Science and Music Reaction Paper

Throughout history, science has been influencing music in more ways than one. They have shared this interesting relationship wherein the growth of music also reflects the progress of science.

Science has been a theme by music composers for several centuries already. From The Fossils by Saint Saens to The Scientist by Coldplay, one can see the way science inspires music and creates more works of art. This could be to either celebrate the advances and developments and discoveries, or it could be to show the effects of science in our everyday lives. Science is a source of ideas and feelings that composers can draw from to create their musical pieces.

However, it’s also through technology brought about by science that creates another influence on music. Advances in music have been attributed to developments in instruments as well as electronic sounds, so now we also have genres such as dubstep and house. Science and technology have expanded the reach of music to cover more sounds and possibilities in creating pieces that are unlike anything ever before.

FINAL PROJECT

Group Xixy Final Project

http://issuu.com/theresecimafranca/docs/sts_group_6__buckypaper_

Reaction Paper on Science and Music

by Marc Lorlin Z. Navisa 2013-38337

At some point in history, music was less touched by science. But since then, science has already started an affair with music—from our knowledge of the frequency each note to the tension which should be applied to a violin string to produce the standard sound.

Back then, Science and Music were already harmonizing, though Science was radiating more pronounced influence to Music than Music does to Science. Science greatly influences music; globalization stands proof to this.

Due to the breakthroughs in fiber optics, countries have never been so interconnected as before. Globalization has architectured a landscape fueled by the internet for the cross-breeding of unique cultures. In the Philippines, this manifests in the being on the losing end of OPM. Its identity has started to wash out; I’ve been hearing songs of Jayvee, Sam Concepcion, and Toni Gonzaga ringing with electronic upbeat styles. Though this cannot be touted as completely negative, we must know where to draw the fine line. 

Reaction Paper: Mind Museum

Based on an article I have read (http://www.interaksyon.com/article/25983/filipino-students-lag-in-science-despite-putting-in-the-most-time), the Philippines in general allocate more time for science education in elementary compared with other South East Asian Countries. However, the thousand hours we spend has been proven insufficient. 1,100 hours is more than twice the number of hours Singapore commits for their elementary science education and yet, their students definitely performed better. The problem with the kind of science education may have come from the approach in teaching, lack of devices that aid in teaching, lack of books, and basically lack of all educational supplies.

The Mind Museum demonstrated how explaining concepts in science can be interesting even without fancy and expensive equipment. They used materials/things almost everyone have at home. It makes science easier to comprehend when you actually see the process happening using familiar things. I like Mind Museum's approach. Their 'mind movers' spark the children's curiosity which makes learning more interesting for them. And it is much better compared to typical classroom lectures which sometimes make students sleepy.

The only problem I see is that they only cater to a certain 'market', namely kids who have acceptable grounding with english. Most Filipino children with poor performance in science are mostly found in public schools and they are accustomed to use Filipino or their mother tongue as medium for lectures and explanations so they can easily comprehend. I see Mind Museum as more of an extension of private school classrooms because of their style or manner of speaking to children. I just hope that they will satisfactorily accommodate these children in their programs. Despite that, they are doing a very good job in helping improve science education in the Philippines.

Lopez, Carlos Alejandro

2011-78146

IMELDA

This was actually the first time I saw the “real” Imelda Marcos.

I think this documentary was produced so she can change how the people see her. To try and delete any negative notion that she was really the reason for Marcos’ downfall.

For me, everything in the movie was just a cover-up for whatever crimes they did during their family’s rule.

Mind Museum Talk

I was really impressed on how dedicated these people are in  teaching Science. I admire the ways they try to stimulate everyone’s mind, and not just the young people.

Their approach was so intriguing that you’d really consentrate and listen to every word they say so you’ll really understand things.

This is what educating reaally is all about. And not just the books and the pamphlets that are given to us in class. This just stimulates the senses. Well done.

FRANKENSTEIN

To be honest, this was way better than the 1994 version of Frankenstein.

Everything about the “monster” was odd. He could not talk, he was weird looking, and was just that, a monster. He was not accepted by society, and that’s how it should be. he was just something that was put together by someone’s hunger of creating life through Science.

