Today in math class we read the first chapter from the book Letters to a Young Mathematician by Ian Stewart. In this chapter Stewart is talking about how math is everywhere we look. For example, math is in agriculture. People don't really realize it, but it takes math to figure out when the best time to plant is, what the most efficient way to plant is, and when to harvest the crops. Also, with the new way of processing plants, there is a lot of math that goes into it.
Another interesting thing that Stewart mentions is the fact that math is in nature. Math is in rainbows. The way I see a rainbow and the way you see a rainbow are completely different. When I am looking at a rainbow, I see the light reflected in a different way then when you are looking at the same rainbow.
Something that this made me realize is that math is very underrated. It is around us in everything we see and do. Many people hate math, but does this mean that they hate the internet and cell phones too? Because math is very much present in those. I think that people should take another look at math and give it a chance, becuase it deserves some credit.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
An Inconvenient Truth: Driving
Today while I was driving home from school, I got every single red light. It really made me think about stop lights and how much time we waste at them. If I live 2 miles from school and can get there, with no red lights, and without speeding in 5 minutes, when it takes me 15 minutes, there are 10 minutes of my life that I can never get back. I know that we need stop lights to regulate traffic which I'd probably spend more wasted time in. However, I can't help thinking about what it'd be like if there were no stop lights to get stopped at.
Another thing I noticed is how much easier it is to get angry at people while driving. I consider myself to be a very even-tempered person. I don't get mad easily and pretty much never legitimately yell at people. However, when I am driving, some people just make me really angry. I think that part of it could be that I know that the other drivers can't hear me and yelling at them won't really help. For some reason, though, it seems to make things better.
I personally don't really like driving. After having to cart my brother around all year long, I think that I could spend my time doing a lot more productive things with my time. Nonetheless, I will keep driving and thinking about ways I can better use my time while driving.
Another thing I noticed is how much easier it is to get angry at people while driving. I consider myself to be a very even-tempered person. I don't get mad easily and pretty much never legitimately yell at people. However, when I am driving, some people just make me really angry. I think that part of it could be that I know that the other drivers can't hear me and yelling at them won't really help. For some reason, though, it seems to make things better.
I personally don't really like driving. After having to cart my brother around all year long, I think that I could spend my time doing a lot more productive things with my time. Nonetheless, I will keep driving and thinking about ways I can better use my time while driving.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Blogging Around
Hey Hana!
I really loved this video too! I feel like we take a lot of things in nature for granted because we see them all the time. Seeing this video really made me appreciate everything that is out there in nature. It also made me want to go and see some of those amazing sites from the video. I'll be the first person to admit that I'm not a huge fan of nature, but I think that it'd be such an awesome experience to see things from the video like the northern lights.
I was also very excited to see this on the homework page since we didn't get to finish it in class. I think that, like you said, the music that went along with it was perfect. It was a very calming song that didn't distract from the video.
I really loved this video too! I feel like we take a lot of things in nature for granted because we see them all the time. Seeing this video really made me appreciate everything that is out there in nature. It also made me want to go and see some of those amazing sites from the video. I'll be the first person to admit that I'm not a huge fan of nature, but I think that it'd be such an awesome experience to see things from the video like the northern lights.
I was also very excited to see this on the homework page since we didn't get to finish it in class. I think that, like you said, the music that went along with it was perfect. It was a very calming song that didn't distract from the video.
The second post I read was from Spencer's blog. It was about how great it feels to fight off senioritis to get your TED speech done. I replied with this:
Spencer!
I sadly was not there for your presentation, but I agree with everything that you said about getting it done. Before I gave my speech I was majorly suffering from senioritis. My speech really made me focus on something and get it done. Having it done with now, I feel like I can focus and enjoy everyone else's presentations, like you said, because I'm not worrying about mine.
I also really enjoyed the picture you have because sometimes the things people say that no one else hears, are the best things. Like the simple things in everyday pictures that no one notices.
I sadly was not there for your presentation, but I agree with everything that you said about getting it done. Before I gave my speech I was majorly suffering from senioritis. My speech really made me focus on something and get it done. Having it done with now, I feel like I can focus and enjoy everyone else's presentations, like you said, because I'm not worrying about mine.
I also really enjoyed the picture you have because sometimes the things people say that no one else hears, are the best things. Like the simple things in everyday pictures that no one notices.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Best of Week: "Youtubing" Around
Even though this was something that wasn't planned, my favorite thing that we did this week was watching people's favorite YouTube videos. I really like getting to know people and similar to the Do You Mind questions, I feel like doing this helps us get to know one another by what we like to watch on YouTube. Seeing Julia's Andrew Bird and Yo-yo Ma video was really cool and I would have never seen something like that when I was just alone. Also the extreme hotels that we looked were really cool because it was interesting to see how creative people can get when creating something "boring" like a hotel. Overall, this was a fun activity because it opened me up to a world of things I may have never seen if we didn't do this in class.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Best of Week: Do You Mind?
