In Johnson’s book, Everything Bad Is Good For You, an American Philosopher named, James Flynn discovered that a persons IQ test results are culturally biased, causing a racial gap between generations of Caucasian and African American test scores. The Flynn Effect is profoundly shaped by the sleeper curve and a persons environment. I strongly agree that, “The Sleeper Curve shows that popular culture is growing more complex, yet it is not sufficiently complex to challenge the most gifted minds, which is why the geniuses aren’t getting any smarter.” (Johnson 152) Today, many Americans enjoy being indoors and playing video games, such as, Call Of Duty: Black Ops, these games challenge a persons mind and allow further cognitive development. A persons cognition is defined as the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. Experiments have also shown that people who play video games are often more social, confident and comfortable when solving problems.
Johnson, Steven. Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005. Print.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Everything Bad Is Good For You
The teen mom 2 series, shown on MTV is a reality television show about a group of young women who are, for the most part, struggling with parenthood and other relationships. In episode four, "Moving In, Moving On" which was aired on February 1st, 2011 on channel 48, four young mothers come across everyday drama from their school, friends, and family. Teen Mom 2 is about real people with real problems such as teen pregnancy. Although, it is not nice to laugh at others who are having a difficult time but this show is made to entertain its viewers by giving them an insight into what it would be like to bear a child at such a young age and how hard it is to balance motherhood with school. Reality shows, like Teen Mom 2 allows its viewers to watch others experience a life changing event and to hopefully learn from their mistakes and take the initiative to practice safe sex.
In the book, Everything Bad Is Good For You, Steven Johnson states that many people who watch reality television are mostly intrigued by the raw emotion that those who are being filmed possess. (97) The thrill is knowing that these events just occurred in real life and that we are viewing people who are not actors, live their everyday lives in a “split second.” “Humans express the full complexity of their emotions through the unspoken language of facial expressions...”(Johnson 98) An example of this would be when Jenelle, a young mother who recently started dating again, comes home to her mother and child with visible hickeys all over her neck, one can assume that her mother is less than pleased. It doesn’t take a genius to know this is not in anyway appropriate for a mother to be acting, but it is entertaining to watch her mother react to Jenelle’s ridiculous endeavors. Reality television does indeed challenge our emotional IQ by measuring our ability to assess and respond to others emotional signals, in order to build our own social skills and cognitive development. (Johnson 99) Multithreaded dramas such as Teen Mom 2 are so complex because it involves many characters and allows its viewers to create many perspectives of what they just watched.
It is the emotional intensity of Teen Mom 2 that attracts its viewers on a weekly basis. For example, when Jenelle and her mother argue over the custody of young Jace because Jenelle’s mother believes that her daughter in unfit to be a parent and insists she gets her life on track is heart breaking. Its devastating to know that there are mothers out there who can neglect their child by staying out all night and not realize that it is wrong. Maybe, its easier for a viewer to comprehend these problems because they are looking from outside of the box rather than inside. Teen Mom 2 shows many examples of claim of value, such as the one mentioned above, the ability for a person to make a judgement and to conclude whether its right or wrong.
Reality television is not so bad for us at all, it stimulates our mind and improves our social and decision making skills. Although, many of us only tune into shows like Teen Mom 2 simply for entertainment rather than to further develop our cognition, the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding it through thought, experience and our senses.
In the book, Everything Bad Is Good For You, Steven Johnson states that many people who watch reality television are mostly intrigued by the raw emotion that those who are being filmed possess. (97) The thrill is knowing that these events just occurred in real life and that we are viewing people who are not actors, live their everyday lives in a “split second.” “Humans express the full complexity of their emotions through the unspoken language of facial expressions...”(Johnson 98) An example of this would be when Jenelle, a young mother who recently started dating again, comes home to her mother and child with visible hickeys all over her neck, one can assume that her mother is less than pleased. It doesn’t take a genius to know this is not in anyway appropriate for a mother to be acting, but it is entertaining to watch her mother react to Jenelle’s ridiculous endeavors. Reality television does indeed challenge our emotional IQ by measuring our ability to assess and respond to others emotional signals, in order to build our own social skills and cognitive development. (Johnson 99) Multithreaded dramas such as Teen Mom 2 are so complex because it involves many characters and allows its viewers to create many perspectives of what they just watched.
It is the emotional intensity of Teen Mom 2 that attracts its viewers on a weekly basis. For example, when Jenelle and her mother argue over the custody of young Jace because Jenelle’s mother believes that her daughter in unfit to be a parent and insists she gets her life on track is heart breaking. Its devastating to know that there are mothers out there who can neglect their child by staying out all night and not realize that it is wrong. Maybe, its easier for a viewer to comprehend these problems because they are looking from outside of the box rather than inside. Teen Mom 2 shows many examples of claim of value, such as the one mentioned above, the ability for a person to make a judgement and to conclude whether its right or wrong.
