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Blog Post #5

I must say that my favorite reading throughout the semester was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I think the reason I enjoyed it so much is because I was pleasantly surprised with the story. Growing up, I had heard so many different cultural references to the crazed Dr. Frankenstein and his terrible monster. However, the novel was much deeper and had a lot of substance to it. The novel focused on many different important themes regrading family, ambition, society, nature, prejudice, etc. As you read and go deeper into the story, many layers regarding these issues are revealed. This is one of the reasons I chose to write my paper on Frankenstein. There are so many different parallels you can take from the story and apply them to our lives today. I find that when an author is able to write about issues from their time and write in in such a manner that it can be still be applied two centuries later to be simply amazing. And because of how I feel about the novel, I believe Frankenstein should be one class that should definitely be kept in the syllabus. Frankenstein is the only major reading we had to do, however it still the most important in my eyes. I feel that if I didn’t take this class, I personally wouldn’t have read the novel. Though screenings like Get Out, Jurassic Park, and Gattaca were interesting and very nice to watch, they’re screenings I’ve watched or would’ve probably watched outside the class hence why I think Frankenstein is the one reading to definitely keep in the syllabus for those future students that are uncultured as I was.

Reflection/ Journal Entry

The most interesting screening this week in my opinion was Jurassic Park. I really enjoyed this screening because I haven’t watched this film in almost over a decade and it was really nice to re-watch. Often times when I watch a film or tv show when I’m a child, I miss a lot of the main points and themes that the film conveying. And in the case of this movie, I found it interesting learning how the movie was conveying the issues of ethics and capitalism and what happens when you disregard ethics in hope of financial gain. It also poses the issue of at point does scientific discovery become dangerous. I believe it was a warning for the scientific community to always think about the ethical implications of their discoveries.

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Blog Post #4

Dr. Kasthuri’s primary appeal regarding Connectdome is logical appeal. He uses his knowledge of neuroscience and technology to explain that the possibility of replicating the human brain from an actual person to mapping it into a computer. The college student along with the graduate student pose the question of the possible ethical concerns regarding this phenomenon. Dr. Kasthuri argues that the human brain has all of the human parts of the person and that person would fully translate to the computer. The entrepreneur poses a question regarding if the parts and knowledge that we as humans cannot access in our brains but are still present in our brains would be able to appear in the computer. Dr.Kasthuri argues that if it is present then the computer will be able to access it because it is in our wiring. He makes his arguments based on his knowledge as a neuroscientist and understanding of the physiology of the human brain. His premises are based on the logic of, if the information is present, it should therefore be able to be translated to the computer. He tailors his explanation based on that person’s prior knowledge of neuroscience. You see how he gradually amps up the vocabulary and degree of explanation based on how much schooling each individual has went through. In my opinion to an extent, yes I believe mapping is the same as consciousness. By this I mean yes, I believe you can very closely recreate someone. However, I do not believe a recreated human map will truly ever be human because humans, in my opinion, are much more complex than just neurons and electrical signals.

Reflection/Journal Entry

Today our discord discussion, we most talked about some ethical concerns surrounding AI, what makes someone human and particular characteristics that make us human. One of the things I found to be the most interesting is when someone mentioned in the meat of the conversation that if we were able to delete past memories from our hard drive. And that made me realize what makes us human. Human are imperfect and are flawed individuals. That is why the world is in the state that it is today. I don’t think it’s the right thing to say we should be proud of our mistakes and regrets but be glad that we made them and have the opportunity to learn from them.  I think that is what separates us from if we were to move our consciousness to a computer. They would never make a mistake, and that wouldn’t ever truly be us.

