Counterintuitive Spring 2023

Original Post:

Money seems to have a big role in our society; you can’t do much or get far if you don’t have any.  Money is valuable in different ways, even when you don’t see it physically.  In today’s society you must have faith in the government, in the banking system, that your money is being handled with in the proper manner, if not then you would be hiding all of your money under your mattress, or around your house.  I never really have a clue what happens in the banks, and how they take care of your money.  I always just thought money was quite simple; you either have some or you don’t, that’s it.  However, by being introduced to this assignment and having it compare the Yap Fei with the US and France gold trade in 1933, and the Brazilian cruzeros all seemed somewhat similar.  No one actually sees their money being transferred.  When you get paid, you don’t get a check or get paid even in cash, it’s all directly transferred to your bank account, and that you just have to trust that you got more money.

Edited Post:

Money seems to have a big role in our society; not much can be done without it.  Money is valuable in different ways, even when it has no physical form.  In today’s society one must have faith in the government, and in the banking system, that money is being handled in the proper manner.  If not, then we would be hiding all of our money under our mattresses, or around our houses.  This writer has no clue what happens in the banks, or how they take care of money.  It is often thought that money is quite simple; it’s either there or it’s not.  However, one might find, through research, that the Yap Fei, US and France gold trade, and the Brazilian cruzeros all seemed somewhat similar.  Most don’t even see their money being transferred.  When many workers are paid, they don’t receive cash or a check; it’s often transferred to their bank accounts.

Children unlucky enough to be born into poverty, or with absent fathers, have been proven to be less successful in life because they lack the ability to delay gratification. They almost always choose to grab what they can immediately, and not postpone gratification in the hopes of getting more. This lack of self control leads to juvenile delinquency, poor performance in school, and lack of economic opportunities. Simply put, weak cognitive self control plus deviant opportunity equals crime and other negative social outcomes.

A classic definition of weak cognitive self control include impulsiveness, low frustration tolerance, self-centeredness, bullying behavior and risk taking behavior. Studies indicate that when parental discipline, nurturing and monitoring are absent, children are at a greater risk for weak cognitive self control.   It makes sense that parents who exhibit weak self control are those most likely to have children that exhibit weak self control. This is because proper parenting requires extensive effort, patience and consistent structure, not likely to be found in the homeless community. Studies indicate a significant link between low maternal self control and low child self control, as many of these families have absent fathers.

According to a study done by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) it was shown that parents or other important adults have a major impact on whether or not a child develops good cognitive self control. The parents set ground rules, provide structure and discipline, teach consequences, and provide adequate socialization for their children. They monitor their offspring and teach right from wrong. When four conditions are present (care, monitor, recognize, and correct) children learn to avoid situations with long term negative consequences. Studies have shown that all four conditions must be present for the child to learn self-control. There is also the contention that self control is stable once the child passes the ages of 8 or 10 years of age. Good children tend to remain good, while those lacking self control continue to be worrisome to parents and teachers, and could lead to juvenile delinquency. This suggests that the window of opportunity to make a difference in a child’s life occurs in early childhood. Any teacher can identify those children at risk. For example, if a child is disruptive in the classroom in second or third grade, he would be identified as a child who requires intervention to learn self control techniques. Parents would be brought into the discussion and taught the four conditions necessary for learning self control (care, monitor, recognize and correct), and work in conjunction with the teacher to establish ground rules to put the child on a positive path.

Instilling self control in this at-risk population would result in the ability to make rational decisions based on consequences. They would develop social bonds that could impede deviant behavior. Homeless children and young adults are presented with many opportunities for deviant behavior while faced with trying to fulfill basic needs such as food and shelter. Early intervention through parental education and societal resources could result in a much better outcome for homeless children.

