ch 17 - doomsday

The story of Easter Island is inspiring. Those people killed for what little they had left. But they had an escape, a few of them left the island. Doom isn't going to happen over night, it will take time for us to use our remaining sources, so until then, we can use the last of it to find an escape route or solution to the problems.

What he says about the touristy islands off the east coast is very true. There are many places all over the world that have the same problems. In Italy, less than 10% of the coast line is not completely developed. More and more space is being used up and more and more the small jewels of the coasts are being inhabited by more than they can handle. It is a tragedy.

ch 16 - armageddon

"Even Ray Kurzweil will admit that the effects of his impending singularity are unknown. He can see the crunch coming, but he can't know the results."

Although he states a "good news" message, the real god news is the uncertainty; the unknown. What we don't know about the future will save us one way or another. The article even states, "We live to die." That is pretty true. If you knew how you were going to die and when, how would you live your life? Immortality is another issue. If you are not going to die, why do things quickly, why enjoy life when you have the rest of eternity to do that? The possibility of death is what drives us along and eliminating that will kill the spirit in every human.

ch 15 - chicken

"It's also fueled a demand for more cheap energy - and an unbreakable assumtion that such energy is available."

I strongly agree with this chapter. I agree that everything as we know it will collapse once cheap oil runs out.. if we are lucky and it lasts that long. This is a really scary topic right now because it is a valid fear. I do take comfort knowing that it is difficult to predict the future. Yes, i agree that history repeats itself, but it also has a way with surprising you in little ways that tell you someone, somewhere cares about you greatly. And maybe enough people will be scared and some action will take place that will change the course that we are on currently. There are many people who feel like it's not just about the price of oil anymore, its about finding a solution to our source of energy.

ch. 18 - big

Chapter 18 was really interesting for me because it is all new information. Growing up, my parents believed very strongly in young creationism, so these ideas and evidence are all very new to me. It is kind of upsetting that such wonderful, glorious things were never shared with me until now. But at the same time, I think I have a better appreciation for the wonders of the universe now that I am in college than when all I cared about was hanging out at the mall. The Big Picture in deed. I don't really understand why my parents believe what they do, after reading this chapter, I feel like there is even more evidence supporting creation now then not accepting these facts at all. I have a feeling this is going to spark some interesting discussion with them in the next few days. The images in the chapter were breathtaking, I really couldn't get enough of them! I would love to find more like those and understand exactly what I am looking at. What really blew me away was that each image was completely different from the next one. Each galaxy is unique! How wonderfully beautiful it all is! I am in awe of the Big Picture.

Extra Credit Population

Overpopulation occurs when an organism’s numbers have exceeded the carrying capacity of their habitat. In our terms, this means that when there are not enough resources to go around, humans have overpopulated the Earth. I think it is evident that we are rapidly reaching our habitat’s carry capacity.

Every day, our natural resources become more stretched. Currently, there are water shortages in big cities in the United States such as Atlanta. There are also global shortages in China and India. According to an article in USA Today, half of humanity will be suffering from water shortages in the next 50 years. This will most likely affect the food supply, leading to food shortages as well. There is also much speculation as to when we will run out of oil. Will it be in 20 years, 50 years, or 100 years? Scientists are unsure, but either way, it will present a problem. Also, we are already beginning to overrun many of our cities’ infrastructure systems, such as is stated in Mark Sumner’s essay “Hello Doomsday, My Old Friend.”

So, just how fast are our numbers growing? Everyone probably remembers exponential growth from math class. It’s when numbers continue to double. First, you start off with a population of one, then two, then four, then 8, then 16, then 32, and so on. Population increase rates grow with the number of people. So, while it took us thousands of years to reach a population of a billion in 1804, it only took us 123 years to reach a population of two billion in 1927. Then, in only 47 years, we reached a population of four billion. There are currently 6 billion and some odd people on Earth. By 2028, if we continue to grow at our current rate, there will be 8 billion.

How is this happening? Simple reproduction. Humans are reproducing, and our children are reproducing. If each couple had two children, then they would simply replace themselves. However, even in the United States where birth control and family planning are available, the average American has two and a half children. This intimates a growing population. In other parts of the world, the amount of children born is much higher. Another factor in our growing population is medical advancement. People are living longer.

What is the solution? There is no simple solution, but there are steps we can take to stop this trend. We can make birth control more accessible to both our own citizens and other people around the world. We can continue sexual education and family planning. Another option is the more drastic method taken on by the Chinese government. We can limit the number of children a couple is allowed to have. It may seem harsh, but who wants to live in a world with food and water shortages? Finally, if we are going to continue to prolong the human lifespan, we must take the time and money to find out how we can support the larger population that will occur.

The good news is the population crisis may solve itself. It seems birth rates are dropping all over the world. In 2050, the projected number of children born per woman will be 2.05. Hopefully, that rate will continue to fall, allowing us to correct our population without harsh measures.

As for how I will support my solutions, I volunteer at the Middle Tyger Community Center in Lyman, SC. One of the programs I helped with works with pregnant adolescents. These girls get free childcare in exchange for staying enrolled in school and attending parenting classes. Statistics show teen parents are likely to have another baby as a teen but not in our program. This is my little piece of helping in the fight: education.

The picture I attached is of a UN graph of population by continent and then the world.

My statistics came from Wikipedia and http://www.cosmosmith.com/human_population_crisis.htm if anyone is interested.

Extra Credit? = )

The only possible way that I could explain population growth to my classmates would be to call it a crisis over time. In one single year, it would seem completely insignificant. 2%? That's not even worth mentioning one would say. However, imagine if it steadily rose at 2% per year for fifty years? That's 100%! Double. To put this into understandable terms, it would be easiest to imagine this growth in regards to daily home life. Imagine living in an apartment building throughout your adulthood. When you first move in straight out of college, there are 100 people living with you in your building. There are, say, 110 parking spaces and about 75-90 apartments. Great, right? Everyone has their own space. Everyone is happy. Now, imagine moving back into that same apartment complex 25 years later when you suffer a mid-life crisis and decide to return to your youth. There are still 75-90 apartments and 110 parking spaces but wait! Now there are 150 people living in the complex! There aren't enough parking spaces for anyone and the aparments are severly over crowded. And that's to day that the growth hasn't increased over time! Imagine if it grew 5% per year? That would mean that the population of the apartment had probably more than doubled since you last lived there. Everything would be unsanitary and overcrowded and everyone would be fighting over where to park and live. Scary right? Well that's what is currently happening to our country and Earth. We are increasing our numbers at an alarming rate, namely due to the crazy technology keeping us alive these days.

There is no simple solution as to how to fix this problem. The only thing I can possibly say without really venturing into space as other publications would suggest, is the notion of spreading out. Sure, it sounds too simple and a little old fashioned and perhaps useless but really think about it. Have you ever been to Arizona? There are hundreds of miles in Arizona where you see not a single soul in sight. And then go to Atlanta. I challenge you to find an inch of space without some sort of evidence of human life present. There are many desolute and somewhat deserted areas on Earth in which we could spread our population out and make it a seemingly less crowded world. Antarctica? Africa? Parts of Asia? All seemingly good ideas. Now, I'm not saying that we should inhabit all parts of Earth and ruin many of its wonders and beauty with the pollution of human populations. And I also know that this solution could not possibly work for over a century. However, I do think it's something to think about until man can actually figure out a way to spread our kind out over the universe.

Final Discussion Question

The problem of overpopulation is one that has faced the Earth for many centuries. In China, the population became so large that the government imposed a child limit. While this solution has helped a little, it has been so controversial and has hurt so many people that I don’t believe it can have any long term benefit to society. This is a really difficult problem to overcome, and I doubt that I’ll see a solution in my lifetime. I think that the only way we can solve this problem is to expand into outer space. It may not be possible to colonize other planets since so far, scientists have no found another planet that could sustain life, but I think that living on space stations could be a viable option in the future, if we develop the technology to support this endeavor. The overpopulation of our planet is one of the biggest problems that threatens the future of our world, but I do not believe that any solution will be found anytime soon.

