Skip to main content

Home/ TOK Friends/ Contents contributed and discussions participated by sissij

Contents contributed and discussions participated by sissij

Simple Middle Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics
sissij

Scientists Find First Observed Evidence That Our Universe May Be a Hologram | Big Think - 1 views

bigthink.com/...our-universe-may-be-a-hologram

scientists science universe

shared by sissij on 06 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • all the information in our 3-dimensional reality may actually be included in the 2-dimensional surface of its boundaries. It's like watching a 3D show on a 2D television.
  • the team found that the observational data they found was largely predictable by the math of holographic theory. 
  • After this phase comes to a close, the Universe goes into a geometric phase, which can be described by Einstein's equations.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • It's a new paradigm for a physical reality.
  • sissij on 06 Feb 17
     
    As we watched in the video "Spooky Science" in TOK, we saw how 2D and 3D world are very distinctive, but in this article, the author discussed another theory that our 3D reality may actually be included in the 2D surface of its boundaries. This theory is a rival to the theory of cosmic inflation. The holographic theory not only explains the abnormalities, it is also a more simple theory of the early universe. Now the scientists find that the math of holographic theory can very much predict the data, so it has the potential to be a new paradigm for a physical reality. --Sissi (2/6/2017)
sissij

The Purpose of Sleep? To Forget, Scientists Say - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...p-memory-brain-forgetting.html

new york times science social media

shared by sissij on 04 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • Some have argued that it’s a way to save energy. Others have suggested that slumber provides an opportunity to clear away the brain’s cellular waste. Still others have proposed that sleep simply forces animals to lie still, letting them hide from predators.
  • It turns out, for example, that neurons can prune their synapses — at least in a dish.
  • Dr. Diering and his colleagues then searched for the molecular trigger for this change. They found that hundreds of proteins increase or decrease inside of synapses during the night. But one protein in particular, called Homer1A, stood out.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • “Once you know a little bit of what happens at the ground-truth level, you can get a better idea of what to do for therapy,” Dr. Tononi said.
  • sissij on 04 Feb 17
     
    I find this article very interesting. Everyday, there are all sorts of articles alleges that scientist says this and that. Sometimes, they even contradicts each other. I feel like the science today on the newspaper is hardly reliable. Since science is a social project that's only accessible for a community of specialists. The general population usually plays a role of acceptors. Then many mass media uses the name of science to put up claims that mislead the people. It's really hard for us, the general population, to make sure what we read about on newspaper science section is really science, not another piece of fake news. --Sissi (2/4/2017)
sissij

The Phrase Putin Never Uses About Terrorism (and Trump Does) - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...in-donald-trump-terrorism.html

new york times language social media

shared by sissij on 02 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • once famously saying he would find Chechen terrorists sitting in the “outhouse” and “rub them out.”
  • Mr. Putin spoke of terrorists who “cynically exploit religious feelings for political aims.”
  • criticized President Obama for declining to use the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism.”
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • He has never described terrorists as “Islamic” and has repeatedly gone out of his way to denounce such language.
  • a group he often refers to as “the so-called Islamic State,” to emphasize a distinction with the Islamic religion.
  • He and President Trump, notably dismissive of political correctness, would seem to have found common language on fighting terrorism — except on one point of, well, language.
  • and added that “their ideology is built on lies and blatant distortions of Islam.”
  • He was careful to add, “Muslim leaders are bravely and fearlessly using their own influence to resist this extremist propaganda.”
  • Instead, Russian counterterrorism strategy focused on financing and militarily backing moderate Muslim leaders
  • “He cannot say ‘Islamic terrorism’ for a simple reason. He doesn’t want to alienate millions of Russians.”
  • In a phone call on Friday, President Trump and Mr. Putin discussed “real cooperation” in fighting terrorist groups in Syria. They could agree on an enemy. But the Kremlin statement described a “priority placed on uniting forces in the fight against the main threat — international terrorism.”
  • sissij on 02 Feb 17
     