It’s a classic movie about man trying to emulate God through Science.

Out of Words:

A Reaction to Time Enough at Last

by Marc Lorlin Z. Navisa 2013-38337

            When Time Enough at Last ended, I was left struggling for the right word to sum up what my eyes had just been fed with. Our professor was already dismissing the class; still, nothing slipped my mind. I was so disappointed, so I settled for a substitute:

            Sick. It was sick but in a brilliant way.

Marilyn Venable’s Time Enough at Last tells the story of a bibliophilic old man, banker Henry Bemis, confronted by an anti-intellectual world—his cruel emasculating wife and grouchy boss ran that world—threatened by World War III. Bemis is an embodiment of a flawed system of anti-intellectualism and indifference to art that has been haunting our society.

The first half of the episode was dedicated to building our sympathy for him. Indeed, it is really crucial for the watchers to like the main character intensely and to expect him to emerge victorious at the end for the final twist to have full impact:

On one fateful day, when his boss turned away his gaze on him, he finally had the chance to box himself in the bank’s vault. There, he buried his nose in Mark Twain’s David Copperfield. He later got out only to find himself the lone survivor of World War III. Everybody was dead and that includes his iron-fisted wife and grumpy boss. What is he to do in a world with nothing but rubble to talk to? (Can I just say how successful John Bram was on evoking a post-apocalyptic scene here?) He found a gun and contemplated taking his life. But just as he was about to pull the trigger, a heavenly sight loomed before him. Books. In front of him was the shattered library. So he got that going for him; he marveled at the books, and picked up his favorite authors. He got all the time in the world now to read—no mean wife and a grumpy boss to pester him. He checked his glasses in his pocket. It was not there; it lay broken on the library’s pavement. He ran his hands on his eyes; his vision was blurred. Just like his future.

What an ending. Sick? No, not anymore. There’s none to be cured or corrected in Time Enough at Last. It is as beautiful as it should be.

It was twisted. And now I’m out of words.

Beyond: A Reaction on ‘Imelda’

by 2009-50781

Much confidence in one’s self, though equipped with good intentions, will not result to any good.

Imelda Marcos is without a doubt the most controversial first lady of all time. From her political involvements to her highly infamous shoe collection, she has gone beyond what she was supposed to do as the wife of the President.

Imelda was never a simple lass. Even before she became the wife of Marcos, she has already been popular by joining beauty pageants. She was well known for her beauty. So, even before her stay in Malacanang, she was already used to the limelight, gaining much attention and support. However, she seemed to enjoy much of that; she always wanted the limelight.

                Imelda is different from all the first ladies the country has had, because she wanted to be so. She did not confine herself to be the typical: fashion icon, charitable and compassionate first ladies. She wanted to do more and prove a lot about the President and more especially about herself.  She has done political conversations with several state leaders from the Africa and Middle East. She pioneered the construction of many public establishments that country still use today. We cannot take away the fact that, yes, she has helped a lot. However, she went beyond that.  The masses can feel and know how to give thanks if things are done out of compassion and with the purest intentions. And that was not the case with the things Imelda did for the country.

                I personally think that Imelda had too much confidence on herself, believing that she can do anything for the country, and that she is always correct. She should have learned to listen and be sensitive, guiding her husband on how to even better serve the country then. 

The Tune of Science: A Reaction on Science and Music

by 2009-50781

                Obviously, Science and music have no huge similarities. However, these two opposite fields have interesting relations.

                Science is Science. It has been an established discipline and body of knowledge for a couple of years now. Although some still think that it is isolated and could not be encountered easily in everything we do. Science has touched and even moulded a lot of aspects in our lives.

                One aspect is music. We know a lot of songs with their titles and lyrics that are easily attributed to the field of Science. The Scientist by Coldplay and The Rocketman by Elton John are some of the more popular songs which are heavily influenced by Science. Composers and musicians nowadays use Science as a tool and an element to add emphasis and exaggeration to the emotions they try to convey in their songs. Science brings this sense of mystery and bizarre feelings to songs. With this, we could exemplify how Science affected the society, penetrating into the fields not necessarily relevant to it.

