The futile Pursuit of Happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The futile Pursuit of Happiness - Essay Example There is a lot of truth in the article. Gertner states that we, "...will adapt to a pleasurable event and make it the backdrop of our lives". We see this everyday through our own lives. Children will quickly discard and neglect the Christmas toys that they had anxiously waited a month to receive. The toy does not have the lifespan or the energy of the anticipation for it. People buy a new car and soon find that the newness has worn off. Just as the glitter wears away from the Christmas toys, so does the grief from a tragic loss. Its easy to think you will never find a job as good as the one that just laid you off, but people are almost always pleasantly surprised by lifes fortunes. The mistake we often make in judging the happiness that we will receive from a given decision or event is generally due to our misunderstanding of where happiness lies. We may be unhappy due to our limited income. The thought of winning the lottery seems like it would make us ecstatic beyond belief. However, by logical examination, it would in all likelihood only result in greater unhappiness. If a modest amount of money made us unhappy, a large sum may make us miserable. How many of the things that make us unhappy could be changed with only money? The bills may be paid, but the underlying reasons for our unhappiness would persist. The author points out that we can train our emotions and in doing so make more rational decisions. A cooling off period to prevent buyers remorse may be rational, but it removes the excitement of making a new purchase. Analyzing our potential for happiness based on laboratory rationale takes away our propensity for risk. It reduces our courage and limits our innovation and invention. While it may be a practical approach to making decisions, it precludes the human nature of emotion. Evaluating our predicted happiness and basing our decisions on a calculated outcome may be more practical

