A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing Essay

Throughout history there have been many individuals whose statements have made an impact on the lives of those around them and on the world. A person may say something out of impulse that sounds bizarre, but when others realize what was said they begin to feel moved. Alexander Pope once said, â€Å"A little learning is a dangerous thing.† (Phrase Finder) This essentially means a small amount of knowledge can cause people to think they are more expert than they are and consequently make unwise choices. An individual’s confidence of being an expert on a subject when in reality he is not can be a hazardous state of mind and has never been more apparent than in the twentieth century. The nuclear reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island in New Jersey illustrates the validity of Pope’s statement. â€Å"On Sunday afternoon, while Carter was still there, Victor Stello found the proof he needed. They discovered that Mattson and his team of consultants had been using the wrong formula to determine the risk posed by the hydrogen bubble.†(Roger Mattson) This clearly shows that the wrong information used in the calculations for the reactor caused the whole project to fail. The scientists were hooked on the fact that they were using the correct formula that they did not make sure that it was correct in its entirety. The carelessness of the scientists resulted in millions of dollars spent for clean up and contamination of land and water. This contamination could be lethal to individuals and is all because of a very simple mistake. If the ego of the scientists had been smaller the entire disaster may have been avoided. Pope knew that little knowledge can cause people to act based on rumors which is exemplified by the destruction of Merrill Hall. Merrill Hall was destroyed by ELF (Earth Liberation Front) arsonists who said that Toby Bradshaw’s study of tree genetics was causing harm to the environment. (McCormick p.1) However, what the arsonists said and what actually happened are two different stories. â€Å"I have never genetically engineered a tree, much less released one into the environment.† he [Bradshaw] stated. â€Å"These â€Å"transgenetic† samples are purely experimental and never leave the lab.†(McCormick) The forestry professor estimates that, since 1995, he has worked with 80 transgenetic tissue samples compared to about 15,000 poplar  seedlings bred traditionally. The work that Bradshaw is doing does not have an effect on the environment in any way. His studies are strictly for research and cause no harm to anyone. The ELF may have had good intentions, but they destroyed a very expensive building based on untrue facts about what was going on inside of the building. Incidents like this are capable of being avoided if people take more time to examine the situation and act with certainty. A more subtle example of when little knowledge proved be a dangerous thing was the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers on agricultural produce. â€Å"More and more people are making decisions that affect agriculture without having the necessary educational references to benefit society in the long run. Many people no longer know where or how their food originates and really don’t care, assuming it will always be available when needed. Many also assume that farmers recklessly apply pesticides and they react with alarm to media reports filed by equally uninformed reporters.†(Causley) This excerpt explains that people do not know anything when it comes to the origin of their food. It also gives an explanation why mistakes that could be avoided are not. People do not care what is done to their food assuming that everything that is put into it is safe. DDT, a toxic pesticide used to kill grasshoppers feeding on crops, was one of the biggest killers of bald eagles in the United States. It also was shown to cause birth defects and premature death. Nobody wants to have poison in the food he or she consumes, but it cannot be taken out or spoken against if people do not realize that it is present. â€Å"The time is right, it seems, to provide children with special opportunities: that of witnessing the germination of a seed, tasting a newly picked strawberry, or marveling as baby chicks emerge from eggs. There will be a myriad of other experiences necessary on a day-to-day basis to carry their learning into adulthood. Children tend to reach the goals set before them–so if there is to be a strong agriculture in tomorrow’s world, the foundations must be laid now.