    I find this article very interesting because it does some analysis to the language president use in politics. It sort of related to the language topic we discussed in TOK. President is a job that has to make sure he get the majority right, so what language he uses is very important. In this article, Putin's language when he addresses the terrorism of Islamic extremists is very interesting. Russia is a country with a lot of Muslims, so he has to be careful about not to labeling the entire religious groups as terrorists. Whenever he describe the group, he carefully distinguish the moderates from the extremists to keep the support from the majority of Russian. Trump should do some thinking on the language he is using since he is a president now. --Sissi (2/2/2017)
sissij

Bacon Shortage? Calm Down. It's Fake News. - The New York Times - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...bacon-shortage.html

new york times social media language

shared by sissij on 02 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • The alarming headlines came quickly Wednesday morning: “Now It’s Getting Serious: 2017 Could See a Bacon Shortage.”
  • The source of the anxiety was a recent report from the U.S.D.A., boosted by the Ohio Pork Council, which reported that the country’s frozen pork belly inventory was at its lowest point in half a century.
  • To create a panic “was not our intent,” Mr. Deaton added with a laugh. “We can’t control how the news is interpreted.”
  • sissij on 02 Feb 17
     
    With the development of Internet and social media, we find the news on the website, paper, TV more unreliable. Partly because we can easily find alternate statement that points out the flaws, but mostly, it's because the news today likes to use exaggeration to grab the attention of the general population. Media should realize the impact and panic it can cause in the society before they report news. Although freedom of speech is appreciated, that doesn't mean the media can put aside its responsibility to guide the general population in a good direction. I remember there was a fake news after the big earthquake in Japan saying that salt can prevent nuclear radiation, then people were all panic and bought salt. It was very funny that in some places, some people were even fighting for a pack of salt. The media should make sure that people won't misunderstand the message before they publish. --Sissi (2/1/2017)
sissij

The Right Way to Say 'I'm Sorry' - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...right-way-to-say-im-sorry.html

new york times psychology language

shared by sissij on 31 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • Most people say “I’m sorry” many times a day for a host of trivial affronts – accidentally bumping into someone or failing to hold open a door. These apologies are easy and usually readily accepted, often with a response like, “No problem.”
  • But when “I’m sorry” are the words needed to right truly hurtful words, acts or inaction, they can be the hardest ones to utter.
  • apology can be powerful medicine with surprising value for the giver as well as the recipient.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Expecting nothing in return, I was greatly relieved when my doorbell rang and the neighbor thanked me warmly for what I had said and done.
  • as an excuse for hurtful behavior.
  • She disputes popular thinking that failing to forgive is bad for one’s health and can lead to a life mired in bitterness and hate.
  • Offering an apology is an admission of guilt that admittedly leaves people vulnerable. There’s no guarantee as to how it will be received.
  • apologies followed by rationalizations are “never satisfying” and can even be harmful.
  • ‘I’m sorry’ are the two most healing words in the English language,” she said. “The courage to apologize wisely and well is not just a gift to the injured person, who can then feel soothed and released from obsessive recriminations, bitterness and corrosive anger.
  • sissij on 31 Jan 17
     
    We are very easy with saying "sorry" when it is completely unnecessary to perform our politeness because we know for sure that others will respond with a "No problem". However, when it comes to the real times that a "sorry" is very essential, we become very reluctant on saying that since the recipient is very likely to reject the apology. Giving an apology for our wrong behavior can release us from guilt and bitterness. Apology should not be an ask for forgiveness, it is a communication between two people, a reviewing on ourselves. Apologies shouldn't be begging for forgiveness, it should be a self-reflection. --Sissi (1/31/2017)
sissij

