Wednesday was our last class with Rab.
i don't know what to say, but I thought the ELP classes ended very fast than I expected.
before Rab 's lecture, i had been thinking that arguing about the media and propaganda stuff was boring. I somehow had a feeling that news were not being fair and telling the truth, but i didn't know how biased they were, how serious it was, how negatively affected us.
I think the biggest change that happened in myself during this term was not caused by foundation courses, but it was Rab's classes.
Even the area of study which I'm interested in had slightly changed, too.
I really wanted to have class with rab in the Fall term
there should be more fun since we 're gonna be doing project and presentation using computers more.
It is too obvious to say this, but what Rab taught us through the ELP was far more than English. so again, Thank you very much Rab!!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Chapter 8 - And If the Nature of Thought is Not Everywhere the Same?
I must have posted the last blog after writing this one...what a stupid!
the chapter 8 was a summary and conclusion of the whole story of the book.
Nisbett explains that all those theories explained in body chapters by using laboratory tests could be applied to our real world.
Although the author has been arguing his theory about significant difference between westerner's and easterner's way of thinking strongly, and it sometimes look like they are biased somehow(like Nisbett is preferring western way of thinking rather than that of eastern's because he himself is a westerner.),
I think the way Nisbett argue in this last chapter is effective and persuasive.
for instance, he gives many examples of real world such as Laws, Debate, Human Rights , International Relations and Religions to prove that those field reflect his theories of cultural difference.
However, I couldn't get the author's point of arguing these many differences among the two.
well i haven't read the Epilogue but does Nisbett makes any suggestions??
i thought he didn't clearly state what is the point of arguing that both differ in many field
In p.211, he explains Korean graduate student having trouble not to speak out in his psychology class.
he mentions the quote of Lao-tzu and admits that easterner's way of understanding the material is not verbal.
and there's a famous Japanese proverb which most Japanese probably agrees: "The clever hawk hides his claws."
I think this is a good adage that reflect Japanese way of thinking toward smart person.
Japanese don't expect clever people to speak out their knowledge too much.
It is obvious that people from other countries have different way of thinking.
and this is not only about west and east. all parts of the world have different backgrounds and cultures.
the chapter 8 was a summary and conclusion of the whole story of the book.
Nisbett explains that all those theories explained in body chapters by using laboratory tests could be applied to our real world.
Although the author has been arguing his theory about significant difference between westerner's and easterner's way of thinking strongly, and it sometimes look like they are biased somehow(like Nisbett is preferring western way of thinking rather than that of eastern's because he himself is a westerner.),
I think the way Nisbett argue in this last chapter is effective and persuasive.
for instance, he gives many examples of real world such as Laws, Debate, Human Rights , International Relations and Religions to prove that those field reflect his theories of cultural difference.
However, I couldn't get the author's point of arguing these many differences among the two.
well i haven't read the Epilogue but does Nisbett makes any suggestions??
i thought he didn't clearly state what is the point of arguing that both differ in many field
In p.211, he explains Korean graduate student having trouble not to speak out in his psychology class.
he mentions the quote of Lao-tzu and admits that easterner's way of understanding the material is not verbal.
and there's a famous Japanese proverb which most Japanese probably agrees: "The clever hawk hides his claws."
I think this is a good adage that reflect Japanese way of thinking toward smart person.
Japanese don't expect clever people to speak out their knowledge too much.
It is obvious that people from other countries have different way of thinking.
and this is not only about west and east. all parts of the world have different backgrounds and cultures.
Friday, June 11, 2010
June 11th
to tell the truth, i couldn't believe all the facts that were shown in the videos
because I'm too much influenced by rab's dont-trust-media lecture.
we should not trust everything rab shows and tells us just because rab said that
that's what meiland told us. we have to have our own good reasons to support our belief to be true. just because teacher said it is not a good reason.
we have to see if the sources they used to make the film were whether reliable or not.
but we should not also simply trust what meiland says just because meiland said that
...well I'm writing this because i can fill the space.
I know this is not the main point of yesterday's class.
but I also know that i can't think of a good solution to the problems we've learned in the videos yesterday. Im not that creative and not informed enough
all i can say is : first and foremost, people should at least try to know the real facts.
but this is the same thing i was saying one year ago. maybe two or three.
maybe my thoughts haven't changed at all. I wanna do something about this
by the way,
did everyone have already planned what to do during the long summer??
I haven't decided...the first three month of ICU did pass really fast that i couldn't get time to think about summer...
my ICU friend who is a sophomore told me that you have to plan everything what to do in the summer during April.
I think im gonna be working at Ajinomoto Stadium as a haken worker on weekends, and
I'm going to NY for the second time with my friend who did the tap dancing in May, who's actually a professional stage actor. but that's just for a week or so.
I have many, many friends i want to talk to, but i don't wanna just play around with friends for two month.
I guess I'll be performing tap dancing at the Central park. (kind of serious...haha)
because I'm too much influenced by rab's dont-trust-media lecture.
we should not trust everything rab shows and tells us just because rab said that
that's what meiland told us. we have to have our own good reasons to support our belief to be true. just because teacher said it is not a good reason.
we have to see if the sources they used to make the film were whether reliable or not.
but we should not also simply trust what meiland says just because meiland said that
...well I'm writing this because i can fill the space.
I know this is not the main point of yesterday's class.
but I also know that i can't think of a good solution to the problems we've learned in the videos yesterday. Im not that creative and not informed enough
all i can say is : first and foremost, people should at least try to know the real facts.
but this is the same thing i was saying one year ago. maybe two or three.
maybe my thoughts haven't changed at all. I wanna do something about this
by the way,
did everyone have already planned what to do during the long summer??
I haven't decided...the first three month of ICU did pass really fast that i couldn't get time to think about summer...
my ICU friend who is a sophomore told me that you have to plan everything what to do in the summer during April.
I think im gonna be working at Ajinomoto Stadium as a haken worker on weekends, and
I'm going to NY for the second time with my friend who did the tap dancing in May, who's actually a professional stage actor. but that's just for a week or so.
I have many, many friends i want to talk to, but i don't wanna just play around with friends for two month.
I guess I'll be performing tap dancing at the Central park. (kind of serious...haha)
June 9th (about essay...)
okay...no one should not read this blog cause it might be soooo boring!!
I just wanted to write this because this was the only thing I remember about wednesday,
and wanted to organize my plan for the essay.
in Wednesday's class, we had a discussion, I mean, kind of a debate thing again,
but this time about our own topic of the essay.
before the class, I already knew that although I've written the body part of my essay, my thesis statement was kind of obscure and was not really argumentative.
but during the class, Rab told me the topic was okay that some people might be against my thesis.
another problem was, that my first paragraph and the second one looked similar.
actually, main idea of two were different, and Rab also said that in the tutorial time too.
i was worried and afraid to hear from rab that i have to rewrite the second paragraph.
But,
what rab told me was to switch the order of the three paragraph.
I was putting the three in the order of how strong and persuasive they were (like rab told us, 1 strong, 2 least strong, 3 strongest)
but rab said to me that how those three paragraphs connects and flows smoothly is rather important.
so i switched the first one to be the second.
I was amazed because three paragraphs actually flowed really well and got more coherent too.
I just wanted to write this because this was the only thing I remember about wednesday,
and wanted to organize my plan for the essay.
in Wednesday's class, we had a discussion, I mean, kind of a debate thing again,
but this time about our own topic of the essay.
before the class, I already knew that although I've written the body part of my essay, my thesis statement was kind of obscure and was not really argumentative.
but during the class, Rab told me the topic was okay that some people might be against my thesis.
another problem was, that my first paragraph and the second one looked similar.
actually, main idea of two were different, and Rab also said that in the tutorial time too.
i was worried and afraid to hear from rab that i have to rewrite the second paragraph.
But,
what rab told me was to switch the order of the three paragraph.
