One last blog to post, about the book The Corporation.
Joel Bakan states how the corporations began to gain its power in the mid-1500s and even started to govern society. My general image of corporations are just evil beings, as Rab mentioned in the class. When I heard the story about car corporations comparing the cost of compensation and recall, I was astonished. For the large corporations, the profit is everything. People's lives can be even converted to money. In Ch3, Bakan mentions how the corporation has a psychopathic character and a negative effect on the environment due to their externalities. But do they make effort to deal with the issue by using money? No. He also explains the difference between companies and corporations. Unlike companies, corporations must act in the interest of shareholders or otherwise, the executives can get sued. So, the real culprits are shareholders. Another interesting point is how he warns this book is not an academic study.
Due to my lack of knowledge I could only understand the general idea, but there is a need to prevent the corporations from dominating the society, contaminating the environment and "pathologically pursuing profits and power."
2013年6月18日火曜日
6/17 ARW Response
Yesterday was the last day of ARW.
First I would like to mention about presentation. Doing good presentation has been a hard task since middle school that I have never achieved. I did my best, but got stuck in the middle of the presentation and had to reconsider what to say. I want to be a good presenter like Rab. Out of all presentations, I especially liked Yusuke's. It is hard to compare the quality of contents but in terms of how he delivered information, his manner, gesture and flow of words grabbed the audience's attention. I think his smooth flow of speech did not stop for a single time. Being a good presenter obviously enhances credibility of my opinion or bias, so I would consider taking Rab's presentation course in winter.
First I would like to mention about presentation. Doing good presentation has been a hard task since middle school that I have never achieved. I did my best, but got stuck in the middle of the presentation and had to reconsider what to say. I want to be a good presenter like Rab. Out of all presentations, I especially liked Yusuke's. It is hard to compare the quality of contents but in terms of how he delivered information, his manner, gesture and flow of words grabbed the audience's attention. I think his smooth flow of speech did not stop for a single time. Being a good presenter obviously enhances credibility of my opinion or bias, so I would consider taking Rab's presentation course in winter.
Lastly, I really want to say thank you to my section mates for being nice to me and appreciate Rab for teaching me so many things. He overturned all my knowledge from high school and I learned that is what liberal arts is all about.
6/7 ARW Response
This day's lecture was given by Paul Wadden. The first time we met him was at Bakayama and I only knew him as a editor of Meiland's article. So I learned that he is a professional of Hemingway's literature for the first time. One thing that made me uneasy was how he told us to put away our electronic devices; Rab actually told us that other ELA teachers are not tolerant as much as he is, but still we felt very puzzled. Other teachers are too sensitive with the use of electronic devices. Well, some students actually use them for purposes other than note taking or looking up information, so that is understandable.
My first impression of reading Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea was quite confusing. Not the content, but rather the purpose of writing such a story. However, Paul's lecture taught various perspectives to interpret this story. This story includes many themes and symbols. Two important backgrounds for this story are his own life and Christianity. Since he could not build a good relationship with his father or son, he made two men in this book an ideal relationship. There were many symbols that represent Christianity as well. I did not know that fish represents sacred object in Christianity. Looking at a literature from different perspectives taught us to how important the critical thinking is.
My first impression of reading Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea was quite confusing. Not the content, but rather the purpose of writing such a story. However, Paul's lecture taught various perspectives to interpret this story. This story includes many themes and symbols. Two important backgrounds for this story are his own life and Christianity. Since he could not build a good relationship with his father or son, he made two men in this book an ideal relationship. There were many symbols that represent Christianity as well. I did not know that fish represents sacred object in Christianity. Looking at a literature from different perspectives taught us to how important the critical thinking is.
6/4 LLA Response
The lecture was given by Mr. Ken Enochs. The future of technology! I have been always wondering what is going to happen or to be invented in the future. When I hear the phrase "invention in the future", I always think of the movie Back to the Future Part II. The film was produced in 1985 and included various illustrations of what are expected to be invented in 2015. There were flying cars, video games that can be played handless, televisions that display 10+ channels at once, microwaves that defrost pizza in 3 seconds and many other inventions. Are we going to have these technologies only 2 year from now? That sounds too unrealistic, but according to Enochs, prediction in 1940's came true today, such as computers, internet, cellphones, moving sidewalks or Skype. If Moore's Law, which states that processing speed doubles every 2 year, is accurate, it might be possible to witness fantastic inventions in 2015.
Enochs explained four future technologies that we are likely to see: GRIN. Genetic engineering, Robotics, Intelligence and Nanotechnology are expected to develop radically. He then explained Weak and Strong points, but I personally thought a robot playing a violin was amazing because I could hear vibrato from its performance.
