Krakatoa Volcano Eruption of 1883

The eruption of the volcano at Krakatoa in the western Pacific Ocean in August 1883 was a major disaster by any measure. The entire island of Krakatoa was simply blown apart, and the resulting tsunami killed tens of thousands of people on other islands in the vicinity. The volcanic dust thrown into the atmosphere affected the weather around the world, and people as far away as Britain and the United States eventually began to see bizarre red sunsets caused by particles in the atmosphere. It would take years for scientists to connect the spooky red sunsets with the eruption at Krakatoa, as the phenomenon of dust being thrown into the upper atmosphere was not understood. But if the scientific effects of Krakatoa remained murky, the volcanic eruption in a remote part of the world had a nearly immediate impact on heavily populated regions. The events at Krakatoa were also significant because it was one of the first times that detailed descriptions of a colossal news event traveled around the world quickly, carried by undersea telegraph wires. Readers of daily newspapers in Europe and North America were able to follow current reports of the disaster and its enormous implications. In the early 1880s Americans had grown used to receiving news from Europe by undersea cables. And it wasnt unusual to see happenings in London or Dublin or Paris described within days in newspapers in the American West. But the news from Krakatoa seemed much more exotic, and was coming from a region which most Americans could barely contemplate. The idea that events on a volcanic island in the western Pacific could be read about within days at the breakfast table was a revelation. And so the remote volcano became an event that seemed to make the world grow smaller. The Volcano at Krakatoa The great volcano on the island of Krakatoa (sometimes spelled as Krakatau or Krakatowa) loomed over the Sunda Strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra in present day Indonesia. Before the 1883 eruption, the volcanic mountain reached a height of approximately 2,600 feet above sea level. The slopes of the mountain were covered with green vegetation, and it was a notable landmark to sailors passing through the straits. In the years preceding the massive eruption several earthquakes occurred in the area. And in June 1883 small volcanic eruptions began to rumble across the island. Throughout the summer the volcanic activity increased, and tides at islands in the area began to be affected. The activity kept accelerating, and finally, on August 27, 1883, four massive eruptions came from the volcano. The final colossal explosion destroyed two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa, essentially blasting it into dust. Powerful tsunamis were triggered by the force. The scale of the volcanic eruption was enormous. Not only was the island of Krakatoa shattered, other small islands were created. And the map of the Sunda Strait was changed forever. Local Effects of the Krakatoa Eruption Sailors on ships in nearby sea lanes reported astounding events associated with the volcanic eruption. The sound was loud enough to break the eardrums of some crewmen on ships many miles away. And pumice, or chunks of solidified lava, rained from the sky, pelting the ocean and the decks of ships. The tsunamis set off by the volcanic eruption rose as high as 120 feet, and slammed into the coastlines of the inhabited islands of Java and Sumatra. Entire settlements were wiped away, and it is estimated that 36,000 people died. Distant Effects of the Krakatoa Eruption The sound of the massive volcanic eruption traveled enormous distances across the ocean. At the British outpost on Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean more than 2,000 miles from Krakatoa, the sound was clearly heard. People in Australia also reported hearing the explosion. It is possible that Krakatoa created one of the loudest sounds ever generated on earth, rivaled only by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. Pieces of pumice were light enough to float, and weeks after the eruption large pieces began drifting in with the tides along the coast of Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa. Some of the large pieces of volcanic rock had animal and human skeletons embedded in them. They were grisly relics of Krakatoa. The Krakatoa Eruption Became a Worldwide Media Event Something that made Krakatoa different from other major events in the 19th century was the introduction of the transoceanic telegraph cables. The news of Lincoln’s assassination less than 20 years earlier had taken nearly two weeks to reach Europe, as it had to be carried by ship. But when Krakatoa erupted, a telegraph station at Batavia (present day Jakarta, Indonesia) was able to send the news to Singapore. Dispatches were relayed quickly, and within hours  newspaper readers in London, Paris, Boston, and New York were beginning to be  informed of the colossal events in the distant Sunda Straits. The New York Times ran a small item on the front page of August 28, 1883 — carrying a dateline from the day before — relaying the first reports tapped out on the telegraph key in Batavia: â€Å"Terrific detonations were heard yesterday evening from the volcanic island of Krakatoa. They were audible at Soerkrata, on the island of Java. The ashes from the volcano fell as far as Cheribon, and the flashes proceeding from it were visible in Batavia.† The initial New York Times item also noted that stones were falling from the sky, and that communication with the town of Anjier â€Å"is stopped and it is feared there has been a calamity there.† (Two days later the New York Times would report that the European settlement of Anjiers had been â€Å"swept away† by a tidal wave.) The public became fascinated with the news reports about the volcanic eruption. Part of that was due to the novelty of being able to receive such distant news so quickly. But it was also because the event was so enormous and so rare. The Eruption at Krakatoa Became a Worldwide Event Following the eruption of the volcano, the area near Krakatoa was enveloped in a strange darkness, as dust and particles blasted into the atmosphere blocked sunlight. And as winds in the upper atmosphere carried the dust great distances, people on the other side of the world began to notice the effect. According to a report in the Atlantic Monthly magazine published in 1884, some sea captains had reported seeing sunrises that were green, with the sun remaining green throughout the day. And sunsets around the world turned a vivid red in the months following the Krakatoa eruption. The vividness of the sunsets continued for nearly three years. American newspaper articles in late 1883 and early 1884 speculated on the cause of the widespread phenomenon of blood red sunsets. But scientists today know that dust from Krakatoa blown into the high atmosphere was the cause. The Krakatoa eruption, massive as it was, was actually not the largest volcanic eruption of the 19th century. That distinction would belong to the eruption of Mount Tambora in April 1815. The Mount Tambora eruption, as it happened before the invention of the telegraph, was not as widely known. But it actually had a more devastating impact as it contributed to bizarre and deadly weather the following year, which became known as The Year Without a Summer.