I was putting the three in the order of how strong and persuasive they were (like rab told us, 1 strong, 2 least strong, 3 strongest)
but rab said to me that how those three paragraphs connects and flows smoothly is rather important.
so i switched the first one to be the second.
I was amazed because three paragraphs actually flowed really well and got more coherent too.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
June 8th
today's class was actually interesting
I remember every thing we did in the class very clearly, because im writing this blog right after the class
well, as usual i couldn't participate that much in the discussion in the first half of the class,
but it was unusual for me to actually ENJOY the discussion when we did the debate thing in the last part of the class.
i did this discussion with Shantonu, Kana and Fumika.
first we argued whether Santiago was Hemingway himself or not,
I don't remember why but the topic of the argument somehow shifted to whether the story was a happy ending or sad ending.
I thought shantonu insisted that it is a happy ending because the fisherman eventually caught the big fish even though its meat was eaten by the shark.
Fumika was against (she was, really) the shantonu's argument because the shark had eaten up all of the meat and there was nothing to eat left, so Santiago was perfectly lost.
But Shantonu had said that that's OK because finding the fish meat for eating was not the main point, or the real purpose of catching the fish. So I thought that's a good point, so did Kana too.
So Fumika was the only one holding that belief that OMS was a sad storry. it was funny
as you know, i haven't read the book yet. i mean, none. zero.
that's because i was planning to read them on the weekend because i have many works that need to be done during this week.
However, to my surprise, i think I've already found an interesting interpretation, which I hope is purely original!
so thanks to Fumika for pointing that out that my one simple question could be a good interpretation for my essay test! (don't know whether she's reading my blog...i think not.ha)
maybe it's hard to connect that idea to the information in the book, but i think i can do it
oh wait, but does the essay test question gonna be asking about our own view or original interpretation?? if not, that's not gonna work out...
but anyway, there's one obvious thing. i definitely need to READ THE BOOK FIRST!!!
I remember every thing we did in the class very clearly, because im writing this blog right after the class
well, as usual i couldn't participate that much in the discussion in the first half of the class,
but it was unusual for me to actually ENJOY the discussion when we did the debate thing in the last part of the class.
i did this discussion with Shantonu, Kana and Fumika.
first we argued whether Santiago was Hemingway himself or not,
I don't remember why but the topic of the argument somehow shifted to whether the story was a happy ending or sad ending.
I thought shantonu insisted that it is a happy ending because the fisherman eventually caught the big fish even though its meat was eaten by the shark.
Fumika was against (she was, really) the shantonu's argument because the shark had eaten up all of the meat and there was nothing to eat left, so Santiago was perfectly lost.
But Shantonu had said that that's OK because finding the fish meat for eating was not the main point, or the real purpose of catching the fish. So I thought that's a good point, so did Kana too.
So Fumika was the only one holding that belief that OMS was a sad storry. it was funny
as you know, i haven't read the book yet. i mean, none. zero.
that's because i was planning to read them on the weekend because i have many works that need to be done during this week.
However, to my surprise, i think I've already found an interesting interpretation, which I hope is purely original!
so thanks to Fumika for pointing that out that my one simple question could be a good interpretation for my essay test! (don't know whether she's reading my blog...i think not.ha)
maybe it's hard to connect that idea to the information in the book, but i think i can do it
oh wait, but does the essay test question gonna be asking about our own view or original interpretation?? if not, that's not gonna work out...
but anyway, there's one obvious thing. i definitely need to READ THE BOOK FIRST!!!
Chapter 7 - "CE N'EST PAS LOGIQUE" or "You've Got the Poiint There?"
I've finally finished reading chapter 7....
Nisbett mentions that easterners try to find the middle way between extreme propositions
by using the result of two conflict study.
I think this is really true. in conversations, Japanese tend to make and allow the third choice for people to answer when asking questions.
Americans don't make their decision that ambiguous. they make a clear distinction between YES and NO.
In my opinion, i prefer western way of thinking this time because things can't be both true and false.
but i think its very difficult for Japanese to quit preferring the vague stuff because Japanese tend to think the ambiguous things to be some kind of virtue.
Nisbett mentions that easterners try to find the middle way between extreme propositions
by using the result of two conflict study.
I think this is really true. in conversations, Japanese tend to make and allow the third choice for people to answer when asking questions.
Americans don't make their decision that ambiguous. they make a clear distinction between YES and NO.
In my opinion, i prefer western way of thinking this time because things can't be both true and false.
but i think its very difficult for Japanese to quit preferring the vague stuff because Japanese tend to think the ambiguous things to be some kind of virtue.
Monday, June 7, 2010
June 7th
yesterday, we mostly talked about the OMS again
but since i didn't know much about Hemingway's background, I couldn't discuss that much
Paul mentioned about hemingway capturing a big fish, so i thought the story is somehow connected or based on the author's own experience.
then, Rab asked us whether or not hemingway could be a hunter and a conservationist at the same time.
I think rab wanted to say that if the result was same, it doesn't matter if people kill animal for pleasure or for life.
when kana was warned not to sleep, i thought rab was pointing me because i was almost about to sleep at that time too!
after the class i went to have a hair cut but when I got home
I had a painful headache so i slept early (though it was 10 or 11)
and i wanted to wake up at 5 a.m. and do the home work,
but i actually woke up at 9 a.m. ;;
I was really shocked when rab said yesterday that we might gonna be having the OMS test early, because i haven't even started reading the book
i have to read the last two chapters of the nisbett as well, the book report for political science class, essay for american lit. class!!
the only good thing is that I've already finished writing three body paragraphs for the essay,
but i still got many things that need to be done.............
but since i didn't know much about Hemingway's background, I couldn't discuss that much
Paul mentioned about hemingway capturing a big fish, so i thought the story is somehow connected or based on the author's own experience.
then, Rab asked us whether or not hemingway could be a hunter and a conservationist at the same time.
I think rab wanted to say that if the result was same, it doesn't matter if people kill animal for pleasure or for life.
when kana was warned not to sleep, i thought rab was pointing me because i was almost about to sleep at that time too!
after the class i went to have a hair cut but when I got home
I had a painful headache so i slept early (though it was 10 or 11)
and i wanted to wake up at 5 a.m. and do the home work,
but i actually woke up at 9 a.m. ;;
I was really shocked when rab said yesterday that we might gonna be having the OMS test early, because i haven't even started reading the book
i have to read the last two chapters of the nisbett as well, the book report for political science class, essay for american lit. class!!
the only good thing is that I've already finished writing three body paragraphs for the essay,
but i still got many things that need to be done.............
Thursday, June 3, 2010
June 2nd
Wednesday, we had a class outside and rab talked mainly about the relations between Ernest Hemingway and the Old Man and the Sea.
actually i haven't done any 3Bs research yet, so all the things he told us was new to me.
I definitely have to start reading the book but ive got so many things to do..
the example of the Lord of the Rings and its author was interesting too!
i hope i can find out interesting interpretations while reading the book.
first i have to know more about the background of Hemingway though
after the class, i went to the ILC office to see rab for my essay tutorials.
to be honest, what i found out after talking with rab was that i have to think MORE for my topic
he explained me what "framing" is and that it is the important factor when thinking about media and especially political stuff.
furthermore, it was also really interesting to hear from rab what "politics" are
i can't explain everything what he had said, but i remember he meant that
we live in a society which is impossible to think apart from politics.
politics are everywhere and we're always consciously and subconsciously influenced by politics.
there're no such idea like,Im interested in politics/ I'm not interested in it.
well,,,I'm sure whoever reading this can't understand what I'm trying to say... because i dont fully understand neither!! i want to use japanese!!
actually i haven't done any 3Bs research yet, so all the things he told us was new to me.
