Random Interesting Thoughts

While in our small discussion groups on Wednesday, my group and I discussed the categories of gay and straight sexualities. Like the other groups in the class, we decided that while these categories had many negative impacts on society that in a way they were still necessary. Without them, how could we build a sense of self and identity. We talked about how the categories encourage the idea of a hierarchy in which one sexuality was better than the other, or viewed as the norm, but it would difficult and perhaps impossible to get rid of them completely. 

I completely understand why Darwin keeps saying he doesn't have the space to list all the pertinent examples. The ones he does list are quite enough-- I agree with whoever said that they never want to read about pigeons again, because I never want to read the words "short-beaked tumbler" ever again.

 In my discussion group last Thursday, we were encouraged to think about the necessity of context if we are to be able to reach any conclusions in our course.  Or, rather, we were to consider whether a conclusion – a “truth” – can exist without the context of society to defend it. I confess that I don’t recall every response given, but I came away from the meeting with the impression that the general consensus was that, yes, commonality breeds “truth”.

I find myself disagreeing, however. I recognize that the agreement of most people on a single “fact” does help to establish it in our society, but I don’t think that holding an unpopular – even unique – view will cause a person to doubt his or her own “truth”.

When I first started to read Clark's piece I was skeptical of the notion of being a 'natural-born cyborg'. It seemed like a ridiculous notion. However, as I began to understand his argument it began to make sense. The mere act of writing on paper has become a mnemonic tool for me. My thoughts seem very delicate and unclear to me until I write them down; the act alone allowing me to remember ideas even without consulting my notes. While few animals besides humans use tools, it seems that for us they are a necessity.

I suppose I will have to go with the rather overly-obvious answer and claim "The Internet" as my most formative technology (though it's tempting to claim the microwave oven and laud the joys of popcorn). More specifically, the parts of the internet used to communicate. The earliest memories of the internet that I am able to dredge up are of ICQ, a chatting program that I recall as being popular with my peers as a preteen. I also joined various forums as I grew up--I discovered that I could communicate with a whole lot of people, many of them very far away, and many of them way more interesting than my fellow preteens.

 Hello! My name is Kati Zaylor, and I am new to Serendip, Professor Grobstein, and Professor Dalke. Therefore I am excited and intrigued about this course and learning more about evolution, biology, and literature. I am a senior and a Theater major, and so I approach this course with a relatively open mind about the way the universe operates. Because I don't understand most science, I am not constrained within the limits of what is and what isn't, and feel as though there are many possibilities and unknowns to the universe. I respect some limits of science, but I will continue to verbally oppose trying to define the undefinable and declaring what is or isn't at times when humans have no place to do so. For example, "The universe doesn't evolve.

 An interesting question came up in my group yesterday when I was talking about the value of both the Merriam-Webster online dictionary and the Urban dictionary. Which one would I choose to reference from here on out if I could only have one?

My first answer was obviously M-W, because it's universally accepted as a credible English dictionary. The definitions are strictly factual, and quite limiting in their meanings. It's difficult to place the words in context. When studying for the SAT a few years ago, I spent a lot of time looking at dictionaries, and even if I had a word's definition memorized, I lacked a thorough understanding of it because there was almost no context to look at. So conversationally, M-W doesn't do much for me.