Three visionaries on the future technological developments were Ray Kurzweil, Francis Fukuyama and Bill Joy. RK is the only techno-optimist and other two are techno-pessimists or Luddites. They all support their points with details and evidences, but it is also true that technological developments have both pros and cons.
Enochs explained four future technologies that we are likely to see: GRIN. Genetic engineering, Robotics, Intelligence and Nanotechnology are expected to develop radically. He then explained Weak and Strong points, but I personally thought a robot playing a violin was amazing because I could hear vibrato from its performance.
Three visionaries on the future technological developments were Ray Kurzweil, Francis Fukuyama and Bill Joy. RK is the only techno-optimist and other two are techno-pessimists or Luddites. They all support their points with details and evidences, but it is also true that technological developments have both pros and cons.
2013年6月17日月曜日
6/3 ARW Response
I have not been able to write blog posts from last week because of the research paper and other events such as lives for UNBRAND, an A Capella group or taking Eiken. Therefore, I will catch up as soon as possible.
On June 3rd, we had two classes of ARW. In the first class, Rab gave us his brief biography and we learned that his bias, or strong opinions rather, is originated from his profound experience and career. He mentioned how having bias is not a bad thing. The important thing is to have an opinion and to listen to a counterargument that stimulates and impacts your idea and then to sharpen my opinion based on that counterargument. In order to do this as proficient as possible, I have to read all the time, as Rab did and still does. Connecting knowledge from several different subjects: this is the purpose of liberal arts and significance of attending ICU. However, having bias without any evidences or reasons is same as not having an opinion at all. "I think this car is good because I just feel so" is not convincing at all.
We also watched several videos. The first one was the press conference taken place few weeks after Fukushima radiation. I was astonished to watch the content. The person who is answering the questions from reporters not only equivocates but also states that he cannot guarantee people in Fukushima to evacuate. I wondered why he says something very risky and controversial. He could have just said they will do their best. More surprisingly, this press conference was never reported on the media. Another video was on the perception of risk. I would never try out any of those, especially one with a bicycle.
The second class of the day was interesting too. I never knew there is a test that people take to avoid being drafted to war. The score George W. Bush got was hilarious: 26/100! It is one point away from being too dumb. I knew that he got into Yale with legacy system, but did not expect him to be that unintelligent. I also learned that "unfairness of the profit calls for another war."
The Young Turks is an interesting and funny program that mentions various topics: political, economic to something completely irrelevant. I don't think it is reasonable to fire a teacher for his or her appearance and to consider children's catfight a big issue.
On June 3rd, we had two classes of ARW. In the first class, Rab gave us his brief biography and we learned that his bias, or strong opinions rather, is originated from his profound experience and career. He mentioned how having bias is not a bad thing. The important thing is to have an opinion and to listen to a counterargument that stimulates and impacts your idea and then to sharpen my opinion based on that counterargument. In order to do this as proficient as possible, I have to read all the time, as Rab did and still does. Connecting knowledge from several different subjects: this is the purpose of liberal arts and significance of attending ICU. However, having bias without any evidences or reasons is same as not having an opinion at all. "I think this car is good because I just feel so" is not convincing at all.
We also watched several videos. The first one was the press conference taken place few weeks after Fukushima radiation. I was astonished to watch the content. The person who is answering the questions from reporters not only equivocates but also states that he cannot guarantee people in Fukushima to evacuate. I wondered why he says something very risky and controversial. He could have just said they will do their best. More surprisingly, this press conference was never reported on the media. Another video was on the perception of risk. I would never try out any of those, especially one with a bicycle.
The second class of the day was interesting too. I never knew there is a test that people take to avoid being drafted to war. The score George W. Bush got was hilarious: 26/100! It is one point away from being too dumb. I knew that he got into Yale with legacy system, but did not expect him to be that unintelligent. I also learned that "unfairness of the profit calls for another war."
The Young Turks is an interesting and funny program that mentions various topics: political, economic to something completely irrelevant. I don't think it is reasonable to fire a teacher for his or her appearance and to consider children's catfight a big issue.
2013年6月2日日曜日
ARW 5/31 Response
It is nice to have class in macs room; I can concentrate and understand the topic better. The first discussion theme was whether everyone has a bias in some way. I think so, because in this case, a bias can be replaced by terms like "preference", "favorite", "interest", "tendency", "opinion" or many other words. As Rab taught us in the beginning of the year, having bias is not necessarily a bad thing. It is rather better to have it to some extent than to be indecisive. It is a human nature. However, whether having a strong bias is allowed depends on the situation.
