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Post by andrewromo on Mar 2, 2015 2:42:09 GMT
Andrew Romo
Test 1:11632
After spending a long day out with my girlfriend in Santa Monica, we got in my car and prepared ourselves for the inevitable traffic filled drive home. While sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic I boasted on about how I hadn’t been pulled over in a while or been involved in an accident. Minutes passed as we casually conversed trying to pass the time when suddenly, to our surprise, we saw the infamous red and blue lights of a police cruiser flash behind us. I continued to pull over to the side of the freeway as embarrassment and turmoil filled my being. The officer issued me a ticket for having my front windows tinted and told me to have a good day. After watching the officer smugly walk back to his car I look over to my girlfriend and see her quietly trying to hold in her laughter. After enduring the joke infused ride home, which was fueled by my arrogance and the coincidental nature of being pulled over, we neared the hill dense area of Alhambra and Montebello. As I drove up one of the steeper hills, I noticed a loss of power in my steering, brakes, and motor; within seconds my car started to roll backwards. At this moment the logical part of my brain tried to figure out the problem and a way for us to stop rolling back. Meanwhile, the reptilian stem in my brain told my hands to pull up the emergency brake; however, the car I had been driving wasn’t my own so as I reached for the brake in the middle console nothing was there so we proceeded to slam into a parked car on the side of the street. I later realized that the Emergency brake was located underneath the steering wheel by my foot. After Hitting the parked car and turning on the emergency brake the emotional part of my brain caused me to look over to the passenger seat and make sure my girlfriend wasn’t hurt. Seeing that we were both unscathed we exited the car to find the owner running out of his house and yelling at us in a foreign dialect. We went through the arduous process of exchanging insurance information and taking pictures of the accident. Surprisingly enough my car was drivable and I took her home. Needless to say after having two coincidental mishaps in one day, I don’t brag about my good fortune anymore.
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Hernesto Villacorta
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Post by Hernesto Villacorta on Mar 2, 2015 3:12:18 GMT
Hernesto Villacorta
Philosophy 8
Professor: David Lane
March 1, 2015
Code: 11632
1. Drawings from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from your life where you reacted as “Spock”, “Kirk”, and “Scotty”.
One incident that comes to mind that combines all three is when I was thirteen years old. It was a Saturday afternoon I was at playing outside with my friends tag. When I hear my mother yells at me to come inside and eat. So, I rush into the house and she begins to tell me that I need to go with older sister so she can take her senior pictures. I begin to nag and say I don’t feel like going and my sister to convince me to go with her tells me she will buy some new pants. After we established that I was getting pants, she tells me her friend was going to take us to the places we needed to go. It’s about 5pm in the evening now. I’m pretty excited that we are going. So, we get into my sisters friends car an old station wagon with the trunk connected with the back seat, and as always I call out “Shotgun” and my sister bursts into laughter and says go ahead sit in the front. We depart and we get to our first destination which is a small photo shop store. As we enter the store my sister pays the clerk for about 13 pictures each one different from the other. After ten minutes of waiting she finishes and is super excited about her pictures. Then we head home, but I tell her if we were going to get my pants and she says yes. We make it home and her friend tells her that he will wait for us outside in the streets instead of the parkway. So we enter our home and tell my mother we are going to get my pants and she says okay, but my older brother had told us beforehand that we should wait for him but we decide not to wait for him. It’s 8:15pm in the evening now we get into my sisters friends car. As we depart we sing along a few songs so we wouldn’t be bored. About a quarter of a mile, we get to a light as soon as it turns green we go up a small bridge. I remember getting hit on the head once and my “Spock” in me begins to rationalize the situation like how does one get hit on the head with the car not begin in motion, then not even a minute later I get hit again on the head this time I feel blood rushing down my face as if I was in a scary movie. As I turn around my sister is in the back screaming that someone had struck her as well, now all three characters come into play for. Spock was trying to see how we were going to get out of this situation knowing that my sister’s friend had an obsession with her and he would do anything to get her. I see him trying to pull her out and I scream and tell him to leave her in the car and that he would need to take us to my brother’s job, thinking about the safety of my sister and me. All I can think right now is to survive and not die because I’m bleeding heavily and my sister is in the back bleeding also. Kirk came into mind when I thought of what would my father tell us for not begin obedient and I start feeling anxious and worry about all that. We finally make it to my brother’s job and from there we get taken to the hospital. In the hospital I get shot with anesthesia, about an hour later I wake and I begin to freak out and the Scotty in me tries to figure out how I’m I going to get out from here, but I was in shock so I felt like everyone was out to hurt me and my sister. After a few days in the hospital I was fine and so was my sister. I thank the Lord for saving my sisters and my life that day.