A Modest Proposal

I’ve read this essay a couple of times in various contexts and every time I read it I’m really impressed with Swift’s use of satire to highlight a serious problem going on in his country. I think his satire has less to do with the population problem and more to do with the English treatment of the Irish. The English completely exploited the Irish, and as a result, a vast majority of the Irish population was living in poverty and squalor. Swift bitingly criticizes the English in this essay by shocking them with outrageous and inhumane solutions to the population crisis in an attempt to capture the attention of an audience who has previously been indifferent on the subject of the Irish abuse at the hands of the English.

While I don’t think it was Swift’s main priority to address the population crisis, he does introduce it as a huge problem going on in the world. Today we are still facing that problem. The Earth can only house a finite amount of people and a solution to this problem needs to be found soon. However, I think that Swift’s purpose was not to find a solution, but to propel an apathetic society into action.

Chapter 18 response

I found this article to be really confusing and difficult to understand, although I’m pretty sure my aversion for science had something to do with that. The one thing I did get from this article was how absolutely amazing science can be. The pictures in the article showing the nebulae were breathtaking and left me in awe of what can be found in the universe. I can’t always wrap my head around scientific ideas, but I do appreciate all the truly remarkable things science has done for us.

I like the idea that you can believe in the Big Bang Theory and still have faith. Where is it written that science and religious are opposing things? Why must we choose in believing one or the other? I agree with the author of this article that the things science shows us, such as the nebulae, are definitely inspirational and can be seen as a testament to the glory of God.

Serenity

I think this movie was kind of hard to understand if you hadn’t seen any of the Firefly series beforehand and because of that it was a little difficult to follow. Other than that though, I really enjoyed the movie. The concept of a Wild West in outer space was really interesting to me. It was an interesting combination that I think they pulled off really, really well.

One of the major things that I noticed with it is the fact that when science is used in an irresponsible way, such as the way it was used on River or the way it was used on the planet Miranda, it can have detrimental consequences. While it is true that on Miranda, the Alliance had good intentions, it is hard to condone what they did because it seemed as if they jumped into this “solution” to rid the world of sin without really considering the consequences. There needs to be accountability for those who pursue these dangerous theories.

Dr. Strangelove

I found this movie really odd and had some trouble following it at times. One thing that did strike me about this movie was the complete break down of communication in the military. The power to order these nuclear strikes was given to one man and his subordinates could not question it at all. I guess this is partly a comment on blindly following one person and not question their motives or their sources at all. It is very dangerous when you have such a major action, like dropping nuclear bombs on another country, taking place and no one is really able to communicate with each other.

Another thing I noticed with this movie was the escalation factor in weapon building. Both Russia and America wanted to have to most advanced and destructive weapons in case warfare broke out. This resulted in the creation of the Doomsday Device which destroyed all life on earth. This showed me that there has to be responsibility in science and technology. Scientists have to use common sense and restraint with their discipline. If research shows that something they’ve spent a great deal of time and money on is dangerous or will not benefit society in any way, scientists need to step away from the project, no matter how difficult that may be. It is important that science and technology works to benefit society and not destroy it.

Status update

By now, everyone should have gotten feedback on paper 2--if you have not gotten yours and you didn't receive feedback (or sufficient feedback) in the individualized sessions, please re-send the paper or the link.

Remember that all papers and revisions are now due tomorrow (Tuesday) night by midnight. I'll be assessing weblog posts tonight :-)

If you have any questions, remember to post them to the weblog--I'll try to check frequently but if yours gets overlooked or buried, send me an email prompting me to look.

I'm looking forward to your final papers. :-)

Question for Dr. Fishman

Have you e-mailed grades/feedback for paper 2 yet? There were technical complications with paper 1 and consequently I never received it. Since revisions are due on Tuesday, I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of time to address any necessary amendments. If you are still grading our papers please disregard this, but if you have already e-mailed feedback please resend mine.

Thanks so much!

Discussion Question

Is there a solution to the overpopulation issue?

Well first we have to determine if there is an issue of overpopulation.  Looking at the National Census Bureau's statistics, the Earth's population in 1960 was 3.04 billion, and in 2000 6.08 billion, effectively doubling the Earth's population in 40 years.  The Earth can only effective sustain a finite number of people.  And some scientists think we have passed this threshold. So, this is definitely a problem!

What do we do now?

So now that we believe there is an overpopulation issue, what's the next step?  Many scientist believe that with changes in culture, deadly diseases, and war, the population growth is slowing. Some scientists have surmised that the growth of the homosexual community is nature's way of correcting the population issue.  Some scientist also believe that the vast array of deadly diseases is nature's way of correcting the population issue.  I staunchly disagree with those sentiments just by looking at the census.  And even if those scientist were correct, I'd rather not wait until some cataclysmic disease attacks our world and wipes out a third of the population.  I think there are several options we can explore to deal with overpopulation now.

Space is considered the next logical step for man's expansion.  However, I think we haven't explored all of our options here on Earth.  I believe the ocean is definitely a place we can explore.  In several science fiction movies (Star Wars, The Abyss), we've seen underwater communities thriving.  I think this is a viable option for expansion, however there are several problems with this idea.

One problem is the idea of destroying underwater ecosystems.  Another problem is the idea when mass is added to water, the water level rises.  With water levels rising too high, flooding on land happens.  These our two legitimate concerns, however I believe that with research and effort, solutions are definitely available.

What can I do?

These ideas for population expansion are huge and you might be wondering what you can do.  Well, simply donating money towards research on this topic can greatly benefit the planet.  It's an easy way to contribute, without having a huge burden placed on you.  Another idea is to simply raise awareness about this issue.  This is a huge issue, but it's not a priority for most people.  Let's help make it a priority by raising awareness.  Tell your friends, family, coworkers, and so on. 

Chapter 18 - The Big Picture

I've always viewed science as the means for gaining insight on how God created the world.  So this e-book, which some can easily view as a diatribe against creation, is an interesting read.  Simply because it is enlightening me on some of the mysteries of our world.  But it does not make me question my faith in God, but only marvel in his creations.  

I guess the point of this chapter was to put in perspective our significance in the universe.  And remind us that we should be thankful for the lives we have, and "... feel science is worthy of our responsible stewardship, and for a lot more reasons than the production of nifty new gadgets."

Serenity

This movie is one that I've seen several times and enjoyed immensely.  The movie begins with the Earth being overpopulated, so space is the inevitable frontier for colonization.  There's a new government, The Alliance - the Americans and Chinese - that is ruthless in its pursuit of its own interests.  And those interests include capturing a young woman named River Tam who is extremely gifted.  What ensues is a classic count and mouse game, with Reavers thrown in to spice it up a little.

There are many parallels in this story relating to the title, Serenity, that are interesting.

Serenity relating to space.  Space is calm, quiet, and peaceful.  Yet, in this story line space is a place of conflict and struggle.  And in certain Reaver occupied portions of space, it is a death sentence.  

Serenity relating to the operative.  He was ruthless, confident, intelligent, and at peace with who he was, and his role in the grand scheme of the Alliance.  However, it wasn't until after watching the Miranda message, that he seemed to fully be at peace.

Serenity relating to River Tam.  River was a gifted, talented, and tortured soul, who moved through the world operating on a different plane.  Even during the throes of combat, she remained serene, peaceful, and composed.  Yet, death seemed to surround her.  

Serenity relating to Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds.  He was a man he seemed to have his hurts, issues, and demons that he didn't like to expose, but they effected how he treated people. It wasn't until he was able to get Inarra Serra, a Companion, back that he seemed to have found serenity.

There are a few qualities that make a movie great.  The main and most important quality is believability.  And this movie, though it's science fiction, is not so far from our scope of thinking to be thought of lightly.  Which is what makes this movie so great.  It's believable and for many has answered the question "Where do we go next?"

Jonathan Swift - A Modest Proposal

While reading this, I was trying to figure out who this type of reasoning sounded like.  It was almost as if I were listening to the arguments of Hannibal Lecter.  They were extremely clear, concise, and logical, however, all lacked any sense of humanity or decency.  How do you relate eating children to promoting pride in your country?

Even though I spent the entire read saying, "Are you serious?", I can't help but admire the way Swift proposes this unbelievable argument, causing his readers to scream at the page for him to stop, but somehow unable to stop themselves from reading more.  

