A Tribute to Blogging

Considering this semester was my first blogging experience, I have to say it was pretty fun. If I had to describe blogging then I'd say it was somewhere in between Facebook posting and formal writing. It was really nice to be able to express my ideas of each assignment in an environment that wasn't too restricting, but also not too informal. I found that for essays like the California Dream, it was helpful to gain ideas on the prompt from looking at the blogs of fellow classmates. It was also great to have feedback from the comment sections to learn about everyone else's opinion on my posts. It was also pretty fun to decorate and personalize. Blogging was a lot different from class discussion because more people voiced their opinions and could show their own personalized evidence and examples. I also love that there wasn't as much pressure to be formal like on our essay assignments, so I was a little more comfortable in my writing. With all that said however, I'll probably stick to Facebook for posting my ideas and opinions. Still I may check back into my blog every now and then if the mood strikes. Overall it was fin and I enjoyed the experience.

Trends in Digital Media

Within the last year there have been an assortment of social movements that were associated with digital media. For example the Revolution in Egypt was considered to have been propelled by social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Many believed that these sites were responsible for gathering those who participated within the movement and ultimately the reason it succeeded. It's understandable that people would think this given the scope of online networks. However, they just served to spread  the news around globally as opposed to physically gathering individuals to march the streets in protest.

Another example would be the disasters in Haiti where many forms of media came into use to help raise funds for victims. Thousands of people were reached through twitter, texts, and other forms of digital media to donate money. What resulted was the accumulation of 1.2 million dollars in funding, but the reason wasn't simply from all the online messaging. In fact the money took quite a bit of time to be collected and wasn't immediately used from the donations given through social media.

These two examples serve to illustrate a trend that whenever people contribute to digital activism, they feel that it yields more immediate results. The truth is that many unseen factors go into social change, but due to the nature of digital media many think these changes are instant. What happens is a person supports an online status along with thousands of others followed by  news reports that the issue is resolving. They then come to the conclusion that digital media directly contributed and made a change. It's from this trend that people think of digital activism as a revolution.

Internet Activism

I can't say that I've regularly participated in social media events, let alone one's about activism. This is mostly because I actually feel kind of bad liking some status in support of a social issue. The reason being, I feel like I'm not really doing anything to help. Not to say sources like Facebook and twitter don't help spread information about these issues, but  I feel that unless you act you're not really helping. In my eyes internet activism is more like a game of hot potato, where users IM, tweet, like, or whatever until someone whose actually going to solve the problem see's the message. Participating in movements like these are fine and actually helpful, but I don't feel like you could call yourself an activist. Anyone can click a button that says "like", but only the few who risk their own well-being for a cause can really make a difference.

New Way To Use Wiki

Personally I've always thought of Wikipedia to be a reliable source and definitely one to look to for information when I'm curious about a topic. I can't say that I would use it more often just because I already use it a lot, but I can say I developed a greater appreciation for it. In the past couple weeks I've used Wikipedia as a resource for backing up information in my classes. I have no doubt that it's a reliable source because the information in my textbooks matched what the information in the article stated. I'll probably try to use Wikipedia as a study aid from now on which is something I've never really done before. As for joining the discussion, I can't say for certain I would just because it's not something that interests me at the moment. However, someday I might change my mind and post a few things.

High Schools Hate Wiki

Other than the class discussions, the only experiences that I can  recall are my high school English classes . Any time there was an assigned research project or essay my teachers made sure to point out that Wikipedia was not an accurate source. One of my AP teachers Mr. Jung would always rant about how anyone could alter articles, so the information we found could be invalid. I don't really remember a name, but there was one somewhat big news story of the student who created a fake article that many believed to be factual. It caused a lot of controversy as to whether we could all trust Wikipedia and definitely gave my teachers a lot to rant about. Mr. Jung wanted to make clear that we needed reliable sources that could be quoted from actual scientists or witnesses, not second hand accounts from random contributors. Still I think the real reason was Wikipedia was too easy to get info from and high school teachers wanted us to actually "look" for research. 

False Dichotomy-Logical Fallacy

link to source
"So here we are pouring shiploads of cash into yet another war, this time in Libya, while simultaneously demolishing school budgets, closing libraries, laying off teachers and police officers, and generally letting the bottom fall out of the quality of life here at home,"(Herbert).


In the introduction to this NY Times article, columnist Bob Herbert addresses problems with government spending. Unfortunately, he commits the logical fallacy of false dichotomy within his argument. In a false dichotomy fallacy the speaker  narrows their reasoning so that only two courses of action seem possible. Herbert states that the government is spending all of it's money on the war and as a result, won't be able to allocate funds to schools. This is a fallacy because he insinuates that the only two options will be funding the war or funding schools. This narrows it down to only two options when realistically the government could still put money into both. 