Extra Sensory Perception Essay Example for Free

Extra Sensory Perception Essay The term Extra Sensory Perception, or ESP, denotes the ability to gather information by means not related either to common five sences or to person’s previous experience. The most common abilities classified as ESP are telepathy, precognition and clairvoyance. Studies of ESP, together with vast number of other unexplained psychic abilities attributed to human brain – such as, but not limited to, pyro- and psychokinesis, astral projection, bioenergetic healing and so on – are grouped under the term of parapsychology. Abilities grouped under the term of ESP were rumoured to exist from times of old, but conventional science started to examine them only in late XIX century. Since 1884, British Society for Psychical Research began to experiment with card-guessing, the ESP definition method bordering between clairvoyance and telepathy (the subject was to tell the card in sealed opaque envelopes, to tell the card at certain place on the table in other room and so forth). At 1930s, they were joined by American experiments (by J. B. Rhine and L. Rhine), and the results were thoroughly analysed in order to find any deviations from statistical norm. Though not all experiments were equally conclusive, some methods of guessing were found to produce results unexplained by statistics. Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (1990), English mathematician who was assisting the Society for Psychical Research in analysis of its experiments, wrote: In any case the frequencies differ much more than they would in 748 cards drawn independently and truly at random. The 12 degrees of freedom score 50. 5267 and of this the preference component contributes 24. 1360, a very marked preference, nearly five times its standard error. †¦ in Table E you certainly have â€Å"got a phenomenon†. In British Society for Psychical Research Ina Jephson and S. G. Soal did their experiments with playing cards; after it was found that people choose some cards more often than others based on numerical value, set, or color, J. B. Rhine in Duke Univercity, North Carolina, decided to find a more emotionally neutral media for experiments. A set of special cards with simple symbols on them was developed, called Zener cards after the name of Karl Zener, their inventor. There were 25 cards total in the pack, with 5 each of circle, cross, star, wavy lines and square. With only 5 types of cards it was easier to analyse the results – first by manual accounting, then by computers. Now, Zener cards are the common practice used in ESP experiments. Later, J. B. Rhine (1940) and his Duke Univercity colleagues collected information about their own studies and previous experiments in ESP from XIX century to present time. Considering Duke Univercity experiments, they reported some most unusual results, differing from statistical expectations: In one set of experiments, 2400 total guesses were made and an excess of 489 hits were noted†¦ The statistical probability of this outcome is equivalent to odds of 1,000,000 to 1†¦ †¦ 27 of the 33 [sets of experiments] produced statistically significant results. In Soviet Russia, independent researches in ESP were made with significant successes. Ostrander and Schroeder (1970) in their review Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain cite the results of experiments by some Karl Nikolayev and Yuri Kamensky. Not only they have sent and received telepathic pulses from each other being in different cities 400 miles apart, but their brains were scanned while performing acts of ESP. It was reported that different areas of the brain were becoming active depending on what kinds of information – visual or sound – was being telepathically received. More, the telepathic pulses Nikolayev claimed to be receiving were also indicated by EEG machine connected to his brain, and the distinction between long and short pulses was definite. Soviet parapsychologists’ studies were later put to some use by Western inventors. Ostrander and Schroeder (1997) in their second book tell about some experimental military devices based on ESP principles: Highly reliable sources tell us the Western military saw possibilities in Sergeyevs remote sensors and did some inventing of their own. They created a special helmet to help pilots handle the split second moment of maximum danger when an enemy plane carrying a rocket approaches. The unconscious percieves an event an instant before it becomes conscious to us. The sensors in the helmet pick up a shift in the brains fields in advance and automatically trigger firing a missile before the pilot could do it consciously. Still, there is a wide field of questions that lies before the parapsychological studies. For example, the fact is noted that people who believe in ESP show better results in parapsychology tests than those who do not. This itself is one of the best arguments in favour of accepting ESP as science-proven. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research (2007) tells about one case of such studies: Seventy-four participants were recruited through media advertisements. The experimenters employed blind coding and recoding procedures, and let the participants touch the objects to obtain impressions. Six trials were completed. Participants were categorised as either psychic, ‘ESP skilled’ (N = 44), or non-psychic, ‘ESP experients’ (N = 30). The ESP skilled group scored higher psi-hitting than the ESP experients group, who scored at the level of mean chance expectation. The difference between groups was significant. So, the question of whether the ESP can be classified as scientific fact is still open, but there are very definite arguments for it to be considered as such. References Fisher R. A. (1990). Statistical Inference and Analysis: selected correspondence of R. A. Fisher, edited by J. H. Bennett. London: Oxford University Press J. B. Rhine, J.G. Pratt, Charles E. Stuart, Burke M. Smith Joseph A. Greenwood. (1940). Extra-Sensory Perception after Sixty Years. A Critical Appraisal of the Research in Extra-Sensory Perception. New York: Henry Holt Co. , Inc. Ostrander, S. Schroeder, L. (1970). Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ostrander, S. Schroeder, L. (1997). Psychic Discoveries: The Iron Curtain Lifted. New York: Marlowe and Company. Parra A. Argibay J. C. (2007, July). Comparing psychics and non-psychics through a ‘token-object’ forced-choice ESP test. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, pp. 80-90.

