David Foster Wallace and How To Think

David Foster Wallace is an unusual thinker among men, he comes up with unconventional ideas that can change the way a person looks at themselves as well as the world. After reading Friere’s idea of “The Banking Concept of Knowledge” I had decided that the purpose of an education is not to convey facts or information, but to teach students how to think and interpret the world. Wallace takes a completely different approach when he tries to put value on the students of Kenyon College’s “liberal arts education”. He maintains that the purpose of education has never been to “teach people how to think”, he is insulted by the idea that a student who has been accepted to college would not yet know how to think. He uses a parable of an atheist and a Christian, the atheist views the help he received from eskimos in his dire situation as proof that God did not intervene when he had prayed for help. The Christian hears the story and interprets the appearance and help of the eskimos as an act of God, and therefore, a miracle. Wallace uses this story as a way of explaining that thought is highly personal and that even an event that is purely factual can be understood in completely opposite ways by people who come from different backgrounds and different ways of thinking. At the end of his parable, Wallace continues to explain that the idea of “teaching someone how to think” does not refer to influencing their thought-processes or interpretations of the world, but to think with less arrogance. The purpose of pursuing a degree in the liberal arts is to open the mind to other ideas, and to learn to recognize the difference between certainties and our own personal beliefs or knowledge. He values humility and throughout his speech there is a prevalent sense of humbleness that Wallace carries. For instance, when he uses the metaphor of a wise fish and two young fish, Wallace is quick to inform the audience that he does not view himself as a wise, old fish. The purpose of the metaphor was to demonstrate that sometimes our minds are too weak to see what is right in front of our face, but if we can accept the fact that we know little of the world, we can broaden our minds and someday perhaps we will become old and wise. Humbleness and willingness to learn from one’s ignorance are the purposes of pursuing true education; Socrates once said, "If I am the wisest man, it is because I alone know that I know nothing." I believe David Wallace would agree.

Asimov, Isaac. The Relativity of Wrong. New York: Doubleday, 1988. Print.

Mental Opression and "The Banking Concept of Education"

The greatest weapon a man can possess is knowledge. Knowledge is not merely storing facts and data, but an understanding of what information means and how it can be used to solve problems. To those in power, an enemy with true knowledge is a serious threat that must be avoided at all costs. In Paulo Feire’s  “The Banking Concept of Education” he states his belief that intentionally spreading ignorance is “…a characteristic of the ideology of oppression…” How would a teacher go about spreading ignorance disguised as knowledge? This is where Freire’s idea of “The Banking Concept of Education” comes in to play. Memorizing facts and information is not the same thing as learning to solve problems and apply knowledge. By forcing students to merely “Bank” facts and data, teachers can spread ignorance and prevent the students from learning. When people are not taught to think critically, they are merely a sponge that knows nothing of the data it holds, but is only able to regurgitate facts and has no mind of its own. In this way, refusal of a proper education is truly a form of oppression that can keep any rebel at bay. When people are brain-washed and do not think for themselves, they will believe anyone who can think for them.

Freire, Paulo. The Banking Concept of Education. Print.

Research Exploratory Blog II: Research Prospectus (How Technology Has Made Us Smarter)

Scientists and Engineers have worked together for centuries to advance mankind’s understanding of the physical world, and create objects and technology to make people’s lives easier. Advances in technology have allowed people to live comfortably in virtually any environment, work less to reap greater results, and travel to almost any point in the world and even outside Earth’s atmosphere. There is no doubt that technological advances have changed the way people live and interact with their environment, but how has it affected us? People can live longer than ever before, communicate more quickly, and have access to entire reservoirs of information. Have these advances in the way mankind is able to interact with the world improved our race as a whole? People have certainly become more efficient in producing necessities of life as well as comfort, but because our lives have become easier as a result of technological help, some consider today’s society lazy and ignorant. It is true that people no longer have to learn some information for themselves, we have inventions such as calculators and the internet to help us access information we cannot readily provide ourselves, and the devices we use to entertain ourselves can potentially provide very little mental stimulation. So technology has made people better in some ways, but has technology made us smarter?

What is “smarter”? Smart is a word that can describe the way a person thinks or how much they know. Based on intelligence, a person who is highly logical and able to learn quickly would be considered smart; based on knowledge, people who retain large amounts of information would be considered “smart”. So the adjective “smart” can be defined as possessing a large amount of information and also being able to logically interoperate and learn from the data. Intelligence is largely based on heredity and for the purposes of this article, can be discounted for the most part because environmental stimulation has less effect on the intelligence of people than heredity according to Linda Gottfredson. This leaves the idea that if technology is to affect how smart people are, it must affect the amount of knowledge the average person possesses. There are several ways technology can impact the amount of knowledge human beings possess. 1) Technology has allowed us to create methods of travel such as space shuttles that have allowed people to learn about places that we knew nothing about before our ability to travel to them. 2) Nano-technology and other inventions have made it possible for scientists to test and prove/ disprove theories about physics and our universe. 3) Advances in communication have allowed people from all around the world to collaborate when collecting data, and then provide the information with anyone willing to learn about it through media such as the internet and educational television.

