IWA #2: The Matrix

     Honestly, what would you choose between a normal and simple life with a challenging and interesting adventure? Many people will pick a simple life, but me, I rather take a adventure to challenge myself.
    In the movie, "the Matrix" Morpheus is a person who recruits people to join the group and looking for the One, who is Neo, the only person who can figure out the way to destroy their enemies, the group of agents.
    Neo is given two options, one is blue pill and he will wake up living his normal two lives, an employee of a large company at day time and being a hacker during night time. The other option is taking the red pill and he will figure out the answer for his question "What is the Matrix?" Here, Neo has two choices, which flashback the video “the Cave” of Plato. The prisoner also has two choices, he can either be a prisoner who can’t move/enjoy the life outside the cave or be a free man who can do whatever he wants.

    Continue on with the movie, Neo chose the red pill. Likely, if I could choose between a blue pill and red pill, I would also take the red pill. The reason is because I am very curious and like to challenge myself and make my life interesting. Even though the decision of taking the red pill was so difficult and scary. It’ll be an entire new world where we know nothing and no one instead of a familiar town and a comfortable apartment. However, traveling a new journey seems interesting but dangerous, I still take the red pill since I believe in fate. Each person also has their own fate, dead or alive is already given for everyone, so choosing a red or blue pill wont change their fate.

    Choosing the red pill means changing that person's lifestyle and things around them, but can’t change their fate, meaning it can’t keep a person alive if they are meant to die or vice versa. Sometimes it's not a good idea for some people, but it makes someone else's life more meaningful. It's like traveling to another world where has wars and machines and powerful enemies all around us. That is really different compare to the lives that Neo lived. All he was doing was wake up, going to work, getting back home from work, and communicating with computers being a hacker. What a boring life that is; therefore, taking challenges will entertain his life. Moreover, it is a good way for people to forget unforgettable things and start a new life in a new world and facing the truth.

IAT Tests

     The two IAT tests that I took were Weight ('Fat-Thin' IAT) and Age ('Young-Old' IAT). At first, I took the Fat-Thin one and they asked me to pay attention to four categories: good, bad, fat people, and thin people. By using "e" key for left side and "i" button for the right side, which meant we whether chose good, fat, bad, or thin categories. At first it was separated from fat with thin or good with bad, and it was easy that way. My results for those two was better than the combinations, especially when they combine fat or good with bad or thin. I was messed up with this one the most because my mind was still processing the other way around, which was the good or thin with bad or fat. For this one, my result was strong for the first two parts and pretty good at the last parts. I believed it was because of the distractions around and the nervous feeling. After the test, they asked me about my weight, my height, my religion, race, and how I felt about fat people and thin people.
    The second IAT test that I took was the Young-Old IAT. With this test, they asked me my age and my information first, unlike the test above. I started my test exactly the same with the other one, using the "e" and "i" buttons. However, here, they changed the four categories to young, old, good, and bad. Same as the other one, I had a harder time with the part when they switched from good or young with bad or old to good or old with bad or young. In my opinion, I felt the one that combined good or young with bad or old was easier. I didn't mean to be a racist, but it was just the way my mind processed. With this test, I got a higher score compare to the first Fat-Thin test maybe because I got used to it than the first one.
    Overall, I felt like I was put in timed tests; I had to rush in order to pass the tests and have the scores. That was one of the reason that degrade my score and distracted my concentration. Although it wasn't hard or trick me at all, I just wanted to put more focus and be calm down. Thus, the results were whether high or low depends on how we controlled our concentration and our mind.

IWA #1: Examined Life

    After watching the documentary "Examined Life", I decide to talk about ethics which is money in specific, and what philosopher Peter Singer brings up in the video. In addition, I'm going to talk about how powerful money is to many people and what should people spend money on, and what should not based on what philosopher Peter Singer mentioned.
    In fact, money may not buy love or happiness; however, without money, people hardly have a perfect love and happiness. Vice versa people start stretching out because of lacking of money, and arguments start to explore. For instance, I've known a couple that always argue with each other because of the financial issue. The problem of lacking of money makes them frustrated and upset, and they start fighting and ending up with a break up. Therefore, how to spend money properly is an important way of keeping happiness. Don’t waste money on fashion and things that we don’t need, save them for later on.
    On the other hand, money to some people isn't a matter because they are too rich to care about money, but many other people don't have a buck to afford for their food or a bottle of drink. That is a reason that creates criminal life and illegal actions around the world.
    Furthermore, money is really powerful which can give many parents the power to sell their own children. Also, many girls decide to marry rich men even though they don't love each other, just because of money. This sounds painful, but it does happen in many poor countries since the poverty covers their minds.    
    As we all know, Americans in specific and some other developing countries in particular spend money on everything that they want to although those things aren't the needs. For example, they spend money on their vacations, movie theaters, casinos, and shopping malls while those money can save a lot of people who dying out there.
    Seeing what other poor people have to face with make me think of what and how I spent my money. Therefore, I encourage Americans to think twice about what they should spend money on after seeing other people/nations dying because they don't have enough money to fight with their sickness or starvation, or did not have clothes to cover themselves under a cold weather. Thus, just spend a dollar less everyday, we might save many lives by donating or helping them. In my opinion, providing old stuffs to goodwill station instead of throwing them away is another way of saving people's lives, which my mom usually does. 

My First Scavenger Hunt

Creative Minds Class Blog

A copy of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time

Someone who has seen Tron in 3D

 Jamba Juice Cup 

 Someone wearing Converse shoes

 Bus stop

 Someone sleeping in the library

De Anza President Brian Murphy

      Honestly, this is my first time participating in a Scavenger Hunt. I never knew it was that fun until I started to walk with my groups, literally think, and look around for the items. It was freezing outside; however, we were too busy thinking of the hunt and the weather wasn’t a problem to us anymore. We started to walk after the professor Berney counted.   
    It was really fun, but because it was my first time so I didn’t have much experience. We could have found many more items if we thought creatively. If there’s next time, my group will definitely use the computer all the way instead of walking under that freezing weather.
    At first, we headed to the library first to look for the Creative Minds Blog, following by the president Brian Murphy, the book named The Fire Next Time, and the student sleeping in the library. After finishing those items, we were thinking of the bookstore was the next place. On the way to the bookstore, we saw a guy wearing Converse shoes, and we asked him to take a picture. We continued our mission to the bookstore, and one of my group members found a cup of Jamba Juice and we took a picture. After that we walked to the store located in the bookstore to look for the Coke bottle, but there was none in our school. I thought of using a phone to open a Coke bottle picture and take a picture in the bookstore, but my group members kept walking to the bus station so I didn’t tell them. We continued taking the picture of the bus stop but forgot the Euphrat Museum of Art was right there. It was almost time and we saw only one more group walking around the campus. That decreased our effort, so we walked back to class and found a classmate who has seen Tron in 3D.
    The Scavenger Hunt really reveals about creativity. We have to be creative to be able to get all the items in time and not to walk all around the campus under a super cold weather in dark. We could have found all 14 items if we found our creativity faster. Moreover, the Scavenger Hunt showed the teamwork and the union of our group. In addition, many other groups helped us instead of compete with us.