2. Drawings from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using our own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
Often times I always think to myself everything happens for a reason. There was an incident that happened to me about a year ago. I was in the library doing homework when suddenly this young lady very pretty if I do say so myself comes by and ask me for a pencil and I gladly give her my pencil. Now, logically thinking I say to myself wouldn’t it be nice if I saw her again. A week passes and nothing. So I tell myself if I happen to see her again I will ask her out on a date. So the following week comes and I walk into the student services center and from across the room I hear my name and I don’t believe my eyes it was that same young lady I meet at the library. I start laughing because I was not expecting to see her, so like I promised I ask her out and we hangout and talk. I was so stunned by the fact that I crossed her path twice. Most of the time when I see someone it’s just once. Bertrand Russell or any skeptic would say that it’s based on chance and how many people were there at the student services center. It wasn’t luck it was chance because you didn’t have to enter the building at that moment you could have waited another week to go fix your schedule but you didn’t. That day I came to realize that things don’t happen for a reason or by miracles, it’s based on the probability of the situation and its chances.
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Post by johnesquivel on Mar 2, 2015 3:22:47 GMT
John Esquivel
11632
1. Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from your life where you reacted as “Spock”, “Kirk”, and “Scotty”.
Spock - When it comes to payday Friday, I have to use my "Spock" mentality, where my thoughts are guided by the traditional reason and logic attributes. Instead of blowing my money on mindless shopping splurges, I control my money in my bank where it is first allocated to pay my rent and bills. By being logical, ala "Spock", I manage to build a net of confort and security in my life. Sometimes I wish I could buy fancy clothes and nice jewelry that I do not need; however, logic and reason rule out these attempted purchases.
Kirk - It is perhaps the Midbrain segment of my mind that I attribute the decisions I make for my girlfriend. I love her so much that I would do anything for her. I would do anything for her. Recently, I have had to miss a few days off of work so I can invest time with her. I missed getting paid but I got emotionally satisfied by seeing her face. My mind treats her with reckless abandon.
Scotty- Survival is necessary for our human race. An example of my using the "Scotty" frame of mind is my daily ritual of eating. When my stomach is feeling weak, I quickly get to eating. It is part of my human nature to nurture myself in order to survive. Of course, modern times have made it possible for me to simply drive to a drive thru, and fundementally, survival becomes easier.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using our own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
Example 1 and 2. An example of coincidence relating to the "Surfing Matrix" by Bertrand Russel, is when my friend Sarah incidentally managed to see my car parked in front of my grandmother's house in Santa Ana. She is a best friend I made in High School and had not learned much from her personal life. She called me to inform me that she saw my car next to her grandmother's house in Santa Ana. My quick verbal response to her was "shut up, I'm at my grandmother's house too." It turns out that her family moved to my hometown in Chino at around the same time mine did. A second incident to explain a coincidence in my life is that both Sarah's and my mother both attended high school together and were actually friends at the time. Russell would describe both of these events as a linear set of occurences already set to happen, since the world is built on the notion that events are already in play to happen. Skeptics might describe these coincidence as products of random phenomena and would also note that geocentric positioning and historical events led my friend and I to have similar upbringings.
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Post by jnebriaga on Mar 2, 2015 3:59:37 GMT
Juan Nebriaga
11632
1. Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from you life where you reacted as “Spock,” “Kirk,” and “Scotty.” Feel free to tell it in story form.
I reacted as Spock when I cut off half my friends from my life because they did not serve any purpose to me. They are always complaining and being negative and I was just thinking about myself and how I need to stop being friends with people who will only bring me down, even though I have been friends with them for a long time. It is only logical that I get rid of anything that impacts me in a negative way. I suppose it is acceptable to be negative at times, because everyone has bad days and what-not. But when you display such negative vibes around your friends, it creates an unhealthy environment.
I reacted as Kirk when I let myself get distracted by my crush, back in high school. She talked to me all the time. Whether it be at school, or texting me when we're not together. That went on for awhile. I was crazy about her, but then she suddenly stops talking to me and ignores me. When finals week was around the corner, I tried to study, but I could not get myself to focus. I tried so hard. The thought of that girl was just conquering my hopeless mind. I was so attracted to her and I became attached after talking so much, then suddenly, she's gone.
And lastly, I reacted as Scotty when my family had went on a vacation during summer, about more than 10 years ago. My little brother and I went to go swimming in a pool that had a shallow end, and a deep end. So I started to swim around the deep end to challenge myself. But before I knew it, my little brother followed me and tried to use me as a ledge, so he can stay afloat. I started drowning and tried to go back to the shallow end. I only worried about myself at that point, so I used my arms to force my brother underwater, so I can keep my head above the water and breathe. Luckily, my older cousin saved us after all the struggling. I was the one who got scolded, of course. Because I'm the older brother and I was supposed to look out for my little brother.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using your own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
One unusual coincidence I had, was probably an irritating one. You know when you're outside, like at the mall or whatever, you think about how someone annoyed you in the past day or two, and how you wish you'd never see them again. Well as soon as I thought about it, that person came out of nowhere. It's like as if an intangible being wanted to make my day miserable. We made eye contact and it was just so awkward that we actually happened to be in the same place. I looked away as soon as possible and pretended we never saw each other.
