What the BLEEP was that???

I have to completely agree with Beth that the film, What the Bleep do we know?, had some ideas that I completely agree with and others that seem too far-fetched to be realistic. One of the things that was funny was the part when they discussed all of the frozen water appearing differently when words were spoken into them. Maybe they didn't know that all snowflakes (aka small amounts of frozen water) look differently?

But the part that I am really focusing on for class is the nullification of touch. Now one could argue that, if no two things touch you can still feel the effect of the close proximity of another object (like knowing a door or a wall is nearby because the air around it feels differently). But let's take humans out of the equation. If two objects never touch, how can a pencil leave markings on a sheet of paper? Does the graphite simply float above the paper but it is too close to the paper for the human eye to tell? And if so, is there some kind of attraction that prevents the graphite from moving to a different position on the paper?

This is a prime example of how confusing the world becomes when you present theories as facts. If something occurs in only specific situations, wouldn't it be more beneficial to label it as an anomaly than to try to force others to believe it is a scientific law? The world is simple; people make it complicated.

Presentation I reacted to most strongly

The presentation that affected me the most was Cassandra's, which was about the anxiety of heights while Skydiving. I responded to it strongly because an anxiety of heights is something that I have myself. I cannot say that I have a fear of heights because I haven't really been put into a situation where I was going to be forced to, say, skydive or freefall; however it does make it uncomfortable even watching an immersive film of flying over mountains or cities.

Listening to Cassandra's experience allowed me to view my own project differently. When I have thought of fear before doing research in this class, my brain immediately associated it with television/violence/horror (and I have associated anxiety with people with handicaps like schizophrenia). But listening to Cassy's experience allowed me to take a step back and remember that anxiety is something that affects my own life. You don't have to be in a life-threatening situation to be extremely nervous about a circumstance.

Points 5-7

How people responded to my information:

Beth seemed glad that I mentioned the comparison between fear and anxiety. She agreed with me that the only true fear is fear of the unknown.

People were engaged with the video clips I showed (particularly Epiphany from Sweeney Todd).

Overall the class spent about 20 minutes discussing the issues posed by my presentation before moving on to the next student.


Analysis of hypothesis with actual outcome:

I was actually surprised to find that many other students (and the professor) had a similar take on fear as I did. I was expecting people to be more surprised by the idea of fear not really being a commonly felt emotion.


Propose changes to your idea based on what happened:

I don't think that the experiment should be changed because it sparked a good discussion with the class. That doesn't necessarily mean that the results of the experiment were what was expected; sometimes unexpected results are a good thing. I think it would be beneficial to conduct this experiment with people who did not grow up with the freedom and luxuries Americans have. Perhaps the reaction would be quite different in the Middle East than it is here.

Fear and Creativity

Society often highlights (and exaggerates) fears of childhood. One could argue that the purpose of this is to help people realize that they can overcome their fears in the real world because they have overcome the "dangerous" fears already.

Fear Links

Shower Scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT7a8Gv9qdA

Epiphany

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxoFi5Lie34

Children and Fear

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/famsci/he458w.htm

Fear

What is fear? Fear is an emotion that is evoked by something that is perceived to be a threat to an individual. Fear can prevent someone from reaching their true potential. I, personally, am afraid of heights. Fear can either prevent you from accomplishing your dreams, or it can be the fuel that drives you to go further than you ever thought you could. No matter what your fear is, fear is an internal struggle rather than an external one. After all, something is only scary if you allow it to be. You may be naturally wired to turn your back on a situation, but you have the choice to face it head on if you want to.

            I believe that my classmates will be very shocked at my approach to fear. I hope that it will urge them all to reflect on their own understandings of fear.  I don’t believe that anyone else in the class will take the same approach as me.

Your Greatest Contribution

My dream is to work in the advertising department for Disney. I am just a big kid myself, and I really want to work for a company with a focus on family. Here is some artwork that I created of Mushu.

Reflection on Time and Goals

What is the most important thing in your life?

The most important thing in my life is knowing that, at the end of the day, I have accomplished something that I know I could not have done the day before. I strive to constantly become a wiser person and a more positive influence to those around me.

How does discussing that make you feel?

I think it's a good thing to discuss my personal expectations with others because I don't believe that other people view the world the same way that I do. In class I don't feel that the other students or the professor truly understood what I was trying to say (I am not the best at explaining myself verbally). What I meant when I said that I don't consider family and other outside sources to be a measure of success would've been more easily understood if the other people knew that I compartmentalize things. For me, work and family do not mix, just like church and family do not mix. But I understand that most people lump things together so it is hard for me to explain myself to others.

How does it make you feel about your goals when you think about the amount of time you might or might not have in which to achieve them?

My personal goals are not the most important things in the world, so I really don't get worried about not achieving them. Life is about sacrificing yourself for others; if I have to give up my own dreams to help somebody else then I would happily do that.


What are your thoughts on the idea that you are in charge of how much time you actually have in a given day?

I am a firm believer that stress is self-inflicted. This is another one of those questions that I don't think people would really understand my answer to. Honestly, I don't ever feel rushed and I always feel like I have time to do what I want to do. And, since I have a job in a career that I enjoy, I don't even think about the time (I often don't even know what today's date is).


