Beauty

The English poet John Keats wrote, "What is truth is beauty and what is beauty is truth." I want you to think of three "things:"

1) Something that you consider beautiful and is art

2) Something that you consider beautiful that is not art.

3) Something that you don't consider beautiful but is art.

For a blog post, give an example of each type of "thing above." Be sure to embed the image/link/video/sound in the blog entry itself.

For each, explain what your reasoning is (ex. Why do you think that the work is both artistic and beautiful). Probably about 4-5 sentences for each thing.

1)Something that you consider beautiful and is art
I would say that Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise is something I would consider both beautiful and art.



Personally, I think it is very aesthetically pleasing. I am really into impressionist and post impressionist art works and there are whole museums dedicated to this type of art work. What's really unique about these types of paintings is that from far away it just looks like a simple scene with lots of color. But when you get up close you see all the intricate details and brush strokes an color layers. A person's perspectives change based on the distance. This one in particular from far away seems like a blob but up close is a sailboat out by a harbor near large ships during a sunset.

2) Something that you consider beautiful that is not art.
I think Johnny Depp is beautiful but not art. Now that mind sound a little weird but I am referring to his overall personality. His phenomenal acting can definitely be considered an art but there is more to him than that.  He is also very quirky and good natured. After his daughter got sick and recovered at a children's hospital he not only donated money but he dressed up as one of the characters to read to all the sick children there for hours. He has never allowed the fame of his career change him or his morals. His good soul is what I consider beautiful but obviously that is not art.

Something that you don't consider beautiful but is art.

Generally most films are considered art because of the impact that it has on people whether it makes them laugh or touches their emotions ect. However, the movie Austen Powers in my opinion is disgusting. I don't appreciate the grotesque slapstick humor and the plot is really stupid. However, it still is considered art by some people. Some people think this is one of the funniest movies ever made. Yes, the movie is intentionally a comdey and spoof  off old spy movies but I just don't like it.

The Trial of Galileo

Please read the excerpt from the Trial of Galileo pg 42-44. For some background: Galileo/Sun-Centered Solar System. What would you say to convince the Philosopher and Mathematician to abandon their paradigm and accept Galileo. Please blog your response. 1-2 paragraphs.

So in this trial, Galileo attempts to convince educated men, a philosopher and a mathematician, about his theories about the movement of stars. His evidence disproves the accepted theories of Aristotle during that time period. If I was in in Galileo's shoes I would also try to convince both men to actually look through the telescope to see the actual proof. If that didn't work, I would show them  the telescope to try to disprove the idea that we "painted the Medicaean Stars on it." If they still refused to believe me, then I would explain to them that what we believe to be fact now started off as new controversial ideas back then. I would explain to them, that new advancements and technologies would allow us to see things that they were unable to see and discover back then. That the paradigms of the past are very different then those of the future. I would also point out that since Aristotle could not possible go into space he would be unable to prove with one hundred percent certainty that anything was made of Chrystal and that is all just assumptions based on his observations.  I would then go into facts that disprove Aristotle's theory in terms that both the mathematician and philosopher would understand. I would show examples of when Aristotle was wrong in the past, then go into examples of when acclaimed mathematicians were wrong, and then when other philosophers were incorrect with their theories. This would allow the men to realize that everyone is human and can make mistakes and may not be correct. Hopefully, these men would be able to put asid their old paradigms and accept Galileo's.

Incognito Review

• Summarize what you think Eagleman's central idea was
• What points you found interesting or agreed with
• What points you disagreed with or didn't like
• Would you recommend it/like the book over all (Be honest this is a review.)

 I thought Incognito was a very interesting book. I first was a little afraid it might be very dry with just a bunch of facts and statistics thrown at the reader. However, it was much more than that. I think the author's central idea was that there are so many aspects of the brain that we don't know about yet and that we don't have a definite answer to why people do certain things and what causes things to happen. He shows the readers that there are varying opinions and theories as to why something happens. He also shows the reader that the brain is extremely complex and even with all our human advancements we haven't really gone really far below the surface as to how it really functions and impacts us.

I really thought the parts about how small and seemingly insignificant aspects of people could attract them to each other were really interesting. This would include dilated pupils or having names that start with the same letter, or even the certain day of a woman's menstrual cycle. It's kinda weird to know that these things have an affect on how people respond to each other. We don't even have control over it.
 I found it disturbing how tumors on your brain and other pressures or effects could basically alter your personality. A normal happy married man became attracted to children after getting a tumor. A person's sexual preference as well as all of their preferences and opinions on any topic help define the person as a individual. It's interesting to see how we really aren't responsible in some cases for who we are. It's like we don't control our brains, they control us.
I've already recommended it a few different people. My brother read it before too and even though he wasn't a fan of some of the ideas Eagleman proposes he does bring up really good points. I agree with my brother. This is a good book for people who are interested about theories on the workings of the human mind.

