Philosophy Jokes to Understand the Self and Cognition

Philosophy Jokes to Understand the Self and Cognition Philosophy of mind is a rich field for jokes since quite a lot of humor is about the strangeness of being human and the difference between knowing something from the outside and knowing it from the inside (i.e. from a subjective perspective). Here are a few choice items. The Silent Parrot A man sees a parrot in a pet shop and asks how much it costs. â€Å"Well, he’s a good talker, says the owner, â€Å"so I can’t let him go for less than $100.†            Ã‚   â€Å"Hmm,† says the man, â€Å"that ‘s a bit steep. How about that miniature turkey over there? â€Å"Oh, I’m afraid he’d stretch your budget even more†, answers the owner. â€Å"That turkey sells for $500.† â€Å"What!† exclaims the customer. â€Å"How come the turkey’s five times the price of the parrot when the parrot can talk and the turkey can’t? â€Å"Ah, well, â€Å"says the store owner. â€Å"It’s true the parrot can talk and the turkey can’t. But that turkey is a remarkable phenomenon. He’s a philosopher.   He may not talk, but he thinks! The joke here, of course, is that the claim about the turkey’s ability to think is unverifiable since it doesn’t manifest itself in any way that is publicly observable. Empiricism in all its forms tends to be skeptical of any such claims. In the philosophy of mind, one robust form of empiricism is behaviorism. Behaviorists hold that all talk of â€Å"private†, â€Å"inner† mental events, should be translatable into statements about observable behavior (which includes linguistic behavior). If this can’t be done, then the claims about inner mental states are unverifiable and hence meaningless, or at least unscientific. Behaviourism Q: How does a behaviorist greet another behaviorist? A: Youre feeling fine. How am I? The point here is that behaviorists reduce all mental concepts to descriptions of how people behave. They do this because of behavior, unlike a person’s inner thought and feelings, is publicly observable. Part of the motivation for doing this is to make psychology more scientific–or at least more the â€Å"hard† sciences such as physics and chemistry which consist entirely of descriptions of objective phenomena. The problem, though, at least as far as the critics of behaviorism are concerned, is that we all know perfectly well that we aren’t just a lump of nature exhibiting patterns of behavior. We have consciousness, subjectivity, what has been called an â€Å"inscape.† To deny this, or to deny that our private access to it can be a source of knowledge (e.g. about how we are feeling) is absurd. And it leads to the sort of absurdity captured in the above exchange. Knowledge of Other Minds A four-year-old girl comes running to her father bawling loudly and holding her head. â€Å"What’s wrong, honey?† asks the concerned parent. Between sobs, the girl explains that she’d been playing with her nine-month-old baby brother when the baby had suddenly grabbed her hair and pulled hard. â€Å"Oh well†, says her father, these things are bound to happen sometimes. You see, the baby doesn’t know that when he pulls your hair he’s hurting you. Comforted, the girl goes back to the nursery. But a minute later there’s another outburst of sobbing and screaming. The father goes to see what the problem is now and finds that this time it’s the baby who’s in tears. â€Å"What’s the matter with him?† he asks his daughter. â€Å"Oh, nothing much, she says. â€Å"Only now he knows.† A classic problem of modern philosophy is whether I can justify my belief that other people have subjective experiences similar to mine. The joke illustrates the significant fact that this is a belief we acquire very early in life. The girl has no doubt that the baby feels pain similar to her own. It may also tell us something about how we arrive at this belief. Interestingly, what the girl says at the end is quite possibly false. The baby may only know that his sister did something to his head which hurt. That might be enough to stop him pulling her hair in future. But it won’t be too long before he goes beyond mere pragmatic avoidance of hair pulling and accepts the standard explanation of why he should he eschew it. The Unconscious A hunter is stalking through the forest when he is suddenly charged by a bear. HE shoots but misses.   In seconds, the bear is upon him. It grabs his gun and breaks it in two. It then proceeds to sodomize the hunter. The hunter is, of course, furious. Two days later he returns to the forest with a brand new high-powered rifle. All day he hunts for the bear, and towards dusk comes across it. As he aims the bear charges.   Again the shot goes wide. Again the bear grabs the gun, smashes it to bits and then sodomizes the hunter. Beside himself with rage, the hunter returns the next day with an AK 47. After another long search he finds the bear, but this time the carriage jams as he tries to shoot the charging animal. Once again the bear breaks apart the weapon and throws it away. But this time, instead of taking the usual liberties, he puts his paws on the man’s shoulders and says, gently: â€Å"Let’s be honest with each other. This isn’t really about hunting, is it?† This is a pretty funny joke. One thing interesting about it, though, is that it relies on the listener understanding that the bear’s words refer to unconscious motivations and desires. Since Freud, the existence of these is widely accepted. But at the time of Descartes, the notion that you could have thoughts, beliefs, wishes, and motives that you were not aware of would have been considered absurd by many people. The mind was thought to be transparent; anything â€Å"in† it could be readily identified and examined through introspection. So back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this joke would probably have fallen flat. Descartess Death The great French philosopher Rene Descartes is most famous for his statement, â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† He made this certainty the starting point of his entire philosophy. What is less known is that he died in rather unusual circumstances. He was sitting in a cafà © one day when a waiter approached him, coffee pot in hand. â€Å"Would you like more coffee, monsieur?† asked the waiter. â€Å"I think not,† Descartes replied-and poof! . . . he disappeared.

