Reading “How We Decide” is very
interesting and informative about how humans make basic decisions to very
complicated ones with many variables.It is the first time I have read required material for school and read
the entire text.As I read chapter six,
“The Moral Mind” I found myself really disturbed by the fact that the
government allows organizations, the military, and the media to influence the
way people think and make decisions.From
which cereal we want to eat to accepting violence as a social norm.
On page 179 Lehrer encloses that only 20% of infantryman of US
military during WWII actually fired their weapon while being attacked because
it was against people’s moral code to kill another human being.So the US Military changed tactics and
launched new strategies to desensitize their men and making killing morally
easier and automatic.During the Korean
War 60% shot their weapons and Vietnam 90% shot their weapons.Needless to say the US Military tactics were
effective.I am not saying that these
tactics were not important or invaluable in a war situation or that the
military was wrong.
What does distress me is that
desensitization to violence does not just effect willing participants in the US
military, no, it affects us much closer to home.Why is it that the US government allows desensitization in mass
media?According to New Scienctist
2007, “By the time the
average U.S. child starts elementary school he or she will have seen 8,000
murders and 100,00 acts of violence on TV.” (http://www.cybercollege.com/violence.htm)
What we watch or participate in
inadvertently affects who we are, how we act, and what behaviors we deem safe
and healthy.If we as a nation promote
nothing but violence then whether we realize it or not we are telling our
children that violence is ok.If
anything mass media should be advocating healthy lifestyles.If that were the case we would probably have
a smaller percentage with obesity and we wouldn’t have terrible acts of
violence like the Columbine shooting.One thing is for sure this book most definitely gives food for thought!
Fad1 :
During the 80’s my parents were rock and roll fans and one of the fads at that
time was Hair Bands. Big, crimped, and
fluffy hair was the trademark for many rock and roll bands during that time but
the only one we really listened too in our house was Poison. We loved that band, with songs like "Talk Dirty To Me" and "Every Rose Has Its
Thorn" big hair had its dabue in our house. Poison’s look was what we wanted to
accomplish at that time but the look was short lived. Fortunately those pictures
aren’t being showcased today.
Fad2: It all started out as
trying to look like the girls we saw on MTV and Charlies Angels.
Feathered hair, side pony tails, you name it; we made it happen! But being a tom boy I found it difficult to
keep up with the feathered hair fad. I
remember crying my eyes out trying to feather my fine thick hair into any kind
of “IN” hair style. By morning recess it
would be all over the place and looking less than oh so MTV fabulous. Eventually I gave in to the crimped side pony
tail, with colored scrunchy and all. loved those scrunches’.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073972/
Fad3: One of my most
embarrasing fads in the 1980’s was wearing those silly parashute pants. It started because of MC Hammer’s “U Canit Touch This.” The beginning of my love for Rap
and R&B. This fad became a trend in
the Rap and R&B industry, making its mark even in a small town in
Montana. Me and all of my friends just
had to have the Hammer Pants. To this
day baggy pants are all the rage for Rap and R&B industries and represent
gansters everwhere. Just a girl from Montana,
I can hardly say I was ganster, but I loved the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo
\
Fad4:
Growing up in Montana there wasn’t too much for us to do on Friday night but us
kids always looked forward to TGIF and Steve Urkle in Family Matters. Out of nowhere all of the sudden people were
wearing their pants to high, wearing suspenders, and big thick rimmed
classes. Being a “Nerd” became the new
cool. Thank God this was a short-lived
fad because who wants to look and act like Steve Urkle. Even though wearing those things were short-lived
TGIF Fridays became a trend in our homes.
Families all over America made TGIF part of there Friday Family days at
least in Montana.
Fad5
: Robotic Pets, you remember those cute
little lifeless pets that rolled around your neighbors living room. Every kid I baby sat had one of those things. Solid metal plastic pets, no poopy mess, and
no feeding them. These were the number
one pets to have for every kid five years old and up. But like most toys they were short lived and
collecting dust in six months after the purpose. Those poor parents and the auto-bot “Rufff”
or “Meow.”
Trend1
: Skateboarders grudge look that was all me in my late teens and early
twenties. Hemp pants, long flowing skirts, it looked like I was living as a
flower child from the 1960s rather than a girl in late 90’2 early 2000’s. Music
and art were my passions and living a “Chill” lifestyle. You could even say I was a bit of a hippy
(although soap and a shower have always been a daily ritual). This trend has come in and out of my life
several times. I try to change little by
little developing the true me but I always come back to the grunge look. Comfortable living is the way to go.
Trend2
: Punk Rock was a trend that sucker punched my friends and I in the face. With lyrics that seemed to describe our
teenage outrage at the world (for reasons unknown) this lifestyle came raging
with a force that changed lives. Next
thing you know we were tattooed and pieced, wore black, and killer crazy
make-up. What was a fad in my life, a
life style to hardcore for the likes of me, became a trend in modern day
America. To this day there is a huge
following of Punk; men and women living on the edge and defying the rules of
the masses.
Trend3
: In 2002 word quickly spread that it
was possible to make all your dreams come true. That we could become a house
hold name as a American Idol pop star. I
was completely hypnotized by the talents that America had and it brought a
whole new view of making our secret dreams a reality. It had the ability to
reach a vast number of different people that all were rooting for their
favorite American talent. This Reality
TV Series set a real trend, it will be around for years, and giving the
opportunity to sing our American hearts out!
Trend4
: Graphic Novels, Manga, Anime, and
Comic Books have paved their way into popular culture. This trend has touched almost every American. From graphic t-shirts, posters, panties, and
movies, these hard core and loved characters are everywhere. You cannot walk into any mall in the U.S. and
not see stores filled with Anime and Comic Book characters. This trend started out in the early 90’s and
has exploded on the big screen with movies like: Spiderman, The Green Hornet,
The Hulk, Iron Man, and even Marvel’s Avengers.
I do not know who started this trend but I love it!
Trend5
: Digital music has changed the game as
to who has what and how you can acquire it music. From Napster to the amazing
world of iTunes, we the public now have at our fingertips the ability to make
our own cd’s and albums, making the music industry more accessible for the
public domain. For years people relied
on vinyl records, cassette tapes, and then cd’s but with the eruption of
digital music all those tapes and cd’s are collecting dust. This Trend has changed the future of music
and touched millions of people across the world including me. Yay for iTunes!
The most interesting point about the reading assignment in How We Decide written by Jonah Lehrer, was the importance of certain parts of the brain. Specifically the orbitofrontal cortex and the anterior cingulated cortex, and the relationship they have between emotion and actions.What is it about emotions that cause some people to act and others to do nothing in a serious or life threatening situation?
In recent years there have been many studies done on a loose term called the bystander effect. It refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the numbers of people present; the less likely people are to help a person in distress. (http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/a/bystandereffect.htm)
This research claims it is more common for people to stand by and do nothing than to act. That is a very scary thought. Put yourself in the victim’s shoes. According to Gavin De Becker in his book, “The Gift of Fear” he sums it up in this quote, "We, in contrast to every other creature in nature, choose not to explore-even to ignore-survival signs." That little tingling sensation that you feel when something is just not right and not acting on that feeling, could be the difference between life and death. The difference between people that act and people that do not act in a serious, possibly life threatening situation, is that they do not trust thier own instincts. Whether it is fear, dopamine, or an unidentified sixth sense, I always want to trust my instincts.