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Blog Post #3

I think the powers that comedy, parody, and satire bring in the rhetorical sense is the ability to take a serious topic and make it easier to discuss. Often times, when discussing a serious topic, there is always going to be multiple sides to the issue and people will find a way to take offense. Of course, satirizing an issue does not magically take away people getting offended; however, it can be an easier way to approach said issue. Writers and creators will often times speak their view on a topic in an attempt to address it in a way that is more casual for the average person. One example I can think of is the animated television show the Boondocks by Aaron McGruder. The show addresses many issues regarding culture, social class, racialized stereotypes provided through satire and comedy. Aaron McGruder is able to address many of the issues that are not only being done to the black community in America, but he also addresses the many issue that are ongoing inside the black community. He expresses and speaks his personal and political views through one of the main characters, Huey. There was one episode in particular where he showed he was not afraid to go against the mold. The episode was regarding the 2003 court case of R. Kelly urinating on an underage female. In the episode, the majority of the black community was in support of R. Kelly stating it was the government’s attempt in trying to bring down yet another black male. However, Huey yells in court saying “What the hell is wrong with you people? Every famous (black man) that gets arrested is not Nelson Mandela! Yes, the government conspires to put a lot of innocent black men in jail on fallacious charges. But R. Kelly is *not* one of those men! …what happened to standards? What happened to bare minimums? Are you a fan of R. Kelly? You wanna help R. Kelly? Get some counseling for R. Kelly! Introduce him to some older women! Hide his camcorder! But don't pretend that the man is a hero!... And stop the damn dancing! Act like you've got some goddamn sense, people! Damn! I'm through playing around here!”. The majority of the episode shows how ridiculous his fans act during the case, even dancing as Huey mentions inside the court room, as a way to show how ridiculous his real-life fans treated a very serious subject in defense of a celebrity. Aaron McGruder took a very serious subject and tried to make a point with added comedy to make his message easier to digest.

Reflection/ Journal Entry

One of the things I wanted to discuss today was my appreciation for Frankenstein. Some of the main themes we discussed was lost innocence, prejudice and isolation. While doing my proposal this week, it made me think a lot about human nature in general and how we have the tendency to be prejudice towards people. I feel like that is something we do not think or talk about very often these days, and I feel like if I were not tasked to do a proposal or essay regarding the one of the works in the class, it is something I would not think of. And while doing my outside research regarding some serial killers, it just proved my point in just how easy we are to judge. That’s not to say I am in support of murderers, however it is really hard to say what we would do if we were put in the shoes of those we are prejudice towards.

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Blog Post #2

Detective Entry The victim, Mark Smith, was found stabbed in his chest and neck area several times. The time of discovery was at around 9:00 pm by the late-night custodian, Mr. Kelper. Mr. Kelper states that he found Mr. Smith because of the blood trail he found starting at the elevator door leading to Mr. Smith’s vehicle, where the driver’s side door was open, with Mr. Smith slump at the wheel. At that point, Mr. Kelper called the authorities. Based on Mr. Kelper’s statement, and the evidence found at the crime scene, it seems clear that Mr. Smith was stabbed multiple times just after he stepped off the elevator, due to the lack of blood inside the elevator. The assailant most likely made an escape before Mr. Smith was officially dead because Mr. Smith was able to make his way the distance of where his vehicle was parked, and even able to start up his vehicle. However, before Mr. Smith was able to shift his gear to drive, he succumbed to his injuries and died.

Coroner Entry The victim Mark Smith had a total of seven lacerations to the body. Four of the lacerations were to the upper chest and pectoral; region, all anterior. Three of them were to the neck area, all posterior strikes. Mr. Smith’s subclavian aorta was badly damaged, which is the most likely strike that ended his life. He likely died 2-3 minutes after the attack, and I suspect he was dead for between 30 minutes to 1 hour before being found by the custodian. Based on the depth and shape of each laceration, I would suggest the weapon used is some sort of dagger, likely 6 to 8 inches long. Eulogy Mark Smith was a simple man. He worked hard, took care of his family, and was a just a funny lovable guy. He was my friend. I remember the first time I met him; he had those goofy looking braces with all the rubber bands between his teeth. We were at our 9th grade school dance, and I walked into the bathroom. He was staring at himself in the mirror and looked like he was about to cry. I asked him what’s wrong and he tells me he’s too scared to approach this girl and ask her for a dance because the braces make him look so damn ridiculous. I smile and laugh and tell him that he’s right, he doesn’t have a chance. He tells me to bug off and walks straight to this girl and kisses her right on the mouth just to prove me wrong. Quite bold of him I might say. As it turns out this girl has had mutual feelings for him for some time and was waiting for him to make a move. That girl eventually became his wife of now 17 years and we somehow became best friends that day on. It’s sickening that such a man could be taken from us in such a violent and disgusting way.