Ralph s Leadership Transformational Leadership Essay

We have potential to take Palmer’s order and increase our profit, and we need everyone in Johnsonville participate in making this decision. First of the, Johnsonville’s organization structure has changed from centralization into decentralization, which means the decision making is first concentrated at a single point in an organization, but now it is more flexible and decentralized (437). Second of all, since Ralph’s leadership style has changed from charismatic leadership into transformational leadership. According to the textbook, â€Å"as a manager, you can shape the culture of your work environment, sometimes as much as it shapes you† (490). Transformational leadership provided the foundation to inspire his employees to transcend their own self-interests and who are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on follower (345). In Palmer’s case, Ralph’s transformational leadership style could heavily impact the future welfare of the company. In order to make everyone clear about the business and the situation they will encounter, it is better to sit down with Johnsonville people and have them all involved in that decision process. After all, this has become part of the Johnsonville culture. What is better is that nowadays, the team leaders and supervisors in different areas and departments are the ones that best knowledge about their operations. According to the book, specialization can make operations more efficient (455). Their invaluable and insightful inputsShow MoreRelatedWilliam Golding s Lord Of The Flies1389 Words   |  6 Pagessome important and challenging questions about differing leadership styles as well as good and ‘evil’ actions. Lord of the Flies, published in 1982 was written by William Golding. He begins with a scene similar to what I previously described. A plane full of boys are stranded on a deserted island. 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Coleman Art Museum Case free essay sample

Coleman Art Museum I. Summary of Facts A. Market – education and entertainment 1. Coleman Art Museum (CAM) a. Not-for-profit corporation b. Members: 85% college educated, 60% over $70,000 income, 50% over 40 years old, 98% white c. Dependent on contributions/endowments/membership 2. Special Exhibitions 3. Economic market a. Client – monopolistic competitions b. Contributor – monopolistic competition with oligopoly overtones B. Product 1. Has over 15,000 works of art in permanent collection a. Pre-Columbian art b. African art c. Pre-Depression art d. European and American decorative arts 2. Memberships 3. Special Exhibits 4. Private showings/ fundraising 5. Restaurant, gift shops, parking 6. Benefits a. Client (patron) 1) Core – experience art 2) Education 3) Entertainment 4) Socialization 5) Self-esteem b. Contributor (government/organization/member) 1) Core Fulfillment of cultural mandate 2) Success of local social endeavor 3) Altruism 4) Self esteem and prestige 5) Reciprocity 6) Tax savings 7. PLC – maturity C. Price 1. Public institution no charge for viewing permanent collection 2. $3. 00 to $5. 00 charged for special exhibitions 3. 2004 MMAH membership CategoryNumberRevenueBenefit Cost a. Regular $50 13,672$639,664$631,016 b. Associate $100 2,596234,87181,903 c. Collector $25036481,41564,135 d. Patron $50010248,10039,135 e. Partner ,500 604815,66699,567 f. We will write a custom essay sample on Coleman Art Museum Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Director’s Club $5,00091406,67315,975 g. Corporate205125,576 4. Elasticity – relatively elastic to relatively inelastic with price clusters D. Promotion 1. Little promotion of unique aspects of CAM’s collection or emphasis on historical context 2. Promotion of special exhibits and activities via press releases and close relationship with local media 3. Educational outreach programs and lending performance space 4. Advertisements for special exhibitions aired on local radio and newspapers 5. Member recruitment/renewals a. Mail and telephone solicitations focus on $50 to $250 personal membership categories b. Personal solicitations used for $500 to $5,000 personal and corporate membership categories c. Membership parties, special previews, and inserts in monthly CAM calendar 6. Expansibility – non-expansible E. Place 1. Universal City, Fannel County, a large metropolitan area in the western U. S. 2. Four story building situated in the downtown adjacent to skyscrapers a. Unremarkable structure- â€Å"marble box†, unclear to many it is an art musuem b. Convenient location for shoppers, food, parking 3. Channel a. (Agent ) CAM – consumer/user [client service channel] b. Manufacturer – Distributor – CAM consumer/user [products channel] c. Contributor – CAM – Client [contributor channel] F. Other 1. Museum image a. Referred to as â€Å"marble box† by its critics b. Building is anonymous c. Public status engenders misunderstanding d. No image in mind of the public (director’s opinion) e. Research revealed two distinct images 1) Nondescript â€Å"non-image† 2) Only for specific people f. Viewed by membership as community organization with a cachet of class 2. Membership renewals a. $50: 70% do not renew after 1st year, 50% of 2nd year renewals renew every year b. $100 $500: 60% renewal rate c. $1,500 $5,000: 85% renewal rate d. Corporate: 75% renewal rate for all categories 3. Auxiliary activities a. Gift shop b. Skyline Buffet restaurant c. Parking II. Problem/Opportunity A. Primary – deteriorating financial condition B. Secondary 1. Unclear public image 2. Rely heavily on contributions 3. Membership is suboptimized 4. Narrow target market 5. Unproductive auxiliary services 6. Lack of integrated marketing communication (IMC) program III. Recommended Action A. Primary – Increase incentives to become a member B. Secondary 1. Undergo minor renovations to outside building to emphasize it is a museum 2. Increase benefits for contributors and higher membership types to ensure members continue to contribute and value the product. 3. Increase benefits for remaining a member such as increased benefits and services with every renewal. 4. Focus on restaurant/ parking/ gift shop to attract a wider local audience since they are attractive items for everyone in a downtown area not only art people. 5. Improve quality and capacity to attract people not necessarily interested in art but in a place to eat/ park/ shop. 6. Market penetration

The Giant Awakens Sheen Software Systems

Question: Discuss the Topic on the Giant Awakens for Sheen Software Systems. Answer: Factors that Make China a Successful Option for Delivering Xins Expectation Frank Xin selected China, for his offshore outsourcing. Several factors led China a successful option for delivering Xins expectation. He had used all the current appearance of the outsourcing industries in China. After that, he selected Shanghai, in China. Shanghai was selected as a place because of the buzz and due to the presence of some of his family ties. According to Xin, if Shanghai would be expensive for him to afford he will select any other city with tech parks that are nearby to Shanghai. There were two options before him such as to set up a captive office and entering into a joint venture (Zhang and Huang 2012). According to the first option, he can set up a captive office that would be a subsidiary for Sheen-US. The second option would help him in entering into a joint venture with any obtainable firm. In a deal with Shanghai, he would sign a contract and on the other hand Shanghai would help Xin in allocating some of its staff to Sheen, which is one of the most important advantages. Xin access China because he had multiple choices before him. Xins main concern is in Tech Park, which is situated in Pudang (Dou et al. 2013). The rate of Pudang is slightly cheaper in Shanghai as compared to other cities. Being an associate of Tech Park he will get many advantages such as monetary benefit, does not have to pay income tax, reduction on taxes, etc. All these factors were advantageous according to Xin for delivering his expectation. Therefore, he started setting up his offshore policy by presence the international IT outsourcing peak at an elegant hotel in Shanghai (Armalyte et al. 2013 Reason for Assessing China as Compared to other Possible offshore and onshore option Xin had used all the new appearance of the outsourcing companies in China. Firstly his concern was in Software Park in Pudang, which was a recently built region in eastern Shanghai. He found that Pudang rates are very low as compared to rest of the city. Pudang rates for Shanghai are 55 whereas