Spark: A Reaction on ‘Mind Movers’

by 2009-50781

                Many groups, organizations or associations nowadays promote science as a very exciting field of study or discipline. They try to debug the notion that Science is just for the geeks. Mind Museum is one of them. They try to catch the interest of the young in order to stimulate creative and critical thinking.

                A group of people from Mind Museum called Mind Movers visited our class to show and demonstrate before us how they promote a fun learning style for Science.

                At first, it was entertaining and interesting to hear from them because, personally, I have not been there yet. Also, it was interesting to hear from the speakers as they told us they were both Science major graduates. I had this thinking that Science majors would then go into research laboratories or industries instead. So I listened well.

                However, when they started demonstrating experiments, I started thinking that it was not appropriate. The experiments were okay, but they really designed for children. So, most of the students in the class were really not into it.

                Still, at the end, upon stating their reason for doing such, I realized the importance of all of these. According to them, it was not about giving kids an advanced lecture on theories they will encounter in school; instead, it was giving children something to spark their interest and curiosity. 

Mad: A Reaction on ‘Frankenstein’

by 2009-50781

Frankenstein is a novel by Mary Shelly. It is considered as one of the earliest fictions dealing with a scientist who has turned himself into another creature because of his madness at Science. It focused on the morality issues of Science, on how one could go far for the sake of innovations and discoveries.

Perhaps, the novel published during the 19^th century was revolutionary. At the early stages of the development of Science, the novel has already questioned the consequences of the actions of early scientists, showing how mad people can turn into if Science and its inventions would not be properly regulated.

I think, after watching it now.  Its effect was not that strong and impactful as before. While truly it changed our position on how we value Science and its accompanying technologies, that story has become normal. Perhaps, we have become more aware of the things Science can do, even more amazing and strange than what the scientist in the story has done to himself. Also, because of the different advocacies, beliefs and principles, we have come up with a system of regulating science so as to not create and pose adverse and strange impacts to mankind.

Imelda Reaction Paper

Royce Tee 2013-71153

STS THX

Imelda Reaction Paper

I’ve always only known the Marcos family from the history books. That Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and Imelda had her shoes. And somehow fixed the country. But a lot of that changed with me watching Imelda.

The documentary Imelda showed the life of Imelda Marcos from the meeting Ferdinand Marcos until the aftermath of the EDSA Revolution. Stories and testimonials from different people were included, such as family, friends, historians, and Imelda herself. Finally the video proceeded to give me an entirely different take on what I thought happened.

It’s not that I agree with everything that was said. That’s the point of the video - to provide opinions from both sides, reasons why each side thought Imelda’s actions were either for better or for worse. However, what won me over was the surprise at how interesting Imelda was. I didn’t know that from a trophy wife, she slowly became a very proactive and strong woman who handled so much change in the Philippines. 

In the end, what was left with me was a feeling of awe - that whether Imelda was right or not, she was someone to be respected in her own right. She was someone with a vision, as well as someone who knew how to take control and lead. She was someone who was able to improve the Philippines, no matter what the cost or the consequences were.

Frankenstein Reaction Paper

Royce Tee 2013-71153

STS THX

Frankenstein Reaction Paper

Frankenstein is a story dealing with a scientist trespassing into realms that they shouldn’t, just because it is in the name of science. It serves as a warning to the reader that there should be ethics and measures in science and technology, otherwise there will be consequences.

One major difference between the book and the movie is that the creature has been made dumb and unable to speak intelligently. The reason for this can be seen when one looks again at the message of the story - that there are unspeakable consequences for dabbling with the forbidden, in the case life and death. 

By making the creature dumb, it makes it more inferior to us humans as we pride ourselves on our intelligence. This reduces the creature into a monster, something that has to be feared. In other words, this change in the movie is a play on the audience’s emotions and makes them despise and fear the creature. 

One can relate this to zombies, that because they are rabid dangerous creatures driven by hunger, one cannot see them as equals. By removing the rationality in the creature, people think that there is no way to resolve this except by destroying through violence and fire, and that they won’t be faulted as they aren’t on the level of humans.

I believe that this decision did make it work, as this has become the stereotype of the monster in future works as well as in popular culture. Frankenstein has become one of the staples of horror, and this decision of making the monster dumb is one of the factors that made it so.

