Author: thathawkman

Safer Saws – thathawkman

1A Consumer Safety Advocates

Very serious injuries, including fractures and avulsions, as well as amputations, have changed the lives of tens of thousands of consumers and impacted their families forever.

1B The dangerous saws can cause serious and irreversible damage to the users and can  even impact the people around the users.

1C This claim is a cause and effect Claim

1D There is no doubt that a slip up with a saw can cause almost unimaginable pain to a person, which can also impact the injured person’s family depending on how severe the injury really was. This claim also then brings the reader to make the assumption, ‘well if they are so dangerous to so many people, then it should be safer if possible.”

2A Customer

Hmm… if I do buy a SawStop table saw, how much of that money spent will go towards the actual saw, and how much will go towards Gass’s lawsuits and forced licensure lobbying efforts?

2B The person is wondering whether the money that he purchased the SawStop Saw is for the actual quality of the saw or for the controversy that the lawsuits have caused

2C This claim is an Evaluation Claim

2D Even though the speaker is asking the question  rhetorically, the reader gets a sense that the questioned was already answered. This claim implies the idea that because Gass has to go through so many lawsuits to get his SawStop table to become common, the profit of the saw essentially goes to Gass for money to pay off lawsuits, past or future.

 

3A Manufacturers

When you’re cutting wood if you accidentally put your hand into the blade, it’ll stop it so quickly that you just get a little cut instead of taking some fingers completely off.

3B  The saw that they have produced will stop itself from accidently severely cutting the person’s hand.

3C This claim is a factual claim

3D This claim explains what the saw does and showcases the massive difference between their saw stop technology and the others. the former causing an insignifigant little nick while the latter potentially causing an amputation.

4A Injured Plantiffs

Wec says his permanent and “traumatic injury” could have been prevented if Bosch and its competitors had not rejected and fought against the safety technology.

4B The injuries that are caused by unsafe saws could have been prevented if the companies integrated the SawStop technology.

4C This claim is a proposal claim

4D This claim is worded in such a way that it must be true. If there was a lack of resistance and the companies, then the sawstop technology would be integrated and the situation of Wec injuring himself wouldn’t have occurred. This idea of it what if cannot be proven, but it also cannot be disproven; which makes the claim true but weak.

5A Personal Injury Lawers

Now, many people who have been injured are bringing table saw injury lawsuits against table saw manufacturers for failing to include the safety devices that would protect their customers from losing fingers, hands, arms, and suffering unfathomable pain.

5B People are now suing companies such as Bosch as the injuries that are caused by unsafe saws could have been prevented if the companies integrated the SawStop technology.

5C This claim is a factual claim

5D This claim showcases the huge presence of the danger of the saws with so many people and implies the need for for safer saws. With so many people suing, it further strenghtens the argument of why the sawstop technology would be so beneficial.

6A Industry Spokesperson

“SawStop is currently available in the marketplace to any consumer who chooses to purchase it,” says Susan Young, who represents Black & Decker, Bosch, Makita and other power tool companies.

6B The option for the safe saw is available for people who insists on having a much safer saw then the competitors

6C This claim is a factual claim

6D This claim is simply stating that the saws are there if needed but the quote implies much more. Susan is essentially saying that if the customer really needs the SawStop technology, then the customer doesn’t need for other saws to have the technology because there is an option for the customer to get what they want. This brings an idea that they there is no need to force the other companies to integrate the technology as they can just simply buy the saw that does.

7A News Reporters

But as well as the technology works, the major tool companies have failed to put this kind of device on any of their table saws — even eight years after Gass offered to license it to them.

7C This claim is a factual claim

7D This claim gives the idea that the companies are at fault for not accepting the technology. It pushes the opinion that the other companies even had 8 years to “make the right decision” as the technology was even offered but they stupidly refused.

8A Government Official

Based on the injury data obtained in the 2007 and 2008 CPSC special study, our staff’s injury cost model projected that consumers suffered approximately 67,300 medically treated blade contact injuries annually in 2007 and 2008—with an associated injury cost of $2.36 billion dollars in each of those two years.

8C This is a factual claim

8D This claim has to be accurate based on the study . The amount of people that get injured and the “absurd” cost indicates that the issue of unsafe saws is a prevalent thing for the people and anything that would makes saws safer would lower these numbers.

