Tuesday, August 19, 2014

MY OPINION ISN'T (A) RIGHT

  • When people use the phrase "I have the right to my own opinion" it means they do not have facts and they can not back up their opinion. This phrase is also used to change the subject because the person has no back up.
  • Many people get offended if someone challenges their opinion when they should really be listening to the ideas the other person has to say to help their opinion gain more value.
  •  Your opinion has to be earned by having a back up
  • Overall, if you don't have facts to back up your opinion just don't say anything at all because you will come to a situation where someone has a counterargument and you won't have a comeback but "I am entitled to my own opinion" which does nothing for you

Monday, August 18, 2014

Montaigne/Wallace Essay

    Imagine how many thoughts go through your head a day. Now the question is, would you write down all of those thoughts? Montaigne believes that you should write down all of the thoughts that run through your head everyday. David Foster Wallace once said that what goes on inside is too fast and huge for words to barley sketch the outlines of a little part of it. Michael Montaigne was the inventor of the essay and in his essays he would write down everything thought that ran through his head. It may be good to write down some of your thoughts so you won't forget them but at the same time, it is very hard because the mind thinks too fast. Both authors contradict each other and both have a valid point.

    Michael Montaigne believes in writing all of one's thoughts down on paper. Writing all of my thoughts down on paper would take me a long time and it would never end. Although this seems crazy, it could actually help. If we write down our thoughts, we could go back and read them to remember them. Writing down our thoughts could actually help us in the long run, especially if our thoughts could be worth money. Someone could think of an invention and write it down, go back to it and possibly make money. There has actually been times where I thought of an invention that I could get money for and forgot to write it down. Therefore, sometimes it might be useful to write your thoughts down so you don't forget them.

    Wallace has a very different approach. Wallace has a more realistic approach because he believes it is too hard to write down all of our thoughts down on paper. Wallace believes that it is difficult to focus on one thought, because of all of the other thoughts running through our heads. If we focus on one thought, that thought can turn into a very complex thought. Wallace basically says that our thoughts are all interconnected inside and we can't even understand the power complexity of our own thoughts. Although he says this, he also believes we should focus on one main idea and try to develop it as well as we can.

    While both authors contradict, they both hold valid points. I personally think if you have a great thought that could benefit you, write it down but if you try and write down all of the thoughts that run threw your head, you will just be struggling on rambling on about pointless thoughts. Whichever author you agree with, you have to realize that our minds work in mysterious ways and they are capable of many things.

REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 1

1. I do not think anything will affect my participation in this class. I have full access to a computer and a smart phone. I am also good on transportation. Family and friends are not a problem as well. In the first semester, my schedule is more open in which I have more time to get things done. In the second semester, I start baseball and I will be having long practices and road games that could maybe get in the way. I don't think this will get in the way too much but I will make sure to complete what needs to be completed.
2. One awesome learning experience that changed me was being able to be myself. I learned that being yourself is the best way to go through life. Being yourself is the best way to go through your life because it does not cause stress. Starting out my freshman year of
high school I was not myself. I tried too hard to impress others and it was all so stressful. As I went into my sophomore year a lot of that went away and I was becoming more mature. By my junior year, I was even more matured and started to be myself, which made junior year a breeze. Being myself has helped me in all aspects especially in school. I am more comfortable now with being myself and I'm sure others around me are too.
3. I am excited for this class because it seems like it is going to be collaborative and fun. I like the idea of the open source learning as well because everyone can share their ideas and other people can get new ones. I look forward to learning more vocabulary words because I need to improve them. I am just looking forward to whatever we learn in this class because I am sure it will be beneficial. This class can make a difference in my life because of the collaboration. The more my classmates and I collaborate and share ideas, the more knowledge and communication skills I gain which will help me in the future no matter what I do.

Vocabulary #1

Definitions
Adumbrate - verb give to understand; describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of
Apotheosis - noun the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god); model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal
Ascetic - adj. practicing great self-denial; pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline; noun someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline
Bauble - noun a mock scepter carried by a court jester; cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing
Beguile - verb attract; cause to be enamored; influence by slyness
Burgeon - verb grow and flourish
Complement - noun something added to complete or make perfect; either of two parts that mutually complete each other; a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction; number needed to make up a whole force; a complete number or quantity; one of a series of enzymes in the blood serum that are part of the immune response; verb make complete or perfect; supply what is wanting or form the complement to
Contumacious - adj. wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient
Curmudgeon - noun a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas
Didactic - adj. instructive (especially excessively)
Disingenuous - adj. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
Exculpate - verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
Faux - adj. not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article
pas - noun (ballet) a step in dancing (especially in classical ballet)
Fulminate - noun a salt or ester of fulminic acid; verb cause to explode violently and with loud noise; come on suddenly and intensely; criticize severely
Fustian - noun a strong cotton and linen fabric with a slight nap; pompous or pretentious talk or writing
Hauteur - noun overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
Inhibit - verb limit the range or extent of; to put down by force or authority
Jeremiad - noun a long and mournful complaint
opportunist - adj. taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit; noun a person who places expediency above principle
Unconscionable - adj. greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; lacking a conscience
Sentences

The dark clouds adumbrated the blue sky and the sun.
His brief life reached an apotheosis here.
I can appear ascetic and stiff.
A bauble gets passed down to a family member.
He had to beguile the college scouts in order to get a scholarship for baseball.
He really burgeoned these past few years.
He always complements women as he walks by them.
I don't like his behavior because it is very contumacious
He is apparently a curmudgeon who thinks everyone is intellectually beneath him.
It is didactic to compare the two projects.
How am I supposed to understand you if you are so disingenuous.
Do not try and exculpate the situation because you are indeed guilty.
I made a faux pas when I stuttered.
All fulminated against the officer who shot Mike Brown.
She was very fustian because she believes she is famous.
His parents show their hauteur towards him.
The officers inhibited the fearless and crazy protestors.
The book is a sort of jeremiad against the environmental threats to the great wilderness areas of the country.
He was an opportunist in which he does whatever he can to benefit himself.
Advocates for the poor consider such cuts unconscionable.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, August 17, 2014