I can address the research aboard the International Space Station:

Harland, David M., and John Catchpole. Creating the International Space Station. London: Springer, 2002. Print.

Effects of nanotechnology:

Darby, Michael R., and Lynne E. Zucker. Grilichesian Breakthroughs: Inventions of Methods of Inventing and Firm Entry in Nanotechnology. Tech. no. 9825. NBER Program(s), 2003. Print.

How communication affects knowledge:

HOLLINGSHEAD, A. B. (1996), Information Suppression and Status Persistence in Group Decision Making The Effects of Communication Media. Human Communication Research, 23: 193–219. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2958.1996.tb00392.x

Technology has made people smarter. I can prove the variety of ways that technology has increased the amount of knowledge people have by showing the information we have gained through transportation, technology, and communication. These things not only increase the amount of things people know, but increase the amount of knowledge that is available to all people.

Kanye West's "Power"

The passage of time is an unstoppable force which has plagued man since its beginning. In his song “Power”, Kanye West laments that his “…child-like creativity, purity and honesty is honestly being crowded by these grown thoughts…” because time has bestowed new responsibilities and power upon him. What kind of power does West have? He mentions that he lives in a “white man’s world” and as a male of color he has been chosen. What has he been chosen for? Perhaps he is chosen to lead his people out of their slavery to the white-man’s system. Through his music and his own power, he can set an example for others to rise above their current social status in order to overthrow the white man from his position of power.  It is interesting then, that the images in his music video are suggestive of ancient Egypt, because like Moses led the Jews out of Egyptian rule, West’s apparent objective is to lead all people out of the “white man’s world”.  But West thinks he is not capable of possessing this much power. When one man holds too much power, he must give it up, or it will have to be taken from him. As Lord Acton said in his letter to Bishop Creighton, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Kanye West also claims power over the people he is leading, especially women. In his video, the women appear not only as servants to him, but as sexual objects. His lyrics make it clear that he does not need women, although they seem to want him. West says, “I don't need your pussy, bitch I'm on my own dick” because he does not need women’s help and they do not have the power in his relationship with them. In the music video, several women are reaching towards him, even crawling at his feet, but no women are sitting on the same level as him. The closest woman to West in the video is placed at his feet, where all of the women seemingly belong. The costumes women wear in the video are important as well, they are all dressed in very little clothing and posing in ways that suggest servitude, desire, and sexual gratification. The horned women immediately to his right and left are his servants and protectors, while the women pouring water over themselves and kissing each other are his personal sexual objects. The women crawling toward him on the ground and the ones reaching out of the sky at West symbolize women’s need for him, and the fact that he does not acknowledge any of them shows his superiority. One woman is not posing however; she is merely sitting at his feet. The most dignified woman in the entire scene still belongs at his feet.

As the video continues, West begins to address his mortality and acknowledges that his power must come to an end. Sometimes people do not follow the right people, so unlike Moses, West will have to relinquish his power or die when another chooses to take it.  The assassins in the video show that even the most powerful leaders can be overthrown and potentially forgotten forever. Although he is doing his best to empower people over the ruling class through his music, there is resistance to his movement and he could lose everything if his supporters do not defend him. Time is his worst enemy now, as every moment passes, he is closer to the end of his career. The sword hanging menacingly over his head is a symbol of his impending doom. He can feel his own power corrupting him as time passes too, stealing the youthful innocence he once possessed. It is easy to see how time affects his world in the music video, and how everything falls apart when it passes. As the video opens, there is almost no movement in the scene. When West begins rapping the frame begins to move faster and faster as his time runs out. By the end of the video the people are falling out of the sky, sparks are flying, and his assassins take their opportunity to silence him forever. West’s attempts to save people from one ruling power have failed. After the video ends but the lyrics continue, West decides that it is time for him to give up his power. He symbolizes the end of his career as the end of his life, and he indicates that the best way for him to end everything is to willingly relinquish his power by “…jumping out the window Letting everything go…”

Power is dynamic and cruel; those who encounter it one day may lose it the next. It is corrupting and evil at times, but when used properly, it can lead to change that affects an entire nation. West has claimed a great deal of power, but throughout his song he mentions that it is too much, he cannot handle it. He may have been “chosen” but according to West “No one man should have all that Power”. So what does this mean? Like so many other men and women before him, West was not capable of using and retaining his power with the responsibility and integrity he knew that he should have. Unlike other corrupt leaders, West realizes that he must relinquish his power, if he does this, maybe someone with more strength can lead people out of the oppression of today’s monochromatic society. In order to show the chaos that ensues when a leader is corrupted, the picture begins to break apart as the music video progresses. West begins to recognize that he must relinquish his power as his song continues, but before he gives up his position, two assassins make their move to end his life. What does this say about his career? He has two options; he can let go of his career and his fame, or he can continue until a new rapper gains popularity and replaces him. If West was replaced by his people, he would lose his livelihood, his fame and his power.

