The Mexican Fisherman

The radio special about the fishermen reminded me of The Story of the Mexican Fisherman. It's a short story and takes 2 minutes to read.
A quick synopsis: an American investment banker visiting a coastal Mexican village encounters a fisherman. He asks how the fisherman lives his life. The fisherman responds he fishes and relaxes by the coast. He asks why the fisherman does not try to turn his fishing hobby into a monopoly and make millions. The fisherman asks what will happen after he makes his millions. The banker says he will retire and relax by the coast.
Note: My short summary does not do the full story justice.
But the basic moral of the story is why work so desperately for a life of luxury if you are content with the life one already has?

In today's world, people are constantly looking for ways to earn more and more money. I'm sure we have all been told, if you do what you love, it won't matter how much money you make. But what is one of the first things people look for when exploring jobs? The salary. I understand though that all the factors in the world might make it difficult to not pay attention to how much money will be earned.
While there are many people that enjoy their choice of career, there is still a good percentage of people that dislike their job.
I found this interesting site with Money Statistics. A table containing satisfaction/happiness with their career is posted toward the bottom of the page. It's interesting to see that more people are "very happy" with a higher income than those with lower incomes. Money is a key factor in today's society.
The popular quote: "money doesn't buy happiness" is a true yet false statement. . .I think this image sums up mostly my point.

Reflection So Far...

This digital civilization class has definitely been an interesting journey so far.
When I signed up for the class, all I knew about it was that it was called Civilizations 2 : Letters. I had absolutely no clue as to what I would be learning.
Let's just say I experienced some culture shock once I finally sat down in class and learned what we'd be doing.
As a freshman, I suppose I knew that college would be much different. A new place, a new atmosphere, and a totally new learning method. In high school, we studied what we were given to study, we read what we were given to read. While we were still able to hold our own opinions on different matters, usually through the readings we were assigned, our opinions were lead a certain way.
Since the start of this class, I've noticed that I learn in a much different way then before. Forcing myself to look for scholarly articles/websites concerning the class topic has given me the chance to expand my knowledge and views on different matters.
As for the digital literacy labs, I was worried beyond belief. I didn't think I'd be able to grasp what the different labs consisted of. But since looking into the labs, I've found myself much more aware of the different tools available to me. I feel much more web-savvy.
I won't lie, I did not enjoy this class at first. The idea of starting a blog was mortifying. I had always made fun of those with blogs and how all bloggers wanted was attention. But my view has changed slightly and I understand now that a blog isn't just for putting up silly pictures and describing in full detail how awesome/awful one's life is. There are many intellectually sound blogs out there that offer interesting viewpoints.
All in all, this class has expanded my view of the world and has taught me how I learn best. I'm interested to see how much I'll learn/grow throughout the semester.

The Lazy Fair

One of the things that has been grilled into my brain in almost every history class I have ever taken is the laissez faire policy.
What is this you ask?
Well, in French, it literally means to leave alone. This policy favors individual self-interest and competition. It opposes the regulation of commerce. So, in a sense, it is a "Lazy Fair".
A fair is known to have many games to play that claim that for a "small" price to pay for a few chances at winning a grand prize, usually a stuffed animal. Self-interest and competition both apply here. There is the competitive spirit when playing these games. The prize is wanted based on the person playing the game, wanted for "selfish" motives.
The Lazy Fair encourages economic individualism and aims to protect the individual's rights.
The goods and services provided are made for profit, not to satisfy needs. It is not only mere coincidence that the plethora of products available in today's market is what the public wants. In order for any profit to be made, production must be aimed toward what the public wants and needs. Remind anyone of a common fair? The game vendors all shouting to come play their game. That's exactly how our nation's marketplace works. The products call out for the people to come buy buy buy.
There has been a lot of talk of the Lazy Fair lately. Whether or not the nation's money is being used "properly" is a huge issue. The question now is, should the Lazy Fair get a new keeper? should the Lazy Fair be put under control?

An Empire of Learning

The Royal Society of London, established on November 28, 1660, emphasized the "improving of natural knowledge". They "pursued knowledge through direct experiment". Basically, they looked toward the future in gathering knowledge instead of embracing "old theory". Throughout the years, this Royal Society was able to produce many innovations and contribute in the advancement of science and technology. This Society still flourishes today.

What's interesting to me concerning this society is how much this DigiCiv class relates to it. In this class, we are learning about the past and how we've been able to advance to this present state, but we are also trying to embrace the many technological tools available today. We are improving upon "natural knowledge", which in today's world is typically based around technology.

