I feel that the Tinker Cad program has the potential to sculpt amazing things. When I first opened up the website, I felt as if the sky was the limit. However, there are some limitations. I started out by doing the lessons provided by Tinker Cad. When I felt like I was ready, I started working on building my prototype. Some of the main problems I faced were sizing and grouping the shapes in the correct place. I feel as if not enough information was given in order to succeed at building something. Hopefully try number two today will be better!
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Technology has a predominantly negative impact on social interactions. Because technology can overcome time and distance barriers, one would think that it would be used to bring the world together and learn about the different cultures. Instead, we see people more isolated than ever, trapped in their insecurities and distractions. We rarely see our society reaching outside the bubbles containing our smartphones, tablets, and more. Being dependent on technology for everything could result in our desiccation; We are at risk for social manipulation more than ever before, and technology has a lot to do with it. People cannot live in the absence of the satisfying blinking lights shining on their faces, and that may be the cause of the ultimate downfall of society today.
In the story "The Liker," the woman's want for constant attention causes her to suffer and eventually die. Her life consumed by social media; she spends her time seated in front of her laptop or smartphone. Her so-called friends only actually respond to the memorial photo posted of her after she passed away. The author criticizes how people can be so naive to think that their friends on social media actually care about them. Your profile on social media shouldn't define who you are. The writer makes the reader feel that the woman is selfish and indifferent to the world around her. This is not how a person should be portrayed.
In both The Wave and Animal Farm, language is used as a means of power and control. In Animal Farm, Squealer's use of language to stretch the truth allows the pigs to consolidate power. He manipulates the animals by changing certain rules and commandments while the animals remain unaware. The "new" truth becomes something that can aid Napoleon in aggrandizing himself, rather than helping the animals at all. Language soon becomes an agent of social control instead of means of communication. In the Wave, the convoluted use of language by the teacher brainwashes the students into believing they are part of something bigger than themselves. They failed to realize that they had transformed into a fascist regime, not allowing anyone to interfere. Both examples provide evidence for how easy it is to change the way people think about something. This can lead to social control and tyranny if held out long enough.
War is an argument or fight between two groups that is destructive in various ways. War creates divisions between groups and even the soldiers themselves as seen in the short story "The Sniper." Because people constantly die during wars, families are being ripped apart piece by piece.
War can be satisfying if you win, or gruesome in most other cases. War causes people to bring out their survival instincts and inhumane side. What we don't realize is that the cost of war on families is tremendous. Families are worried all the time about their loved ones who are fighting at war. This is seen in the story "My Sister, The Soldier" when the family has not heard from their daughter for weeks while she was away at war. Regardless of what we think about it, war is not "good" for anyone. Even the winning side has thousands of casualties, a large economic debt, and after war depression. This is discovered by the main character of "The Sniper" at the end of the story. Seeing that he killed his "brother," made him look at things in a new perspective. War changes us by making us whole new people. For example, the loss of a family member to war can weigh down a family for the rest of their lives, as shows in "Hello Mum." Many families cannot recover from losing a loved one. No matter what, war is still happening somewhere, and people are still dying. People are getting affected by war, and it is up to ourselves to fix it. I have always been interested in the science behind disorders, but the Circle of Firends visit gave me a different perspective of how I see them. I was intrigued by the stories shared about each student; they kept me on my toes. I instantly wanted to learn more and see how I could help. It was heartbreaking to hear what the disabled have to go through, but also inspiring to see how they thrive. I know that each one of them is a real person, just like everyone else. We can't discriminate against the mentally challenged just because they may think or act differently than others. We are all still human no matter what.