Works Cited

“Childhood Maltreatment and Self Control among Homeless Young Adults.” University of Nebraska- Lincoln, 1 Dec. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

“The Stability of Self-control.” The Stability of Self-control. Journal of Criminal Justice, 2002. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

Some people of the world own health insurance. This is an insurance that pays for medical expenses such as surgeries and regular checkups. Even though a person might have health insurance, doctors can easily make mistakes and the doctors won’t take accountability for it. The big issue with health care nowadays would be doctor accountability; this means doctors need to be charged if they make a small mistake.

Responsibility means being able to take the blame for something. What happens when doctors do not take the blame for their mistakes? This leaves room for more mistakes. Quality is measured in how good something is or how good someone is. Health care hasn’t been of good quality because medical personnel keep on making mistakes. If they learn from their mistakes, the quality of their performance would be better. No more mistakes would be made.

People around the world pay for health insurance. These people should at least get high quality health care. Doctors should not make anymore mistakes because this harms the patients. If the Doctors are accountable for their actions, health care would be of high quality.

Work Cited

“LippincottNursingCenter®.” Lippincott NursingCenter. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

Money seems to have a big role in society; people can’t do much or get far if they don’t have any. Money is valuable in different ways, even when it isn’t shown physically. In today’s society it is important to have faith in the government, in the banking system, that money is being handled with in the proper manner, if not then it would be hiding money under mattresses, or around houses. I never really have a clue what happens in the banks, and how they take care of money. I always just thought money was quite simple; either be wealthy and have a lot of money or be poor and don’t have a lot of money that’s it. However, by being introduced to this assignment and having it compare the Yap Fei with the US and France gold trade in 1933, and the Brazilian cruzeros all seemed somewhat similar. No one actually sees their money being transferred. When getting paid, it’s most likely to not get a check or get paid even in cash, it’s all directly transferred to a bank account, and that its trusted to have more of that money.

Video Games: Improving Cognitive Abilities, Treating Disorders

Soon, we will be able to walk into our local pharmacy and pick up an interesting prescription: a video game. Long thought of as solely a form of entertainment, video games are proving to be a feasible therapy for an array of cognitive disorders. As it stands, they are not currently available as treatment. However, strides are being made by neuroscientists and game developers, who have successfully crafted games that alleviate the ails of disorders from ADHD to autism. Video games should no longer be thought of as simply a pastime of the bored teenager. They are now to be considered a therapeutic undertaking.

Project Evo epitomizes the work neuroscientists and game designers are doing to aid cognitive ailments. Players control a skidding car on ice, simultaneously tapping color-specified fish that appear at the top of the screen. Doing so employs multitasking, a capability in the same neural networks as attention span and working memory. These associated areas are bridged together while playing, training the brain to increase its focus and memorization. Driving a virtual car while tapping fish sounds nonsensical, but nine completed clinical trials by the researchers have revealed improvements in ADHD, depression, and autism in its players.

Current ADHD medicine comes with negative side effects- sleep loss, low appetite, and stomach pain, to name a few. The creators of Project Evo expect a rapid decline in the use of these uncomfortable ADHD treatments once therapeutic games inevitably become available over-the-counter. Playing a video game with no side effects, aside from potential sore thumbs, is a much more humane treatment approach than swallowing pills that cause various side effects. Skepticism is not unwarranted when saying that video games should replace certain prescription medications. Yet, the interactive, entertaining, and side-effect free aspects, backed by neuroscience, provide a strong case for the classification of video games as therapy.

One major roadblock stands in the way of this necessary classification: the FDA. Games typically travel from conception to retail shelves in six months. This ordinarily simple and quick process extends to an arduous ordeal that can take up to three or four years to complete, and cost several million dollars, when the FDA must approve a medical device. The small companies who are behind these health-centric games do not currently have the high funds or unexplainable amount of time that the FDA stamp of approval requires. The science, logic, and clinical trials have all been established. Doctors can prescribe the games and insurance companies can begin covering the costs for patients once the approval is given. Even drug companies are waking up to the possibilities. Pfizer, working alongside the Project Evo team, is attempting to improve the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s using the game.