Another unusual coincidence was actually a couple days ago when I was thinking about the Star Trek metaphors assignment. Leonard Nimoy, the man who played Spock, died on Friday. Bertrand Russell or a skeptic would just state that these events happened by chance. Nothing more, nothing less.
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Post by melissasalazar on Mar 2, 2015 4:09:48 GMT
11632 February 25, 2015
1. Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from you life where you reacted as “Spock,” “Kirk,” and “Scotty.” Feel free to tell it in story form.
A couple months ago, I was woken up by my sister in a strange way. She came into my room, but she knocked. Since she never knocks it woke me up, and she came in. She told me that she was sewing her bag and the needle got stuck in her finger. When I heard needle and finger, I immediately woke up. Using my logic, I used the “Spock” in my brain to think of what I could do. So, I got up and asked my sister if she was okay, then told her that we needed to go to the hospital. Since she was scared, I told her that everything would be okay, and I got our things ready as fast as I could. On the way to the second closest urgent care I called my mom, the close ones have bad reps so my sister and mom said no. We showed up and they said that the doctor on call does not do things like needles in fingers. So they sent us to Long Beach, at that point my emotions kicked in, “Kirk”, because I did not want my sister to continue being in pain. I quickly snapped out of it because I had to get her there fast. On the freeway, I acted like “Scotty” since I knew that I had to get there safe and as fast as possible. We arrived and I did everything to make sure my sister was seen as soon as possible. The doctor there took the needle out and my sister was no longer in pain.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using your own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
My dad had a brain aneurism back in 2010 and it was an unusual coincidence that he fully recovered, and that he was the only one in his ICU unit that was not brain dead. It was kind of a “one in a million” situation for him. A skeptic would explain my dad’s full recovery by saying that the doctors probably saw my dad on time; therefore, it lessened the damage that it could have left on his brain. Another unusual coincidence that happened was when my dad’s wife was pregnant with my sister and his wife’s appendix burst. The doctors said that her appendix bursting could have killed her, but when the doctor’s operated, they said that my sister protected any of her mom’s organs from getting contaminated. So, my sister saved her mom’s life by being in the right spot in her mom’s belly at the right time. However, skeptics would say that the bursting of her appendix could have harmed both of them, and it would not be certain that if it happens again they would be safe.
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Post by anaranjo7 on Mar 2, 2015 4:16:43 GMT
Test Form: 11632
1.Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from you life where you reacted as “Spock,” “Kirk,” and “Scotty.” Feel free to tell it in story form.
In the film we watched, Spock was the guy that let his instinct take over. This has happened to me in my life a significant amount of times. For example, when I was younger I was having an argument with a classmate. He tried to punch me and my intimidate reaction was to punch him right back. Now scotty, he was the the "heartbeat" of the group. This reminds me of doing something without putting any thought into it. In my life I see it as when I wake up in the morning half asleep. And start to walk around with out hitting any of the walls or knocking anything over. Finally, Kirk he is the character that is a little more thoughtful of what he does. In my life I see this as when I am with family. When I am with my damily I put them first. This is because they are the ones that have shown me how to be myself. I feel that they have played a huge role in whom I am now.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using our own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
One very unusual experience that I have lived through was when I Injured myself at a football game. I remember walking out of the bus getting ready to play. As i reached over for my helmet, I looked at one of the injured guys on the sideline and tell myself man he's lucky he doesn't have to practice and just chill at the games. So i start stretching and get ready for the game. As soon I get on the field it felt just like any other game. so i go out for a play and I remember planting my right foot and hearing a pop in my knee. I get rushed to the emergency room and they check what is wrong with it. And sure enough it is the same injury the guy had that was on the sideline. Another unusual coincidence that also had was when I was a little child i would always dream about family members and sometime later on that week I would see them wearing the same clothes as they were in my dream. I feel that Mr. Russell would say it all has to do with numbers and everything would be explained through science.
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Post by Angelica Gonzalez on Mar 2, 2015 4:20:08 GMT
1.I can recall many incidents of when the metaphors of "Spock", "Kirk", and "Scotty" were used, but the most recent one that comes to mind was this past Thursday when I went to a short hiking trail with a couple of friends. The weather was perfect, so we quickly hiked up a small mountain that led to a waterfall. When we arrived at the waterfall we were at a bad angle and I wasn't able to get a good shot of the view. So I thought that logically to get at a good angle I had to move downwards a couple of rough rocks. When I climbed downwards I was doing ok, but I made the mistake when I looked up instead of down. I was not prepared to set my foot down in the next rock and I was about to slip. From instinct I just grabbed on to a cliff rock and retraced my last move. Those two instincts are what kept me from falling. Lastly I used my emotion side to pick a good picture.