Polio Notes- thathawkman

  • Between the age 0-5, children are more vulnerable to the disease
    • Their immune system isn’t as developed
    • Not as good with defecation
    • Can easily spread through water. Highly susceptible to people inside the water with the disease
    • Intake the disease through the mouth
  • Used to be a million a year that would catch polio which can vary from paralyzation to death
  • Vaccines are used now to treat polio and reduce the amount of polio in the population
  • If irradiated once, it’s gone forever as there is no one left to spread the disease
  • Not as easy to get everyone in the population to get immunization
  • Armed Conflict stifles polio immunization
  • Prevention could be futile if introduced again
  • There are a couple of 100 of cases of polio in the world a day
  • The world has gotten rid of Small Pox and irradicated it from the world
  • Distrust in vaccination leads to lack of faith and resistance to get the vaccination
  • One day vaccination are very effective
    • The vaccine is in liquid form, with any dosage. produces anti-bodies to combat
    • Massive amounts of volunteers who don’t need training go to administer the vaccine to vaccinate a lot of people simultaneously
  • 3 times in different times for complete immunization
  • Expensive to administrate the one-day vaccination
  • Vaccination cost 8 cents a piece per child
  • Needs to be refrigerated, transportation
  • The lack of a threat can cause herd immunity to be obsolete

 

Practice Opening

Though it is quite sad, there is no guarantee that the threat of polio will be eradicated from the world in 20 years unless desperate and militant measures are taken. With massive distrust from international affairs to paranoia about the vaccination itself, it would be hard to believe that one day every country in the world would be on board administrating a vaccine that still may kill children. Even in first world countries where there is a lot of education about vaccination, there is conflict on whether or not a child should be required to be vaccinated as it may cause autism or the minute chance of giving the disease while vaccinating . If there is a solid population of non-vaccinated people, the disease will always be prevelent so it makes sense to vaccinate. Yet the paranoia about the vaccination will always be prevalent. Even as the years go by and a new 100% safe vaccine is made, distrust from other countries such as Pakistan and the suspicion of the vaccine relating to CIA agents to general distrust about a vaccine for a disease that is not prevalent in the area will stray those areas away from peacefully administering the vaccine. Since perception tends to be more prevalent than the truth, there is no guarantee for the

 

Visual Rewrite – thathawkman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRlbyVF3q88

0:01 – 0:04

The advertisement starts off with a backshot of a very young boy around the age of 10. The boy is wearing moderate clothes that look quite casual and plain. This indicates that the child does not have a very lavish lifestyle. The boy is also wearing a backpack which indicates that he goes to school. The boy is walking on a sidewalk in a casual manner so there doesn’t seem to be an impending danger or urgency in the area. This means that the child has to be in a secure neighborhood as the child can walk alone by himself. Either that or the child is walking without knowledge of the potential danger around him. There is a car driving around on a road and some street signs, but there are not much people or cars around. Not only this  but the grass that is shown on the righthand side shows this is not in an urban area and more of a suburb. The area seems to be relatively peaceful and well kept so I will assume that the area isn’t a ghetto either. We also do not know if the child is going to school or is coming back from school.

The child then casually opens a wired gate. Because it is a suburb, I will assume it is either a fenced gate for a house or the gate to the school. The gate brings up some interesting questions. If there is a fenced gate, it indicates that there is at least some sort of security for the building. Also since we saw open driveways on the sidewalk, unless the jump cut into a time that was much later, we can assume that the child was going through the side gate and entering through the back if it was a home. The fact that the gate opens to a narrow dirt path with a wooden plank laying on a wall with plants all around indicates that he is entering a backyard.

He may be entering a friends house or his own house but there is no certainty as of now. However, the lack of needing a key and the ease of opening the gate shows that the child knew what he was doing and was used to opening that gate.

0:04 – 0:07

The frame shifts to see the boy entering what seems to be a kitchen, immediately taking off his bag and opening the fridge. The ease of the boy throwing the bag inside the house means that he is quite comfortable inside the house. The boy does not go back to lock the door either, so the boy definitely feels safe inside the house.

The house seems like a standard suburban home which does not seem run down. Everything is also very clean, so the house is kept in good condition. From a clock you can tell it’s around 2:35, which is around the time kids get home after a day from school. He also does not call out for anyone, so the boy was not expecting anyone to be in the house. This means this house is definitely the child’s home. This also may indicate that his parents are not there. However, we do not know the reason of the parents’ absence.It may be that the parent/parents left or that the parents are working.

On the top right it shows a handprint painting and coloring utensils. As he opens the fridge, it reveals more hand drawn pictures stuck on the fridge. All of the drawings showing the innocence of the little kid.