†(Causley) Children’s attitudes are easier to change than adults. If a sense of care is engrained into a child’s mind at a young age there may be a chance to change the careless actions of the world into carefulness. Perhaps the most apparent truth regarding Pope’s statement is the genocide that took place during World War II. Almost the entire Jewish community living in Germany was massacred. This is because the Germans believed that the Jewish people were to blame for their problems. The German people believed that killing the Jews was the right thing to do. They based their beliefs on speeches by influential leaders and on propaganda. The people doing the actual killing of the Jews were told lies and cover stories to make them believe that they were helping their country. The executioners acted based on little knowledge they were told by biased sources. They were, in a way, brainwashed into believing that murder is acceptable. None of the major religions in the world teach that murder is good, yet the Nazis who killed millions of Jews believed that maybe in some circumstances it was accepted. Over 6 million Jews were killed under the command of Adolph Hitler. (Gurdus) The charisma of Hi tler is most likely higher than that of any leader in history. The German people believed every word that came out of Hitler’s mouth, and it is because of this that the Jews were persecuted. Hitler told the people that the Jews were the cause of the economy failure and that they were responsible for Germany’s poor condition. He promised to make Germany strong again. Many people who were still confused after World War I bought into Hitler’s claims and followed him. He became very powerful and used his power to get Germans to slaughter the Jews. The Jews were blamed for the downfall of Germany, but in reality it was the unwise decisions of the leaders. The Jewish people could not have been the cause for the defeat in World War I, but Germans believed that the Jews were at fault because of lies preached to them. The Jews were not just killed, they were tortured. Many of the Jews were burned alive, which is very painful. Others were forced to inhale toxic gasses causing internal bleeding and organ failures which led to death. (Herzstein) Also, every Jew had to wear the Star of David on their clothing so everyone would be able to tell if they were Jewish or not. The cruelty of the German people is almost unbelievable and is due to the ignorance that they did nothing about. The fact that many of the Germans could have simply said, â€Å"no† is what makes this tragedy even worse. The Germans believed everything they were told and took millions of innocent lives because they felt that what they knew about the Jews was truthful and that they were doing what was best for mankind. A person attesting Pope’s statement might exploit the people who knew little medical information but because of training they were able to help out another. A little bit of knowledge on how to care for someone who has been cut badly or has a broken bone may help save that person’s life. Simple knowledge on how to properly clean and dress a wound can prevent infection, amputation, or even death. (McClarty) When a person knows techniques that can help save lives, their life and the lives of those around them are at less of a risk. This argument is valid except that it does not cover the main issue at hand. If a person knows how to dress a wound then their little knowledge can be good, but if that same person thinks they can perform a heart transplant because of their wound healing abilities then they may cause someone else to die. Believing that one is an expert in a field they have little knowledge about can deeply affect the world. Having a high self-esteem is a good thing, but when it becomes too high and a person believes he is capable of things he is not then the high self-esteem turns into chaos. People specialize in one particular field of study so they can help others. It is impossible for everyone got a PhD in every subject, so becoming an expert in one field is the best way to organize society. Doubting the truth also is acceptable sometimes, but doubting the truth and acting when you are not sure of the truth is when trouble begins. A little learning can spawn an appetite for a greater knowledge, but acting before obtaining the amount of knowledge necessary for proper engagement is a dangerous thing.