In the Royal Society packet, it mentions a "Christian virtuoso". It described this virtuoso as a "man of birth, means, merit, brains, and leisure". I couldn't help think of politicians when reading this. Although not all politicians must be a "man of birth", a requirement to become the President of the US is to be a natural born citizen. To have means would be having the power/ability to fulfill the roll of being a politician. I would assume means would equate to money. Brains, that's a given. What US citizen would want an average student leading/representing him? Leisure, the tabloids always have some picture or article whenever the President does something that the 'regular' people do. It's interesting to see how the "Christian virtuoso" applies to life in today.

What intrigued me the most about this Royal society was the "cabinet of curiosities". The article describes it as "a closet or small room in which were arranged, and proudly displayed, antiquarian objects, scientific specimens, anything whose interest might arouse interest". It stated that the history of museums began within these cabinets. It's a fun fact to know the origins of how museums came to be.

I Can See Clearly Now

Many scientific studies are done daily. The studies that are actually published, to my surprise, are often tweaked to "appeal" to the readers.
An interesting article I found that explains this Transparent Science talks about how much these studies actually disclose their information.
"In an ideal world, science is objective: the results of an experiment should be evaluated without massaging the data or manipulating them in any way."
I use to believe that whatever a scientific journal/article published was 100% open. As I read more about transparent science, I became aware that most studies published are what the public wants to hear/know. Either that or the study tries to shock the public and often only discloses the things that would get their point across to their audience.  
It's really interesting to learn how much the world has changed. While there is so much more information out in the open, the legitimate resources available  might not be able to be trusted to be totally disclosed.
In the article, it states that in 1997, only 1% of scientific journals actually had a disclosure statement. 
Makes me wonder how clear everything actually is. Is anything transparent these days or is it all behind a blurry window?

A Penny for Your Thoughts?

The brain really is a mystery. Does anyone ever stop to think about how we think?

John Locke's An Essay on Human Understanding delves into the difference of thought process between simple and complex ideas. The steps that each person takes to come to a precise thought. He mentions senses and other factors that would cause us to think a certain way. He also notes that the mind began as "white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas."
David Hume wrote another essay concerning human understanding called An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. In his essay, it focuses on cause & effect and how that applies to human thought processes.

When comparing and contrasting the two essays, it's clear to see that both have somewhat similar ideas of thought. Although Hume writes concerning human reason rather than a focus on ideas. How every person comes to a certain thought or idea is rather interesting.

Naturally..

As I read about Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan in Wikiquote. One sentence stuck out in my mind.

"Hobbes finds three basic causes of the conflict in this state of nature: competition, diffidence and glory. The first maketh men invade for gain; the second, for safety; and the third, for reputation. "

In my Philosophy 150 class, we're discussing human nature and psychological egoism.
Psychological egoism is basically stating every thought and action we do is purely for selfish reasons. Keep in mind, "selfish" is not a bad thing always. 
Hobbes' 3 causes of conflict would seem to fit perfectly into what psychological egoism is.

Competition: This is easy. Of course everybody enjoys winning. The term "take one for the team" could be argued that one is selflessly helping out their teammates but more often than not, that one will be praised for their aid.

Diffidence: A lack of self confidence. How can anybody call this selfish? When someone is too shy to do something or take an initiative, isn't that selfish? He won't take action because HE doesn't feel confident or comfortable.

Glory: My junior year in AP Literature, we talked extensively about reputation and what can happen if you gain a good or bad rep. All in all, I think everyone can agree glory is ultimately for selfish reasons.

Human nature is a curious thing. Whether or not you agree with psychological egoism, it is interesting to think of the intentions we have when making a decision.

Food for thought.

What I Learned...

I didn't know there were special sites for blog searching. So I'm pretty happy that Brandon showed me different websites for such a task.
I've tried out BlogPulse and IceRocket and I find them very useful, even fun. I started typing in random words and entertained myself by reading some silly posts. I think I will continue utilizing these sites in the future to find things that will pertain to my posts.

LeeAnn taught me about wikis which I only have small knowledge of. I just know that my CS 142 class has a wiki that I constantly check. Wikis are really useful in organizing information. In my computer programming class, it helps by posting a schedule and explaining all the labs and projects that need to be done by a certain date. It's much easier and world-friendly by posting everything on the Internet.

Supreme Apostles

While studying the Protestant Reformation, I found this site that was very interesting. http://www.gotquestions.org/Protestant-Reformation.html <--
My sophomore year of high school, I took World History and first learned about the false doctrines the Roman Catholic Church were preaching. I learned that the Church claimed apostolic succession. Basically, apostolic succession is the belief that the 12 disciples of Christ passed on their authority to their successors. The 'supreme apostle' (or the Pope) being Peter.
These false doctrinal teachings spurned Martin Luther's 95 Theses and resulted in the Protestant Reformation.
In many ways, this relates to Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel. In his search for the true church, he found that there were none and he was the one to restore the church. One can even compare the 95 theses to the Book of Mormon. The 95 Theses was meant to reform and the BoM was meant to complete the full and everlasting gospel. But both brought about a change to society and religion.

