Juxtapositions for Creative and Critical Thinking Essays

Juxtapositions for Creative and Critical Thinking Essays Juxtapositions for Creative and Critical Thinking Essay Juxtapositions for Creative and Critical Thinking Essay Essay Topic: Critical Thinking Juxtapositions for Creative and Critical Thinking On September 20, 2012 I attended the Core Convocation held at St. Catherine University in the O’ Shaughnessy Theater. The topic of the Core Convocation was entitled Juxtapositions and Mental Gymnastics, instructed by Geri Chavis. Chavis is an English Professor at the University of St. Catherine. She has been teaching at the university for some thirty five years or so. She is involved in therapeutic use of poetry for healing. She exclaimed her love for literature of the Romantic period and her fascination of multidisciplinary or integrated education. Chavis refers to her approach to education as â€Å"horizontal interactions†. This Idea of â€Å"horizontal interactions† basically describes what she calls the juxtaposition, where two or more completely opposite ideas, subjects, media, excreta can be linked somehow. In education this linking becomes important. I think it helps the students actually learn verses just memorizing material in order to pass a test. When subjects are presented in a manor so that they can be linked it creates not only repetition but also a new light in which to view things, like that â€Å"ah ha moment† in which one truly understands something for the first time. Last semester I attended the University of Minnesota Rochester. There, they pride their college courses on being integrated. All my classes from Calculus, to Biology, to The History of Terrorism could be linked in one way or another. I found this concept that Chavis also described as â€Å"linking knowledge across fields† to be extremely useful based on my own experiences. I am very good at memorizing material. I typically get good grades in school, but I feel that in the past I have actually â€Å"learned† very little. If I had to retake some of the tests I aced then I would fail miserably. I found that I actually â€Å"learned† more last semester; I was able to make that linkage and apply it to my studies to which I actually understood the material. I found that I have carried that ability to link my courses into my first semester at St. Catherine’s and it has greatly improved my ability to understand subject material, to be able to produce well educated opinions and to allow my thinking to be both creative and critical. Chavis discusses how spontaneity or creative thinking and ogic or critical thinking goes hand and hand. She used a visual of overlapping circles to show how the subjects can be linked and promote creativity with language. Chavis challenges the viewers to write about their shoes. I had fun describing the color, texture, design and comfort of my shoes. She then adds more criteria, telling us to talk about where our shoes have taken us. I loved this writing. I usually h ave difficult time thinking about what to write but I found that literally describing my shoe led to giving it personality. Once my shoe had personality my writing turned into a story of a journey through the perspective of my shoes. Everyone knows shoes don’t think or have feelings, but they do all have a story and it was fun to dive into what that story might be. Chavis then read a poem called Poison Tree by William Blake. The poem describes anger as though it was a tree. The author water his tree with more built up anger until it grows with in him until it becomes self-destructive. She then played a song that was inspired by the poem she had just read bringing new light onto the meaning of the poem. I found it interesting how I was able to connect with the meaning of the poem more through the musical version verses the poem. I think many people can relate to this poem. We are often more likely to express our emotions with those we love. Getting issues off our chest, so to speak, allows us to move on. But deep rooted anger that is not released only grows until it becomes self-destructive or explosive into something far darker than the issue itself. I enjoyed the Core Convocation. I don’t think I realized the â€Å"links† between the topic and my life until I put my thoughts into this reflection paper. I would have liked to have driven deeper into some of the topics Chavis was discussing. I felt we only scratched the surface of many ideas. Once one is able to make connections between multiple ideas it was kind of fun to try and find more. Although, I still find expressing my thoughts through writing Chavis’s exercises helped me to allow creativity to flow, especially the shoe exercise. I wish I had someone there to help me do that all the time. Writing would be much more fun and less of a chore for me.

Government Control of the Internet essays

Government Control of the Internet essays During the past decade, our society has become based solely on the ability to move large amounts of information across large distances quickly. Computerization has influenced everyone's life. The natural evolution of computers and this need for ultra-fast communications has caused a global network of interconnected computers to develop. This global net allows a person to send E-mail across the world in mere fractions of a second and enables to access information worldwide. Software that allows users with a sound card to use the Internet as a carrier for long distance voice calls and video conferencing is the key to the future of our society. Our democratic government sensing the growing power of the Internet that is not so easy to control is doing all it can to get on the top of the wild horse. The government is dreaming to have the control: to view all the information circulating the web, to read our private e-mails, to peek into chat rooms, and to restrict us, the Internet pe ople, in any way possible. The government wishes to be the next big brother who will be watching you! No matter how small, any attempt at government intervention in the Internet will stifle the greatest communication innovation of this century. At present, the web is the epitome of the first amendment of the constitution: free speech and right to privacy. Every American values freedom of the speech and their privacy as something essential. Freedom of speech is one of our most precious rights (Ferry 356). The key to the worldwide success of the Internet is that it does not limit its users. The web is a place where people can speak their mind without being reprimanded for what they say, or how they choose to say it. Jim Exon, a democratic senator from Nebraska, wants to pass a decency bill regulating the Internet. Exons bill apparently would criminalize private e-mail. Why is it that government has the need to read our private e...

Bio Ethics and Longevity Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Bio Ethics and Longevity - Term Paper Example The idea of extending human lifespan has captivated scientists, philosophers and writers for a long time now. Moreover, ethicists have argued whether people should take a step to increase human longevity, which is not surprising. This is in consideration of the persistent media interest in research in to preventing or slowing ageing. Taking note of that, this paper will briefly summarize the ethical arguments that arose from this debate, with a focus on a recent case study on Life-extension and its effects on memory and learning (on worms). Finally, it will give a summary of critique of the case study as well as the personal opinion or ethical stand. 1. Summary Case study: Life-extension and its effect on memory and learning (on worms) The focus of the case study is on two methods to increase the longevity of various organisms - calorie restriction and alteration hormone insulin. It claims that research has shown that, reducing activity related to the insulin signal pathway impact lo ngevity positively. Several biological processes such as metabolism, development and stress response are triggered by the change of insulin signal pathway.1 A group of Biologists from Princeton recently found that, altering these mechanisms do also have some consequences on the organisms’ cognitive function and their research also revealed that calorie restriction and reduced insulin signaling is linked to reduced memory and learning as the organism grow old, which calls for development of a special treatment to avoid memory loss if people are to live longer. According to Coleen Murphy, longevity research works on the assumption that people who are able to live longer should have their bodies function equally well for the additional years. Collectively with her research team, they found out that calorie restriction had some severe effect on the lasting memory of C.elegans roundworms. To their surprise, the worms only suffered from impairment to long-term memory, but did not e ncounter any reduction in memory with age. Consequently, this means that gradual memory loss can be fought by calorie restrictions. On another front, the worms that were experimented with generic mutation reduced insulin active, signaling insulin activity. This experiment improved learning ability with age, but the worms were not secured from age-related reduction in long-term memory. These worms were used because their molecular mechanisms which governed these worms were alike to higher organism like mammals, and this has provided a promising hope for cognitive research on humans. Definition(s) Cognitive is based on or related to or involving reasoning or thinking, which is an activity of the mind. Indeed, Murphy’s team has done a tremendous job, but they have to be sure that it will apply to human beings as well and how they can overcome the reduction in learning and memory of these worms in question. The information that human’s genes are likened with those of C.ele gans, enabled treatment of negative cognitive alteration in relation to longevity extension of the worms, which is an answer to humans research. This study poses big questions. Will there be equity in access to this intervention once it is out? How does it impact our morality as human beings? Is the use of worms as having the same memory as human beings ethical? The following principles and academic papers try to take these questions into consideration. 2.