How long is this line?!?

At a recent convention that I attended, they attempted to organize and maintain a few separate entrance and exit lines. With hoards of people constantly coming in and coming out, definitive pathways were utilized in hopes of maintaining some semblance of structure. They had a couple of volunteer staff stationed at different places to ensure people didn't attempt to circumvent the system in place. Yellow caution tape was barely hanging on to the makeshift barricade. They allowed people to leave through the two sides or down the escalator. People were only allowed to enter going up the long flight of stairs or the escalator going up. Neither choice was a good one. Most of these people entering this area were extremely exhausted as it was. Having them walk up a long flight of stairs slowed the process to a near standstill. For the lazy and extremely tired people, they believed that taking the escalator was a great idea because they could stand there and have it slowly carry them up without having to waste any energy or effort. That line was a complete standstill.

Both of these temporary lines were there to help maintain a good flow of people constantly going in and out of the room. The caution tape dissuaded no one but a volunteer staff member was there to ensure people didn't try to go where they didn't belong. Many would walk into the building empty-handed, but that would change after exploring the exhibition hall. People hurriedly rushed into the exhibit hall and went off in different directions as stands were separated into at least twelve aisles. All the aisles led to the exact same exit and it was a definitive pain in the rear to leave. For those who came in empty-handed, nearly all of them left with at least two or three bags of goods either as gifts or souvenirs.

The 4th of July main event

Since I will be out of town for the next few days with no internet access, I will write my third post of the week now so I have the three posts ready to be graded.

With the 4th of July weekend coming up, many people are going to be traveling with family or friends. Calvin mentioned that he would be going to Las Vegas with his friends. My housemate will be going to San Francisco for a party. The 4th of July weekend is always a great time for people to gather and relax for a few days. However, travel this year will be more difficult than ever. Extremely high gas prices are forcing more people to stay home than usual. The salmonella outbreak might make some weary of having the traditional 4th of July barbecue. While many of the "traditional" events we do during this holiday maybe cutback, one of the mainstays of the holiday will still remain: fireworks.

Fireworks are one of the most visually impressive sights we get to witness. I don't remember when the first time I witnessed a firework display was, but each year I look forward to the visual artwork on the 4th of July. We watch in awe as we hear the loud explosions and see the different patterns in the sky. The fireworks bring people together. We all gather and anxiously wait for the first explosions to light up the night sky. We witness, cheer and applaud the magical show.

Whether you choose to go out partying with friends or stay in and relax, I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July weekend. You may have to pay an arm and a leg for gas, but here's hoping that the trip will be worth it and that new memories are made. For those who are going to enjoy the firework show, I hope the skies will be clear and you will be able to see one of the most spectacular displays known to man.

How do we learn about the past?

What do we utilize history for? We utilize it to help us learn from mistakes in the past. We utilize it as a way for us to make things better in the future. There are various methods by which history is passed down to us. The most interesting one that comes to mind is oral history. According to Wikipedia, oral history is the "recording, preservation and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker". The passing down of historical information in this fashion skews what future generations know of our history.

No one has an unbiased point of view when they attempt to recall what they remember of certain events. Reality television and the war in Iraq are the easiest examples that demonstrate this idea. People talk about reality television in different ways. Producers of these shows talk about it as a simple way to make money because they don't have to pay writers. Viewers who enjoy reality television shows see this as a golden age because of the sheer amounts of reality shows available that encompass so many different genres like love or game shows. Then there are people like me who view reality shows as some of the dumbest things ever created and can't believe there are so many people who like watching these shows.

The war in Iraq is a situation where differing opinions causes more friction. The transmission of how people interpret the war may actually lead to future disagreements. There are people who believe the war is going to help liberate the Iraqis. They will talk about the war in reverential terms. There are also many others who believe the war is being fought because of the oil that Iraq has. Their opinion would be that the war is a pointless one with pointless casualties.

The oral transmission of history can potentially cause a lot of issues between people with differing opinions. However, it is one of the most common ways by which we learn about our past. It can also be one of the best ways by which we learn from the mistakes of the past and improve our future.

Wants vs. Needs

In class yesterday, we had a lengthy discussion on the differences between wanting something and needing something. The things we think we need and the things we think we want end up in a gray zone that causes us to lose focus on the purpose of purchasing the item to begin with. Do we really need a shiny new BMW when that trusty Honda Civic has been getting you from Point A to Point B safely for the past few years? Do girls really need that overly expensive Coach handbag when a simple $20 handbag at a local thrift store serves the exact same purpose? Do guys really need to get every edition of Madden even though the only really noticeable changes are the roster changes? The line between wants and needs is blurred thanks to the subtle nudges from producers looking to gather whatever profit they can.

