Research Papers This Semester.

My Researching Skills during this cluster semester have, I believe, Re-Born. As a college freshmen, coming from high school , the researches done there are not sufficiently developmental towards an actual researching learning experience. To add on to this, I learned how to cite works through the required college norms : MLA Style, which I didn’t even know about before. I think Researching in general has made a huge impact on the way I see data, and interpret it. I learned in Psychology that the imagination and creativity are put into function when distributing and categorizing data, that then you have to elaborate on; which in essence is a Research Paper. The way you take information and strategically place it in paragraphs is a very important aspect of the research skill. Along with that, it was repeatedly put onto the test throughout the entire semester, so it really grew. I consider LaGuardia Media Research Center a valuable contribution to what my research skills are now. I like knowing that the Research Center is acknowledged and preferred by professors instead of using google which is just a search engine. When researching I notice that you look for key points that the author of the article is trying to make so you can match it, support your thesis. I have a hard time knowing when to put the quotes and how to introduce them, but at least through doing more papers, I can perfect my skills at it. Im glad I at least was introduced into the area of researching because it will be critical for new classes in the future.

Philosophy Screened: Experiencing The Matrix by Thomas E. Wartenberg

In this article Thomas E. Wartenberg discusses various themes that relate to The Matrix. He talks about Rene Descartes’ “Meditation” – where it talks about the differences between the mind and the body, and how they can be detached and work without corresponding to one another.(He makes references to the movie/story of Casper: The mind exists without the body, Casper the ghost doesn’t have a body.) He referenced Plato, saying that he believed that our souls could separate from our bodies.  He states  the existences of our god to be an Evil good, or evil genius. Contributing to the idea that our existence is just a set of games that god has put for us to fail. He argues how Philosophy can be transcribed and shown in movies, in this case the Matrix. There is a correlation between Neo’s body and his mind. When he takes the red pill, he goes into some sort of trance. Then he is awakened in a womb-like place, which Wartenberg argues is his mental realism of this new place called the Matrix. In order to go back and forth from the Matrix, he must sit down in a machine that is attached to the back of his head. This reinforces Descartes theory of the existence of the mind without the body. The Matrix is in the mind. Yet there is a relationship between the mind and the body in the Matrix. Physical damages caused in the Matrix are only reflected in the real world.

Jean Baudrillard's HyperReality Theory.

The Hyperreal is defined as the perseption of something bigger than reality. That we are just going through simulations and experiements of what we encounter throughout life and that is has all been mapped, based on our place in society. Baudrillard also discusses that we are only able to comprehend these simulations because we already have an idea of what is it based on television and the media.  It is just a matter of repetition. DisneyLand for example, is a place where people seem nice and is safe, but why isnt the Real world like this? it is considered to be just a simulation. Also reality television, how situations happen, and we come to our own conclusions on how we would have acted if it was us. It is all part of the hyperreality which we don’t have control over.

In more current terms, Facebook would be considered to be a simulation of hyperreality. We create profiles and upload pictures of ourselves, but does that really give a window into what we really are like? It is just an abstract image we manipulate to our advantage, which in this case, seems to be how many friends and likes you can obtain. This causes us to have a sense of satisfaction, based on our the online creation we bring to life.

If someone didn’t integrate into the Facebook trend, that persons reality would be different. The person wouldn’t have to worry what to post next, or what to take a picture of to show to friends.  It creates another lifestyle for that person,  enabling it to live sort of a double life: What you say or communicate in facebook doesn’t have to be true. In Hyperreality, any truth can be real.Reality becomes operational by the imagination.