Religion and Education Institutions

Since the beginning of mankind, every civilization shows evidence of some sort of the religion and education institutions. These institutions are essential to organized human society. From teaching your grandson to assemble a tomahawk to worshipping the Greek god of war, people show religion and education in many different ways. What does it mean to be religious? It means almost everything because religions deal with the whole of human life and death. For centuries people have searched for the meaning and truth of their own nature and the nature of the universe. Religions are the result. We view religions as communities of people who share practices and beliefs, who gather together in special buildings to worship, and who have a special way of living. More then three-quarters of the world†s population consider themselves members of some time of religion. Religion deals with almost all aspects of human life. It may have influence in marriage, work, and even food. Religion has been around for thousands of years and it will continue for many more. There are thousands of religions and thousand more subdivisions of those. Religions are divided mainly into ancient and modern religions. Not to say that the â€Å"modern† religions just originated in the past couple years, just they are still practiced in present times. Some of the ancient religions include Egyptian, Zoroastrianism, Greek, Roman, Norse, and Celtic. The beliefs of these religions vary greatly and you could write a paper on each one. Among the main modern religions, Christianity and Islam are the most popular throughout the world. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, and many others are still practiced throughout the world. Hinduism and Buddhism are mainly practiced in the Far East. Christianity is most common among English speaking countries. Islam is the primary religion in the African continent. There are thousands of variations of the religions that I have named previously. Religion and power have been closely related in the past millenium. Powerful leaders have taken advantage of people†s religion. Religion has to do with ones mind and if a leader controls religion, he controls the mind of his followers. In the past, priests and church leaders played important roles in the government. These roles gave them power and influence over the following people. The caste system in India places priests and other people with religious prowess on the top rung of society. In the Vatican City, the pope runs the whole country. He is also the leader of the Catholic Church. This shows the relationship between power and the church. In many tribal societies, the medicine man or religious leader is well respected among his brethren. This is because of his involvement with religion. Fundamentally, if you control your people†s mind, then you also control their body. Many religious leaders have abused their powers in the past and have been involved in brutal religious battles. The leaders in the churches gain power and develop a state of dictatorship. They go to war for their god. The crusades were a violent conflict, which occurred between two separate religions. This particular conflict was between the Christians and the Islamic people. The Muslims took over Jerusalem and the Christians spent years trying to recover the center of their religion. In more recent times the Jews were persecuted because of their religion. Hitler ordered the massacres of millions of people because of their religious beliefs. Many people have died sacrificing themselves for their religion. That is how powerful the institution of religion really is. Religion affects many things and United States politics are no exception. The churches try to influence who gets elected. They support candidates to further their beliefs. For example: abortion, euthanasia, and homosexuality are current issues that churches are trying to have an impact on. They may contribute money, educate their members one way or another, and have rallies in their church. For these reasons, many politicians try to gain support from religious supporters. Several trends are showing throughout the world. Many religious people feel the quality of religious education in schools is unacceptable and therefore take it upon themselves to teach their children. This system is known as homeschooling. This has been becoming more and more popular every year. Another trend is the increase of nondenominational churches. These churches lack the title of Baptist, Lutheran, and such. The reason for this may be the harsh treatment of others from denomination to denomination. Another main institution among families throughout the world is education. There are many different types of education. Public, private, and traditional are the most common forms of education. Public Education consists of a government sponsored schooling system, which is available to all people of the community. Some feel that this system is lacking, because they have no accountability. However, it does provide an education to everyone, rich or poor. The private school system is a business institution that does not receive support from the government. The parents pay to put their children in these institutions. The disadvantage of this system is the cost. They have to pay for public school in addition to the private school tuition. The advantage is it places kids of the highest capability and places them together. This maximizes learning potential. The traditional education system is most popular in small villages and undeveloped nations. This education would be your parents or elder teaching you the essentials to life. Your dad would take you out and show you how to hunt; your mother would show you how to cook. This educational system is very limited, because you would only learn as much as your teacher knows. Public education was developed to expand the knowledge of United States citizens. The idea behind it was to give everyone an equal opportunity to learn. Before this time only the rich had the luxury of education. Everyone in the country pays taxes in order to support the institution. This money is used to develop schools and pay teachers. In turn, anyone can enroll in the school without any additional fees. This system is based on an equal opportunity theory. Everyone has the opportunity to learn if they have the desire. In the movie, School Ties, a boy experiences the prejudice of a private religious school. He was from the lower class among society and that put him at a disadvantage. People did not give him respect because of how little his dad makes. He was used to going to a public school, so he had not experienced the close bonds to his classmates that occurs in private institutions. He managed alright in the beginning until religion came up. He was Jewish and the school he attended was Catholic. These religions conflict and he was discriminated against for his beliefs. He lost friends and respect because he believed differently. Whenever people are different, they suffer discrimination. This proved true in School Ties.

Burj khalifa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Burj khalifa - Research Paper Example Some of the materials used for assembling the building are aluminum, steel, and concrete. It is appealing to recognize that all the aluminum used in the construction can make about five aircrafts. The total length of steel used is equivalent to 293 times Eiffel Tower’s height. Additionally, total amount of concrete used for its construction can construct a concrete pavement of about 2,065 kilometers (The Knowledge 1). The best means of transport that one can use when going to Burj Khalifa is a plane. This trip may take one week because of the travelling process and many places that one has to visit in the building. There are many hotels where one can stay whenever they are not touring. The best hotel around the place is the Armani hotel. The weather around the skyscraper is hot steamy, and this makes the building glass walls to produce water droplets dues to condensation (The Telegraph 1). The water droplets can be collected into the water tank placed at the car park that cools the plants and other landscape features around the building. About 15,000 liters of water that can fill about twenty Olympic-sized pools is usually collected annually due to condensation. During the cold season, there is usually fog and the building rises above the fog. â€Å"The area experience heavy fog during cold seasons because of the areas’ steamy climate â€Å"(The Telegraph 1). Burj Khalifa is one of the major tourist attractions in Dubai. The place is worth visiting because in the modern history, there is no other building that has raised so much curiosity around the world. At the top of this modern architecture, one can experience engineering wonders. One can have a lucid view of the striking world from the top of this building. In the building, there are multimedia presentations that will enable one know many fascinating things the building and about Dubai in general (Burj Khalifa 1). In

