In the News - Animal Aggression

In Lauren's In the News presentation today, she contrasted the violence to humans by animals, and the vilence to humans by animals. At the hear tof this is a question of ethics--do we view other living beings, such as animals, as equal to humans at a moral level. At the surface, it seems obvious that we can treat animals differently and still consider themselves moral beings. Although they feel pain, they don't have the intellectual capacity to know that what is happening to them is a moral question, so one could say that this obviates any kind of moral issue.

But one could also argue that ethics is precisely about how we act when we are not required to do so by the reciprocity of effecting another human being. The recent issues of food safety in China is an obvious moral issue becuase the melanine added to the baby food caused kidney stones and even death among infants. And when we make decisions about our environment or our laws, it is easy to see how such decisions will affect other human beings. But perhaps our greatest mroalchallenge is when there is no obvious moral trade-off--when we do good, not because we have to, but because we choose to. To treat animals with the dignity and respect we offer to other human beings would elminate the extreme abuses of animals, but it might make us all a bit more human as well. Who's to say that curbing violence toward animals wouldn't also curb violence toward other humans?

In the News - Artificial Sweeteners

In Carolina's In the News presentation today, she looks at a story about the possible harmful effects of Splenda. Sugar substitutes have often tried to give us what we want from the original--sweetness--and remove what we don't want--calories. But if we are tradiong excess calories for potential bodily harm, then I'm not sure we are making a good trade.

One issue here is how safe we feel our food is. the recent scares ov er the safety of milk in China, where Melanine was added to cut the milk, making it cheaper to produce and making the dairy companies more money, is one egregious example of food safety being compromised for profit. Splenda and other sugar substitutes offer themselves as a safe substitute that allows us to indulge without apyingt he price of our indulging. but I believe in general that if things seem too good to be true, then they probably are. Diets that promise wieght loss with little work, investment programs that promise get-rich-quick results, schools that promise an easy online education--all of these promise us something that we want while not demanding much of us.

We should be more skeptical about technology in general. Perhaps computers will not make kids smarter or schools more effective. Perhaps being thin will not make us happy and successful. Perhaps there are cultural myths out there worth exploring in all the products sold to us.

And now for some mixed metaphors: We all want our cake and to eat it too. But Splenda promises we can eat more cake than we should and not suffer the consequences. Perhaps we should take all such sweet promises with a grain of salt.

Some Ideas for Project 2

Below are some resources to help you start thinking about beliefs you could focus on in Project 2:

• Look back at the "This I Beleive" site and consider the beliefs that others have expressed there.
• Think of friends or relatives (or other cultures, other generations, other nationalities, other backgrounds) who hold beliefs different from yours.
• Visit some sites of political candidates or their parties, or political blogs. (This site about "Why People are Irrational about Politics" might be useful here.)
• Think of the reasons people hold their beliefs and work backwards from these reasons to a belief you question. (For instance, religion is the most common belief system that people question by looking at why people believe in it; this article might help here: "Why Do We Believe Impossible Things?".)
• Choose something you're invested in, but feel conflict over (i.e.e dissonance). For instance, if I was writing this paper, I would probably write about the belief that “everyone should go to college.” It’s a belief I see repeated over and over in the current presidential campaign, but about which I’m not sure. My paper does not need to deliver a final “yes” or “no” on this topic. Rather, my intent should be to first explore why this belief is so widespread. What is it about Americans that leads them to adhere to this belief? What changes in our economy have made such a belief more likely? What sort of evidence is there that confirms or denies this belief? You’ll probably find that any myth you look at has both evidence for it and against it. Those myths that persist with a large amount of evidence against them often appeal to us in other ways (like how the “everyone should go to college” belief appeals to the American ideal of equality that is embedded in the Declaration of Independence’s statement that all people are created equal).

In the News - Social Networking Sites

Karina's presentation today drew attention to those who are upset about changes to the design off Facebook. The author of the article she links to states that any change to something used by so many people will necessarily leave some unhappy. Facebook has allowed users to opt out of the new design, which may make some users happy, although this may mean some people will not have the same functionality as those using the new design. Allowing this choise decreases usability, since visitors to the site will need to remember how to navigate two different design layouts.

Some have stated that the new design is geared toward making more space for advertisements, which is always a possibility. To think that the owners of Facebook are not motivated by rpofit would seem naive, although our reading for class today stated that it is a myth to think that money is good motivation for creative work. I guess it depends as to whether you see this new design as being a result of creativity. I think it is likely that many new products and services emerge from creative work that does not have profit as its primary motive. But it may be less true that modifications to those products and services later on probably have profit more in mind than the original creation.

Google is an example of a company that has found ways to promote all sorts of creative applications, even while being a successful business. Perhaps their philosophy "Do not be evil" has something to do with their willingness to look past the profit motive.

In the News - Genetic Testing for Cancer

How much do you want to know about your genetic makeup? As we develop new tests and new understanding of cancer and other medical conditions, we take on the responsibilities of this knowledge. the most talked about responsibility is that of medical insurance. If genetic tests allow insurance companies to identify individuals as being at higher risk of diseases with costly treatments, does this mean they can charge more for that person's insurance coverage? Insurance is about preparing for the unknown--being confident that no matter what happens, we have the ability to survive the unexpected .

Deciding whether to get one's children tested for types of cancer should consider all the risks of knowing and not knowing. As Jordan mentioned in her presentation today, knowing can affect behavior in positive ways. But it may be possible that other individuals will take such information badly and it will affect their behavior in negative ways. (I assume the stories of good changes in behavior circulate more than the stories of bad changes in behavior.) The potential discrimination from others knowing such information ("I don't want my daughter marrying that guy with bad genes") may be something to consider as well.

NSU Homecoming Theme Contest

If anyone's interested, there is a contest for creating the NSU homecoming theme. See details below:

Are you creative?Do you have ideas for a Homecoming Theme?

Submit your idea and it just might be chosen as the theme for NSU's Homecoming 2009. Prizes will be awarded to the 1st-place, 2nd-place, and 3rd-place winners. The contest is open to all NSU students, faculty, staff, and alumni.The contest ends September 30 with the winners being announced at NSU's Got Talent on October 24.

For more information, visit www.nova.edu/studentengagement/homecoming or contact the Office of Student Engagement at (954) 262-7193 or studentengagement@nova.edu.

In the News - Dangers of Technology

The presentation today by Xiance drew our attention to the ways that technology has potentially fatal side effects. In this case, people texting while attempting to do other things like walk or drive has led them to be involved in accidents.

The dangers and benefits of technologies deserve attention, but it will always be the case that technology will both hurt and help, it's not an either/or situation. It will encourage some behaviors and discourage others. It will enhance some skills and make others obsolete. This is related to the idea of "affordances" we discussed in class, that everytechnology is good for some things and not as good for others.

this reminds me of an article I read this morning that talks about how the internet has changed students' reading habits. Attention spans are shortening, students reduce complex texts down to sources of information, and the skills of close readnig and prolonged reflection go unpracticed. I don't think anyone laments the skills we've lost by not having to wash our clothes by hand, but every technology we use means we are giving up a set of experiences in which knowledge, values, and social relations were once situated. It's a good question to ask what we gain and lose every time we adopt a technology.