Neuroscientists, health care professionals, and pharmaceutical companies have all realized the potential that video games hold for treating cognitive disorders. The FDA is the black sheep, the sole reason that these medically beneficial games are not currently thought of as prescriptions. Once the FDA is onboard, video games will be legally legitimized as what they clearly are: therapy.

Works Cited

Dembosky, April. “‘Play This Video Game And Call Me In The Morning’“NPR. NPR, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

“Therapeutic Video Game, “Project: EVO” Makes Headlines.” Autism Speaks. N.p., 16 Mar. 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

Every day in the United States, police officers receive training and are given guidelines on using force when they are employed. However, most of these police officers can’t distinguish between appropriate force and excessive force and when the two should be used. Today in our society, police brutality has been an ongoing issue that has resulted from the constant use of excessive force when in most cases it isn’t necessary. Another result of this is the amount of African-American males who have been targeted and killed because police officers don’t know when it is appropriate to use a certain level of force on a “suspect”.

The term “excessive force” hasn’t been exactly defined but according to an article from U.S. Legal, “Excessive force is the use of force greater than that which a reasonable and prudent law enforcement would use under the circumstances is generally considered to be excessive.” In most cases police officers aren’t very sensible nor reasonable if most are quick to put suspects in a choke-hold or beat them to death before accusing them of an illegal act. U.S. Legal has proved that excessive force is a violation of a person’s constitutional rights. After all, if you beat someone to death they can’t explain their side of the story.

Also, it has been proven by a numerous amount of statistics that excessive force has been mainly used upon African-American males. Unarmed African-American males. Very counterintuitive. The findings of USA Today stated “White officers kill black suspects twice a week in the United States, or an average of 96 times a year.” Also, “18 percent of the black suspects were under the age of 21 when killed by the police, as opposed to to just 8.7% of white suspects.” This demonstrates a result of when excessive force has gone too far, after all most police officers should be cautious when applying force to a human being but it is evident police officers don’t know how much force should be applied.

Overall, it is extremely important for police officers to establish the difference between appropriate force and excessive force. Especially when an officer is in the process of arresting a suspect, if the suspect isn’t armed or attacking the officer back excessive force certainly does not need to be used. Once officers can distinguish the difference in levels of force there will be less males killed due to police brutality. In most cases, less African-American males killed since they have been the troubling result of police brutality for the last few years.

Works Cited:

“Excessive Force Law & Legal Definition.” Excessive Force Law & Legal Definition. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

Garcia, Pablo, and O. Wallace. WiseGeek. Conjecture, 26 Sept. 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

“One Troubling Statistic Shows Just How Racist America’s Police Brutality Problem Is.” Mic. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

The ongoing question the courts are struggling with is, “What constitutes rape?” Victims are coming forward and then being pushed aside because society’s view on rape is askew. Women are accusing men and the justice system is accusing women of crying wolf. Too often men claim women consent but the woman is not in a proper state of mind. According to federal law rape includes forms of sexual assault, other genders, and instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity, including due to the influence of drugs or alcohol or because of age.” That means that if someone doesn’t consent or they consent while impaired, it is rape.

Beloved animals are close to our hearts. Whether it is a pet or wild, everyone has a favorite animal. What if you were told that your favorite animal was endangered? This means that a specific species of creatures are seriously at risk for extinction. SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment has been keeping orca whales, and other sea life, captive for over fifty years. SeaWorld does more harm to the orca species than good, causing the whales to become endangered in the wild.

Many animals in the zoo are starving and dying behind their cages. But too often, the causes of suffering tend to smudge our view of what is wrong. Animals in cages might automatically lead to us responding with sadness, but captivity might not be as awful as we think. This doesn’t mean all or even most captivity is a good thing. We shouldn’t believe all captivity is bad or, the opposite, all animals free in the wild are good. We all manage our needs. Some animals that are endangered are being helped in captivity by keeping them alive, but others are slowly dying. The natural world and the wild world cannot guarantee a great life for any creature. This also goes for the orcas captured by SeaWorld. The age of the whale in captivity depends on what age they were captured at and how well its trainer takes care of him or her.