Reality television is not so bad for us at all, it stimulates our mind and improves our social and decision making skills. Although, many of us only tune into shows like Teen Mom 2 simply for entertainment rather than to further develop our cognition, the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding it through thought, experience and our senses.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
There is no way to stop a determined predator. There is no way to stop a determined victim.
Myspace a popular social networking site with more than eighty million users, virtually allows anyone to create an account, even predators. In the article, "Myspace Not Responsible for Predators" by Kevin Alexander, a naive fourteen year old girl is allegedly reported raped by a nineteen year old man, whom she met online. Since Myspace does not verify its users age, the man was able to lie to the young girl by manipulating her to believe he was younger. Soon after befriending each other, the young girl decided to met up with the nineteen year old outside of cyberspace. The young girl failed to see the danger of meeting a person who they met online and innocently planned to see him and go to dinner and a movie. After the incident occurred the young girls family attempted to sue the social networking site for thirty million dollars, due to the lack of Myspace's security features. However, upon joining the social networking site, a member must sign a waiver stating that Myspace is not responsible for the actions of another user online or offline.
While Kevin Alexander claims that Myspace is not responsible for predators and that users should use the social networking site at their own risk. He fails to consider the important point that there are minors online who are not aware of the dangers of cyberspace. Therefore, a more accurate conclusion is that minors must have consent from their parents before joining because they are responsible for their actions when online and they should be skeptical when adding people they do not know. "Myspace is a business, and one that has never advertised itself as an online babysitting service."(Alexander para 2) I personally agree that Myspace is not responsible for predators online. Parents should be more active when monitoring their child's internet use and informing them of the many dangers that may occur.
Alexander, Kevin."Myspace Not Responsible for Predators." New York: Morrow, 1985. Rpt. in Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader. Annette T. Rottenberg and Donna Haisty Winchell. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2009. 119-121.
While Kevin Alexander claims that Myspace is not responsible for predators and that users should use the social networking site at their own risk. He fails to consider the important point that there are minors online who are not aware of the dangers of cyberspace. Therefore, a more accurate conclusion is that minors must have consent from their parents before joining because they are responsible for their actions when online and they should be skeptical when adding people they do not know. "Myspace is a business, and one that has never advertised itself as an online babysitting service."(Alexander para 2) I personally agree that Myspace is not responsible for predators online. Parents should be more active when monitoring their child's internet use and informing them of the many dangers that may occur.
Alexander, Kevin."Myspace Not Responsible for Predators." New York: Morrow, 1985. Rpt. in Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader. Annette T. Rottenberg and Donna Haisty Winchell. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2009. 119-121.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Advertisement Falsity
In the Anti-Aging Skin Care advertisement it is very obvious to anyone that their claim is asking consumers in todays market to buy their product, because it will make them look younger. This product is mostly targeted at middle aged women, the company uses aging, a common insecurity known to all women to sell their product. In the advertisement it shows four pictures of what appears to be a husband and wife during different stages of their marriage. The photographs range from black and white, sepia, antique to lastly a colored print which represents the passing of time and the couple aging together. The support behind their claim is the fact that in each photograph the husband ages, his hair turns gray and his face begins to look older, yet the women looks exactly the same in each photo because she supposedly uses the company’s anti aging product to look young. The women in the four pictures consequently appears to have the same facial features, smile, hairstyle and pose in all of the advertised photos being shown. Having that said, this advertisement appears to be an attempt to just make more money by advertising their product through false allegations because there is no cure for aging it is inevitable process in life that cannot be avoided. Customers should be skeptical of advertisements like the one shown because the advertisements claim is not realistic. The underlying warrant in this advertisement is that middle aged women would be smart to buy this product because with it they can effortlessly turn back the clock and appear younger.


Friday, January 14, 2011
About Me :)
Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at blogging so bear with me, my name is Cory Durniak, I’m eighteen years old and I’m a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast University. I am currently a nursing major and in the future I would like to aspire to become a nurse anesthetist. I chose to further my education at Florida Gulf Coast University because it is near my hometown and compared to other schools it allows me to be close to my friends and family in Naples, Florida. Although I do live on campus for the college experience, my real home is only twenty minutes away. When I’m not spending time with my friends and family at the beach or the mall, I’m most likely working at Pei Wei Asian Diner. I was hired as a cashier two years ago when I was sixteen and made many close friends there along the way. Another reason of why I chose to continue my education at Florida Gulf Coast University compared to another school was for the convenience of already having a job and being able to make my own money to pay for my dues in Zeta Tau Alpha. Being in Zeta Tau Alpha has been an enriching experience so far, I have met so many wonderful, hardworking women and I love our philanthropy, breast cancer education and awareness. I decided to rush with my best friend, roommate and now sister, Katie Bidlack. We have been best friends for years and I don’t know where I’d be without her!
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