Chapter 12 Question # 3

The scientific method is something I found really interesting and I remember learning about this also in middle school The scientific method is “a proves involving the rigorous, systematic application of observation and experimentation”(373). Likewise to the three levels of thinking, it is dynamic with analysis of the observation to check for similarities and interpretation for more revision. The scientific method includes steps that guide the scientist through the analysis of their observations. The first step is to identify the problem and the second is to develop a hypothesis. This is followed by the third step, which is to gather more information and to improve the hypothesis. Finally, the fifth step is to evaluate the results of the tests or the experiments. Each and every single one of these steps are important. Without any one of them your experiment may not be a success simply because you didn’t improve the hypothesis or because you didn’t analyze your observation. 

Chapter 12 Question # 2

There has been many times where I was mistaken and thought something of a certain situation and I was wrong. An example of this is one day when I came into work, my boss was in a really bad mood. Usually she is extremely happy, smiley, and bubbly. However, on that particular day she was very grumpy, sad, and it seemed like she was really pissed off. I thought that she was mad at me about something that I did wrong during my entire shift. I was constantly paranoid and was rethinking my steps and trying to figure out what I had done wrong. I was so scared that she was going to fire me. However, by the end of the day we all found out the real reason she was upset and it had nothing to do with any of her employees and it has something to do with a person reason. I realized that you can’t just assume something unless you really think about the situation. 

Chapter 12 Question # 1

Libra Daily Horoscope

Libra Daily Horoscope

Today's Libra Horoscope from Cafe Astrology
November 12, 2012
A Solar Eclipse occurs tomorrow, dear Libra, and this generally acts to stir up activity. However, considering the last New Moon was in your sign, overall this will be a calmer, less visible period for you. Nevertheless, important decisions may be required of you in the next few weeks, particularly revolving around personal finances and business, so today it would be wise to clear your head. Avoid the compulsion to control events today.
Creativity: Excellent ~ Love: Good ~ Business: Fair

This was my horoscope for the day according to cafeastrology.com. I do not believe in horoscopes at all. Sometimes when I’m at the doctors or at the dentist and there is a magazine in sight, I will look at it and turn to the horoscope page and read it. However, I do not believe anything it says because the prediction isn’t really accurate. Some people really do believe in horoscopes and its true sometimes they are true for some people, but not everyone. I feel like there is a 50% chance that it may be right or may be wrong.  On page 381 of the text, Boss states the hypothesis that, “‘all swans are white’ was based on observations of hundreds of thousands of swans, every one of which was white. However, the hypothesis was falsifiable, since it would take only one swan to prove it false.” Likewise to my horoscope’s hypothesis, I will have important decisions revolving around finances and business.  I don’t work at my old job anymore or do not own anything so I don’t have any business, and for finance, I have a guarantor for my apartment at the moment, and I have enough money for my utilities and for other expenses from my bank. This is falsifiable because I do not have any business and do not think I will have any finance problems, therefore my horoscope is most likely incorrect.

Chapter 11 Question # 3

The section about Internet was the most interesting to me this chapter for this weeks reading. This reading portion talks about how Internet affects our daily lives, what a large impact it has, and analysis social networking and the misusing of Internet. According to THINK by Judith Boss, “The internet is affecting daily life by reshaping social dynamics among young people” (353). I agree wit this because it really does have an impact on the way I communicate with others. Social networking is one of the biggest reasons students spend so much time on the Internet. Internet has both a good and a bad side. It is good because you are able to spread the word throughout Internet sites, such as yahoo news or ads. However, there is a downside. The Internet allows information to be so easily accessed. So many peoples privacy is stepped upon and are left with no privacy what so ever. Internet is an excellent type of technology; it just needs to be more secure so that it doesn’t invade privacy. 

Chapter 11 Question # 2

In, “The Wrongs of Internet Plagiarism: The Quick Arguments” by Brook Sadler, he talks about how plagiarism is obviously a bad thing for students, even if they earned a better grade or not. In the article, “Four Reasons to Be Happy about Internet plagiarism”, Russell Hunt believes that plagiarism is an okay thing to do because students need some extra help in order to pass. I feel like Sadler presented the best argument because not only did she give a clear face to why plagiarism shouldn’t happen, but she also talked about why it wasn’t fair, how it betrays others, how it wont benefit you at all and how it wont help you at all in your career. Lastly, Sadler gives a solution to the problem of plagiarism where as Russell Hunt does not.  Hunt barely states any reasons on why plagiarism isn’t bad and how its not helpful in helping a student understand plagiarism. The reasons he pointed out are not really adequate to cover his argument, which is why Sadler has the better argument. 

Chapter 11 Question # 1

Media experiences have reinforced my existing worldviews and values and also have changed and expanded my views in many ways. According to the textbook, ““If we are unaware of the impact media has on our lives and decisions, or if we engage in self-serving bias by fooling ourselves into thinking that the media affects others but not ourselves, we run the risk of being controlled by the media rather than being in control of our own lives” (357). In addition, on page 358, the text talks about how only watching programs that confirm your worldview has a big contribution to confirm bias and narrow-mindedness. The text proposes watching or reading of the same issue or news event on another channel to overcome narrow mindedness and the bias. Personally, I do this exact thing because you can’t just easily rely on one source for your news because even just one simple story can be analyzed in various ways.