rest of the city has 70-80. According to Dou et al. (2013), being an associate of a park that is related to software, even if he did not live there he can provide Sheen with monetary benefits such as income tax for the initial three years, 50% reduction in taxes for 5 years, etc. All these favorable factors led Xin to assess China as a location as compared to other possible offshore or onshore regions. Establishment of business relation in China is much important than surface level networking. The economy of China is flourishing at a faster rate while the culture is deep rooted in its history. Building relationships whether it is business related or not grows at a slower pace. For conducting business in China, one should need a local intermediary, an agent who can represent the interest, provide a right introduction, negotiate agreements, etc. Examining and insisting on all the points of supply chain management by continuing with the direct approach. This will be helpful in providing the requirements and needs of the company to the manufacturers ( Vaidhyanathan et al. 2013). Auditing the factory or factories and inspecting those products that are made by them on a regular basis. Therefore, Xin started setting up his offshore policy by attending the worldwide IT outsourcing meeting at an elegant hotel in Shanghai. The two-day conference mainly focuses on the offshore outsourcing. Sh anghai Municipal Foreign Economic Relation and Trade Commission, the Shanghai Municipal and Formalization Commission and other organization, organized the conference (Zhang and Huang 2012). Process to Set up Service in China There were many steps that Xin should follow in order to set up his outsourcing business in China. Xin has to proceed according to the following steps. Xin must follow all the above steps in order to set up his outsourcing business in China. The steps are: For conducting business in China, one should need a local intermediary, an agent who can represent the interest, provide the right introduction, negotiate agreements, etc. Secondly, it is very much important to choose the manufacturer of the product. Exhibitors include companies, which helps in making everything starting from electronics products to building material and chemical goods (Zhang and Huang 2012). Establishment of business relation in China is much important than surface level networking. The economy of China is flourishing at a faster rate while the culture is deep rooted in its history. Building relationships whether it is business related or not grows at a slower pace. Therefore, it is very much important to create a good bonding or business relationship for outsourcing business in China(Vaidhyanathan et al. 2013) Needs and requirements of the company must be properly stated to the manufacturer. Examining and insisting on all the points of supply chain management by continuing with the direct approach. This will be helpful in providing the requirements and needs of the company to the manufacturers (Dou et al. 2013) Auditing the factory or factories and inspecting those products that are made by them on a regular basis. Arranging for shipping of the product or products to the business or warehouse Xin must follow all the above steps in order to set up the outsourcing business in China. Therefore, he started setting up his offshore policy by attending the international IT outsourcing summit at a graceful hotel of Shanghai. The two-day conference mainly focuses on the offshore outsourcing. Risk Awareness and Preparation Plan Outsourcing Manufacturing to China can cause a huge threat to any business especially when the organization does not have any idea regarding outsourcing. The outsourcing operation is a cost effective move, but when companies are not aware of the intrinsic risks, then the operations costs more than the anticipated savings. This led suppliers and sharing channels at risk. Problems like misunderstanding, operational misconduct, ethical standards, etc. causes legal ethical and operational problems. There are many dangers, for which Xin have to be prepared. The dangers are: Exact requirement for quality control specification which is relayed to the full extent cannot be met. Sometimes, the product does not meet the import rules and regulation of the country, which can pose threat to the outsourcing business. Shipping delay creates problems because of which sometimes they are unable to do anything. To avoid this type of problems, Xin has to be careful. Employee theft and backdoor sales are considered dangerous for outsourcing business. Intellectual property is infringed if an individual is unaware how to protect himself in a foreign country. It is very much necessary to know how to save an individual in a foreign market (Vaidhyanathan et al. 2013) Manufacturing and shipping process get affected if an individual does not have belief in the religion and culture of China. One must believe in the religion and culture of China in order to flourish the manufacturing and shipping process (Handley and Benton 2012). Directly dealing with outsourcing goods are risky and poses threat to the survival of the company. Therefore, it is always suggested to avoid direct dealing outsourcing resources. Companies must be aware of the inherent risk otherwise, the supplier is cost and distribution channel of the outsourcing business gets affected. All the above problems can pose threat to the outsourcing business. Therefore Xin bust is aware of these threats in order to avoid them. Changes in the Early 2000s and Today that Contemplate the Decision taken by Xin Chinas outsourcing business is expanding at a faster rate. There is a huge difference in outsourcing business between the early 2000s and today. It affects the decision that is contemplated by Xin. By the year 2003, the Chinese market related to software started rising at a faster rate. Unlike the Indian industry, Chinese business enjoyed strong command domestically from the financial system that had been growing over the earlier decade. Around 2000, Chinese companies started showing their sights by augmenting their domestic demands in the unfamiliar markets. In the year 2003, China was probable to export around 15 millions of softwares that are known as outsourcing. 12 % of the total software exports are accounted by Shanghai. Shanghai is the home of software RD centers of HP. By the year 2010, the value of the offshore work amounts to $5.6. In 2016, Chinese companies started contracting outsourcing contract services that worth $ 130.9 billion (Handley and Benton 2012). Now, information expertise related services account mostly half off the offshore deals. The gains in the offshore market include IT sector, far outpace of the global markets, etc. Now, China has more than 6600 companies that provide outsourcing facilities to the foreign companies. The annual revenues made by the companies are more than 50 million. It became the second largest outsourcing provider after India. The state described the sector as Green Industry (Zhang and Huang 2012) Chinese outsourcing providers work with companies all over the world. The government of China is also supporting outsourcing business. The focus of the government is on the IT services. It is concluded that there was a huge change from the early 2000's in outsourcing business of China. The changes would affect those decisions, which are contemplated by Xin (Raj et al. 2016). References Armalyte, R., Subramanian, N. and Gunasekaran, A., 2013. WITHDRAWN: Quality issues in outsourcing to China: Is it still a sustainable competitive advantage?.Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. Dou, W., Qi, L., Zhang, X. and Chen, J., 2013. An evaluation method of outsourcing services for developing an elastic cloud platform.The Journal of Supercomputing,63(1), pp.1-23. Handley, S.M. and Benton, W.C., 2012. The influence of exchange hazards and power on opportunism in outsourcing relationships.Journal of Operations Management,30(1), pp.55-68. Raj, S.Y., Sathish, G., Kumar, C.S. and Sairam, R., 2016. A Quantitative Analysis of 3PL Providers and Their Workload in Automotive Industries.Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research,24(S1), pp.149-154. Vaidhyanathan, S., Dev, L. and Shattacharyya, D., Oracle Financial Services Software Limited, 2013.System and method for determining outsourcing suitability of a business process in an enterprise. U.S. Patent 8,392,240. Zhang, A. and Huang, G.Q., 2012. Impacts of business environment changes on global manufacturing outsourcing in China.Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,17(2), pp.138-151.