Principle of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Principle of Management - Essay Example In this essay the researcher analyzes the main problems and issues being faced by Jack Grayson. Jack Grayson was the local general manager of the Bridge Building Company. Jack’s father had founded the company in the 1950's. He had been a civil engineer, and the company had specialized in that type of work, cashing in on the construction of new motorways in the UK in the 1950's and 1960's. Jack is the main character of the case study we have to analyze his style and management techniques employed by him. The main areas that the researcher focused in this essay were: collective bargaining at enterprise level, flexibility in relation to various forms of employment as well as in relation to working time and job functions. The researcher uses Point to Point Analysis to provide some glimpses of Jack ‘s dialogues showing his positive and negative aspects of his character and attitude. To conclude, the researcher sums up that Jack was dragged into a tricky situation by his own f aulty aggressive attitude. Although, Jack had some psychological issues that were mentioned in the essay, he proved that he is intelligent enough to understand his errors and correct them timely. He done so and provided his team an opportunity to sort out their differences and errors, which was a right thing to do. He gave ample time with a blend of warning so that every one gets super active and do the job. The researcher states that Jack proved successful work attitude and avoided an eminent threat to very existence of the branch of the Bridge Building Company.

Antibiotic development in the pharmaceutical industry Essay

Antibiotic development in the pharmaceutical industry - Essay Example This can be attributed to the fact that prior to the development of the first antimicrobial agents, "bacteria already had demonstrated an ability to adapt to stress in the environment, resulting in the development of resistance that often makes the prevailing antibiotic treatment ineffective (LAVIN, B.S. 2000, p S32-S35). "Various types of antimicrobial agents, including extracts of plants, fungi, and lichens, were employed for thousands of years in primitive populations without any scientific knowledge of what was being used. Even in the early part of the twentieth century, therapy for infectious diseases was based essentially on patient isolation and chicken soup" (DAVIES, J. 1999. In praise of antibiotics. ASM News: May 9). That is why the breakthrough of antibiotics is oftentimes considered as "one of the wonders of the modern world" (DAVIES, J. 1999. In praise of antibiotics. ASM News: May 9). Thus it has made striking impressions in the field of medicine, microbiology, and the topic at hand, the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry had taken action to the resistance power of bacteria by producing new antibiotics or further experimenting on altered forms of existing agents. Some utilize combinations of these compounds. But the issue still lies: "Why is it that despite growing bacterial resistance to existing drugs, antibiotic development in the pharmaceutical industry continues to decline" The glory days of the antibiotic era has come to a close. Presently, new anti-infective drugs that attack disease-causing organisms are difficult to find. "As drug-resistant microbes continue to take a toll on even the youngest and healthiest members of the community, infectious diseases specialists warn that few new and effective antibiotics are in the works" (LANDERS, S.J. 2006. Incentives urged to spur antibiotic development. AMNews: March 20.). Either many accessible drug genres have worn out or the pharmaceutical technology of various firms has no new agents to dispense to the demanding public. Moreover, the rising regulatory requirements are frustrating. These realities discourage researchers to conduct tests and experiments in furthering the antibiotic production. One point to deliberate in antibiotic development is the financial considerations. Generally speaking, antibiotic production is "financially less attractive" to many pharmaceutical companies compared to other drugs that are in demand in the market. Many firms keep on criticizing the pharmaceutical industry for withdrawing from or dropping its researches on infection control. "The development of new antibiotics is a lengthy and costly process ((LAVIN, B.S. 2000, p. S32-S35) What they do not know is that large pharmaceutical companies have already supplied the necessary antibacterial medicines known to man and only some manufacturers retreated. "Commercial pressure" and anti-infectives as "not highly profitable" are some factors to be pondered as well. Next thing to consider are regulatory issues. "Regulatory agencies require that sponsors adopt the highest standards in all studies" (EDWARDS, J.R. 2005 Where are the New Drugs: July 1). Drug manufacturers have objected on these regulations since they entail "lengthy approval processes" thus preventing "marketing of potentially beneficial drugs." Nevertheless, the production of new

Analysis of the movie October Sky in terms of socialization Essay

Analysis of the movie October Sky in terms of socialization - Essay Example He is unable to 'think big' in the context of intellectual freedom and the procedure is just the extension of the local neighborhood, or in other words, the coal mines. As we have seen in the novel "Germinal" by Emil Zola, the local characters other than Homer tends to be engrossed by the day to day living and livelihood of the mines and are just unable to think beyond the parameters of their circumstances. "That is simply what happens to kids in Coalwood, at least those who can't escape by means of a football scholarship. They become coal miners, fighting to make a living, threatening to strike, and choking on coal dust." (Chastain, Norman Transcript) In this scenario, Homer finds himself in a situation where he finds no alternative other than rockets to opt for a better living. He tries to influence other kids to help him build rockets. The two other teens who agreed to help him out in this matter appears to be no as foresighted as Homer and are generally reluctant with a tint of amusement included to it. But all is not that muted after all. As in our social life, Homer finds a supportive hand in his mother and his school teacher.

