Don't Think About It

               

This image is taken from eecs.harvard.edu and is a good representation of what research is like. 

Apparently writing a research paper comes along with a good amount of difficulty and frustration. Not even actually writing a research paper, just doing the tasks that need to be completed before writing the paper, such as thinking of research questions, thinking of a thesis, and engaging in the research itself. These pre-exercises alone come along with a lot of difficulty.

                For me to come up with research questions and to figure out my topic and thesis I literally had to sit there for a good hour just to think. After I thought for quite some time and finally figured out a thesis, I’m still not completely sure if it’s too broad, or too detailed. Figuring out a thesis for this research paper was kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, it had to be just right. After coming up with my thesis which I think should be sufficient for a 7 to 9 page research paper I started to feel like I was getting somewhere. I was relieved at that moment.

                Then I got to the researching part. I had some questions formed which was a good place to start. I used key terms from each potential question in doing the research. Doing the research seemed like the most important part to me. I used Google Scholar, Google News, and the library data bases available and what I noticed was that there were so many options. There were almost too many choices. I got kind of overwhelmed by the number of options I had. I researched different aspects of my topic and found sources that seemed to have the most interesting and relevant information concerning my topic. When I was done I noticed I had a long list of potential sources. With this paper we can only have a maximum of ten sources, so I had to go through all of mine and narrow it down to ten. I have written research papers in the past I have just never really taken the time to think about the frustration that comes along with tasks that seem so simple. 

If Only

This is an image of The Great Ellen Degeneres. It was taken from cultofmac.com

 I think we can all agree that if there were more people in this world like Ellen Degeneres it would be a much better place. Ellen is one of those people who acts as a role model to many and not to mention she is hilarious. She always seems to have so much energy and is always so kind. Her ability to make people laugh is endless. This may be why so many people look up to her and can connect with her. Almost everybody loves her. How could someone not?

Eye Opener

November 13, 2015. This is a selfie of me at the event. 

I attended the Trans Visibility Campaign. It was basically an informal presentation put on by a trans female and a nonbinary individual. The presentation was set up in a question and answer format. Anyone could ask questions and anyone could add on to the presenters’ answers as well. It was a very laid back environment and the purpose of it was to raise awareness and inform people about transgender people.

                Before attending the presentation I had a very small and limited amount of knowledge about transgender individuals. By attending it I actually learned quite a bit. I kind of got a feel for what they go through before, during, and after transformation. Some of the topics addressed were what it is like to discover you are trans, what nonbinary means, how much of the population actually is trans, the lack of benefits trans genders receive, what dead names mean to them, and the Caitlyn versus Bruce Jenner controversy. Considering the amount of knowledge I had prior to the event I found all of the topics interesting.

                One of the things that surprised me the most is how differently transgender individuals are treated. They do not have housing protection, healthcare, or employment protection. Doctors can deny treatment for them even in a life or death situation. That just disgusts me. They are just like every other human being on this Earth. Gender does not say much about a person at all. Although, I did not understand all the concepts and words talked about at the Trans Visibility Campaign, I did take a lot away from it. It really opened my eyes and made me realize everyone has their own story and you should never assume anything about anyone based on their looks and/or how they present themselves. 

Introvert Creates Method for Socializing

Is The Social Network worth watching or not? 

Image from coffeemarketing.co.uk  

Racism Lives On

             Dear White People is a comedy about a group of African-American students who attend an Ivy League school that is mainly controlled by white students. The black and white kids hang out, but they do not get along. Racial issues and fights seem to be a huge issue at this school. There is a radio show put on by the Black Association called, “Dear White People” and the white students throw an African-American themed party that only the white students are allowed to attend. In the movie the African-Americans want to be just like or better than the white students and vice versa.

Image taken from movpin.com

                I thought the film was alright. I liked that they used humor and potential real life examples. I did, however, think that movie was a bit to cheesy and a bit too extreme. Racism is a very obvious matter still to this day, in my opinion the movie just emphasized it unrealistically. The extent of racism is not that obvious now-a-days. The use of humor and dramatizing racial issues helped in making the message of the movie more meaningful.

                I have definitely encountered some experiences somewhat like the ones presented in this film. All of the stereotypes that were talked about I have heard before and am familiar with. Some of the stereotypes included, fried chicken, weed dealers, weaves, afros, rich white people, and rap music. All of these stereotypes are very popular. I have never actually seen them being lived up to though, so I’m not exactly sure why people still use them, but because I have previously heard all of these stereotypes I think it helps me relate to the movie more. I have never actually been in a setting where there has been a group of black people and a group of white people battling amongst each other. This movie made me realize that racism still exists it just goes more unnoticed because it’s not nearly as obvious as it was in the past. 

Who Would've Guessed?

Taken from Sodahead.com

Response to TED Talks 

How can something as simple as “liking” curly fries on social media be predictive? This is a very interesting question and is what Jennifer Golbeck addresses in her episode of TED Talks, “The Curly Fry Conundrum: Why Social Media “Likes” Say More Than You Might Think”. 

Now-a-days we live for the Internet and social media. It is the first thing we check when we wake up in the morning, when we get home from work, and right before we go to bed. Everyone gets caught up in clicking on links or pictures that appeal to them, and online shopping, it’s crazy how easy and convenient the Internet makes that. We share a lot of information on social media, but it turns out we don’t actually realize just how much we are sharing. It’s kind of a scary concept to think about. Information gathered from our profiles or Internet searches can reveal secrets we never intended to share. 

In Golbeck’s presentation she tells a story about a 15-year-old girl who was sent advertisements and coupons, from Target, for baby bottles, diapers, and cribs, two weeks before she told her parents she was pregnant. Target knew this girl was pregnant even before she told her parents because of her online purchase history. It might not seem like this would reveal a lot, but it does. Patterns of behavior reveal insights that leads scientists to certain inferences.
This particular story both amazes me and frightens me. The fact the clicking on random items can lead scientists to make inferences about us, scares me. It scares me even more that they can infer completely inaccurate information about us. It almost seems like we are constantly being stalked. I knew the Internet was a dangerous place, but I never knew to what extent.

To Breakfast or Not to Breakfast?

The Believing Game 

Everyone likes games, right? But, nobody likes losing. The Believing game, as it's referred to as by writing theorist, Peter Elbow, is an interesting game. It's a game in which you cannot tell which opinion the writer holds. It involves writing “as if” you share the worldview of the other author. If you play the game right, your reader should not be able to tell whether or not you endorse an opinion you’re summarizing. Are you able to tell if breakfast is essential in my daily agenda, or not? 

These two images are featured in the February issue of Reader's Digest