I'm not sure if you would call this satire, because even though Swift is using exaggeration, I'm not sure who this exaggeration was used to criticize.  Maybe he is criticizing the government for not finding a solution to this problem.  Maybe he is criticizing landlords for not giving poor people a break.  Or maybe he is criticizing the rich for their extravagances in lieu of such social injustices.  Or maybe, just maybe, he is criticizing them all.  So, in that light, I guess you can call this a satire.

Kosmos ~ Chapter 18

I, too, was captivated by the discussion on rainbows only to be intimidated later with the terminology adopted in later portions of this article. Additionally, I found myself reading and rereading the article in order to really gain insight into the “point” of its existence in the ebook. I assumed, with it being the final chapter, that its purpose was much more than what was inherently apparent; this was definitely one of those reads where you didn’t just read what was printed in black ink to get the “big picture” but you also read into the white space…what was not said.

This entire chapter highlighted many galaxy altering (life altering) discoveries for both earth and her inhabitants. Darksyde describes discoveries such as the supernova and the antenna as resulting from luck or chance (during ones first read of the chapter). However, after rereading this article I’ve come to appreciate what I feel Darksyde was really trying to accomplish in his text. He's arguing that science, similar to life, is not sustained by chance happenings. There are no leprechauns, no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and no such thing as luck. Unless you count the quote, that luck only occurs when preparation meets opportunity. I’m not arguing that Einstein knew what he was about to stumble upon or that Isaac Newton planned for the apple to hit him on the head. What I am saying, however, is that these individuals’ minds were prepared. They had an understanding and appreciation of science in all its capacity. They didn’t by any means conform to groupthink. In fact, they (more often than not) challenged it (utilized their free thought) which brings us to the quote that appears towards the end of the article:
The body of science is sustained by the life-blood of free thought, and often grows along unexpected veins of serendipity. (Darksyde)

After reading all of Darksyde’s articles you’d assume that the main point of his writing alone is and was to defend science but that is far from the case. What is the point then, you ask… The answer is simple and Darksyde says it best. What he wants us to take away from Chapter 18 and the rest of the readings is in my opinion what Dr. Fishman wants us to take away from this course—the idea that it’s all tied together: the integrity of science, the integrity of the nation, the future of the species, the core liberties we all hold dear. (Darksyde)

Serenity

The irony of Serenity is that it is anything but serene and that is the beauty of it.

I’ve read this quote over and over again in reference to the movie Serenity and I just don’t get it. It’s one of those movies that has so much “hype” surrounding it but leaves you almost always expecting more when it ends and its rolling credits begin to flood the silver screen. I’ve read over most of your responses to the movie and I feel like I’m not really getting what everyone else seems to have gotten from it.

***

So, I watched Serenity again last night and I can FINALLY say...I GET IT! I GET IT!

In the future, humanity has spread to other planets when the Earth became overpopulated. But it is not a peaceful universe: Civil war rages between groups of planets, the highly structured and controlled worlds of the Alliance vs. the Independents, who are the residents of the outer worlds. There are also groups that have become cannibals and prey on other humans.

I think the above description of the movie's plot and I can't help but feel a little queasy. I can't just laugh at the humor found in this space western comedy because so much of it resonates with a possible (very real) future for all of us Earthlings. In my response to the class question, I assent to the idea of expanding further into the galaxy in order to accomodate our excess population. In doing so, however, I never really thought about the implications that would bring. In short, I never considered the fact that we would bring all of our flaws (pollution, war, and even a lack of humanity at times) with us.

I suppose the quote is right on. This movie is far from "serene." I argue this point because I'm fearful that we will eventually run out of places to run. We will eventually destroy everything and not so much because it's a natural "circle of life" but because we're flawed humans and rather than force ourselves to sustain and improve our home here we'd rather take on more so as to avoid having to be accountable for the soiling of our planet.

Final Discusion Q

To the left is a fitting picture for a discussion on the population crisis and the future of mankind. Overpopulation has nothing to do with population density and everything to do with an area's resources and ability to sustain a population. If there aren't enough resources to go around, then the area is experiencing overpopulation. Currently, the world population is at over 6 billion people. By 2050, our population may reach 12 billion if we do not alter our actions. Can Earth support this growth?

Much of this class has been spent in contemplation of the approaching energy crisis. Humans are reaching the end of Earth's oil supply. We will soon turn to electricity to fuel our cars and homes, but there is not an endless amount of uranium. What happens when we are out of uranium? Then, how will we create energy? Eventually, all resources will cease to exist, and one day the sun will begin to fuse helium into heavier elements, causing the sun to swell, swallowing the Earth. If mankind survives on Earth a few more million years, then this will be our end. Depressing as it may be, the eventual fate of mankind in my opinion, is likely oblivion.

However, in the mean time, there are measures we can take to prolong our stay here on Earth. First and foremost, we can be conservative with our resources. We can't continue to spend money on healthcare and advancements to prolong human life without spending money to help support the rapidly growing population. We need to conserve and protect our environment and natural resources. We also need to spend more money on sexual education, family planning, and birth control. There are some who do not use birth control for religious reasons, but there are many people who simply do not have the education or access to information and contraceptives (not just in third world nations but in the US as well). If we want to fight the population crisis, this must be the beginning. China has taken the radical step of implementing One-Child Policy which states that couples in China may only have one child, though there are violations. This policy has been put in place in order to reduce the strain on China's resources. This a solution that many countries will need to examine if birth rates do not begin to fall naturally.

We must also push the boundaries of science and keep searching for alternative energies. No longer can we burn fossil fuels and destroy our ozone layer. Humans must learn to produce a greater food supply and rework public infrastructures to support larger populations. It is time for the human race to once again evolve if we wish to continue to live.

As they say, space is the final frontier. If we, the human species, do not leave Earth, then we are doomed. There is no nice way to put this. The sun will destroy us, if it isn't an asteroid, meteor, or our own stupidity that does it first. I hope that with further scientific advancement, we will be able to find other planets and stars that can sustain human life. Then, with further experimentation and innovation, we must discover how we can transport large numbers of people to "our new home."

In the mean time, I believe it is best that we preserve what we have, Earth. After all, there is currently no way of telling that there are other places habitable by humans. There is also no way to know if travel at "warp" speed is possible. It may have to be the descendants of the original passengers that actually arrive at these planets alive, which bring up the question of sustaining life for generations on a spaceship.

A Modest Proposal

Swift's "Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public” suggests that the Irish, suffering from severe poverty under English rule, should eat their young in order to overcome starvation and overpopulation. Swift’s proposal, hardly modest, is to fatten up the undernourished poor children and then sell them to more well-to-do families as food.

By presenting this outrageous concept as though it should be easily and readily assented to by the masses, Swift shocks his readers into really considering other methods by which to address starvation and overpopulation in Ireland. This works so well because he creates a political satire out of seemingly logical arguments. Furthermore, Swift suggests that if his proposal is adopted that it could solve overpopulation and unemployment, save the poor from having to spend what little money they make on raising the excess children in their families, and provide the poor with much needed additional income while giving the wealthy access to another guilty pleasure to feed their gluttonous lifestyles.

What makes Swift's proposal work, in my opinion, is the very reason that celebrities typically embrace the tabloids, tmz, etc; it's the idea that even bad publicity is good publicity. In short, anything that is facilitative of discourse is beneficial to their cause (which happens to be getting larger roles that pay more money). In Swift's case it's getting people to be so repulsed by his suggestion that they will begin a rhetorical discourse with others about a more "modest" proposal than the one Swift presented. We see this kind of ideology in literature as well as the media. Consider Huckleberry Finn. It's a very controversial novel, often pulled off reading lists in public schools because of the authors treatment of race. In my opinion, however, I feel that the book is beneficial in the classroom because it can be used as a bridge into discussions pertaining to racial prejudices that may or may not be just as present in today's society as it was in Twain's.

If literature encourages dialogue that would not have been initiated otherwise is it not worthwhile regardless of whether or not the content is modest or ostentatious?