Getting a Job Isnt Hard...If You Prepare For These 4 Things

Getting a Job Isnt Hard...If You Prepare For These 4 Things Landing a job, as it turns out, is about four major things- at least with most corporations. The resume is worth just over 10%, enough to get you through the door, but then your interview performance and company fit are each worth about two-thirds of the equation. And the last little bit of magic has to do with your personality- at least how they perceive it. So start focusing on these, in the appropriate proportions. 1. ResumeBy now, you know what you need to do. And if you don’t, there are some great examples and suggestions and strategies to be found that will make it easy to develop your resume.2. InterviewLike a movie star’s screen test, or a Broadway actor’s audition, the interview is your first major hurdle, and worth about a third of the weight in the hiring process. Don’t just pick a snazzy outfit:Â  do your homework, practice, practice, practice, and come prepared. The more work you do before you walk into that interview, the easier it will be t o sell them on your strengths and how you can deliver across all of their unique needs for your position.3. Cultural FitIt seems a little like getting invited to sit at someone’s lunch table, but so it goes. This is also weighted at about a third of the equation. They want to make sure you’re a good fit just as much as you want to make sure you’ll get along with your co-workers and not be miserable coming to work each day.Does everyone wear power suits and sit in cubicles, when you’re accustomed to standing desks and jeans and open plan offices with empanada carts? These things are worth considering, and your hiring manager will be just as interested in figuring out how well you’d fit as you are.4. Personality AssessmentMore and more companies are using specially designed assessments to determine what your unique personality would be as an employee, given the environment at that particular company, what your job will be, and who you are. These are the final chunk of the pie, and probably weighted at less than 10 percent of the overall impression you will make. Sometimes they can prove disastrously wrong, but sometimes they can really show a perfect match. Try to be yourself- rather than attempting to outsmart the system, and you should be fine.Remember, the best and only thing you can do is be prepared. Knowing what your future employers might be looking for is just another tool in your job search toolbox. Know before you go.

Examination of Sadie Bennings Video Diaries Essay

Examination of Sadie Bennings Video Diaries - Essay Example There are many theoretical points which Russell points out in her article to prove the validity of her interpretation in Benning’s work. These would be:  Ã‚  Ã‚   †¢Ã‚  A Sense of self stuck in understanding and surveillance. Russell is backed by Walter Benjamin to justify that personalized experience and observation play paramount roles in auto ethnography (Ho, 12). For example Benjamin argues that â€Å"Theory the philosophy and intellectual life as inseparable from his own experience of modernity and his identity as a German Jew.† Here Benjamin does permeate his script in the form of experience as opposed to quintessence. He perceived his own life as a composition of public reality this if sensed keenly, Susan Back-moss argues that â€Å"no individual could live a resolved life in a social world that was neither.† (p.276) †¢Ã‚  Dramatization of subjectivity. Russell says that it is â€Å"no longer essential to have a revealing of the essential sel f but a representation of self as a performance This is a position of â€Å"discursive anxiety and articulations.† It is in the text depicted that, auto ethnography is the most likely to be the truck and the strategy that shall be used for exigent of obligatory outward appearances of individuality. It is too used for exploring the discursive potential of inauthentic subjectivities†¢Ã‚  Ethnography as structure of self-fashioning. Russell argues that the ethnographer represents himself as the as a â€Å"the fiction that does inscribe the doublings within the ethnographic text†.... These would be: A Sense of self stuck in understanding and surveillance. Russell is backed by Walter Benjamin to justify that personalized experience and observation play paramount roles in auto ethnography (Ho, 12). For example Benjamin argues that â€Å"Theory the philosophy and intellectual life as inseparable from his own experience of modernity and his identity as a German Jew.† Here Benjamin does permeate his script in the form of experience as opposed to quintessence. He perceived his own life as a composition of public reality this if sensed keenly, Susan Back-moss argues that â€Å"no individual could live a resolved life in a social world that was neither.† (p.276) Dramatization of subjectivity. Russell says that it is â€Å"no longer essential to have a revealing of the essential self but a representation of self as a performance This is a position of â€Å"discursive anxiety and articulations.† It is in the text depicted that, auto ethnography is the most likely to be the truck and the strategy that shall be used for exigent of obligatory outward appearances of individuality. It is too used for exploring the discursive potential of inauthentic subjectivities Ethnography as structure of self-fashioning. Russell argues that the ethnographer represents himself as the as a â€Å"fiction that does inscribe the doublings within the ethnographic text†: â€Å"It fashion and individual with the authority to represent and to interpret and even to believe though with ironical aspects the truth that surround the discrepant world†. The other aspect includes the oxymoronic label of auto ethnography. This is announcing of the full go kaput of the colonialist teachings of the ethnography and the critical gusto for it’s variety

Should Adultery be illegal Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Should Adultery be illegal - Research Proposal Example Although adults are consenting individuals and should be permitted to sleep with whomever they choose, adultery should be illegal because it is a violation of a legal contract and a cause for divorce. Adults are consenting adults and are permitted to sleep with whomever they choose to unless he/she is a minor. Currently, the American society comprises of different sexual relationships including heterosexual and homosexual associations, and although homosexual marriages remain largely illegal in several states, others in the US have legalized the practice. Legalizing same sex marriage is a clear indication of the respect that the law accords individuals in the choice of a marital partner, if both partners are adults (Ethridge and Stephen, 2004). Even though adults are consenting and permitted to sleep with whomever they want to, adultery should be illegal because it is a major cause for fault base divorce. According to Arterburn, Fred, and Yorkey (2000), one or both parties in a marit al union dissolve most of their heterosexual marriages in United States on allegations of adultery. This leads to psychological, economical and social suffering to all concerned parties, including children.

