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.