Mind Museum Reaction Paper

Royce Tee 2013-71153
STS THX

Mind Museum Reaction Paper

Learning about science has never been so much fun!

The people from the mind museum claimed to be mind movers - and I was able to understand exactly what that meant in their session. From using water tanks to teach implosion to dancing to different states of matter, they have shown that learning about science can be simple, but fun as well.

This is what they aimed to do when they constructed the Mind Museum. It’s not separated according to subject or field, but according to scale. And it’s told as a story - one that really allows one to understand it instead of just memorizing facts and numbers. 

It’s really amazing, that they have been able to pique our interest, college students, on details such as the planets and on implosion using just very simple household materials. Their method is both cheap, as well as fun. Compare this to the usual way we would learn about these things, which would be seeing the distances of the planets on a table, or simply get a definition of what implosion is, what causes it, etc. and I could see how much more effective this way to teaching is.

I hope that I’ll be able to use the ticket I bought to learn more at the Mind Museum, not just about science, but also more creative and fun ways science could be taught. This could help a lot of people love learning and exploring science a lot more.

Science Meets Simplicity:

The Mind Movers’ Lecture

by Marc Lorlin Z. Navisa 2013-38337

Four years ago, my biology teacher swore on the first day of classes that we were about to embark on a year-long tug with an army of terms. She had never been so honest. Although I fully understood what those fancy terms mean, I pitied my classmates who seemed to host a swarm of floating question marks above their heads, much more how we performed in the National Achievement Test.

According to the National Achievement Test, Philippine elementary and high schools rank 112th out of 138 countries in the field of science (Hayashi, 2014). Where do we trace this? Lack of facilities. This is the problem in schools especially in the provinces—lack of facilities to demonstrate core concepts. However, as the mind movers stressed, all we need are resourcefulness and creativity. An example is how they took advantage of their bodies and engaged us in the states-of-matter dance. Indeed, the body is the cheapest and most accessible equipment we can have.

I also appreciated how the guy from the National Institute of Physics demonstrated how to show a child the planets' distance from the sun. True enough, you would confuse a child with kilometers, much more the light year or astronomical unit.

Mind Museum’s method is a breath of fresh air in science teaching. Adults—elementary and high school teachers, professors of arts and humanities, parents, businessmen, everyone—should also participate in events like this. Admit it, we have that little boy/girl in us who jumps and screams in childish delight at the sight of flying cars or a lipstick which transforms to a light saber. And you don’t want to confuse a child with numbers or hifalutin terms. You try your best to amaze him/her and ignite his/her curiosity. 

Sometimes, we have to be that ever-curious child again, break the stereotype that science are for nerds, and appreciate the underlying simplicity behind the illusive complexity that science radiates.

It’s time for science to meet simplicity.

Of Butterflies and Worms:

A Reaction to the Documentary Imelda

by Marc Lorlin Z. Navisa 2013-38337

I am not in any way amused by the documentary about the steel butterfly that is Imelda Marcos. How could such a lavish woman have the gall to say she sympathizes with the poor? That is like saying Adolf Hitler is a Jew.

For one, she and her late husband were known to have siphoned out a humongous chunk of our national coffers to ghost accounts in Switzerland, US, and other countries. For another, her husband’s regime killed more than 3 200 people, tortured 35 000 and incarcerated 70 000 (Juan L. Mercado, 2012).

Surely, she has to come up with something better than saying she sympathizes with the poor to convince me.

She said she pioneered the construction of edifices that were supposed to promote our culture in the international scene—Manila Film Center to name one. But underneath its pillars lie the corpses of the laborers buried alive while the center was being constructed. Now, the Manila Film Center has become nothing but a haunted derelict.

She said she had somehow put the Philippines on the map with her shoe collection. If I were to own that amount of shoes, my conscience would haunt me with pictures of children in my province going to school without anything to protect their soles against the ragged surface and blistering heat of the earth. If I were Imelda Marcos, I would choke at saying I sympathize with the poor. I might not ever become a billionaire; but surely, I can never be a thief.