Flossing and the Art of Scientific Investigation - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...-scientific-investigation.html

new york times science bias research

shared by sissij on 31 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • the form of definitive randomized controlled trials, the so-called gold standard for scientific research.
  • Yet the notion has taken hold that such expertise is fatally subjective and that only randomized controlled trials provide real knowledge.
  • the evidence-based medicine movement, which placed such trials atop a hierarchy of scientific methods, with expert opinion situated at the bottom.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • each of these is valuable in its own way.
  • The cult of randomized controlled trials also neglects a rich body of potential hypotheses.
  • sissij on 31 Jan 17
     
    This article talks about the bias within Scientific method. As we learned in TOK, scientific method is very much based on experiments. Definitive randomized controlled trials are the gold standard for scientific research. But as argued in this article, are randomized controlled trials the only source of support that's worth believing? Advise and experience of an expert is also very important. Why can't machine completely replace the role of a doctor? That's because human are able to analysis and evaluate their experience and the patterns they recognize, but machines are only capable to organizing data, they couldn't design a unique prescription that fit with the particular patient. Expert opinion shouldn't be completely neglected and underestimate, since science always needs a leap of imagination that only human, not machines, can generate. --Sissi (1/30/2017)
sissij

The Normalization Trap - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...the-normalization-trap.html

new york times brain science psychology research

shared by sissij on 30 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • What’s normal?Perhaps the answer seems obvious: What’s normal is what’s typical — what is average.
  • when people think about what is normal, they combine their sense of what is typical with their sense of what is ideal.
  • Normal, in other words, turns out to be a blend of statistical and moral notions.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • If you are like most of our experimental participants, you will not give the same answer to the second question that you give to the first. Our participants said the “average” number was about four hours and the “normal” number was about three hours.
  • Again and again, our participants did not take the normal to be the same as the average. Instead, what people picked out as the “normal thing to do” or a “normal such-and-such” tended to be intermediate between what they thought was typical and what they thought was ideal.
  • These results point to something surprising about the way people’s minds work. You might imagine that people have two completely distinct modes of reasoning: On one hand, we can think about how things typically are; on the other, we can think about how things ought to be.
  • But our results suggest that people’s minds cannot be divided up so neatly in this way.
  • Likewise, people’s attitudes toward atypical behavior are frequently colored by this blended conception of normality.
  • However deeply ingrained this cognitive tendency may be, people are not condemned to think this way.
  • But this type of thinking, which takes some discipline, is no doubt more the exception than the rule. Most often, we do not stop to distinguish the typical from the acceptable, the infrequent from the deviant.
  • sissij on 30 Jan 17
     
    We don't have a universal definition of "normal". Everybody will involve their own experience and perspective when they are considering wether something is normal or not. For example, if we ask someone in the past whether women attending is normal, they would definitely say that it is not normal because the social convention at that time wouldn't allow women to get education. But when we ask people in the twenty-first century, it would be very common for them. Everybody has their own database from their experience. We always tend to think we represent the average of the world so what has been familiar for us must has been the same for the others. This is the exposure effect that can bias our definition of "normal". The reason why many people think gays are weds is probably because we usually do not stop to distinguish the typical from the acceptable, the infrequent from the deviant. --Sissi (1/29/2017)
sissij

Depression is as bad for your heart as high cholesterol | Fox News - 0 views

www.foxnews.com/...heart-as-high-cholesterol.html

fox news brain science science

shared by sissij on 30 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • When you think of heart attacks, you might assume the most common causes are smoking, high cholesterol, or obesity. Mental health issues probably don't spring to mind.
  • Depression—which for this study, was determined by a checklist of mood symptoms, including anxiety and fatigue
  • “depressed mood and exhaustion holds a solid middle position within the concert of major cardiovascular risk factors.”
  • sissij on 30 Jan 17
     
    I think it is really interesting that even mental health issues has a positive relationship with cardiovascular disease. Our mind can affect how our body works. As we learn in the sense and perception unit, we know that brain will give us a shot of certain chemical that makes us feel good when we make certain decision. I think how we feel can reflect how our body feels. We all know that we feel pain because it is a warning that the injured part of our body send to our brain. So I think probably the feeling of depressed can be a warning sent by some part of our body. The scientific method mentioned in this article is a population research which is a typical biology scientific method. --Sissi (1/29/2017)
sissij

