Comments for Critical Thinking, Sections 02 & 03

Comment on Legalize It by terrencef

terrencef — Fri, 03 May 2013 04:05:10 +0000

I, too, find this stance rather interesting. Its a pretty fresh change up from the “just legalize it because there are no negative effects” argument. What law makers need to understand is that people who want to smoke will find a way to smoke regardless of what the lawmakers say. All they are doing by making marijuana illegal is opening the door for other illegal drugs to be used. Were they to legalize marijuana and continue to illegalize the other, more dangerous forms like K2 and Spice, maybe smokers will stick solely to the far less dangerous natural marijuana.

Comment on Hitler’s Very Last Days by Bezio

Bezio — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:10:37 +0000

[From Kyle]: I think Himmler’s false idea that he would somehow be able to align the Nazis with the Allies ridiculous. While I could only imagine the alternate history that would have created, I doubt that the French and British commanders, who saw Germany destroy their cities, would be excited to go push Russia back alongside of the “ex-enemy”. While this could be a very good strategy for Germany, if you can’t expand west, use the opposition to swing East, I definitely see this as Himmler’s horoscope prediction coming through to the militaristic side of operations. This was a last hope to try to keep the Allies from repeating what happened after WWI and the stars were not in his favor.

Comment on Solar Lecture with Old People by Bezio

Bezio — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:55:09 +0000

[From Jillian] This museum seems very interesting. It is sad that things like this fun yet informative activity only draws a crowd of most likely retired individuals who have nothing else to do. If more people went to places like this and learned about how our environment works, maybe we would not have the environmental issues that we do today. Until people stop being focused on themselves and realize what little things they can do to avoid these problems, we will continue to have these problems and possible collapse as a society.

Comment on Zach Wahls’ Talk on Gay Rights by chelseal

chelseal — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:33:43 +0000

I recently read an article by Lisa Diamond that discussed the issue of how the media portrays homosexuality, and that it in fact inhibits upon the mobility of this group. Diamond notes in her article that the media has recently been applying a new “celebration” of women’s “sexual freedom and diversity”, which has allowed for big strides towards equality for this sexually oriented social group. In some cases, the depictions fall within the basis of reality, a normal happy lesbian couple living their lives to the same standards as everyone else. She says that the media portrays bisexuality as “fashionable”, as a way to attract heterosexual males, as a way to confirm personal heterosexuality, and as a matter of free choice, all of which are not the case for women who truly identify themselves as lesbians or bisexuals. I think this is extremely interesting, because I can attest to the fact that all I see of lesbianism is fun and experimentation, not a serious orientation that is not a matter of choice. Real lesbians are perceived to be ugly, scary, and masculine, where as bisexuality is thought of as an attractive way for heterosexual women to show off to men how experimental and sensual they are.

Comment on Legalize It by timh

timh — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:28:37 +0000

I think this is a really interesting stance that I have never heard before. I have never really become too involved in the legalization debate. I see the benefits of involving it, mostly circulating around the belief that it would bring in a substantial amount of tax revenue. I also see the cons, citing health concerns, and the specific dangers of marijuana being a gateway drug leading to our younger generations being more susceptible to drug addiction. Although a smaller problem, I think the synthetic stance is very important and worth weighing. I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge user of marijuana but I have tried it and I have also tried the synthetic version, which is pretty disgusting. I haven’t seen the health impacts affect someone I personally know; however, I have heard stories that are concerning. I think going forward, this is a topic that congress or state legislatures should take seriously.

Comment on The Last Days of Hitler by franciee

franciee — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:26:27 +0000

I totally agree with your point about Skloot. Because Trevor- Roper comes out and says that he doesn’t actually know what happened because there is no way to know, I didn’t find myself questioning everything the way I did with Skloot.
Its a bit scary to say that Hitler was one of the greatest leaders of all time but I too agree. He had so much control and had such an intense following. People were willing to kill life long friends because of what he told them. I don’t think this is a healthy form of leadership but it is absolutely a powerful one.

Comment on Women in leadership roles by chelseal

chelseal — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:25:21 +0000

I believe that it is unfair to characterize based on gender, and that instead should analyze confidence in personality types. I know that when I am in a class I love and feel confident in, I am a constant participator. When I am weary of what the material is, I am more of a listener, observing and picking at other people’s brains. It is all about adaptation and not consistent gender issues.

Comment on Women in leadership roles by chelseal

chelseal — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:24:01 +0000

I think that the difference between leadership roles is all about personality and comfort in situations, not necessarily gender. When you are put in a political situation, of COURSE men are going to be in the forefront and not women, but that is because women are not easily mobile in the political world, and don’t have as many chances as men do to be in that fore fronted spotlight. And of COURSE women are going to be seen as more of a behind the scenes leader or non profit leader, because men care more about success, politics, and money rather than social issues.

Comment on Groupthink in Hitler’s Court by franciee

franciee — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:19:56 +0000

Being a psych major, I find group think incredibly interesting. Even in emergency situations people will not act if they are surrounded by a group of people who are not acting. And although I agree with your point that perhaps if Hitler had surrounded himself with people who were willing to actually give advise rather than agree with most that Hitler said, I don’t think Hitler would have accepted that. He wanted a scenario where he had absolute power and regardless if his adivsors were competent or not, Hitler did not want to hear it.

Comment on Organ Donation by chelseal

chelseal — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:19:41 +0000

I am personally an organ donor, but after the class discussion, I experienced an opposite effect of what should be expected, and am now questioning whether or not I want to be. I want my organs to be donated to save an innocent life. I do NOT want to be used in science, or plastic surgery, or to be given to a person who suffers from a self inflicted addiction that requires medical attention. I don’t have sympathy for any of those causes, and would be hesitant to give my organs away.
Another thing that was brought up in our class is the resistance of EMTs to save the life of an organ donor, for they are more concerned with preserving organs than preserving life. This also made me wary. I mean, I want to live, and if I had a choice, I would rather the EMTs work on my life support rather than kidney preservation. I believe that pretty much everyone else would be in the same boat.
Lastly, I don’t think it is fair to make comments or judgements about anyones decisions to what they do to their own bodies. If you want to live your life taking and not giving, all the best (and that sounds a lot harsher than it is meant to be). There is no law that says you must give your body away to others. My mother has no use for the first pair of baby shoes I ever owned, but she still holds on to them. They bring her emotional comfort. Maybe people have that same attachment to their organs. You may not need them after you die, but while you are alive, people may find comfort in knowing that they will lay in their coffins all in one piece. That peace of mind throughout their lifetime is enough justification in itself for personal preferences.