10/25/2008
Is brain mapping good?
According to new research published in the jounal Science, scientists are now able to tell which word a person is thinking by analyzing brain scan images and scientists are working on a computer model that foretells the brain activation patterns associated with things people experience with their senses. The research has made mind reader possible in the future and could have applications in the study of autism, disorders of thought such as paranoid schizophrenia, and semantic dementias such as Pick's disease. But if this technology is widely used in our daily life, it will bring many ethical problems as well since people will regard this technology as a privacy ruiner. I think with rules and controls, this technology will not have too many ethical problems and it can contribute a lot to our human beings. To me, this technology is awesome because aside from we can apply this technology in the study of mental diseases, we can also apply this technology in public security. Suppose we catch a suspicious murderer and we do not have enough evidence to indict him. Then we can use this technology to test what he is thinking and what he had experienced. But the problem also arises, what if the suspicious murderer is innocent? Did we invade his privacy and human right? So in order to avoid future ethical problems, we need necessary rules to control the usage so that we will not abuse this technology. Firstly, we should control the people who have access to this technology. I think people who can access to this technology should only be government. Also, this technology cannot be used without approval from certain departments from both government and scientists, which means we cannot use this technology to anyone suspicious; we can only use this technology when the case is very important and we are quite confident about our conclusion, then we can use this technology. If the person is innocent, then the government will compensate the person. Although rules can only reduce rather than eliminate ethical problems, this technology is great and important to human beings' development. Everything has two sides and we can make full use of the good side and try to avoid the bad side. In conlusion, this technology is good and we should work on it and use it to make contributions to our society.
Writing problem in engineering classes
I have a major problem in writing compositions. I always write in an informal way. I believe this is because i got most of my vocabulary from english movies and soap operas, and in movies, people are talking in a very informal way. I pick up those words and i am quite puzzled whether these words can be used in writing compositions. In addition, since my vocabulary is limited, usually i cannot come up with another word to express my idea. So tutors always tell me to write in a formal way while i alway fail and i always cannot get a good grade in writing academic essays. This problem is crucial and it takes time to fix it. But I think i can fix this problem by reading more articles from newspaper and doing more vocabulary exercises. Writing style is very important and the method to improve it is either by learning from reference books or by reading more journals and academic articles. I think writing in a formal way includes using formal vocabulary and writing in formal syle. Articles in newspaper are well organised and have been revised for several times. So articles in newspaper are qualified to be a good example of formal writing in some sense. Reading more articles can give me a good sense of writing so that i can get an idea of what formal writing style is like, and then i can try to improve my writing style. And for the vocabulary, i think doing vocabulary exercises is simply do exercises and memorize more new words. Also, since memorizing words is tough, i can try to use new words everyday so that i can remember new words for a longer time. However, what i have mentioned above are my ideal but not practical solutions to my writing problem (at least not practical for now). I cannot fix the problem in a short time, so i will read articles and do exercises in the future and try to solve my writing problem in the future :P
10/03/2008
Advance Personalized Learning
Different people like different ways of learnng. Since schools are using the same way to teach all people, people are using computers to have more "personalized learning" for theri own needs.
Personalized learning is useful because it would be much more efficient if people can go to the Internet and choose the class and content to learn since different people prefer different ways and paces to study. The internet study program is designed to meet different learning styles and personalities. We can see many online classes today and students can use videos, notes, exercises and information online to help their studies. In addition, people can enter their personal information in the website, then data on weaknesses and interest can be used to generate a lesson tailored to the individual. Then what can engineers do to improve learning? Given the diversity of individual preferences and the complexity of human brain, softeare engineers are facing a challenge of how to optimize learning methods. Furthermore, engineers are facing further challenges like how to test human brain and find out the most efficient learning method for everybody. New researches even think that people can have a faster way to get knowledge, like put a chip into our brain and then we can just download knowledge into our brains.