The Voter Fraud Fantasy - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...the-voter-fraud-fantasy.html

new york times social media bias

shared by sissij on 29 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • Perhaps the most damaging was his insistence that millions of Americans voted illegally in the election he narrowly won.
  • What once seemed like another harebrained claim by a president with little regard for the truth must now be recognized as a real threat to American democracy.
  • That would allow state and national lawmakers to impose even tighter voting requirements, harming minorities, the young and the elderly, who tend to vote Democratic.
  • sissij on 29 Jan 17
     
    Trump's voter fraud fantasy has discussed frequently. In TOK class, I remember once we talked about an example of how the government policy may affect the result of the election. For example, the rule that people need to have an ID to vote may target African-American voters who doesn't have an ID. Although voter fraud is alleged by the election officials to be exceedingly rare, there are still a lot of factors that make the seemly fair election biased. --Sissi (1/29/2017)
sissij

Does a Protest's Size Matter? - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...es-a-protests-size-matter.html

new york times social media psychology

shared by sissij on 29 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • The Women’s March on Saturday, which took place in cities and towns all across the United States (and around the world), may well have been the largest protest in American history. There were an estimated 3.5 million participants.
  • After studying protests over the last two decades, I have to deliver some bad news: In the digital age, the size of a protest is no longer a reliable indicator of a movement’s strength.
  • A protest does not have power just because many people get together in one place. Rather, a protest has power insofar as it signals the underlying capacity of the forces it represents.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Protesters are saying, in effect, “If we can pull this off, imagine what else we can do.”
  • The march drew a quarter of a million people, but it represented much more effort, commitment and preparation than would a protest of similar size today.
  • This is one reason that recent large protests have had less effect on policy than many were led to expect.
  • The protesters failed to transform into an electoral force capable of defeating him in the 2004 election.
  • Two enormous protests, two disappointing results. Similar sequences of events have played out in other parts of the world.
  • A large protest today is less like the March on Washington in 1963 and more like Rosa Parks’s refusal to move to the back of the bus. What used to be an endpoint is now an initial spark.
  • But the Tea Party protesters then got to work on a ferociously focused agenda: identifying and supporting primary candidates to challenge Republicans who did not agree with their demands, keeping close tabs on legislation and pressuring politicians who deviated from a Tea Party platform.
  • But there is no magic power to marching in the streets that, on its own, leads to any other kind of result.
  • sissij on 29 Jan 17
     
    This article explains how protest work. I have always been thinking that protests are all about the number of people we can gather. The larger the population, the more powerful the protests are. However, I have never looked deep into the mechanism behind protests. I really like the analogy made in the article. The main purpose of a protest should be showing the potential strength the public have over the issues. If we don't do anything after the gathering, then the protest won't be power enough to influence the policy of the government because the government will know that we are actually not that firm on our position. The analogy I come up with is that our attendance can't reflect how much we learn in school. Attending the school doesn't ensure that we are taking away knowledge from school. Merely attending a protest doesn't mean we can put pressure on the government. --Sissi (1/29/2017)
sissij

New Prospects for Growing Human Replacement Organs in Animals - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...chimera-stemcells-organs.html