Free

Free Will vs. Determinism Essay Free will and determinism are two opposing beliefs as far as responsibility for outcomes or results is concerned. Free will signifies that as we make choices and decisions by ourselves, we become responsible for the results of our decisions and actions. Determinism, on the other hand, tells that humans have no influence on the future and its events and that human beings’ influence on their future is determined by present and past occurrences. In this writing, we present an analysis of the realities of these two philosophies. We will go through two stories: Daisy Miller, a novel by British author Henry James; and The Yellow Wallpaper, a short story by American writer Charlotte Gilman. Our goal is to find out the extent of free will and determinism. Is reality a mix of these two principles? DAISY MILLER The main characters in this novel are Daisy Miller, a beautiful American girl, and her suitor Winterbourne, also an American. In their encounters in Switzerland and Italy, they fall under the scrutiny of people in the society surrounding them. Daisy’s flirtatious attitude is frowned upon by Mrs. Walker, a fellow American who owns a parlor in Rome. Mrs. Costello, Winterbourne’s conservative aunt, strongly disapproves of Daisy’s because she agreed to date with him after only a half hour of being acquainted with each other. Their Free Will Prevails Over Other People’s Opinions. Daisy is not dissuaded by the disapproving eyes of the other Americans, neither is she affected by the ineffectual attitude of her own mother. Winterbourne, on his part, continues to court Daisy despite the disapproval of his conservative aunt; It is their free will that made them stand against the minds of these other people who could have otherwise, influenced their decisions. Winterbourne could have acceded to his aunt’s desire if he chose to but he followed his own will and pursued courting Daisy. Daisy could have chosen to change her ways to gain the approval of her compatriots considering that they are all in a foreign land but she stuck to her own will to act and behave as she really is, although they can consider her as some sort of an outcast; someone who is not accepted in the society where she moves. Determinism Can Be More Closely Associated with Daisy’s Death. The novel was set in the 19th century during which time, the â€Å"Roman fever† (malaria) was endemic to many Roman neighborhoods. Winterbourne warns Daisy about its dangers upon seeing her in the Colosseum. Daisy rushes home but still, she catches the fever and dies a few days later. She could have been more careful and avoided catching the illness but this could be considered as something that is more out of her own control. This can be compared with accidents which can occur no matter how much care is taken by a person. There are outside forces that can go beyond one’s control. THE YELLOW WALLPAPER This is the story of a wife who falls into complete insanity after being locked up in the upstairs bedroom of a mansion rented by her husband, a physician, so that she can ‘recuperate’ from a ‘temporary nervous depression’ during one summer vacation. Determ inism is Observed from the Outset of the Story. The woman, who narrates this story as a series of journal entries, is locked up inside the bedroom against her will. She could not go out nor see the outside world, nor see her baby. She is completely controlled by actions of her husband. Her Free Will, at the Same Time, Remains Strong Within. Although she has fallen into insanity, her desire for freedom is made manifest by the visions that she sees in the wallpaper, especially the figure of a woman who is trying to escape from the bars of the shadows. In her mind, she has to free the woman in the wallpaper, thus she strips the designs off the wall, later on believing that she is the woman who has escaped from inside the wallpaper. In the end of the story, thinking that she is ‘free at last’, she steps on the unmoving body of her husband, symbolizing that she has triumphed and that her will and desire for freedom has been achieved. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO WORKS Both â€Å"Daisy Miller† and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† are set in the 19th century. There were existing conditions at that time that interplayed in the plots of the stories: the Roman fever endemic that caused the death of Daisy Miller and androcentrism or male domination in human affairs that gave power to the physician to lock up his wife. In spite of these factors, the main female characters both carry in them strong wills. In â€Å"Daisy Miller†, the main characters live their lives in the outside world mingling with various personalities, as contrasted with the main character in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† who is locked up inside a barred room, dealing with herself all along. CONCLUSION From the above works, one may deduce that a person has a strong will and determination to do or to have what he wants without having to give to an outside factor neither any credit for a desired result nor any blame for a bad outcome. Factors beyond a person’s control, as strongly suggested in determinism, can truly cause the outcome in a situation but the interplay of free will always exists along with it. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. United States: New England Magazine. 1892. Print James, Henry. Daisy Miller. United Kingdom: Cornhill Magazine. 1878. Print