Original article:
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9127.aspx
Personalized learning is useful because it would be much more efficient if people can go to the Internet and choose the class and content to learn since different people prefer different ways and paces to study. The internet study program is designed to meet different learning styles and personalities. We can see many online classes today and students can use videos, notes, exercises and information online to help their studies. In addition, people can enter their personal information in the website, then data on weaknesses and interest can be used to generate a lesson tailored to the individual. Then what can engineers do to improve learning? Given the diversity of individual preferences and the complexity of human brain, softeare engineers are facing a challenge of how to optimize learning methods. Furthermore, engineers are facing further challenges like how to test human brain and find out the most efficient learning method for everybody. New researches even think that people can have a faster way to get knowledge, like put a chip into our brain and then we can just download knowledge into our brains.
Original article:
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9127.aspx
Why people resist new technologies
Many people do not like to accept new technologies because people feel insecure about these technologies. New technologies come out one after another at an amazing rate. Thus people are uncertain whether these new technologies have been fully tested, in addition, people are worried about the consequences. One example is genetically modified (GM) food which caused a stir a few years ago. When GM food first appeared in the 1990s, people felt blessed because GM food could feed many more people than traditional agriculture could. However, a few years later, many criticisms arose. Most researchers thought GM food had potential hazard to people’s health and the environment. In addition, GM food is not as nutritious as traditional agriculture products. In 1998, a Scottish professor published a report on American TTV, saying that one kind of GM potato could damage rats’ immune system and some other organs; he suggested that this GM potato would also harm people. In 2005, Hungary took the lead in forbidding GM food. Hungary made a law to stop GM food importation because there was not enough evidence to prove GM food’s safety. Moreover, GM food has been tainted by pesticide and growth hormone overuse, which damages our earth as well. Today, researchers are still working on ensuring GM food’s safety, but many people reject GM food since GM food has been reported to be potentially risky. Since this technology is so new, people know too little about it. It is normal for people to fear the unknown, and unsettling news makes GM food questionable to people. In conclusion, people reject new technologies because they do not have enough information and doubt the safety of new technologies.
9/09/2008
run-on
As you can infer from the title, one of my biggest grammar mistakes is run-on.
I always make such mistakes because i used to write in oral english style and in oral english, nobody cares about run-on. However, one of my English tutor pointed that out and told me that was a serious problem. Then I did some research and i found that if we write two independent clauses in one sentence, we must add punctuation. We can use a semicolon or a full-stop to seperate them. We can also add a co-ordinating conjuction or trasition words. Anyway, we cannot put two independent clauses in one single sentence. For example, i used to say "I like the way she writes, she is such a creative genius!" I used to think this sentence is OK because i used to talk like that. But then i realize this is a run-on sentence and i should do some corrections. Like "I like the way she wirtes. She is such a creative genius!"
In addition, i found that the length of a sentence totally has nothing to do with whether it is a run-on sentence. As long as you write it correctly. So i used to avoid writing long sentences, but now i think i can handle long sentences better than before.
if you have the same problem, you can go to http://depts.dyc.edu/learningcenter/owl/exercises/run-ons_ex1.htm to do some exercises. For me, i found it useful!
Here is the exercise:
Questions
1.) My academic advisor told me not to take 18 credit hours for the fall semester I'm regretting not having listened to her.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
2.) My cat was upset all day he didn't get canned food for breakfast.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
3.) Organizations that promise students a scholarship if they pay an extraordinarily high application fee are most likely scams.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
4.) Because Rose was late for the all-you-can-eat buffet, she had to order from the main menu.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
5.) The student fell asleep in class everyone thought this was rude behavior.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
6.) Although an immigration lawyer might help me to stay in this country, his fees are too expensive for me to afford.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
7.) I like the history class because the material is explained so well.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
8.) We followed the map we ended up in Canada instead.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
9.) Although the trip to Montreal was not very well planned, we had a great time.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
10.) I received an A on my Psychology test I am happy.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
My ans:
aabbabbaba
I always make such mistakes because i used to write in oral english style and in oral english, nobody cares about run-on. However, one of my English tutor pointed that out and told me that was a serious problem. Then I did some research and i found that if we write two independent clauses in one sentence, we must add punctuation. We can use a semicolon or a full-stop to seperate them. We can also add a co-ordinating conjuction or trasition words. Anyway, we cannot put two independent clauses in one single sentence. For example, i used to say "I like the way she writes, she is such a creative genius!" I used to think this sentence is OK because i used to talk like that. But then i realize this is a run-on sentence and i should do some corrections. Like "I like the way she wirtes. She is such a creative genius!"