Knowledge Issue Blog Entry 2

1. Describe/summarize the content of the article/video.
This article discusses how french fries and other fast foods are created specifically to appeal subconsciously to customers. Food appearance and color, smell taste and feel of it play a big part of whether or not people eat it. Different aspects of the food can trigger certain memories as well. Babies that grew up in an environment with certain types of food are more inclined to eat that food when they get older. That is also why adults who visited fast food places as children are more inclined to go there now.Companies also use combinations of chemical and natural products to trick our senses so that we will desire the food.
2. List the different perspectives/sides presented in the article and briefly summarize their view (including your own).
So majority of the people decided whether they like certain foods based on scent. The author also points out that color and other appearance aspects play a huge role in it too.  The author suggests that because of these factors people want certain foods. I personally agree with the author because from personal experiences I am more inclined to eat food that smells better and remind me of my childhood.
3. List the AOK/WOK involved.video
 Scent, can trigger memories
perception how we perceive the food
color brighter foods appear to be better
emotion that the food triggers which will encourage people to go eat there
4. What issues or ideas are related to the Situation or PT?
 
See relates to article
Advertisement can also trick people's sense of perception to convince them to buy certain products. 
5. Summarize one of the knowledge problems brought up in the article/
 That our perception is not very accurate. People don't realize exactly what they are eating when both smell and appearance appeal to them. No one really considers chemical composition. They only perceive pleasant smells and bright colors which make them more inclined to want to eat the food.
6. State a Knowledge Issue related to a knowledge problem. 


To what extent do our senses impact our perception of food?

Relates to article
Back in middle school a former teacher of mine once told me that her father used to work for Coca Cola and how one day the company decided to try selling clear coke. It was identical to the normal coca cola except it was a clear color. It didn't sell well because people could not associate the new color with the old taste and therefore disliked it. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vz2nxdM0qc
that was an old ad for tab clear
http://www.articlesbase.com/cancer-articles/6-discontinued-products-that-caused-cancer-5201439.html
Basically it wasn't popular and was quickly discontinued

Knowledge Issue Blog Entry

Steps for Unpacking a KI:

1. Summarize the Situation or PT in your own words
2. What AOK or WOK are involved?
3. What issues or ideas are related to the Situation or PT?
4. What is the Knowledge “Problem?” 
5. State the Knowledge Issue

1 Summarize the Situation or PT in your own words
The morning after school ended, I woke up early as ever at 5:30 am. I took a quick shower and got ready for school. I took out my notes and started reviewing them. I was under the impression that that day was the last day of school and that I still had one more day of finals. I went to go wait my mom up to remind her to drive me to school. As soon as I woke her up, she glared up at me and said it was already summer. I was so convinced school hadn't ended but in reality it was already over and summer had began. I was also so focused and stressed out about the finals that I didn't realize they were over.I had woken up that morning and followed my usual routine without realizing there was no more school.

2What AOK or WOK are involved?
 Reason- you logically thought that today was the last day of school. You got up early and followed through with your routine and didn't recall yesterday's finals.
Perception- you thought
Emotion- The high stress of the the finals would cause reason and perception to blur therefore impacting what you thought was true.
3  What issues or ideas are related to the Situation or PT?
 When people are distracted by things they don't realize what's actually going on. Another similar issue would be to shampoo your hair twice because you couldn't remember if you did it already.
4What is the Knowledge “Problem?”
 Stress and other emotional factors can skew your perception and reason to affect what you claim to know.
5State the Knowledge Issue
To what extent do the roles of perception, reason and emotional stress play with what people perceive to be true?

First Post

• Think about something you used to think was true knowledge. Why did you believe it to be true and what changed your mind?
• Think about something you currently think is true knowledge. Why do you believe it to be true?

When I was younger, I used to think that I would definitely become an archeologist. This to me was definite knowledge. I was always interested in ancient artifacts and ancient civilizations. I enjoyed visiting museums and looking at mummies and various artifacts from far away places like ancient Egypt. I loved reading about Greek Mythology and I even liked watching TV shows that involved archeology and civilizations. Therefore, it was logical, to me at the time, that I would become an archeologist.

However, after having an amazing 5^th grade science teacher, I discovered my passion for science and other interests besides archeology. It obviously wasn’t advanced science but she was s passionate about the subject that I fell in love with it too. We dissected owl pellets and created rollercoaster etc. That opened up a huge horizon for me, and as I grew older and had more advanced science classes I was drawn into the subject of biotechnology. That inevitably led me to apply and attend BTHS. I also realized that being an archeologist is also not the best paying job. Now my dream job would most likely be working in a pharmaceutical company as a researcher. It is possible that that might change later in life too.

            So currently what I can definitely say to be true is that I will graduate high school and attend college. I have no desire to drop out of high school or fail my classes so unless the world is destroyed, I’m going to graduate. Furthermore, if I do graduate high school I I’ll inevitably attend college. The careers I want to pursuer all require college degrees. So unless I join the army or a tragedy (God forbid) occurs, it’s going to happen. To me, personally, that is true knowledge. Its similar to saying I know I'm going to wake up tomorrow and brush my teeth. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntY_xowZGT8

See 3:20-3:29

However, the statement"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path" brings up a good point. I know what I want to do in my life that is my "path" but the actual process of going through with it is unknown. I can't predict if I'll be cold tomorrow or if I really will graduate or go to college. It's my plan and I want to and think I will but this action will happen in the future and I can't say exactly what I will be feeling at that time when it is time to graduate. I have yet to reach the point where I begin walking the "path."