Serenity Response

Okay, this movie started out great. It had a Minority Report/Matrix feel to it, and some great science fiction elements. There was the exodus from Earth due to overpopulation and the advancement of the government into the “Alliance.” Technology was heightened. Humans were able to travel huge distances into space for sustained periods of time and were subsequently able to find other planets and moons to inhabit. Also, it is interesting that humans found a way to alter the makeup of a planet so that it could sustain human life, rather than finding planets that could already do so on without intervention.

Then, everything seemed to go awry. The movie suddenly became less science fiction and more of a bad horror film. Suddenly, I felt like I was watching The Hills Have Eyes or Rambo on crack. The deaths began to get progressively gruesome as the death toll continued to skyrocket. I can’t say I enjoyed the notion (or sound for that matter) of a woman being raped and eaten alive by human cannibals. I also didn’t appreciate the planet full of repulsive, contorted dead bodies due to a government’s stupidity and need for control. (Did it even occur to them to test these “calming” chemicals before coating an entire planet?)

Just when I thought things had taken a turn for the better, I got to see one of the main characters stabbed through the chest with a piece of metal. Would it have been too simple to shoot him? Yes, and there wouldn’t have been nearly enough gore, which seemed to be a primary goal for the film producer.

I will admit that there was poetic justice in the Reavers attacking the Alliance members who created them out of their need for control. It was also ironic that members of the Alliance became just as ruthless and inhumane as the Reavers (killing children to capture one girl).

Despite the fact that this film repulsed me, there was some good stuff there too. I appreciated the science fiction elements and a somewhat happy ending. I felt that the film could have been better if they had concentrated a little less on the shock and gore and a little more on the story line. The attempts at romance were also pretty poor. The best part of this movie to me was that the common man won a huge victory. They managed to get out information to the people and lessen the power of the “Alliance” regime. To me, this is the most important lesson to take away from this. Governments can be overthrown. The power ultimately rests with the people. (though I do find it hard to believe that such as powerful government wouldn’t be able to cover up the whole scandal as falsehoods spread by an enemy to the “Alliance”)

Ch 18 Response

Well, this chapter thoroughly confused me in the beginning. It started off with rainbows and moved all the way to the Big Bang. I’m not exactly sure how I got there. However, after reading this article through several times, I came to the conclusion that the main purpose of it is to help the reader put things in perspective. For instance, what is the Earth in comparison to the cosmos? What is the human species in the view of the entire universe? What is our importance as mere individuals? This article is about seeing the big picture and recognizing something larger than ourselves, whether it be scientific or religious.

The images throughout this article are breathtaking. It is awe inspiring to think that these are pictures of our universe, and they look like a cosmic lightshow. Could these beautiful lights and patterns and happenings be a mistake? A mere chance? Or the design of a creator? This article doesn’t say. It does, however, show that the Big Bang is real and supported by too much scientific data to be flatly denied. After all, “The body of science is sustained by the life-blood of free thought, and often grows along unexpected veins of serendipity.” If we close our minds to science, then we will cease to progress.

As for the importance of individuals in the cosmic scheme of things, it took one apple to the head for Isaac Newton to formulate his three laws that have become a cornerstone of science as we know it. One person can make a difference for mankind and, perhaps, one day for the universe.

Response to Swift

Jonathan Swift’s infamous essay “A Modest Proposal” presents a dramatic introduction to the overwhelming population problem that has haunted us for decades. Swift’s proposal is simple. Ireland is overpopulated. There are mothers and children in the streets begging and stealing to eat. How can we reduce the population? Eat babies. According to a good American (figures) source, babies can be delightful treats whether “stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled.” I personally prefer fried.

At any rate, Swift uses outrageous satires to cause controversy and highlight a serious social problem. Even today, we continue to face a population crisis, despite many efforts to prevent it. In China, citizens are limited to two children per household. There has also been the creation of better and more accessible birth control. However, some opt not to use these products, whether it be for personal or religious reasons. In present day Atlanta, citizens are suffering from a shortage of water. During the era of the Grape of Wrath, there was a food shortage despite the presence of food. Farmers were destroying crops while people starved to bring up prices and profits.

What is the solution? According to this week’s readings, it is space, the next frontier.

Discussion Question

I truly believe there is no possible solution to the overpopulation problem on Earth except to expand into space. You cannot expect people to limit their children like China does because it goes against too many cultural differences. Catholics do not believe in birth control and that is why they tend to have very large families. This is very prevelant among many of the Hispanics. The only way to establish a population restraint is to abandon the idea of cultural tolerance and become a fascist regime which nobody in their right mind wants. The fact is the population is continuing to grow and land is getting much more scarce. The only solution is to find more land and right now that is either in space or the ocean. Perhaps we can create artificial islands but that would only serve as a temporary solution. Space is our future and we are making strides toward space colonization. I will probably never see it but maybe my grandchildren will raise their children on Mars.

I really enjoyed Serenity. I grew up a big fan of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood and I was really pleased how they were able to integrate elements of the Wild West with a Science fiction movie. I also used to love the original Star Wars which also had a little of the Wild West theme as personified by Han Solo. I thought this movie tied in very well with our previous discussions on the neutrality of science and technology. It also really tied in well with my paper on I am Legend. A chemical is used to help (cure cancer in I am Legend and pacify aggression in Serenity) but something goes terribly wrong and people become cannibals. It is hard to feel complete anger toward the Alliance as they had the right intentions. Therefore, do we let them off the hook or do we crucify them for the end result? It is a hard question to answer as I do not think you can do either one fully. It is a very grey situation and should not be looked at in black and white. It is also good to note the disillusionment of the Operative. He blindly followed orders for the Alliance believing everything was for a higher and better cause. However, he found in the end the error of his belief. This can be reminiscent of any kind of fanatical following. The join to be a part of something better and lose sight of what is truly right.

A Modest Proposal

This was always one of my favorite reads in high school. Yes I am a practicing cannibal and yes I think overpopulation is a problem that should be addressed. Win win right? I'm only joking about the first. The great thing about Swift's proposal is his methods. He uses very good arguments to support his idea and you almost feel overly inclined to agree with him despite how barbaric it may seem. His use of sustained irony is incredible and makes this satire one of the best in the English language.

Overpopulation has become a growing concern. Land is getting less and people are exponentially increasing. It is hard to come up with a perfect solution that will work for all cultures. You could suggest birth control but Catholics do not practice it. Abortion is taboo and most people consider China's one child rule absurd. So maybe we can find a way to deep fry a baby and then I'll be on board with Swift...

Chapter 18

I am so lost after reading this chapter I don't even know where to begin. It went from rainbows, to the Big Bang, to Supernovas, and finally to something called dark matter. Huh?! I guess the one thing this chapter did was show that the Big Bang theory is more of an actuality as opposed to a possibility. The evidence has become too overwhelming to merely ignore the Big Bang as heresy. And as far as heresy is concerned, I agree that the Big Bang only gives more proof of a God. Someone had to start putting things in motion and after one tremendous even everything started falling into place. This was a perfect example of God's power.

But as far as the rest of the chapter is concerned, I don't have a clue about microwaves and the light spectrum. For that reason, I did not enjoy this chapter much at all. I thought it talked way too much about facts without making any crazy predictions or connections that I had gotten used to from previous readings.

Chapter 18

I can't begin to pretend that I understand what this article was about, it lost me so many times that I finally had to scan the last few paragraphs just to get something worth commenting on for this blog. I think it's about the Big Bang theory, right?

I will say that, growing up in a Southern Baptist household, I would've been taught to reject such a notion. God created everything, so the story goes, and it came about precisely as He intended, with no prep time in the Big Lab in the Sky. One look around at our world and how it's changed over the past century at least would give you reason enough to think otherwise. I'm still not sure what I believe in terms of God vs. Evolution (or even if I believe the two are incompatible), but I think evolution is the best theory we've got.

Face it: change is the only constant. Whether you believe in a just, all-knowing God or not, you can't be ignorant of the fact that some things are native to a region of the world and some are native to another region. It's not that God couldn't have created everything perfectly as is; he may just have taken the dinosaurs for a test drive, realized that he had goofed, and sent an asteroid to erase the evidence.

I'm not comfortable with dogmatic statements on either side of the creation/evolution debate, because sound bites reduce complex issues to catchy...sound bites (couldn't think of a better word there). It's just as true in scientific debates as it is in politics.

