Chapter 9:
Ah memories. An interesting chapter. The human brain is such an incredibly complex organ. The fact that they would try and perform tests and experiments on the brain is outstanding. Unfortunately, I just find it hard to be able to adequately test and experiment on the human brain due to difficulty and ethical reasons. I think memories is more than just neurons firing all around in the brain. I do not have an idea how physically/biologically memories are stored, but I have yet to be convinced that it's neurons alone. How can this be applied to computer science? A way to simulate brain activity in a computer would be a start (such as neural nets). Being able to simulate the brain in a computer could help open us to more answers in the human brain.
Chapter 10:
This chapter was more about surgeries. Specifically, surgeries on the brain. This chapter made me feel a little light-headed while reading it. Many of these patients had holes drilled to their brains where the surgeon would slash or cut certain areas of the brain. A majority of the patients would report back as feeling better or even cured of their depression, OCD, or epilepsy. I find a lot of these to be hard to believe. To me, it does not make since that a simple slice here or injection of alcohol there results in cures. The surgeons had no idea what they were exactly doing other than poking around the brain. How are they suppose to know where exactly, precisely to cut? I would like for one of these patients to have undergone a fake lobotomy to see if they would have become "healed". Of course, I'm happy for the patients who feel better. It still however feels fishy to me. As to how this can be applied to computer science? I honestly don't know how. I mean, there's the obvious make surgeon robots to go in and cut your brain a bit I suppose. I still think that some sort of way to simulate the human brain or to be able to "debug" a human brain would be very beneficial. As to how? I have no idea.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Book Reading #5: Skinners Box, Part 4
Chapter 7:
Addictions, what an interesting chapter. I have not been around a lot of addiction or at least nothing as bad as drug addiction. I have always thought that the majority of people could not or had an extremely hard time quitting certain addictions. Given the theory on how people can quit addictions anytime is odd. I can see how it is more common for addictions to form given a poor environment for a user. It is interesting to think that some companies try and get you addicted to their product so they can make more money. I often wonder if some people have ethical conflicts with this business strategy.
Chapter 8:
False memories is a very interesting subject but almost impossible to fully discuss. There is no doubt in my mind that certain memories can be "implanted" into people. When someone suggests that there is some apparent feature on something, a lot of people will either agree or say something along the lines like "I think so". I have been guilty in the realm of falsifying memories in other people. Often times, it was for reinforcing a lie, to twist and turn it into a truth. I find it difficult to test on this subject however because there is no sure-fire, guaranteed way of telling if someone is lying or telling the truth. If someone claims that they believe something that turns out to have never happened, are they telling the truth in the first place? Some people know they do not remember such things sometimes. Instead, they go along with it to save themselves from embarrassment or to fit-in, in some occasions.
Addictions, what an interesting chapter. I have not been around a lot of addiction or at least nothing as bad as drug addiction. I have always thought that the majority of people could not or had an extremely hard time quitting certain addictions. Given the theory on how people can quit addictions anytime is odd. I can see how it is more common for addictions to form given a poor environment for a user. It is interesting to think that some companies try and get you addicted to their product so they can make more money. I often wonder if some people have ethical conflicts with this business strategy.
Chapter 8:
False memories is a very interesting subject but almost impossible to fully discuss. There is no doubt in my mind that certain memories can be "implanted" into people. When someone suggests that there is some apparent feature on something, a lot of people will either agree or say something along the lines like "I think so". I have been guilty in the realm of falsifying memories in other people. Often times, it was for reinforcing a lie, to twist and turn it into a truth. I find it difficult to test on this subject however because there is no sure-fire, guaranteed way of telling if someone is lying or telling the truth. If someone claims that they believe something that turns out to have never happened, are they telling the truth in the first place? Some people know they do not remember such things sometimes. Instead, they go along with it to save themselves from embarrassment or to fit-in, in some occasions.
Book Reading #5: Skinners Box, Part 3
Chapter 5:
I enjoyed this chapter since it gave more insight into people that make up ridiculous excuses to make reinforce their belief despite evidence that they are wrong. It's interesting to think that people will hold a stronger belief or perform an action when the reward is small. To me, it feels like it stems from people not wanting to be embarrassed or are anxious at what others think of them.
Chapter 6:
This chapter was a bit disturbing to me. It was awkward to read while the author talked vividly about a babies mothers nipple. As far as what the chapter was about, I found it sad what had happened to the monkeys but at the same time, I believe it is critical for human health. The fact that the monkeys were practically crazy when having anti-social mothers interests me in the sense that how people develop. Different people have different social skills, many of these skills can be developed differently with different raising styles and/or different mothers.