I definitely have to start reading the book but ive got so many things to do..
the example of the Lord of the Rings and its author was interesting too!
i hope i can find out interesting interpretations while reading the book.
first i have to know more about the background of Hemingway though
after the class, i went to the ILC office to see rab for my essay tutorials.
to be honest, what i found out after talking with rab was that i have to think MORE for my topic
he explained me what "framing" is and that it is the important factor when thinking about media and especially political stuff.
furthermore, it was also really interesting to hear from rab what "politics" are
i can't explain everything what he had said, but i remember he meant that
we live in a society which is impossible to think apart from politics.
politics are everywhere and we're always consciously and subconsciously influenced by politics.
there're no such idea like,Im interested in politics/ I'm not interested in it.
well,,,I'm sure whoever reading this can't understand what I'm trying to say... because i dont fully understand neither!! i want to use japanese!!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
MEDIA/POLITIC/DEMOCRACY
Juuuuuuune!!!!!! oh my god----
okay,,,
we didn't actually have usual class today (too bad!!), but instead our PWT essay's grades were notified.
i think i don't have much more to say about today, so i'm gonna be talking about my next essay
I really have so much interest in political and media kind of areas, so i have too many things that i want to include in the essay.
in fact, i haven't decided the specific topic though..
i have two research question which are
・How does the media affects people's perceptions toward political issues and the governments?
and
・Is a perfect democracy achievable?
I'm still not sure whether my thesis statement should answer to both questions or not.
I've been researching books in the library, and Shantonu asked me to put the names of those books.
Robert Entman, Democracy Without Citizen
John Street, Mass Media, Politics and Dmocracy
Robert W. McChesney, Rich Media, Poor Democracy
Robert W. McChesney, The Problem of the Media
I haven't really read much of these, so maybe im not gonna be using some books,
and I'm sure i won't be using many parts of these books.
so if you want to take a look at these, just tell me
May be it's a good idea to share the information of useful sources between people who's writing the same kind of topic.(or may be not.ha)
I haven't looked up the Internet to find sources, so if someone find useful data or sources, please let me know
i can't believe so many works that needs to be done...aaaaaaaa
okay,,,
we didn't actually have usual class today (too bad!!), but instead our PWT essay's grades were notified.
i think i don't have much more to say about today, so i'm gonna be talking about my next essay
I really have so much interest in political and media kind of areas, so i have too many things that i want to include in the essay.
in fact, i haven't decided the specific topic though..
i have two research question which are
・How does the media affects people's perceptions toward political issues and the governments?
and
・Is a perfect democracy achievable?
I'm still not sure whether my thesis statement should answer to both questions or not.
I've been researching books in the library, and Shantonu asked me to put the names of those books.
Robert Entman, Democracy Without Citizen
John Street, Mass Media, Politics and Dmocracy
Robert W. McChesney, Rich Media, Poor Democracy
Robert W. McChesney, The Problem of the Media
I haven't really read much of these, so maybe im not gonna be using some books,
and I'm sure i won't be using many parts of these books.
so if you want to take a look at these, just tell me
May be it's a good idea to share the information of useful sources between people who's writing the same kind of topic.(or may be not.ha)
I haven't looked up the Internet to find sources, so if someone find useful data or sources, please let me know
i can't believe so many works that needs to be done...aaaaaaaa
Monday, May 31, 2010
May 31th
today was the last day of May...
time really flies i can't believe how fast it does!
today, we had a discussion about politics.
perhaps all the things rab had told us are closely related to what I'm trying to write about in my next essay
which, i haven't clearly decided yet..
what i said about my essay topic in front of everyone was true
however, to tell the truth, I had just decided that topic only 20 or 30 minutes before the class.
anyways, we had discussions about whether we would go to vote even if theres no good candidate at all, is it okay to ignore people who didn't actually vote even when that number accounts for majority of the whole and all those kinds of stuff.
before today's class, i was thinking
that it is still important to go to the election to vote even if there's no good political party at all
because it is our rights to go for vote and choose the candidate most likely to be good.
i believed that's the democracy should be.
however, after today's class i began to doubt this belief....
well, it's really a hard thing to think about
but my essay's gonna be about these things. media, politics and democracy stuff.
i think people especially in Japan are controlled by the media too easily!
i thought Naoko's topic looks so similar to mine.
good night^^
time really flies i can't believe how fast it does!
today, we had a discussion about politics.
perhaps all the things rab had told us are closely related to what I'm trying to write about in my next essay
which, i haven't clearly decided yet..
what i said about my essay topic in front of everyone was true
however, to tell the truth, I had just decided that topic only 20 or 30 minutes before the class.
anyways, we had discussions about whether we would go to vote even if theres no good candidate at all, is it okay to ignore people who didn't actually vote even when that number accounts for majority of the whole and all those kinds of stuff.
before today's class, i was thinking
that it is still important to go to the election to vote even if there's no good political party at all
because it is our rights to go for vote and choose the candidate most likely to be good.
i believed that's the democracy should be.
however, after today's class i began to doubt this belief....
well, it's really a hard thing to think about
but my essay's gonna be about these things. media, politics and democracy stuff.
i think people especially in Japan are controlled by the media too easily!
i thought Naoko's topic looks so similar to mine.
good night^^
Sunday, May 30, 2010
May 30th
okay...where should i start
first of all, I think I should once again apologize rab for not being in Friday's class.
I'm sure he held an other interesting class since it was computer class and some guests have came!
I went to the Thursday's class but because of rab's mother-in- law's unfortunate bike accident, rab couldn't come to the class. I hope she and rab's son Kiyo get better soon
well, I'm looking forward to see rab tomorrow and CB guys as well!!
second, I really want to thank again those of you who came to see my performance on thursday.
more than ten icu students came to see the play and I was so surprised and happy that i was almost about to cry...
for some of you couldn't come, it was too bad...
i don't know when we'll have the next show, (or maybe there won't be any forever...dont know.)
but IF, IF, IF!!, I have a chance again to perform, please come!!^^
Fumika, Tomoaki, Miki and Nastuko, you guys are awesome! thank you very, very much for coming!
and finally,,,,
i have to apologize whoever reading this blog, for lying in the previous blog entry.
what I wrote in that blog was what i actually want to achieve in this spring term... in other words, that is my goal.
my goal to cope with both succeeding the play and working on all the studies in school at the same time
still don't know i can achieve this, but i did quite well on the former one.
June will be a really hard month...but i think i can do this. i mean, I will.
I'm working on the criterion essay right now,
so today's blog became kind of like essay structure!(??haha)
anyways, gotta get back to work! see you guys in NP tomorrow! bye!!
first of all, I think I should once again apologize rab for not being in Friday's class.
I'm sure he held an other interesting class since it was computer class and some guests have came!
I went to the Thursday's class but because of rab's mother-in- law's unfortunate bike accident, rab couldn't come to the class. I hope she and rab's son Kiyo get better soon
well, I'm looking forward to see rab tomorrow and CB guys as well!!
second, I really want to thank again those of you who came to see my performance on thursday.
more than ten icu students came to see the play and I was so surprised and happy that i was almost about to cry...
for some of you couldn't come, it was too bad...
i don't know when we'll have the next show, (or maybe there won't be any forever...dont know.)
but IF, IF, IF!!, I have a chance again to perform, please come!!^^
Fumika, Tomoaki, Miki and Nastuko, you guys are awesome! thank you very, very much for coming!
and finally,,,,
i have to apologize whoever reading this blog, for lying in the previous blog entry.
what I wrote in that blog was what i actually want to achieve in this spring term... in other words, that is my goal.
my goal to cope with both succeeding the play and working on all the studies in school at the same time
still don't know i can achieve this, but i did quite well on the former one.
June will be a really hard month...but i think i can do this. i mean, I will.
I'm working on the criterion essay right now,
so today's blog became kind of like essay structure!(??haha)
anyways, gotta get back to work! see you guys in NP tomorrow! bye!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
May 26th
thanks to shantonu for reminding me this blog post about why we are the best student..
well,
There's one big obvious reason why I should be regarded as the best student in the class.
