FS 101.30 Lexie

A segement that really caught my attention from this week was the one on Sputnik. Two quotes particularly stuck out during this segment. They were "The United States will never be caught napping that way again." and "We turned a negative into a positive, we won the space race. We made cell phones and GPS systems and the internet. And at the end of the day, there is no Soviet Union." I just thought the first quote was kind of amusing because the US was accused of napping while the Soviet Union was busy making satellites. I thought it was a very interesting choice of words and it made me laugh. The second quote really made me think. It seems as if Sputnik was motivation for the US to start doing something. It kind of opened our eyes and forced us to start taking action. I also thought this quote was very bold and even a little bit humorous. It's true that although we saw the Soviet Union as some huge threat and we even tried to be more like them so we could beat them, they ended up meeting their demise anyways. In the long run we did win, because we're still a country and we're inventing so many new things. I think it's a good thing that we weren't always first. When you always win everything you lose motivation to try your best. I think that Sputnik helped us bring our A game, so to speak and lead to many achievements on the US's part.

I really enjoyed discussing ethics this week. I found it very interesting that there were so many rules and regulations in conducting a study. Now every time I hear about a study in our FS class or in my Cog. Psych. class I think about whether or not I would approve it if I was on the IRB. Hearing about different kinds of studies really made me realize that there is so much involved in conducting a study. I know see how morals and ethics really affect psychological advancement. Totally off topic... I'm so glad my podcast is finally over! It was a fun assignment but it stressed me out a little and I was super nervous because I hate performances like that. I hope everyone enjoyed ours though. It seemed like the class had enough to say about it so I guess it didn't bore you all too much! I'm really excited to go home for fall break. I think it'll be nice to get away from here for a little bit and relax. I'm going to miss all my new friends though. I hope everyone has a safe and happy break! See you all next Thursday.

I absolutely loved Jane Elliot’s- The Anatomy of Prejudice talk. I walked away with so much information and so many thinks to think about. Although it would take me forever to list all of the things I liked about the talk my most favorite parts were the listening skills and the study she did with her class. The listening skills really made me think about whether or not I’m a good listener. Does anyone ever really sit completely still when listening? I would like to know how many people would consider themselves to be the perfect listener (they follow all of the rules). I have never met anyone who is capable of keeping quiet hands, feet and mouth the whole time someone is talking. I think Jane Elliot was a pioneer for doing the study she did. She was also brave and I think she should be admired. Do you think a similar study would be as controversial today as it was back then? I think a lot of parents would have a problem with their kids being treated like that and wouldn’t be very understanding.