I enjoyed this chapter since it gave more insight into people that make up ridiculous excuses to make reinforce their belief despite evidence that they are wrong. It's interesting to think that people will hold a stronger belief or perform an action when the reward is small. To me, it feels like it stems from people not wanting to be embarrassed or are anxious at what others think of them.
Chapter 6:
This chapter was a bit disturbing to me. It was awkward to read while the author talked vividly about a babies mothers nipple. As far as what the chapter was about, I found it sad what had happened to the monkeys but at the same time, I believe it is critical for human health. The fact that the monkeys were practically crazy when having anti-social mothers interests me in the sense that how people develop. Different people have different social skills, many of these skills can be developed differently with different raising styles and/or different mothers.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Book Reading #5: Skinners Box, Part 2
Chapter 3:
As I read more and more chapters I realize how, different Lauren Slater is. She describes a lot using imagery. Her writing does not seem to exhibit much of a scientific feel to it. Rosenhans experiment was interesting to say the least. Unfortunately, it was not exactly official. All we have to go on are his testimonies. The fact that he stayed in the institute and could not get out does scare me however. It worries me that someone could easily be placed in a psychiatric ward.
Chapter 4:
This chapter is another interesting one. This one points towards help. In this chapter, a woman is slowly killed while people witnessed. Despite her cries for help, no one helped. It's interesting to think how I have come across similar situations. Most people are slow to give out help. Partly because they assume no personal responsibility. Some people believe that someone else will help. All the same time, they are thinking that this poor person needs help, so someone should do it. Unfortunately, no one does in some cases, including the murder victim discussed in this chapter.
As I read more and more chapters I realize how, different Lauren Slater is. She describes a lot using imagery. Her writing does not seem to exhibit much of a scientific feel to it. Rosenhans experiment was interesting to say the least. Unfortunately, it was not exactly official. All we have to go on are his testimonies. The fact that he stayed in the institute and could not get out does scare me however. It worries me that someone could easily be placed in a psychiatric ward.
Chapter 4:
This chapter is another interesting one. This one points towards help. In this chapter, a woman is slowly killed while people witnessed. Despite her cries for help, no one helped. It's interesting to think how I have come across similar situations. Most people are slow to give out help. Partly because they assume no personal responsibility. Some people believe that someone else will help. All the same time, they are thinking that this poor person needs help, so someone should do it. Unfortunately, no one does in some cases, including the murder victim discussed in this chapter.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Book Reading #5: Skinners Box, part 1
Chapter 1:
This chapter is about Lauren Slater going over who B.F. Skinner is. Skinner is famous and known for the controversial experiments he has performed. The chapter starts off with Skinner in a negative tone then becomes more positive. Personally, I found this chapter to be confusing. The structure/order of it bothered me and was a pain to keep up with. Also, Skinner sounds creepy to me, but that's my own fault I'm sure.
Chapter 2:
This chapter focuses bit on Stanley Milgram's Obedience experiment. This chapter was far easier to understand but still had faults to it (in my opinion anyway). Given the fact that I have read Obedience to Authority, I was able to have a good background about the Obedience experiments talked about in this chapter. It is sad to see what became of Stanley Milgrams career due to the experiments.
This chapter is about Lauren Slater going over who B.F. Skinner is. Skinner is famous and known for the controversial experiments he has performed. The chapter starts off with Skinner in a negative tone then becomes more positive. Personally, I found this chapter to be confusing. The structure/order of it bothered me and was a pain to keep up with. Also, Skinner sounds creepy to me, but that's my own fault I'm sure.
Chapter 2:
This chapter focuses bit on Stanley Milgram's Obedience experiment. This chapter was far easier to understand but still had faults to it (in my opinion anyway). Given the fact that I have read Obedience to Authority, I was able to have a good background about the Obedience experiments talked about in this chapter. It is sad to see what became of Stanley Milgrams career due to the experiments.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Book Reading #4: Obedience to Authority
Chapter 1:
The first chapter is on a brief discussion of obedience. Several examples of people doing wrong things because they were told by an authority figure or force were mentioned; most notably, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
Chapter 2:
This chapter was about a setting up an obedience experiment in Yale. An actor was hired to portray the learner. An experimenter was one of the people running the experiment, while the teacher was the subject to be studied.
Chapter 3:
The expected results for the experiment were that many/most people would disobey at around 150 volts or when the learner expresses his "pain".
