As We Move On...
As you all move on from FS101, I just wanted to make sure that you have the opportunity to stay connected. Although I will no longer list all your blogs as links on my homepage, you can bookmark this entry as a way to connect to your classmates and Peer Leaders any time. And, of course, I have subscribed to all of your blogs, so I'll be waiting to see what you do with them in the future. See you all in a few weeks!
FS101: Peer Leaders F07:
Megan
Chris
Natalie
FS101: Classmates F07:
Alex
Lexie
Ryan
Dylan
Becky
Niki
Emily
Julia
Molly
Will
Didem
Katie
Shannon
Kirsten
Ashley
Tags: Blog Links Fall 2007 FS101
First, congratulations to everyone for a great semester! I think you've all done an excellent job finding interesting stories, carefully reflecting on the lessons to be learned from these stories, and sharing your thoughts in a respectful, enthusiastic way. I've enjoyed working with all of you this semester and have really looked foward to reading your blogs each week.
For our last class of the semester (before we begin our Sunday Morning episodes), I thought it would be a good time for us to reflect on a topic we addressed during our very first meeting...stress. Many of you have suggested that you are dealing with a lot of stress right now. While I hope that our Complaint Choir exercise will help release some of these frustrations, I'd also like us to think about an approach to dealing with stress that is becoming more popular...Mindfulness Meditation. What is the science behind this approach? What are its applications? Is Mindfulness for everyone? Can we really reduce stress simply by being here, now?
As usually is the case, when you stop looking for something, you find it. This week on Sunday Morning, Bill Geist showcased a fascinating phenomenon...
Although it is hard to imagine, this semester is quickly coming to a close. I hope that you have all enjoyed your first few months as Allgheny students and that you are looking forward to the next few years on our campus. Throughout the semester, I hope that I have encouraged you to be curious, responsive, proactive, "reckless", and reflective during your time here. I certainly have enjoyed getting to know each of you and have been proud to see each of you become more open and involved in the classroom. I know it has been difficult for many of you, but to truly be successful here at Allegheny, having the ability and courage to share your thoughts and questions is a vital skill...no matter what classes you take. I hope that you will continue to push yourselves and extend your comfort zone. 
I really enjoyed our discussion about dreams from the Sunday Morning episode and hope that the reading on dreams and creativity helped deepen our understanding about dreams. I think there is a natural inclination to think of dreams as indicators of the subconscious (thanks, Freud!) and that we are extremely vulnerable to self-fulfilling prophecies when it comes to trying to interpret our dreams. However, I think research in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience has helped to reveal the very real impact that dreams can have on memory, learning, creativity, and problem solving. I think the biggest benefit to these processes is that, during dreaming, we don't (can't?) impose our normal, well-learned perspective on the world to what we are seeing and feeling. Perhaps this is why we are free to make connections in our dreams that we never would have seen (or allowed ourselves to see) in our waking lives.
Ealier this semester, we listened to a Podcast produced by Julia, Lexie, and Will about the determinants of intelligence. We followed this with a recent article from Scientific American Mind further examining this complex issue. Specifically, we learned about how most IQ tests consider theoretical, abstract processing over more practical problem solving activities that fostered survival in the recent past. We also learned that, despite massive gains in IQ over the last decade (i.e., the Flynn Effect), there really are no noticeable differences between high school graduates across generations. Instead, what seems to change is the rate at which basic, cognitive skills are acquired...children today are simply acquiring these skills more quickly. Finally, we considered the interaction between genes and environment in determining intelligence...one popular idea is that our natural (genetic) dispositions propel us into certain environmental contexts in which we find more resources to help develop these skills. This theory took me back to the research highlighted in our Podcast...self-determination, perhaps, could be an equalizer in terms of openning up access to resources for students who wouldn't have "naturally" gained admittance into these environments. 
I think some common themes in class this week were living passionately, having the courage to stand up for what you believe in, and being tenaciously persistant in pursuing your goals. With all the pressures we are under on a daily basis (academic, social, familial), it is so easy to become disconnected from ourselves...we stop listening to the voice of our spirit...we don't have time to reflect on who we are, and what we want to do with the precious, relatively short time we have in this world. To look outside (or BE outside) and see the beautiful blue sky, the vibrant colors of the trees, and to think about how very lucky we are to have this momemt, to breathe this breath, and to have the opportunity to do something useful with our lives. 
Many of you had questions after Group 5's podcast regarding what makes something funny. The Infinite Mind public radio show presents an episode about humor and the brain. The host, Dr. Fred Goodwin, interviews several famous comedians, a humor columnist, and researchers who have examined memory from linguistic and neurological perspectives. The show is long, about an hour, but covers just about all the questions we had regarding this topic. 