However neutral I tried to be as I watched the documentary, I still just couldn’t grasp the enthusiasm in the steel butterfly, much her ramblings about beauty. Those shoes could feed families. I do not care however dazzling she looks in her shoes, in her platinum bracelets embedded with rubies, or in her designer shades. That was the money sucked from the veins of the Filipino people, drop by drop.

She lavished while the Filipino suffered. An act of parasitism—this is not what a butterfly does, this is the doing of a worm.

Time Enough at Last (an episode from the series The Twilight Zone)

Time Enough at Last is almost incomparable to this generation. We currently rely on technology as our source of entertainment. I wonder what teenagers would do in isolation. If we were the last persons on earth, gathering food and finding shelter might just be secondary. The kind of society we live in today praises computers so much. We rely on them 24 hours a day. It is honestly not a bad thing given that computers are far one of the most convenient innovations humans are able to accomplish; but too much of it will leave us useless in a condition where we have to live alone without the comfort of technology. I have read an opinion to the episode's plot and theme wherein somebody points out that access to books (hardcopy ones) may become obsolete and old-fashioned in the near future. For me, this scenario is acceptable as long as people, specifically the younger ones of the coming generations, get access to an alternative to books which is synonymous to the tablets and e-books we use today.

A Documentary: The Rhetoric of Cancer

One of the oddest things we haven't realized is personifying cancer. This is an interesting circumstance since most of us use the commanding language influenced by media and advertising campaigns responsible for putting up "inspirational" quotes for cancer patients. We usually refer to cancer as a worst enemy one can ever have or an antagonist in one's life. We construct an imaginary war between a sickness and one's self. But it's not entirely human in any way. Cancer is unregulated cell growth which uncontrollably form tumors inside our body. It is precisely wrong and unfair to treat is as a person you hate because it lives within us. Cancer is a part of us. Referring to a sickness as a battle will only spark hatred toward ourselves. So if someone dies of cancer, who lost the battle? No one. Cancer is simply a rationale for one's death and nothing more.

Dissecting the Metaphors:

A Reaction to BBC’s The Rhetoric of Cancer

by Marc Lorlin Z. Navisa 2013-38337

In the documentary, Andrew Graystone, a cancer patient for three years, probes the language employed to approach cancer. He concludes that the language revolves on warfare metaphors.

Perhaps, the most common of the metaphors is the notion of battling cancer. So where did this spring from? The Book of Revelation chronicles the battle between good and evil; and we perceive an illness as something of an evil. Thus, sprouts the metaphor “to fight cancer”.

            I would have to agree with Graystone; the language we use to address cancer borders on the masculine and is militaristic. That we have to combat cancer and slay those little villains—the cancerous cells—are evidence to this. From my standpoint, this militaristic sort of reference has something to do with patriarchal origins—somehow inclined to the ways of men, i.e. applying force and sometimes violence. As Graystone said, he did not want to battle cancer, for it is like battling himself and making his body a battleground. We must treat the afflicted with compassion (a feministic opinion to offset our masculine metaphors), rather than making him/her feel sandwiched in a war between himself and cancer wherein he/she has no choice but to fight.

            Somehow, what irks me most is how we came to call those who lived “brave,” “survivors,” “victors,” etc. By all means, those whom we call “victors” deserve to be called such; but it makes it sound as if those who perished did not fight hard enough. At the peak of their “battle” with cancer, they chose to face death. And death despises acceptance.

            I cannot think of something braver than that. 

            Something is really amiss in our rhetoric.

Mind Museum Reaction Paper

Bacayo, Jay Anne R.

2013-44153

STS-THX

During the visit of the people from the Mind Museum last Feb 18, 2014, they shared many interesting things about science to us. They had experiments which were simple enough. Everyone can easily perform them since they required materials that could be found at home and only had a few easy steps to do. Though simple, the experiments presented various science concepts like heat and pressure. When people hear the word “science”, many already cringe or even become suddenly uninterested in the conversation since they automatically associate science with difficulty and complexity. People usually think that only the super intelligent would be able to understand science and its many theories. The guests from the Mind Museum were able to somehow break this stereotype. They presented science as a field of knowledge that is not exclusive for scientists and geniuses only, instead, it is for EVERYONE. Maybe it’s time that people change their mindset towards science. We should overcome our “fears” and actually see that there is something beyond science’s complicated terms and formulas. Science is full of interesting concepts and new discoveries are made everyday.  Science helps us understand how everything around us works, the nature and anatomy of things.