Essay on Downfall and Denial in Streetcar Named Desire and Glass Menage

Downfall and Denial in Streetcar Named Desire and Glass Menagerie   Ã‚  Ã‚   Tennessee Williams allows the main characters in the plays, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie, to live miserable lives, which they first try to deny and later try to change.   The downfall and denial of the Southern gentlewoman is a common theme in both plays.   The characters, Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire and Amanda from The Glass Menagerie are prime examples.   Blanche and Amanda have had, and continue to have, many struggles in their lives.   The problem is that Williams never lets the two women work through these problems and move on.   The two ladies are allowed to destroy themselves and Williams invites the audience to watch them in the process (Stine 474).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The downfall, denial, and need to change of the two women are all quite evident in these two plays. First the troubles of Blanche and Amanda need to be recognized. Blanche has apparently had practice hiding her drinking problem. When she arrives at Stella’s home, she sneaks a shot of whiskey (Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene1. Page 18. Lines 12-17). When she is later offered a drink, she acts as though she has no idea where the alcohol is kept (Williams, A.S.N.D. 1.19.12-15).   Amanda cannot accept the fact that no gentlemen callers are coming for Laura, her daughter, thus making that reality more difficult for Laura to accept (Williams, The Glass Menagerie, 1.28.1-5).   Neither Blanche nor Amanda allows herself to recognize her problems and work them out.   They both deny the existence of these problems, thereby enabling their difficulties to become larger and even more complicated.   When Stella offers Blanche a second drink, Blanche states, "One's m... ...Blanche and Amanda.   Tennessee Williams wrote very similar plays along common themes, plays that both disturbed and aroused sympathy for the characters as well as the real life counterparts that they represented.    Works Cited Baym, Nina et al, eds.   The Norton Anthology of American Literature.   New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1995. Hassan, William.   Tennessee Williams: Parallels in Frustation.   Boston: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Krutch, Joseph Wood.   Modernism in Modern Drama.   New York: Cambridge University Press, 1953. Stine, Daniel.   Tennessee Williams: An Interpretation.   Chicago: University Press, 1977. Williams, Tennessee.   A Streetcar Named Desire.   New York: Signet, 1947. Williams, Tennessee.   Anthology of American Literature:   From Realism to the Present.   Ed. McMichael, George et al. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.    Essay on Downfall and Denial in Streetcar Named Desire and Glass Menage Downfall and Denial in Streetcar Named Desire and Glass Menagerie   Ã‚  Ã‚   Tennessee Williams allows the main characters in the plays, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie, to live miserable lives, which they first try to deny and later try to change.   The downfall and denial of the Southern gentlewoman is a common theme in both plays.   The characters, Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire and Amanda from The Glass Menagerie are prime examples.   Blanche and Amanda have had, and continue to have, many struggles in their lives.   The problem is that Williams never lets the two women work through these problems and move on.   The two ladies are allowed to destroy themselves and Williams invites the audience to watch them in the process (Stine 474).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The downfall, denial, and need to change of the two women are all quite evident in these two plays. First the troubles of Blanche and Amanda need to be recognized. Blanche has apparently had practice hiding her drinking problem. When she arrives at Stella’s home, she sneaks a shot of whiskey (Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene1. Page 18. Lines 12-17). When she is later offered a drink, she acts as though she has no idea where the alcohol is kept (Williams, A.S.N.D. 1.19.12-15).   Amanda cannot accept the fact that no gentlemen callers are coming for Laura, her daughter, thus making that reality more difficult for Laura to accept (Williams, The Glass Menagerie, 1.28.1-5).   Neither Blanche nor Amanda allows herself to recognize her problems and work them out.   They both deny the existence of these problems, thereby enabling their difficulties to become larger and even more complicated.   When Stella offers Blanche a second drink, Blanche states, "One's m... ...Blanche and Amanda.   Tennessee Williams wrote very similar plays along common themes, plays that both disturbed and aroused sympathy for the characters as well as the real life counterparts that they represented.    Works Cited Baym, Nina et al, eds.   The Norton Anthology of American Literature.   New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1995. Hassan, William.   Tennessee Williams: Parallels in Frustation.   Boston: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Krutch, Joseph Wood.   Modernism in Modern Drama.   New York: Cambridge University Press, 1953. Stine, Daniel.   Tennessee Williams: An Interpretation.   Chicago: University Press, 1977. Williams, Tennessee.   A Streetcar Named Desire.   New York: Signet, 1947. Williams, Tennessee.   Anthology of American Literature:   From Realism to the Present.   Ed. McMichael, George et al. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.   

Human rights in Iraq after the war Essay

The Americans are fairly blunt about promoting their corporate interests. A USAid spokeswoman was quoted recently pointing out that it should not come as a surprise that all of the companies short listed for work in Iraq are American. Her advice to non American companies is to pressurize their own governments. And this is driving the agenda of the European Union meeting in Brussels. President Chirac and others opposed to war have declared that while they condemn this war, they are willing to work with the UK and US on the reconstruction of Iraq. No doubt the popular sentiment in Europe favours providing support to the Iraqi people after a terrible devastation has been wrecked upon them. However, these governments are also under pressure to provide a role for their corporations in post war Iraq, a resource rich country. Thus, before the war has ended, the more divisive fight over the spoils of war has already started. In the now marginalized United Nations lies France and Germany’s best hopes of making the division of the loot somewhat egalitarian. But the Americans are prepared, more than ever, to brush away the UN, and impose direct rule on iraq. The British are hoping to receive their fair share of the crumbs for their loyalty. However, this comes at the heavy cost of alienating Britain from the rest of Europe. It is likely that this battle to divide the spoils will lead to important decisions concerning the future of the United Nations as well as the future relationship between America, Britain and Europe. OREND’S THEORY ON RECONSTRUCTION ON THE BASIS OF HUMAN RIGHTS All human beings have human rights. However, human rights do not necessarily embrace anything and everything the anybody wants. Human rights are merely limited to those things which are both vitally needed and which can be provided at reasonable cost. A claim is at the core of any right, and that a claim is necessarily a claim on someone or something, in connection with some sought-after action or benefit, some good or policy. There is no such thing as a holder of a right without a correlative bearing any duty. The acts of the US and UK in Iraq after war can be considered as too much abuse to the basic human rights of the Iraqis. The Reconstruction being done to foster an economic advantage deprives the Iraqi of their basic economic benefits necessary to alleviate their lives. There is a plain disregard of a multi-aspect needs of the Iraqis for preservation, liberation, unification, democratization, and self-identity. The reconstruction projects are simply not directed towards the development and enhancement of the fundamentals of human existence and human rights. The excessive desire of the US government for profit and gains violates the basic principle of human rights, as according to Professor Orend, that is to love a â€Å"minimally decent lives†. Professor Orend holds a human right to be â€Å"a high-priority claim, or authoritative entitlement, justified by sufficient reasons, to a set of objects that are owed to each human person as a matter of minimally decent treatment†. He then asserts that to hold human rights â€Å"one must be biologically human, one must avoid violating another’s human rights, and one must have fundamental interests in, or vital needs for, living a life of minimal value. † Both formulations are valuable definitions and form a strong basis upon which to ground claims of rights. This requires a life that does not yearn for any excessive economic gains and benefits, unlike what the US Government and its cronies are manifesting. A life of simplicity within the level of a minimally decent lives requires only just enough resources to support the basic services and development of the State. It does not necessarily imply taking advantage of another’s ordeal just to promote one’s excessive economic needs. Orend shows who bears what duties in relation to human rights, questioning whether individuals or institutions are responsible for ensuring human rights. Orend concludes that both institutions and individuals bear responsibility for ensuring human rights on both a national and international level. This duty, he argues, directly correlates to one’s ability to affect human rights. So, while the duty of an individual is different from the duty of a multinational corporation, which in turn is different from the duty of a nation or international institution, all of these entities are responsible for ensuring that human rights are respected. Following on from this, Orend argues that post war reconstruction must occur via the established media of international law and governance but with the added insights of practices such as philosophy, human rights, history, public policy, and political science. It cannot be simply held and carried out purely for purposes of gains. There must be concerted and united efforts of all institutions and individuals of the word to perform their respective duty proceeding from the basic moral duty of respecting the basic dignity and rights of the Iraqis. All aspects must be duly considered in order to come up to a broader and complete plan of binging in reconstruction in Iraq. References: 1. 1. Fagan, Andrew. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Human Rights. Human Rights Center: University of Essex. 2006. http://www. iep. utm. edu/h/hum-rts. htm 2. Orend, Brian. Human Rights: Concept and Context. Petersburg, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2002. http://www. du. edu/gsis/hrhw/booknotes/2004/zwiebach-2004. html.