Message Me

My group assignment project is: messaging.
I decided I would look into 4 different versions of messaging: MSN Messenger, Skype, Facebook Chat, & Text Messaging.

: The first type of digital messaging I experienced and used regularly was MSN Messenger. I was about 12 years old and thought it was just about the coolest thing ever created. By adding a contact by their e-mail, you could chat with them whenever they were online. The small emoticons were fun to use and gave the conversation some 'excitement'. You could post a status message and organize all your contacts into groups to easily access your "Best Buds" or "Family" or "People I'd Rather Not Talk To". Another positive to using MSN was that it was also my e-mail account so it seemed like an extension of e-mail into instant messaging. It had the best of both worlds. If anyone would like to know all the features of MSN, here's a link to the website that explains all its details and fun stuff: http://windowslive.com/desktop/messenger

: One type of messaging that I really enjoy and would encourage anyone to get it is SKYPE! Unlike Stickam, which is a video chatting community that allows any viewer to come in on your webcam conference, skype is much safer. Each user has a name and the only people that can find you are those that know your name, username, or e-mail. For added security, they cannot see whether you are online until you accept them. Skype allows for video chatting, phone calls, or instant chatting. Basically, skype is my favorite mode of messaging. It is safe, efficient, and fun to use! Here's a link to all the juicy details: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/features/


: Of course everybody knows Facebook. Facebook allows 3 different ways of talking: messages, wall posts, and Facebook chat (basically instant messaging). I have utilized all 3, I assume most people have. Messaging is useful when you'd like to share private matters or just wish to have a private conversation that extends over a longer period of time instead of instant. Wall posts are fun to do. Not many serious matters are posted on walls since they ARE public to everyone that sees the page. Facebook chat is useful in that it is instant chatting. I don't think many people need a separate link to facebook since it is probably already bookmarked on most people's browsers.






: A form of messaging that I'm pretty sure everyone has or knows is text messaging. It's simply and easy to use. Just type a quick message to a friend or parent and send it. How difficult is that? I really don't think I need to go in depth about texting.



With all the new forms of messaging now available, I've noticed that many problems have arisen that were not present before the new digital age. Now, people can video themselves doing inappropriate things. "Sexting" is another common problem that the effects can last a lifetime and beyond. Some things can be misinterpreted when read instead of heard and some friendships can become ruined. I remember when I was younger, I'd tell me friends to "Call me". Now, it has evolved to "Message me". But now, even that has to be clarified whether through text or Facebook or whatever other type of messaging is there. In the future, what will "Message Me" transform to?

Say What???

As we discussed the combining of many works by Erasmus of Rotterdam, I was reminded to an interesting fact my BoM teacher (Charles Swift) told our class.
Quick Bio::Erasmus of Rotterdam
He basically examined many manuscripts and brought them together to one great piece of literary masterpiece.
If you'd like to know more, here are some links.
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/erasmus.html
http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/erasmus.html


The interesting fact::

Hot off the Press

As I read about the different topics about the history of movable type, I thought of how much the printing press has changed the world.
I wonder what it must have felt like to hold the first newspaper or book. To look at words upon a page that was uniform and neat. The eloquence of handwriting changed to the professionalism of printing.
I looked up the meaning for the phrase "hot off the press". It is quite literal to its meaning. Basically, newspaper use to be printed with a hot metal press which involved molten lead that was formed to each letter. Figuratively, the phrase means an updated piece. If holding a new newspaper 'hot off the press' is anything like getting a load of laundry out of the dryer, I imagine it's a wonderful feeling.
If you compare that method of printing to perhaps printing a paper today or even publishing a blog post, I feel the effect is not as moving. Yes, I must say I have felt the sense of triumph after completing a difficult essay and finally hold it in my hands. But, is there an awe to it as it was back then?
It's interesting to see the transformation of printing type and how it has affected how we view and feel a printed work 'hot off the press'.

iHuman

As we discussed the Renaissance Humanism movement in class today, it reminded me of a psychology theory I studied called the Humanist view. Both containing the root word - human, they also have similar aspects yet still differ in minute ways.
The Humanistic theory in psychology is a very optimistic view. It is basically focused on the individual and how the individual can solve their own problems. It's a view that is supposed to uplift the human spirit. As you can see,  it focuses on the individual. Instead of studying what humans did, it studies the humans themselves.
Humanism began around the 14th century after the Dark Ages. Francesco Petrarch who is credited to coining the concept of the Dark Ages is also known as the "Father of Humanism". As I 'googled' humanism and began searching what it truly is, one phrase really struck me. "A return to.." for some reason stuck in my mind. The whole phrase was, "a return to favor of the pagan classics". This got me thinking that the basis of humanism is exactly like it's root word: human. It is a return to what makes people humans. A revelation of personal independence and individualism. Isn't that the basis of all humans, being an independent?