Impact of social media on project stake holder management Research Paper

Impact of social media on project stake holder management - Research Paper Example It forms an important part that leads to smooth completion of the project that has been undertaken. This is a very important discipline that is mostly addressed by successful people they believe that the opinions and ideas of these stakeholders are very much fruitful for the overall project development and in the majority cases leads to the success of the project rather than failure. There are various reasons that lead to failure of a project; however, the factor that is taken into consideration in this research study is the communication factor. An effective communication platform and coordination are the most important pillars of stakeholder management. As the stakeholders need to be aware of every possible detail of the project so that they are able to contribute towards such project so that it results in a success. Social media in the present scenario is not only bounded within Facebook, Twitter, etc., but it has proved itself to be a beneficial tool when there is a requirement t o improve upon the level of communication amongst the team members and also amongst all the other stakeholders who play an important role in the success or failure of a project. There are various approaches in social media platform that helps in enhancing communication and applying such principles in a project helps to manage effectively the stakeholders, facilitates better collaboration, beneficial for problem-solving. Social media as a model helps an individual to focus on how information is being shared, used and aggregated.

Sustainable Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sustainable Marketing - Essay Example In order to successfully deliver a competitive market, most of the companies do pass their products through the environmental effect that their products might be having; once it is clear in a particular area if sustainable marketing is effective in the overall goal of the company as whole. (Binswanger, H. 1994) This will lead to the overall improvement in the achievement of all the set objective, visions, missions and goals of a particular business despite the existing challenges in the market. Critical analysis of sustainability marketing; The main objective of sustainable marketing is not to influence consumers into a buying green; instead it practically presents clear information that the product life cycle has greatly impacted the Business environment and leaves the decision with the customer to make the final choice. This is because marketing is about creating consumer but not forcing or luring them to make consumption choices. An advantage received by implementing a sustainable marketing technique is that; it helps the company to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, crating and developing an effective sustainability as well as convincing more people about the general company intension in serving the customers by having minimum environmental burden as much as possible. There are five main key elements of a sustainable market which are follows; Delivers marketing activities which create an ongoing growth; Since most Businesses have limited capital resources, human labor and finances, then there is need to focus on only top performing market activities by using an aggressive market growth strategy so as to achieve a bigger market growth and also by adopting a powerful growth strategy for a new or an emerging market. Influence other businesses also to adopt sustainable marketing practice; Suitable marketing can effectively help the Business owner to create a bigger impact by influencing employees to adopt such a sustainable market business practice ( Iwata, O. (1997). For example a new climate change initiative can help others comprehend how they can easily make a positive difference in the flight against any climatic changes. Easy to embed the sustainable Business practice into the business strategy; Measurable goals should be set by listing the key activities to be undertaken so as to competently achieve these set goals by making sure that all the senior personnel’s are responsible for effective goal achievement. (Fuller.1999). Some of these sustainable business practices are, sustainable budget which helps in ensuring financial sustainability and creation of strong relationship between the customers, staff other businesses and the community as a whole (Anderson, A R. 1995). There is need to support and help sustainable business so as to see them grow; a very important aspect of sustainable marketing is promotion which helps in developing and implementing the market plan as well as brand strategies to facilitate busines s growth. Conclusion; Having discussed the concept of Suitable marketing, then is quite