It was "Funky Friday" so we watched several video clips. The first one was "Say no to blood diamonds." Its background music got stuck in my head and it conveyed its message very well. However, I personally thought the other two videos are more interesting and impressive. "The Mouth Revolution" was filled with humor of video recording up side down chins and pretending mouths are staging their revolution. It actually conveyed the message against the use of pesticide and production of non-organic foods. The other video was "Meatrix". The title already sounds humorous but it shows hostility against livestock abuse. It not only suffers animals' environment but also ours. This video was actually a part of the website "The Meatrix" which explains about sustainable food and the problems with factory farming. Last two videos contain humor so I consider them effective and especially the website can indirectly deliver its website with a small risk rather than writing a letter to the Congress.
After watching several Free Range Studios videos, I found "The Story of Electronics" most interesting. All of these videos give us a sense that environmentalists and economists might have opposite views. In this video, a concept "designed for the dump" is introduced. I never knew that electronics are manufactured to be fragile for a economical reason but I could guess why one phone charger is not compatible to many different phones. Then a consumer will have to buy a new one. It is the key strategy for a company that makes our electronics. The simple rule of production "Toxics in, Toxics out" alarmed me to be more careful using electronics. Otherwise, we are going to pollute the environment even more. However, it makes more sense if CEO of the company deals with all scraps of electronics that the company made. I do not know this is realistically possible, so the best solution is to have the company produce longer lasting, less toxic and more recyclable electronics.
By the way, I have been careful when writing an e-mail to teachers or professors. I always put a proper title, started with Dear or To Mr/Mrs.______, and ended the message with 'Sincerely". So I think I have not offended any professors in the past. I think.
It was "Funky Friday" so we watched several video clips. The first one was "Say no to blood diamonds." Its background music got stuck in my head and it conveyed its message very well. However, I personally thought the other two videos are more interesting and impressive. "The Mouth Revolution" was filled with humor of video recording up side down chins and pretending mouths are staging their revolution. It actually conveyed the message against the use of pesticide and production of non-organic foods. The other video was "Meatrix". The title already sounds humorous but it shows hostility against livestock abuse. It not only suffers animals' environment but also ours. This video was actually a part of the website "The Meatrix" which explains about sustainable food and the problems with factory farming. Last two videos contain humor so I consider them effective and especially the website can indirectly deliver its website with a small risk rather than writing a letter to the Congress.
After watching several Free Range Studios videos, I found "The Story of Electronics" most interesting. All of these videos give us a sense that environmentalists and economists might have opposite views. In this video, a concept "designed for the dump" is introduced. I never knew that electronics are manufactured to be fragile for a economical reason but I could guess why one phone charger is not compatible to many different phones. Then a consumer will have to buy a new one. It is the key strategy for a company that makes our electronics. The simple rule of production "Toxics in, Toxics out" alarmed me to be more careful using electronics. Otherwise, we are going to pollute the environment even more. However, it makes more sense if CEO of the company deals with all scraps of electronics that the company made. I do not know this is realistically possible, so the best solution is to have the company produce longer lasting, less toxic and more recyclable electronics.
By the way, I have been careful when writing an e-mail to teachers or professors. I always put a proper title, started with Dear or To Mr/Mrs.______, and ended the message with 'Sincerely". So I think I have not offended any professors in the past. I think.
5/29 ARW Response
In this class, I learned the difference between companies and corporations for the first time. A company can be any business that can be owned by an individual, but a corporation is owned by several people, such as business partners, stockholders, or any collection of people. Today, corporations are known to be evil in general for becoming the world's dominant economic institution. Rab told us about a car corporation refused to recall its products to repair because the price of compensation would be less than the cost for repair, according to their calculation. What they cares about is not safety or morality. It is all about a number. This decision that workers thought "smart" was actually the most ridiculous decision. Jury got so outrageous and sentenced their compensation to be a billion of dollars. However, democracy does not work; the judge had a close connection with the corporation, and decreased the amount to a quarter of this because he "thought" it is too much. This is what power can do. This is what we should consider when we start applying for companies or corporations for job. We should be careful if they are doing anything immoral. Probably today, it is harder to find those that are not.
The topic we discussed in this class was a little bit overwhelming for me, due to lacking knowledge in economy, business, history and sociology. I should be more familiar with these issues; otherwise, I won't be able to catch up to everyone else.
The topic we discussed in this class was a little bit overwhelming for me, due to lacking knowledge in economy, business, history and sociology. I should be more familiar with these issues; otherwise, I won't be able to catch up to everyone else.
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