The Beak Of The Finch Essay Example For Students

The Beak Of The Finch Essay The Beak of the Finch The Bogus Logic of The BeakPeople who have served in the Armed Forces may be familiar with the expression, If you cant dazzle then with your brilliance, baffle them with your baloney. The Beak of the Finch uses such laughable logic, it is remarkable that anyone would believe it. The book does such a terrible job of presenting a case for evolution and history, that the only logical conclusion is that the books true intent is to disprove it. Jonathan Weiner, The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994. ISBN 0679400036. It is never too late to give up our prejudices. No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. Thoreau, WaldenThis book claims to be about evolution, centered in the location made famous by Charles Darwin, the Galapagos Islands. I read this book on the recommendation of a good friend who knows I am interested in birds and thought I might get something out of it. Indeed, the few parts of the book actually about the Gouldian Finches of the Galapagos Islands are fascinating. The book records in detail some of the trials the Dr. Peter Grant family endured in studying these birds on a hot volcanic rock. However, the writers and editors of the book avoid simple logic and put a spin on history that is misleading. The facts and logic presented in The Beak of the Finch really make the books author out to be a closet creationist. It just so happened that at the same time I read this book, I was reading The Storm Petrel and the Owl of Athena by Louis Halle. Half of The Storm Petrel is on the bird life of the Shetland Islands, another isolated natural system. Halle, though an evolutionist, devotes a whole chapter on how the Shetlands and other islands conserve species. (Halle. 1970, 155ff.) Where species have changed their habits, it is most often due to adaptation to humanity. He compares the wild starlings, house sparrows, and rock doves found on the Shetlands with the more domesticated versions of these birds found on the continentsand to some degree even in the main village of the Shetlands. The island birds are more like their original wild forebears. I mention this now because it will come back to haunt us later. Logical FallaciesBy the first thirty or so pages I had found two logical fallacies and at least one historical inaccuracy in The Beak of the Finch. The fallacies were significant. The historical point was minor, but could be misleading. The fallacies would continue through the book. Page 10 says Evolutionists are watching life ev olve on different islands. Well, not on the Shetlands, if Halles observations are accurate. One reason given is that islands are a closed system. I am not sure how closed any place on earth is any more; however, the Grants (the scientist couple doing the research reported by The Beak) were certainly careful to keep their little island as closed as possible. They washed themselves carefully, watched for any alien seeds they might bring, and so on. The great irony is that after twenty five years of observing, the net result is no change: Individual variation from year to year, surely, but nothing even remotely approaching one species turning into something else. The Problem with Using Breeders for AnalogiesPage 30 describes the law of succession (not plant or forest succession). This is adjunct to evolution. Is it truly a law? Can it be observed? Can it be repeated experimentally? Well, he says, Darwin showed that breeders can produce varieties of breeds of dogs and pigeons. Both Darw in and Weiner spend a lot of time on pigeons. There are several problems with this. One, breeders are outside intelligent operators. They are not natural forces. Second, and what will prove to be most significant, they still breed pigeons. The pigeons never become another species, regardless of the exotic traits they display. They are still pigeons. Even Darwin backer Sir Charles Lyell noted, There is no good evidence of spontaneous generation, and breeders know only too well that they cannot change one species into another. (Ruse, 1979, 81)1 Now Darwin suggested that at some point perhaps species could become something else. He was speculating. He used pigeon fanciers as an analogy for the forces of nature. Page 30 says it was an analogy. There is a problem with using analogies for science. They can be useful to explain things, but analogy is not the scientific method (inductive reasoning). Darwin would write that old Aristotle was his god. (Loomis, 1943, xxxii) While Aristotle did write about logic, he mostly used analogy when observing nature. Here is one quick example: Winds shake the air, earthquakes shake the earth, therefore earthquakes are caused by underground winds. (Meteorology, 2.8.23ff) Whenever you argue from analogy, you must be certain that the two items being compared are truly comparable and that the similarity of one feature truly means a similarity in another. We have a right to question whether pigeon breeders, or dog breeders, bean growers, etc. are behaving in a manner that nature does. We also must ask the question whether a visible similarity (Weiners definition of species) means common ancestry. I tell the story of when I caddied. There was another caddie who had red hair, a round face, and freckles like me. We were about the same height and had a similar build. Once when I was caddying, my golfer said to me, I had your brother the last time I played golf. Well, Chris Murphy was not my brother. We were not related at all. Just because we had some physical similarities did not mean we had a common ancestor. The argument by analogy continues for some time in the book. Yet these two questions about breeders and analogies are never addressed. The author also misses the obvious pointthose fancy pigeons are still pigeons. This analogy hardly appears like a law of science. Differences Among Individuals Not the Same as Transitional FormsThe book notes on page 40 that Darwin himself asked, Why are there not transitional forms? Darwins answer was that they had died off. The next question that follows logically is perhaps relevant here. Why are there not more fossils of transitional forms? That unanswerable question is why Niles Eldridge, Stephen Jay Gould, and others came up with the punctuated equilibrium theory (a.k.a. the hopeful monster theory) that there were sudden massive genetic changes which produced new species. Indeed, some fossils thought to be transitional have been proven otherwise. When I was in college we were taught that man evolved from Australopithecus. Now, if the Leakeys are to be believed, we find that Australopithecus and Homo were alive at the same time. The January 1998 issue of Scientific American describes an ongoing discussion of whether or not Neanderthal Man is a human ancestor. (Wong, 1998) Regular bird fossils have also been found at the same level as Archaeopteryx. As we shall see, the fossil record shows extinction rather than transition. And extinction is an argument against natural selection producing new species. Time and time again the book tells of individual variation among finches. The average person would not notice these differences. The Grants noticed. Some of the subtle differences in bill thickness could mean the difference between survival and death. The Fortis finch, the main subject of the Grants study, with a slightly narrower bill had an advantage in good growing years because the more general bill could eat a variety of available seeds. One with a thicker bill would do better in dry seasons when the only available seeds were those survivors with thicker hulls that the smaller bill could not crack. We note individual differences among humans, too. But just because there are individual differences does not mean that they evolve into something else. Individuals are just different. Lets celebrate diversity and acknowledge individual differences. Darwinism as Neither Proven Nor ScientificPage 52 has another wild statement that challenges logic. Darwin himself never tried to produce experimental confirmation of this particular point that individual variation led to changes into new species. It is at once extremely logical and extremely hard to prove. Hmm! I let that statement speak for itself. The author does not demonstrate the logic of itprobably not because it is hard, but because it is impossible. Perhaps, too, I am beginning to suspect that the author