Chapter 4:
Alternate experiments were run where how close the teacher was to the learner was altered. It shows that when the teacher is closer to the learner, the teacher is more likely to disobey or will disobey sooner than if the learner was in a separate room.
Chapter 5:
This chapter shows what some of the subjects were thinking during and after the experiment. Many of the subjects showed great concern for the learner but continued to the maximum voltage (450 volts) despite many outcries by the learner.
Chapter 6:
Many more variations of the experiment were performed. Such variations included changing the experimenter to a different person, changing the settings, choosing female teachers, and even allowing the teacher to set the shock value.
Chapter 7:
In this chapter are more thoughts by the teachers. These teachers are part of the variation experiments. Many of them would still show great concern for the leaner but still continue to shock them.
Chapter 8:
More variations of the experiment were performed. This time however, it was about roles. These experiments demonstrated the differences when different people were in different roles such as the experimenter is the one being shocked while an ordinary person is ordering the shocks. This also included having 2 experimenters, one giving the order to shock the learner while the other says not to.
Chapter 9:
This chapter shows the power of numbers in people. When the teacher has multiple teachers beside him, it is easier to do what the "group" says. It's an almost voluntary action.
Chapter 10:
This chapter is more about the topics related to or part of obedience such as hierarchy and agentic state. Hierarchy promotes obedience because someone up higher is prescribing the action or task to a lower individual.
Chapter 11:
The main focuses here were about antecedent conditions of obedience, the agentic state, and binding factors. Things such as family, rewards, and setting are part of the antecedent conditions in obedience. The agentic state is where a person becomes someone else, an "agent" for an authority figure or force. Binding factors are what keep a person obeying.
Chapter 12:
Strain is the force that can cause a person to disobey. The strain has to outweigh the strain-resolving methods or techniques. If a person experienced no strain with shocking a person, then they will continue to shock a person until they are told to stop. With strain, a person will want to quit or disobey however, there are ways to resolve the strain such as being able to not assume responsibility or reassurance that nothing bad will happen.
Chapter 13:
Aggression is an impulse or action to harm another organism. It's possible that some people were able to continue to administer shocks due to their aggression.
Chapter 14:
Many problems and concerns arise with this experiment. Some wonder if the test subjects were enough to represent the general population. Another concern was if the teachers did not know or did know if they were actually causing harm to the learner. Finally, can the experiments results reflect in the wider social life?
Chapter 15:
War seems to be a target when discussing obedience. This is because many people are told to kill another individual all the time by an authority figure. Killing another person is usually not a desire in all of us. Yet many people still do it when they are told. The study of obedience can give us a better idea as to why atrocities occur simply because people are following orders.
Book Response:
This book was fairly interesting. It's scary almost to see that many people are capable of harming other individuals when they are told to do so. Yet, it is also interesting or fascinating to see people change or for people to become almost machines and perform tasks that they are not comfortable with when told by an authority figure.
The differences in proximity between the teacher, the learner, and the experimenter proved to be the most interesting to me. This makes me wonder if the military will reach a point where the generals are with the soldiers to ensure the soldiers carry out their orders.
The results from using multiple people and from alternating the roles is also fascinating. People are eager to disobey when a lot of strain is present but may still continue. Things such as a conflicting authority figure can make it easier for an individual to disobey.
With the appearance of 2 experimenters, it makes me wonder if there should be more co-levels in society. Having 2 people give an order gives more reassurance that it is the right thing to do. Having conflicting orders can lead to the subject to decide.
This experiment is interesting and I would be interesting in seeing more obedience based experiments. Given today's technology, many more variations of the experiments can be performed.
The first chapter is on a brief discussion of obedience. Several examples of people doing wrong things because they were told by an authority figure or force were mentioned; most notably, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
Chapter 2:
This chapter was about a setting up an obedience experiment in Yale. An actor was hired to portray the learner. An experimenter was one of the people running the experiment, while the teacher was the subject to be studied.
Chapter 3:
The expected results for the experiment were that many/most people would disobey at around 150 volts or when the learner expresses his "pain".
Chapter 4:
Alternate experiments were run where how close the teacher was to the learner was altered. It shows that when the teacher is closer to the learner, the teacher is more likely to disobey or will disobey sooner than if the learner was in a separate room.
Chapter 5:
This chapter shows what some of the subjects were thinking during and after the experiment. Many of the subjects showed great concern for the learner but continued to the maximum voltage (450 volts) despite many outcries by the learner.
