What is a Sustainable System/Three Ways We Learn
1- In my opinion, a system is a cycle or a continuous pattern of events where everything is connected to make a whole and eventually have a product(s) or result(s). For example, I walk into Starbucks and buy an iced green tea because I am thirsty. I pay the vendor for the drink and wait for it. Eventually, my drink appears on the counter in a plastic cup and cover. I poke it with a straw and take a sip. Sucking on the straw brings the liquid up to my lips, into my mouth, and down my throat. My body becomes hydrated as I continue this process of drinking. The vitamins and other nutrients are distributed throughout my body and go through the digestive system. Eventually, I will get thirsty again and will repeat this same process, possibly picking another beverage with or without a straw at a different cost.
2- Sustainable to me means something that will last a very long time and reaches a certain level of success or a goal. An example of a sustainable system I have experienced/ seen is an ecosystem. A lake is a great example of an ecosystem. The water provides life for the fish to live in, food to eat, oxygen to breath, and sunlight. The lake is surrounded by other ecosystems such as the woods, which relies on the lake to provide food and water for some species. This is a sustainable system because there is constant reproduction of life and fulfillment of needs that animals/ nature can trust.
3- Experiencing qualities- how the object or action makes you feel/ the details of the object/ action. The habit I am going to work on is use of social media. Depending on what I am looking at social media can alter my emotions and waste time. While I am on my phone scrolling through Instagram, I am in the moment of capturing the details of someone’s post, making a judgment ( liking or not liking it) and moving on to the next.
Experiencing Fact- Gathering factual information from the object. If I see a post that someone is at Grand Central, I am gathering the fact that the person is/was there. Also, it is a fact that I am using social media as it feeds me the factual information about other people and their lives.
Identifying Relationships/ Patterns- The pattern of doing or using something and the product of this action. The act of using social media and the result of it is a distraction from living in the now and disconnecting from the world around you. The pattern is that I am constantly checking it to see new updates and focussing what other people are doing and not focussing on myself. Also, I feel that I am forced to post things on my accounts to update people on my life, which also becomes a pattern.
4- Today, I finally decided on the habit and as I’m reflecting on my day, I am realizing how much I check my phone and become distracted by social media. All the notifications I get when someone posts something forces me to want to see what it is. I constantly click the home button, waiting for a Snapchat from a friend or a tag in a funny video on Facebook. The only apps and notifications I am excluding from this experiment is text messages, emails, Facebook Messenger, and Line in case of emergencies, making plans with friends/family and keeping in touch with people.
Art & Science= Beauty?
Oxford English Dictionary Definition:
That quality of a person (esp. a woman) which is highly pleasing to the sight; perceived physical perfection; attractive harmony of features, figure, or complexion; exceptional grace, elegance, or charm in appearance. (n)
That is a large or impressive example of its kind. (adj)
To make beautiful or more beautiful; to adorn or decorate; to beautify. (v)
Before Video
What is beauty? An unseen characteristic that becomes visible or tangible with amazing, unique qualities that develops over time.
Qualities: Things or people that catch my attention or fall under my own interests or hobbies
Ex: colorful or interesting color palette choices in clothing, art, etc.
Facts: Details of the things and people I find interesting and beautiful
Ex: what, who, where, when, how of the product or piece.
Patterns: How it connects to me or how it is aesthetic pleasing to me
Ex: I buy something or make something that is similar to the piece of clothing or art piece that I liked. The pattern of seeing something you like, buying it, wearing it.
After Video:
I think my definition is somewhat different than the one portrayed in the Ted Talk with Cameron Russell. She discussed how society alters the definition of beauty with symmetry, thinness, and fair skin and that it has a negative impact to how the average woman feels about herself. We, as a society, accept and look up to photoshopped, superficial photographs because it is being published on the covers of popular magazines. Therefore we set high expectations, especially for woman. Russell describes these constructed photos as though they are not photos of her and then shows photos of her laughing with friends and family which are natural, untouched photographs. She explains that these photos are true beauty because she is being herself. Russell uses these photographs to explain internal beauty. Everyday, models feel insecure because they constantly have to worry about what they look like. They are perceived as having a perfect image or person, which is not possible. The amount of pressure is high for a model because they are forced to reach unrealistic expectations.
Russell uses qualities, facts, and patterns to educate the audience on society’s skewed perception of beauty. First, she comes out wearing a short, tight black dress and heels to portray the typical expectation of a model. She then changes into a more conservative attire, her first message of internal beauty and also the first outfit change on a Ted Talk, making a statement. She then uses facts, describing how superficial an image can be and shares a statistic saying that 53% of thirteen year old girls in America are unhappy with their bodies and 78% of seventeen year olds are unhappy with their bodies. Body shaming or setting high expectations because of a false interpretation of true beauty is a problem. Russell then uses patterns by stating that models are commonly skinny, tall, fair skinned and have symmetrical faces.
Although my definition of beauty is a bit vague, I was describing both internal and external beauty. I think internal beauty can be recognized by peers easily when they can look past an appearance. For example, genuinity, kindness, and intelligence are highly looked upon in our society. Without intelligence, we wouldn’t be able to be the inventive, creative society we are today. I think these three qualities are beautiful. Beauty can be dangerous when it is altered in a negative manner, but it can certainly be a sustainable system. In Russell’s definition of beauty, we can move towards inner beauty and push towards young woman finding qualities they can be proud of and celebrate it. Also, this Ted Talk was filmed in 2012. Today, in 2017, the model industry is slowly developing over time (see my definition). There are more and more colored and plus-sized woman being hired to walk runways on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or be on the cover of Aerie ads. In late 2016, the first male was published on Covergirl to celebrate gender fluidity. The model industry could change society’s opinion by accepting all types of external beauty, and it is slowly working its way there.
After listening to the four presentations, my definition of beauty is something or someone that is used to express a strong quality of that object or another one that is created by the beauty. For example, someone express their inner beauty through their strengths, whether it be modeling, art, math, science, etc. In my group, I think I was a good collaborator and shared my ideas with my peers.
Three events explaining Climate Change:
- Greenhouse Gases- we pollute the air by releasing CO2 into our atmosphere from cars, factories, and industry. We created the 2 degree celsius threshold to protect our environment but we are starting to figure out that eventually the amount of CO2 that we are still producing will catch up to us.
- Arctic is Melting- human global warming is melting the ice. The ice serves as a mirror to reflect the heat. But, when there is no mirror, the heat cannot reflect. Therefore, the heat on Earth rises.
- Fracking- we release oils and gases into the atmosphere when we frack and burn fossil fuels. This not only kills ecosystems in these areas, but world wide that are not directly affected. It eventually can hit wells and fresh water, contaminating and killing wildlife. For example, the plankton are dying. If the plankton become endangered or extinct, it affects the entire food chain! Statistics say that in 2040, the Great Barrier Reef will be completely dead.
Interview with Dr. Heidi Cullen
- Dangerous Human Interference- 2009 agreed on 2 degree celsius warming.
- 2 degrees is “safe”- we will still affect the environment
- IPCC- tied the degree to fossil fuels to the 2 degrees, we burn 3 billion tons of carbon, approaching 6 million tons and max the 2 degrees in 30 years, we’ll have to triple this threshold
- Emissions gap- what countries say they will do/ what they will do
- We have to scare politicians in order to get them to listen to us