0:07 – 0:08

The camera is angled so it shows the boy looking inside the open fridge. However, the frame shows that there is not much food inside the fridge that he can eat. The fridge is notably clean which gives a sense of responsibility as the fridge easily could have had stains and gunk everywhere. There are three containers with food (which we assume he cannot eat, a jar of sauce, and a box of something that you cannot tell what it is (however the child doesn’t go for the food so it must not be food that the child can eat)

0:08 – 0:10

The camera now shifts to a slight opening in the fridge that shows the little child’s face. The child looks down and seems somewhat dismayed. However, the child doesn’t give a sense of huge bouts off emotion from the food so the child may be used to this lack of food. There is also another drawing in the bottom left-hand corner of a single possibly male person but it is too blurry to see the fine details. However, the picture seems to be way more intricate than the others that were shown, which indicates that maybe the boy didn’t draw the picture but potentially a sibling.

0:10 – 0:12

The camera goes back to showing more of the fridge. It shows that the child was looking at the other very few options that they have. This frame also shows more of the food, showing three more containers and some condiments (which the boy seemed to be looking at). However, the fridge still looks abysmally empty. A hand drawn photo is shown of what seems to be his family in the bottom left corner again on the fridge. The picture is comprised of two females, a male, and what seems to be either a dog or stuffed animal. The boy is most likely the child we have been seeing the entire add; the child in the middle is most likely the boy’s older sister. The oldest one is probably the mom. The mother is completely dressed in a uniform blue and quite resembles a nurse’s outfit in a hospital, which indicates that the mother may be working at the hospital while the child is at home. There is also no father in the drawing which indicates that the father left the family before the child really knew him so the father may have left early on/ before the boy was born. This also further implies that the mother must be working much harder than she normally would have in order to fill in the financial gap that the father has caused and explains why there was no one inside the house to greet the boy.

A hand drawn photo is shown of what seems to be his family in the bottom left corner again on the fridge. The picture is comprised of two females, a male, and what seems to be either a dog or stuffed animal. The boy is most likely the child we have been seeing the entire add; the child in the middle is most likely the boy’s older sister. The oldest one is probably the mom. The mother is completely dressed in a uniform blue and quite resembles a nurse’s outfit in a hospital, which indicates that the mother may be working at the hospital while the child is at home. There is also no father in the drawing which indicates that the father left the family before the child really knew him so the father may have left early on/ before the boy was born. This also further implies that the mother must be working much harder than she normally would have in order to fill in the financial gap that the father has caused and explains why there was no one inside the house to greet the boy.

0:12 – 0:13

It cuts to the boy stepping on a chair to stand up on it near the countertop. From this angle, you can see that the fridge is flooded with numerous different papers. There are some with crayon-drawn hearts and other drawings and a certificate which is either for the boy or sister for an achievement at school or it could be the mothers nursing certificate. However, it is more likely to be the former of the two as it is unlikely that something as prestigious as a nursing degree would simply be put on a fridge.

0:13 – 0:14

The boy opens up the cupboard that was out of reach to presumably find more food. This might be something the child always does or might be a search of desperation. However, there is not much food yet again. The frame shows containers such as flour, yeast, relish, and other food that the boy can’t eat or open easily. This shows that the child is looking for anything to eat and is still coming empty handed.

0:14 – 0:16

The frame shows a close-up of the boy’s face looking up at the cupboard. He seems to not reach for anything in the cupboard which means that he does not try to open the canned foods that might be able to be opened given persistence. This means either the child does not know how to open the cans or he has been explicitely told not to touch them. The boy moves his mouth in a way that conveys disappointment.

0:16 – 0:19

It shows the child standing on the floor and him walking away from the kitchen. As he walks, he looks up once more just to look down on the floor yet again.

0:19 – 0:25

A completely new person looks directly at camera speaking. The woman showed up when the boy left and had no interaction with the boy, so we can assume that the boy doesn’t know about the person. It is also assumed as it randomly cuts to the woman is talking about the boy and his circumstances, though we do not know what sh

The frame is still inside the house viewing the kitchen. Also, you can now see markings along the door at different heights and dates, indicating that the family used that to keep track of the boy’s growth and brings more empathy toward the child that didn’t eat. It also shows that there is love in the family, even though we personally can’t see the interaction. The woman does not talk with her hands and looks dead into the camera so we do not see much with body language. However, the entire time the woman had a stern look on her face which indicates seriousness.

