When I was five, someone informed me of the startling fact that it is the male seahorse, not the female, that gives birth. It was the first fact I can remember learning, probably because of how much it shocked me at the time. The next day I went to school, eager to share my new knowledge with everyone I met. Starting with my teacher as she helped me out of my pink, puffy jacket and moving on to conversations on the swing set and surreptitious whispers during naptime, I quickly ensured that every child and teacher in my pre-school class was well-informed about this reproductive quirk unique to the seahorse.
The website of a famous liberal-arts college cites a quote from alumnus David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest: “’’ I read,’ I say, ‘I study and read. I bet I’ve read everything you’ve read. Don’t think I haven’t. I consume libraries. I wear out spines and ROM-drives. I do things like get in a taxi and say, “The library, and step on it.”’” I wish I could return to my five-year-old self with this quote in hand. I agree wholeheartedly with Wallace’s attitude towards learning. I have always sought knowledge from any available source—from the time I first started reading at age four, to later years, when a teacher’s fleeting allusion to a historical mystery, such as Amelia Earhart, Easter Island, and Uri Geller, would send me rushing to the library for answers, my size six Nikes performing the task of Wallace’s taxi. My insatiable need for knowledge has led me to work in various environments—for instance, I have interned in Thailand where I engaged in comprehensive lectures and discussions examining modern international global issues, bioethics and medical bioethics, visited various sites and hospitals, including one that focused ...
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...erfect example of the true beauty inherent to the exchange of knowledge.
As a five-year-old, told an arbitrary fact about a sea creature, I became stubborn in my insistence at sharing it with everyone I saw. And to the inevitable incredulity some classmates expressed upon hearing this truth, I growled. In the intervening years, I have learned the value of different viewpoints and the ways in which fact and opinion inevitably blend. I want you to hear me, but I am also interested to hear why you disagree. I want you to change my opinion because, and even if you do not succeed, I want your attempts at persuasion to be as passionate as mine. I want you to take what you learned from me and pass it on to others; I will do the same with what I learn from you.
I hope, one day, to have a long conversation with Mr. Wallace. I believe we would have much to talk about.
...to 300 individuals, the newborn seahorses are independent of parental care and the male is free to fertilize and accept more eggs(Lourie 11). The offspring bearing roles displayed by Hippocampus spp. is an extreme shift in relation to many other species of kingdom Animalia, of which the bearing of young is predominantly carried out by females. According to Foster, growth rates throughout the life cycle and the duration of the life cycle of seahorses in the wild varies between species and cannot be determined due to insufficient research data(foster 22). Once sexual maturity is reached, often determined by the presence of a brood pouch in males, adults are able to reproduce. During reproduction, the overwhelming majority of Hippocampus species display monogamous behaviors, usually mating with the same partner for the duration of the mating cycle(lourie 10-11).
... pedagogical arguments, such as teaching a person how to critically think, to ignore the ethics of their dogma and focus on superficial emotional appeals and easily understood logical appeals. By ignoring ethics in pedagogical arguments, the argument becomes less about teaching and more about explaining a certain viewpoint, focussing less on whether this is the right viewpoint and more on the author’s personal reasons supporting it. Second, in This is Water specifically, analysing this speech causes the writer to not only become a critical thinker like Wallace wanted, but also extend Wallace’s arguments in directions that he failed to properly explore, like activism.
David Foster Wallace grew up in New York with a father who was a philosophy professor and a mother who was an english teacher. Little did he know that their professions would end up influencing his
The speech is arranged into short paragraphs, providing an example in almost every one. Everyone is familiar with commencement speeches. They are usually used to congratulate a group of people and tend to be looking towards the future. Instead of congratulating the students at Kenyon College, Wallace challenges them. The essay opens with a metaphor about two young fish that do not realize what water is, setting the tone for the rest of the speech. Wallace proceeds to describe how completely oblivious society is to the world around us, just like the fish. Wallace supports this claim through examples within the speech. His use of examples rather than facts or statistics weakens his claim. If more facts or statistics were used his claim would become more convincing. His rationalization come in the form of the short stories that illustrate the choices people make in their everyday lives. He...