Again, I had a hard time with this one, so my apologies if I'm way off the mark of the article's intent.

Modest Proposal

Swift is right, we should eat our babies.

Just kidding, but obviously population control was a concern long before our time. The idea that the earth is infinite and that we'll have resources to sustain life is just wishful thinking. In time, everything will run out (some resources more than others) and we could be faced with a "Serenity"-style scenario of interplanetary colonization. But for the time being, let's just try to see what we can make of the present earthly concerns.

Swift wrote this, tongue firmly in cheek, in part because of the complaints about Irish overpopulation (and the subsequent migration of said Irish to the mainland English shore). His solution of "controlling" the Irish population is intentionally barbaric because we're talking about human beings (something that could get lost in the argument about everything from overpopulation to illegal immigration). Our basic human decency towards one another can get lost when we talk about it in terms of numbers instead of individuals.

Apart from that, I'm not sure what else I can say about this piece that hasn't already been said. Swift could come across like a monster if you take it literally, but I have a feeling that a lot of his English readers might not have been in on the joke (they may have agreed that the only way to control the Irish was by eating them). It may be that we're not advanced enough to refrain from such barbaric tendencies. But I certainly hope no one takes Swift up on his idea.

Final Discussion Question

I have to argue yes, it is more likely to solve our problem by eventually expanding outward into the galaxy (into the solar system, first, of course). It is hard to regulate population growth in the world today, though some have tried. I believe China has a national program in place to deter multiple births from a single family in an effort to stem population growth of their country. On a large scale though, I see it being very difficult to control population growth in a free society in a humane way. At best, governments could offer incentives for not conceiving multiple children, but even that would be hard pressed to make a solid impact.

On the flip side, even as NASA's latest probe, Phoenix, landed on the Martian surface just a few short weeks ago on May 25, NASA is currently working on missions to revisit the Moon. It plans to do so by 2020, with a moon base in place by 2024, in an effort to better understand what it will take to sustain life, and potentially use it as a jumping off point for missions to Mars which may eventually lead to colonies/life on Mars as a surrogate planet. "Scott Horowitz, NASA's head of exploration, says "a lunar base will be the central theme, for going back to the moon in preparation to go to Mars and beyond"" (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6582960). It may seem science-fiction, but chips are being put into place to make it a potential reality TODAY.

Final Due Dates--Updated :-)

Hello everyone,

Because of some technical difficulties, the due date for the final paper, as well as any and all revisions you might want to turn in has been changed to Tuesday the 24th, by midnight. This way, anyone who wants to revise their first two papers should have time to do so. (If you were among those who didn't get an email with revision suggestions, hopefully you attended one of the office hours online. If not, you should contact me asap.)

If you have any other questions about the revised due dates, or about your revisions, please let me know.

Our last class takes place this Monday, and of course I'll be happy to address any end-of semester concerns at that time. I'm enjoying your papers very much and looking forward to reading the next round.

T. F.

Discussion Question

I’m not quite sure how to answer this question. According to the sources I utilized, it would seem that our population is increasing pretty steadily and somewhat rapidly. According to the Population Institute, it took the entire world population until1830 to reach a billion people. In comparison, it was estimated that by 2005, the population was increasing at a rate of 80 million people a year. This is probably due to the constant improvements to modern medicine which both keeps people alive longer and reduces the infant mortality rate. So clearly, we see that there is a pretty big problem. Our planet just can’t really continue to hold the world population if it continues to grow in this way.

However, I still think that there’s no real definitive answer to this question. On one hand, sure, it would probably help out a lot if we moved further into the galaxy. We would have less people on Earth and would be able to have more room and an overall healthier environment. However, I really do not see this happening. There are several reasons for this. First of all, I don’t know if, after so many years of living on Earth, our bodies could adjust to life on another planet. With the different environments and atmosphere, it may take another act of evolution just to survive. That’s not even to mention the food and water needed. Who’s to say if there would be a decent amount of either for a population to survive. And we couldn’t very well ship food from Earth to another part of the galaxy because, if for some reason communication was cut off, that could be disastrous. Furthermore, it would be nearly impossible to decide who to take. Who would want to leave EARTH, where the only known human race has ever existed, and take them into SPACE to some unknown planet where anything could happen?

So, therefore, I guess it’s probably pretty improbable that we would move further into the galaxy in later years as a result of population growth. Though that does seem like the only solution. This is why population growth is so scary. There’s really nothing to be done about it. While you want people to live longer and have healthier lives, you also want a smaller population. It’s really a Catch-22. Perhaps moving into the galaxy is the only solution. But I don’t see that ever happening without some new wave of knowledge coming to us about how large populations of humans could survive off of Earth

Chapter 18

I found this chapter to be really interesting. I’ve always really liked space and all that it entailed. I completely agree with all that the author said. It really is amazing how a man with binoculars or a vintage, poorly-constructed tool can discover phenomenons that change the way we look at the universe around us.

I, too, have always felt a connection to space. It’s just so amazing to think of what a small entity we are in the big scheme of things. Here on Earth, especially in America, we often let our lives get away from us and just feel like everything is so important. But taking a step back and looking into the sky and the stars and the planets, you see what a small piece of the universe we really are. And he’s also right in saying that that’s really just the beginning.

The thing that really stuck out to me in this chapter was the constant referral to the many scientists in astronomy. I knew a bit about Hubble, as well as rainbows and other astronomical discoveries in the text. However, this went much farther than I had ever imagined. I just can’t put into words how astounding it is to me that these scientists learned more back in early science with minimal equipment than scientists can now with all of the technology at their fingertips. It really just goes to show how brilliant they were. And what is even more amazing is that they really stood their ground in their discoveries. Even though people ridiculed and ultimately tarnished their reputations, they stood their ground until the day they died. Their merit and brains are really incomparable to anything we see today.

I just really feel like our universe is one of the most amazing things one can learn about. The thought of endless space and energy is just ridiculous. We are just a miniscule part of what our universe really entails. I think that this chapter really represented that well.

Serenity

Wow. This movie was a little...strange. I'm not really fond of science fiction movies and I'm not a fan of westerns. Combine the two and it's probably something that's not for me. I'd never watched the series on TV (though I am a huge fan of Joss Whedon- Hello, Buffy the Vampire Slayer! lol.). Perhaps if I had, the movie would have been a little more significant. However, I did appreciate the messages in the movie.

Overpopulation seems to be the root of all the problems which obviously fits right into the theme of this week. Had it not been for overpopulation, everyone may have been able to stay on Earth and avoid the problems with the other planets. Additionally, I feel like overpopulation of the universe in this movie was a central theme. There were many fights among those from different realms of the universe. Each planet that the crew travels to finds a different problem awaiting. There just is not enough room for everyone to live peacefully. Had there been a proper number of people in the universe, everyone could have maintained their own boundaries without having to resort to such violence.

The problems with overpopulation presented in this movie are not uncommon in today's world. I am a firm believer in overpopulation resorting to violence. I think that many of the fights, wars, and violence that occur in our world are as a result of too little land for everyone to live happily. Just look at any typical suburb in America. In Charleston, the highest classes of neighborhoods have houses basically on top of one another. There just isn't enough room for everyone. While advances in healthcare are a wonderful thing (I am a health science major so clearly I support this) they can also be a curse to our environment. Modern medicine helps people live longer while also saving more newborns from dying at birth. Therefore, we are seeing more and more people inhabiting our Earth. I don't think we'll ever see such an extreme measure of overpopulation as in this movie (at least I hope not) but I do think that there is a problem. The scary thing about it, though, is that there's really not much we can do about it. We want our loved ones to live longer and we want to see more children on our planet. However, all of this comes at a price. The predicament is finding a way to balance it all in a healthy way.

A Modest Proposal

I’ve read this “proposal” several times in my college years. Each time, I am reminded of the many ironies and points made in it. After first reading it, you are understandable disgusted. It takes a while for it all to digest. It usually leaves me saying “Now why did I read this again?” However, after learning a little more about the subject matter and really thinking about it, everything becomes a little clearer.