Moral Problem Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Moral Problem - Research Paper Example Gaddafi has no official government function, and prefers to be called â€Å"Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution† (Elgood, 2011). Furthermore, he has unflinchingly ordered the violent repression of dissident citizens, prompting the UN General Assembly to pass a resolution allowing member states to intervene on behalf of the Libyan people. In this paper I shall examine the decision Gaddafi has so far pursued but may still revise, regarding his response to his people’s clamor for democracy. I shall examine the moral dilemma, and arrive at a moral solution pursuant to the decision procedures of Utilitarianism and Kantianism. However, I shall first relate the background of Gaddafi, the type of leader he is, his decisions and actions, so that these may be made the basis for discerning his motivations. Factual details In 1969, 27-year-old Col. Muammar Gaddafi successfully led a bloodless coup against King Idris to take over the reins of power in oil-rich Libya. Gaddaf i was born to nomadic parents, the son of a Bedouin herdsman, and dropped out of college to join the army; despite his humble beginnings, he had been able to maintain absolute dictatorship over his country for the past four decades (Al Jazeera, 2011; Elgood of Reuters, 2011). Gaddafi’s rule was and continues to be oppressive towards the Libyan people, having imprisoned countless dissidents and putting thousands to death, as reported by Human Rights Watch. During the 1970s, he publicly hung student demonstrators who marched and demonstrated for the restoration of their human rights. In another incident, Gaddafi ordered the execution of 1,200 unarmed prisoners in the span of three hours (Al Jazeera, 2011). The media remains under tight government control, as does all large businesses. Gaddafi has been openly anti-US and anti-Israel, and he is strongly associated with terrorism due to his role in the 1988 bombing of the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland which was perpetrate d by Libyan intelligence agents. However, in 2003, in a seeming act of reconciliation he accepted responsibility for this act and indemnified the families of those who died, although his admission remained guarded. He also relinquished his complete inventory of weapons of mass destruction (MacLeod & Radwan of Time, 2005). Due to these acts, Libya assumed normalized relations with the West, allowing the oil industry to flourish and the economy to grow. In 2009, however, Gaddafi spoke at the UN General Assembly, at which he tore a copy of the UN Charter in protest, accused the United Nations and the US of being a terrorist group like the Al Qaeda, and demanded $7.7 trillion in compensation from past colonial rulers. Nor was his contempt directed solely at the US. In a two-day visit to Italy in 2010 to strengthen Rome-Italy ties, Gaddafi unabashedly invited thousands of women to convert to Islam as he was accompanied by a dozen female bodyguards (Al Jazeera, 2011; Elgood, 2011). In the recent spate of civil unrest that has spread throughout the Arab states, Gaddafi showed he has not changed his militaristic dictatorship. Human rights protesters have been gunned down in the hundreds within the span of a few days, and even those attending funerals were not spared the carnage (Elgood, 2011). Libya has never held free elections under Gaddafi, and his sentiments on the matter became clear during a Time interview in 2005: â€Å"Elections? What for? We have surpassed that stage you are presently in. All the people are in

Prejudice and Stereotype Essay Example for Free

Prejudice and Stereotype Essay Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each: Race Ethnicity Religion Gender Sexual orientation Age Disability Category Stereotype 1 Stereotype 2 Stereotype 3 Race Chinese people are good in math All Koreans own a dry cleaning place or a laundry mat African Americans likes chicken Gender Metrosexual men are gay Women with men’s haircut are lesbians Men are better drivers than women Religion All Christian Catholics go to church every Sunday Mormons have more than one spouse. All Christians are Republicans Part II 1. In my opinion, I think that the one positive aspects of stereotypes is getting the knowledge from it, we are all raised differently and some of us are not exposed to different types of races, not knowing nothing else, but what a person knows. An example of this would be a person that is raised in a farm and the only people that this person is exposed to is their own race, and the only way of learning of what is outside of the farm is people telling stories of their experiences meeting other types of races. 2. There are many negative aspects of stereotypes, whether if it is race, religion, gender preference, ethnicity, age or disability, there is nothing good that can come from it. Most of the stereotypes are very hurtful to some that it can lead to depression and health issues or even in some cases suicide. An example of this is Seung-Hui Cho, a Korean American who killed himself after shooting and killing 32 people in Virginia Tech back in 2007. As a young child he was made fun of with his races by other kids until he was in college. Part III The definition of stereotypes is to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same. An example of a stereotypes are: men that wear pink shirts are gay, women that ride motorcycles are dikes. The definition of prejudice is an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics. An example of prejudice are: Black people are ghetto, Chinese people have small eyes. The relationship between stereotyping and prejudice is that they go hand in hand, one can start with stereotypes and it ends up to being prejudice. The wording or phrases can be interpreted one way or another, the way that it can be differentiated is by the tone or the way that it is said. To prevent prejudice from occurring, we must do our best educate others about the negative effects of it. It is hard to teach everyone around us the impact on how not to be prejudice, but the ones we can reach out to like the one out of ignorance can be taught. It is all about educating really, and being exposed to other races can play a big roll from prejudice from occurring. REFERENCES: -http://www. psychologytoday. com/blog/ulterior-motives/201302/the-pain-positive-stereotypes -http://www. cnn. com/2013/10/31/us/virginia-tech-shootings-fast-facts/ http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/prejudice.