new york times science research

shared by sissij on 28 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • For the first time, biologists have succeeded in growing human stem cells in pig embryos, shifting from science fiction to the realm of the possible the idea of developing human organs in animals for later transplant.
  • Since the organ would be made of a patient’s own cells, there would be little risk of immune rejection.
  • They would be generated by implanting human stem cells into an early pig embryo, resulting in an animal composed of mixed pig and human cells.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The two reports together establish the feasibility of trying to grow replacement human organs in animals, though such a goal is still far off.
  • Creating chimeras, especially those with human cells, may prove controversial, given the possibility that test animals could be humanized in undesirable ways. One would be if human cells should be incorporated into a pig’s brain, endowing it with human qualities. Almost no one wants a talking pig.
  • The ban is still in place, and it’s unclear whether the Trump administration would continue to consider lifting the moratorium or whether new objections would be raised to using public funds for this line of research.
  • But no one knows exactly what sequence of chemicals is required for the generation of each different tissue or organ. This may be why glassware experiments with stem cells have not yet lived up to their full promise.
  • Concern about human cells’ incorporation into a lower animal’s brain is not without basis. Dr. Steven Goldman of the University of Rochester Medical Center found in 2013 that mice injected with a special type of human brain cell had enhanced learning abilities.
  • sissij on 28 Jan 17
     
    The ethics in biology is always a controversial issue in the research. In biology, we want to get as close to the truth as we possibly can, but that sometimes means that we have to research on things that are considered to be inhumane. This article talks about a new possibility that we can grow human stem cells in animals. That would lead to a potential problem of animals gaining intelligence. If animals start to have human properties, how would we treat them? Will they be a threat to our identity? And also, through the experiment described in the article, we can see that the scientific method in biology is dealing with probabilism and population. It is always gathering data. They are always ready for exceptions. --Sissi (1/28/2017)
sissij

The Right Way to Fall - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...the-right-way-to-fall.html

new york times psychology science

shared by sissij on 27 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • According to paratroopers, stunt professionals, physical therapists and martial arts instructors, there is indeed a “right way” to fall — and it can save you a lot of grief if you know how to do it.
  • The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that falls cause more than a third of injury-related emergency room visits, around 7.9 million a year.
  • Moreover, falling straight forward or backward raises the risk of damaging your spine and vital organs.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • You similarly don’t want to come crashing down on your knee so you break your kneecap or do that maneuver where you kind of pedal with your feet to catch yourself, which can lead to broken bones in your foot and ankle.
  • Paratroopers’ goal is to fall sideways in the direction the wind is carrying them — in no way resisting the momentum of the fall. When the balls of their feet barely reach the ground, they immediately distribute the impact in rapid sequence up through the calf to the thigh and buttocks.
  • Accept that you’re falling and go with it, round your body, and don’t stiffen and distribute the energy so you take the fall in the widest area possible,
  • Young children are arguably the best fallers because they have yet to develop fear or embarrassment, so they just tumble and roll without tensing up and trying to catch themselves.
  • sissij on 27 Jan 17
     
    There are techniques and science even in how you choose to fall. After reading this article, I sort of take the advice metaphorically. In the article, it said: "Accept that you're falling and go with it, round your body, and don't stiffen and distribute the energy so you take the fall in the widest area possible." I think it also applies to times when we meet some obstacles and fall in our life. We sometimes just have to accept the grieve and go with it. Although there are many novels depicting heroes going against their fall, as individuals in the reality, I think the better way to deal with our down point is to go with it and let it fade away. Always have your pain and grief at a high concentration will only lead to a broken heart. --Sissi (1/26/2017)
sissij

All the Ways Your Wi-Fi Router Can Spy on You - The Atlantic - 0 views

www.theatlantic.com/...497132

technology wi-fi science

shared by sissij on 26 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • But it can also be used to monitor humans—and in surprisingly detailed ways.
  • y analyzing the exact ways that a Wi-Fi signal is altered when a human moves through it, researchers can “see” what someone writes with their finger in the air, identify a particular person by the way that they walk, and even read a person’s lips with startling accuracy—in some cases even if a router isn’t in the same room as the person performing the actions.
  • Many researchers presented their Wi-Fi sensing technology as a way to preserve privacy while still capturing important data.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Ali said the system only works in controlled environments, and with rigorous training. “So, it is not a big privacy concern for now, no worries there,” wrote Ali, a Ph.D. student at Michigan State University, in an email.
  • Routers could soon keep kids and older adults safe, log daily activities, or make a smart home run more smoothly—but, if invaded by a malicious hacker, they could also be turned into incredibly sophisticated hubs for monitoring and surveillance.
  • sissij on 26 Jan 17
     
