Thinking Outside the Box....

Create a post for your blog entitled "Thinking Outside the Box" in which you compare how Plato & Sartre describe the limitations of our thinking and imply solutions to the problem.

Plato saw people being restrained by other people. He saw the limitations of people, and the existence of a higher authority among the people through his discussion of government. Plato understood that people place limits on others and their quest for truth and knowledge. He saw that actions taken by the leadership affected those they ruled. Those kept in the cave were affected my the decisions of their captors to let only some be exposed to the truth and light that existed outside the cave. We too are kept from things, whether in childhood, or later in life, not everyone is exposed to the full degree of truth. Some may be allowed to see beyond the walls, but then comes the question, do we believe them? Are they our leaders?  Or do we think they're crazy for one reason or another?

Sartre wrote about the limitations that people inflicted on thermselves. Everyone in Sartre's story of "No Exit" was in the same condition as the people they were surrounded by. None could use a mirror, none could sleep, eat, brush their teeth, or even blink. The three people knew the truth of their situations, and of the actions that had landed them in their locations, but still refused to believe the truth that was proven to them. They could not leave the room. They could not ring the bell. They were stuck in their state. Living in Hell with other people and miserable because of their own selfishness, and mistakes. The Hell was not created for them , there was no one sent to make the residents more miserable than they already were. Through this, Sartre seems to be suggesting that Hell is a creation of those who can't possibly learn to deal with their surroundings, and for those who refuse to be content with what they are given in life, or death. The prisoners in Sartre's story were only put in a room. They may have been put there with other people, but their own worst nightmares became a reality only after they decided they were in Hell. In this, it seems to show that happiness is a choice. Little do we think that so too is Hell.

Both show captivity of people, and both have truthes for their players to realize. They both offer a commentary on life, while offering completely different ideas as to why those held prisoner remain there.

AP Lit Term

Dialect is defined as: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar and diction employed by people distinguished from others. 

As a person who likes old movies, I suddenly remember a movie that's all about dialect, and how it affects a person's life. I even speak differently sometimes, and say some different things because of the area of the county I'm from. Don't even get my started on the way my southern realitaves talk. (Believe it or not... Missouri isn't strictly southeren... (southeren is southern speak for southern... confused yet?) :)





Here is an example in our own country. Their way of life, and way of speaking is very different from our own, but they are still Americans. They just hunt alligators, and live in Louisiana.

The Big Question... Revised.

Do cultural narratives about love and relationships create expectations and behaviors that lead to  an idealized, unfulfilled desire for immediate gratification?

The Big Question..

For mine, it takes a little explanation. I'm a person who is extremely idealistic. I see myself as the herione of a Jane Austen novel. I love all the characters who have overcome their trials to find their true loves, and reach their happily ever after. So, as a hopeless romantic, and a believer in all things mushy and fairytale-esque, I ask: Have fairytales and happy endings made people too idealistic in regard to their reality? Do people want the knight in shining armor, the white horse, the romantice rondevous on the balcony? Do people confuse the fairytale with their reality?

Hamlet Essay. Take 2

In Hamlet, characters think, and speak before they act. They talk to themselves, and to their audience about what has taken place, what they are thinking, and what they are planning. Hamlet's ability to plan, and to hear others plan gives the plot new directions and twists that would not take place without performative utterance. In that way, "self-overhearing" allows all people to hear our own plans before taking action. Just as in Hamlet, it gives us the opportunity to evaluate our positions, and ideas, and motivations.

In Hamlet, our main character is stuck between action, and inaction. He wants to take revenge but can't seem to decide how to go about doing it. He talks about it. He tells his audience his plans, and we learn more about his mental state and about the ideas that Hamlet has as he plots revenge. We over hear Hamlet making up his mind, changing it, and becoming more determined with his actions. We in our own lives do the same thing. We think. We act, then when it may not work out, we act again after making an assessment as to why the action didn't work out. That is what self overhearing does. It allows for corrections, and realizations.

Hamlet's ability to hear others plan, or rather for the audience to hear other characters plan allowed performative utterance to become a character of it's own. The words spoken by the characters were more important that what the characters did, what they said in exchange with one another determined whether or not they would act on their self overheard resolutions. The conversations with other characters in the play, allowed the plot to turn in different directions and change in ways that it would not have, had it not been for the words exchanged.

