December 2-9 Question 3

I think throughout this whole semester, my favorite was when I learned about generalization. Generalization happens so often and the strange thing is that I was never really aware of it before this class. Once I learned about it, I was able to see it over and over on TV, in the magazines I read, in conversations with other classmates, etc… The strange thing is that I even find my teachers making generalizations about the students in their class. It’s disappointing really, and always hearing them making the same mistake is actually quite scary. I think that there is a point at which teachers should learn about generalizations as well as students because each semester, there is a very easy one that can be made about their students. Generalizations are dangerous and can lead to many problems and assumptions that might end up being bad. To be a good critical thinker, one needs to avoid making generalizations and understand and recognize when there is a generalization being made.

December 2-9 Question 2

My favorite thing about the class was definitely the open forum aspect of the blogs. We were able to comment on each other’s blogs and give each other feedback on each other’s ideas and thoughts. I think that this aspect is missing in a lot of classes. The sharing of information and ideas is missing in a lot of the classes that I attend now. We tend to, as students, keep to ourselves and forget that college is really a place to share information. My least favorite thing about the class would probably be how we didn’t really have as many application opportunities for what we learned. We did have a few projects here and there, but I think the best thing when learning about critical thinking is putting it into practice and knowing how to think about different things that you encounter in your everyday life. The class could probably be improved by more projects, ones that challenge the student to really put what they’ve learned to the test.

December 2-9 Question 1

Something that I have learned and been reminded of over and over is how easily it is to be taken advantage of when you are not able to think about problems critically. There are many different aspects of this class that have helped me to become a better critical thinking such as being able to recognize different fallacies. Many times in ads on TV or in magazines, there are logical fallacies and someone who is not seasoned in his or her critical thinking skills will be easily taken advantage of.

Another thing that I’ve learned is that it’s very important to spread information and spread your ideas with your peers. I think that the experience of blogging and commenting on each other’s blogs has really helped me to realize how important it really is. I believe that I’ve learned a lot about writing and dissecting writing this semester. I’ve learned to see the biases or see the generalizations made by authors and writers. It’s been an eye opening experience.

November 12-18 Question 3

The topic that I have decided to write about today is the scientific theory. The scientific theory is “a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses.” The scientific theory is very important because it explains some parts of the natural world hat a lot of people don’t know about. Scientists, however cannot prove anything with the scientific method because it is an inductive process. Things cannot prove that a theory is correct or incorrect. Theories cannot be proved right or wrong so they stand correct until proven wrong and so far it has worked. An example of this would be the theory of relativity. People need to begin tests by forming hypotheses and then testing them to explore their hypothesis. The steps of the scientific method are all necessary to correctly research an idea or hypothesis. “The scientific definition of a term is generally a theoretical or operational definition.”

November 12-18 Question 2

One time that I drew the wrong conclusion was when I accused someone I know of being lazy and not wanting to work all the time. This individual always asked to switch shifts with me and it was really getting annoying. Only later did I find out that he was having serious problems with his family and suffering from depression and a lack of sleep. I understood and felt really bad for my assumptions. I think that it’s very important to find out all the details before you make a conclusion about something. After learning about his situation I was a lot more understanding and tried my best to always switch my shifts to help him out. The role scientific knowledge played in correcting the misperception was being able to observe the way that he looked. When I worked with him he always looked like he was in a daze and never really completely there. That was the first thing that I noticed. I should have known from that point, however, it didn't occur to me and I was blinded by my assumptions.

November 12-18 Question 1

If your partner acts quickly on his or her passions today, Libra, you will probably want to slow things down a bit. "Nice and easy" is the phrase of the day for you, so create an environment that will allow for more time in such circumstances. Let your partner know how you feel and what you'd like to see happen. No one is a mind reader. There's far less chance of any misunderstanding when there is open communication.

My horoscope is Libra and today, my horoscope tells me that if my partner is quick to act on her passions then I am to tell her to slow things down and tell her what I want so that there are no misunderstandings. In my opinion I don’t think it’s that accurate because my partner is not very quick to act on her passions. Also, I think that our ability to communicate is pretty good, we try our best to always tell each other what’s going on and what’s happening. I don’t exactly believe in these horoscopes because it all really just seems like a hoax to me. There’s no real way that anyone could predict what is going to happen. I think people believe in these things because it they find a reason for it to be true while dismissing all the reasons that it’s not true. This is one of the dangers of listening and believing in horoscopes. You may be misled and tricked into believing what they say.

November 5-11 Question 3

The topic that I have decided to discuss this week is the topic of media literacy. Media literacy is “the ability to understand and critically analyze the influence of the mass media on our lives.” In essence, it is being able to make your own decisions about what the media tells you. This is a very important skill because the whole purpose of the media is to sway you to believe the things that they believe. For example, the elections that just finished were absolutely brutal. Ads on TV were targeting the candidates and the different propositions and constantly mudslinging. The one that I heard most was the commercial for Proposition 32, what it said was “Prop 32 is not what it seems, large businesses actually pay for the ads…” These commercials are made to instill fear in their audience, the fear that they might be misled by the commercials and taken advantage of. That is the reason that media literacy is so important. In order to not be taken advantage of, we need to be able to critically analyze the media influence.