A large debate is whether or not to keep animals in zoos. 67% of people say no, and 33% said yes. A few arguments presented for no include: once an animal is taken from the wild and placed in a zoo, it will never return to the wild. Taking an animal out of the wild can cause endangerment. Animals are being taken away from their territory, natural habitat, and their families. Most people view zoos as prisons and a sick form of entertainment. A few arguments for yes are: captive animals are given a good amount of food and never have to worry about starving. They help keep the rare species alive by their breeding programs. A good zoo provides an enriched habitat in which the animals are never bored, are well cared-for, and have plenty of space. Zoos help rehabilitate wildlife and take in exotic pets that people no longer want or are no longer able to care for.

Work Cited

“Should We Keep Animals in Zoos?” Should We Keep Animals in Zoos? N.p., 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Moosa, Tauriq. “Is Animal Captivity Wrong? | Big Think.” Big Think. N.p., 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

The Mormons Aren’t Hurting Anyone

In contrast with the opinions of many individuals of many faiths, I submit the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should not be condemned or otherwise publically reprimanded for their unusual practice of posthumous baptism.  I should like to additionally assert that in spite of the claims of some Jewish individuals, the Mormon Church does not overstep religious boundaries by performing the practice of posthumous baptism for victims of the Holocaust—or any other person or group of persons, regardless of faith, state of life, or cause of death—, and furthermore causes no harm to any individual, living or dead, by doing so.

As we have previously established, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds the belief that it is never too late to achieve salvation, even after death.  As a result of this, the Church permits baptisms to be performed by the dead.  However, this is not done out of disrespect for the deceased.  Rather, it is done out of love for humanity, and a desire to prove salvation for all.  The Mormons show the utmost respect for the deceased individual, and assures the world that the remains of the dead person are not physically disturbed—the baptism is performed by proxy.  A young adult in the Church is physically baptized in water, while a Mormon priest calls out the names of the person or person who is to be baptized as the holy imposter remains submerged.  The Church believes that this is good enough for Heavenly Father, and that the soul of the dead person has been given the chance to achieve salvation.

Out of further respect for the dead person and their soul, the Church states that the process of baptism does not necessarily mean that a person is suddenly a Mormon—because of their apparent value of individual choice, the Mormons believe that a dead person’s soul must decide whether or not it would like to join Heavenly Father in the Celestial Kingdom.  There is, however, no way to tell what the soul’s choice is, which has led to certain individuals being baptized more than once.  However, all of this shows that the Mormon Church cannot possibly doing any harm—the Church is demonstrating a truly generous display of religious tolerance by baptizing victims of the Holocaust, while simultaneously ensuring that the deceased individuals are not disturbed, as Jewish law forbids the exhumation of bodies.  Further still, the Church still values the freedom of choice for every being, living or dead.  It is only in a society that despises freedom that a practice that offers salvation, yet respects religious beliefs and personal choice can be considered harmful.

To avoid stacking the deck and claiming that no religious practice is harmful, we naturally examine a second religious practice, which has, unfortunately and without exaggeration, caused infants to die.  Interestingly, this is a practice performed by the Jews—the very people who have spoken out against the Mormons for not hurting anybody.  It is a universal practice in the Jewish community to circumcise baby boys on their eighth day of life.  In Orthodox communities, the Rabbi performing the circumcision will suck the blood from the infant’s penis, in a ritual practice thought to help cleanse the wound.  However, the practice of circumcision has been labelled as nothing more than the mutilation of a baby’s genitals, and does not serve any apparent purpose.