This assessment was extremely eye opening and reflective. I had scores high and low in places where they were either expected or unpredictable. First off, I am going to talk about my highest scores that I acquired. Adopting Lifelong Learning was a 67 and Discovering Self-Motivation was a 78. I was not surprised about Adopting Lifelong Learning at all. I grew up quite quickly while jumping from home to home. I had to teach myself a substantial amount of information on my own while I grew up and this knowledge has stuck with me. I think one way to improve this topic would to be to try to learn among with other than trying to do it by myself. I feel like I learn better on my own, but I could benefit from learning more from other people or things,
To lack [self-respect] is to be locked within oneself, paradoxically incapable of either love or indifference.....It is the phenomenon sometimes called 'alienation from self.' In it's advanced stage, we no longer answer the telephone, because someone might want something; that we could say no without drowning in self-reproach is an idea alien to this game.
...old, xenophobic white men don’t want just anyone off the street joining them for intellectual discussions over Sunday tea . This is why Wallace advocates for students in high school and college to learn SWE; if students are able to present themselves in a more erudite and intellectual manner by using SWE, it can provide them with more opportunities to ascend the “social ladder” as they will have a stronger foundation for academic and professional success. Using SWE will not guarantee that a student will become a doctor or a lawyer, however, they will have the opportunity to expand their education and achieve that ranking if they wish.
David Foster Wallace was an Amherst College graduate, who delivered a unique and inspirational commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. In his speech, Wallace talks about his perspective on the value of a liberal arts education. In his speech, Wallace warns his audience that life is filled with daily routines, dead-eyed clerks, empty phrases and annoyance, which he then explains, can either drive a person insane or simply make them become selfish. Wallace stresses how virtually important it is to pay attention to other people’s needs. He also explains how the daily choices we me will constantly impact our lives, whether that be negative or positive.
“ I read and understood by myself all the books that I could find on the so-called liberal arts, for in those days I was a good-for-nothing and a slave to sordid ambitions. But what advantage did I gain from them? I read them with pleasure, but I did not kno...
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
Education is an ever-changing part of society. A classroom teacher is faced with new challenges and obstacles that have never been dealt with before. Students come to the classroom with different life stories. Every student has strengths and weaknesses that surface in the classroom environment. Teachers must understand and focus on utilizing each student's strengths and work to improve weaknesses. Students learn in a variety of ways. The classroom must be a safe zone that appreciates student's viewpoints and allows room for mistakes. When topics in the classroom are related to "real-life" experiences, the information is more likely to be retained. Students learn from one another. The ideas and perspectives that each student brings to the classroom can bring insight into what is being learned. Students have to be allowed to explore new ideas, try them to see if they work, and sometimes fail. When students are encouraged to explore, they begin the process of becoming lifelong learners.
What is the purpose of Lifelong Learning? Lifelong learning is the concept that learning and opportunities can go beyond that of compulsory education, as well as traditional routes, both academic and vocational. With ever expanding economic growth and globalization, the need for new skills is more prominent and lifelong learning and adult education is seen to have become a governmental response to socio-economic inequality, the financial crisis as well as the growing competition within industry both nationally and internationally. The notion of lifelong learning also presents itself as a “trinity.
People with disabilities face many obstacles throughout their life. There are many things that can be done to ensure that a person with disabilities reaches their full potential. People with disabilities face many issues pertaining to lifelong learning such as; the beginning diagnosis, early intervention, assessments, educational progress and transitional programs.
Learning is a process that involves effort and hard work, but it definitely pays off in the long run. Once a foundation is set on how to become a better student, the student with the foundation is set up for success. A student should be taught methods on how to become better at concepts related to success attained at the college level because it helps the student out so much once he or she knows how to effectively study. While studying might seem tedious and overwhelming at time, it can be proven to be instrumental if a person knows how to effectively do it and get the most out of it. I strongly believe that learning never ends, and a person can continue to learn new things as long as he or she lives. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner,
A baby is born and the doctor looks at the proud parents and says three simple words: “It’s a boy”, or “It’s a girl!” Before a newborn child can even take his or her first breath of life, he or she is distinguished and characterized by its gender. One important factor to know is the difference between gender and sex. Sex...