2. There are many times when I believed some incidents were coincidences instead of chance. One example was when I walked my German Shepard around my block. During my walk I greeted this unknown older lady. There were also many other people that I encountered but none that greeted me. While walking my German Shepard he saw a stray cat and ran towards it. His force was very strong that he was pulling me along with him. I ran so fast that I did not notice my phone fell out of my pocket until I arrived home. "Coincidentally" the older later that had greeted me left a voicemail in my home number and said she picked it up.
Another event was when when I had a dream about an old friend. I had not spoken to him since the 6th grade. Two days later he found me on Facebook and sent me a request.
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Post by Julian Rodriguez on Mar 2, 2015 4:43:08 GMT
Julian Rodriguez
First Film Exam
Test Code: 11632
Question 1.)
A specific situation in my life where I acted using the Spock-rational part of my brain is when I had to decide between going straight to a university out of high school or going to a community college. Using my rational and critical thinking skills, as well as some honest self evaluation, I knew it would not be a wise decision to go to a University and receive a degree in a subject I had no interest in for tens of thousands of dollars. Also, straight out of high school I didn't have a smidgen of a clue what I wanted to do with my life, or even study for that matter. So, with my wallet in mind, as well as my parents', I decided it was more logical to get my general education requirements completed at a community college until I decided what I wanted to study at a university level. Since that time, I think my Spock side helped me to make a good decision.
The Kirk-emotional side of my brain led me to a Kanye West concert in October 2013. Though my rational side told me his ego had completely blown out of proportion since becoming globally famous and he may be a complete asshole according to the media or whatever, I still enjoyed his music; especially his older hits he performed like "Through the Wire" and "I Wonder." Though $130 dollars for a ticket could definitely be argued to be expensive, especially considering he didn't even do an encore performance, I still had to do it for the love of music and the great time I had with my friends.
The Scotty-survivalist, reptilian part of my brain helped me and a friend out when we had gone hiking at Mt. Baldy without flashlights and the sun had begun to set. Fully equipped with dead phones, empty water bottles, and legs surging with lactic acid we were in a race against time to get from the summit down the mountain before it was completely pitch-black dark out. Though we were both dead-beat tired, my Scotty-brain began pumping adrenaline through my body to help me haul ass down the mountain. Without any exaggeration, I really thought my friend and I were going to become the next idiots you see on the news who get stranded and lost while hiking and think, "Why didn't they stick to the trail?" or "Why didn't they bring flashlights or charge their phones?" Luckily, however, that did not become the case, and even more lucky, perhaps, we were not mauled and killed by a mountain lions and we are both alive today.
Question 2.)
One time growing up me and my dad went for a drive looking for a bobcat in our area. I'm not sure why it was bobcats we were looking for specifically but I remember driving thinking to myself there is no way in hell we are going to find one. After about thirty minutes of driving around the surrounding areas of the Chino Hills state park my dad and I decided to call it quits and head home. Sure enough, driving not five minutes away from our house, what did we see? A freakin' bobcat. Not just any bobcat. A majestic as fuck bobcat. It crossed the road in front of our truck and just stopped and stared at us. My dad stopped the truck and we sat and stared back at it. It was awesome, I mean really, it was. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity it kept on walking across the road and disappeared into grass covered hills. At the time I didn't think too much about it; but ask my dad about it and he will freak out. Mr. Russel would say it was pure coincidence that we ran into that bobcat that day, but my dad will tell you it was God.
Another time something miraculous happened to me is when I was sixteen or so and my parents found a bottle of Jack Daniel's in my backpack in my room. The getting caught part wasn't miraculous but what happened that night, I thought, was. After a lengthy talking to by my parents about the dangers of alcohol, I went to my room disappointed that I had been so careless with the bottle and that I had let myself get caught. I was grounded, but I told myself I was going to sneak out since they hadn't taken my keys. When I closed the door and turned on the TV in my room a show was on and in the show a father was talking to his son claiming that he was growing up too fast and that he should slow down before he hurt himself. In the next scene, BAM! Wouldn't you know it? The kid sneaks out from his house and got drunk and wrapped his car around a tree, instantly killing himself and practically killing his mother and father with grief. Boy, did I feel like shit. At that moment I felt for whatever reason something wanted me to see that show so I would understand where my parents were coming from and I immediately understood. I didn't want my parents to feel like the parents in the show so I decided not to sneak out that night and instead to drink a bottle of Captain Morgan I had stashed under my bed. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe I was just prepared.
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Post by johnesquivel on Mar 2, 2015 4:46:55 GMT
1. Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from your life where you reacted as “Spock”, “Kirk”, and “Scotty”.
Spock - When it comes to payday Friday, I have to use my "Spock" mentality, where my thoughts are guided by the traditional reason and logic attributes. Instead of blowing my money on mindless shopping splurges, I control my money in my bank where it is first allocated to pay my rent and bills. By being logical, ala "Spock", I manage to build a net of confort and security in my life. Sometimes I wish I could buy fancy clothes and nice jewelry that I do not need; however, logic and reason rule out these attempted purchases.