Communication Competency Self-Assessment

Communication Competency Self-Assessment PART 1: Communication Competence Analysis Pick two to three competencies from the listing for which you feel you are currently strong, and describe why you feel that way. Pick two to three competencies from the listing for which you feel you currently need improvement, and describe why you feel that way. Each section should be written with at least three paragraphs (with a minimum of three to four sentences each) of commentary, which is in addition to any quoting from the listing you may choose to do.It may be helpful to explain your thought process and provide examples to give explanation to your descriptions of why you feel that way.This is not a formal paper, but college-level spelling, grammar, and syntax are expected. S = strength NI = needs improvement _S_ 1. I’m sensitive to contexts of communication. I recognize that changes in physical, cultural, social– psychological, and temporal contexts will alter meaning. _S_ 2. I assess my channel options and evaluate whether my message will be more effective if delivered face-to-face, through e-mail, or by some third party, for example. _S_ 3. I look for meaning not only in words but also in nonverbal behaviors. _NI_ 4. I am sensitive to the feedback and feed forward that I give to others and that others give to me. _NI_ 5. I combat the effects of the various types of physical, psychological, and semantic noise that distort messages. _S_ 6. I listen not only to the more obvious content messages but also to the relational messages that I (and others) send, and I respond to the relational messages of others to increase meaningful interaction. _S_ 7. Instead of looking only at the punctuation patterns, I also look at the patterns that others might be using in order to understand better the meanings communicated. _S_ 8. Because communication is transactional, I recognize that all elements influence every other element in the communication process and that each person communicating is simultaneously a speaker/listener. _NI_ 9. Because communication is purposeful, I look carefully at both the speaker’s and the listener’s purposes. _NI_ 10. Because communication is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable, I look carefully for hidden meanings, am cautious in communicating messages that I may later wish to withdraw, and am aware that any communication act occurs but once. _S_ 11. I am sensitive to cultural variation and differences, and I see my own culture’s teachings and those of other cultures without undue bias. My Competency Strengths _S_ 2. I assess my channel options and evaluate whether my message will be more effective if delivered face-to-face, through e-mail, or by some third party, for example. Number two is definitely one of my better strengths out of the competencies listed. Recognizing the different methods of communication is definitely important in how a message can be relayed. Before I want to send a message across, I always think about how it may be portrayed depending on which method is used and which will be most effective. There was a time when I thought about sending a text message to a friend about a certain topic. However, I decided that if I sent the text message, there may be some confusion and may have been taken completely out of context. In the end, my friend and I discussed it in person and he was very grateful we did and that I decided against the text message. I think text messaging can be so emotionless. Although I am not perfect, as no one is, I think I have a pretty good understanding about the differences in which a method of communication can make. I think all it takes is a matter of stopping for a second and thinking about how the words someone is reading over an e-mail or text message may differ as opposed to just going to talk to them about it. Granted, sometimes an e-mail is a completely efficient way to send out a simply message to a large amount of people. _S_ 11. I am sensitive to cultural variation and differences, and I see my own culture’s teachings and those of other cultures without undue bias. Number eleven is another one of my strengths from these competencies. Over the years of working in a hospital, I have learned to understand that there are so many different cultures out there and it’s only fair that we do not think of as our own to be the â€Å"best† or the â€Å"right† one. This is something that I have never had a problem understanding; I was raised to be respectful of other cultures whether or not I may agree with their beliefs. As I have mentioned, working in a hospital has exposed me to many types of different cultures. There have been a few instances where our patient was a Jehovah’s Witness; in which did not accept blood in the event they needed it. This was their belief, and as hard as it is to want to just give them blood in an emergency, their wishes must be respected even though others may not have agreed with the decision. It’s important not to be biased in our own culture. There are so many different types of people in this world, and I think that it’s a great thing. I believe that are a lot of people out there who are very biased of their own culture and don’t understand why people have different beliefs. If we do more to educate others on different cultures, then it’s possible more and more will understand cultures other than their own. My Competencies Needing Improvement _NI_ 5. I combat the effects of the various types of physical, psychological, and semantic noise that distort messages. Number five is one of the communication competencies that I understand but I need to improve on. Sometimes I get easily distracted in fully grasping the messages that are being portrayed. I need to work on trying to ignore other noises that happen between the sending and receiving of messages so I can decode exactly what is being sent to me. There are a lot of distractions with working in the operating room; a lot of things go on at once. On one instance, the patient we had wasn’t doing so well and a lot of activity was going all at the same time; several people were asking me for things all at once. I managed to give everyone what they needed but I remember thinking how overwhelmed I felt and how all of the communication that was being thrown at me was jumbling together because of all the â€Å"noise† that occurred between all of the messages; I have to work more on learning how to separate out the distractions. I look at it as a small challenge to myself to work on ways that will help me learn to cut out so many distractions. I will try to take each message that is being sent to me and focus on it instead of hearing the â€Å"noise† that comes along with it. I think if I become successful at this, I will have a much easier time understanding what is being communicated to me. _NI_ 10. Because communication is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable, I look carefully for hidden meanings, am cautious in communicating messages that I may later wish to withdraw, and am aware that any communication act occurs but once. Number ten is the other communication competency that I feel I need to make improvements on. I understand that communication is unrepeatable, irreversible, and inevitable, but sometimes I don’t think long enough about what I’m going to say and just say it and regret it later. Also, I don’t always see all of the hidden meanings behind some of the things that I say or things others say to me. I think at times I try to convince myself that what I say can be justified and taken away when it usually cannot. I can remember one time I sent an e-mail to someone after a disagreement and because I was so angry while writing the e-mail, I wasn’t thinking about exactly what I was saying and the consequences it was going to have later on. I had sent the e-mail and in the mean time had calmed down and reread the message and couldn’t believe the things I had said and it was too late to take it back; I couldn’t jump into the computer and reverse hitting the send button. The issue was eventually resolved but made me realize that I need to work on thinking more before putting words out there that are irreversible. I think one of the best things I can do in the future to avoid the type of situation I discussed above from happening again is just to step back and look at what I am saying before sending the message. Thinking about the consequences that may occur from saying something the wrong way is a motivator to be more careful. Also, trying to see the hidden meanings behind words before saying them to people I think will avoid any issues as well. PART 2: General Improvement Strategy The one communication competency that I am going to focus on for part two of this assignment is number ten. I understand that all of the competencies that I need to improve on are important but I want to elaborate a bit more on this one and see if I can plan out different ways to improve on it. The Problem: When I am angry or upset about something and want to confront the issue, I do not always fully think about what I’m saying before I say it, therefore living with the consequences of being unable to take back words. The Goal: To think more about what I say before I say it and to really realize how bad the consequences may become. The Plan: There are several things I plan on doing to improve on my problem. I will first think harder about what I am going to say before saying it. I will also step back and take a deep breath before writing out or saying harsh words. I will think about how my words may have hidden meanings to someone else. I will then use what I have learned in the past from the consequences of speaking/writing things I do not truly mean to avoid the same in the future. Test of Measurability: I will know that I have improved on my plan once I am in a situation where I may be upset about something and go to approach the person or an e-mail to someone and I use a better selection of words. I know my plan is going well when I wait to press the send button and reread what I have written to look for things that may mean more to the person that I realize. I will have achieved my goal when I see more positive outcomes and communication with the person I am having issues with. The list of competencies in part one of this assignment, with the exception of my insertions of â€Å"S† and â€Å"NI† are taken from: DeVito, J. (2013). Essentials of Human Communication [VitalSouce bookshelf version].  Retrieved from http://devry.vitalsource.com/books/9781269649261/id/pg23

