Does Race Exist Analysis

In “Does Race Exist?” by Michael J. Bamshad and Steve E. Olson, they speak about what make race a thing and what makes a person belong to a specific group. When most people think of race, they look at the color of a person’s skin and where they come from. However, simply saying someone belongs to a certain race because of where they come from or the color of their skin is somewhat incorrect. In this article, the authors argue that certain elements in you DNA, called Alu, contain pieces of information that can be compared to other individuals to see if there is any relatedness. What they found is that certain Alus make characteristics specific to one group, but does not separate groups simply by skin color. For example, they found that people from India shared Alus with people from Europe and Asia because of the constant contact that they had with each other either through trade or invasion. In conclusion, there is no real race. People may share similarities, but a race should not be formed simply based on skin color or recent origin.

While this article was very interesting to read, it does have a few things that would make it a little difficult for the reader to understand. First, most of the article has to do with science and facts, leaving no room for any opinions or overviews, so the reader is left confused reading on. From the way that the article is written, you can tell that it is written for an audience who has studied this or is a little bit more educated. If they were to write this for a wide variety of people, they should speak with less scientific words. If they do not want to use simpler words, they should define what they are talking about or break the material up into more understandable topics. If the writers want a larger audience, they should also add pictures and maps to the article to give a better context about what they are talking about. With this revisions, the article should appeal to a much larger audience who will actually find the topic interesting.

Comparison of Cosmos and iGod

Nicholas Carr’s iGod and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos have many similarities in the way that they present their topic and what their topic is. First, they both talk about science and how it can be used to either help of hurt human kind. In Cosmos, Tyson speaks about light and how it has been used throughout human history and how it was first discovered and used by the people of the time. In Carr’s iGod, he speaks more about what has happened with artificial intelligence closer to our time and how it is evolving. In his article, he discusses how a major search engine like Google first started and their goals to make knowledge and intelligence easier than ever to obtain by putting machines inside the human brain. This would allow for easy access to information and facts to every human being. Both articles also present the downfall of knowing too much information. In Cosmos, Tyson states how scholars were buried alive and books were burned because the new emperor of China wanted to prevent people from thinking. In iGod, Carr speaks about how people were terrified out the idea of having machines implanted in their brain and computers being smarter than humans. People tend to be afraid of what is unknown, which is why increasing knowledge in the world is important.

Although both articles focus on similar topics, they are not completely alike. In cosmos, Tyson is more engaged with the audience and is almost speaking down to them as if they are less than him. However, this is because the average person does not exactly know how light really works and how it was first discovered. In iGod, Carr speaks to the audience as if they already know the information which can almost be seen as a disadvantage. The audience first needs to understand the context of the words to understand the article. Carr also uses a lot more quotes from tech geniuses and notable people which assures his credibility. Tyson mainly speaks by himself and occasionally brings in some historical characters. However, his credibility is a little bit more questionable in a historical sense as he is not an expert in history. Altogether, the articles are quite similar and both serve a point to inform the reader about the technological advances in the world.

Black Holes Analysis

“Black Hole” by Michael Finkel is a very strange and interesting article that talks about something that people don’t really know or care about. He uses multiple tricks and tools to entertain the reader and make the information applicable to the everyday person. He first starts with a statement about Albert Einstein and how he was wrong about not believing in black holes which definitely gets the reader’s attention because Finkel is basically proving a world renowned genius wrong. He also does a very good job with keeping his paragraphs short and sweet with the perfect amount of information that is interesting and stimulating to the mind. Most people don’t really understand or know about black hole and wouldn’t really bother to research how they work or what they are. In this article, he makes it very cynical and entertaining. He writes about how much energy is released from a star, such as the sun, as it turns into a black hole. To put it into perspective, they talk about billions of atomic bombs going off as being a few minutes of the energy of the sun. As a reader, that fact that he almost jokes about planets dying keeps me reading and wanting to learn more about how black holes’ work.

Finkel essay also follows one of Huxley’s three directions which goes toward the objective, historical factual, the concreate. In this article, it is very factual and definite. He includes information about when books were first published about black holes and stars as well as what technology was used back then to make those discoveries that would lead to the publishing of the books. He also uses direct measurements about how far away certain stars and black holes are away from our planet and how they will eventually affect us in the long run. I find this to be interesting because it is amazing how somethings that are so far away can have a profound impact on how we live our lives and how our solar system functions. This is why Finkels article does so well with attracting the reader’s attention and keeping it for the majority of or the entire length of the article.

Intro for Essay #2

 If you are anything like me, you stress over the smallest things. When one thing doesn’t go your way, you feel like your whole life is over and you will never be able to reach your goals. Sometimes it gets so bad that you can't concentrate on a simple, you feel exhausted, or you can't eat anything. We clearly know that nothing horrible is truly going to happen to us, so why does our body prepare us for the worst? It shuts off blood flow to the intestine which makes you feel like you’ve eaten everything in the cafeteria, and it puts all of its energy in preparing your body to run away from a speeding train! Seems logical, right? However, our body know better than we do when it comes to stressful situations, but sometimes, too much of this can be more hurtful than helpful. If we can find safe and effective ways of controlling our body's response to stressful situations, then we can determine when we really need to worry and when we just need to take a deep breath and start over again.

Chunklet with Prickles and Goo

                 While stress may seem like an impossible obstacle to overcome, seeing that we face it in about everything we do, there are ways to sooth the savage beast. One way is to exercise. Yes, it’s as simple as that! Now you may say “oh, I’m too busy to go to the gym” or “I hate working out”, but you don’t really need to do much. Doctors and researchers recommend that getting at least thirty minutes of physical activity a day can greatly decrease you risk of developing depression as well as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Not only does it decrease you stress levels, but as you work out, your body releases endorphins that make you feel happier and more awake. If a more potent solution is required, a doctor can prescribe an antidepressant that can do an array of things such as prevent the reuptake of serotonin, leading to a longer feeling of happiness. However, these drugs do not come without side effects and can sometimes cause the user to become even more depressed. In my experience, I never needed to take medication for my anxiety. I wanted to find a safer and healthier alternative to alleviating my stress that wouldn’t interfere with school. My therapist recommended that I worked out more. Nothing too crazy, just going for a run or a walk around campus or swimming some laps. At first, I didn’t feel any different. I still felt like I was on pins and needles everywhere I went. However, as I began to become a little more active, in the gym and on campus, I started to feel like a new person. The little things that use to drive me crazy like test and new assignments started to feel like a normal task. I didn’t feel like I would explode if I didn’t tend to them immediately. I didn’t feel like I was about to have a mental breakdown. As well as feeling better on the inside, I started to eat healthier and the zits that I would get from stress started to disappear. I was a whole new person.