First of all, it’s quite disturbing that, no matter how it’s intended, the author uses babies as a means of making a point. And the fact that the Irish children are compared to swine is just disgusting. However, after learning some of the historical background of the author (as I did in English a few years ago) a lot of the context makes more sense. First of all, the author has backgrounds in Ireland. He is using his whole “They’re just Irish right?” sensibility in his proposal as sarcasm. He uses it almost to show how ridiculous it all is that the Irish were considered so dirty.

I feel like most of the “proposals” in this essay, no matter how demeaning, were used just for the shock value. It almost seems as though this entire essay is said in sarcasm. Who would have thought that population control was a problem in the eighteenth century? It seems that many at this time were trying to figure out ways to eliminate this problem. However, it also seems that the Irish population were among those being blamed for the problem. It is no secret that Irish were not well thought of during this time. Perhaps it is for this reason that the essay was written. Perhaps the author was intending to show what a serious problem population control was. Whatever the purpose, this is a “proposal” that leaves me lost for words and confused every time I read it.

Questions

Hey!
Does anyone know when the final paper is due? The syllabus says Sunday, June 25th. Does this mean Wednesday the 25th or Sunday the 22nd? Also, are we revising paper one or two? I assume two, but after reading over one of Prof Fishman's emails, I confused myself. lol. Sorry if I asked something that has already been answered...
Thanks everyone,
Laura

SEX - chapter 10

tehehe sex!

Okay, now that I have that out of my system... This chapter is my favorite chapter thus far. Not only did it raise questions I never even thought of before, it proposed logical answers. (On a side note, I also enjoyed Mr. Sumner's writing style.) I have to agree with every part of this chapter. So here was his question, even though Neandertals looked awful, "why didn't we have nookie with these guys? Face it, people will shag anything." Oh yes, I have to agree on the last part. But besides people's poor judgment, it is still a good question. As he explained, it wasn't for lack of interaction or desire, it was because, as he proposes, that the species had two completely "different reproductive strategies." But I have to add something that you might find disturbing. Have you ever heard of furies? (ewww... but if you seriously have not heard about it, google it because I'm not explaining it.) So its obvious crazy stuff happens, and you still don't think that somewhere, a human really wanted to get it on with a Neandertal? I donno... even with the evidence, I am still not entirely convinced that they didn't at least try. And I thank God that they didn't succeed. (wow... rule 34!! As nasty and as hard as it is to imagine, I’m sure it’s been done.)

Skies - chapter 12

This chapter is really motivating to do something positive for the environment. With the technology of today, each and every one of us should be able to help out in a small way that, combined, will amount to something awesome. I mean, I really don't like the idea of comparing Earth's atmosphere to a warm, exploding, soda can. And no one told me that it could be possible that this could get to a point of no return. "And if the oceanic temperature is raised, the water will let go of some of that CO2 just like a diet soda does. (...) What if that was enough to tip us into a cycle of intense greenhouse warming? The cycle might be unstoppable." OMG! Was anyone going to announce this or just leave it to a few college students to worry about?! I really want to know more about this topic specifically.

It seems like, especially with everything else going on with global warming, that people would be running tests to disprove or prove this issue. And maybe they are, but I think the general public should know exactly what is going on. If nothing else, it would cause a few more people to jump up and do something!

The Gift - chapter one

Science is a really awesome gift. And, like so many other gifts that we have been blessed with, it has also had it's share of corruption. On top of the corruption; however, it has also been attached, litterally, by groups of people who have been trying to undermine the meanings and discoveries with falshoods or claims that benefit them personally instead of humanity. This chapter said a lot of things that were new to me. I had no idea that science could be taken advantage of like that. I still had high hopes that it was one of the remaining pure things in life. I guess I will have to go sit on an empty hill side to find pure nature. But even the hill sides are being swalled up by sprawl (sprawl = bad). I'm glad there are signs of hope later in the chapters.

Discussion Question #2

1. What is the difference between our environment and ourselves?
The difference between our environment and ourselves is a fine line. Recently, the environment (or so we are told) has been on a downward spiral toward global warming. Humanity has been on a downward spiral as well. I say this lovingly, but have you ever gone into Wal-Mart and seen children that made you say, "And that's why I'm not having kids." Just like the need for making changes to better the environment, I think there are changes that need to be made within the school systems and communities to better future generations. Just a few of the problems include obesity, violence, and education.

2. How does technology relate to the boundary?
Technology is, arguably, one of the factors that have caused so many of our problems. Too many people sitting at home watching TV, too many people playing violent video games... we have heard it all. But technology also holds the solution. Technology is great for education! It has brought students and faculty together like never before (online classes are lots of work, but fun!). The wii fitness game is trying to bring about changes on that end as well.

3. Does or can science/technology change that boundary, or change our perception of it?
Yes. Science and technology have greatly changed their perception of the environment already. Space travel! Landing on the moon! These are major events that have rocked history and changed how people think of future possibilities.

Pastor Dan -chapter 4

Pastor Dan is a really interesting person from what i can tell. He has been able to question creation while remaining strong in his faith. I think it was really interesting how he pointed out that "we were created to know love." This statement is so simple, yet really hit me. In all of this war, disaster, and global warming, there is still love?

"how is it that we can discover and further the uses of science for the benefit of all, including the 'creation' of which we are charged to be stewards?"
This is a really hard question. I can not even attempt to answer it since it goes way beyond the scope of my knowledge. There is already a lot research and development going into helping the environment... but then he goes on another important point; the "misuses of science." Meaning, there is far too much money and resources wasted on trivial luxuries that, in the end, mean little to nothing. When I traveled to Europe last fall, I took only one backpack and a normal size purse. I was gone for 4 months. Needless to say, I learned to live with out a lot of stuff I had here in the states. I did without the fancy razor, shampoo (hotel samples rock) and makeup. I took only a few changes of clothes and two pairs of shoes. I had plenty; I can't image traveling with more (European railroad stations are hard to maneuver with lots of luggage). After anyone has challenged themselves to live down from their normal standards, it makes you really think about what you take advantage off on a daily basis. It seemed like what Pastor Dan was saying is that the priorities for research and development are a little out of wack. Sure, its great to have luxury, but we can do with what we have for now, lets put more of the resources into discovering better technology for the environment.

Dr. Strangelove

Each time I watch this movie, I am astounded by the way that so much can be said without saying anything at all. Corny, yes, but true. What I always find the most entertaining about this movie is the way that the government (namely the military) is portrayed. In fact, the only man portrayed as intelligent in the entire film is British.

Throughout the film, we see the government engaged in conversation fit for grade schoolers. For example, when the president calls "Dimitri" about disengaging whatever it is that they have, he talks to him as though he is a child. He is very calm and rational with him while also looking like a fool in the process. It also makes it seem as though the two are old friends despite the fact that they are currently engaged in war with one another. Also, the military leaders are portrayed as complete morons. The general would not even come out of the bathroom to answer the call about the current war. Furthermore, he is so concerned with the awesomeness of a "Doomsday Machine" that he completely disregards what is happening to his men and country at that very moment.

The film also makes it seem as though the military is completely unworried about the circumstances surrounding them. They are not really concerned with the fact that they are currently engaging in war but are more concerned with petty things. For example, the General receives a call in the middle of the important meeting at the Pentagon from his girlfriend. Instead of disregarding the phone call and focusing on a possible world-ending situation, he talks to his girlfriend in front of all of the leaders of the country and has a long conversation with her. He also talks in a manner that makes him seem juvenille and immature. And this is the man in charge of a war!!! In another example, we see Mandrake and Jack sitting in a room in the middle of war. Jack is a very powerful man in the military and Mandrake is much less significant. However, Mandrake is trying to talk some sense into Jack about what the next option should be when Jack simply tells him there's nothing anyone can do about the war so you may as well sit around and deal with it. Also, when Mandrake is desperately trying to get to a phone to inform the president that he has cracked the code, the Colonel refuses to shoot the Coke machine because that would be "damaging public property." He is more concerned with public property than he is about the welfare of the world.