In addition, i found that the length of a sentence totally has nothing to do with whether it is a run-on sentence. As long as you write it correctly. So i used to avoid writing long sentences, but now i think i can handle long sentences better than before.
if you have the same problem, you can go to http://depts.dyc.edu/learningcenter/owl/exercises/run-ons_ex1.htm to do some exercises. For me, i found it useful!
Here is the exercise:
Questions
1.) My academic advisor told me not to take 18 credit hours for the fall semester I'm regretting not having listened to her.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
2.) My cat was upset all day he didn't get canned food for breakfast.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
3.) Organizations that promise students a scholarship if they pay an extraordinarily high application fee are most likely scams.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
4.) Because Rose was late for the all-you-can-eat buffet, she had to order from the main menu.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
5.) The student fell asleep in class everyone thought this was rude behavior.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
6.) Although an immigration lawyer might help me to stay in this country, his fees are too expensive for me to afford.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
7.) I like the history class because the material is explained so well.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
8.) We followed the map we ended up in Canada instead.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
9.) Although the trip to Montreal was not very well planned, we had a great time.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
10.) I received an A on my Psychology test I am happy.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
My ans:
aabbabbaba
8/21/2008
The greatest challenge for engineers
There are so many challenges for engineers at present, like health, vulnerability, joy of living and sustainability (Introduction to the Grand Challenges for Engineering, www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221.aspx). Among those four major challenges, I think sustainability is the most serious and important one.
Engineers are the links between perceived needs of society and applications. Someone said scientists were those who dream, and engineers were those who realize dreams. With engineers’ efforts, our life quality is improving all these decades. We can talk to people who are far away; we can also fly to the Mars. Cancer is to be conquered; people are living longer and longer. Life is getting easier and more entertaining. But also with the high-tech blessing, we are facing many problems, like energy crisis. The resources on the earth are limited. We should not only improve our lives, but also care for our children and our children’s children. We all can see the oil price keeps increasing since 2003, and China experienced severe energy shortages towards the end of 2005 and again in early 2008. During the later crisis they suffered severe damage to power networks along with diesel and coal shortages.
Engineers and scientists have been working on environmental friendly new resources all these years. They try to make use of solar energy, but this energy cannot be stored for long time. Some scientists use methane as a new fuel, but it would worsen greenhouse effect. The most difficult part for engineers is to find a way to solve energy crisis both economically and environmental friendly.
So in my point of view, the greatest challenge for engineering at present is sustainability. All we are doing now is to live a better future. But what if we don’t have a future? What if we don’t have enough resources to live on? Therefore, all people should working together to find a way to sustain our lives.
Engineers are the links between perceived needs of society and applications. Someone said scientists were those who dream, and engineers were those who realize dreams. With engineers’ efforts, our life quality is improving all these decades. We can talk to people who are far away; we can also fly to the Mars. Cancer is to be conquered; people are living longer and longer. Life is getting easier and more entertaining. But also with the high-tech blessing, we are facing many problems, like energy crisis. The resources on the earth are limited. We should not only improve our lives, but also care for our children and our children’s children. We all can see the oil price keeps increasing since 2003, and China experienced severe energy shortages towards the end of 2005 and again in early 2008. During the later crisis they suffered severe damage to power networks along with diesel and coal shortages.
Engineers and scientists have been working on environmental friendly new resources all these years. They try to make use of solar energy, but this energy cannot be stored for long time. Some scientists use methane as a new fuel, but it would worsen greenhouse effect. The most difficult part for engineers is to find a way to solve energy crisis both economically and environmental friendly.
So in my point of view, the greatest challenge for engineering at present is sustainability. All we are doing now is to live a better future. But what if we don’t have a future? What if we don’t have enough resources to live on? Therefore, all people should working together to find a way to sustain our lives.
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