Huanted House :: essays research papers

I could not sleep that night, for I was not given the chance to. For numerous times I had been yelling at my cousin to lower down the volume of the Compact Disc player. He insisted on testing out every single disc of my brother’s heavy-metal music collection at a certain volume that made my heart jump too fast or choke my mind with angry thoughts. My tired eyes shifted to the alarm clock, which stood, on my computer. Eleven, another hour to a brand new day. The next day, I will be bringing my cousin to have a view of the things we have in stall for him in the small neighborhood of mine, but before that can be possible, I will require my beauty sleep! â€Å"Hey, you moron! Are you finished with those trashy sounds?† I yelled, throwing the blanket over my head. I then grabbed my soft-toy dog, and threw it at him, aiming for his head. He responded, launching the toy back at me, hard at the bum. â€Å"Self-defence,† he reasoned out, reaching for the power switch of the player, finally. I heaved a sigh of relief, dropping dead on the pillow. As soon as I was about to enter the dream world, someone tapping at my shoulder awakened me. â€Å"I cannot sleep,† my cousin explained. I felt like strangling him. Thinking of what the family might say for destroying or killing a potential family name-bearer, I guessed it was not a very healthy idea after all. I sat on my bed, rubbing my eyes as I looked at my cousin through blurred eyes. â€Å" I remembered the last time you stayed overnight when you were around eight, you slept like a pig,† I muttered, reaching out for my spectacles. It hurts to be shortsighted. â€Å"I am thirteen now,† he reminded his ‘meet-once-a-year-during-Chinese-New-Year’ cousin. â€Å"So? Can’t thirteen-year-old don’t act like nocturnal animals?† I gave up, and soon the both of us were in the living room, with freshly brewed cups of coffee in our hands. It reminded me of how I drowned myself in caffine in order to stay awake for last minute examination preparations. My cousin strolled his way over to the television. â€Å"Don’t switch on that. The rest of the them are sleeping, mind you,† I warned him, recalling the time when my father threw down my radio on the ground, for blasting it during his sleep.