They also raised the awareness for the need to develop science in the Philippines. The fact that Mind Museum is the only science museum in the country already hints that there is a lack of support for science from the people, especially the government. From the talk of the guests, it was clear that the desire to learn about science is initiated by simple curiosity and wonder. This is most evident in children. It starts when children observe something around them and they ask questions.  They would look for answers to their questions and eventually, they would be able to learn new ideas. This is why it is important to encourage curiosity. It is important to ask questions so that people would learn and their questions would not just be left unanswered.

Imelda Reaction Paper

Maaño, Dhalal M.
STS-THX

          Imeldific! The first thing brought to mind when talking about Imelda Romualdez Marcos which means ostentatious extravagance. Imelda is famed for her huge collection of shoes, huge doesn't mean hundreds, but thousands of shoes. Enough, it was once said, that Imelda could change shoes every day for 8 years and never wear the same pair twice.

          The 2003 documentary film, Imelda, is a living testament of how multihued, controversial, action-packed and glamorous Imelda's life is. As shown in the film, Imelda is not your typical first lady and presidential wife, the woman is way beyond that. And also, way beyond shoes. Imelda and Pres. Ferdinand Marcos created a conjugal dictatorship. Imelda spearheaded high-profile projects and programs in such sectors: social welfare, health and medical, cultural and green revolution. But then, some critics say that Imelda's motivation in planning and executing such projects are more of based on personal interest than for the welfare of the general public like diverting funds for personal advancements. 

          At present, Imelda is not only remembered as a symbol of excess during her husband's twenty-year rule but a truly charismatic and narcissistic woman that made a great impact, in many ways, good or bad, in Philippine history. 

Mind Museum Reaction Paper

Maaño, Dhalal M.                                            
STS-THX

          Gone are the days when learning science is as tedious as plain. Now, you can learn and experience science in a fun-flavored and interactive way! What better way to experience Science than to explore the highly-anticipated and world class Science museum in the Philippines, the Mind Museum. The Mind Museum dedicates itself in providing an extraordinary educational experience that inspires the public understanding of science.

          During the CS Week 2014, Mind Museum's "Mind Movers" gladly shared their knowledge about the wonderful world of Science. Aside from knowing the basic fundamental Science, the whole class enjoyed the different Mad Science exhibitions, which all really are mind-boggling. Who would know that we can explain Science through the help of the common household items that we use in our daily lives? 

         The Mind Movers made me realize that understanding Science is crucial for all and that Science is not only within us, it surrounds us. It is everywhere in our daily lives, all day, every day.

          One major concern is the admission price in  The Mind Museum which is quite steep. But then, though it is relatively pricey, it still wouldn't hinder me to visit The Mind Museum because as we all know, you can't put a price on learning, right?

Frankenstein

Frankenstein (Shelley)

Frankenstein is a popular character and even considered as a cliche halloween costume. But in this movie, Frankenstein was far from the image that has been with him. However, his physical traits says it all: an almost fictional towering height, and an odd-looking face with scars and stitches. Aside from the drama of not being accepted by the society, the movie showed too much pursuit of knowledge (specifically in science) can be so abusive. The movie's plot proves how dangerous it can be. It basically points out how one creation (Frankenstein) can lead to a destruction (of Walton's loved ones).

Music and Science

The Relationship of Music and Technology


Fly me to the moon is probably one of the songs known to many. It became so well-known at the same time when national aeronautics and space administration was off to an expedition to the moon. But that's not the relationship of music and science that I would like to point out. There has been a distinct relationship between music and science throughout the years. Many generations before, there were only human voice and sounds of animals; however, because of technology, we are able to improve the music we can create. And it also varies from trends from one generation to the other 60s music definitely sounds different compared with the 80s electronic music). We can also see how much technology has influenced our instruments. Right now, it is possible to recreate sound of a piano, violin and drum with just using a single device and the human voice can even be edited.