What are the limitations you place on yourself?

I don't like taking advice from others when it comes to design techniques. I would rather experiment and find my own ways to solve problems that listen to someone tell me step by step what to do.


What are the limitations that are imposed on you by outside sources?

I'm currently living in Indiana, which I will be moving out of as soon as I graduate (I can't stand cold weather). I also can't get jobs in certain companies because I don't have a degree yet.


What can you do about any of this?

I can choose to not let my limitations get the best of me. I could mope about not going to other colleges because my parents don't have the money to send me to them, or I could do my best to be among the top students at the college I am at. And I choose to not let life's setbacks hold me back.

How to "read" a book

What is it that stands out to you? Large book titled "Financial Peace" by Dave Ramsey.

Why? It wasn't put back in properly, so the cover is showing instead of the spine.

Choose a red book and open it to page 6. Close your eyes and put your finger on the page somewhere.
What did you find? The page is completely blank.

If your finger landed on a paragraph, how many times does the letter P show up in that paragraph? N/A

If it landed on a picture, how many straight lines are in the picture? N/A

If it landed on white space, what is the white space surrounding? It surrounds nothing; the page is completely blank.

Can you imagine the white space as a sea and the other parts (words, pictures, etc.) as islands floating in white water or space? No, there are no words or pictures to imagine as islands.

Using your other senses, explain what the paper feels like.

Is it slick or rough? Smooth like vellum paper, but not slick

What does the cover feel like? Like wax paper

Can you feel the ink of the words if you close your eyes? No

Do different colors feel different with your eyes closed? Yes

What else can you discover about the paper? The ends of the pages are cut to make it look like it is torn

What about the cover? The cover is paper that wraps into the book itself; it isn't a traditional cover.

Without destroying the book, unless you own it and want to, see if you can figure out how the book was constructed.

Is it stitched? Yes

Is it glued? Yes

Is there any cloth on this book or is it all paper? All paper

Is it a hardback or paperback? Hardback

Does it have signatures? (Hint: you may need to look up what signatures are in the context of making books…) Yes

If it has signatures, how many pages are in each and how many signatures are there in the whole book?
8; 28

If it does not, look at the glue on the ends of the spine and describe what you see. N/A

Flip through the pages and look at the end papers.

Is there any writing in the book, other than the printing? No

If so, what does it say? N/A

Why is it there? N/A

Who wrote it? N/A

If you do not know, then imagine who might have written it. N/A

If there is no writing in the book then how does it make you feel to know you are the first person (possibly) to think about it? It's surprising there is no wording actually because I feel that most people would put their name in their books.

Examine the book more.

Are there any stains on the book? No

Are there any fingerprints? No

What do they look like? N/A

How might they have happened? N/A

Look at the pages of the book.

What is the color of the pages? I bet they are not really white. Off-white

How would you describe the color? Is it warm or cold? Bright or dull, etc. Warm; dull

What other visual things can you explore with the book? The endpages are red.

Think about the history of this book.

Can you see any other evidence that someone else has handled this book? Yes

What are the edges of the pages like? Describe them. They were cut so that it looks like they are torn

Can you imagine what someone else might have been thinking as they read this book? Seeking inspiration at overcoming the difficulties of life

Do you think anyone else has used this book like you are right now instead of reading it? No

Flip through the pages quickly.

Can you hear the sound? If so, describe it. Yes; like someone flipping through a deck of cards

If not, what is your experience like?

Can you feel the breeze? Yes

Can you move something with the wind generated from the book? No

Could you use this book to win a game you created using the book's wind power? No it isn't as prominent as some other books; the hard cover makes it difficult to flip through the pages quickly.

Drop the book on the floor.

What did you experience? Sounded like something dropped on tile even though I dropped it on carpet.

Did you sense the vibrations the book made? No

Did you feel it in your feet? No

Take your shoes off. Now drop the book. Was there any difference? No

Hold the book between your hands with one hand on each cover and the book closed. Close your eyes.

Is the book cold? Hold it like that for at least one minute. Yes

Now feel the cover. Can you feel the temperature change from where your hands were to where they were not? Yes

Have you ever been aware of this before when you were holding a book to read it? No

If your heat transfers in this situation and you noticed it because I asked you to, why do you think you have never noticed it before? I don't hold a book's cover with my hands while reading; rather, I keep it propped open by using my pinkie finger and my thumb on the inside of the book.

If you have noticed the temperature of a book you were holding before, describe why you noticed it. N/A

Smell the book.

What does the smell make you think of? Glue

If you can't think of anything, describe the smells you can sense. (Interesting fact: Did you know that I have friends [many librarians, actually] who choose their books partly based on how they smell? Honestly.)
I do not recommend tasting the book for health and safety issues… :-) N/A

Now, finally, read the first page. If it is just pictures, read the story of the pictures.

What is the title of this book? The Circle Maker

Based on the first page, explain why you think the book was titled that. The book probably is about dissecting life into the small parts that make us who we are, and then trying to improve in each area individually.