Works Cited:

Kanye West. "Power." Rec. 30 June 2010. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Kanye West and Symbolyc One. CD.

Charny, Israel W. Encyclopedia of Genocide. Oxford: ABC-Clio, 2000. Print.

Faith and complexity: "The Pain Scale" by Eula Biss

“The Pain Scale” by Eula Biss is an interesting piece that explores many different ideas through a general reflection about quantifying personal experiences such as pain. Biss experiences chronic, un-diagnosable pain, and in “The Pain Scale” she discusses how strange it is that doctors request their patients to rate their pain with numbers. She includes other subtopics throughout her discussion, including the correlation between faith, optimism and suffering, and she mentions the importance of the idea of things that we can neither see nor truly imagine such as zero and infinity, and compares them to faith and Jesus. I thought it was interesting that Biss said, “Christianity is not mine” because she mentions how encouraging some of the ideas of faith are to her. She says that when she is experiencing severe pain she has learned to cherish the phrase “This too shall pass” and relates suffering to what Jesus experienced on the cross, she says it is “divine”.  Biss also contemplates ideas that, like Faith, are not only impossible for us to prove in our world, but impossible for us to truly understand or comprehend. She brings up the mathematical concepts of zero and infinity because they both have been theorized to exist and are required to solve or define complex mathematical problems, but we have never seen them or understood them. “The Pain Scale” has a unique format that allows Biss to jump from idea to idea, while still incorporating her past reflections. The piece is set up by the numbers 0-10 which is reminiscent of a doctor’s pain scale, and a discussion is offered under each number. For instance, under the number 5, Biss talks about how this is the most commonly used number by people who are not in excruciating pain because people have a tendency to desire normalcy. I think the format Biss used to write “The Pain Scale” made it an extremely effective piece, however it is very hard to define what exactly the piece is, but I believe it can be defined as a sort of personal reflection.

Blog I: Summary of Michael Pollan's "Why Bother?"

According to Michael Pollan, global climate change is a looming issue over today’s society and could potentially make the Earth unlivable. Many scientists and people who study climate change, such as Al Gore suggest that individuals begin a movement toward a cleaner, more eco-friendly lifestyle; but Pollan asks the question “Why Bother?” Are the efforts of the few concerned and “virtuous” citizens enough to save our ecosystem and will they even be made in time to stop the increasing global trend? There are many arguments that less concerned individuals can make to avoid changing their comfortable lifestyles, Pollan brings up a study which reported that in some cases walking to work can actually negatively impact the environment, if it increases the amount of food one consumes. So what is the alternative to relying on individuals to make a change in their carbon footprints? Pollan argues that although some people such as Michael Specter believe that laws are necessary in order to reverse the effects of climate change, the underlying problem is still our current lifestyle and no amount of money, laws, or regulation can change that. He states that today’s specialized society has made it easy for people to overlook environmental problems that do not occur near their home or work. In conclusion, Pollan offers a few tentative reasons that people should “bother” to reduce their impact on the environment. If a person “bothers” they can set an example for others, this could lead to a change in societal values, which could in turn change our way of life. One way to make an impact on the environment as well as society is growing some of your own food; this can lower your carbon footprint and your dependency on cheap energy for transportation. Providing some of your own food by growing a garden seems to be the most important message Pollan wants to convey because there are so many different ways that it affects the world.

Blog Post I

As an engineering major, I am inclined to explore the effects that technology has on mankind. Engineers work to use technology to solve problems and make solutions to those problems increasingly efficient. I was excited at the idea of our first writing prompt, "Has technology made us smarter?". I see this question as an opportunity to define who we are, what is technology and what is "smarter"? If I use this question as a base point for a new topic that interests me more I can then ask, "How has technology helped mankind grow?" This is a broad topic that requires several different definitions of the word grow. I can elaborate on innovations that have expanded our frontiers, made information more available to the public, helped people live longer and many other things that technology helps us do. As an Aerospace & Mechanical major, I am inclined to explore how methods of transportation have mad people more connected to each other, natural resources, and information. I plan to explore how people continue to improve upon designs that already exist. According to Mary Bellis, Richard Threvithick invented the steam powered the locomotive but it was not a practical method of transportation until George Stephenson designed his own version. I can explore more specific examples of other improvements made to transportation such as the evolution of NASA's space vehicles and the improvements in efficiency of the internal combustion engine, and then how they have improved our existence.


Works Cited

Bellis, Mary. "The History of Transportation." About.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 11 Sep 2011. <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_history_of_transportation.htm>.