education/enlightenment

I will first start with video reviewing the 21^st century enlightenment.  First I will say that I’m not a fan of Matthew Taylor’s videos the drawing is a nice effect but I think the pictures and the speed of his voice draw you away from the real point of the video. However they are informative. This video is about the way we have been living since the enlightenment which originated about 1650 to 1700. Taylor believes that in this new enlightenment we need to again change the way we think and view things, which is absolutely correct. We live in a new generation, which calls for a new way of thinking. The cultural norms we find acceptable today people would lose their minds over in 1650 we must enlighten ourselves.

The other video by Mr. Taylor that we watched was about education. I really liked this video because it kind of hit home for me, since I graduated from high just one year ago. In the video he says we don’t need to dull education we need to raise it, what sense would it make to dull down education. Taylor made a great point that our current education system is still based on the style of the original education standards! Today’s generation is fast pace and in your face. How can we have students learn this way? He points out that it’s also not the education system that has dulled down, but the students are being dulled down by modern medicine. Many of my friends were put on this so called wonder drug knowing that nothing was wrong with them. In my opinion I think that the doctor is the second parent to children these days. Parents are too quick to say they can’t handle the child and turn to medication.

 I like both videos in what the message is I just do not like the way it is presented. To be honest I will problem watch a few more of Taylor’s videos.

#2 Who says?

“They say” is a book written by Douglas Rushkoff. What Rushkoff is trying to say is that in our current world we advertise to people a lot differently then we used to. One big point is that before we had all of the technology we are accustom to today we kind of just had to take peoples word for how good the product were. It’s not just marketing. We don’t have to believe anything “they say” we don’t have to listen to the news anymore, why would we! We can form our own opinions. This coming up presidential election we don’t have to watch channels that are pro republican or pro democrat we can Google anything we want to know so that we can fully understand both point of views. I think in mainstream media they will do anything for a sale we have made it nearly impossible for a company to have a hold on the market. Marketing people want to get that edge get their foot in the door but I truly believe we have closed that door. One thing that shocked me to find out is that grocery store saving cards will track the purchases you make and sell that information to marketing companies. I had absolutely no clue this is how people advertise. It’s the way of the future as we continue to advance we are able to just form our opinions without mainstream media trying to curve or thoughts.    

#1 living in the norm

This novel really took me by surprise. I didn’t know what to expect it to be about. What Michael Ryan is trying to say with this piece is that words and people can be totally criticized or maybe generalized into categories without people even realizing it because it’s a cultural norm. One big reference is when he talks about the word terrorism. What he says is that people automatically think of a Muslim person. The bush administration took the word terrorism and tacked it to the Muslim faith. I literally had no clue that I myself do this all the time! It never occurred to me in that order how much I used this cultural norm. In today’s modern world when we see a man who is Middle Eastern with a long beard we get on edge but why do we? We don’t know them they may be more “Americanized” than us. We have been taught to fear these people and hate these people who have been labeled terrorist.  Back in 2010 a mosque was due to be built in New York City about 3 blocks from ground zero.  The people of New York were furious! They protested that it was not right and they won! The mosque could not be built in New York City. That is a perfect example of how big these cultural norms can be put on a whole society making unable to inhabit an area. How can we do this? People can’t say, well I met an obese person so I know all Americans. How can we take some words and label a society with them? These cultural norms go unnoticed every day and they will continue to for the rest of our lives.