What would it be like to step foot on our neighbor, the Red Planet? Organizations such as NASA have perceived that it is likely for this to happen within the next decade. Mars One plans to journey to Mars in 2023, an expedition with a travel time of about seven months. Researchers say that if life was ever to be evolved on any other planet, Mars is the likeliest candidate. Even though traveling to Mars may pose dangers to humans, it is believed that the benefits outweigh the costs in the sense that preparations are already being made to live on Mars, life on the Red planet could be a backup plan, and it is the planet with most similarities to Earth. Establishing a permanent colony of people on Mars is not an option anymore; it has become a necessity. An immense amount of work must be accomplished before sending a group of highly trained astronauts to Mars, and even more to commute thousands of other people. According to NASA, the largest ever rocket with a remarkable amount of power and gear is being created. NASA anticipates a giant rocket, “at least 200 feet tall when fully assembled” (Drake par. 11). It will contain a 39 feet-wide booster that can produce 28 million pounds of thrust allowing it to go 5,374 miles per hour. National geographic states that by building and reusing hundreds of these rockets, millions of people could potentially be living on Mars by 2060. Another way astronauts are preparing for life on Mars is by mimicking the conditions on Mars and the journey there. Astronauts are isolated in a sealed space dome for six months living solely on freeze-dried foods. Each person will have very limited personal space and will experience a simulation of twenty minute long lags when trying to communicate. NASA proclaims that it is also important to measure the mood of the astronauts in proximity to others when isolated for so long. Some of hardest challenges will be getting the people to work together and remain pertinent about others’ feelings. The goal of imitating these conditions is to find the best balance to maintain the group’s ability to have positive feelings toward each other and remain cohesive. With this space dome, Verseux from NASA believes that the “technological and psychological obstacles can be overcome” (Powell par. 16). Colonizing Mars will no doubt be the most difficult thing that humankind has ever tried to pursue, but taking this chance will provide a backup plan for humanity; it will safeguard the survival of the human species. As history shows, another catastrophic event wiping out almost all global life on Earth is very likely, so humans need to be prepared. Mass extinctions have been seen many times throughout the history of the planet, so who says there can’t be another one? For instance, dinosaurs were the kings of the planet for millions of years, yet only a “trace of them today” has been found in the fossil record (Orwig par. 7). Because of our constant interference with the environment, scientists predict that a sixth mass extinction may be under way. Not everyone must travel to Mars, just enough to sustain a healthy population in case something catastrophic brews on Earth. Colonizing Mars will also allow humans to grow as a species and find new resources. There are only a limited amount of available fossil fuels and minerals on Earth, even with constant recycling. If the people on this planet want to attempt to end global warming and make this a green environment, then they need to look for another source of resources elsewhere. Research shows that the Red Planet contains rich minerals buried deep under the surface. Colonizing Mars provides the chance to uncover many mysteries and potentially save Earth. Mars was identical to planet Earth at the time of their conception. Today, Mars remains the only planet in our solar system that can compare to Earth in the sense that it is possibly able to sustain human life; it could pose as a place for mankind to settle and flourish. Mars shows signs of life, and it is the planet with the most hospitable climate in the solar system after Earth. Because Mars is relatively the shortest distance from Earth, and it is closer than all the other planets, humans could be able to survive there. What many people don’t know is that Mars is already rich with natural resources that humans need to survive. The large chunks of ice can provide as a water source, oxidized soil can be used for growing and farming, and methane gas in the atmosphere could be used as fuel. It is possible that food can be cultivated through atmospheric sunlight or an artificial light source. Of course there is the harsh reality of the strong effects of radiation and the extremely cold temperatures, but the magazine Popular Mechanics seems to have the answer. To protect the colonists, researchers have suggested underground facilities where newfound homesteaders can thrive. This could ultimately be “an efficient way to expose subsurface water, ice, and other resources” that may not be discovered otherwise (Bennett par. 7). With all the recent revelations, scientists are actively acting on and working to solve the problems that will one day get humans to Mars. For example, NASA is curious to see whether learning more about Mars will further help us to discover more about planet Earth and the solar system; colonizing Mars may be the first step. The ambition for the move to mars is gradually rising pretentiously; “it’s no longer a question of if we’ll set foot on Mars, but when” (Vazquez par. 1). Humans have already conquered the Earth, so why can’t they conquer Mars too? People should work collaboratively and challenge themselves to make this science fiction story the reality. Works Cited Bennett, Jay. "Almost Everything We Need to Live on Mars Is Already There." Popular Mechanics. Popular Mechanics, 14 June 2016. Web. 11 Feb. 2017.
Drake, Nadia. "Elon Musk: A Million Humans Could Live on Mars By the 2060s." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 27 Sept. 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. Orwig, Jessica. "5 Undeniable Reasons Humans Need to Colonize Mars - Even Though It's Going to Cost Billions." Business Insider. Business Insider, 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. Powell, Ellen. "NASA Researchers Prepare for Life on Mars ... under a Dome in Hawaii." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2017. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. Vazquez, Laurie. "Could Humans Actually Live on Mars?" The Week - All You Need to Know about Everything That Matters. The Week, 02 Dec. 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. |