    Everything has pros and cons. Gain always comes with loss. The development of new technology always comes with concerns. It reminded me of the scientific findings in quantum that leads to the invention of the atomic bombs. I think this wifi sensor technology can make our life much more convenient. Science enables us to see the world differently. --Sissi (1/25/2017)
sissij

Marchers Pour Into Washington to Pour Out Their Hearts - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...ns-march-washington-trump.html

new york times social media language

shared by sissij on 25 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • No one seemed to mind. By the time the Women’s March on Washington officially began at 10 a.m., the protesters had arrived in a force so large that they surprised even themselves, spilling over the National Mall and the streets of the capital a day after Donald J. Trump was sworn in as president.
  • When he gave everybody a phone number to call Congress, the crowd repeated it back loudly, many smiling and nodding.
  • People were playful with their signs. There was “Cyborgs for Civility,” and “Women Geologists Rock.” Another said, “1933 Called. Don’t Answer.” A white sign in black marker read: “I know signs. I make the best signs. They’re terrific. Everyone agrees.”
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • But there was also seriousness. Mary Robinson, 60, from a rural part of Northern Arizona, said she felt energized by the march, but the work ahead seemed hard.
  • “They are in rural America where there’s no jobs, no technology, and many people live on government subsidies. It’s not that they are ignorant or stupid, they are just uninformed.”
  • sissij on 25 Jan 17
     
    This Saturday I went to Philadelphia and there were a lot of police cars blocking the roads and I was wondering why they were doing that. Now I know that there was a protest going on. The presidency of Trump is surely not celebrated by many people in this region. And after reading this article, I think there is a new attitude in protest. I really like the scene described in this article that people are actually being playful with their sign. I think this new attitude is a new spice in protest and add on new possibilities of protest. If we are always being serious about everything then the world would seem so stressful. How about take a step back, reduce the tension and look at the issue more playfully. I think the best protest is not shouting slogans angrily. I think both side should leave some space and respect to each other. --Sissi (1/24/2017)
sissij

Earning a Degree, and Her Daughters' Admiration - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...cases-fund-college-degree.html

new york times education psychology

shared by sissij on 23 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • Now Ms. Hopewell, 37, is ebullient, and full of smiles, hugs and laughs. After spending the last three and a half years studying forensic psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Midtown, it was official: She was a college graduate, the first in her family.
  • “But at the end of the day I know it’s beneficial for my family and I want bigger and better things, and I have to do it.”
  • I want to leave a legacy for my kids when I leave this earth, and living paycheck to paycheck is not going to get it.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • The straight-A student said she hoped to study neuroscience at Harvard one day.
  • She hopes they see from her experiences that education is the best way to avoid repeating her struggles.
  • “This experience showed me that I’m raising well-rounded young ladies who can adapt to any situation and make the best of it,” Ms. Hopewell said. “Their capabilities are endless.”
  • sissij on 23 Jan 17
     
    This article is very inspiring. This is an example of how education can get someone to a higher and better place. Education is something that's worth investing. I really like one thing that she said: "I want to leave a legacy for my kids when I leave this earth, and living paycheck to paycheck is not going to get it." Although for many of us here, attending to college is a must-to-do thing, for many other people, attending colleges a dream, an ultimate goal. Many of us go to college and just waste another four years there. But for Ms. Hopewell, the college education polished her and made her a complete new person. I just think it's interesting that why we get completely different outcomes from having college education?  I think it's because we never put much effort in getting a college education as Ms. Hopewell did, so the force effect doesn't give us the pride of commitment. --Sissi (1/23/2017)
sissij