I've been working really hard to cope with both the ELP home works and the tap-dancing&acting practice.
Just think about it, who else have hard practice almost every day after school untill 8 or 9' o clock?
I even go to Rikkyo Niiza campus which takes almost an hour to get there.
Practice began in the middle of April and at that time it was 3 to 4 days a week,
but from two days before the day we had PWT test, we've been having the practice everyday!
Actually, although i began the study for PWT the day before 0:00 at midnight because i got home so late and was really tired, I worked really hard and didn't have much trouble during the essay test.
I mean, I know some of other students have joined circles and club activities, I'm sure they don't have practices everyday like I do. So it should be easy for them to do their works done by date.
Despite the hard practices, I finish reading assignments and manage to post blogs almost everyday.
ICU wants us to seize the day and take every chances available, and I'm the only person who's acting like that, thus, that makes me that I'm the best hardworking student in section CB.
well,
There's one big obvious reason why I should be regarded as the best student in the class.
I've been working really hard to cope with both the ELP home works and the tap-dancing&acting practice.
Just think about it, who else have hard practice almost every day after school untill 8 or 9' o clock?
I even go to Rikkyo Niiza campus which takes almost an hour to get there.
Practice began in the middle of April and at that time it was 3 to 4 days a week,
but from two days before the day we had PWT test, we've been having the practice everyday!
Actually, although i began the study for PWT the day before 0:00 at midnight because i got home so late and was really tired, I worked really hard and didn't have much trouble during the essay test.
I mean, I know some of other students have joined circles and club activities, I'm sure they don't have practices everyday like I do. So it should be easy for them to do their works done by date.
Despite the hard practices, I finish reading assignments and manage to post blogs almost everyday.
ICU wants us to seize the day and take every chances available, and I'm the only person who's acting like that, thus, that makes me that I'm the best hardworking student in section CB.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
May 25th
I really feel sorry for not going to today's class...
the reason why i couldn't go was not that i didnt want to do the P&D.(it's true that im not good at giving speech in front of everyone though..
I had to go to the practice.
well, yesterday we had discussions about our next essay topic, and half the people had presentations about it.
it was interesting to hear everyone's essay topic, but that made me feel ashamed because at that moment, I haven't actually decided the topic yet.
but i think I'll write about the radical democracy which I learned in the poli-sci course.
I want to connect that to the question why Japanese tend not to protest or demonstrate.
I think I'll be arguing whether it is okay or not okay not to fight against the government's misjudgements.
most importantly, i want my essay to include why people are not so much interested in political issues and are easy to accept every facts shown on tv news.
aaaah that's just too ambiguous to be a research question!
I'm still not sure whether I'm going to relate this topic to cultural difference thing or media thing.
anyways,
the reason why I'm choosing this kind of talk is not only Rab had been teaching us these stuff, but I'm also interested in this sort of studies, like how people actually react to political issues.
the reason why i couldn't go was not that i didnt want to do the P&D.(it's true that im not good at giving speech in front of everyone though..
I had to go to the practice.
well, yesterday we had discussions about our next essay topic, and half the people had presentations about it.
it was interesting to hear everyone's essay topic, but that made me feel ashamed because at that moment, I haven't actually decided the topic yet.
but i think I'll write about the radical democracy which I learned in the poli-sci course.
I want to connect that to the question why Japanese tend not to protest or demonstrate.
I think I'll be arguing whether it is okay or not okay not to fight against the government's misjudgements.
most importantly, i want my essay to include why people are not so much interested in political issues and are easy to accept every facts shown on tv news.
aaaah that's just too ambiguous to be a research question!
I'm still not sure whether I'm going to relate this topic to cultural difference thing or media thing.
anyways,
the reason why I'm choosing this kind of talk is not only Rab had been teaching us these stuff, but I'm also interested in this sort of studies, like how people actually react to political issues.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
May 21th
in yesterday's class, Rab tricked us again
when he was angry for us being lazy, i kind of doubted that he was acting,
but this time, i totally believed that there is a war going on in the world.
as he mentions, we have to perceive things and see things deeply through the surface of the object just like we observed stereograms in the class.
well, i really like friday's computer classes because we can learn many new stuff and often have discussions too!
after the class, i didn't go to the swimming class, but went to the practice.
right now, i have practice for the tapdancing and the play everyday...
some of the CB members said that they could come to the see show, so i will do my best.
in fact, i'm pretty much sure that i can do well and people would definitely enjoy it.
then i met with some LAMBS members at izakaya. I still don't know why Yuga was there....
but anyways, it was really fun talking with lambs members. you know, everyone in lambs are soooo nice and actually that was the biggest reason why i chose lambs.
im so sorry for being too sleepy that i can't post interesting blog right now..I've gotta wake up early tomorrow too....;
when he was angry for us being lazy, i kind of doubted that he was acting,
but this time, i totally believed that there is a war going on in the world.
as he mentions, we have to perceive things and see things deeply through the surface of the object just like we observed stereograms in the class.
well, i really like friday's computer classes because we can learn many new stuff and often have discussions too!
after the class, i didn't go to the swimming class, but went to the practice.
right now, i have practice for the tapdancing and the play everyday...
some of the CB members said that they could come to the see show, so i will do my best.
in fact, i'm pretty much sure that i can do well and people would definitely enjoy it.
then i met with some LAMBS members at izakaya. I still don't know why Yuga was there....
but anyways, it was really fun talking with lambs members. you know, everyone in lambs are soooo nice and actually that was the biggest reason why i chose lambs.
im so sorry for being too sleepy that i can't post interesting blog right now..I've gotta wake up early tomorrow too....;
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
May 19th
Today we practiced how to give good presentations..
it's not that I'm only not good at speaking English, but I'm not good at talking infront of many people even if it was in Japanese.
So presentation is really challenging for me...but I'll do my best
after the ELP class, we gathered at the lobby and talked about the PWT questions.
and Yuji made a google document shared with everyone in CB.
i think we can corporate and i hope everyone can get good scores!!
i hate rain because i can't wash my clothes!
it's not that I'm only not good at speaking English, but I'm not good at talking infront of many people even if it was in Japanese.
So presentation is really challenging for me...but I'll do my best
after the ELP class, we gathered at the lobby and talked about the PWT questions.
and Yuji made a google document shared with everyone in CB.
i think we can corporate and i hope everyone can get good scores!!
i hate rain because i can't wash my clothes!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Chapter 6 - Is the World Made Up of Nouns or Verbs?
From my own experience, I was thinking that there's a difference between Japanese and Americans
that while Japanese prefer complicated, difficult and complex stuff, Americans prefer more simple easy-to-understand stuff.
Nisbett mentions in 6th chapter that westerners prefer to see things in categories that are represented by nouns which is easy to understand,
whereas easterners prefer to think relationships are important that involve verbs which are more difficult to learn.
for instance,
i think americans love actions and SF movies, which have quite easy story and even childish, compared to Japanese who prefer to watch movies that are more emotional, complicated and hard-to-understand story. i totally reject them but i don't know why people in Japan love Miyazaki Hayao's Jiburi Film. there're just boring!
well, what I've just said might be completely off the nisbett's point...
but i think his theory about westerners and easterners are some how all connected
and that makes his argument strong and persuasive.
ok , I'll go back to Fisher now..
that while Japanese prefer complicated, difficult and complex stuff, Americans prefer more simple easy-to-understand stuff.
Nisbett mentions in 6th chapter that westerners prefer to see things in categories that are represented by nouns which is easy to understand,
whereas easterners prefer to think relationships are important that involve verbs which are more difficult to learn.
for instance,
i think americans love actions and SF movies, which have quite easy story and even childish, compared to Japanese who prefer to watch movies that are more emotional, complicated and hard-to-understand story. i totally reject them but i don't know why people in Japan love Miyazaki Hayao's Jiburi Film. there're just boring!
well, what I've just said might be completely off the nisbett's point...
but i think his theory about westerners and easterners are some how all connected
and that makes his argument strong and persuasive.
ok , I'll go back to Fisher now..
