Blogging Around

An Inconvenient Truth: We Are Not Equal
By: Nigel Howard

Nigel's blog was about how since elementary school, we are all taught that we are equal. The problem with this is that we are not all equal and we probably never will be. I loved Nigel's blog, it really had me thinking about teenagers and how they perceive religion and cultures.

I agree with everything you said in this blog. I think it would really help students to learn about and understand different religions and cultures. Even if everyone tried really hard to make ensure that people are treated equally, it won't happen and in this blog, you really got that point out there. Well written!


Get Organized
By: Joe Rodriguez

Joe wrote his blog about organizing his work desk and how great it felt to find all of the things he needed as well as learning how quickly things pile up.

I felt the same way when I cleaned off my dresser top. I pile old jewelry and notes from old friends on top of it and eventually it turns into a big mess. When I cleaned it off, I felt proud and relieved that I could find the things I needed, like my glasses case and my wallet! I'm glad you were able to find the important things from your desk and I hope it stays organized!

Metacognition: My Dresser

I have a habit of piling things on top of my dresser.

My dresser isn't small, it's just narrow. Tall, but not wide. My habit is pretty bad when I hoard a bunch of things I don't need. I decided to tackle my dresser top so I can actually reach my jewelry box and see the picture in the frame that is placed nicely next to it. I walked up to my dresser and stared at it for a while, questioning myself about actually cleaning it off. But I did.

I started to clean it off and noticed I had a bunch of nail polish I didn't even know I had, along with jewelry. I had old notes from friends and I read them before I tossed them or set them aside, and it was nice to go back in the past for a little bit. It made me think of easier times that I wish I could have back. I couldn't believe how much stuff I was hoarding on the top of my dresser. It's not because I'm too lazy to clean it off or anything, I just can't bring myself to throw them away because it brings back memories and I don't know what to do with it, so I put it on my dresser for "safe keeping."

To my surprise, I threw away most of it. It felt weird, but it also felt good. Some of the notes I kept were painful to read, whether they were rude or from a friend I am no longer friends with, so I tossed them and it feels like a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders. I know it's weird to say that cleaning off my dresser made me feel better, but it really did. Those notes kept me together in a big mess kind of way. Just like people who have messy rooms know exactly where everything is..that was me. A person held together by so many bad memories, but I now know what it all is, and I can get rid of it.

Change of Mind: The Art of Thinking and Learning

Learning about Metaphorming and amplitudes was something new to me. I've heard of amplitudes before, but not in the ways of thinking. Ada Monroe wants to find someone with "amplitude—of thought, of feeling, of being" and she wants to be involved with a man who thinks, feels, and lives deeply and widely. I've never heard of amplitudes in this way.

On the Metaphorm page, Mr. Allen lists some questions that had me in deep thought about my friends and the people I hang around with. I don't know what I look for in people, I just stick around with people that have enough courage and tolerance to annoying people to put up with me and the way I act when I'm comfortable.

I started questioning myself like am I hanging around the right people? Do I really care about these people enough to spend all of my time with them? And I think I am, and I'm pretty sure I do, but thinking about these things made me realize that some of my friends weren't good for me. Learning about Metaphorms changed the way I think of people and situations for the better.

Best of Week: Starlings

When we learned about the Starlings, it made me think of how beautiful the world really is. Watching the Starlings fly around quickly and not run into each other was amazing in my opinion. These birds are very smart and being able to track seven other birds and do the same thing, making it seem like a show, is phenomenal.

Creating myths to go along with the Starlings was pretty interesting as well. We had the opportunity to use our imaginations to come up with an explanation for the Starlings, and all of the myths that were shared were pretty cool and seemed legitimate. I love mythology and having the chance to create a myth with a nice group of people was a great experience for me.

Without having looked at the video of the Starlings, I wouldn't have created a myth and had so much fun with it. I didn't even know Starlings existed, I just saw a bird and thought it was a normal bird, I didn't care what kind. I found myself becoming more interested in the types of birds there are and the habits and lifestyles they have.

Blogging Around

gabbieh2012humanities: Carry It Forward: The Creative Personality
Gabbie's blog was about people mistakenly defining themselves as shy when in reality, they're in a state of "unfiltered awkwardness." She did a great job explaining that creative people are most likely just in an awkward state which gives them the opportunity to be both extroverted and introverted.

Gabbie, the way you wrote this blog post was awesome. You have a mind that lets itself wander, and it shows in this post, but somehow you wrap all of your wandering thoughts into one blog post that manages to make sense. It's very helpful that you define extroverted and introverted and then simply called it being uncomfortable. Everyone is awkward and uncomfortable at times and I'm pleased with the way you said it's mistakenly described as being shy. I really like this post, it was written very well.

nigelh2012humanities: Best of Week: Creating Art
Nigel wrote in his blog that everyone is capable of creating a great piece of art but it takes patience and time for it to become a masterpiece. His mind is very strong and after reading what Nigel thinks about the MindBooks and how he wishes he could capture sound and feelings into them, makes me realize that that's exactly what they're for and they could be very helpful in creating bigger things. 

