Library Presentation

 The presentation on the UCSB library was rather repetitive for me because I am also enrolled in INT 1, Intro to Library Research. The key points of this presentation were utilizing the search features available on the UCSB library website. The basic search allows for a single string of information to be entered. The advanced search allows for unlimited strings of information to be entered with parameters such as topic, author, and title. Additionally the advanced search gives the option to search by date published, and refine searches by type of publication. Besides the basic and advanced search tools the library website also has a melvyl search option that allows UCSB students to find books at other UC campuses and have them shipped to the UCSB library. Besides hard copies of publications, the library also gives student access to many online databases that contain scholarly journals and web resources.

            The Library is currently undergoing renovations so that a large wing of the library is currently closed off and will be for a couple years. However, all the books that were in that section of the library have been moved so that they are still accessible.

Four INT Events

The four INT events I attended:

- Macbeth (see other post for information on the play)

- Battle of the floors

               For the battle of the floors I competed for the 6^th floor. The organization of the event was satisfactory; there were plenty of moments where nothing was going on and people were just waiting for another event to start. By the end of the battle there were quite a few people who left early.

- Partying in IV

               In this discussion we participated in an activity called “what would you do”. The activity consisted of walking to a side of the room or the other to express your personal opinion of how to deal with a particular situation. Most of the questions were concerning when it is appropriate to interfere in other people’s affairs when the actions of those individual’s actions appear to be getting or of control or potentially dangerous.

-What would you do?

               I attended an additional “what would you do” event that dealt with relationships. The options for action were to distract, delegate, and be direct. The situations presented to us were ones that dealt with a couple who are exhibiting potential warning signs of an abusive relationship. For example, one scenario was of a female who had been texting her boyfriend constantly throughout the day with raised levels of emotion and then standing beside his car with the man nowhere to be seen while exhibiting sketchy behavior indicating she may possibly be planning to cause damage to the car.

Theatre Presentation

The theatre presentation had a lot of good information for people who are interested in theatre. However, I have no interest in acting or working in theatre so that the presentation didn’t really contain any information applicable to my situation besides being open to new ideas and situations. The theatre program at UCSB is highly ranked and will be presenting Macbeth by Shakespeare. At the end of the year the theatre program will end their set of plays with a newer play called equivocation. Equivocation is a play based on concepts derived from Macbeth and apparently draws many parallels to the play such that the theatre season will be bookended by similar themes. The presenter made certain to point out that anybody can try out for plays put on by the UCSB theatre organization, and some people who had no previous acting experience have go through the program and become the most promising young actors.

In all, I learned to be open to new ideas and new pathways that are available to me, but I am certain that acting is not for me due to my morals and values, it just wouldn’t be a good match.

Environmentl Change

Brian Haggerty gave a presentation on the changing climate and how phenology is the best tool for monitoring environmental changes from season to season and from year to year. He clarified that the warming trends that have been observed are twice as pronounced in the winter than in the summer, so the presumption that global warming will mean very hot summers is incorrect. For a long time scientists have been measuring the changes in phenology by the start of the flowering season, but, as Mr. Haggerty has shown, the onset of flowering is only one variable in a much larger process beginning with sprouting new growth and ending with the production of seeds. Also, Mr. Haggerty has demonstrated how plants within the same species can be acclimated to different elevations and will respond differently to environmental changes. Particularly, high elevation plants have a shorter time span between flowering and fruiting, meaning a change in environment can disproportionally effect high elevation plants over low elevation plants, offsetting the synchrony of flowering, and potentially disrupting the seasonal synchrony of pollinators.

            The key concept that I took away from this lecture is that all variables must be accounted for to understand the whole; everything is connected, and to judge a system on one component is nonsensical. Furthermore, the solution to fix environmental issues will not come as one large miracle solution, it will be a compilation of many small solutions that work together; small thinks like recycling and doing your part to live sustainably are can change the world.

Critical Thinking

I found the talk on critical thinking to be very encouraging because it encompassed many attributes that I value highly. Though much of the talk consisted of common sense there were a few noteworthy arguments that I hadn’t considered before. For example, I have always considered memorization to be useless because of the ease with which information can be accessed on the internet, but I’ve learned how memorization can serve as the foundation and a catalyst for comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation in that order. Even though technology can replace the need for memorization for tasks like taking a test, it is best utilized when integrated into everyday function so that the formation of new information/connections can be spontaneous. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the relationship between paradox and intelligence. Often times I feel like I’m going insane because I see everything and nothing as being true at the same time, and now I have hope that this is just normal mental activity. Additionally, I was motivated by the presentation to do what I believe in because the story about the bees locating flowers by scent (not complex dances) directly relates to how I feel about the dominant social paradigm. From my point of view the world is dominated by either ignorant people or evil people, and now I can be reassured that people are just naturally resistant to change, which is fixable. In conclusion, the presentation on critical thinking was probably my favorite presentation.

September 2-6 experience

The trip to the study abroad office was good in that it gave me access to handouts, albeit they were outdated, but I feel that it could have been greatly improved by somehow integrating visual information such as pictures/videos of foreign scenery and/or culture. The personal account of a positive experience with the study abroad program was a highlight, but it could have been improved by incorporating specific examples of cultural differences that may seem shocking to people outside the culture. For instance, in America we view eating insects as taboo, but most of the world eats insects regularly.

I went to the Sunday showing of Macbeth, and, in all honesty, I was rather disappointed. The lack of props allows for a greater range of interpretation and has an artistic appeal, but without modifying the script it makes no sense. The Shakespearian way of speaking makes it hard enough to understand the plot of the play, but when there aren’t any visual cues it becomes impossible for me to follow. However, I did enjoy the collective whispering and the drum. It made me think that integrating blacked out characters with more customary scenery could create a very nice play in which the audience can have their own interpretations on what’s happening and still follow the plot. As it is, the play will be appealing to only a select few people who have sufficient prior knowledge of Macbeth; the director announced, before the play started, that he wanted the play to be applicable to modern times, but I think this objective of his had the unintended consequence of limiting the pool of possible customers. 

Collective whispering