The discussions that we've had this week regarding the do you mind questions have been really great for me. The questions themselves have really made me dig deep inside myself and find the real truth. It is also great to hear what other people have to say about the questions because it makes me see the questions form a different perspective. I might see the question one way, but then someone else shares their answer and they saw it a completely different way. It made me realize that there are multiple views and sides for everything in life. I think that these questions will help me in the future by making me realize that their are different sides to things. It will make me think about the other views people could have before I say that there is one best view for something. They also made me more willing to be open with myself because everyone else is, so I have no reason to be afraid.
Blogging Around
The first post that I read was from Julia Skulstad's blog. In her blog she wrote about how the end of high school brings more than just a graduation from South. I replied to her with this,
Stephanie G. said...
Stephanie G. said...
Julia,
I couldn't agree more with what you've said. Looking around at Turnabout realizing that I didn't know more than half the people there also made me realize that a big change is coming in our lives. Knowing you since Wesley, it's amazing looking back seeing how we've grown and matured into people who are ready to go off to college. If someone had told me at the beginning of freshman year that high school was going to be one of the biggest times of change in my life, I wouldn't have believed them. But looking back now it was. I think that as we graduate, like you said, we are not only becoming high school graduates, we are becoming adults. This chapter in our lives was amazing, but I think the ones to come are going to bring even more change and great times! =]
I couldn't agree more with what you've said. Looking around at Turnabout realizing that I didn't know more than half the people there also made me realize that a big change is coming in our lives. Knowing you since Wesley, it's amazing looking back seeing how we've grown and matured into people who are ready to go off to college. If someone had told me at the beginning of freshman year that high school was going to be one of the biggest times of change in my life, I wouldn't have believed them. But looking back now it was. I think that as we graduate, like you said, we are not only becoming high school graduates, we are becoming adults. This chapter in our lives was amazing, but I think the ones to come are going to bring even more change and great times! =]
The second post that I read was from Elyse's blog. She wrote about how people can psych themselves out when they are singing. I replied to her post with this,
Hey Elyse!
I totally agree with what you are saying. For me, when I'm playing my instrument I sometimes start thinking about what I'm actually doing. I then think about it too much and mess up. I think that what you said can apply to anything that we do in life. If we think too much about something and everything that could go wrong with it, then something probably will go wrong. That is one of the reasons that I think that people should look at what could happen positively in what they are doing. Thanks for making me think! =]
I totally agree with what you are saying. For me, when I'm playing my instrument I sometimes start thinking about what I'm actually doing. I then think about it too much and mess up. I think that what you said can apply to anything that we do in life. If we think too much about something and everything that could go wrong with it, then something probably will go wrong. That is one of the reasons that I think that people should look at what could happen positively in what they are doing. Thanks for making me think! =]
Monday, March 14, 2011
Literature Circles: Final Blog
The lit circle book that I read, The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria, is very similar to the book that Sarah read, The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains.
In her blog, Sarah wrote, "We need not to be followers but artists. Not confused but confident. When given the chance to create do so, and when given the chance to follow your own creation hold no fear, don’t hold back on what is rightfully yours." This idea is very similar to one that omnipresent in my book. Zakaria often wrote about how the United States needs to challenge the status quo of the world in order to keep its superpower status. The US, however, is holding back and sticking to the safe way it's been going for the past 100 years. The US needs to take the first big step forward and start creating new standards for life in the US. People need to start thinking about jobs that aren't just in the manufacturing industry, but in the innovation industry.
Zakaria also writes about how the other countries of the world are catching up to the United States' standards. They are doing this through adjacent possibles like the internet. The rest of the world has seen how the people in the United States are living and they want to live like that too. Sarah also mentions that people tend to follow the maps that are laid out for them. They don't like to stray from those maps. Zakaria talks about how the US is comfortable doing things the way we've always done them, but that won't work forever. Overall, the ideas mentioned in The Shallows are very similar to the ones that Zakaria mentions in The Post-American World.
In her blog, Sarah wrote, "We need not to be followers but artists. Not confused but confident. When given the chance to create do so, and when given the chance to follow your own creation hold no fear, don’t hold back on what is rightfully yours." This idea is very similar to one that omnipresent in my book. Zakaria often wrote about how the United States needs to challenge the status quo of the world in order to keep its superpower status. The US, however, is holding back and sticking to the safe way it's been going for the past 100 years. The US needs to take the first big step forward and start creating new standards for life in the US. People need to start thinking about jobs that aren't just in the manufacturing industry, but in the innovation industry.
Zakaria also writes about how the other countries of the world are catching up to the United States' standards. They are doing this through adjacent possibles like the internet. The rest of the world has seen how the people in the United States are living and they want to live like that too. Sarah also mentions that people tend to follow the maps that are laid out for them. They don't like to stray from those maps. Zakaria talks about how the US is comfortable doing things the way we've always done them, but that won't work forever. Overall, the ideas mentioned in The Shallows are very similar to the ones that Zakaria mentions in The Post-American World.
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