is not familiar with rules of logic. Note two things about that statement. O ne, no experimentation. That means no scientific method. Therefore Darwin was not in the strict sense being scientific. Two, the logic on how natural selection causes new species is very difficult. In fact, the author does not even try to show it. If There Is No Net Change, Doesnt That Disprove Evolution?For a number of pages in what is really the core of the book, the author describes how the Fortis Finches of the island specialize according to subtle differences in beak size during dry years. As a result, several strains appear. However, in wet years, the strains interbreed and the net result over a period of time is no change! This, of course, is exactly the opposite of what the theory of evolution would predict. As a result, after about page 80 or 90, the rest of the book is devoted to a literary subterfuge to try to convince the reader otherwise in spite of the evidence. The kindest thing I can say is that the author is preaching to the converted. By page 81 the author says thi s is evolution in action, yet there is nothing about new species. The Gouldian Finches are still Gouldian Finches. Indeed the alternating natural forces keep them from changing. The author admits on page 106 that reversals of fortune are common. What does that mean? Change goes in various directions. Survivors in a recent generation can be more like a distant generation than the parental generation. What is the net result? No change, hence no evolution! The author tells of the stratification of guppies according to the type of stream bed they are found in. Again, somehow this is supposed to show evolution, but instead it shows stabilization. The guppies are still guppies. There are individual variations, certainly, and some individuals have a better chance to survive in certain environments, but they do not become something else. This demonstrates the dirty secret of natural selection. Natural selection is generally conservative. It preserves species, it does not make new ones. This has always been the scientific criticism of Darwin since he and Wallace first published their theories. The examples that The Beak of the Finch use really show the same thingthat natural selection is conservative. It does not speak of the origin of species as much as it does the preservation of species. Darwins Logic in the First Half of His TitleDarwins books full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. If we look at the first clause of the title we can see that there are really three parts to Darwins logic. One is that species exist. Species are Darwins given. Second, Darwin tries to demonstrate that species adapt over time to changes in the environment. This is what he calls natural selection. Third, Darwin then tries to make the connection that these natural adaptations result in the formation of new, discrete species. Or as he put it in his title, species originate by means of this natural selection. There is also the uniformitarian implication that these changes are subtle and gradual and take a long time to have a visible effect. Hence, the earth is old, and Lyells anti-diluvialism or anti-catastrophism best explains the geological record. We will look at the second clause of the title later. The Beak of the Finch is one of a number of studies which show that subtle changes within species can occur in just a few generations when environmental circumstances change. For the sake of argument we will call this natural selection. The next step in Darwins theory seems to be the most significantthat these changes will eventually result in new species. The results recorded in The Beak of the Finch appear to be saying just the opposite of this. The net change over time is nil or insignificant. And if there are any changes, they are conservativethey preserve the present species, they do not mutate the species into something else. A Few More Questionable QuotationsI like this line on page 131: The opposition to Darwinism arises, as Darwin himself observed, not from what reason dictates but from the limits of what the imagination can accept. I will let that statement speak for itself. Reason and observation do not explain evolution. We can only imagine it. Is it unreasonable and imaginary? Page 144 also states another problem. It explains that Darwins thesis predicts the general absence of competition. Yet the observations of the Grants in particular show lots of competition for space and food in the small island territory. In addition, the author explains, because there should be no competition, evolution will usually be unobserved! If it is unobserved then how do we know it happens? Science and the scientific method require observation. At the very least, this means that Darwinian evolution will always be a theory. Indeed, after a quarter of a century on the Galapagos, the Grants evidence does demonstrate that actual evolution is not observed. Here the author is explaining why Darwinism cannot be proved, how the Grants observations show things that Darwin said would not happen, and yet the author still sounds like an advocate of Darwin. Doesnt that sound like blind faith? The Irrelevant Crossbill ExperimentPage 182 contains one experiment, but it has nothing to do with evolution. Perhaps its an example of analogy gone wild. The author describes experiments done with the bird known as a crossbill. Crossbills have crossed bills which enable them to reach into pine cones and extract the seeds. Someone took a group of crossbills and clipped the crossed portion of their bills so that they could no longer open pine cones. The birds could eat other seed put out for them. The bills grew back. Then they were able to eat pine seeds again. It makes sense, but does it have anything to do with evolution? While it does show how bill shape determines a birds ability to eat certain foods, I still have not figured out what that has to do with evo lution. There have been many other experiments where scientists removed or altered body parts of creatures. They could not function normally in most cases until that part grew back. All it tells us is that most body parts have a function. Perhaps it does illustrate the utility of bill structure, but there is nothing to do with heredity or genes in this one. The book states that this exercise with the crossbills refutes the anti-evolutionist book Darwin on Trial, but since the experiment has nothing to do with Darwinian heredity, it is impossible to see the relevance. Ultimately, the author is stuck and he knows it. He wants to believe in evolution, yet all the evidence he has been presenting is really showing that natural selection is conservative. What can he do? Talk of finches, guppies, and crossbills: interesting but largely irrelevant. Self-Contradiction and Laughable LogicThe author admits he is lost on page 192. This quotation sums up the shaky ground he has found himself on. The amazing illogic of it should be obvious even to a ten year old: Fortis has done a lot of evolving just to stay in place!As Shakespeare would say: That is hot ice and wondrous strange snow. (A Midsummer Nights Dream, 5.1.63)I almost laughed out loud when I read that sentence. The finches changed so much that they didnt change at all? Evolution is proven because it doesnt happen? A recent review in Scientific American complains that science in America on the decline because relativistic thinking has crept into science, that science is a subjective human construction, like art or music. (Morrison, 1997, 114) The article blames the influence of social science which does not take seriously the ultimate importance of objective facts. (Morrison, 1997, 117) Clearly, if the above passage reflects contemporary scientific thinking, then at least some of the blame is the responsibility of science itself, not just sociology. I find it even more remarkable that a book which such nonsense as the above passage could win a nonfiction Pulitzer Prize. One of the three panelists which made the final selection is a writing teacher at a well-known technical university. Would he accept such stuff if one of his students wrote that in a paper? One of the other panelists is an editor of a well-known high-circulation magazine. Would she allow such thinking in an article that she edited? (1995 Pulitzer Prizes, 1997) Such a prize is usually given to the best in its field. If this is the best evolution can do, evolution is in sad