0:25 – 0:30

It cuts to a white background with the words “Feeding America” (the logo) and “FeedingAmerica.org

 

Missing Dollar – thathawkman

There is no missing dollar. The easiest way to see that there is, in fact, no missing dollar is to track the money as it is given. After getting a $30 bill, each person (P1, P2, and P3) gives $10 to the waiter. Now the waiter has $30. The waiter then gives $25 to the cashier (C) and still has $5 (25+5=30). The waiter (W)decides to keep $2 dollars and give P1,P2, and P3 each a dollar. So (C + W+ P1 +P2+P3) = ($25 + $2+ $1 +$1 +$1) = $30.

The issue is that the next paragraph insists that each woman paid $9 each but that isn’t true. Since the bill is $25 and P1,P2, and P3 paid together, they all actually paid for the $25 bill with $5 extra. There is no way for 3 people to split $25 dollars evenly, as if they all pay $8 each it would total $24, so one person essentially paid a dollar extra. If P1 paid the dollar extra, then P1 + P2 + P3 + Extra = $9 + $8 + $8 + $5 = $30. So all of the money is accounted for.

Open Strong – thathawkman

The “truthful” studies that we believe because they are backed by scientific research may be completely wrong. Society as a whole views studies that are backed with scientific research as the complete truth for something as meticulous and methodical as research leaves an indication that something that went through thorough trials must be true. However, the data that is brought from many studies can be easily manipulated to show a correlation between two different variables that shouldn’t have anything to do with each other. It is completely viable for data for something that is pushed for something Democratic to easily be manipulated to push something Republican with the same data. The issue lies with how these studies that imprint a certain vendetta may only be truthful under certain circumstances and can be influenced by the people funding them. And with the lack of replication test that is highly underfunded and underappreciated to refute these false studies, the companies that fund a study may be able to press a flawed version of the truth.

 

Companies that fund

 

 

thathawkman’s Proposal

For my research paper, I delve into the concepts of generations and how the dividing of age groups by name brings condemnatory views against the groups due to name alone. The labeling of millennials being lazy and narcissistic is commonly imposed by even something as prestigious as Time magazine. Yet this blatant hatred for the other generation is commonplace and has been instilled for people to criticize the people who “live it easy” no matter what generation they are from. The Baby Boomers criticize Generation X, Generation X criticize Generation Y also known as the Millennials, and the Millennials will inevitably criticize the next generation (creatively named Generation Z).

Even though the animosity between generations is essentially cyclical, the fact of the matter is the idea of generations doesn’t even really exist. The Census Bureau that calculates different data of the population, such as religious concentration, of the United States does not define generations other than the Baby Boomers who were born in the years from 1946 – 1964. Instead, the media becomes the deciding factor of the derogatory attributes imposed on the generations. Magazines such as Time and Life to countless news programs are caught time and time again bashing the people below them throughout history.

 

Your Generational Identity is a Lie

The Essential Content of the Article: The article speaks of generations as a definition/ class that people made to label themselves. With the labels, that are made from the people rather than officially stated, the people then impose characteristics that may or may not be true to the entire demographic. It also touches on the gray areas of determining generations, with the many names each generation receives and how arbitrary the years that define the generations really are.

What it Proves: This article emphasizes how weak the definitions of generations truly are and how this system of generalizing massive amounts of people under one category really is quite detrimental

 

Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation

The Essential Content of the Article: A Time article that showcases the proof that the stereotypes of Millenials are indeed true. Calling the Millenials the Me generation, the author writes of how the millennials became narcissistic due to technology and the self-esteem needed for academic success. He then speaks of how millennials need to be engaged or else can’t otherwise be bothered. Speaks about the unneeded dependency that the millennials have and the pointless culture that thrives from it. The author then states some positives that coexist with the negatives, such as being more optimistic and idealists.

What it Proves: This article is an embodiment of a majority of the criticisms that generations impose on the millennials. The sense of superiority along with the dismissing of logical reasons behind observations while assuming many negative characteristics showcases the divide between generations.

 

“The Generation Gap”

The Essential Content of the Article: This article speaks criticizes the Baby Boomers from its more relaxed views on drugs to their work ethics.

