Critical Thinking Blog 8

My thinking about science and humanities have changed a lot after finishing this course.The reason is because I got a chance to learn more about science whether it had to do with the people who have impacted it like Rosalind Franklin or Percy Julian. By being able to read about their lives and see what kind of impact they had it made me look at science in a different way,meaning that there could be countless possibilities for scientists. When it comes down to humanities it was interesting to learn about everything that we read including Darwin or McEwan,which were the two most enjoyable for me. Also about the selfish gene or the selfless gene. Its interesting to know what humans are able to do when it really comes down to survival. Even though learning about humanities was interesting, I still see myself more as a science person. I would always feel that way because science is something that I love to learn about and I still feel that there's more to discover in science.

I am more optimistic about science and technology now because I see everything that went on and what was built throughout time. For example one of the biggest reasons why I'm so optimistic about technology is because of the robots. It was cool to learn about what is going on today in the world that involves robots. It makes me look at a more positive outcome in the future on what better stuff people can build. I feel that throughout time people are going to come up with the craziest and best inventions ever. Hopefully,it can benefit all of us.

This class taught me how to make a better understanding of science or humanities. It gave me more of an open mind to what is going on whether it had to do with technology,science,or humanities. I will always keep in mind everything that I learned throughout the class because it taught me much more than I thought it would.

Critical Thinking Blog #7

I feel that one of the biggest contributors to science was Rosalind Franklin. Rosalind Franklin was the one to discover the structure of DNA. The life story that Rosalind teaches us today to do successful science is to always have a determined and focused attitude. Rosalind was always giving 100 percent into whatever research she had to do in science. She was always willing to do more and never took the easy route to get things done. The reason why I feel this is so important is because in science you have to be willing to keep researching on whatever topic you have. You have to always try and find different pathways so it can help you in your research. The whole point of doing research is to try and figure out something new in science,and I feel Franklin did that well. The challenges and obstacles that Rosalind had to do was being able to find a clear picture for the structure of DNA. She overcame this challenge by trying over and over again to get a clear picture. Even though she spent hours and days trying to figure it out she still managed to get it done.

Unfortunately at first Rosalind was not recognized for her hard work due to her competitors Watson and Crick. Later on in time though people actually started figuring out that it was her who discovered the structure. A big part of why she was not recognized was because of her gender. I feel that Rosalind Franklin acts as an inspiration to women. Rosalind inspires woman to do better especially in the science field. She gives a sense of determination to know that not only man can be successful in the science field.

Critical Thinking Blog #6

       The topic that I will be discussing in my research paper is Rosalind Franklin. I will argue that Rosalind Franklin was wrongly deprived of recognition for her role in discovering the structure of DNA because of her gender.

        One of the sources that provided me with information about Rosalind Franklin and her discovery of DNA isAccess Science.The reason I chose this source is because I felt that it would give me a lot of information about Franklin. I also felt that since Rosalind Franklin played a huge part in science that this source would show me a lot of results that was relevant to my topic.This source gives me a solid background of Rosalind Franklin. It gives me information about her education and how it gave her knowledge to helping discover the structure of DNA. It also gives me information about her time spent discovering  DNA and how she got to that point. It tells me important details about Watson and Crick who played a big part of taking credit for her discovery. By adding these type of points into my research paper it can be able to prove my thesis on how Franklin should have been recognized for a Nobel Prize.

       My second source was found in JSTOR. A book called Rosalind Franklin and DNA by Anne Sayre. The reason why I chose JSTOR was because I knew that it could help me out with information that I needed. This source gives me information about feminism. It mentions that part of the reason that Rosalind Franklin was not recognized for the Nobel Prize was because she was a female. Its information that backs up my whole argument on my research paper. The argument that the author is making is that feminism played a major role in science. There is details that involve Watson and Crick and why it was more natural an easier for them to be looked at highly rather than Franklin. It also goes back to my whole point of why she was not recognized because of her gender.

Critical Thinking Blog Post #5

The clip that I chose to view is Honda Corporation's ASIMO robot. The reason why I found it so appealing was because it mentioned that it was suppose to move like a real person. Once I viewed the video I found it interesting that throughout time we are now able to create more human like robots. When I saw that the robot was holding hand in hand with a human being it made me wonder if robots can one day help us. Another example is when the robot started to push the cart. Its interesting to know that one day if a robot is well programmed,that it can be a huge help to us.A positive outlook on robots is that they have progressed through time. Its nice to know that we are coming up with great ideas such as, making human-like robots. A positive look on the ASIMO robot is the hard work that went into making this robot. Its good to know that if we are able to build an ASIMO robot now,we will be able to do a lot more in the future.

On the other hand a clip that I found threatening was The Terminator. This clip shows violence and hate towards humans. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a terrifying robot that is killing everyone off. This makes me wonder that if robots in the future will be programmed to be extremely intelligent, will they turn their back on us? If they are there to serve and help humans will they get tired and become our enemies. With the technology that we have now,we are building robots to be human like. Throughout time will they be intellectual enough to not listen to us. Since humans have programmed them to be intelligent and think for themselves will they come together and turn on humans. This is what could be a downfall for a robot in the future.