Kirk - It is perhaps the Midbrain segment of my mind that I attribute the decisions I make for my girlfriend. I love her so much that I would do anything for her. I would do anything for her. Recently, I have had to miss a few days off of work so I can invest time with her. I missed getting paid but I got emotionally satisfied by seeing her face. My mind treats her with reckless abandon.
Scotty- Survival is necessary for our human race. An example of my using the "Scotty" frame of mind is my daily ritual of eating. When my stomach is feeling weak, I quickly get to eating. It is part of my human nature to nurture myself in order to survive. Of course, modern times have made it possible for me to simply drive to a drive thru, and fundementally, survival becomes easier.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using our own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
Example 1 and 2. An example of coincidence relating to the "Surfing Matrix" by Bertrand Russel, is when my friend Sarah incidentally managed to see my car parked in front of my grandmother's house in Santa Ana. She is a best friend I made in High School and had not learned much from her personal life. She called me to inform me that she saw my car next to her grandmother's house in Santa Ana. My quick verbal response to her was "shut up, I'm at my grandmother's house too." It turns out that her family moved to my hometown in Chino at around the same time mine did. A second incident to explain a coincidence in my life is that both Sarah's and my mother both attended high school together and were actually friends at the time. Russell would describe both of these events as a linear set of occurences already set to happen, since the world is built on the notion that events are already in play to happen. Skeptics might describe these coincidence as products of random phenomena and would also note that geocentric positioning and historical events led my friend and I to have similar upbringings.
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chris
New Member
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Post by chris on Mar 2, 2015 4:56:28 GMT
Chris Flores
Professor Lane
Philosophy 8 / Critical Thinking
1 March 2015
Code 11632
1. Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from your life where you reacted as “Spock”, “Kirk”, and “Scotty”.
At one point in my life, someone who I deeply cared about told me that they were going to stop speaking to me. We had argued before, as most close friends tend to do, but this announcement came out of nowhere. We had not had any sort of argument in a long time. We were not talking as much, but both of us had entered our first year of college, so I chalked it up to just busy schedules. Now, here I was, being shut out of someone’s life who I so deeply cared for. I had fought this kind of situation before about the same thing. At this moment, I believe that I acted as Kirk and decided that if this person really thought that not speaking to me would make them happier, then I was no person to get in the way of that. At another point in my life, I decided to take care of someone who obviously could not take care of themselves. This person was unconscious, with no one else really watching over them. I decided it was better to make sure this person made it through the night okay, rather than lay unconscious and potentially get into trouble. In this moment, I acted like Spock.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using our own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
Once I experienced a random coincidence in which I saw the make and model of the truck my cousin drives, and then saw my cousin driving his truck less than two minutes later. Another unusual coincidence in my life was when I offered the same of job at the same company from two completely different people. What made this really unusual was that I had not even turned down the first person for the job. Instead, I wanted to find out more about the position. Bertrand Russell would probably use probability to explain it rationally. At one point, the truck my cousin drove probably was a lot more common than it is now, so it is reasonable to expect that I would see a few of them in close proximity of each other. As for the job, Russell would probably explain that if I was being sought out for such a job, it is not unreasonable that the two people may have found my information somehow and not informed the other person.
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Post by kimberlyrill on Mar 2, 2015 5:06:13 GMT
1)The short film, “Star Trek Metaphor: Our Combinatorial Nature” discusses the idea that the human brain could at times have conflicting agendas. The video also refers to the brain as being a confused enterprise made up of different parts that do not seem to complement each other. The brain could be subdivided into three diverse portions which include the cerebral cortex, the mid brain, and the reptilian brain stem. The cerebral cortex is the area of the brain that is responsible for logic and reason. Talking, thinking, moving, creating, and learning are all utilized in this part of the mind. Spock would be the star trek character that represents this brain area and the video refers to it as “heartless”. The midbrain is accountable for a person’s emotional side. Kirk is the character associated with this part of the brain and it is also discussed as being a person’s “heart strings”. The third region is called the reptilian brain stem which influences a person to survive, react, and repeat behavior. Scotty is the character that represents this and this area is called “heartbeats”. These three zones of the brain are like competing forces that each influences us to behave in certain ways. We may desire to be purely logical human beings but it is impossible to be fully rational when we also have a strong emotional side. At times our emotions could cloud our judgment and motivate us to behave illogically.
Throughout my life I act like Spock, which means rationally, when I attempt to diffuse situations. Whenever I hear any rumors or gossip about people I try to look at the circumstance logically rather than emotionally. Instead of believing what I hear or assuming things about people I always try to just ask them for the truth. I also tell the people in my life if they want to know anything about me to just ask me instead of believing everything they hear. I try my best to be the most honest person I could be even though the truth could at times be painful. If I end up finding out someone is saying something untrue about me I call them out on it and tell them what is real. This helps clear up rumors and I think it could also influence people to be more honest. It would be easy for me to react emotionally whenever hearing untrue rumors about me. I could get hurt by what others think but instead I choose to see the situation logically and hope that truthfulness overcomes dishonesty.