A Scar on the Chinese Soul - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...-scar-on-the-chinese-soul.html

new york times language social media

shared by sissij on 19 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • It “is that the Chinese, without direct orders, were so cruel to each other.”
  • Cultural Revolution trauma differs from that related to other horrific events, like the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, studies have noted, in part because in China, people were persecuted not for “unalterable” characteristics such as ethnicity and race, but for having the wrong frame of mind.
  • neither joining the Red Guards nor believing in Maoism protected someone from suffering long-term trauma.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • The blurry distinction between perpetrators and victims makes collective healing by confronting the past a thorny project.
  • The idea that life experiences could cause inheritable genetic changes has been identified among children of Holocaust survivors, who have been shown to have an increased likelihood of stress-related illnesses.
  • The possibility of epigenetic inheritance has been raised by Chinese academics regarding the Cultural Revolution, but to research the topic would most certainly invite state punishment.
    • sissij
      sissij on 19 Jan 17
       
      I think this article is a little bit exaggerating. Nobody is perfect, even the Mao that saved China from the hand of the Japanese. The title "a scar on the Chinese soul" is just too heavy. It is only showing one perspective of the event and it can be misleading to the general population America. From a media course I took during the winter break, it shows that there are cultural elements influencing the media inevitably. For America, the key words are "freedom", "supremacy", "heroism", "democracy"... I can see those elements influencing the view of the author in this article. And he is not the only one. There is a book called "Street of Eternal Happiness". It is also talking about Chinese suffering. There is confirmation bias in whom the author is interviewing and what data he is using in support to his argument. --Sissi (1/19/2017)
sissij

The Stem-Cell Revolution Is Coming - Slowly - The New York Times - 3 views

www.nytimes.com/...hinya-yamanaka-stem-cells.html

new york times science social media

shared by sissij on 17 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • In 2001, President George W. Bush issued an executive order banning federal funding for new sources of stem cells developed from preimplantation human embryos. The action stalled research and discouraged scientists.
  • re-energized the field by devising a technique to “reprogram” any adult cell, such as a skin cell, and coax it back to its earliest “pluripotent” stage. From there it can become any type of cell, from a heart muscle cell to a neuron.
  • But it’s a double-edged sword. After multiple cell cycles, the chances of mutations increases.
  • sissij on 17 Jan 17
     
    In Biology, we learned that the study for stem cells has been halted because of the ethic issues on whether embryos should be count as human life. Now, there is this new technique that can induce skin cello its earliest "pluripotent" stage. With this technique,the study of stem cells and continue and flourish to benefit patients who need to have new cells that aren't mutated. It's surprised to see that how fast science is progressing. The science wielder at school might not be the science up to date.--Sissi (1/17/2017)
sissij

What Michelle Obama Wore and Why It Mattered - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...-obama-first-lady-fashion.html

new york times social media psychology

shared by sissij on 16 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • it had just been revealed that the campaign clothes budget for Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, was $150,000
  • And thus was an eight-year obsession born. Not to mention a new approach to the story of dress and power.
  • it set in motion a strategic rethink about the use of clothes that not only helped define her tenure as first lady, but also started a conversation that went far beyond the label or look that she wore and that is only now, maybe, reaching its end.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • If you know everyone is going to see what you wear and judge it, then what you wear becomes fraught with meaning.
  • She realized very early on that everything she did had ramifications
  • Just because something appears trivial does not mean it is any less powerful as a means of persuasion and outreach. In some ways its very triviality — the fact that everyone could talk about it, dissect it, imitate it — makes fashion the most potentially viral item in the subliminal political toolbox.
  • as she said to Vogue in her third cover story, the most of any first lady, one of the factors in choosing a garment always has to be, “Is it cute?”
  • she saw it as a way to frame her own independence and points of difference, add to her portfolio and amplify her husband’s agenda.
  • Mrs. Obama seemed to work with them all.
  • We all tend to gravitate toward certain designers in part because of sheer laziness: We know what suits us, what we like, and so we go there first. To have been so, well, evenhanded in her choices could have happened only with careful calculation.
  • Especially because Mrs. Obama not only wore their clothes, she also took their business seriously, framing fashion as a credible, covetable job choice during her education initiatives.
  • If you think that was an accident, there’s a bridge I can sell you — just as the fact she wore Jason Wu to her husband’s farewell address in Chicago, a designer she also wore at both inaugural balls, was no coincidence. It was closure.
  • But above all, her wardrobe was representative of the country her husband wanted to lead.
  • It may be because the point of what Mrs. Obama wore was never simply that it was good to mix up your wardrobe among a group of designers, but rather that clothes were most resonant when they were an expression of commitment to an idea, or an ideal, that had resonance.
  • sissij on 16 Jan 17
     