Nigel, you brought out a very good point from the "Sea of Information". I think people understand that art was meant to be cherished and looked at, or listened to, with careful eyes and ears, but they don't understand that sometimes it will take a lot more time than you'd want to create it. Sometimes things come to you and you need to write it down that instant and it happens to be good, but it's never really made a masterpiece until you commit time and effort into the piece. This was written very well and your mind wanders in phenomenal ways.

Best of Week: Born Into Brothels

Part of last week and Monday of this week, our class watched a documentary titled "Born Into Brothels". This documentary was a little hard to watch, but at some points it made me happy. The children that this movie revolved around are such strong children and I can't believe they were put through such awful things. If I was called even one of those names and it wasn't meant as a joke, I would break down.

Watching this documentary really made me realize how much I truly do have. I have a good life in comparison to the kids in this movie that were, unfortunately, born into brothels. If I were their age and I lived in a brothel knowing that my mother was selling her body, I wouldn't be able to function normally. After watching this documentary, I have a slightly better outlook on my family situation. If I was born into a brothel, I feel like I would have run away, or at least tried to. But if I did, I would have nothing. Although I may not enjoy my situation as much as I could, I still have it better than those children.

Schooling usually isn't an option for those children, either. Yes, I have an option to finish schooling, but I know that if I don't finish, I would be able to fulfill my dreams. I have a choice on what I want to do and I have the opportunity to do it. Those children born into the brothels know they have dreams, but don't have the opportunity to do what they want. Watching this documentary gives you hope as well as it makes you happy to see that some of the children are successful and are enjoying the paths they took. At least, it gave me hope and it made me happy. I can only hope it made the rest of the class the same way.

Connection: Richard Feynman and Albert Einstein

Alan Alda is a very talented writer whose inspiration comes from his hero, Richard Feynman. We already know that Feynman has a brilliant mind and is considered to be second when compared to Einstein's, but that simple, little connection that exists is not the only reason I chose to write about Feynman and Einstein. After reading this story about Alda's experiences with Feynman, I realized how much I truly honor Einstein. I can consider him a hero of mine.

These two men are very brilliant and creative who have many different parts of life mixed into one being. When Alda and Parnell were trying to write the QED about Feynman, they found it nearly impossible to do because Feynman was such a complex man and had many views on the world. He is known for some work in the formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, and the physics of the superfluidity of liquid helium, as well as in particle physics. He also helped in the development of the atomic bomb. Einstein is, obviously, very complex as well.

Einstein developed the general theory of relativity and is known as the father of modern physics. He's best known for his mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc2 , and received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". ( "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921 Nobel Foundation.)

Both Einstein and Feynman have studied physics and have shaped the world as we know it in some way. These two men are the same, yet different in so many ways. When hearing Feynman talk, he talks about how beautiful the world is and how deeply he thinks through things. In a video of Einstein speaking, he says "a country becomes really a soul only in consciously serving the intellectual life." Einstein believes that a country will become when when they act intellectually or think intellectually. I'm not the smartest person, but Einstein has me trying.

Einstein is one of my hero's and I'm proud to admit it. Just like Alan Alda finds Feynman fascinating, I find Einstein to be even more so. The way he thinks and acts shocks me and has me looking up to him as a person and a teacher, if you will.

Captured Thought: Full-blast Living

In class, we read "The Creative Personality" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. At the top of the page, it reads "Of all human activites, creativity comes closest to providing the fulfillment we all hope to get in our lives. Call it full-blast living" (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). After reading this, it really made me think. To me, Csikszentmihalyi is saying that creativity leads us to what we want in life. It provides us with a different perspective and it will end up carrying us further than living an average life.

Creativity, as the article explains, is shown in many different ways. Whether you are an actor, a writer, a scientist or an artist, you are creative and your mind, being an out of the ordinary mind, helped you get to the place you are currently in. Csikszentmihalyi takes his time to explain why creative people have gotten far in life. He states that with creative people, "instead of being an 'individual,' each of them is a 'multitude.'" This confused me at first. How could one person be many people? Then Csikszentmihalyi started his reasons for believing so.

Csikszentmihalyi made many contradictions in describing the creative, such as being energetic, yet quiet and at rest. Being smart and yet naive, extroverted and introverted, and being passionate about their work, but they are often objective about it, too. The one thing that captured my attention most was when he states "Creative people, to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping." No gender? How does that work? After reading, I understood that creative people don't want to be compared to others of the same gender, or ones of the opposite. They want to feel equal to others, regardless of gender. That made more sense.

Reading "The Creative Personality" made me think more than I have in a while. It made me realize that I can be creative in whichever way I please and maybe it will take me farther in life than I have ever imagined. I can be contradicting and it will make sense. Most of all, I can do work and not be judged based on gender, because to creative people, your work is great just because it's your own. We are creative in a special way and Csikszentmihalyi made me understand creativity more clearly; and thanks to him, I will carry that with me for the rest of my life. It's in my mind forever.