Reflect back on this entire exericise.

What is your experience like with the book now that you have experienced it differently? It makes me think of reasons why the author would want the book to be created with these specific materials instead of something else.

Do you still find books to be boring, assuming you did in the first place? I love books so I can't answer this one.

What, if anything has changed for you in regards to books? More appreciation of the craftsmanship of the book instead of just reading to enjoy the story itself.

Now think about this class.

How did I "fishbowl" this assignment? I had the preconceived notion that I love books for the stories they hold, and that the contents of the books were what was important, rather than the appearance of the books themselves.

What do you think the point is of this exercise? To open up our minds to recognize just how many choices are made about books that have nothing to do with the stories they hold.

What can you take from this exercise that might help you with future projects? Don't get caught up in the super tiny insignificant things, but don't disregard their existence either. Find the balance.

Class Recap (Sept. 24th)

Today we discussed what we had learned so far in class and what our best memories of class had been.

We also talked about the importance of making connections. We explored this through a "connect-the-dots" activity on the board, during which each classmate had the opportunity to do "something" with a dry-erase marker. I decided to play the role of "that guy" that decides to not conform to the rules and I just passed the marker to the next person.

I brought in my Pillsbury Doughboy cookie jar to discuss, but I never got to show it to the class because I had to leave early.

Senses

For me, a cookie sounds like the Pillsbury Doughboy. Similar to Ivan Pavlov's conditionalization of his dog, my sister and I were "conditioned" to the sound of the Pillsbury Doughboy cookie jar that my mother had purchased. We actually happen to still have the jar out in the garage, so I will be bringing it in to show to the class.

Rules! What are they good for?

For this project I decided to break two of my most cardinal sins of graphic design: auto tracing and using the Comic Sans MS font. These two components can add up to one tremendous eyesore, but perhaps they can be modified to become something halfway decent (honestly, I don't have a lot of faith in that, but who knows)?

Memories

I would have to say that the project I remember the most is the origami butterflies.

I will never forget when my drama director told me, "The serious productions get all of the acclaim because they are memorable. Comedies are funny in the moment, but people will not even remember the jokes the next day."

The butterflies were memorable to me because I used to love creating origami creatures when I was in middle school, so I could relate to them. The fact that I had a tangible item that I could take home with me and continue to look at also makes the memory last longer.

Wow us!

For this project, I have to decided to bring in a scrapbook about my life. I want to be able to show the class a little bit more about me, because it's so hard to really get to know people when you only see them once a week for one semester. The scrapbook contains some of my fondest memories of my life so far, and I think it will be fun to share these memories with the class.

Class Recap (Egg Favorite)

I wish I could say that today was eye-opening or mind-boggling in a positive way, but honestly I feel just the opposite. Quite frankly it was downright depressing at times.

We discussed the egg projects that each student did, and then we talked about making choices. But really is there an accurate way to prove as to whether having one choice or many choices is "the right way" of doing things?

I don't believe so. No two people have the exact same experiences, or even come into the world on a level playing field. Maybe I prefer having many choices because it allows my mind to creatively function. Perhaps having those same choices may overwhelm somebody else, causing them to be indecisive about what to do.

Beth called me out on being subjective today, but I can't say that she's wrong. In fact I don't want to be objective, because maybe it isn't realistic. My religious studies class tries to approach religions objectively. But is that really an approach at all? Is assuming that everything is true quite so different than assuming everything is false? Frankly, I believe it is better to have an opinion (and for people to share their opinions with each other) than to not have one, even if a person's opinions differ from my own.

One of the students explained that he did his project on Schrodinger's cat. In an objective state of mind, one would assume that the cat is either living or dead, so both must be true. But realistically, we know that isn't the case. The cat is either alive or it is dead, but just because we as humans cannot tell without opening the box does not make it both living and dead.

As for my favorite egg project I would have to say the dragon made out of clay was my favorite. It embraced a sense of childhood playfulness, which I, myself, hold dear.

The Egg and Eye

For my egg project I had a couple of ideas in mind, but I knew I wanted to do something with the egg that sort of reveals my personality through the egg. Even though I am very serious in class, I am actually a very playful person that enjoys the simplicities of childhood. I believe the imagination is the playground of our hearts and I wanted to show that here. And besides, if it's good enough for Dr. Seuss it's good enough for me :)

Class - August the 12th, 2012

Today, we, as students, discovered that the purpose of this class is to view the world in new and creative ways: ways that may be considered abnormal by some or even crazy by others. However, a more adequate term for crazy in this situation would be misunderstood.  

Thinking outside of the box is often frowned upon in society. Culture provides us with both physical and emotional expectations on how to live, whether we live in a "free country" or not.

Beth had us arrange our chairs in a circle to provide a sense of unity and comfort, which could allow people to share their ideas more freely than an authoritarian environment.

Our first assignment, The Egg and Eye, will allow us to embrace our differences in perception of a single object: an egg. An egg is simple at first glance, yet it can be modified in a variety of ways for different purposes. I am excited to see the variety of ways my classmates utilize the eggs this upcoming week.