Stevie Smith

Marissa Puzino ENGL 011: 33 Dr. Kayorie April 3, 12 The Journey of Death, War and Neglect â€Å"All poetry has to do is make a strong communication† (Stevie Smith) Florence Margaret Smith also known as Stevie Smith was a famous English poet and novelist that lived form 1902 to her tragic death in 1971. Throughout her life Smith went through a lot of heartache with her family and especially within herself. When Stevie Smith became acquainted with the face of death, she was fascinated by the melancholy emotions of depression she began to feel.As a result, Smith utilized her emotions relating to neglect, death, and war in much of her writing. Stevie Smith was best known for her poem â€Å"Not Waving But Drowning,† which is about neglect. In this poem she portrays the speaker as saying â€Å"goodbye† to his so called friends, and welcoming death. She praises grief and sorrow in her poem â€Å"Happiness. † Here she states that all happiness has been inexistent in her life. War was another prominent theme in her writing. Much of her writing was drawn from her own life experiences but various work of literature was influenced by war, the middle class British life, and religion.Her poem, â€Å"I Remember,† was a war themed poem about an elderly man having flashbacks on the Second World War on his bridal night. Stevie Smith eloquently channeled her emotions from her troubling life experiences of death, neglect, and war, into moving works of literature. Florence Margaret â€Å"Stevie† Smith was born in 1902 in Hull, England (Biography of Stevie Smith, Poem Hunter). At the age of three, after her father left the family to join the North Sea Patrol, she moved to Palmers Green with her Mother and her sister Molly (Spalding 3).During her teenage years her mother passed away, leaving her and her sister to live with their Aunt also referred to as â€Å"The Lion† (Stevie Smith, The Academy of American Poets). After attending high school she went to North London Collegiate School for Girls where she began as a secretary with the magazine publisher George Newnes. She continued to become the private secretary to Sir Nevill Pearson and Sir Frank Newnes. Her first book, Novel On Yellow Paper, was published in 1936, which was about the uneasy feelings of World War I. Stevie Smith passed away in 1971, resulting from a brain tumor.Stevie Smith’s life was filled with death and grief beginning at age five and lasting until her death in 1971. At the age of five Stevie Smith was diagnosed with Tuberculous peritonitis (Barbara, and Mcbrien 23). After developing this disease she was sent to a sanatorium near Broadstairs. Smith had a very close relationship with her mother. Being away from home and her mother for such a long period of time caused her to experience much stress and anxiety. Smith’s mother died of heart disease when she was sixteen years old, which was a very traumatic experience for Stevie Smi th.Even fifty years later during an interview Smith burst into tears when asked a question about her mothers passing (Huk 39). Unfortunately, she became preoccupied with the idea of death. Smith thought that if she forced death upon herself, her misery would end. Realizing that she hadn’t died and life would continue another day only sustained her thoughts of death, eventually leading her into depression (Barbara, and Mcbrien 25). Being compelled by thoughts of death and grief, Smith frequently incorporated those themes in her poems.In one of Stevie Smith’s interviews she states, â€Å"They are written from the experiences, of my own life, its pressures and fancies, and they are written to give ease and relief to me† (Spalding 197). Smith implies that she writes her poems not only for the enjoyment of her readers, but as a way of coping with her own emotions and feelings. Writing about her sorrows gave her inspiration to continue on and face her troubles. She wr ites more often about her struggles than her happiness, which is shown in her poem â€Å"Happiness. In the poem â€Å"Happiness,† Stevie Smith describes happiness as quiet and nonexistent when she writes, â€Å"Happiness is silent, or speaks equivocally for friends† (ln 1). All of Smith’s life was filled with misery. This poem is about how she never knew the feeling of happiness. She was unaware of how to find happiness because of all the negative experiences in her life that led to such despairing thoughts and emotions. â€Å"Grief is explicit and her song never ends† (ln 3). Smith indicates that she has known this feeling since she was a young girl, which, continued throughout her life.Undergoing these difficult times throughout her life led Stevie Smith to develop a negative view of the world, which she exemplified in her poetry. Stevie Smith’s father owned his own business as a shipping agent. When she was three years old his business, as well as her parents’ marriage, was unsuccessful (Huk 23). As a result, Smith’s father left home and ran away to sea becoming a ship’s purser. She rarely saw her father and when he visited she would often ignore him. She resented the fact that he left and deserted their family.Stevie Smith and her sister never forgave him and even refused to attend his funeral in 1949. Additionally, Smith’s Aunt directed negativity in her life. After Smith’s mother passed away, Smith and her sister lived with their Aunt. When Stevie Smith started to write her Aunt dismissed her works, calling them as unnecessary. Stevie portrays her feelings of neglect in her famous poem, â€Å"Not Waving But Drowning. † This poem is about a man who is stranded out at sea. As he is thrashing in the seas, he is distressed trying to get the attention from the bystanders on shore.They think he is waving â€Å"Hello†, when he is actually attempting to get their attention. â₠¬Å"Nobody