Our emotional side, Kirk, is the strongest and most intense of the three areas of the brain. The video even mentions how our emotional self is the driving force behind our actions. It is easy for a person to lose all sense of logic when feeling highly emotional. Recently I had fallen in love and this was a time in my life when my behavior was centered upon emotion rather than rationality. The love I felt for this person was unconditional and I felt the need to do every little thing to make him happy. Meanwhile, the man was just playing with my emotions and was not taking me completely serious. During the time that I was in love with him I could not see that. I did not believe that he was not taking me serious because I did not want to believe it. My friends would try to tell me the truth but I just could not think logically about the situation because the emotions I felt were so strong towards him. Now that I am falling out of love with him I could look at the situation with a more rational perspective.
There are numerous times when I behave with survival instincts like Scotty. Throughout the summer I took a trip to Mexico with a friend. One day we were hiking through the Mexican rainforest when we happened to run out of water. This was alarming for us since we were both thirsty yet we also wanted to continue hiking to the nearby waterfall. Since we had no desire to head back we wanted to think of an alternative method to continue hiking. We looked around and saw a fruit tree nearby and we decided to suck the juice out of these fruits. The fruit juice ended up hydrating us and allowed us to finish our hike without feeling dehydrated.
2) The film, “Surfing the Matrix” discusses the idea of weather the happenings of the universe is due to probability or fate. At times people experience such remarkable coincidences that it leads them to believe it was a miracle. This influences individuals to ponder upon the philosophical question of whether or not events are meant to be or a part of an overall plan. The universe is designed to consequently bring fourth intelligent life. The video mentions the fact that if only a mere two particles were altered then life on earth would be unable to exist. The film also argues the perspective that there Is nothing extraordinarily remarkable about life on earth. This is because if the universe was configured differently we would be unable to exist.
One coincidence that occurred in my life was meeting a close friend in Hawaii. We ended up staying friends and keeping in contact after my arrival back to California. I feel like it was a random coincidence that I had the opportunity to meet my friend even though we do not reside in the same state. Since we have a good connection with my friend it could be easy to feel like meeting was meant to be. I also have experienced déjà vu when hanging out with my two other friends. The déjà vu made me feel as if what my friends and I were doing had happened before. The experience was so vivid and felt so real that it could be easily mistaken as being fate.
The video holds the mindset that the odds against coincidences occurring are not strong enough to be considered a miracle. The chances are not, and will never be, more superior then the odds of any of us being alive and capable to reflect upon life. This is because the odds of life being able to happen on earth are not in our favor. It could be comforting for a person to feel that a divine being is guiding our existence, but all coincidences that occur are due the probability of that incident occurring.
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Post by kimberlyrill on Mar 2, 2015 5:07:09 GMT
1)The short film, “Star Trek Metaphor: Our Combinatorial Nature” discusses the idea that the human brain could at times have conflicting agendas. The video also refers to the brain as being a confused enterprise made up of different parts that do not seem to complement each other. The brain could be subdivided into three diverse portions which include the cerebral cortex, the mid brain, and the reptilian brain stem. The cerebral cortex is the area of the brain that is responsible for logic and reason. Talking, thinking, moving, creating, and learning are all utilized in this part of the mind. Spock would be the star trek character that represents this brain area and the video refers to it as “heartless”. The midbrain is accountable for a person’s emotional side. Kirk is the character associated with this part of the brain and it is also discussed as being a person’s “heart strings”. The third region is called the reptilian brain stem which influences a person to survive, react, and repeat behavior. Scotty is the character that represents this and this area is called “heartbeats”. These three zones of the brain are like competing forces that each influences us to behave in certain ways. We may desire to be purely logical human beings but it is impossible to be fully rational when we also have a strong emotional side. At times our emotions could cloud our judgment and motivate us to behave illogically.
Throughout my life I act like Spock, which means rationally, when I attempt to diffuse situations. Whenever I hear any rumors or gossip about people I try to look at the circumstance logically rather than emotionally. Instead of believing what I hear or assuming things about people I always try to just ask them for the truth. I also tell the people in my life if they want to know anything about me to just ask me instead of believing everything they hear. I try my best to be the most honest person I could be even though the truth could at times be painful. If I end up finding out someone is saying something untrue about me I call them out on it and tell them what is real. This helps clear up rumors and I think it could also influence people to be more honest. It would be easy for me to react emotionally whenever hearing untrue rumors about me. I could get hurt by what others think but instead I choose to see the situation logically and hope that truthfulness overcomes dishonesty.