Alienation Essay

Metamorphosis is a change in physical form or structure. In The Metamorphosis, there is a literal change in the protagonist, Gregor Samsa’s, physical form from a man to an insect. This metamorphosis brings to light one of the major themes in the novel; the theme of alienation. Today’s society demands conformity to its norms and any individual who refuses to accept these faces alienation. Such is the fate of Gregor in the story. Before Gregor’s metamorphosis, he is alienated from his job, humanity, his family, and even his body. The metamorphosis, however, takes the alienation to a different plane. In the story, Gregor’s job precipitates his alienation from society, his family, and himself. Gregor’s initial alienation is from his physical body and as the story progresses we find that Gregor’s life as an insect is not much different from his life as a human. From the first few paragraphs we get the impression that Gregor’s metamorphosis has only transformed him from one body to a less convenient one. He does not seem frazzled by his transformation, but explores his new body and tries to work with it. He observes his â€Å"numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk† (Kafka, 494), he feels a â€Å"dull ache he had never experienced before† (495), and he discovers a place on his body that he cannot itch. Gregor does not seem to have any emotional change due to this transformation. This is evident when he wakes up after his transformation and is annoyed that he cannot go to sleep because he cannot turn onto his right side. He also thinks about how he can no longer attend work.

The Writing Process Part 1 Finding a job in today’s tough job market Essays

The Writing Process Part 1 Finding a job in today’s tough job market Essays The Writing Process Part 1 Finding a job in today’s tough job market Paper The Writing Process Part 1 Finding a job in today’s tough job market Paper The Writing Process Part 1 Finding a job in today’s tough job market It is well known that we are in the midst of an unfathomable economic depression or otherwise the worst economic situation since the period of the great depression. Almost every organizations or companies are announcing daily about reducing employment and the unemployment level is increasing rapidly to the worst level. There is high competition in the job market so it is essential that you use the available tools so that you can achieve the position that you aspire. Now let us take some of the essential key rules of thriving into a job search in the tough job market. However, before I start giving out essential principles of successful job search, I want to present to you how I managed to get my job. When I graduated from the college nearly eight years ago, I bought a newspaper, read through the advertisement job pages and I was ever connected on the network. I kept on like this until one time I received a call from one of the biggest automotive industry. Therefore, you have to know that going through a job search is mentally exhausting. However, you should be patience because it can be sometimes frustrating and leads to rejection especially when you fail to get a job for a long time. It is essential to prepare for a job search just like the way athletes prepare for a competition. You should know that everybody is going though the same process and it is normal but eventually success comes after when you adhere to the following tips, First, use the technology for your own benefit. In the modern world, technology has become a vital tool in that one cannot do without it. Therefore, you should utilize technology as much as possible. It is good to create e-mails and subscribe for job alerts that match with your course criteria. Create blogs on the subject of your expertise area and stay connected to social networks. I am sure that you are aware of the network and even familiar with it because mostly you do research work or course work using the computer or form a group discussion. So do not go outside and forget that computer have completed their college work. It is now that you should understand that you are going to need computers more than ever. Take use of social networking. Make sure that to attend various organizational events where you can be able to meet all kinds of people and try to seek advice on job search from them. Do not get tired and feel discouraged even though they will not attend you positively. You should be patience and understand why you are out their and what you are searching for because it is through hardworking and tolerance that you can be able to achieve your goals. You should bear in mind that the purpose of attending events on different organizations is to be acquainted with the skills and grow in your networking. This will enable you to develop potential skills that will one time help you when being called for an interview (Roebuck and McKenney, 2006). You should prepare fully for an interview. I know everybody will search to get an interview but the interviews are not meant for open positions. In this point, you should now realize that social networking is crucial because you might be interviewed on what you know about the company where you have gone for an interview. Incase you had already attended the company’s events you are then likely to pass your interview. Another thing you should not forget is dressing code when going for an interview. Some people tend to forget that dressing is part of an interview therefore, incase you are interviewed for a manufacturing industry, be in a conservative attires. Part 2 The process I used to draft my message was that first, I had to organize the message by choosing on the essential ideas that can enable me to deliver my message. I started with prewriting my speech whereby I outlined many points. Secondly, I started writing down the crucial ideas on another draft. In addition, I had to revise on my points that can enable me to draw the attention of my audience. Lastly, I revised my points in order to ensure whether my speech met the required value. My audiences are the students who will be graduating because they are the one mostly affected especially when it comes to competition for jobs in today’s job market. However, other audience may include parents and guardians who will accompany them to graduation because they are affected indirectly especially when it comes to helping their children find a job. Others may include honorable guests and lecturers who will be present in graduation day. In addition, business managers and others executive members from different companies or organizations who will be present will be my audience because they have knowledge about the existing job issues in the economy. My audience was displeased because of the high unemployment rates in the economy and the way I expressed my points to them. I used inductive approach by giving examples about the situation that I went through before I got a job. My audience were displeased especially students who realized that getting a job is not easy after they listened to my speech. I outlined the main ideas from the first draft and included the major points in the second draft. This is because I did not want to make long speech that could have ended boring my audience. I used inductive information sequencing approach because this is a constructivist form of passing across the information and it is more student-centered. This is because my speech aims mostly students who are ready to face the challenges of job market. This method is widely used because it is more experimental and it gives practical example that indicates a direction of something. I wrote the second draft because the first draft had many ideas but after proofreading, I had to choose the essential ideas that can benefit my audience. I had to revise on my points to make sure the points are correct and if they are in line with the speech that I was to present. Reference Roebuck, D. B., McKenney, M. A. (2006). Improving business communication skills. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Act utilitarianism vs Rule utilitarianism Essays