Reaction paper: Mind Museum Lecture

Hayashi, Daiki

STS THX

CAS(UPLB) 2012-98083

Do not limit yourself from learning science

According to the National Achievement Test, Philippine elementary and high schools rank 112 out of 138 countries in the field of science. What is the reason behind this relatively poor academic performance of the Philippines’ primary and secondary education? I have heard a lot of times from Filipinos that the Philippines either have poor or are lacking facilities in order to study science. Also, the poor academic attainment of children can be attributed to the insufficient budget allotted by the government. However, two of the speakers from Mind Museum declared that sophisticated equipment is not necessary to investigate science. One’s curiosity in science can be satisfied even with simplest tools.

               So, they demonstrated a scientific experiment by using simple tools, which are readily available in our households. The first experiment was conducted by using a bill, rubbing alcohol, and a match. When the rubbing alcohol was poured on the bill and was set on fire, it did not get burn. It was explained that rubbing alcohol is not pure alcohol since it contains water that is why the bill did not get burnt. The next experiment was conducted by using rubbing alcohol, a match, and a water container, which is made of plastic. The alcohol was placed inside the container and it was shaken. The rubbing alcohol contained 70% of alcohol but while it has been shaken, only the alcohol vaporized and it was purified inside the container. Right after the fire from the match got inside the bottle, the container shrunk immediately even though it is stiff and cannot be broken by force.

               They also taught me the dance of scientific elements by using our own bodies. Everyone enjoyed learning science in such a way. It did not require us to use any sophisticated tools. What were used in the experiment were only our bodies and very simple tools which we can find at home. I myself never thought of doing scientific experiments by myself because I thought that I can never prepare instruments for a scientific experiment. However, as I remember, I used to conduct scientific experiments when I was a child. I burned piece of paper using a magnifying glass. I also put colored papers under the sun and compared the heat of each of them to understand about reflection of light.

               I am not a science major in college and my passion to study science was going far away. However, the lecture by the Mind Museum has lit up my curiosity back in science and I realized that I should not limit myself from learning science by making excuses that I do not have an environment to study for it because there are actually various ways in order to explore the wonders of science.

              

Reaction paper: Blade Runner Director's Cut

Hayashi, Daiki

STS THX 

CAS(UPLB) 2012-98083

The future society people imagined

Blade Runner was firstly released in 1982 and the Directors’ cut was released after 10 years. The stage in this film is a future world in 2019 where a lot of human have moved out from the earth. People have developed an android called replicants, which has emotion just like a human. Replicants were used as slaves of humans and set up their longevity only for four years just for the convenience for humans. They were input artificial memories and believe themselves as humans. However, some of them who had high intelligence as the ones who created them recognized themselves as replicantsand came to the earth to take against their fate.

               The society in 2019 which people imagined thirty years ago is very interesting. Main casts such as the main character, the designer of replicants, and the creator of replicants are Westerners. However, most of people who were in the town were Japanese and Chinese people. Signboards and graffiti in the city were written in Japanese and Chinese characters. It is probably because, in 1980’s, when the film was taken, Japan was at its peak of rapid economic growth. Therefore, the director probably thought the future society would be Asian-oriented. Or it might be because Americans that have been more developed and dominant in terms technologies and power relations could leave the earth which is polluted too much and Asians were left in on the earth.

               Even after I watched the film, there was something I cannot stop thinking about the movie. It did not end straightforwardly. There was something deep which makes me think. As the clone technologies on humans are being controversial, there is always ethical issue of the development of technologies. If humans are the ones who created replicants, does it mean we have a right to use them as slaves even though they have same emotions with us? If it was a simple movie which the main character just kill replicants, it would not be this famous. There was neither absolute good nor bad in this film that is why it shocked audiences and became a master piece of science fiction movie. 

Reaction Paper: Music and Science

Hayashi, Daiki

STS-THX

CAS(UPLB) 2012-98083

Music makes the world go round

When I heard the song Fly me to the Moon in class, it sounded so familiar to me then it came to me that this song was used for the ending theme of Neon Genesis Evangelion, the anime series I used to watch before. It was unusual for anime productions to use Jazz music as a theme song thus, I remembered it clearly. Amazingly, Fly me to the Moon was produced in 1954 and many artists across the globe still sing this song and make their rendition. In 1962, when this song was covered by Frank Sinatra, it was also the time when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was into the Apollo expedition, which aims to send people to the moon. Fly me to the Moon was brought by Apollo 10 and 11 and became the first song played on the moon.  