Circumcision, as opposed to post-mortem baptism, does not provide the chance for salvation—in fact, it seems to be completely arbitrary.  In the Christian Bible (the first five books of which constitute the Jewish Torah), in the book of Genesis, verses 9-14, we are told that:

“Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.  This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.  You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.  For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring.  Whether born in your house or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.  My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.  Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

From this text, we can conclude that the practice of circumcision is, in context, completely arbitrary.  As opposed to posthumous baptism—which, according to Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion, is permitted by 1 Corinthians 15:29—there is no reason for circumcisions to be performed except for the fact that the Jews believe God commanded it.  Furthermore, the Jewish babies have no choice in the matter, unlike the soul of a deceased person who has been baptized.  However, assuming that one practice is valid and the other is not would be disrespectful, as it would insinuate a belief that the Jewish faith is superior to that of the Mormons.

Recently, some Jewish infants contracted herpes as a direct result of ritual circumcisions.  Following the part of the ritual in which the Rabbi sucks the blood of the infant with his mouth, no fewer than eleven babies contracted the herpes virus between 2000 and 2012, at least one of whom died.  Ethics dictate that killing babies is most certainly unethical, and that is exactly what the Jews have done via the practice of infant circumcision.  While each individual person is different, and thus some may disagree, I submit that any practice that mutilates the genitals of infants who are merely days old, and furthermore can and has caused them to develop a terrible disease and even die, is most certainly a harmful one.  The hypocrisy of the Jews is darkly ironic: while their own religion has caused physical harm to members of their own religion, they speak out against another religion’s practice of saving as many people as possible.

The Jews’ claim that the Mormon practice of posthumous baptism is harmful is simply ludicrous.  While this practice is based out of love and causes no harm to anyone, the Jews are hypocritical in allowing babies to develop herpes and even die.  Furthermore, the Mormons’ religious practice is biblically supported, while the Jews simply must allow God to say, “Do this because I said so,” which is hardly a convincing argument.  Additionally, posthumous baptism respects the choice of the individual by allowing the soul to choose to convert or not, while babies have no say in their circumcisions.  It is also interesting to note that while the Mormons graciously extend their ritual to people of any and all religions, we scarcely hear of any Jews going around and offering to circumcise people, which reflects an unfortunately stereotypical greed.  Ultimately, after examining the two religious practices of the two religions involved in the controversy surrounding posthumous baptism, I submit that it is quite easy to determine what is harmful, and what is not.

Works Cited

“Why Do Mormons Perform Baptisms for the Dead?” Mormon.org. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

Otterman, Sharon. “Mayor De Blasio and Rabbis Near Accord on New Circumcision Rule.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015

James, Susan Donaldson. “Baby Dies of Herpes in Ritual Circumcision By Orthodox Jews.” ABC News. ABC News Network, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

Genesis. Holy Bible. Colorado Springs: Biblica, 2011. Print.

Money seems to have a big role in our society; you can’t do much or get far if you don’t have any. Money is valuable in different ways, even when you don’t see it physically. In today’s society you must have faith in the government, in the banking system, that your money is being handled with in the proper manner, if not then you would be hiding all of your money under your mattress, or around your house. I never really have a clue what happens in the banks, and how they take care of your money. I always just thought money was quite simple; you either have some or you don’t, that’s it. However, by being introduced to this assignment and having it compare the Yap Fei with the US and France gold trade in 1933, and the Brazilian cruzeros all seemed somewhat similar. No one actually sees their money being transferred. When you get paid, you don’t get a check or get paid even in cash, it’s all directly transferred to your bank account, and that you just have to trust that you got more money.

New Post: 

Money plays a big role in our society; there is no progression if there isn’t any. Money is valuable in various ways, even when it is not visible. In today’s society citizens must have faith in the government, in the banking system, that their money is being handled with in the proper manner. If not they are better off hiding it under mattresses or around the house. I never had a clue what happens in the banks and how they are capable of managing money in different accounts properly.  I always thought money was quite simple; you either have some or you don’t. However, by being introduced to this assignment and having it compare the Yap Fei with the US and France gold trade in 1933, and the Brazilian cruzeros all seemed somewhat similar. No one actually sees their money being transferred. In today’s society when people get paid, they don’t receive a check or get paid in cash. Instead the earnings are directly transferred into a bank account and they just have to trust that it is transferred properly into the correct account.