May 18th
today was such a busy day...i mean, i felt busy.
but it was n't actually busy because today i woke up in 11:10AM, exactly the same time when the 3rd period began, so i didn't go to the class...;
this was the first time missing the class, but i don't wanna repeat that again.
what i did after that, i went to the practice for tapdance in Rikkyo univ.
we practiced outside because the weather was really nice today!
in class, rab introduced us another psychological test again!
Although yesterday's test was interesting, i thought the picture one was also accurate.
i want to try these tests to my other friends cause it's so interesting!
well about Barna...
she mentions six stumbling block when communicating and one of them is the "Tendency to Evaluate". i thought its the most important stumbling block.
i think it's obvious that Nisbett is doing this thing in his book.
although what he says is true and based on many surveys and tests, he is definitely assuming things in some extent. and his assumptions are not always applicable to us.
after the class, i biked to kichijoji to buy some stuff..
and after that, the worst thing i've ever had in my life happened when i got back home around 8:30...
i got home, turned the lights on, and put backpack on bed, then i saw it crawling up on the wall right next to my bed....a cockroach.
at first i couldn't literally believe what was happening there.
i was like, "is that it?? is that really it?? maybe it is... no it can't be it" but it was, indeed, it.
I mean, at least i keep my room clean all the time and since i live in an apartment where meals are served, i don't need to cook, so there's no Namamono in my room at all.
well, i borrowed this bug killer spray from a friend in the apartment, but while i was out, cockroach disappeared. so i couldn't kill it.
you know, that thing moves really fast!! i haven't seen them for more than 10 years, so it was truly shocking...... ohhh i wanna die(;o;)
but it was n't actually busy because today i woke up in 11:10AM, exactly the same time when the 3rd period began, so i didn't go to the class...;
this was the first time missing the class, but i don't wanna repeat that again.
what i did after that, i went to the practice for tapdance in Rikkyo univ.
we practiced outside because the weather was really nice today!
in class, rab introduced us another psychological test again!
Although yesterday's test was interesting, i thought the picture one was also accurate.
i want to try these tests to my other friends cause it's so interesting!
well about Barna...
she mentions six stumbling block when communicating and one of them is the "Tendency to Evaluate". i thought its the most important stumbling block.
i think it's obvious that Nisbett is doing this thing in his book.
although what he says is true and based on many surveys and tests, he is definitely assuming things in some extent. and his assumptions are not always applicable to us.
after the class, i biked to kichijoji to buy some stuff..
and after that, the worst thing i've ever had in my life happened when i got back home around 8:30...
i got home, turned the lights on, and put backpack on bed, then i saw it crawling up on the wall right next to my bed....a cockroach.
at first i couldn't literally believe what was happening there.
i was like, "is that it?? is that really it?? maybe it is... no it can't be it" but it was, indeed, it.
I mean, at least i keep my room clean all the time and since i live in an apartment where meals are served, i don't need to cook, so there's no Namamono in my room at all.
well, i borrowed this bug killer spray from a friend in the apartment, but while i was out, cockroach disappeared. so i couldn't kill it.
you know, that thing moves really fast!! i haven't seen them for more than 10 years, so it was truly shocking...... ohhh i wanna die(;o;)
Monday, May 17, 2010
May 17th
today's class was really fun compared to the boring NP lecture.
what Rab taught us in the first half of the class (though i don't know it was really half...)
was quite meaningful to me since as you know, my vocabularies are so childish and that's one of my concerns when writing essay...
the worksheets we did was actually hard for me...;; i couldn't really solve it on my own
i definitely need to read more and increase my vocabularies!
and the second half.....!!!!!
I'm pretty much sure that i was the one who enjoyed the psychological test the most
because, to tell the truth, i thought the result of the test was almost 95% correct.
it was funny for me to see rab in a hurry when we were working on the paper about writing style, because what he really wanted to do in class was not to introduce how to make our essays formal and academic, but the psychological test. Thanks alot to him i really enjoyed. and i can't wait till tomorrow's test too.
well um... about the retreat,
at night I've spent many time with new people except for Fumika and Yumi.
we did many things and despite the fact that i don't really remember their name, I've made lots and lots of new friends! i really enjoyed talking with people who haven't met before.
there are many interesting people in ICU. people have various kinds of backgrounds and i think that's one of the greatest things about this university!
yeah, thats all i have to say about retreat. it was really fun overall!!
what Rab taught us in the first half of the class (though i don't know it was really half...)
was quite meaningful to me since as you know, my vocabularies are so childish and that's one of my concerns when writing essay...
the worksheets we did was actually hard for me...;; i couldn't really solve it on my own
i definitely need to read more and increase my vocabularies!
and the second half.....!!!!!
I'm pretty much sure that i was the one who enjoyed the psychological test the most
because, to tell the truth, i thought the result of the test was almost 95% correct.
it was funny for me to see rab in a hurry when we were working on the paper about writing style, because what he really wanted to do in class was not to introduce how to make our essays formal and academic, but the psychological test. Thanks alot to him i really enjoyed. and i can't wait till tomorrow's test too.
well um... about the retreat,
at night I've spent many time with new people except for Fumika and Yumi.
we did many things and despite the fact that i don't really remember their name, I've made lots and lots of new friends! i really enjoyed talking with people who haven't met before.
there are many interesting people in ICU. people have various kinds of backgrounds and i think that's one of the greatest things about this university!
yeah, thats all i have to say about retreat. it was really fun overall!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
May 11th + a little bit about democracy...
Today's class was so exciting. Rab gave us many explanations about other country's religious, historical and cultural backgrounds which were completely new to me.
during the discussion, the woman from publishing company was in our group,
but i didn't really care because she didn't say nothing at all!!
but i saw her many times covering her mouth not to laugh out loud with the Rab's jokes.
well, I think practicing how to examine assumptions is about learning critical thinking.
and today i want to talk few things about the democracy we've been discussing in our class.
I'm taking the Introduction to Political Science class
and today's lecture was intriguing since it was all about democracy.
Rab has been asking us why Japanese don't protest or demonstrate compare to other countries despite the fact that Japan is a democratic country. and he said that's not a real democracy.
however, what i learned today from the poli sci teacher were the two different types of
democracies:
Participatory Democracy is a classic form of democracy and it is more pure(?) democratic system. what i meant pure here is that under this type of democracy, it is more likely to achieve the direct participation of literally all the citizens or members of the society. therefore, this democracy was only applicable to a local and small level of region. this democracy was not suitable for a big and national level of society since it was unrealistic for all the people in the country to participate in political discussions.
on the other hand, Liberal Democracy was introduced after the participatory democracy and this new type is what we call representative democracy in other words. this time, people are still involved in the political participation but in a more indirect way by having votes to elect small number of people who represents people's opinions. this one is applicable more to a modern and national level of society.
I don't want to say this, but maybe it's kind of impossible to achieve the perfect democracy since its too idealistic.
I understand that it's not good to take for granted what the professor says, that i should be thinking more critically,
and I know that the Rab's point and what im talking right now are not exactly the same,
but i thought it is important to remember that democracy is not always the same.
the form of democracy might change as the people of the society change.
but anyway, i also know that i'm not that informed enough to challenge rab especially on this subject, but i simply wanted to know how he react to this idea...^^;
during the discussion, the woman from publishing company was in our group,
but i didn't really care because she didn't say nothing at all!!
but i saw her many times covering her mouth not to laugh out loud with the Rab's jokes.
well, I think practicing how to examine assumptions is about learning critical thinking.
and today i want to talk few things about the democracy we've been discussing in our class.