What it Proves: This article instates the idea that the discrimination of the younger generation is timeless. No matter what period of time it is, the previous generation criticizes the later due to differences in culture and technology and is bound to repeat itself over and over again

Most Millennials Resist the ‘Millennial’ Label

The Essential Content of the Article: Consists of numerous studies of a sample size of 3147 people that asks numerous questions to different generations in regards to their own generation. It is found that the millennials  are less likely to embrace the label Millenial compared to Baby Boomers embracing the label Baby Boomers and are more likely to attribute negative traits such as being self-absorbed and wasteful. Alternatively, older Generations such as the Baby Boomers and the silent generation see themselves in more of a positive light, attributing traits such as hard-working and moral.

What it Proves: The finding that Millenials are more ashamed of their generations while the older generations are more prideful even though they both consist of the same amount of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people showcases how the label of generations negatively impact the younger generations. The older generations that see themselves with a rose-tinted lens easily bash on the younger generations who are being brought up thinking that it is truth.

 

What Is A ‘Millennial’ Anyway? Meet The Man Who Coined The Phrase

The Essential Content of the Article: Speaks about Neil Howe and William Strauss and coining the term Millenials. At first, there was no name for the generation X and was called 133ers as they were the 13th generation after Benjamin Franklin in their book that studied the different generations. Eventually, they coined the term millennial to showcase the importance of the generation that would deal with the new millennium which would be drastically different. Different sources then used the term Millenials is different books and studied and the name stuck. However, it is noted that the people are adverse to it, as the deem the label derogatory as people label millennials narcissistic. Howe dismisses the idea, asserting, “One person’s narcissism is another person’s healthy self-esteem.”  

 

What it Proves: The article proves the manner of how the name of a generation arises; rather than many different scholars that observe the grouping of different age groups and all agree to name, it essentially becomes whatever names catches on. The person who coined the term even rejects the idea that the label is not good for the people in the generation, even though millennials themselves have shown that they do not enjoy the label millennials

E03: Critical Reading – thathawkman

Like Brannan’s symptoms. Hypervigilance sounds innocuous, but it is in fact exhaustingly distressing, a conditioned response to life-threatening situations.

  • She states that Branan’s symptoms and Hypervigilance are similar
  • The author assumed that the readers though Hypervigilance sounds “innocuous” or harmless, which never seemed to be the case at all just by name alone.
  • Brannan’s symptoms may seem harmless then, but the author states that it is much more distressing than it may come off to be

Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.

  • In potentially 7 years, as the article was published in 2013, Brannan had ample time to start absorbing the symptoms that Brannan sees from her husband

The house, in a subdivision a little removed from one of many shopping centers in a small town in the southwest corner of Alabama, is often quiet as a morgue. You can hear the cat padding around. The air conditioner whooshes, a clock ticks.

  • It is specified that the house is away from the many shopping centers, so they try to avoid as many people and potentially loud ambient sounds
  • The house is painted to be almost too quiet, where they can hear the minuscule sounds. This is probably for Caleb’s sake as sudden noises would further torture Caleb.

 When a sound erupts—Caleb screaming at Brannan because she’s just woken him up from a nightmare, after making sure she’s at least an arm’s length away in case he wakes up swinging—the ensuing silence seems even denser. Even when everyone’s in the family room watching TV, it’s only connected to Netflix and not to cable, since news is often a trigger. Brannan and Caleb can be tense with their own agitation, and tense about each other’s. Their German shepherd, a service dog trained to help veterans with PTSD, is ready to alert Caleb to triggers by barking, or to calm him by jumping onto his chest.

  • When the silence is gone, it usually is a result of Caleb freaking out, which makes the monotony more appealing but tense.
  • Brennan makes sure to be an arm’s length away from Caleb, indicating that either she is wary about his condition or it isn’t the first time it has happened. It also further shows the tenseness of the family members in regards to Caleb.
  • The entire family is doing everything they can in trying to keep Caleb as calm and safe as possible; but, doing so is making the entire family completely tense.

This PTSD picture is worse than some, but much better, Brannan knows, than those that have devolved into drug addiction and rehab stints and relapses. She has not, unlike military wives she advises, ever been beat up. Nor jumped out of her own bed when she got touched in the middle of the night for fear of being raped, again. Still.

  • Brannan knows that it isn’t the worst that Caleb could have potentially been.
  • Other husbands have acquired drug problems to cope with stress, showcasing how negative this stress really is to have to resort to drugs
  • Other military wives are in even tenser situations.
  • The wives have been beaten up and or panicked by being touched, which indicates accidental abuse
  • The word again also indicates that the wives may have experienced the

“Sometimes I can’t do the laundry,” Brannan explains, reclining on her couch. “And it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m too tired to do the laundry,’ it’s like, ‘Um, I don’t understand how to turn the washing machine on.’ I am looking at a washing machine and a pile of laundry and my brain is literally overwhelmed by trying to figure out how to reconcile them.” She sounds like she might start crying, not because she is, but because that’s how she always sounds, like she’s talking from the top of a clenched throat, tonally shaky and thin.