Through self-over hearing, one can discover a better, and truer sense of self. A sense that is independent of others influence. Through the performative utterance of Hamlet, the main character's self discovery became more imperative as he made decisions, and interacted with other characters in the play. This allowed the plot to twist, and the story to change in ways it otherwise would not have if others had not attempted to influence the characters through their words and authority.    

Hamlet v. Epic Heroes

Hamlet’s use of performative utterance allows an in depth look at thought processes, feelings, and the decision making process of the main character unlike epics, which offer views of only amiable triats in the character. Hamlet allows us to see the pain that he feels while attempting to complete his duty. His performative utterance shows a struggle of will and duty unseen in heroes before.

Hamlet is not the most brave of characters. He considers ways out of his duties, not only through escape, but through death.  We see a look at these thoughts in “To die, to sleep--To sleep--perchance to dream…” Hamlet considers the prospect of death to escape his hardships. Suicide was looked at as a sin, but when his afflictions seemed to be more than he could bear at once, he did not hesitate as other characters such as Beowulf may have. Honor did not mean to Hamlet what it meant to a normal hero. Due to the view we have of Hamlet’s inner thoughts, we have a better understanding of what Hamlet did see as important.  

                In the eyes of Hamlet, the world was not cut and dry. Nothing for him was black and white. Good would not always triumph over evil, simply because it should. He evaluated the world, attempted to gain a better understanding of the  complexities that existed among people and in life’s situations.        “Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life , But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all…” Through Hamlet’s thoughts, we see how a conflicted person feels. Hamlet we see is a man trying to makes sense of a world that he sees as unjust in the only way that he knows how, talking about it with himself.

                Hamlet understands that people have limitations. He sees man as fragile, and thinks of more than his legacy. People, he knows cannot do everything. Hamlet sees, and talks about the vulnerable state that man exists in.” For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th' unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin?” Hamlet sees that people are not subject to their will alone. He sees the outside factors that affect people. Hamlet knows that man is not in control of the outside factors that may affect  man’s ability to cope with the life that he is surrounded by. 

What's next?

In this video, it talks about a meme. Something we talked about in class. This has become a game that involves Google. I really wonder how THIS game affects the Miss Cleo feature on your computer. Technology really does affect our daily lives. More and more, I'm realizing how it affects my entertainment. I can spent signifigant ammounts of my time participating in meme transfer. Making things go viral, and using Google for silly reasons. These are valuable tools when used correctly. They are also sources of fun, or amusement rather. Even these videos, the blogs, the diaries kept on computers, are memes. What's next? What will everyone else have next?

A meme? and google? in the same video?!

Roy Christopher- an Outline

Before the conference:

The medium is the message. - Marshal McLuhan
Hamlet and Montainge were the first to give a window into thought that has now been copied by many who publish works today.

The Conference:

Ted Newcomb: Questions for Roy-

Q: How did you get involved in the internet?
A: mid 90's web developments and advertisements with BMX racing. The wed seemed like the next logical step.
Q: What got you more involved?
A: got more and more into computers and sucked in through jourmalism.
Q: Do you find balancing your time a struggle?
A: It's a mix. It's a wierd and complex mix of balancing time.
Q:Why did you self publish?
A: There wasn't a market for the type of book that he wanted to publish. The book was meant to be short, and read in short intervals.
Q: Were you surprised by the quick response? (to the book)
A: More surprised by the slow response. People now understand the cross-pollenation of ideas.
Q:What's your take on the re-mix culture?
A: Hip hop plays a major role. More and more people are figuring the culture out now.
Q:What are you working on now?
A: Ph.D and a book.

Important ideas:
The web represents an advent horizon.
Regression of ideas, people teaching what they consider to be the basics and fundementals more than the new technology is an expression of a new horizon.

Is it possible that the medium is no longer the message? - what can we currently use that is more important than the medium?

To participate in the digital age you need to be prepared. Program or be programmed.

Mobile is changing the dynamic of the age. The computer is supplanting the television. There is an irreplacable at home aspect to to being at home that mobile will never replace. We're not watching T.V. on a phone instead of a flat-screen!
Technology can create challenges in communication. Digital Natives squeeze out analogs.

Trust the youth. all generations have problems trusting the next.

"The future is already here- it's just unevenly distributed."