Starting next Thursday, we will begin our commentaries. So...I've been thinking about what makes a good commentary. Of course, a strong commentary is one that is passionate and thought-provoking...but I think there is more to consider than who can yell the loudest or who can be the most sensational. I think commentaries that are well-reasoned, logical, and creative can be even more powerful. A good commentary would also be able to get you to think about a topic that you've not previously considered, or a topic that you've not seen as important. In general, my advice for this assignment, then, is to be creative, be logical, and be respectfully passionate. 
Okay...so I think if we are going to have one blog award, we might as well have six! Here are the categories I will be judging for the rest of the semester (and the number of extra credit points for each): 
My first reaction upon seeing the Burning Man segment from Sunday Morning was, "haven't I seen this somewhere before?" Well...the answer was, yes. In 1924, the burning of Zozobra (or Old Man Gloom) became associated with a fiesta in New Mexico that has taken place since 1712. I always wanted to attend the fiesta, but never seemed to make it up to Sante Fe in early September because classes were always in session. However, the idea of leaving your worries and burdens at the foot of Zozobra and having them burn and disappear always resonated with me. Seeing a similar tradition at Burning Man makes me think about the desire we humans have for new beginnings and how those new beginnings have often been associated with fire (e.g., phoenix rising from the ashes). In any event, I find these festivals fascinating for what they reveal about the spirit of the human race. 
Do the opinions we express match the actions we take? Emily and Didem explore this very important social psychology topic in their podcast from the 17th annual Stars of Psychology Conference. The research they discuss considers the reliability of questionnaire data, the importance of field research, and the thorny issue of racial discrimination. 
Our conversations this week were pretty wide ranging...ways to add "recklessness" to our lives, the benefits and risks of using lists, the plight of the electric car, ethics in research, and the differences between introversion and extraversion. I'm still processing the debate about whether we can "safely" add recklessness to our daily routines...obviously this is a contradiction in terms, but I like the underlying message...to break out of the routine, to expand our comfort zone. I think that as creatures of habit, most of us would find even some of the small changes presented in the reading as quite challenging...which relates directly to the obsession we have with lists. Do we love lists because they provide structure to the unknown? On a fundamental level, don't lists decrease our spontaneity? My advice for adding recklessness to your life...become involved. I'd like to see us all become inspired to take a stand for issues that are important to us...like developing new sources of engery and forms of technology that will help us preserve the environment (e.g., the electric car). And there is the connection for this entry! To read more about the importance of recklessness, visit the 
One segment that we didn't get to talk about this week was the Mr. Clean segment illustrating the work of Chad Pregracke and the Living Lands and Waters organization. I thought this segment was directly relevant to some issues here in Meadville with the 
I enjoyed today's conversation regarding Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild. I can't help but identify with the determination that Chris had to live an authentic life and to search his soul for the essence of what it means to be human. I think that a strong, emphathic soul is very vulnerable to the ideals of passionate writers like Tolstoy, Thoreau, and London. There is a "terrible beauty" in the idea of connecting to the world in a stripped-down, intimate way...it's a call that can be extremely enticing. In a culture that is wrapped up in itself, it can be hard for the reflective soul to thrive--to breathe and grow. Personally, I've always been afraid that my travels and adventures would end some day...I understand what Chris means when he says that "the joy of life comes from our encounteres with new experiences." In some ways, I can't shake the feeling of voyeurism that is a part of reading Chris's story. On other hand, I feel grateful for having had the chance to see the world from his eyes, if only for a little while. To see the wonderful website for the Into the Wild movie, go to: 
Two weeks ago we discussed how music lessons can improve intelligence. Now, a recent study shows that music lessons can also improve reading and writing skills. ScientificAmerica.com summarizes the new study and highlights that the improvements may be the result of changes to the brain stem. To find out more about about this fascinating process, read the full summary at 
I am so glad that you all enjoyed watching E. O. Wilson's TED talk. I found the talk inspiring and am very sincere in saying that it reminded me of the breadth and depth of the world around me. It's easy to be self-centered in our fast-paced culture, we need visionaries like Wilson reminding us to appreciate the sheer wonder of this life we share. When researching Wilson's work, I also found a very interesting interview on NewScientist called Can E. O. Wilson really save the world?. In this interview, he talks about his most recent book which calls for "...evangelical Christians and scientific secularists to unite..." in order to try to save our environment. The idea is that, no matter how you think the world came to be, we all have the responsibility to protect it. The interview is fascinating and you can listen to it at: 
Emily has shared a cool song by artist Michael Tolcher called The Sun Song. She thought it was appropriate given the sun icon of Sunday Morning. I thought this brought up an interesting question...what would the theme song of our class be? Nominate your choice by commenting on this entry. If you are interested in hearing Emily's choice, you can watch a fan video that is set to The Sun Song by following this YouTube link: 
As I commented on Kirsten's blog, there are just so many things I want to learn more about. As we continue to watch Sunday Morning, I realize just how varied my interests are. A Police tribute band...who knew? The destruction of insects would herald the end of the world...oops! Flip flops as a way to literally walk back into time...really? I have to admit, I love how much I take away from the show, even when I don't initially find the topics intriguing. In terms of discussion this week, I've noticed many of you opening up more and more to the class...in some cases sharing really interesting ideas that hadn't occurred to me. In particular, I really enjoyed our conversation about what makes a hero. We seemed to reach a consensus that, in today's culture, our heroes are more "real" than heroes from the past. Traits we identified for heroes included perseverance, humility, honesty, compassion, responsibility, a willingness to take risks, an ability to handle pressure, and a sense of allegiance. We also acknowledged that there may be a very fine line between heroes and villains--that, when it comes down to it, perspective may come into play. Finally, we discussed that while we all have a number of personal heroes, only a few of them may reach legend status because legends grow over time as more and more people hear the story.