Chapter 6:
Many more variations of the experiment were performed. Such variations included changing the experimenter to a different person, changing the settings, choosing female teachers, and even allowing the teacher to set the shock value.
Chapter 7:
In this chapter are more thoughts by the teachers. These teachers are part of the variation experiments. Many of them would still show great concern for the leaner but still continue to shock them.
Chapter 8:
More variations of the experiment were performed. This time however, it was about roles. These experiments demonstrated the differences when different people were in different roles such as the experimenter is the one being shocked while an ordinary person is ordering the shocks. This also included having 2 experimenters, one giving the order to shock the learner while the other says not to.
Chapter 9:
This chapter shows the power of numbers in people. When the teacher has multiple teachers beside him, it is easier to do what the "group" says. It's an almost voluntary action.
Chapter 10:
This chapter is more about the topics related to or part of obedience such as hierarchy and agentic state. Hierarchy promotes obedience because someone up higher is prescribing the action or task to a lower individual.
Chapter 11:
The main focuses here were about antecedent conditions of obedience, the agentic state, and binding factors. Things such as family, rewards, and setting are part of the antecedent conditions in obedience. The agentic state is where a person becomes someone else, an "agent" for an authority figure or force. Binding factors are what keep a person obeying.
Chapter 12:
Strain is the force that can cause a person to disobey. The strain has to outweigh the strain-resolving methods or techniques. If a person experienced no strain with shocking a person, then they will continue to shock a person until they are told to stop. With strain, a person will want to quit or disobey however, there are ways to resolve the strain such as being able to not assume responsibility or reassurance that nothing bad will happen.
Chapter 13:
Aggression is an impulse or action to harm another organism. It's possible that some people were able to continue to administer shocks due to their aggression.
Chapter 14:
Many problems and concerns arise with this experiment. Some wonder if the test subjects were enough to represent the general population. Another concern was if the teachers did not know or did know if they were actually causing harm to the learner. Finally, can the experiments results reflect in the wider social life?
Chapter 15:
War seems to be a target when discussing obedience. This is because many people are told to kill another individual all the time by an authority figure. Killing another person is usually not a desire in all of us. Yet many people still do it when they are told. The study of obedience can give us a better idea as to why atrocities occur simply because people are following orders.
Book Response:
This book was fairly interesting. It's scary almost to see that many people are capable of harming other individuals when they are told to do so. Yet, it is also interesting or fascinating to see people change or for people to become almost machines and perform tasks that they are not comfortable with when told by an authority figure.
The differences in proximity between the teacher, the learner, and the experimenter proved to be the most interesting to me. This makes me wonder if the military will reach a point where the generals are with the soldiers to ensure the soldiers carry out their orders.
The results from using multiple people and from alternating the roles is also fascinating. People are eager to disobey when a lot of strain is present but may still continue. Things such as a conflicting authority figure can make it easier for an individual to disobey.
With the appearance of 2 experimenters, it makes me wonder if there should be more co-levels in society. Having 2 people give an order gives more reassurance that it is the right thing to do. Having conflicting orders can lead to the subject to decide.
This experiment is interesting and I would be interesting in seeing more obedience based experiments. Given today's technology, many more variations of the experiments can be performed.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Book Reading #3: Gang Leader for a Day
Chapter 1:
Sudhir seemed to be pretty desperate or naive to enter the building. He endangered himself and the only reason he is here today is because of luck.
Chapter 2:
As it turns out, JT is a fairly smart individual. The reason he chose this lifestyle was because how he never was rewarded or paid despite the effort he put into his work.
Chapter 3:
This chapter showed an interested side of Sudhir. Sudhir witnessed someone get beat up but didn't step in to stop them. Even though he was to be protected and left unharmed, he still didn't stop the beating. This could be because he felt he deserved it instead of being scared of a retaliation.
Chapter 4:
JT challenges Sudhir to be the gang leader for a day to give Sudhir a more first person experience into the life of a gang leader. One of Sudhirs first challenges is to settle a dispute between 2 people over money.
Chapter 5:
Sudhir gets closer to Ms. Bailey in order to study her more. She is another important person who plays an important role. She is president of the Robert Taylor buildings.
Chapter 6:
At this point a lot of people are mad at Sudhir. Some find that he inadvertently has lowered the pay of some of the workers. A lot of women also believe that he is sleeping with their daughters during the womens writing workshop.
Chapter 7:
A drive by from a rival gang ends up shooting 2 people. Sudhir realizes a lot of Police Officers are crooked and are in the drug trade. The Officers start to pressure Sudhir and give him a hard time since they believe he's an informant. Sudhir gets to attend a large meeting with the Black Kings thanks to JT.