Act utilitarianism vs Rule utilitarianism Essays Act utilitarianism vs Rule utilitarianism Paper Act utilitarianism vs Rule utilitarianism Paper Essay Topic: Utilitarianism Although Utilitarianism as a whole is a complicated and flawed ideology, Rule Utilitarianism (the more sympathetic concept of the two) tends to be more plausible than Act Utilitarianism. However Rule Utilitarianism is not without its own flaws that critics of JS Mill indicate. Critics of JS Mill say that Act Utilitarianism is more plausible because with Rule Utilitarianism, moral laws conflict, for example, the right to be free from hunger and want seems logical but destroying the rainforests to provide food goes against other Utilitarianism principles, whereas in Act Utilitarianism, according to Sidgwick, it is possible that an act may be moral and immoral at the same time. For Sidgwick, when making a moral decision you must respond to the immediate consequences of your actions but not the long term effect, as it isnt possible to be certain about the long term effects. Critics of Bentham and Sidgwick however would say that Rule Utilitarianism is more plausible because Rule Utilitarians believe that it is the quality of an act that is more important and not the greatest good for the greatest number as suggested by Bentham. Mill also believed that without individual liberty, societys happiness is not possible, which makes Rule Utilitarianism more plausible as it coincides with human rights whereas Bentham thinks that Human rights are ridiculous. According to Bentham, Act Utilitarianism is more plausible because it provides the greatest goo for the greatest number through the use of the hedonic calculus. By using the Hedonic calculus, one is able to maximise pleasure and minimise pain. The Hedonic calculus Is the test for all practical decisions and is an easy way to provide the greatest overall happiness for all sentient beings such as humans. The concept of the Hedonic Calculus for philosophers such as Mill, Brandt and Austin was far too complex and they considered it to be an impossible ideal to apply the hedonic calculus when making all decisions, especially when there is not time to carefully think about making a decision. Furthermore, Act Utilitarianism consider maims to be rules of thumb that can be disregarded in certain circumstances, whereas rule Utilitarians believe all moral laws must be obeyed. Rather than following the Hedonic Calculus, Rule Utilitarians instead made a set of general rules selected on the basis of whether they will maximise general good or welfare in society. These general rules apply the Principle of Utility so it is easier to apply them in everyday life, therefore making moral decision making a much easier and less complicated situation. In conclusion, Both act and Rule Utilitarianism have their flaws but overall, Rule Utilitarianism is more plausible than Act Utilitarianism because through Rule Utilitarianism it is easier to apply rules and moral laws and one focuses on the quality of happiness rather than the quantity, which can often lead to impractical decision making (for Act Utilitarians.)