I'm taking the Introduction to Political Science class
and today's lecture was intriguing since it was all about democracy.
Rab has been asking us why Japanese don't protest or demonstrate compare to other countries despite the fact that Japan is a democratic country. and he said that's not a real democracy.
however, what i learned today from the poli sci teacher were the two different types of
democracies:
Participatory Democracy is a classic form of democracy and it is more pure(?) democratic system. what i meant pure here is that under this type of democracy, it is more likely to achieve the direct participation of literally all the citizens or members of the society. therefore, this democracy was only applicable to a local and small level of region. this democracy was not suitable for a big and national level of society since it was unrealistic for all the people in the country to participate in political discussions.
on the other hand, Liberal Democracy was introduced after the participatory democracy and this new type is what we call representative democracy in other words. this time, people are still involved in the political participation but in a more indirect way by having votes to elect small number of people who represents people's opinions. this one is applicable more to a modern and national level of society.
I don't want to say this, but maybe it's kind of impossible to achieve the perfect democracy since its too idealistic.
I understand that it's not good to take for granted what the professor says, that i should be thinking more critically,
and I know that the Rab's point and what im talking right now are not exactly the same,
but i thought it is important to remember that democracy is not always the same.
the form of democracy might change as the people of the society change.
but anyway, i also know that i'm not that informed enough to challenge rab especially on this subject, but i simply wanted to know how he react to this idea...^^;
Monday, May 10, 2010
May 10th
today's class was quite interesting for me.
we went over LBH and covered how to write a good introduction and conclusion.
we already learned that we shouldn't leave the belief without any reasons or evidence in the previous classes,
what surprised me was that we are allowed to use emotional factors and reasons in our essays to support the belief.
also Rab gave us further explanations on"assumptions" which had been troubling us since the first essay.
important thing I've learned today was that the problem we have to concern the most about assumptions is not whether we include or avoid assumptions but whether those assumptions are valid or invalid.
rab gave examples that are easy to understand to explain what kind of assumptions are valid or not.
I got an idea that this valid assumptions might be the emotional assumptions, which its validity depends on the audience of the essay.
so whether people believe your assumption is valid or invalid depends on whether the audience share the writer's assumptions or not.
I know some of you know it,
but I'm a member of the Rikkyo University's theatrical company. I also tap dance.
I've been practicing 3 or4days a week and its so hard to get my ELP assignments done
our play is coming up on May 27&28 so if you have time please come. im not so good at dancing but the play's whole quality is really, really good.
we went over LBH and covered how to write a good introduction and conclusion.
we already learned that we shouldn't leave the belief without any reasons or evidence in the previous classes,
what surprised me was that we are allowed to use emotional factors and reasons in our essays to support the belief.
also Rab gave us further explanations on"assumptions" which had been troubling us since the first essay.
important thing I've learned today was that the problem we have to concern the most about assumptions is not whether we include or avoid assumptions but whether those assumptions are valid or invalid.
rab gave examples that are easy to understand to explain what kind of assumptions are valid or not.
I got an idea that this valid assumptions might be the emotional assumptions, which its validity depends on the audience of the essay.
so whether people believe your assumption is valid or invalid depends on whether the audience share the writer's assumptions or not.
I know some of you know it,
but I'm a member of the Rikkyo University's theatrical company. I also tap dance.
I've been practicing 3 or4days a week and its so hard to get my ELP assignments done
our play is coming up on May 27&28 so if you have time please come. im not so good at dancing but the play's whole quality is really, really good.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Chapter 5 - "The Bad Seed" or "The Other Boys Made Him Do It?"
I think it is interesting to think that westerners and easterners have different ways and views when reporting something.
Nisbett explained this using example of a mass murderer reported by New York Times and World Journal. American reporters concerned more to the murderer's individual personality, whereas Chinese reporters preferred to focus on situational factors such as Chinese society, context and environments that surrounded the killer.
but I dont think the same thing can be said to Japanese media. though I haven't watched tv news recently, as far as i remember, I think Japanese TV news talk about both the criminals' personal flaws and their relationships.
i thought examples of soccer reporters, ball-dropping cartoon and fish experiment were interesting and was able to understand Nisbett's point easily.
also, the differences in negotiation strategies between Americans and Asians really caught my attention. it is said that Americans are more likely to fight against opponents. I have a feeling that westerners prefer more and also superior at debating than Asians, especially Japanese.
well, i think what nisbett says is interesting, but it is obvious that his theories do not apply to everyone.
at least the people in CB class, because many of us had lived abroad, we might think things in ways that are not distinctly western nor eastern way. I'm sure all of CB students have their own thoughts, which are mixture of western and eastern thoughts, that can not be described easily by Nisbett . I don't know why but that makes me feel exciting...^^
by the way.....today, when i was riding my bike to the campus to go to the library, I crashed into another bike at a crossroad in residential street. Fortunately, the old man (i think he said he was over 80...) who i crashed with was not injured at all, but i had broken his bike's front wheel. I had to pull the bike to the nearest store to have it fixed... and i also had to pay for that....my sanzenyen......it was the most tiring sunday I've ever had since the school started
Nisbett explained this using example of a mass murderer reported by New York Times and World Journal. American reporters concerned more to the murderer's individual personality, whereas Chinese reporters preferred to focus on situational factors such as Chinese society, context and environments that surrounded the killer.
but I dont think the same thing can be said to Japanese media. though I haven't watched tv news recently, as far as i remember, I think Japanese TV news talk about both the criminals' personal flaws and their relationships.
i thought examples of soccer reporters, ball-dropping cartoon and fish experiment were interesting and was able to understand Nisbett's point easily.
also, the differences in negotiation strategies between Americans and Asians really caught my attention. it is said that Americans are more likely to fight against opponents. I have a feeling that westerners prefer more and also superior at debating than Asians, especially Japanese.
well, i think what nisbett says is interesting, but it is obvious that his theories do not apply to everyone.
at least the people in CB class, because many of us had lived abroad, we might think things in ways that are not distinctly western nor eastern way. I'm sure all of CB students have their own thoughts, which are mixture of western and eastern thoughts, that can not be described easily by Nisbett . I don't know why but that makes me feel exciting...^^
by the way.....today, when i was riding my bike to the campus to go to the library, I crashed into another bike at a crossroad in residential street. Fortunately, the old man (i think he said he was over 80...) who i crashed with was not injured at all, but i had broken his bike's front wheel. I had to pull the bike to the nearest store to have it fixed... and i also had to pay for that....my sanzenyen......it was the most tiring sunday I've ever had since the school started
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Chapter 4 and friday's class
It is really interesting to learn from the Nisbett's reading and to watch videos about demonstration and democracy at the same time because we could compare those two and have an opportunity to think about our own country.
according to ch4, Asians are less concerned to control situations, rather they prefer to adjust themselves in situations.
I think this may be the one of the reason why Japanese don't tend to protest or demonstrate.
Japanese often tend to adjust themselves to the harmonious society even if it is negatively affecting Yuga explains in her blog.
the video we watched yesterday was really shocking but it also meant a lot to us.
It is our right and duty to obtain real information using not TV but Internet too.
well, I really thank Rab for teaching us this kind of class.
I'm sure other program C classes don't teach about media and democracy this much.
what rab shows and explains to us is not only about learning English but it's also about how to see things critically which must be emphasized more in every classes.
according to ch4, Asians are less concerned to control situations, rather they prefer to adjust themselves in situations.
I think this may be the one of the reason why Japanese don't tend to protest or demonstrate.
Japanese often tend to adjust themselves to the harmonious society even if it is negatively affecting Yuga explains in her blog.
the video we watched yesterday was really shocking but it also meant a lot to us.
It is our right and duty to obtain real information using not TV but Internet too.
well, I really thank Rab for teaching us this kind of class.