People have been trying to build robots for awhile now. I feel that people will eventually get used to them.If they are being introduced in the media,people will finally have no choice but to get use to them. Even though they might seem creepy in a way,if they are trying to help us,there are going to be people that will be open to that idea. Also what adds to this is that the people that are building these robots are trying to make them feel less threatening. They want people to feel secure and safe when a robot is around. By making people feel this way,everyone would want a robot.

Blog Assignment #4-Midterm Practice

I plan to talk about prompt #3 Robots and Artificial Intelligence. The question that is being asked is if I agree or disagree that Rachel Eldon and other androids were intelligent human beings according to the graphic novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. The argument that I will prove is why I agree that Rachel Eldon and the other androids were intelligent beings but how they can never gain to have real emotions. I will back this up with the scenes from the graphic novel by discussing Rachel Eldon's questioning. This would prove how Rachel Eldon was programmed to have intellectual thoughts but how her non existing emotions gave her away. Then explain the main scene that gave her away as an Android.  After, go on to compare how different the answers to the questions would of been if a human answered them. How much more emotion would be shown from a human if they were asked these kinds of questions.Then, continuing to talk about how androids would never gain the same emotions that humans have. How they will not be able to feel the same things as humans and can only gain intelligence through programming. Another text that would be added to this part would be Dream Logic,the Internet and Artificial Thought by David Gelernter. I would go to explain Gelernter's view on robots and artificial intelligence. How Gelernter's point was that robots can gain intelligence but can never have true emotions. He makes up two good points from the text and I will include these in my essay. His view on artificial intelligence ties in very well with the thought of robots never gaining emotions. Finally, I will choose one more scene from the graphic novel proving more of my point of why I agree Rachel Eldon and other androids were intelligent beings, but can never have real emotions. Finally, I would wrap up everything I discussed in my essay proving my point of agreement.

Critical Thinking Blog Assignment 3

The two topics that I may possibly discuss is portraying robots in film or women in science: Rosalind Franklin. The reason why I am interested in discussing portraying robots in film is because I feel that it relates to what we have been talking about in our LIB 200 class. By this I mean that I can be able to discuss how the film presentation of future of robotics perspective is on technology. A movie that I am interested in looking at is I,Robot. I feel that this movie will give me a good sense on how robots are presented in the future. I can discuss how the view on robots can be seen later in our future and what kind of influences it will have on us. By picking this choice it will also give me a opportunity to talk about how robots and humans differ. How does the film challenge the understanding of what it means to be human. By viewing this film I can be able to relate it to the topics we have been discussing in class about robots. I can compare their actions now and how they will be later on according to our technology use and how they keep progressing in the movie. The other topic that I thought of discussing is Women in science: Rosalind Franklin. One of the main reasons that I want to discuss this topic is because of the fact that I agree that she should of earned credit for discovering the structure of DNA. I feel that it would be a really cool topic to talk about. I also feel that she should of been recognized with a Nobel Prize. I could just basically talk about the facts of why she deserved to be recognize and her history of the discovery of the structure of DNA.
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After long thinking about my decision,I have come to the conclusion that I will be picking the topic of...portraying robots in film. I feel that this would be a more fun/interesting topic to discuss in my research paper. I also feel that it can provide me with a lot of information. It will be a cool topic to discuss therefore I will enjoy writing it better. I have more background information on the movie and it relates more to what we have been learning in the class.

<br> LIB 200

Critical Thinking Post #2-Popular Science Today

After watching the new series of Cosmos:A Spacetime Odyssey,I learned how fascinating it was to know about how science works and space. I felt that this show gave more of a science point of view rather than a humanistic point of view. This is because they deal with a lot of science and facts about how the world began and what goes on in the galaxy. The show starts off going through the different types of planets. Two interesting facts that i learned while viewing is that there could be life on Mars. This was interesting to me because i always wondered where else life can be other than Earth. One other thing that also captured my attention was when they decided to put our whole billions years of life into a small amount of time. They figured out that if they were able to do this in minutes that our evolution of organisms and us transforming would of lasted about 40 seconds. After watching how massive space can be I came to realize how small we really are in this world. Even though we might think that we are important because we are living and we have transformed through evolution to be an amazing human being,there is still so much more that is out there. The show Cosmos gives a optimistic view on science because it explores everything that scientist know of in space. The show also gives a tone of hope for discovery of what we can later on know through our inventions. Cosmos helps other know more about science and they do it in a fun way. Unlike just putting pictures and rambling on about science,the show helps us learn through the magnificent use of graphics and even the animated cartoons. These things are able to help the viewers know the facts of science and make it feel like we are actually there with the use of graphics. They add in their own way to entertain rather than just put pictures and talk about them. By them doing this it gives the viewers a fun way of learning and a way to keep watching the show.