Chapter 8:
JT gets a large promotion which will put him near the top of the gang ladder. Many people are panicking due to the scheduled demolition on the housing projects, even if they are planned to happen in a couple years. Many people will be forced to move and have nowhere to go.
Book:
All in all, the book was great. This book gives me better insight into gang life. I grew up in an entirely different setting and never had a good idea of how gang life functioned.
It is interesting to see how much the gang helped out the community. They provided a lot to the community. Another thing interesting about the gang was how structured it was. The gang was systematic. I always pictured gangs being run by maybe 1 or 2 guys and only about money. This gang seemed to worry more about land or location.
I'm amazed at how often he and the gang interacted with the law enforcement. It makes me curious if the police know only a little of the gangs activities or if they are busy with other duties. Maybe they do know but do not care.
I'm interested to see how other gangs are structured and the differences in gangs based upon location and racial backgrounds.
I'm glad Sudhir has made it out alive from his entire study. I wonder how Sudhir managed his schoolwork and met with the gang. I have trouble just going to work and school, so to see someone being able to go to school and to be part of gang is impressive. I believe Sudhir has done enough to make a valuable contribution in the world of ehnographies.
One concern with the book I have though is that it is hard to tell if everything written in the book was true. Some of the events seem a little unbelievable, especially some of his actions and reactions. Sudhir might have been raised in a different life, but he seemed way too naive in certain situations Makes me wonder if he wrote his thoughts like he did in the book just to sell his book. Regardless, it's a good book and gives good insight into the gang life.
Sudhir seemed to be pretty desperate or naive to enter the building. He endangered himself and the only reason he is here today is because of luck.
Chapter 2:
As it turns out, JT is a fairly smart individual. The reason he chose this lifestyle was because how he never was rewarded or paid despite the effort he put into his work.
Chapter 3:
This chapter showed an interested side of Sudhir. Sudhir witnessed someone get beat up but didn't step in to stop them. Even though he was to be protected and left unharmed, he still didn't stop the beating. This could be because he felt he deserved it instead of being scared of a retaliation.
Chapter 4:
JT challenges Sudhir to be the gang leader for a day to give Sudhir a more first person experience into the life of a gang leader. One of Sudhirs first challenges is to settle a dispute between 2 people over money.
Chapter 5:
Sudhir gets closer to Ms. Bailey in order to study her more. She is another important person who plays an important role. She is president of the Robert Taylor buildings.
Chapter 6:
At this point a lot of people are mad at Sudhir. Some find that he inadvertently has lowered the pay of some of the workers. A lot of women also believe that he is sleeping with their daughters during the womens writing workshop.
Chapter 7:
A drive by from a rival gang ends up shooting 2 people. Sudhir realizes a lot of Police Officers are crooked and are in the drug trade. The Officers start to pressure Sudhir and give him a hard time since they believe he's an informant. Sudhir gets to attend a large meeting with the Black Kings thanks to JT.
Chapter 8:
JT gets a large promotion which will put him near the top of the gang ladder. Many people are panicking due to the scheduled demolition on the housing projects, even if they are planned to happen in a couple years. Many people will be forced to move and have nowhere to go.
Book:
All in all, the book was great. This book gives me better insight into gang life. I grew up in an entirely different setting and never had a good idea of how gang life functioned.
It is interesting to see how much the gang helped out the community. They provided a lot to the community. Another thing interesting about the gang was how structured it was. The gang was systematic. I always pictured gangs being run by maybe 1 or 2 guys and only about money. This gang seemed to worry more about land or location.
I'm amazed at how often he and the gang interacted with the law enforcement. It makes me curious if the police know only a little of the gangs activities or if they are busy with other duties. Maybe they do know but do not care.
I'm interested to see how other gangs are structured and the differences in gangs based upon location and racial backgrounds.
I'm glad Sudhir has made it out alive from his entire study. I wonder how Sudhir managed his schoolwork and met with the gang. I have trouble just going to work and school, so to see someone being able to go to school and to be part of gang is impressive. I believe Sudhir has done enough to make a valuable contribution in the world of ehnographies.
One concern with the book I have though is that it is hard to tell if everything written in the book was true. Some of the events seem a little unbelievable, especially some of his actions and reactions. Sudhir might have been raised in a different life, but he seemed way too naive in certain situations Makes me wonder if he wrote his thoughts like he did in the book just to sell his book. Regardless, it's a good book and gives good insight into the gang life.
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