shape. Even the old agnostic himself, T.H. Huxley, wrote: Science is simply common sense at its best; that is rigidly accurate in obervation and merciless to fllacy in logic. (Gould, 16)A few years ago in article in Natural History magazine, biogeographer and evolutionary apologist Jared Diamond wrote of a genetic study done of Jews. He noted that some genetic changes had taken place in the Jewish Diaspora of the last two thousand years in Europe. He also not ed that some inherited traits such as fingerprints and certain blood antibodies had not changed. In many ways European Jews, in spite of their outward appearance, are genetically closer to Arabs in the Near East (where the Jews came from) than to Europeans with whom they have lived for two millennia or more. Diamond then very emphatically stated that thisalong with the sainted peppered mothsproves that evolution is a fact his italics. (Diamond, 1993, 19) I am not sure how. After two thousand years and thousands of miles migrated, the genotypes of this population are still identifiable. Is it the same kind of logicthat they evolve by not changing? I should really stop there. At first I thought the author just thought all his readers were dense. But I get the impression he really believes this stuff! One person I shared this with simply passed it off because Weiner was writing for a popular audience. Logic is not important for the mass of people? Is science the new priesthood which th e laity must trust blindly? The aristocracy to which the serfs owe total allegiance? Natural Selection Stabilizes, It Does Not Cause New SpeciesOn page 227 the author even speaks of stabilizing selection. Ah! What is this? A scientific oxymoron? Not if you are a Darwinist. You see, that phrase illustrates precisely the main argument against Darwin from the beginning, before Huxley and Wilberforce turned the whole discussion into a sideshow. Natural selection stabilizes species, it does not change them. The book even shares another little secret of evolution: Evolutionists are forever dividing and subdividing into schismatic sects. (231). This is what began to make me personally doubt evolution in college. The Anthropology, Biology, and Sociology classes all taught it, but they didnt agree on much and even criticized the others interpretation of it. There was no common ground except a materialist bias. It did not strike me as very objective. The author then describes a number of spec ies with very short generations. Two that he focuses on are a type of fruit fly and the human intestinal bacteria. The most he can say about the fruit flyintroduced into areas where it was not nativeis that it may be diverging into new species. (233) This is after he criticized the book Darwin on Trial for using the word may. (182) If it is good for the goose Interestingly, the book documents one really long-term change among Gouldian Finches on page 240 and thereabouts. The Galapagos Islands are now densely populated in some places. Like the rock doves, house sparrows, and starlings of Eurasia and North America, they have adjusted to human habitation. They are learning to eat scraps and seeds from people. The various types of finches which before were distinguished by differences in bills are becoming a hybrid swarm in towns. They are changing, but this is not due to natural forces, but due to manmore like the pigeon fanciers. Even here, though, natural selection is working not to change the species, but preserve it. The various strains are coming together to survive. This is the same phenomenon Halle (1970) observed on the Shetlands as he compared the village starlings, sparrows, and rock doves with those in remote areas. This also is the same phenomenon observed among the Lake Victoria cichlidstraditionally seen as a model for evolution like the Galapagos finches. These fish display highly specialized races in this large but isolated African lake. Within ten years after the introductin of a predatory Nile perch species, we read that observers noticed a kind of hybrid that seems to display a resistance to the perch. (Trachtman, 119) This reviewer called this phenomenon an irony. Well, irony is wonderful in drama and literaturesomething unexpected happens. However, when an irony happens in a scientific model, it is time to re-examine that model. The author refers in a few places to the peppered or speckled . I recall my high school text book used this to prov e evolution. That text was first published in 1962 and was first American textbook at the high school level to present evolution as scientific fact. The moth was white with some dark morphs. It lived in white birches. As the industrial cities and white birches in England became more grimy, the dark morphs became predominant. That was in the 1960s. With anti-pollution laws, the cities today are less grimy, there is virtually no soot in the air and the birches are white again. So now, again, most of the moth morphs are white. This is clearly not evolution! They have gone back to what they were. And, indeed, they have always been speckled moths, whether white or black. (Just like people!) Again, if there is natural selection, it is conservative, preserving the species, not transforming it into something else. .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f , .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .postImageUrl , .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f , .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f:hover , .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f:visited , .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f:active { border:0!important; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f:active , .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u28fed74ff2ad57b49730c9f785c9a59f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Homelessness Essay We will write a custom essay on The Beak Of The Finch specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now New Evidence on the Peppered MothsSince The Beak of the Finch came out, new evidence has emerged which appears to show that the Speckled Moth experiments were stacked. This is documented by M. E. N. Majerus in Melanism: Evolution in Action (Oxford, 1998). Majerus claims to believe in evolution, by the way. The moth experiments of Bernard Kettlewell in the 1950s have not been verified by other observers. For one thing, neither morph of the moth spends any time on rocks or tree bark. Kettlewells associates admit that photographs were faked and moth specimens were glued onto a tree and photographed. This admission is comparable to the Piltdown Man hoax or W. E. LeGros Clarks admission that he deiberately doctored his pictures of fossil primates to make them look like they were intermediate forms between apes and men. Weimer can be forgiven for not knowing about the moth experiments, since this information came out after his book. However, this does not excuse his logic, even assuming the observations were valid. This moth business illlustrates not only poor logic but flawed scientific method. It appears as though the establishment will grasp at any straw uncritically when it has the appearance of supporting its world view. For reviews of this see Nature, 5 Nov. 1998, and Back to Genesis, Apr. 1999. See also Star Course, Notes from Nature. The Second Part of Darwins TitleAnd, you know, that is precisely the language used by Darwin himself in the second part of the title of his Origin book: the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. Whats that word? Preservation. Here is a curious contradiction in the very title of the evolutionists holy writ. As we have seen, the first clause says that species originate via natural selection. The second clause says that races are preserved by the same process. They change without changing! So if I observe a species change, that proves evolution. If I see a species persevere, that is natural selection which also proves evolution. No wonder Weiner said Darwins logic was complicated! It is actually bogus logic. Can a statement and its negative can both be true at the same time? Even if both are impossible to observe? More Problem QuotationsBy page 280 the book describes people as causing their own genetic change: We modified the hyoid bone. Human evolution in the first person? HmmWhen I was a teenager I sure would have liked to have modified a few thing about my bone structure. Most teenagers would. I couldnt. Could the author? Page 