heard him, the dead man† (ln 1). The people on shore can be seen as Smith’s Father and Aunt, while Stevie Smith is the man stranded at sea. They both neglected and ignored Stevie, either by abandoning her family or insulting her work. â€Å"Oh, no no no, it was too cold always† (ln 9). This line indicates the loneliness of Smith’s life due to the constant feeling of rejection, from the fleeing of her father and her Aunt doubting her writing capabilities. Stevie Smith grew up during both World War I and World War II (Severin 49).After World War II Smith believed that women suffered in traditional marriages because they often experienced loss of their independence and energy. In her poem â€Å"I Remember† the speaker is an elderly man. He is with his bride on their wedding night while having flashbacks of the World War II. â€Å"Harry, do they ever collide? I do not think it has ever happened† (ln 7 and 8). Smith is pointing out the d isappointment of women returning to their traditional gender roles during the post war periods. When the woman asks about the planes colliding, Stevie Smith is referring to the gender roles of men and woman.She is asking if the roles of women and men overlap? She also indicates that these women will inevitably return to their pre-war traditional role as a submissive woman and essentially return to being unhappy. Stevie Smith has faced various negative experiences and emotions from a very early age. Stevie Smith often wrote about death, neglect and war as shown in three of her poems, â€Å"Happiness,† â€Å"Not Waving But Drowning,† and â€Å"I Remember. † Being presented with a chronic disease, abandonment, death, and feelings of neglect, contributed to Stevie Smith’s negative view of the world.However, Smith found hope and relief from her depressive mind through the means of writing poetry. Smith wrote not only for the enjoyment of her readers, but more importantly to cope with her adverse life experiences. She used writing as a way to ease of the pain of these events. Stevie Smith blended real life experiences with events that happened around the world to create her moving works of literature. Works Cited Barbera, Jack, and William McBrien. Stevie: A Biography of Stevie Smith. London: Heinemann, 1985. Print. â€Å"Biography of Stevie Smith. † Poem Hunter. Web. 8 Apr. 2012. lt;http://www. poemhunter. com/stevie-smith/biography/>. â€Å"Happiness. † Best Poems. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. . This poem by Stevie Smith compares happiness and grief. This is a short poem, completed in one stanza. Smith expresses happiness as a quiet, illusionary emotion instead of loud and exciting. She explains that happiness is silent, misleading and deceptive. She describes grief as precise, straightforward and unlike happiness, swift without delay. â€Å"I Remember. † Best Poems. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. . This poem written by the famous Englis h poet and novelist, Stevie Smith is about a war veteran who is having flashbacks of World War ll. An elderly man is the speaker talking about his experiences in the war on the night of his wedding. His bride was a young woman who had tuberculosis and was asking him questions about the war. It seemed that she was asking the questions because she was slipping away and will soon pass. Abcarian, Richard, Marvin Klotz, and Samuel Cohen, eds. Literature: The Human Experience. 10th ed.New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. Print. The poem â€Å"Not Waving But Drowning† by Stevie Smith told in the third person. It is about a man who is distressed and neglected by his friends. He is trying to gain their attention by waving his hands but the people at shore think he is just waving hello. This poem can be interpreted both metaphorically and literally. In the literal sense he was waving his hands trying to get attention and form the people on shore it looks like he’s saying hi. In the metaphorical sense, the man suffered from being ignored and neglected by his friends.Huk, Romana. Stevie Smith: Between the Lines. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print. In this book Romana Huk expresses the different contributions that Stevie Smith has made to feminist literary modernism. Huk describes how Smith encouraged women’s studies by examining the past and rewriting them in modern times. This book offers a new approach to go about analyzing Smith’s works by analyzing certain poems and novels that were either forgotten about or written long ago. Severin, Laura. Stevie Smith's Resistant Antics.Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 1997. Print. This book analyzes the relationship between Stevie Smith’s writing and illustrations and twentieth century historical events. She uses all the works of Stevie Smith to join the idea of femininity and the conservative period f World War ll. Severin gives reasons for cultural historians and feminists to appreciate the works of Smith in a sense where all of her poems, novels and illustrations are taken from events that happened around the world. Spalding, Frances. Stevie Smith A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton ;, 1989. Print.This book examines the relationship between Steve Smith’s life and her writing, including both her novels and poems. Frances Spalding focuses on Smith’s narrative and distinct style. She looks at the connections between Smith’s devastating life and her works. Spalding adds new and original interpretations based on new information. â€Å"Stevie Smith. † Poetry Archive. Penguin. Web. ;http://www. poetryarchive. org/poetryarchive/singlePoet. do? poetId=7088. â€Å"Stevie Smith. † The Academy of American Poets. The Academy of American Poets. Web. ;http://www. poets. org/poet. php/prmPID/283;.