    This article takes a close look to Mrs. Obama's wardrobe, which I found to be very interesting. Even clothes can represent what a person is think about. There is a quote in this article that I really like: "Just because something appears trial does not mean it is any less powerful as a means of persuasion and outreach." Especial that it is the era of internet and you can find literally every detail online. People always like to assign meanings to things they see, though sometimes others don't mean it. Also, people are very easily influenced by social medias. For example, when I finish reading this article, the clothes Mrs. Obama chose suddenly become meaningful. Twenty-first century is an era of information. Even the smallest thing such as clothing can be a delivery of information
sissij

Lessons from Playing Golf with Trump - The New Yorker - 1 views

www.newyorker.com/...s-from-playing-golf-with-trump

new yorker social media bias

shared by sissij on 15 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • “I will buy one only if it has the potential to be the best. I’m not interested in having a nine.”
  • A friend asked me later whether Trump wasn’t “in on the joke” of his public persona, and I said that, as far as I could tell, the Trump we were used to seeing on television was the honest-to-god authentic Trump: a ten-year-old boy who, for unknown reasons, had been given a real airplane and a billion dollars. In other words, a fun guy to hang around with.
  • He was upset that I hadn’t written that he’d shot 71—a very good golf score, one stroke under par.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • He complained to me that golf publications never rank his courses high enough, because the people who do the rating hold a grudge against him, but he also said that he never allows raters to play his courses, because they would just get in the way of the members.
  • He wanted the number, and the fact that I hadn’t published the number proved that I was just like all the other biased reporters, who, because we’re all part of the anti-Trump media conspiracy, never give him as much credit as he deserves for being awesome.
  • In Trump’s own mind, I suspect, he really did shoot 71 that day, if not (by now) 69. Trump’s world is a parallel universe in which truth takes many forms, none of them necessarily based on reality.
  • sissij on 15 Jan 17
     
    I think this article has a very interesting interpretation on Trump's personalities and behaviors. Something we think is absurd might be totally normal in other people's perspective. For example, in this article, the author states that Trump values social status and potential profit more than the real person or the real thing. It shows how people see this world differently and this affects how they make their moves and decisions. I think the overwhelming critics on Trump is partly because we don't understand Trump and don't even try to understand and accept him. He is an anomaly. Also, I think everybody observe the universe through their unique senses and perception, so we cannot tell whose reality is truer than others. Condemning others' reality won't bring us a good negotiation. --Sissi (1/14/2017)
sissij

How to Be Excruciatingly Polite - The New Yorker - 0 views

www.newyorker.com/...ow-to-be-excruciatingly-polite

new yorker psychology bias

shared by sissij on 13 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • sissij on 13 Jan 17
     
    I found this comics very interesting. I think politeness shouldn't be something that we act out and perform in the public. It should rather be something that comes right out of our heart. But it is debatable that whether we should show our politeness intentionally or naturally. Or should be train ourselves to be polite. The politeness showed in this comics looks so fake and cold and I think it go against the goal of being polite: bring warmth to the community. However, I will agree that if everyone can intentionally watch their actions, the world would be much more peaceful. I think it all depends on how we define "polite" and the kinds of society we are trying to achieve. --Sissi (1/13/2017)
« First ‹ Previous 101 - 120 of 172 Next › Last »
Showing 20▼ items per page