Dog's umvelt, Elephant Crackup, Le Guin

The last readings: Le Guin’s Buffalo Gals, Dog’s Umwelt, Elephant Crackup, and the Secrets of the Mind video we watched were connected by the idea that perspectives are taken for granted by humans (and for all we know, raccoons and/or chimpanzees have the same problem) and by understanding our unique perspective, we could have a better idea of what makes us human. This was also emphasized by the observation assignment as we slowed down to examine our own perceptions closer. This lesson has helped me to understand my perspective better by realizing first of all, that other people may have different perspectives, and by understanding where mine differ greatly from other species and where I may share some with others. This helps me see the bigger picture of the universe, by helping me realize that others may see a different bigger picture….maybe… Overall, I think the lesson was very informative and eye-opening.

Jeff F.

dog's umvelt

One of my favorite articles so far has been the dog’s umvelt. As it does with me, it should interest most people to be able to get a grasp on what it’s like to be something alive and not human. Things that could be seen as valued by us mean as little as a piece of paper to us. I myself have a Boston terrier, and it takes these deep breaths and they sound like sighs sometimes, but now I realize that he could be breathing in and out at the same time and getting those deeper breaths the article talked about. I can’t even fathom how he feels when he catches wind of something pungent, because he pulls in much more of the air he breathes than we do. The topic of time in the article was also informing. They tell time using their smell, for example the freshness of a dog turd or urine determines how long it has been there by how much it smells. The most interesting thing was that dogs have this better “flicker vision” than even humans. Dogs were the last animal I would expect to be able to see better than me. I can move just a little bit around my dog and he will react in crazy head nods and now I know it’s because they process the incoming light faster than we can. But at least i had something to fall back on now that I know we see better in a focused path that we look at and they can only see better up close.

Quinn P.

Inside of a Dog

The article Inside of a Dog, I was curious as to what I would be reading. Would the author take us on a journey through the day in life of a dog? How was the story going to be told? Would it be like Buffalo Gals where the animals have human traits? As I read on, I discovered that it was more of an informative and scientific piece. The senses of a dog are astounding. Their sight and sense of smell are much more advanced than a humans. The article also talked about how animals can read our emotions; which I find to be very true. Whenever I was upset my favorite dog would always jump on my lap and lick my face to cheer me up. Dogs know what their masters want and need from them. There is no need to dominate them in training. The dog will learn by observing the behaviors of other dogs and by their owner’s reaction. The reading was really positive and told the reader why dogs are so special. It also gave many scientific facts and information. The author had clearly researched the topic and had passion for animals. I was both interested and more informed about dogs after reading the article.

Cody Hein

professor Roger's trial

“Professor Roger's Trial”

I think this kind of behaver happens all the time in group projects. I couldn't agree more with the grade the professor gave the group. The purpose for the trial was the establish team skills. That clearly didn't happen. Silvie suppressed her feelings about being bossed around by Anthony. Donald didn't try at all he is the kind of person that leaves everything to the last second. Silvie and Anthony are both worried about who does what they get to busy arguing with each other they forgot to work hard on the trial.

I have had this happen to me a few times. I am the kind of person that gets stuck with people that wont do anything or they say they will but don't end up doing anything so I do it all. When that happens I let the professor know who did work and who didn't do work. When I was in the visual arts and technology academy V.A.T.A in San Diego I was often the leader of whatever group/team project assigned. After all the teams were done with their project and presented it to the class all of the leaders would go into a back room with the teacher and tell them how the group worked together and if everyone did their job. I like being the leader of the group I feel like I can be the level head of the group and tie things together to make a good product.

Raven P.

Our reading still has not given us a clue whether we have been born moral or not. There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer. It depends on who you ask.
It is pretty convincing that we evolved from something other than what the current day man looks like.

The Mind / Genetic Hyping

It is always interesting to read these types of articles because it introduces me to another aspect. The new perspective not only allows me to see that there are more critical thinkers than I expected, but it entertains me and challenges me to think critically myself. Marc Hauser introduces the Key Ingredients of the Human Mind being, Generative Computation, promiscuous combination of ideas, mental symbols and abstract thought. Each and every one of them have their own meaning and correlation to the article but it amazes me how one individual could take the time to process these perspectives. He states that recursion is the repeated use of a rule to create new expressions. With that one statement, it was then easy to wonder off and ponder about what kinds of recursive thinking humans do on an everyday basis. He also mentions that how these four ingredients are implemented and used vary from group to group. This reminds me of cultural myths and how every ones thought processes can be altered depending on how they were raised, their environment and their culture itself.

When reading Genetic Hyping I was interested and put more thought into how genes play an important role in our every day lives. There are so many factors that affect behaviors but when you realize your fathers side of the family is completely temperamental and have more of a tendency of being stricken with nerve disorders, you no longer have the tendency of asking yourself why you are the way you are. This goes along with him saying that genes and the environment affect behavior. Being introduced to my biological father and spending time with that side of the family brought out characteristics that I knew lied within me, figuratively speaking, but enabled me to be more comfortable with them.
One random thought is that experiments are always done with lab rats, or in this case, mice; I am now wondering if it will ever take place with a human.

Evolution responses

I don't mean to offend anyone who may read this, but I'm gonna play Devil's Advocate for a bit.
Some people have put out posts on the evolution readings that I would like to challenge.
As far as natural selection goes, wouldn't "survival of the fittest" refer to everything and anything that makes it easier for your species to survive? Just because it says "fittest" doesn't mean that it refers to strength or size, it refers to how "fit" you are in a given situation. One mutation could cause a physically strong organism to develop something that makes it more "fit" in social interactions with the opposite gender, thereby making it the "fittest" to survive and pass on genetic material. In short, both strength (or agility, hardiness, etc...) and sexual attraction play equal parts in the scheme of natural selection.
Next, while no one has posted about this yet but I know someone will, a "mutation" is not bad. That word has recieved very bad press in recent years and nowadays we take it as meaning something that makes us a freak or grow a third arm, etc... A mutation is any genetic change, good or bad. Whether or not it halps us survive determines the "good" or "bad" part.
Third, as far as the native american children going to schools and losing awareness of the "natural" world, that is a cultural change and has nothing to do with genetics. Cultures adapt, like genetics, in order to meet new challenges of life, but they are not caused by anything genetic; though it can be argued that a cultural change has brought a genetic change. As a nice little side note, the perception of what is a "freak" is determined by your culture.
Finally, I do not support prolonging life through medical advances in certain situations. For example cancer, mental diseases, brain damage, or certain diseases like down syndrome or most forms of mental retardation. Remember, I don't mean to offend, I just don't think it's a good idea. Allowing our weak, diseased members of the species survive is not an efficient system for survival, even in an urban world. It wastes resources and money keeping people alive when they should by all natural means be dead. People may say "that's not fair," because that person "didn't get a chance to live," but that isn't the way the world works. It isn't fair. It isnt right. It doesn't care if you loved them or hated them. It doesn't care if you "didnt get a chance". Sometimes it doesn't give you a chance to begin with. But we have to move on and accept that thats the way it is, changing it won't necessarily make it better and if we allow the weak and stupid (not necessarily retarded, just stupid) to breed then we will lose what evolutionary progress we have managed to gain.
If anyone would like to discuss any of these issues further, I would be happy to respond.

Ryan Casto