I'm sure other program C classes don't teach about media and democracy this much.
what rab shows and explains to us is not only about learning English but it's also about how to see things critically which must be emphasized more in every classes.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Chapter 3 - Living Together vs. Going It Alone
I founded quite easy to read this chapter compared to chapter 1&2 because Nisbett provides many examples, stories and pictures that are easy to understand.
When Nisbett mentioned in page 49 that Asians tend to emphasize maintaining harmonious social relation than achieving personal goals, I immediately remembered popular Japanese phrase "KY" which is the short of "空気 読めない" This means that people who are called KY are not cooperative or harmonious with others. Even if that person was right to say or do such thing, they would be criticized by others only because they had broken the good mood. (btw, I'm super KY so be careful)
Nisbett said that there are no Japanese word for "self esteem", and he said we use "serufu esutiimu" in page 54, but he's totally wrong. None of us had heard of such phrase. Instead, there's "jisonshin 自尊心" which has the same meaning.
But what he argues here is correct. It is obvious that Americans concern and like to think good of themselves than Japanese, and if Japanese speak something good of themselves, others often criticize that the person is a narcissist. Moreover, I found interesting to know that there no indigenous word that has exactly the same meaning for Japanese word"自慢する". In English, people say "speak proudly", "have a good opinion of oneself". I think this means that Japanese
think it is not a polite thing to boast of oneself, whereas for westerners especially Americans, it is very natural and normal thing to say good of themselves.
I think his argument is getting interesting. He understands that he has not been making a biased judgment, but what he says about westerners and easterners is really true and convincing.
When Nisbett mentioned in page 49 that Asians tend to emphasize maintaining harmonious social relation than achieving personal goals, I immediately remembered popular Japanese phrase "KY" which is the short of "空気 読めない" This means that people who are called KY are not cooperative or harmonious with others. Even if that person was right to say or do such thing, they would be criticized by others only because they had broken the good mood. (btw, I'm super KY so be careful)
Nisbett said that there are no Japanese word for "self esteem", and he said we use "serufu esutiimu" in page 54, but he's totally wrong. None of us had heard of such phrase. Instead, there's "jisonshin 自尊心" which has the same meaning.
But what he argues here is correct. It is obvious that Americans concern and like to think good of themselves than Japanese, and if Japanese speak something good of themselves, others often criticize that the person is a narcissist. Moreover, I found interesting to know that there no indigenous word that has exactly the same meaning for Japanese word"自慢する". In English, people say "speak proudly", "have a good opinion of oneself". I think this means that Japanese
think it is not a polite thing to boast of oneself, whereas for westerners especially Americans, it is very natural and normal thing to say good of themselves.
I think his argument is getting interesting. He understands that he has not been making a biased judgment, but what he says about westerners and easterners is really true and convincing.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Apr 28th
Like everyone's saying, we didn't have any discussions and just worked on worksheets.
Some information was new to me, but i think it would be really difficult if we follow all the rules...
about the essay, I'm having trouble with the Introduction.
I think it was last week when Rab said you have to get people's attention with the title and the introduction using humorous, shocking statement or interesting quote etc.
I can't think of an interesting introduction.
I like today's weather!!!
Some information was new to me, but i think it would be really difficult if we follow all the rules...
about the essay, I'm having trouble with the Introduction.
I think it was last week when Rab said you have to get people's attention with the title and the introduction using humorous, shocking statement or interesting quote etc.
I can't think of an interesting introduction.
I like today's weather!!!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Apr 27th
I don't know why everyone's blog posts are so interesting!
I've been reading all of the people's blogs everyday, and I think they're thoughts are really creative...
I want to be more creative and be able to look things from many different aspects like everyone else does
In today's class, we had a discussion again and this time we mostly talked about Meiland.
When solving the questions for PWT practice, people in my group gave opinions and examples which seemed interesting to me.
Maybe they didn't think those opinions are creative at all, but for me, it's hard to think of my own ideas immediately and to share it with friends.
It's not only because I can't speak English well, but even if we do exactly the same thing in Japanese, I don't know if I can discuss that much.
however, I still feel really lucky to be in this section CB because everyone is so nice and unique! especially Tomoaki!!
I had few hours to have a talk with him today before we had the ELP class,
And I realized that he is the kind of guy I really wanted to be.lol
its true. The way he thinks and worries about other friends was wonderful.
but unfortunately, right now he seems to be in a bad mood or something, so I hope he gets better tomorrow.
I've been talking about Tomoaki too much...
I think I should tell you just in case, that I'M NOT A GAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!
maybe i should talk about girls sometimes.......but there's too many! ha!
I've been reading all of the people's blogs everyday, and I think they're thoughts are really creative...
I want to be more creative and be able to look things from many different aspects like everyone else does
In today's class, we had a discussion again and this time we mostly talked about Meiland.
When solving the questions for PWT practice, people in my group gave opinions and examples which seemed interesting to me.
Maybe they didn't think those opinions are creative at all, but for me, it's hard to think of my own ideas immediately and to share it with friends.
It's not only because I can't speak English well, but even if we do exactly the same thing in Japanese, I don't know if I can discuss that much.
however, I still feel really lucky to be in this section CB because everyone is so nice and unique! especially Tomoaki!!
I had few hours to have a talk with him today before we had the ELP class,
And I realized that he is the kind of guy I really wanted to be.lol
its true. The way he thinks and worries about other friends was wonderful.
but unfortunately, right now he seems to be in a bad mood or something, so I hope he gets better tomorrow.
I've been talking about Tomoaki too much...
I think I should tell you just in case, that I'M NOT A GAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!
maybe i should talk about girls sometimes.......but there's too many! ha!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Apr 26th
Today we had Rab's interesting NP lecture in the morning
and in later class we discussed about our essays
In the NP class, Rab was talking about Propaganda, media, news, biases and all those kinds of stuff.
I think we're going to read about Propaganda in the ELP reader book, so I'm excited to know more about these things from Rab in our class!
I've finally started writing essay. It's so hard to make it persuasive!!
oh and happy birthday Sayako!
and in later class we discussed about our essays
In the NP class, Rab was talking about Propaganda, media, news, biases and all those kinds of stuff.
I think we're going to read about Propaganda in the ELP reader book, so I'm excited to know more about these things from Rab in our class!
I've finally started writing essay. It's so hard to make it persuasive!!
oh and happy birthday Sayako!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Chapter 2 - The Social Origins of Mind
I learned from the second chapter that Greeks often dealt with contradiction because of their individuality.
As a result, contradiction among outsiders and insiders helped the development of cognitive procedures.
Moreover, I thought that ancient Chinese pursued harmonious society because peasants had to get along with each other in their farms, but on the other hand, the Greeks had to work by themselves because the ecology of Greece wasn't suitable for large cooperation with other people which promoted an individualized society.
To tell the truth, I think this book is not going to be interesting any more, because of the reasons I have already said in the older post.
And I'm sooo sleepy! I don't want my answer card to be ripped off at tomorrow's NP lecture.....
As a result, contradiction among outsiders and insiders helped the development of cognitive procedures.
Moreover, I thought that ancient Chinese pursued harmonious society because peasants had to get along with each other in their farms, but on the other hand, the Greeks had to work by themselves because the ecology of Greece wasn't suitable for large cooperation with other people which promoted an individualized society.
To tell the truth, I think this book is not going to be interesting any more, because of the reasons I have already said in the older post.
And I'm sooo sleepy! I don't want my answer card to be ripped off at tomorrow's NP lecture.....
Friday, April 23, 2010
Chapter 1 - The Syllogism and the Tao
My first impression after reading the first chapter was,
hey, maybe this Nisbett guy is challenging us to "think critically"....
the reason why I thought this way is that although he provides many many interesting views on ancient Greek and ancient Chinese people, those stories had no sufficient reasons to support them.
But one of the insightful views I've found interesting was in page 6, when the author says:
"Individual rights in China were one's share of the rights of the community as a whole".
