has also evolved a precaution to lock all popular search topics so that no individual can change the data located on those pages.  This precaution helps eliminate many delinquents that create Wikipedia accounts as a way to change popular facts as a joke for their amusement.  These locks prevent said delinquent from changing anything therefor their motive for being on wiki is taken away and thus also saves the less popular sites from being changed.

  Overall Wikipedia is as trustworthy as other reference source, and should be considered as credible as standard encyclopedias. Instead of arguing over the credibility of Wikipedia, students should avoid using this encyclopedia as a direct source and instead use it for more of a personal informational site. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales himself said in a 2005 interview with BusinessWeek that Wikipedia and other encyclopedias should be used as background information sources only. On the bottom of the pages, there are links available that can show you websites with more in depth information on the searched topic.  Overall it is important to remember that no source is 100% accurate and it is the searchers duty to do enough research to get a strong answer.


Works Cited
Helm, Burt. “A Vote of Confidence in Wikipedia.” Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P., 14 Dec. 2005. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2005/tc20051214_035216.htm

 Keats, Jonathon. “Why Wikipedia Is as Important as the Pyraminds.” Wired. Conde Nast, 1 Nov. 2011. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/st_essay_wikipediawonders/

Seelye, Katharine Q. “Snared in the Web of a Wikipedia Liar.” New York Times. New York Times, 4 Dec. 2005. Web. Oct. 25. 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/weekinreview/04seelye.html

Terdiman, Daniel. “Study: Wikipedia as Accurate as Britannica.” Cnet. CBS Interactive, 15 Dec. 2005. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://news.cnet.com/Study-Wikipedia-as-accurate-as-Britannica/2100-1038_3-5997332.html