Quintin Kynaston school Essay Example

Quintin Kynaston school Essay Example Quintin Kynaston school Essay Quintin Kynaston school Essay 2.1 At the present they have a database and a spreadsheet to help them organise the whole park. They use the database in order to control the bookings and events. They use the spreadsheets to keep track of running time of different types of rides.2.2 problems with current system1. At the moment there is no relational database to link the bookings and the events table.2. Its not easy to query the database e.g. they need to sort the database using different search criteria.3. Its not easy to create reports based on those queries.4. They want to have templates to use when creating spreadsheets different rides.5. They need spreadsheet to keep control of running course, loading time, queuing time, duration of ride.6. They need to produce charts showing all the information to be included in reports.2.3 GENERAL OBJECTIVES1. They have to create the relational database to link the tables.2. The new system should be able to search the database using different search criteria.3. The new system should be able to generate reports based on different queries.4. There should be templates available on the system to control the different rides.5. The spreadsheet should be able to control running cost, loading time, queuing time and duration of ride.6. The new system should be able to produce charts showing all the information to be included in reports.2.4 Specific objectives]1. They have to create the relational database to link the tables1.1 Create the bookings table, Booking number, Customer ID, Date, Event Code, guest arrival time, deposit paid, staff ID.1.2 Create the EVENTS table. EVENTS (event code, event type, age, venue, max number, min number, cost per head)1.3 Link the two tables by using foreign key (event code)2. Its not easy to query the database, e.g. they need to sort the database using different criteria.2.1 All the events held in the terror zone2.2 All events that hold at least 50 people and cost less than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30 per head2.3 Bookings made for the 7th and 8th May 20032.4 Details of bookings for birthdays for kids.3. The new system should be able to generate reports based on different queries3.1 generate reports about all the events held in the terror zone.3.2 Generate reports about all events that hold at least 50 people and cost less than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30 per head.3.3 Generate report about Bookings made for the 7th and 8th May 20033.4 Generate a report about details of Bookings for birthdays for kids.4. There should be templates available on the system to control the different rides.4.1 Create a spreadsheet template for the new ride.4.2 Enter a formula to calculate the total time for the first feature.4.3 Copy the formula down for all the other features.4.4 Insert a formula that uses a function to calculate the total runtime.4.5 Make the name of the park larger than the rest of the text.4.6 Make sure that the spreadsheet is clearly presented and easy to use.5. The spreadsheet should be able to control running cost, loading time, queu ing time, and duration for ride.5.1 Create a spreadsheet to show the rides, run-times and capacity.5.2 Enter a label Load-time in the column next to Total time.5.3 Enter a formula to calculate the total load-time for each ride.5.4 The formula will use the value in Load-time per person cell (using an absolute cell reference or a named cell).5.5 Use another column to add the load-time to the run-time to give the total ride time for each ride.5.6 Sort the spreadsheet. Make sure that all columns are correctly sorted.5.7 In a suitable cell, enter a formula that uses a function to calculate the average number of people waiting at any time.5.8 Format the cell to numeric, 0 decimal places.6.The new system should be able to produce charts showing all the information to be included in reports.6.1 Use the spreadsheet to create a suitable bar/column chart on a separate sheet.6.2 Legends should not be used.6.3 The title, axis and label should be added to graph2.5 System requirementsHardware requ irementsInput devicesOutput devicesCPU (central processing unit)StorageKeyboardMouseScannerPrinterMonitorPentium III -1 giga hertz512 Mega bytes memory1.44 Mega byte floppy20 memory bytes hard-diskSoftware requirementsObjectivesSoftware use1,2,3A database is simply a collection of data. The data could be kept in a card index file, in a filling cabinet or on a computer. There are many software packages that allow a user to create an electronic database that holds data in a convenient way. The data can then be input, sorted, searched and reports produced. Data in a database is held in tables. Some database packages such as MS works only allow one table per database. Other packages such as MS access allow the creation of many linked or related tables in a single4,5,6Spreadsheets are used for organising and analysing numerical information. Imagine that you are in charge of planning a ski holiday with a group of friends. You have chosen your destination, and now you have to choose the me thod of travel, accommodation, ski lift passes/lessons etc to fit with each persons budget. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet model will help you do this.Im going to use a word processor to write down this report.Section 2.6 Input-processing-outputObjectives 1,2 and 3Input: Bookings and Events table kept by Adventure QuestProcessing: find all the events held in the terror zone.Find all events that hold at least 50 people and cost less than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30 per head.Find all Bookings made for the 7th and 8th May 2003.Find all the details of Bookings for Birthdays for kids.Output:Generate reports about all events held in the Terror zoneGenerate reports about all events that hold at least 50 people and cost less than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30 per head.Generate report about Bookings made for the 7th and 8th May 2003Generate reports including details of bookings for Birthdays for kids.Objectives 4,5 and 6Input: Running times for each feature, number of features in each ride, Loading time, and queuing tim eProcessing: Total run time for each ride, Load time per ride, average number of people waiting at any time, total run costOutput: Chart showing, total run time for each ride, chart showing load time per ride, chart showing average number of people waiting at any time, chart showing total runSection 3.3 DesignsObjectives 1,2 and 3Data dictionary: Includeedexcel.org.uk/virtualcontent/69144.pdfField Name:Data Type:Field Length:Comment:EVENTS TableBOOKINGS TableField Name Data Type Length/FormatEvent Code Text 3Event Type Text 20Age Text 8Venue Text 20Max Number Numeric IntegerMin Number Numeric IntegerCost per head Currency à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ sign 2 d.p.Field Name Data Type Length/FormatBooking Num Text 5Cust ID Text 7Date Date/Time dd/mm/yyyyEvent Code Numeric 3Guests Numeric IntegerArrival Time Date/Time hh:mmDeposit Paid Currency à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ sign 0 d.p.Staff ID Text 4Screen Input formsBookings input formBookings numberCustomer IDDateEvent CodeEntity Relationship diagramOn EVENT can be b ooked many times, the relationship between EVENT and BOOKINGS3.2 Screen input formsObjectives 1,2 and 3EVENTS TableBOOKINGS TableField Name Data Type Length/FormatEvent Code Text 3Event Type Text 20Age Text 8Venue Text 20Max Number Numeric IntegerMin Number Numeric IntegerCost per head Currency à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ sign 2 d.p.Field Name Data Type Length/FormatBooking Num Text 5Cust ID Text 7Date Date/Time dd/mm/yyyyEvent Code Numeric 3Guests Numeric IntegerArrival Time Date/Time hh:mmDeposit Paid Currency à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ sign 0 d.p.Staff ID Text 43.3 Spreadsheet designObjectives 4,5 and 6One EVENT can be booked many times, the relationship between EVENT and BOOKING is one-to-many.EVENT is on the one side of the relationship and the BOOKINGS are on the other side.Section 4 ImplementationDatabase (task1)To create a BOOKINGS table (to include: bookings number,Additional Requirements1) Create a chart showing in % the amount of time people spend on a ride (loading/ride times)2)Search for all adult events.Display cost per headDepositEventDate of events3) Additional IF statementThat checks if waiting times are reasonable or unreasonable