A great example of a product that blurs the line between wants and needs is the computer. When I first got accepted into UC Davis, I was given a sheet with requirements of a computer for use at Davis. I looked at that sheet and thought to myself, "Holy crap, they want something so advanced!" Granted at the time I spent my entire high school life tethered to a Windows 95 computer with a whopping 16 MB of RAM and 1 GB hard drive. I gave the information to my brother and he got me a computer that matched the requirements. I brought it up to Davis during move-in and stared in amazement at the speed and power of this machine. About a week later, I realized what I would be doing with this powerful machine: downloading, watching anime, listening to music and writing papers on Microsoft Word. This wonderfully powerful machine was reduced to doing menial tasks that my ancient Windows 95 computer could have taken care of. UC Davis is still attempting to trick students into thinking it needs high-end computers for school. I looked at the information and nearly fell out of my chair. These aren't the specifications of a computer needed for school. These are the specifications of a computer waiting to play some high end game on the best settings. They then had a separate page to list "obsolete systems" that were not suitable. As I examined the list, I saw that the computer I am using to type this entry does not even meet most of the standards on the "obsolete system".

Needs and wants, like most things in this world, are determined by each individual. Some people might "need" that 103 inch plasma television. I am perfectly content with the 24 inch television I have in my living room. I hope my "obsolete system" doesn't crash before I submit this post.

Reflections

The first week of blogging for UWP 101 has come to an end and I have to admit that the experience so far has been very unique and entertaining. When I first read about how the class would be structured, I was just ecstatic that I wouldn’t have to churn out ten page papers on topics I’m not the least bit interested in. Being a sociology major, it seems as if all we ever do is read some incomprehensible book and write an essay or term paper about it. Just last quarter I had to write two 10-page papers for two different sociology classes. When I first signed up for this class in May, I was thinking to myself, “I know it’s a requirement, but do I have to keep writing bs papers that nobody really cares about?” After looking at Chris’s blog and attending the first day of class, I was very intrigued. This was an extremely uncommon method of allowing students a larger sense of freedom in composition. It was also a very welcome change from writing ridiculous term papers. Judging from the amount of people on the wait list it seems as if others had the same train of thought. Either that or people wanted to finish UWP early enough in the day to enjoy the scorching hot Davis weather.

The class discussions are very casual and rather spontaneous. One such example was the decision to use a random number generator to determine what word or words we would discuss in class. Never before in an English class had a TI-83 graphing calculator been the deciding tool for our discussion. Dialogue is very easily created as well. Everyone in the class has their own opinion and interpretations and the discussions are very friendly and non-combative. It is very helpful for people like me, who do not like speaking up in class.

Although it has only been one week into the class, I am looking forward to blogging more and reading more of my classmates’ blogs. It has been very enjoyable seeing the use of movie quotes or reading about waiting in line for shoes. Hopefully the interest in this blog and this class will not wane as we venture further into the summer session.

Are we smarter than a 5th grader?

I'm sure many of you have heard of the game show "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?." For those who haven't, the premise of the game is to match your wealth of knowledge against a group of 5th graders. If you answer a question correctly, you win some money. Sounds simple enough right?



That's what I thought until I heard some of the questions. The knowledge these 5th graders have is far more advanced than what an average 5th grader possesses. Are we really mentally inferior to a 10-year-old child? Or is the idea of what comprises knowledge different between different groups of people?

According to the book, knowledge is information or data which can be stored or retrieved. In this sense, it is just regurgitation. We read a textbook, memorize some insignificant facts, and write them down on a piece of paper to demonstrate our "knowledge" of the material during an exam. But if you're like me, you forget everything you were tested on 5 minutes after leaving the test. Knowledge can be a devastating weapon that can be utilized. Through knowledge, the A-Bomb was constructed and caused immense damage to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. At any given moment, a nuclear war may start and life on Earth would probably cease to exist. On a lighter note, knowledge can bring back nostalgic memories. On a recent vacation with my family, I was watching cartoons with my 5-year-old niece. They happened to be airing Tom & Jerry at the time. While watching, I reminisced about my childhood and watching all the classic cartoons such as Looney Tunes, Flintstones, Popeye, Jetsons, etc. My niece asked me what she was watching so I explained Tom & Jerry to her briefly. After it ended, we looked for more cartoons to watch and we ended up on some contemporary cartoon that I had never seen or heard of. Not surprisingly, she knew exactly what it was and I could only nod and hope she can't already solve complex derivative equations because I sure as hell can't.

What knowledge is to each person varies based on their individual perspective. I think knowledge is subjective and consists of information gathered from our prior experiences. In terms of overall knowledge, we as college students are deemed to be fairly intelligent. In some cases though, we are not smarter than a 5th grader. We may not even be smarter than a soon-to-be kindergarten student. I know for sure I'm not.

New Keywords, Same Attitude

After a very uneventful day in class, I headed over to purchase the textbook for the class. I decided to head over to the off-campus bookstore as books tend to be cheaper there. Unfortunately, they were out of stock. I was reduced to purchasing the book from the UC Davis Bookstore. The mess of books lying in random piles made the book impossible to find. In fact, it was for awhile. The UWP books were in two different sections randomly organized. Four other classmates were there unable to find the book as well. We asked the student assistant if the book was in stock. According to the database, they were, but even he could not locate them in the clutter. The manager was asked to help but she seemed far more interested in her own affairs than to attend to the needs of the students. She helped us eventually locate the books, but she was muttering to everyone within range at the incompetence of college students unable to locate a book. We looked at each other sheepishly and talked about the rudeness of the manager before heading our separate ways.