The film also portrays the leaders as complete idiots. These are supposed to be the people to decide the fate of the country and/or the world and they are completely unknowledgable about everything involved. First of all, they are not even aware of such a "Doomsday Machine." They attacked the Soviet Union without proper knowledge of their weapons. At the beginning, those involved in the action know absolutely nothing. The pilot actually insists that, since they are fighting, the Soviet Union must have destroyed several US cities or landmarks. The General also tells Mandrake that it "seems as though" they were in a shooting war. To further the portrayal of military as incompetent, the film shows those supposedly intercepting messages turning up a radio while the General is making an important war announcement. And to really sum it up, the bomb is released from the airplane with the Major riding it. He seems thrilled while those in the airplane have no idea what they've just done.

Really, this movie portrays Americans as complete fools for being so fearful and fascinated with Communists and weapons at this time. The movie almost seems to portray how foolish this all was to begin with. That is what I always conclude when watching this movie. It always seems as though Kubrick is trying to communicate that, if we should continue to fear such faceless things, it would have dire consequences. What is so ironic in the film is the fact that the only two men portrayed as even slightly intelligent are not American. Mandrake is the man who cracked the code. Had he been able to make contact with the president, there may have been a different outcome. The other "intelligent" man in the movie is German. Not only is he German, but also a former Hitler supporter. He is also extremely disabled. It is this man that the fate of the America rests on.

Each time I watch this movie, I find something else to marvel at. It truly portrays the fear and near stupidity that people at this time were subjected to. It's a movie that will never get old because it will always be relatable to America at any time.

Serenity

I had only a passing knowledge of this movie and the TV show that it's based off of (Firefly). So I didn't really have any expectations going into the film about what it would be like. Even thought there were times where I felt a little left out of the loop (in-jokes or allusions to things that occured prior to the film), I enjoyed this movie a lot. It was the best kind of sci-fi, where the characters are more than just cardboard cutouts or potential victims for whatever alien creature likes to feed on human blood.

The movie asks a lot of questions that we're facing in our current situation in Iraq and around the world (as well as here at home): what is the cost (in terms of humanity) of creating a "perfect society?" Can we live with the ramifications of our actions if we find that we were wrong to meddle in areas beyond our comprehension? Is there a clear dividing line between "us" and "them," or is it murkier to see? Into all of this, the central question seems to be "what do you do when you've created a weapon beyond your control?"

River, the girl who is the center of action, has been programmed to be the ultimate fighting machine, yet much like Ender she's lost much of what made her human. She responds to commands in order to kill or (when the job is done) stop killing. The assassin who tracks her down is similarly programmed, but in the sense that he kills those who he is charged with by higher-ups to do so, with no regard for why they are targeted. He expresses some genuine regret over his actions, but that doesn't excuse what he does (there were a few Nazi war criminals who took responsibility for their actions, but whether they meant it or they were just trying to avoid the hangman's noose is a matter of debate). The captain of the ship, a former war hero, turns to piracy a'la Han Solo because he doesn't fit in with the current regime (the sinister-sounding "Alliance"). He and his crew don't want to be heroes; they want to get paid. That they decide to make a stand on behalf of the truth and nearly die for it is expected, yet compelling to watch (it's become a cliche that the anti-hero or heroes decide to do what's right by the end of such stories, but the way that they do so is definitely interesting).

In Iraq today, we face a situation that may get worse before it gets better. Similarly, things get bad for the crew of the Firefly long before any salvation makes its way. There will be hard times ahead, and the "perfection" that the Alliance seeks actually manufactures the source of its potential doom in freakish monsters who were once human. The message is clear: what we do in the name of peace can be almost as horrific as what we do in the name of war. The atomic bomb was conceived to end the war sooner than later, but it ushered in an age of paranoia and pollution that we may never see fully subside.

Control is the name of the game, and in the film the crew can't really control River because she doesn't know how to control herself. She's been turned into a weapon, but she's just a young girl. The crew's fears that she might be more harmful to them than she is to the Alliance are justified. We might get the tiger by the tail, so to speak, but there's no guarentee that the tiger won't still take a bite out of us.

Again, I enjoyed this movie a lot, and I gave a damn about the characters and their journey. As the film shows, it's not always easy to do the right thing but it is always worth it.

Final Paper Proposal

Topic

The relationship between literature/arts and science/technology.

Sources

The Republic - Plato

Writings of Aristotle

Thesis

A relationship between literature/art and science/technology still exists, but functions in a far different role.

Outline

Intro

Thesis - A relationship between literature/art and science/technology still exists, but functions in a different role.

Body

A. Role of literature/art and science/technology in antiquity.

B. Changes in the relationship over time.

C. Current state of the relationship.

Conclusion

Why We Fight

Unbelievable.  This film clearly explained and gave information where I was clueless.  I'm grateful that this film wasn't of the genre of Michael Moore, but rather simply put the information out there.  

I was not aware of so many details.  I am almost in shock.  I grew up military, and so a love for this country was ingrained in me from an early age, but I must question some of our actions over the past 70 years.  Now don't get me wrong, I love this country.  I could not imagine living anywhere else.  However, this film has raised several questions.

I've always said that every memorable leader has had their war/conflict.  And even though I was a Bush supporter, I quickly predicted that we were going to go to war (This was before 9/11) with someone based on his foreign-relations policy.  However, I never understood why we adopted that policy of conflict?  But after seeing this film, I almost want to say that our policy, before 9/11, was to create animosity to give us a justification for our military, and create an opportunity to flex our military muscle.  9/11 gave us the justification to flex the full might of our military muscle, and justify why our vast military is needed.  Once again, don't get me wrong, I was in full support of the war.  And everyone I talked to was in support of the war.  However, the war shifted from Osama to Saddam and Iraq.  I did miss that shift in focus, and in retrospect, it was a brilliant move by our government to ride the war wave, and continue showing our military might to the world.  Shame on us!!!!

I think I'll end right here by saying what an enlightening film.  Thanks so much for requiring it.

Dr. Strangelove

Although this movie is older, and a little corny at times (i.e. - The glove covered Alien hand), there is no way you cannot compare this movie to the state of events today.  Outside of the movies idiosyncrasies, the message resonates loud and clear:  The result our weaponry, in the wrong hands, can have on our survival as a species.  

In our class discussion, we spoke about a few weapons that have been created today, that are in essence just as scary as the "Doomsday Device".  And although General Ripper is a little over the top for me, I can't say that there aren't people today who are just as twisted.  Although this is a work of fiction, its scary to think of the fragile state of our world when looking at the weaponry we have to destroy it.  

So this leads us to the proverbial rock and hard place.  Should everyone get rid of those weapons, and rid ourselves of the possibility of a globally catastrophic attack?  But if we do that, countries will be defenseless against attack?  So, what's the solution?  I would say that we must continue to ensure that these weapons are never used, but we can't get rid of them, for our own safety.

Chapter 17 - Hello Doomsday, My Old Friend

My first thought upon seeing the title was "hear we go again, another end of the world chapter".  But to my surprise it began my geology, had a slight digression into the end of the world, and then ended on a positive note.

I finally agree with the author.  I don't think the world will collapse as has been described.  However, I do believe that we will suffer many small losses that we will recover from, and not one huge, catastrophic event.  I think we'll have another market collapse.  I think we will reach and go through the breaking point with oil.  But I believe that we will come out better on the other side. 

The author also raises many valid points about the abuses of our environment.   So much so, that I must say I'm definitely encouraged to help in whatever way I can to protect our environment.  We definitely have to get our heads out of the sand and first admit there's a problem.  Then, do something about it.  I will.

Chapter 16 - Last Off Ramp Before Armageddon

I definitely understand the underlying concepts behind Kurzweil's "Theory of Singularity".  I would agree that the next step for humans is merging with computers.  For instance, in the movie "I, Robot", Will Smith has an arm that is entirely manmade.  I can even imagine a world as in Orson Scott Card's book "Xenocide" where Ender has a chip implanted in his head that allows him to communicate with a computer.  However, maybe I fall into the category of those who just cannot fathom what the other side of the singularity will be.  I can't imagine Kurzweil's world where humans don't talk, or where we are immortal.  There are so many problems with those thoughts.  Do humans no longer have the need to procreate for fear of overcrowding?

Personally, I don't think there will be or ever was a singularity event.  I feel that humans have the ability to adapt to our surroundings, which is why we are on the top of the food chain.  We have the ability to think, adjust, react, and change.  So it's not so much we that just start acting contrary to previous behavior, but rather we react and adapt to our surroundings.  