Our emotional side, Kirk, is the strongest and most intense of the three areas of the brain. The video even mentions how our emotional self is the driving force behind our actions. It is easy for a person to lose all sense of logic when feeling highly emotional. Recently I had fallen in love and this was a time in my life when my behavior was centered upon emotion rather than rationality. The love I felt for this person was unconditional and I felt the need to do every little thing to make him happy. Meanwhile, the man was just playing with my emotions and was not taking me completely serious. During the time that I was in love with him I could not see that. I did not believe that he was not taking me serious because I did not want to believe it. My friends would try to tell me the truth but I just could not think logically about the situation because the emotions I felt were so strong towards him. Now that I am falling out of love with him I could look at the situation with a more rational perspective.
There are numerous times when I behave with survival instincts like Scotty. Throughout the summer I took a trip to Mexico with a friend. One day we were hiking through the Mexican rainforest when we happened to run out of water. This was alarming for us since we were both thirsty yet we also wanted to continue hiking to the nearby waterfall. Since we had no desire to head back we wanted to think of an alternative method to continue hiking. We looked around and saw a fruit tree nearby and we decided to suck the juice out of these fruits. The fruit juice ended up hydrating us and allowed us to finish our hike without feeling dehydrated.
2) The film, “Surfing the Matrix” discusses the idea of weather the happenings of the universe is due to probability or fate. At times people experience such remarkable coincidences that it leads them to believe it was a miracle. This influences individuals to ponder upon the philosophical question of whether or not events are meant to be or a part of an overall plan. The universe is designed to consequently bring fourth intelligent life. The video mentions the fact that if only a mere two particles were altered then life on earth would be unable to exist. The film also argues the perspective that there Is nothing extraordinarily remarkable about life on earth. This is because if the universe was configured differently we would be unable to exist.
One coincidence that occurred in my life was meeting a close friend in Hawaii. We ended up staying friends and keeping in contact after my arrival back to California. I feel like it was a random coincidence that I had the opportunity to meet my friend even though we do not reside in the same state. Since we have a good connection with my friend it could be easy to feel like meeting was meant to be. I also have experienced déjà vu when hanging out with my two other friends. The déjà vu made me feel as if what my friends and I were doing had happened before. The experience was so vivid and felt so real that it could be easily mistaken as being fate.
The video holds the mindset that the odds against coincidences occurring are not strong enough to be considered a miracle. The chances are not, and will never be, more superior then the odds of any of us being alive and capable to reflect upon life. This is because the odds of life being able to happen on earth are not in our favor. It could be comforting for a person to feel that a divine being is guiding our existence, but all coincidences that occur are due the probability of that incident occurring.
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Post by vincentgalvan on Mar 2, 2015 5:10:58 GMT
Film Test 1
1. Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from your life where you reacted as "Spock", "Kirk", and "Scotty." Feel free to tell it in story form.
One instance where I reacted with the reptilian part of my brain was when my sister and I took a summer trip to Sacramento a few years ago to visit family. On one of the days, we all decided to take a trip to the mountains to swim in the creek that led to the river. My younger sister and I crossed the rocky creek to get to the other side, and when we went to cross back after some time, the water level was higher and the current stronger. When we got about half-way across, the water had swept my sister off her feet and I grabbed her arm in an attempt to anchor her, however, the water ended up pulling us both down. It was then that our bodies went into “survival mode”, and all we could think of was trying to get above water to get air and swim to the side to grab a hold of something. After about 10 seconds of drowning, we were luckily able to grab a hold of some rocks on the side, and walked away with no more than a few cuts & bruises and some swallowed water. I think that this is also an instance where I somewhat used the emotional part of my brain, because even though I knew it may be detrimental to my well-being to grab a hold of my sister and possibly get pulled into the water, I still did it and held onto her for a few seconds after we went under, based on emotion.
An example of when I act with the rational part of my brain is when my alarm clock goes off for school, and I really don’t feel like going to class, but I get up anyway because I know I need to do well in school. A similar example is when people invite me to do things, but I have homework to do, so I end up not going, even though I really rather not be doing homework.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using our own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
One instance of an unusual coincidence that happens sometimes is when I have a dream about something, and the next day someone says that they had a very similar dream. A skeptic might say that this is just a random coincidence, possibly due to something we were both experiencing in our lives at the time, and would probably attribute it to probability.
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Post by Lizette Z on Mar 2, 2015 5:19:18 GMT
1. Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from your life where you reacted as "Spock", "Kirk", and "Scotty." Feel free to tell it in story form.