Who Is Todd Spiewak 8 Must-Know Facts About Jim Parsons’ Partner

Who Is Todd Spiewak 8 Must-Know Facts About Jim Parsons’ Partner SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Who is Todd Spiewak? To the public, he's known as Jim Parsons' boyfriend. The couple has been together since at least 2003. We know a lot about Todd's beau, who plays the lovable, eccentric genius Dr. Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory. Like his television persona, Jim hails from Texas. He had an extensive background in theater before getting his big break playing Sheldon. On the other hand, Todd Alan Spiewak has managed to remain a mystery, despite being linked to one of Hollywood's most prominent actors. I couldn't even confirm his date of birth, which has been reported as January 19th, 1977. However, I did some digging and was able to learn quite a bit about this mystery man. Let's get to know Mr. Spiewak, who is an accomplished fellow in his own right. He's Educated Todd graduated from Boston University in 1999. That's rather impressive considering Boston University only accepts only about a third of its applicants and is among the top 50 National Universities in America according to US News. Furthermore, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, a major which requires both technical and artistic skills. He Has a Good Job He's employed as an Art Director. You may be wondering what an art director does- I know I was. An art director is responsible for the visual style and images in product packaging, magazines, newspapers, and movie and television productions. I would be terrible at that job. Some of Todd Spiewak’s clients include American Express, Barnes Noble, HP, KitchenAid, and The New York Times. Todd Spiewak is an artistic fellow. He Works With Jim Jim and Todd started a production company together called That’s Wonderful Productions. In 2015, they hired former Paramount Insurge development and production executive Eric Norsoph to be head of development and production. Let’s hope that Jim and Todd can be as successful together in business as they’ve been in romance. He Loves Dogs Jim's character, Sheldon Cooper, is a fan of the felines, but Jim and Todd are dog lovers. The couple lives in Los Angeles with their two dogs, Otis and Rufus. Here are Otis and Rufus wearing ties: They don't look like the best guard dogs, but they're kinda adorable. His Internet Presence Is Limited Even though dating a celebrity gives Todd fame and a platform, he has chosen to mostly stay out of the limelight. You can't find much information about him online. He's not posting on social media. He's not sounding off on any issues; he's basically an anti-Kardashian. So Todd Spiewak remains an enigma to the general public. I assume he's content with allowing his boyfriend to be the focal point. Good luck finding online info on Todd. Jim Gave Him a Shout-Out at the Emmys In his 2013 acceptance speech for winning Best Actor in a Comedy Series, Jim started thanking a bunch of people. Eventually he said thanks â€Å"to [his] favorite person on the planet, Todd Spiewak.† See for yourself. Jim's speech starts at around the 2:00 mark. Todd must have felt pretty special that night. I want somebody to tell me that I’m her favorite person on the planet in an acceptance speech at the Emmys. Sad face. Todd and Jim Are Not Engaged Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, Todd and Jim don't have plans to wed. In 2014, The National Enquirer, perhaps not the most reliable source, reported that they were in fact engaged. Then Jim posted this epic response on Instagram to clear up any confusion and let everyone know that they they're happy, but neither has put a ring on it: Also, on an Ellen appearance in 2014, Ellen DeGeneres asked Jim if he and Todd are going to get married. Ellen was pressuring poor Jim to get hitched and a flustered Jim said that he hasn’t â€Å"been enthusiastic enough about it and [he] feel[s] like a loser for the cause.† Awww. And Todd was watching. Todd and Jim Made Their First Public Appearance in 2013 At the 9th Annual Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Respect Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Todd and Jim made their very first public appearance when they were given the Inspiration Award. Todd’s parents even flew in from Philadelphia to attend. In his acceptance speech, Jim said this: I’ve never considered myself an activist. I’ve never considered my relationship with Todd to be an act of activism. Rather simply, it’s an act of love, coffee in the morning, going to work, washing the clothes, taking the dogs [out]- a regular life, boring love. After Jim finished his speech, Todd lovingly said, â€Å"Well, as always, Jim didn’t leave much for me to say.† They don’t need to be married to act like a married couple. Are Jim and Todd the Gay Brangelina? In 2015, US Weekly named Jim and Todd one of Hollywood’s gay power couples. Other â€Å"gay power couples† included Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita, Lance Bass and Michael Turchin, and Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. I’m pretty confident that Jim and Todd were more honored to receive GLSEN’s Inspiration Award, but being part of a power couple sounds fun.

Pv system 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pv system 2 - Coursework Example Semi conductors are used in photovoltaic cells to provide voltage as a result of light. The semiconductor absorbs the light thereby knocking electrons and letting them flow freely. This is a typical conversion of light to electricity at atomic level. The suns power originates from the fusion of Hydrogen. The proton-proton reaction produces deuterons, which is the nucleus of an isotope of Hydrogen 2 that contains one neutron and one proton as a result of the ejection of the positron and an uncharged neutron form the deuteron forms the nucleus of a deuterium which is a heavy Hydrogen (Hedegus and Luque 79). Deuteron and proton combines to form triton or Helium 3 which is an isotope of Helium. Helium 4 can also be formed through the combination of two Helium 3 to form two protons and Helium 4 or a combination of triton and deuteron that produces energy, neutron and Helium 4. The total energy yielded is 26.7MeV. This may be obtained through calculations based on the atomic mass energy of Helium 4 nucleus (Hedegus and Luque 79) Part of the radiation is lost to the outer space through radiation as some is scattered by the atmospheric gases. Some of the heat that reaches the earth’s surface has an average intensity termed as solar isolation and ranges between 0.6to 1.0kW/m2. This is mostly absorbed by plants as humans also harness the solar energy to produce electricity (Hedegus and Luque 48). In the production of electricity, the solar radiations are concentrated by PV cells into a silicon wafer. This is usually done through optical systems concentration may also be done through luminescence (Gratzel 6848). Solar thermal power is an option of generating electricity through solar energy. Solar power is concentrated in solar power towers and focused into a fluid that bares a fluid. The temperature increases and it turns turbines thereby producing electricity. There are commercially available PV