2041: A Breakthrough

I always imagine how the future will look like. From the basic communication that we can have up to the more sophisticated life saving equipment that can do the impossible at the present time especially curing the incurable diseases known to mankind. For the purpose of this blog, I would like to share to you how I dream the image of mankind's future.

In 2041, I imagine that the moment we woke up, we will just step into a cubicle and in an instant we already have taken a shower and dress up already into any clothes we wanted to on that day. Also, I foresee that most dormitories have the voice activated technology where the lock system are being controlled by the registered voice of the student living on a specific dormitory room. There will be no books, no pens and no papers anymore. Everyone have a watch that can create a hologram where they can use everywhere, even while they are eating. The type of hologram technology that I imagine the students would have is the one similar to having a floating screen, in just a click of their watch, they can open or close their hologram system.

Going to the campus is also a button  click away from dormitories. Doors are using warping system that connect one place to another. There will be a rotating dial that corresponds to an equivalent place within the University. The warping system uses the law behind inter-dimensional planes, something like similar to wormhole of Einstein. Classrooms are also based on a 5-D setting. There will be a reading technology that allow humans to absorb knowledge in a minute after the reading, it is as if the information are implanted in our memory.

Fashion will not have a big change in 2041. What we are wearing right now will still be the fashion statement on that year. What a breakthrough on this year is the food technology. Humans will be able to find a way to replace all GMO with organic food. A new technology have been found to let humans farm organic food. At the end of the day, students go back on their dormitories using the same door technology as I mentioned.

The future is still a big question to anyone. Anything can happen and major breakthroughs might come along the way until 2041. Who knows, something greater will occur, farther than what we thought we would have.

Nikon D7000: Photography Beyond Imagination

     Nikon D7000 is a digital single-reflex camera, a type of camera that allows any enthusiast in photography to capture pictures similar to what a naked eye can see. It is very amazing that in the present technology we have, humans had developed such powerful machine not only to earn a new skill but also the power to astonish what our nature has to offer to anyone seeking its beauty. I can still remember how the pictures of the 60's looked like - black and white photos, the first evolution of capturing memories in paper. Truly, our technology had gone far from what our ancestors had imagined.

     I took the opportunity of buying my Nikon D7000 here in America because it is cheaper compared to the Philippines. I can still remember when I had my first hold with this powerful tool, I was so excited to learn how to use it to capture wonderful moments and scenery. Now, whenever I go, I can take pictures of anything that a regular compact camera cannot. Pictures from a close-up of a flower, a flag football player on the action, a portrait of a sunset or even a close-up of the moon. This machine is very powerful that everyday made me took pictures whenever I go. For the record, since I bought this camera, I have 7500 plus pictures in my external hard drive and that is in the span of three months of using my camera. Before, I can hardly take good photos whenever I have an important event in my life. Having good photos to record good memories is something that anyone wants. Memories are priceless and they always came by chance so in my opinion, freezing that certain good memory in paper using a camera that can capture a visual similar to what our eyes can see is somewhat like having either a visual diary or a peek on the memories inside our brain. Truly, SLR cameras offer a good option of keeping our experiences alive in the form of captured photos, photos that worth a thousand words.

Go Global Week!

     Celebrating the diversity in the University is one of the highlights of an academic year of study in any school. Activities such as Taste of the World, Fashion Show Night and other acrobatics and diverse performance all over the world can be seen during this event. For the purpose of this blog, I will share what my experiences on the Taste of the World.

     Taste of the world became successful not only because the participants successfully served their spectators with great food but also the number of people who attended the event was astounding. I personally feel that the event is one of the highlights of any International Week Celebration. I think the purpose of this event is to show to everyone how different the food is from other country compare to the food here in America. Due to time constraints of other international students, they were not been able to prepare food from their country. This year's volume of people though that attended the taste of the world event was more impressive than last year. I think the international club made a good job in advertising the taste of the world event. Yes, the diversity in the University is still growing and the University itself is young that's why portions of the international week celebration was not popular but as years will pass by, I am very much sure that International Week Celebration will become a big event of this University.

Exodus? My Response

          “People aren’t coming here as much as they are leaving a cratered economy” (par. 9). On the article, Exodus by Marc Cooper, he pointed out the recent situation of Mexicans who were aspiring to be in America. The promise of a better life, higher wages and job opportunities are being associated to be as an American dream (par. 9). Marc Cooper’s arguments wanted to open the mind of his reader that a lot of Mexicans suffer before they can actually step into the grounds of United States of America. One example he pointed out is when he warned a nursing mother not to make the crossing but after a week, when he was requested to identify the fatality that had been found in the desert, he recognized the same young woman. What is here in America that is worth dying for is the question that many people against immigration could not clear out.