  • Brannan knows how to do laundry and her incapability to do the laundry isn’t based on her willingness to do it but her mental capability to.
  • Brannan starts to panic doing laundry as the environment has been a place where that small action can cause panic
  • It’s noted that she always sounds that she’s on the verge of tears because the tone of her voice instead of actually being on the verge of tears. This sounds a bit off as anyone with that amount of stress and panic will sound like they are about to cry.

We raise the blinds in the afternoons, but only if we are alone. When we hear Caleb pulling back in the driveway, we jump up and grab their strings, plunging the living room back into its usual necessary darkness.

  • When Caleb is not around, the family can become a bit more relaxed and enjoy things that the family used to do.
  • Jumping up and lowering the blinds immediately when Caleb hasn’t even entered the home shows how much the family is attempting to soothe Caleb and how urgent the matter is to them.
  • It indicates that family may treasure the time without Caleb, as when he returns the family immediately has to become tense again in order to cater to the struggling veteran.
  • The word necessary also indicates that it may be unwanted by the family, but is needed for Caleb so the family will undergo it.

 

Stone Money Rewrite – thathawkman

Can I Pay for This in Cardboard?

The idea of money has always confused me as money is not a constant entity. The exchange of something valuable like a loaf of bread or a house for a flimsy piece of paper does not confuse people as it was established that the flimsy piece of paper had enough value to get that bread. However, a person trying to hand the same person a piece of cardboard in exchange for a piece of bread in the same regard would result in worrying glares and possibly a call for the police. But if handing something physical results in massive confusion, then it becomes even weirder that a swipe of a plastic card in a machine and pressing something saying credit or debit is completely fine. The fact is money is whatever people want to hold value in and nothing else really matters.

The faith in money is something that is only backed up with the faith humans put in it, which is absurd. Most societies happened to decide that money would be based on the rare and valuable material that is gold, but the material itself is arbitrary. Money just had to be something that a certain group, whether it be a city or an empire, backed up with any material they wished to. In the intriguing case of the island of Yap, the people of the island decided that gigantic limestone boulders that they held in such high regard would be what represented value. However, instead of making the money that was based off limestone something easily accessible such as the paper money that most people are familiar with, the habitants of Yap decided that they would use huge circular slabs of the material, ranging from a diameter of a foot to twelve feet, with a “convenient” hole in the middle as their currency. This Fei, which is what the island of Yap called the currency, tended to be so large and heavy that moving the Fei was virtually impossible. So, the inhabitants nominally claim the large slabs and everyone collectively understands that the claimed stone is the speaker’s worth. A transaction for Fei would just state that the person that “received” the Fei and is shifted to another person in just name alone.

The concept of Fei initially sounds absurd, but the concept is still the same as the US dollar albeit less convenient. Both forms of currency utilize a representation of the material, with the Island of Yap using gargantuan immovable limestone and the US using flimsy pieces of paper with weird symbols and numbers. This item that the people agree is valuable is then used to exchange and keep track of wealth in different transactions to get the goods that they want. The person doesn’t even need to have the money physically. What the inhabitants of the island of Yap consider a common exchange can just simply be compared to exchanging things digitally, as a person can now digitally transfer massive amounts of money they are assumed to have with a swipe of a tiny plastic card. In fact, a currency that is more current could be considered to be just as bad if not more absurd than Fei, the digital Bitcoin. The idea of the digital currency free from the bank seems to be a legitimate idea, but the downfall is that the online currency’s worth is only worth what other people want it to be. This means that the Bitcoin which could sell for the equivalent of $266 on one day could become as little as $54 for essentially no reason.

Yet while Fei still backs up the money with material and Bitcoin’s worth remains changing forever, the handling of the economic crisis of Brazil shows that money doesn’t even have to be backed up by material but by the faith that the money was worth something. During the 1990’s, the constant inflation for forty years made the inflation rate rise to 80% per month, which would eventually make the costs of everyday items insurmountable for the people of Brazil. This caused sporadic changes in the costs of goods that made the Brazilian currency, the cruzeiro, have a sense of inevitable doom for the people. In order to solve this economic downfall, Edmar Bacha and his three friends devised a new currency that eventually replaced the cruzeiro and stabilized the entire countries economy, the URV. This virtual currency was technically based off of the erratic cruzeiro but everything of society from the wages of the workers to the goods that they would purchase was based on the stable URV that stayed static throughout the increasing costs of the cruzeiro. As the URV became more integrated into Brazil, Brazil simply swapped the failing currency with the URV and the inflation vanished. This completely overturns the very idea of money as something that was backed by another varying currency which was based on the common idea of money.