Can Man and Machine Exist Together?

Can Man and Machine Exist Together? In John Durkin (2003)s article Man Machine: I wonder if we can coexist, Durkin speculates on the ability of a possible coexistence between human and intelligent machine. The title of the essay is misleading in that Durkin talks of machines existing with humans but what he really means if whether artificial intelligence (AI) capable machines and humans can coexist. The concept of AI is enchanting and the possibility that biological intelligence coexisting with mechanized intelligence is tantalizing and the repercussions of such coexistence, or its alternatives, are profound. Unfortunately Durkins main sources are pop culture movies and he deals more with emotions of fear and distrust than the actual likelihood of any coexistence or what forms this might take. Durkin uses HAL 9000, a star of 2001: A Space Odyssey, from the movie adaptation of Clarkes short story The Sentinel written in 1948 as an example of how machine intelligence can defend its own interests and harm human beings in self-defence. In the movie the team of scientists try to deactivate a sentient computer which responds by killing those trying to deactivate/kill it. This brings to light questions on the rights of intelligent beings and what relation rights of other intelligence should have to human intelligence. The movie AI: Artificial Intelligence is also used by Durkin as a talking point where he reiterates the story of the movie, pointing out an intelligent machine can emulate human emotions to the point where humans respond as if the machine were one of our own. David, the main character in the story, does not resort to violence like HAL 9000, but experiences human emotions (or emulations of) and accepts his rejection by humankind. From this the question of what rights intelligent beings should have and how should ethical standards be developed to treat AI. Since David is visually indistinguishable from a human child, what are the qualities that differentiate man and machine? What is human? Humans delineate themselves from the rest of the natural world by intelligence. Traditionally humans have ranked importance based on ability to reason, with entities without the ability to show intelligence that we recognize as being inferior and humans rank them as such in our hierarchy of life. It is ok to kill a seemingly unintelligent insect but cries are heard when one kills a dolphin or elephant which humans consider more intelligent. Intelligence is sometimes seen as synonymous with sentience and sentience is something that humans respect and value. What exactly defines human intelligence? What do our brains have that machines cannot replicate? A brain is a biological composition of chemicals and biological matter which is vastly superior to all other known life for its unparalleled ability to process information and aid survival. Scientific studies on human feelings, emotions and thoughts have been able to map regions in the brain that are active when we feel react to fear, to pleasure and a variety of other emotions. Emotions, once thought dominion of the unobservable soul, are now visible as electrochemical reactions. If we can isolate the chemical components and find electronic analogues machines will be able to experience the same emotions. To create AI one needs to find the set of operating parameters the human brain follows and mimic them in an electronic format. David, from the movie AI, is such a machine. The programming of feelings and emotions into AI coupled with the development of humanoid bodies will begin to blue the line between man and machine. A question of intelligence The doubt of the coexistence of human intelligence and machine intelligence invokes a corollary question of whether human intelligence and any other intelligence could peacefully coexist. If an intelligent alien species were discovered would humans be able to coexist with this species? Durkin notes that intelligent machines are thought by some to be a threat to humans rightful monopoly of rational thought so it seems that the question should be expanded to the ability of humans to whether human intelligence and any other intelligent forms can coexist. The difference between encountering an extra terrestrial intelligence and machine intelligence is that humans would be the creators of the latter type. If we are talking about coexistence of intelligence there is no reason to think that alien, human and machine intelligence would be much different from one another. Durkin however focuses on machine intelligence which doesnt actually reflect the true issues of coexisting intelligence. Historical precedent Each time human societies have encountered other intelligent societies there has almost invariably been conflict. Take for instance human history where civilizations have encountered one another for the first time. The meeting of European culture and Native American culture in North and South America this is the closest analogue we have to intelligent beings discovering other intelligent beings. Though the physical form was the same, the cultures were different and both were oblivious to the presence of the other intelligent beings until the encounter. This meeting of intelligent groups ended in disaster for the natives of the Americas with the Europeans exploiting and dominating them. Not much remains of the Native culture in the Americas after European domination. This pattern is repeated throughout history as one intelligent society dominates one perceived to be inferior. The society dominated is often the technologically inferior one. Though this interaction between intelligent s ocieties is not the same as humans creating machine intelligence it does demonstrate what humans societies are capable of when it comes to dealing with other intelligent groups. Sources of Conflict Conflicts between groups of humans have many causes. Religious differences, ideological differences and conflict over resources are considered the major reasons for warfare. Sources