Announcement about class this week

Hello everyone,

I've been enjoying your papers very much, and am almost finished, but as several people have pointed out, the time to turn in the next one is nearing, so I've made a change to our schedule:

Instead of meeting as usual, I'd like to talk to each of you individually--that way, everyone can get individualized attention. I'm going to hold "virtual office hours" on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, from 5:45 until 8:00 pm. Please stop by the virtual classroom for a 10 (or so) minute session during that time, on one of the days.

If those times are impossible for you, please let me know so we can make other arrangements. That way we can put you in the best position to move forward with some specific suggestions.

I hope that is helpful :-)

T. F.

part two of The Handmaid's Tale

The other part that really bothered me was the unemotional sex. It wasn't even enjoyable for the men anymore. The act of it was mechanical and boring. Since there was no room for love, there was no room for making love. The "club" was really the closest thing they had to an exciting sex life, even for the women. They succeeding in taking everything away from women, even the pleasure of baby making. It was a relief in the end to realize that this regime did not last forever.

The Handmaid's Tale

I really enjoyed the ending of the book. We are left wondering what happens to Offred. Awesome. Now I have something to ponder for a while!

Honestly, I kept imagining the story to be taking place a long time ago, like mid 1900's. The fact that women were not aloud anything was upsetting. It was even more upsetting when the Commander said that the women should be left to do what they were created to do (have babies) in peace. He was pretty much saying that, although women CAN do more complicated tasks, it isn't natural. Women in this book were the machines, they were the technology to populate the world. So much for women's rights. People were used against people; there was no superior force working there except the fear of the colonies. The eyes, the spies, the aunts all drove the fear of the colonies into their heads.

Question about Grades

Hi Professor,
I was wondering when we would be getting grades back for our first paper and perhaps discussion posts. I'd love to get some feedback before turning in my second paper, especially since we are getting so close to the end now! lol
Thanks,
Laura

Serenity

The movie, Serenity, is a science fiction based in the future. Although I have not seen the series, Firefly, I have heard that this movie is from that series... or maybe I have it backwards. In any case, it was interesting watching the movie with someone who really enjoys the series.

In the movie, the main character, River, has powers that surprise everyone on board the space ship, except her own brother. She is able to read people's minds and kick ass better than any other little girl ever. Her mind, for an unknown reason, was embedded with information on a secret and those that put it there are out to kill her to protect the secret. In order to protect River, the crew of Serenity realize that they must discover the secret. In the end, they are able to fight impossible odds, convince the assassin that what he believes in is absurd, and tell the entire universe about the secret.

With all the really interesting futuristic technology in this movie, it is easy to overlook the real issue. The simple HVAC system that spread the secret weapon. There really isn't too much to understand about how air handling systems work, yet, not knowing could kill you (at least in the movie). In the movie, they wanted to try to weed out the violence by making everyone not want to fight. They killed the fighting spirit in people by releasing chemicals into the air that were supposed to calm people down, but not kill them. The chemicals worked too well. Humans lost all sense of reason to fight, even to do everyday tasks, or humanly functions like breathing. Eventually, the entire world died... billions of people. All because they felt no reason to live. Except for the few people who reacted the opposite to the chemical. Those people became the most feared and hated evil beings in the universe.

What if something like this happened in reality. There are all sorts of deadly chemicals that could get into your average air handling system. This is a very real threat in today's society. Many people fear chemical warfare, and although it happened accidentally in the movie, it could be a very dangerous weapon. A chemical that kills will power is exactly the type of thing that the enemies of a free country might be looking for.

Dr.strangelove

Dr. Stranglove is a classic as far as strange movies are concerned. This movie is a hilarious representation of the very real fears from the Cold War. The movie is set during the height of tension between the US and Russia. An out of control officer starts a chain of events that ends in the Russian's doomsday device being set off, completely accidentally because no one knew about it.

The technology in this movie is hardly futuristic or unimaginable; in fact, it is all out of date. Duh, because this is history, not science fiction. The doomsday device could have happened, people feared that such a thing could be built. A device like that would hold the world in black mail for their own lives. The radio equipment on the only plain that got through to it's target was blown out due to a self destruct mechanism when the plain was damaged. The radio transmitter was pretty basic, everything came in a series of 6 letters and numbers that were decoded using a manual. If that equipment was more reliable, the message would have gotten through to the plain to turn around and then the doomsday device would have never been set off. Of course, none of that would have happened if the orders were never sent out in the first place.

Again, this is just a movie. Let us hope that tension between countries and powers never reach a level like it did during the cold war. The last thing anyone wants on this green earth is for life to stop existing.

Kosmos ~ Chapter 17

Chapter 17 of Kosmos deals with geology. Being an English major who has avoided most science and mathematics courses while at Clemson, the first thing I did upon completing the reading was find out a little more about geology starting with the answer to this question: What is Geology? This is what I’ve found:

Geology is the study of the Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them. It includes the study of the organisms which inhabit our planet. A very important part of geology is the study of how Earth’s materials, structures, processes and organisms have changed over time.

After reading up on the science of geology itself I came to the conclusion that geology, unlike most other sciences, deals less in the pursuit of absolute truths (just my opinion). While the author touches on many different viewpoints of many different geologists the one that I found most interesting while reading this article was the ideology behind uniformitarianism. It is argued that the uniformitarianism scale could be used to foreshadow future geographical events. Uniformitarianism can be summarized by the phrase "the present is the key to the past." It was a direct rejection of the prevalent theory of the time, catastrophism, which held that only violent disasters could modify the surface of the earth.

Today, most people (including myself) hold uniformitarianism to be true and know that great disasters such as hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Southeast Asia, and the earthquake in China are all a part of the natural cycles of Earth.

Kosmos ~ Chapter 16

Planet earth, amongst other things, is going straight to Hades. But it's not only approaching a quick and painful end. Nay, this nuked ball of rock is reaching Armageddon in a flaming ball of spit. Actually, I take that back. By the time earth reaches the fiery pits of Cerberus' lair, computers will have transformed the nuked ball of rock into a nuked ball of titanium and plastic. Translation: Computers are taking over the world.

-Jessica Ann Lee of Verde Magazine

***

While reading Chapter 16 I found myself reminiscing about FOX's Sarah Connor Chronicles. I found that FOX’s show is like a remediation of Sumner’s argument, that we are making scientific and technological advancements today that could forever change tomorrow for the greater good or evil. In short, we are progressing towards a world where computers (like the computer created in Terminator and in Sarah Connor Chronicles that is stolen during a chess competition) will have the potential to become smarter than us.

Computers were initially created because unlike humans they were supposed to be without error. But what happens when the computer that is never wrong can actually process and learn things on its own? No longer will the computer be dependent on humans to input information. On the contrary, humans will become more dependent on computer technology than ever before. We are presently dependent on this technology for our mundane daily existence but in the future we will be dependent on it for our lives…for our existence has become forever interweaved in a scientific and technological “web” and consequently we are the prey rather than the predators.

Dr. Strangelove

The argument behind Dr. Strangelove is either lose the weapons or lose civilization…

***

Dr. Strangelove is a satire about what could happen if the wrong person pushed the wrong button. Most Americans believe (or at least hope) that it would take much more than a single button pressed to set off world destruction, but Dr. Strangelove argues otherwise.

Why, then, was this movie so disturbing to me? I believe that it’s because it was impossible for me to watch the political satire without thinking about the world events at present that the film seems to have foreshadowed. In the film we are shown how one man, a general, is in a position of extreme power (I immediately thought of the power wielded by the President of the United States) and manages to set into motion the world’s demise.

This general has his finger on a button—the button— that launches a domino effect of evil actions. He understands that the government like any business was not built without error. He finds loopholes in the very government used to protect society and uses these loopholes to fuel his own agenda (under the guise of doing what is best for his people).

Some people argue that this is exactly what has happened in the United States in regard to President Bush and the war we are fighting over weapons of mass destruction. President Bush is a man of great power, a man who knows all too well the ends and outs of the government and is believed to by some (not necessarily myself) to have used his position of power and his knowledge of political America to press a button that will indubitably destroy America.