Money is man’s greatest invention.  Without it, things such as markets would change into barter areas as the lack of money leaves people only with the power of bargaining. This concept stabilizes society as whole, allowing massive amounts of people to trade with things that everyone would find valuable. But money’s true worth simply lies on what people believe it has.

Works Cited

Friedman, Milton. “The Island of Stone Money.” Working Papers in Economics (1991): 1-7. The Hoover Institution Standford University. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Joffe-Walt, Chana. “How Fake Money Saved Brazil.” NPR. NPR, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Reeves, Jeff. “Bitcoin Has No Place in Your – or Any – Portfolio.” MarketWatch. MarketWatch, 31 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Anne Renaut, Anne. “The Bubble Bursts on E-currency Bitcoin.” Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

 

 

Summaries – thathawkman

Cute, sexy, sweet, funny

It seems counterintuitive that the things people find cute or sweet, such as a baby or apples, don’t inherently show those characteristics but instead become what humans have evolved to find them. However, everything that we perceive around the world becomes a construct on how we perceive the world and everything we were evolved to perceive.

The simple fact that we perceive the objects around us by evolutionary advantages starts makes sense. A person can assume, ‘of course sugar tastes sweet because whatever makes up  sugar is sweet so therefore sugar is sweet,’ but that is not the case. All of these perceptions are based on a person’s brain interpreting things such as taste, which the brain then gives the sensation of the sweet taste. The reason why sugar and sugary foods taste so sweet is due to the fact that glucose is a very high source of energy. There is nothing in glucose’s molecular structure that determines that the food would taste sweet. Instead, it makes sense to search out and prefer the foods that would give a much higher energy source; so over time the brain found the foods with these glucose molecules much more desirable and gave these food the sensation of sweetness.

The same can be told about many other things that we believe to be inherent. A baby is ‘cute’ because we need it to be cute. Humans are hardwired to nurture their offspring, so we find our offspring cute so we immediately want to protect it. A human is deemed to be ‘sexy’ because the things that we find attractive showcases what we find beneficial in evolution wise and gives people the urge to mate; so we found those things attractive.  In fact, we can switch the objects such as sugar and arugula around but would inevitably think the same things. If something as bitter as arugula becomes a huge source of energy, we would then start to crave and perceive that food as something desirable.

The process of evolution and what humans need subconsciously shapes everything of the world that we perceive.  These sensations have become so embedded inside of our brains that it seems that is was luckily a coincidence that we find things such as ice cream sweet, but whatever can benefit the human race will eventually become desirable in our brains.

 

A new equation for intelligence

It seems counterintuitive that something as complex as intelligence can be replicated inside something as simple as an equation but the underlying drive that intelligence is based on maybe be able to be summarized by one single equation.

So what would be these huge convoluted equation that would try to incompace somthing as abstract as human intelligence? It so happens to be a simple 4 variable equation,”F = T ∇ Sτ”; where F is equal to the force that tries to keep any options as possible in the future, T equal to the strength of keeping options open, S equal to the diversity of the possible futures, and τ or tau equal to the time it would encompase. This equation seems to be completely random, but this equation is what solely drives the program known as Entropica.

Saying that an equation that drives a single software program encompasses all of intelligence does seem farfetched, but with this equation alone Entropica has solved many different problems that it seemingly should not have. Giving entropica a pole on cart, Entropica immediately assumed and achieved to keep the pole upright without being instructed to keep the pole up. Giving Entropica the simple game of pong, Entropica was able to play the game of pong against itself. Giving Entropica a map of the world, Entropica was able to direct the ships in the most optimal method of travel, including things such as discovering the Panama Canal on its own and then using it to further benefit the ships travel. Even giving Entropica something as complex as stocks, Entropica immediately figured out a strategy commonly used called the buy-low, sell-high strategy (which the name explains itself) and started to gain a profit. These very human like achievement by something that it

This program only equipped with the equation to optimize the options in the future started to achieve things that it wasn’t even directed to and found suprisingly efficient results. To say that all of intelligence is based off of one equation is farfetched, as it cannot replicate things such as human creativity or beauty that emotions drive. However, the very underlying drive of intelligence and what may drive may be simply drawn by “F = T ∇ Sτ”.