          As I read the article Exodus, the author indirectly points out the reasons why most immigrants wanted to be in this country and that is to sustain their selves. America is known to be a country of free market and competition. Say for example there is a job opening and two people applied. One is an American that has a bachelor’s degree and the other one is a Mexican that has a doctorate degree. Who do you think will earn the job? Of course the one with higher capabilities to do the job well. For the issue of having a good job in correlation to illegal immigrants and legal immigrants, illegal immigrants don’t really get a good job because most of the decent jobs right now require papers. Jobs such as a construction workers, house cleaners and babysitters are jobs that most illegal immigrants ended up to. Would Americans do the job? Do you think Americans would do the job of picking fruits under the heat of the sun? On a professional capacity as a bachelor’s degree holder, can Americans do it? The answer is no. Poverty drives most of the immigrants to be in the First World Economy country. The increasing volume of immigrants as well as the tightening of the borders is all inevitable but to question the availability of jobs that were supposed to be for the Americans to have is not acceptable. Even in the article Exodus, Marc Cooper noted what Charles Bowden think is the solution to lower the number of immigrants in America as quoted, “The only way you’ll stop Mexicans coming to the U.S. is if you lower American wages to the same level as Vietnam” (par. 9). For me he sounds like admitting that America has a lot to offer when it comes to job for its citizens but majority of it was occupied by those immigrants that are more willing to sacrifice whatever they can to sustain their selves. This is a character that everyone must have to survive.

Works Cited

Cooper, Marc. “Exodus.” Perspectives on Arguments. 6^th Ed. Nancy Wood. Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

The Kaingin System (Slash and Burn Farming)

               It is always a question why humans continue to do the slash-and-burn farming (kaingin). One reason often being associated with this dilemma is economic reasoning of poor people where in fact the great question of ethical consideration of preserving nature is being sacrificed. Some consider kaingin as their means of earning money to finance their basic needs by utilizing any possible natural resources within their area of residency and sell them on the market. They claim that it is only through this system that they can feed their family since most of them haven't had the chance to go to school to earn a decent degree. Many had attested that the elimination of trees in the mountains had greatly affected the overall hydrologic cycle of nature and that kaingin is the major attributor on this argument. Can we stop the kaingin system? Can we really blame poverty on this predicament?

               I am interested on the rampant problem of kaingin system because, like many developing countries, Philippines had been facing this problem for decades without any new advancement in alleviating the existing problem. Philippines had been recently visited by a lot of water runoff from storms and regular rains and consensus said that this is due to excessive overflow from the mountains because there are not enough trees that can help soil in seeping water on the surface. Since this problem catches the hydrology and hydraulics area which is part of my academic interest for my undergraduate degree, I always wanted to make use of whatever knowledge I have to save mother nature.

               I know that kaingin is a process where trees are being cut and turn into charcoal by burning the woods without replacing the trimmed trees. From where I live in the Philippines, it seems that this activity was always perform every night because I can always see the mountains burning. Kaingin had been addressed several times in the Philippine Congress as a threat because of the domino effect of removing trees in the mountains and the catastrophic loss that may occur once kaingin will never stop.

               I need to do more research on obtaining and relating the consensus of having a great flood to the depletion of trees on the mountains. I would like to explore other possible options that we can follow for solving the continuous kaingin system and asses each options in their weaknesses and strengths to develop a new efficient and effective way of alleviating this problem. Also, if the blame is all paid to poverty, I would like to seek out some solutions on this matter and discuss their practicability.

Elements of a Good Argument

               Argumentation is often times being relate to disapproval of two different sides to confront in a single idea. Mostly, we associate argumentation on debate which I guess true on the other perspective of what argumentation was defined. But put it this way, debate is very specific when it comes to how argumentation is being decided and that is with an affirmative and a negative side but the word argumentation itself covers a broader notion.

               In its broader sense, argumentation tap two things, opinion and evidence (Wood, p. 5). If one have a strong point of view about a certain proposition, supported by substantial evidences his or her claims would surely persuade a lot of believers. But the question of how to make one's standpoint tough is a question even elites on argumentation could sometimes find troublesome.

               Argumentation can be from any of the two different forms. It can either be traditional or consensual. But either of the both have one thing in common and that is the difficulty on how to persuade others to believe on one's claim. Out from what I have read so far, I guess I would like to point out the following as elements necessary to a good argument.

               First is consistency on one's claim. Being consistent on one's point of view eliminate any doubt in the part of the arguer that his or her argument is weak to persuade others to believe him or her. It is inevitable that there will always be some questions raised whenever someone wanted to persuade other to believe his or her viewpoint. Often times, these questions are confusing and it test whether one's claim is also what he or she believes no matter how they construct their questions in a very rhetorical manner. For me, if I want to persuade others what I believe on a certain topic, I should first convince myself about what my stand is and by that be consistent on believing on that claim.

               Second is proper research for evidences that will construe the claim as correct. In debates that I had joined in my country, I can really attest that lack of research for the evidences of one's claim affects the overall forte of the argument. Say, there's a proposition that states "Resolved that engineers are more important than nurses" and it happen to be that I fell on the affirmative side, of course I have to research on facts that touches the topics on job opportunity, what country was the proposition was been proposed and what does engineer do that gives them more importance than nurses. Facts on the internet must be carefully selected because an argument will not be dependable if the sources of the facts are also autonomous. Remember, to make our claim as believable as what we think, we need to support it with proper evidences that people will not going to question its credibility.

               Third is diplomacy which means engaging in handling any argument without arousing hostility (Merriam Webster Dictionary). It is always wise to express our opinion without brute or raising our voice to insist our stand on others. By experience, I can really say that people listen if I share my thoughts by speaking to them smoothly. Try to imprint this question in our mind, if I speak out my thoughts by raising my voice to others, surely they will do the same when they speak out their thoughts to me and will I like that?

               In this blog assignment, I guess everyone has its own view on what elements would they consider to make their argument good and that's all that matters. Actually, the success of making our argument good depends on how committed we are to believe, stand for it and persuade others that my point of view is correct.