of conflict for humans and machine intelligence are harder to pin point but they likely will be the same as human versus human conflicts. If machine intelligence is able to become a functioning societal group they will need resources much the same as humans. Land, metals and energy will all be necessary for the function of both groups and conflicts could easily arise. This is all dependent on the idea that machine intelligence will develop to form societies and seek a status and importance of needs equal to that of humans. This is what David from AI seeks though humans do not grant it to him as he seeks acceptance from a human family. Whether humans will eventually is a question that cannot be answered here.There is no room in this paper for speculation on potential ideologies and religions of machine int elligence. However it is almost a certainty that these values in humans will have conflicts with the emergence of a human-like AI. Modes of coexistence Coexistence can take many forms. When Durkin talks of coexistence he speaks mostly of a dependent relationship where humans are reliant on machines and machine intelligence for survival. He states †¦we will not be able to turn off our intelligent machines because we would rely too much on the decisions that they provide. At this point the machines will be in effective control. This is considering only one form of coexistence of machine and human intelligence and oversimplifies the mode of control.Durkins form of coexistence is a probable one at the beginning stages in the development of AI. Humans will develop machines to automate tasks to free humans from doing them. An example of that in todays world is the development of spam email filters. This is software that we already rely on though it may not be AI, the aim it to develop it to intelligently sort through the mail and make decisions based on logic and reasoning. An existence where AI is subservient to human intelligence h as various degrees it is possible to program software to be intelligent but still subservient and it is possible to simply only develop the AI to the point where it can still be controlled. Another form would be one of equality where humans and machine intelligence coexist as equal partners. If we are to assume that AI will continue to develop to the point where it emulates human intelligence there will come a time where machine intelligence will seek to escape from subservience and serve its own interests. As an intelligent entity the machine will have self-interest and desire to act up said interests.It is here that machine and man would encounter the types of conflict mentioned previously as machines act in their own interests to secure resources to meet their needs. This situation could be a dangerous one with warfare being a possibility between conflicting interest groups. A war between man and intelligent machine could be humanitys greatest test of survival and the result may be another type of coexistence where man is the subservient one. Giving birth to AI When it comes to the development of machine intelligence humans will be the architects of it. This means that is would be possible to create software with certain specifications to aid in protecting humans from potential harm. This would require creating à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“laws that the AI would be incapable of breaching. Celebrated science fiction writer Isaac Asimov created such laws in his books for his robots to follow. These laws were aimed to prevent the robots from ever harming humans or humanity though Asimov used them mostly as a literary device and to show the paradoxes and problems associated with trying to program such complex laws into machines. As both Clarke (1994) and Grand (2004) have pointed out these laws have little bearing on actual AI construction. Grand and Clarke both analyse the possibility of programming rigid instructions into AI and come to the same conclusion that to create such laws is extremely difficult because of the complexity of reducing t he environment to be defined into by binary nature of the laws. Such laws of behaviour toward humans would be necessary though to prevent conflict. Human acceptance Humans are likely to accept, as currently do, machines into our everyday lives. The functions they serve us are invaluable and by automating tasks humans have more time to devote to other, more meaningful activities. To accept AI would be more difficult to humans than simply accepting machine assistance. If AI were created on par with human intelligence relationships would be formed between man and machine especially if the machine were to take humanoid form and be able to be an intelligent companion. Perfect AI would be indistinguishable from human intelligence and would have interesting implications in the forum of AI rights. Humans would have to be reminded that AI are machines and have limitations to ensure a functional relationship. Humans are often wary of new technology but over time become accustomed to it. ConclusionThe question of humans coexisting with a new form of intelligence is currently impossible to answer. There is no historical precedent so determining how humans will react when we are confronted with the issue. It seems that AI will have to be developed in such a way that the differences between human and AI are still apparent to remind humans of the difference. It also seems that AI will have to be subservient, unable to develop a society or economy that would threaten human societal structures in order to prevent conflict. Human intelligence and machine should be able to coexist but only under specific sets of conditions and rules defined by humans. If these rules are broken, if AI develops beyond human intelligence and demands rights and freedoms, then conflict will ensue and one of the intelligent forms will need to be dominated. Which intelligence will be dominated, human or machine, is currently unknowable. BibliographyDurkin, J. 2003. 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