A lot of songs are inspired by love. Even since thousands of years ago, people were singing love songs already. Fly me to the Moon is a romantic love song because love is a universal value in any societies and in any period of time in the world. They were sung because love has always been a major concern of human beings.  Likewise, there have been songs about future technologies also because humans have dreamt and imagined of new technologies, which will enable us to see a brighter future. Technologies can formulate new types of music. On the other hand, music can also portray the present technology and can even predict the development of new technologies.

Individual Project

Hayashi,Daiki                                                                                                            STS THX     CAS (UPLB)                                                                                                      2012-98083

Drones: Warfare to Welfare

                 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones (Figure 1), have been used for military purposes such as reconnaissance, surveillance, and combat. In the US, armed UAVs are run by the US Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Under the Bush Administration, armed UAVs were sent to Pakistan and other countries to kill terrorist leaders. According to the Bureau of Investigation Journal, the number of strikes and people killed by CIA-mandated drones increased significantly. It has been documented that there were around 400 strikes and more than 2400 people were killed during Obama’s presidential term (Serle, 2014).  

Figure 1.UAV equipped with cameras 

                 However, UAVs have been recently used not only for armed purposes but for social welfare. When Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines, where roads, bridges, and houses were destroyed, people could hardly go to the typhoon-inflicted areas. It was the time civil UAVs equipped with cameras (Figure 1), were used to assess local roads and to determine the possible routes to the devastated and isolated areas. These were also used in locating corpses (Dearing, 2013).

                 The announcement of Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, that their company will start its delivery service with the use of UAVs by 2015 has caught the attention of many (BBC News, 2013). Delivery is also one of the functions of UAVs for social welfare. One billion people around the world today are not accessible by land transport vehicles due to distance and underdevelopment. For instance, in sub-Saharan Africa, 85 percent of roads are not passable during the wet season and it is very costly and time-consuming to build new roads.

                 According to Andreas Raotopoulos, the founder of Matternet, building a network of UAVs in places with poor road infrastructure will cost around 3,000 US dollars. For a two kilogram package, the cost of transport will only be 24 cents within a 10-km range (Lee, 2013). The use of UAVs enables us to send food, supplies, and medicine to people in isolated areas efficiently resources-wise.

                 Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, is in negotiations with Titan Aerospace to purchase a UAV manufacture with an intension to enable all the people to access to internet. According to TechCrunch report, the Solora 60 (Figure2), one of the solar-powered drones by Titan Aerospace can stay aloft for years maintaining an altitude of 65,000 feet without refuelling (Perez, 2014). World Bank’s survey in 2012 revealed that only around 35 percent of people in the world have no access to the internet and majority are in Africa. If UAVs could bring internet access to people in isolated communities, more and more people will be informed and be educated through the use of internet.

Figure 2: Solora 60

         Jeep was developed and used for armed purpose before, but now it is being a main transportation in the Philippines. Technologies develop not for killing people but for helping people’s lives. This is the time for UAVs to be recognized in providing solutions for our welfare.

References:

Serle, Jack. 2014. Drone WarfareMore than 2,400 dead as Obama’s drone campaign marks five years.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Retrieved from http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com on March 7, 2014.

Dearing, Paige. 2013. Civil drone helps NetHopeHaiyan relief efforts in the Philippines. Nethope.

                 Retrieved from http://nethope.org on March 7, 2014.

BBC. 2013. Amazon testing drones for deliveries. BBC News Technology. Retrieved from

                 http://www.bbc.com/news on March 7, 2014.

Lee, Timothy. 2013. Low-income countries might get drone deliveries before the U.S. Here’s why.The

                 Washington post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com on March 7, 2014.

Perez, Sarah. 2014. Facebook Looking Into Buying Drone Maker Titan Aerospace. Retrieved from

                 http://techcrunch.com on March 7, 2014.

The World Bank. 2012. Internet users (per 100 people). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org on

                 March 7, 2014.