Prosecutor Entry Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We have all witnessed a trial, that has displayed an overwhelming amount of evidence against the defendant. From the murder weapon being found at the defendant’s apartment with Mark Smith’s DNA all over it; to the text messages with the address of Mr. Smith’s workplace, and the specific parking level of his vehicle; to the outside CCTV camera that places the defendant entering his vehicle, and leaving the scene at the exact time that the coroner believes Mr. Smith was murdered. It is your duty as citizens of this county to give Mr. Mark Smith and his family the justice he deserves for being taken out of this world in such a violent and despicable way.

1.I found the detective entry the easiest because I just had to use my imagination and didn’t have to think too hard. 2. The coroner was the hardest because I had to think of anatomy jargon to use to make it sound somewhat legitimate.3. It requires tone and situational awareness of what such situation would require. The audience is anyone looking into the case. A serious and professional tone is required. Medical,  and law jargon is needed in this case.

Reflection/Journal Entry 

The most fascinating part of this week’s reading was how I was able to make the connection between the monster in Frankenstein and the “monster” that we call serial killers. While reading the story, I couldn’t help but to make the connection. Often times, we call people who kill countless of other human being monster’s and view them as inhumane because they do inhumane acts. We do not typically care to look into these people’s lives and maybe get a sense of why they do the things they do. And more times than not, when we actually do this, we actually do find answers. They become who they are because often times, these “monsters” have childhood trauma some of us cannot even imagine. Now, it’s not to say that these people should be excused for the vile things that they do. However, it can be understood and as a logical human being you can have some understanding for them.

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Blogpost #1

Prior to this class, I must say that I am not someone who is very familiarized with Frankenstein. It is a story and character that I have heard countless time whether used as a brief cameo or even verbiage when referring to something ghastly or terrifying. However, in terms of referring to the specific story told through literature or film, it isn’t something I can comfortably say that I know very well. My earliest encounter I can say that I have with Frankenstein is an episode in the Disney Channel cartoon series Phineas and Ferb. If I recall it correctly, the episode was a Halloween special where the two main characters, Phineas and Ferb, created a monstrous creature bringing it to life. I also Phineas screaming the famous lines “It’s alive! It’s alive!” while his crazed eyes looked upon his creation. I believe contemporary media likes to use Frankenstein to show the impact of greed. From my little understanding of the story, Dr. Frankenstein took advantage of the Creature and in turn got what was coming to him. Often times in shows or movies, we see how scientists, or doctors have the ability to create something amazing. However, we end up seeing how their discovery is used greedy and dangerous ways that ends in tragedy for everyone involved. Frankenstein in the contemporary sense can also tell the story of how sometimes the monster that everyone else sees is often shaped by much more complex elements that we are unable to see clearly at face. An easy example I could use to support this point is a serial killer. People often see serial killers as monstrous individuals. I will not defend the actions of a person who murders people, however it could be understood and pointed out that often times these people’s childhoods are often very turbulent and unstable. More times than not, the people involved in a serial killers early developmental years along with things done to them have a significant effect on them becoming a disturbed individual later on in life.

Reading Reflection

My reflection will be discussing my views on Edmund Burke’s view on the French Revolution. I understand that being in the year 2020 while residing in the democracy of the United States of America will make my personal views on society significantly different from the monarchy in which Burke was a member of. However, I still found his points to be laughable at best. He makes his points regarding why the people should not have the rights to choose their own governments without any real substance. He also repeats his points several times, however stated in different ways, further supporting the point that his so called “argument” has no substance. It’s as if a student is given a debate topic and did absolutely no research on said topic and just did their best attempt to not receive a zero. Burke states that he does not believe in the existence of “right to man”, however he is unable to see that the manner in which he defends the monarchy, his position does not defend that right to man.