One of the most interesting findings in class for me this week was the idea that the music we listen to can signal to other people more about our personality than what we read, what movies we watch, or what clothes we wear. It appears that music can be used to accurately assess many aspects of someone's personality--even someone you have just met (or haven't met at all in the case of the Rentfrow & Gosling study). For example, listening to someone's top ten list helped participants accurately assess someone's openness to experience, emotional stability, and agreeableness. Why is music such a helpful cue to someone's personality? Rentfrow & Gosling suggest that perhaps we selectively choose music that we think protrays the personality we have. Another suggestion they give is that our music selection may have more to do with managaing our mood and arousal levels. Whatever the reason, the next time you want to learn more about someone, ask them for their music top-ten!
One segment we didn't get to talk a lot about this week (because many of you didn't see it) was the piece about the Hampton art community. As a long-time viewer of the show, I recognized one of the artists they mentioned, Chuck Close, as an artist that Sunday Morning has been interviewing periodically over the last 20 years. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the video that showed how his art has changed over the years. I thought his story was particularly inspiring because at age 49 Close became a quadriplegic. But despite this tragedy, he was able to find a way to adapt and continue to his work, creating the photorealism approach for which he is perhaps most famous. Eary this past summer, Sunday Morning presented a montage of Close interviews from before his illness to the present day. In fact, this was one of the segments that convinced me the show would make a great class. If you'd like to see Close at work, you can check out this brief video from the Sunday Morning catalogue: 
I have to admit that I was somewhat nervous when our first Sunday Morning episode started this week. I'm convinced that the show has a lot to offer...but I didn't know if I would be able to find readings and follow-up information on the stories on a week to week basis. However, I have to say I think we did a good job with the first episode. I think our discussion of Positive Psychology should give you all a good idea of what article discussions in upper level psych classes might be like (of course, they usually tend to be a little more in-depth and cover a lot more about design, implications, etc.). And I enjoyed hearing the stories that you all were brave enough to share. I've been telling my colleagues I have a really interesting group of students...and I got to see that again on Thursday. The only topic we didn't get to that I wanted to touch on was the musical instrument story--I think there is a lot to debate there in terms of how music may positively impact student performance and how we make decisions regarding how to use charitable funds, etc. Enjoy the show on Sunday!
I think today's first "open floor discussion" was a good start for the semester. Your Peer Leaders and I noticed that almost everyone contributed, and I hope that soon, everyone will feel comfortable contributing and directing the flow of conversation. I look forward to examining some of the segments in more detail with you on Thursday. I've never been a fan of Southwest Airlines, but it will be interesting to consider how the leadership's creation of a "positive" work environment may actually be "good business." And, of course, I look forward to the challenge of convincing you all that the Iowa State Fair segment was the best from this week's episode!
Now that you all have schedules, what a relief for the semester to finally begin. I'm sure that you are all anxious at this point to meet your professors, to start assignments, and to smell your books. Well, okay, maybe I'm the only one who loves the smell of new (and, better yet, old) textbooks. But still, you get my point. The momemt we've all been waiting for is here. Good luck with the first day of classes!
Make sure that you set-up your web account and apply for your weblog by this Thursday.
The end of the summer has always been bittersweet. While research projects wind down, and fellow faculty make their way back to Carnegie, I begin to anticipate the excitement of meeting new students and to gear up for the barrage of activity that is sure to follow. This year is particularly exciting as I wait for my first group of FS101 students. Big things are in store for us all and I hope we can successfully navigate relationship building, preparations for the semester, and goal planning for the next four years.