P.S. This post made me think of the song Human by The Killers. So, indulge me...

A Reflection

Today marks the official one week anniversary of my first week starting college. I couldn't think of anything to write about for this post, so I figured I'd just write about how I even came to this certain point in my life.
BYU has not always been my "dream school". Actually, I had not seriously started considering it until my senior year of high school. As with all things, I had to pray and keep looking at the pros and cons. As I continued my study of BYU, I noticed 3 things:
1 - No one was unhappy with their choice to attend BYU
2 - A spiritual presence was a driving force in the education
3 - Creamery ice cream is delicious.
So, considering all those things and the campus tour sealed my fate. I ended up only applying to BYU & BYU-Hawaii.
Now onto my choice of major. Mathematics & Math Ed. I've always toyed with the idea of becoming a teacher. Along with dermatology, psychology, and engineer. But I found that I truly enjoyed teaching others. Why math? Why follow a common Asian stereotype? I just like math.
The story of how I chose my minor is somewhat interesting. I started taking computer science courses because 1) they could get rid of 2 necessary credits with only one class in high school. 2) it pertained to a psychology major I was interested in during the time. I actually grew to really enjoy the classes.
So with a major in Math and minor in Computer Science, I'll basically be living in the Talmage building with all my courses and math/cs labs.
There's some insight to how I became a BYU Cougar.

Delusional Analytics = Philosophers

Before I start this post, I must say, philosophy = perfect bedtime story.

So all civilization had to start somewhere right? Well we're not starting from the beginning. In fact, we're starting in the middle. The Renaissance to be more specific. I guess starting when "rebirth" occurred is the best place to start [ insert quizzical look ].

 According to Wikipedia (which I deem a credible source of information), the Renaissance occurred roughly between the 14th and 17th century and beginning in Florence, Italy. As many know, the Renaissance influenced, to name a few: art, politics, literature, science, philosophy, and religion. While it is a major point in history, I believe it was just a moment in time when people realized that they were stupid and needed to become 'enlightened'.

On to the New World, or also known as the Western Hemisphere. While some 'credit' can be given to Columbus for taking the courage to travel through unknown waters, he didn't discover the New World first. But since it follows the time-line, we'll discuss very briefly of his 'triumphs'.
Columbus used his puppy-dog eyes to get the Spanish king and queen to pay for his voyages.
Planned to go to India and bring back silks and other such treasures.
Landed in the Americas.
Killed off many natives.
Took a lot of gold.
The End.

Against poplar belief, the Copernican view was greatly rejected. The heliocentric view of the universe, which is basically saying that the Sun was the center of the universe instead of Earth (geocentric or Ptolemaic view). SO, basically a guy named Aristotle came up with the idea that the Earth was the center of the universe. Pope believed. Laid basis of that religion for many years to come. Copernicus comes up with his theory. Galileo comes out 'bashing' the church's belief system. A whole lot of hoopla. Now, with modern technology...we know. I COULD write a thousand word in-depth explanation of all the info I have read and gathered, but I don't even want to write about it much less would any other person like to read about it.

                                                                          ^^
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That's Copernicus. -----------------------

Now we move onto an invention that has really been revamped throughout history. The movable type. Although created first by a Chinese man, we'll focus on Johannes Gutenberg that really got it 'moving' [ insert cheesy smile]. Around 1450 is when this movable type emerged. Obviously it became a major source of printing any type of newspaper, book, document, fliers, birthday invitations... (maybe not B-Day invitations but who knows?) Basically, moving type = awesome. I mean, can you think of any sort of modern day technology that could resemble the moving type?? (Hint: You're using it to read this)

And then there is Leonardo Da Vinci..What else can you say about him than being one of the best multitaskers ever. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. Uhhh..yea. Go Da Vinci! I think everyone can agree that the world would definitely be different if Da Vinci didn't do the things he did. Although he probably would've still changed the world someway if he joined any profession. Example: if he was a plumber, we'd probably have floating toilets or something else ridiculously cool.

So by now civilization has advanced in all areas of life. With all the changing times, the thought of a perfect existence HAD to come to mind. A Utopia where all is run smoothly and very minimal or even no errors would occur. The book written by Sir Thomas Moore: (summary: http://www.bookrags.com/notes/uto/PART6.htm) gave a vision and story of a Utopia. A rather interesting excerpt about their love of learning gave an insight to perhaps how they are able to continue in such peace. Or the townspeople could possibly just be geeks. Perhaps that's the message: Only a nation run and inhabited entirely of geeks can be a true Utopia.

And thus comes a pause in the journey of civilization.
Finally..