Mending Cultural Wounds

In regards to the shameful acts that Japan has committed against millions, I have narrowed it down to a specific group that is in desperate need of an apology. This group consists of sex slaves known as comfort women, who were not only scarred physically and emotionally, but to this day have yet to receive a proper apology. If the Japanese government could put their pride aside for one moment, many individuals and their families would finally have the resolution they deserved. An apology would free these women from accusations of being prostitutes and return the dignity that was stolen from them all those years ago. In addition a real apology would  most likely improve the ties between Japan and Korea, the country most of these women were from. Looking at Germany as an example shows the potential benefits an apology could have. Japan just has to swallow their pride and admit their wrong because the benefit will be mutually shared.

Japanese War Crimes

(Be warned some of the images are very graphic)

For my topic I am focusing on the war crimes Japan committed during WWII; which are probably some of the most heinous atrocities in human history. Basically the Japanese army tortured any civilian or POW they captured while invading countries like China and Korea. These acts were so terrible the whole incident is sometimes referred to as the Asian Holocaust because of the nearly 10,000,000 who were killed. Japanese soldiers performed human experiments, held mass killings, buried people alive, looted, and kept woman as sex slaves to list a few. For those who survived, their lives would never be the same and the emotional scars would never heal. What makes this matter upsetting is that now, 60 years later, victims can't even get a proper apology as stated in this particular article. Even Japan has attempted to make apologies, some sources feel that they are more for political gain than actual remorse.

Critical Thinking for Engineers

As an engineer you mostly engage in learning how to manipulate variables and functions for math and physics. However, there is a fair bit of critical thinking involved because even once you understand that way to solve certain formulas, it still takes some intuitive thought to put them into a form that correctly solves problems. This is more true when it comes to projects as opposed to tests because you aren't given a homework problem, just the an assignment that can be completed in your own creative way. In this way engineering does require a lot of critical thought, but it's typically when actually doing hands on work. USC could improve it's program by incorporating more projects into the curriculum so that we gain more practical knowledge and a chance to think more critically.

Critical Thinking

Hands down the most important skills you have to have are ability to analyze and process information accurately, so that you are aware of the subject you're working on. Second is the ability to break down the information to observe all the details; this will help to find multiple sides of the topic as a may to better manipulate the information as well as understand it's purpose. In addition to this the ability to synthesize the info and compare it with other topics can open up new insights as well which is very important for critical thinking. Using these skills it then becomes possible to reshape the information you started  with into a new form that really demonstrates the ability to think critically.

New Insights

If I really had to say, my view of the California Dream hasn't really changed all that much from writing my essay. What I got from Dani California was that the dream everyone once believed in has pretty much vanished as the result of corruption in Hollywood, etc. However this didn't really take away or add to my original perception of the dream as an escape from routine. Like I said in my earlier blog the California Dream is really just an arbitrary representation of a persons hope to discover themselves outside of the usual circumstances they face in day to day life. A chance to gain new experiences and change the way they view the world to become closer to a place they feel holds these opportunities. It's like that expression " the grass is always greener on the other side".

Dani-California

The song I decided to go with was Dani California by the Red Hot Chili Peppers because it sheds a harsher light on California. Just listening to the lyrics you assume that it's about a young girl named Dani California, which it might well be. What I got from it however, was that Dani personifies the state of California itself and how it's starting to spiral out of control. This depicts the California Dream as just that, a dream, something that isn't real or tangible outside of one's mind. Personally looking at how things are today I find this to be very true because living in California doesn't magically make all your dreams come true. Realistically given our economic situation living here is actually more difficult. There may have been a time when California could hold true to it's promises, but not anymore. People need to wake up and stop chasing a dream that will probably lead to disappointment.

California Dream

To me the California dream isn't just the hope for warm weather, fame, or wealth. At least speaking about the current times we live in. I feel that today it's likely due to the desire for freedom of conventions. People from all over come to California to escape lives that have become routine and boring. It's true that things like the Rose Parade entertain people to the thought of living here, but it's the potential for something fresh and exciting that causes them to come. I say this because there are plenty of other beautiful places in the United States other than California.The truth is anywhere that offers the hope of change and holds a good reputation can represent the California Dream. It just so happens that Califonia in particular has shown a history of desirable prospects. Some examples being Hollywood, beaches, and even gold back in the 1850's. 

Blog

Wow, my very first blog.