I can tell you false information about my life, mostly because I can’t even remember what I ate for dinner yesterday. But the point is I can only tell you examples. It is inevitable in someone’s life to not experience the use and sometimes takeover of their 3 parts of the brain. The logical, emotional, and physical (which means your fight for survival). Although it is possible that 2 people or more can be in the same situation and act and think in completely different ways or sometimes work together. Whether they are stranded on an island, like the T.V show Lost, or just an average day at work or school for the average person. Everybody acts and reacts differently to different situations. An example of using your logical part of your brain is anytime you are using facts to deal or solve a problem. For example, trying to make a basics decisions while you’re driving. Logical reasons of using your blinker, following street lights and signs. If I were to ask you what comes to mind when you think of using your emotional part of your brain, what would you think? LOVE, of course. With the emotional part of brain we let our heart decide what feels right rather than thinking the difference of what is right and wrong. For me, love is a sacred part of who a person is. With past relationships I have been cheated on, lied to, and made the mistake of going back to some of those relationships. Now do you think I was using the logical part of my brain? My heart still wanted to believe that I loved that person and that they actually cared, but they didn’t. I learned my lessons though. And lastly we have the survival part of your brain that enables you to act quickly in certain situations, sometimes using logic. For example, in the T.V show Lost. They were stranded on an island and they had to use the means of survival to make it through. Although everybody died at the end it shows how sometimes people can be coherent with each other and survive and other can’t.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using our own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
Surfing the Matrix explains that throughout our life we experience many events that seem like miracles, luck, or even bad luck. But it is all just coincidences, that’s what I believe. A couple months ago, I went to this backyard show with my best friends. At that time I was single and just broken up with my boyfriend about 3 months ago. I had recently heard that he no longer went to backyard shows because he was “tired of that scene” so I thought it would be nice to go out with my friends and have a good time. Well about 10 minutes of getting there, he shows up saying hi to my friends going down the line and ends up at me. He awkwardly said hi than ran away like a scared little boy who saw a ghost. Later that night we ran into each other again at another friend’s house after the show, but this time he didn’t run away. We talked later on and now we’re back together and been happily together for about 3 months now and plan for many many more. So is it just a coincidence that the first show he decided to go to in a while just happened to be the same show I decided to go to. Also that after the show we ended up at the same person’s house and eventually started talking again? Bertrand Russell would say that it is coincidence and eventually he would of gone to a show again and if not the first one I went to than a different one I would in the near future. And for the second coincidence, he knew a lot of people at the show so for us to get invited to the same “after party” is inevitable as well. Any skeptic would also believe we would start talking again and end up back together.
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cjoo
New Member
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Post by cjoo on Mar 2, 2015 5:36:16 GMT
First critical thinking test code: 11632
1. Drawing from the Star Trek metaphor, and using your own life as a template, describe three or more incidents from your life where you reacted as "Spock", "Kirk", and "Scotty."
I like to believe that I am a balance of Spock, Kirk, and Scotty. However there have been multiple instances where I was not the person that I believed (or wanted to be). My behavior and attitude does change depending on where and who I am with. I was totally a Spock when I heard that my friend’s sister was in an abusive marriage. Her husband was constantly beating her and verbally abusive. My friend wanted to call the police but her sister begged her not to. Perhaps it was not my place but when my friend asked me to call the police, so that she would not have to lie to her sister, I agreed to do so. The Spock side of me sees it as a black and white case. If a loved one is abusing you, they do not love you. Additionally my friend’s niece and nephew were also terrified of their father’s temper. An example of Kirk would be about this spring semester. I was waitlisted for HRM 54 Basic Cooking. I was lucky enough to get into the class until another student entered the class 35 minutes late. As it turns out Mr. Tardy was a priority student and since I was the last person who got into the class via waitlist, it meant that I had to give up my seat. I wanted to act like Spock and be completely calm but the Kirk inside of me raged. I mean you would think a priority student would have come to class early. I decided to ask him what his reason for being late was and he sheepishly answered that he had overslept. I think I felt my heartstrings snap. An example of when I reacted like Scotty was when I almost got into a car accident. I was heading home one night and the car in front of me was acting unusual by constantly hitting the brakes. Annoyed, I signaled and changed lanes but at the same time the car in front also changed lanes without signaling and hit the brakes again almost causing me to crash into him. I immediately swerved into the bike lane (no bikers, whew) and missed getting into an accident. I think the Scotty side really helped me avoid a sticky situation.
2. Drawing from the film, Surfing Matrix, and using our own life as a template, describe two or more incidents from your own life where you experienced an unusual coincidence. How would Bertrand Russell or a skeptic explain it rationally?
Originally, I was supposed to go to Cal State Fullerton but because of a miscommunication, I ended up at Mt. SAC which messed up my college life and my parents. I had also applied to Cal Poly Pomona but was not accepted. In the beginning I was going to major as an administration of justice but after enrolling at Mt. SAC I realized that I wanted to go into hospitality. I really like working with people and it got me into thinking that if there was no miscommunication, I would have probably gone into the wrong major and would have ended up miserable. Funnily enough I got into Cal Poly Pomona recently as a hospitality major. A skeptic would probably say that the probably of getting into Cal Poly are high, especially since Cal Poly makes it a priority for Mt. SAC hospitality majors to get in (with the right credits). Another coincidence is my family’s birthdays. I am born on 4th of July and so is my father. My mother is born on Korea’s Independence Day. Is my family meant to be an Independence Day family? Russell would probably counter my family’s birthday coincidence with the existence of my brother, who was born on a non-Independence Day date.
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