Why Trophy Hunting Can Be Good for Animals

It seems counterintuitve that allowing people to kill off endagered species would be beneficial to the species. After all, all trophy hunting is doing is killing something that is already in danger of extinction. However, in some situations it is much more benificial to allow trophy hunting than banning it.

The issue is even though trophy hunters are perceived to be a massive threat to the endangered species, they are not even close to the threat of poachers and habitat loss. As trophy hunters are regulated by what they kill and may kill one endangered animal, poachers illegally and massively kill endangered species in order to gain valuables such as ivory from the animals. Along with this, farmers are taking the land that these endangered species live in for their agriculture, which limits the population of the species as well.

The reason why trophy hunting can actually be helpful is even though they are killing off animals is that some nations are utilizing this demand and making a profit of it for animal conservation. From allowing someone to kill an such as an elephant or rhino for a price, the countries are able to take the money to help these animals. This money can become a huge source of income for wildlife organizations and may even go to communities which incentivizes them to protect the wildlife from poachers. In fact, this helped rhinos go from a population of 100 to 18,000.

The premise of killing animals to save animals seems quite bizarre and even immoral. However, the simple fact is that this process actually does help save endangered species in the long run for the price of one animal. It is much better to have one animal dead than for one species.

Moving Image – thathawkman

0:01 – 0:04

The advertisement starts off with a backshot of a very young boy around the age of 10. The boy is wearing moderate clothes that look quite casual and plain. He is also wearing a backpack which indicates that he goes to school. The boy is walking in what seems to be a suburb during the day toward a house, opens the gate to a wire fence, then opens the door to enter the house. All of this indicates that he is not part of a rich family.

0:04 – 0:07

The frame shifts to see the boy entering the kitchen, immediately taking off his backpack, and opening the fridge. This indicates that the kid was hungry after going to school. The house seems like a neat,standard suburban home which does not seem run down.  From a clock you can tell it’s around 2:35, which is around the time kids at that age group get home after a day from school. On the top right it shows a handprint painting and coloring utensils. As he opens the fridge, it reveals more hand drawn pictures stuck on the fridge. All of these minute details emphasize the innocence of the little kid.

0:07 – 0:08

The camera is angled so it shows the boy looking inside the open fridge. However, the frame shows that there is not much food inside the fridge that he can eat. There are three containers with food (which we assume he cannot eat, a jar of sauce, and a box of something that you cannot tell what it is. The rest of the fridge seems to be barren.

0:08 – 0:10

The camera now shifts to a slight opening in the fridge from the joint of the fridge door that shows the little child’s face. The child looks down and seems somewhat dismayed. Either the looking down is for looking for more food or is due to disappointment. There is also another drawing in the bottom left-hand corner but is blurry, adding to the innocence that the director is trying to drive across.

0:10 – 0:12

The camera goes back to showing more of the fridge. It shows that the child was looking at the other very few options that they have. This frame also shows more of the food, showing three more containers and some condiments (which the boy seemed to be looking at). However, the fridge still looks abysmally empty. A hand drawn photo is shown of what seems to be his family in the bottom left corner again on the fridge.

0:12 – 0:13

It cuts to the boy stepping on a chair to stand up on it near the countertop.

0:13 – 0:14

The boy opens up cupboard that was out of reach to presumably find more food. However, there is not much food yet again, showing containers such as flour, yeast, canned meat and other food that the boy can’t eat normally. The canned meat brings up a question. Either the child doesn’t know how to open up the can, is not appitizing enough for him to even consider eating, simply missed the can while scanning, or isn’t allowed to eat the canned meat.

0:14 – 0:16

The frame shows a close-up of the boy’s face looking up at the cupboard. He seems to not reach for anything in the cupboard and moves his mouth in a way that conveys disappointment.

0:16 – 0:19

It shows the child standing on the floor and him walking away from the kitchen. As he walks, he looks up once more just to look down on the floor yet again.

0:19 – 0:25

A completely new person looks directly at camera speaking. The frame is still inside the house viewing the kitchen. Also, you can now see markings along the door at different heights and dates, indicating that the family used that to keep track of the boy’s growth and brings more empathy toward the child that didn’t eat.

0:25 – 0:30

It cuts to a white background with the words “Feeding America” (the logo) and “FeedingAmerica.org