When I read this part, I immediately remembered the Japanese lacking sense of individualism. Japanese are often said that they tend to stuck in groups all the time and hesitate insisting something by him or herself alone.
I thought this phenomenon is somehow related to Nisbett's statement.
Although what the writer says might be true, and it sounds like true, we have to be skeptical to his points made in this chapter. He does not actually states enough evidence and explanation to argue the differences between westerners and easterners. Thus, I think we should not simply believe his idea, for instance, that ancient Greeks emphasized individual values while ancient Chinese thought differently and tried to create harmonious society.
Once again, Nisbett had reminded me the importance of thinking critically on the issues even if those seem to be true.
hey, maybe this Nisbett guy is challenging us to "think critically"....
the reason why I thought this way is that although he provides many many interesting views on ancient Greek and ancient Chinese people, those stories had no sufficient reasons to support them.
But one of the insightful views I've found interesting was in page 6, when the author says:
"Individual rights in China were one's share of the rights of the community as a whole".
When I read this part, I immediately remembered the Japanese lacking sense of individualism. Japanese are often said that they tend to stuck in groups all the time and hesitate insisting something by him or herself alone.
I thought this phenomenon is somehow related to Nisbett's statement.
Although what the writer says might be true, and it sounds like true, we have to be skeptical to his points made in this chapter. He does not actually states enough evidence and explanation to argue the differences between westerners and easterners. Thus, I think we should not simply believe his idea, for instance, that ancient Greeks emphasized individual values while ancient Chinese thought differently and tried to create harmonious society.
Once again, Nisbett had reminded me the importance of thinking critically on the issues even if those seem to be true.
Apr 23rd
Today's class were really interesting(as always).
But what we learned from Rab today was really beneficial for us!
Google books and Zotero are going to be very useful in writing an essay, but not only that,
he also told us how important for us to be confident when giving a presentation.
I'm a soooo slow reader, I'm still reading chapter 1 of Nisbett's book.><
so I'm not going to write much for today. I'll see some of you tomorrow, bye!
But what we learned from Rab today was really beneficial for us!
Google books and Zotero are going to be very useful in writing an essay, but not only that,
he also told us how important for us to be confident when giving a presentation.
I'm a soooo slow reader, I'm still reading chapter 1 of Nisbett's book.><
so I'm not going to write much for today. I'll see some of you tomorrow, bye!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
aaaaa
Well,Rab told us to make creative blog now,
but I'm really not so creative so I'm going to talk about how I love this section CB.
First of all, one of the section member whose name is Tomoaki who is sitting right next to me now is really nice and funny guy.
Yesterday he told us about a story when he went for a home staying in England. His roommate was a gay and Tomoaki massaged the roommate.
If I have some time I want to introduce more people in CB section! Love CB
but I'm really not so creative so I'm going to talk about how I love this section CB.
First of all, one of the section member whose name is Tomoaki who is sitting right next to me now is really nice and funny guy.
Yesterday he told us about a story when he went for a home staying in England. His roommate was a gay and Tomoaki massaged the roommate.
If I have some time I want to introduce more people in CB section! Love CB
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Apr 21st
In today's class, mostly Rab gave us a lecture of how to write a good essay.
He talked about three big parts of an essay.
His examples were very interesting and made it easier to get the main idea.
The order of the three body paragraphs is really important to make the essay more persuasive, and even more, it was new to hear that concerning carefully on the order is necessary for not having any bias and would make more balanced essay.
Now the problem is, that I have chosen really hard topic for my essay...
He talked about three big parts of an essay.
His examples were very interesting and made it easier to get the main idea.
The order of the three body paragraphs is really important to make the essay more persuasive, and even more, it was new to hear that concerning carefully on the order is necessary for not having any bias and would make more balanced essay.
Now the problem is, that I have chosen really hard topic for my essay...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Apr 20th
Today we had a deeper discussion about Meiland's opinion about argumentative essay.
We learned that assumption which has no reasons should not be made in our essay. But I think it's very difficult to completely exclude assumptions. Mostly that kind of mistake happens unconsciously and not deliberately.
Rab also told us today that he wants to be challenged by us. I really want to, but he is so logical and persuasive that I will definitely loose. But he also said very interesting thing that if we persuade him with an opinion that is different from his, he is still winning because he is gaining new ideas.
I'm not sure I can convince him, but I think I will challenge him with a research question: What is the disadvantages of applying new technology to education?
We learned that assumption which has no reasons should not be made in our essay. But I think it's very difficult to completely exclude assumptions. Mostly that kind of mistake happens unconsciously and not deliberately.
Rab also told us today that he wants to be challenged by us. I really want to, but he is so logical and persuasive that I will definitely loose. But he also said very interesting thing that if we persuade him with an opinion that is different from his, he is still winning because he is gaining new ideas.
I'm not sure I can convince him, but I think I will challenge him with a research question: What is the disadvantages of applying new technology to education?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Apr 19th
Today, we started discussing how to write an argumentative essay.
First of all, Rab told us we should start thinking of a question, the question we are trying to answer in our essays.
Then secondly, we have to make a research, and once we found the answer, then that answer is going to be the "thesis statement".
What I most felt impressed today was this. I had studied how to write essay for TOEFL, and I have always thought that thesis statement must be decided first, and then the reasons.
However, what surprised me from Rab's lecture today was that "It is okay not to clarify the thesis first, but we should start by questioning, researching and finding the answer to the question. Only after we find the answers or evidence to the question that can support your opinion, should we write our thesis statement."
Well I think this made me feel much more easier to find a topic of my essay.
In fact, it is already midnight but I still haven't got a good idea of the essay.
Maybe finding out good question is the skill that can not be actually taught by our instructor, but we have to discover it on my own.
First of all, Rab told us we should start thinking of a question, the question we are trying to answer in our essays.
Then secondly, we have to make a research, and once we found the answer, then that answer is going to be the "thesis statement".
What I most felt impressed today was this. I had studied how to write essay for TOEFL, and I have always thought that thesis statement must be decided first, and then the reasons.
However, what surprised me from Rab's lecture today was that "It is okay not to clarify the thesis first, but we should start by questioning, researching and finding the answer to the question. Only after we find the answers or evidence to the question that can support your opinion, should we write our thesis statement."
Well I think this made me feel much more easier to find a topic of my essay.
In fact, it is already midnight but I still haven't got a good idea of the essay.
Maybe finding out good question is the skill that can not be actually taught by our instructor, but we have to discover it on my own.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Apr 16th
On Friday's class, the peer review writing activity made me realize many errors in structures.
When I completed the paragraph, I thought it was perfect, but my partner found many mistakes.
I also simply thought that google document is a very useful devise to work on essays with other people.
The video activity was not an easy thing to do, but may be this could be a most useful material for practicing speaking.
I thought it was embarrassing to have myself on videos on blogs, because my speaking is not good and not organized.
However, I also felt that this kind of class is interesting. Sometimes it is important to evaluate my own English by myself which is not an easy thing to do.
When I completed the paragraph, I thought it was perfect, but my partner found many mistakes.
I also simply thought that google document is a very useful devise to work on essays with other people.
The video activity was not an easy thing to do, but may be this could be a most useful material for practicing speaking.
I thought it was embarrassing to have myself on videos on blogs, because my speaking is not good and not organized.
However, I also felt that this kind of class is interesting. Sometimes it is important to evaluate my own English by myself which is not an easy thing to do.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Kutiman mother of funk chords
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tprMEs-zfQA
Thriving ivory - fans cover - angel on the moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjY3UvQ2n98
From watching two youtube videos, I learned that unifying different but good information is important in essay writings too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tprMEs-zfQA
Thriving ivory - fans cover - angel on the moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjY3UvQ2n98
From watching two youtube videos, I learned that unifying different but good information is important in essay writings too.
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