284 Species of finches cannot diversify on Cocos Island Pacific island owned by Costa Rica because the island is too small. And I thought islands were laboratories of evolution. The island in the Galapagos archipelago that the Grants worked on was even smaller. Interestingly, this year a popular boo k on biology came out called The Song of the Dodo. One of its premises is that islands are laboratories of extinction, not evolution. While it is written from an evolutionary perspective, it admits that on islands, speciation could be disregarded as a factor in wildlife populations. (Quammen, 414) Bacteria + Moths + Birds + Guppies + Flies = Preservation of the SpeciesThe author tells of E. coli bacteria, the common human intestinal bacteria. These bacteria, we are told, have a generation that lasts about two hours. Strains appear and adjust due to environmental f..actors. They change when a person gets a cold, comes in close contact with another person, or eats a certain food; and some strains develop resistance to antibiotics. These things, though, do not prove evolution. They demonstrate the opposite. Bacteria resistant to antibiotics or insects resistant to pesticides do not demonstrate evolutionthey demonstrate that natural selection is conservative. They preserve the species; they do not change it into something else. Similarly, those cotton-eating Heliothis moths which the book mentions are still eating cotton. They are still the same insect. Some individuals may resist insecticides, but this trait preserves the species, it does not change the creature into something else. And yet the author mocks the Bible-belt cotton farmers who disbelieve evolution. In fact, those farmers recognize perfectly well that the same kind of moth still eats their cotton. The example of E. coli is an especially obvious refutation to evolution. With nearly six billion human laboratories carrying this bacteria on earth and with the bacteria reproducing every two hours, we would have the equivalent of millions of years of human or mammalian evolution observable just in our lifetime. Yet, while various strains of E. coli may appear or may become predominant in a certain environment, they do not become something else. They are still E. coli. Six billion people defecating every da y, youd think wed notice if they had become something else! The book lists a number of examples of natural selection in species: Gouldian Finches, guppies, cotton moths, fruit flies, sandpipers, (the crossbill experiment does not count since clipping bills does not change the genetic makeup of the population), speckled moths, and the very fecund E. coli. What do we observe over generationsin the case of E. coli, twelve per day? That the species do not change! Indeed, with the speckled moths, Gouldian finches, and bacteria at least, they will clearly revert to a past type. What does this show? It shows the precise opposite of what Darwin was attempting to prove. It shows that species do not change. Any individual variations which may be selected by nature preserve the species. The alternative is extinction. That is precisely what the fossil record and even the current natural record showsnot species changing into something else but species not changing and disappearing. In spite of a nearly a hundred and fifty years of Darwinistic indoctrination, when we think of survival of the fittest, we think of extinction, of the unfit that dont survive. That is real. That is a fact. Change into another life form is still speculative at best.2 The Earliest Known Critique of DarwinismA critique of Darwin and Wallaces earliest publications on evolution (prior to The Origin) appeared in 1860 in an article in the Journal of the Geological Society of Dublin. This article notes that the propagation of special varieties is simply a provision to guard against the destruction of the species by any, the least, change.3 The only problem, the article said, with Darwins idea that the healthiest specimens of a group survive is want of novelty. (Brackman, 1980, 74) If it means what it says, it is a truism; if it means anything more, it is contrary to fact. (Brackman, 1980, 74) Indeed, the only reason the article says that the publications of Darwin and Wallace were considered seriously a t all is because of the social status of the Darwin family and the backing of publication by Lyell and Sir Joseph Hooker. This speculation of Messrs. Darwin and Wallace would not be worthy of notice were it not for the weight of the authority of the names under whose auspices it has been brought forward. (Brackman, 1980, 75) Darwin was from a prominent family and his wife from an even more prominent family. He and Wallace were published at the instigation of Lyell and Hooker. Both of these men were baronets and members of the Royal Society. Lyell, of course, had Principles of Geology to his credit. Hooker was a well-traveled botanist and curator of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Its not what you know, its who you know. Perhaps this rebuttal to the Darwin-Wallace hypothesis did not receive more attention because it came from Dublin. It did not have the aristocratic or social pedigree that Darwin and his Royal Society friends had. Of course, today it would be politically incorrec t to snub someone because of his or her nationality, but it is academically acceptable to ridicule another type of person, one with a status similar to the Irish in nineteenth century England. We see The Beak of the Finch do this. Who Are Contemporary Equivalent of the Irish in America Today?The author, of course, wants to sell books. He wants approval from the academic establishment. Twenty years ago Harpers ran an article on natural selection being conservative. (Bethell, 1976)4 It did not sell. The prize-winning Beak of the Finch will sell. Especially since it does include the obligatory elitist slam at fundamentalists. It is clear the author does not know what the word means since the one specific example he uses of a fundamentalist is a Jehovahs Witness. One of the seven fundamentals of a Christian fundamentalist is that Jesus is God. While the Jehovahs witnesses do believe in a special Creator, they deny that He is Jesus. The author quotes Peter Grant that Creationists have th e appearance of closed minds. Dr. Grant then admits he does not know any. He can be forgiven for that because he has spent most of the last two and a half decades on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. He clearly is not aware of what has happened in American courts in the last twenty years. It has been the evolutionists who have effectively silenced the discussion of any opposition not by logic, not by evidence, but by court order! If the creationists are closed-minded, then the evolutionists are censors. The other ironic thing about that statement is that Dr. Grant himself may be the one with the closed mind. Here is all this evidence to show that natural selection does not make new species, and he cant see it. Or maybe he can, he just is afraid of becoming an academic pariah. So he presents evidence refuting Darwinists all the while pretending he still is one. That is why I suspect that either Dr. Grant, the researcher, or Mr. Weiner, the author, is a closet creationist. Why D id Darwin Drop Out?While logic is the main problem of the book, there are two historical inaccuracies worthy of note in The Beak of the Finch. The author suggests that when Darwin left England for the Beagle that he was still a seminary student, and that it was the trip on the Beagle and reading Lyells Principles of Geology that changed him. If Darwins Autobiography is to be believed, that is not exactly what happened. Darwin dropped out of seminary because he no longer believed the Biblethe three things Darwin mentions specifically are the story of Noah, the Tower of Babel, and the doctrine eternal hell for the unbeliever. Darwins father did not know what to do. His father is the one who sent him to seminary in the first place because being a minister seemed like a job that Charles was suited for. When Charles dropped out, his father recognized Charles interest in science, so he arranged for him to take the job a ships surgeon on the Beagle, where he could see some of the world and learn a suitable trade. One of Lyells original intentions was to sink the diluvialists, people who believed in the Genesis Flood and that that explained most geological sediments and fossils. (Gillispie, 1960, 299) It appears that Darwin and Lyell were kindred spirits since Darwin had admitted that the Genesis Flood was one of the teachings which kept him from Christianity. The authors misinformation on Darwin here is relatively minor. It perhaps suggests that the author wants his reader to convert from religious belief, too, but the detail itself is not that significant. Perhaps the author knows of evidence that I am unfamiliar with, though at least one other author interprets the account the way I do. (Gillispie, 1960, 348; cf. Darwin 1958, 85ff.) It really does not change the effect of the book much at all unless he is suggesting that Darwin is deceiving us in his autobiography. Indeed, one impression from reading Darwins autobiography is that even though he gradually changed fr om Christianity to universalism to deism to atheism, he remained a man of conscience.5 How The Beak Attempts to Rewrite HistoryThe second historical misstatement in The Beak is downright misleading. In fact, it changes the whole nature of the argument of the book. It may show what really motivates many evolutionists. On page 298 the book claims that the idea that God designed the universe no longer seemed compelling after Galileo and Newton discovered the celestial laws of motion. Where did Weiner come up with that idea? He clearly knows nothing about Newton and little about history. What did Newton devote his life to after he discovered and quantified the laws of motion? Theology! Most of his writings are theological. The order and design that he discovered led him to consider the One, as he put it, who wound the watch. Newton would write in his Principia: This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent a nd powerful BeingThis Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all; and on account of His dominion he is wont to be called Lord God pantokrator, Universal Ruler.(Newton, 1687, 369, 370)6 This God no longer seemed compelling to Newton? Certainly we are not talking about the same Isaac Newton as is quoted here! Lets at least be honest! The scientific revolution which resulted in the acceptance of the scientific method went hand in hand with the Reformation. It was not that God had become irrelevantHe had become more relevant. The Reformation emphasized that the God of the Bible had created the universe. The scientific method worked because God was a God of order, not confusion. We could do inductive experiments and make observations and the results would not be random. Why? Because the universe is orderly. One could go on and detail the history of the period of Galileo and Newtonno time in European and American history before or since has the Christian religion been such a critical issue as the period between 1520 and 1789. Most of the wars and many political movements resulted from it or in reaction to it. English-speaking North America was settled in most places for religious reasons. One of the main motivations of the American Revolutionaries was resistance to Englands attempts to make a uniform state religion of the Anglican Church in the colonies. The concept of God was hardly irrelevant during this era!7 Who Was Behind the Attack on Galileo?OK, some say, what about Galileo? He got in trouble with the Pope. Well, the Pope was one of the reasons for the Reformation. The Roman Church in the Middle Ages had adopted Aristotle as a model for science, and even for a lot of theology. Luther in particular was very critical of this.8 The Popes opposition to Galileo was Aristotelian. It was Aristotle who taught differently than Galileo. (The Bible doesnt have word about the planet Jupiter or its moons) The Reformation succeeded in knoc king Aristotles influence down a few notches, in the area of science as well as theology. Galileo had to take the rap for using the scientific method just as Luther had to for emphasizing the Bible. But if it had not been Galileo, it probably would have been someone else who was using the scientific method who might have gotten into trouble with authorities. It is also important to note that Galileo actually had the support of Pope Paul V and the Jesuits, but the faculty at the Universities of Padua and Pisa hated his experiments and anti-Aristotelian views. He was sentenced by Pope Urban VIII, but the charges which brought him before the pope were filed by academics. It appeared that the churchs major sin was capitulating to the pressure from the scientific community and Galileos enemies. Only as a result from much pressure from the secular establishment and Aristotelian philosophers did the church side against Galileo. (Bergman, 1995)Even a general reference source acknowledges th at: Since the full publication of Galileos trial documents in the 1870s, entire responsibility for Galileos condemnation has customarily been placed on the Roman catholic church. This conceals the role of the philosophy professors who first persuaded theologians to link Galileos science with heresy. (Drake, 1996)It was not the church that led Galileos inquisition, it was academia. Today academia uses the secular courts rather than the ecclesiastical ones, but the result is the same, to try to silence the scientific opposition. Darwin, Aristotle, and Spontaneous GenerationThis leads into Darwin. As I mentioned earlier, Darwin called himself a disciple of Aristotle. I speak of Aristotelian sciencethe science of analogy. That is what evolution isanalogous traits in various species come from a common ancestor. Keep in mind that The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Most of Pasteurs work was done in the 1870s and 1880s .People did not know of the significance of microbes. It was s till common, for example, to say that malaria was caused by bad air. That is what the word malaria means. (Cf. Thoreau, 1854, 132) Though there were some experiments disproving it, it would still be possible to find intelligent men like Darwin who believed with Aristotle in spontaneous generation. For example, if you read Walden, published in 1854, it appears that Thoreau did. (Cf. Thoreau, 1854, 325ff.) The Origin of Species is an example of latent Aristotelian science. Some well-meaning scientists are still trying to spontaneously generate life out of chemicals. (If it could be done, we should be able to take a cadaverwhich already has the chemicalsand bring it to life. We cant even do that) By the nineteenth century, Aristotelian science was pretty much a historical relic. Darwin brought it back from the dead and it is an unreasonable, self-contradictory monster. Concluding ObservationsThe Beak of the Finch purports to be a book about the observation of evolution in our time. The actual observations recorded in the book, however, demonstrate the absence of evolution among the finches of the Galapagos Islands and other species like the peppered and cotton moths, intestinal bacteria, guppies, and fruit flies. The book uses a number of self-contradictory statements which illustrate the shaky logical foundation of Darwinian evolution. The conclusion from the evidence is that natural selection serves to preserve species, not alter them into something else. There are also some historical inaccuracies, including one which tells much more about the mindset of evolutionists than about history. When examined carefully, The Beak of the Finch shows how fragile and illogical the dogma of Darwinian evolution is. Since this book won a prestigious prize, it must have been considered one of the better works on the subject. If this is as good as can be done for evolution, it will not be long before evolution goes the way of Aristotles geocentricism. The book at its root can only be taken seriously as an anti-evolutionist tract. SynopsisThe prize-winning book The Beak of the Finch purports to be a book about the observation of evolution in our time. The actual observations recorded in the book, however, demonstrate the absence of evolution among the finches of the Galapagos Islands and other species mentioned by the book such as the peppered and cotton moths, intestinal bacteria, guppies, and fruit flies. The book uses a number of self-contradictory statements which illustrate the shaky logical foundation of Darwinian evolution. The conclusion from the evidence is that natural selection serves to preserve species, not alter them into something else. There are also some historical inaccuracies, including one which tells much more about the mindset of evolutionists than about history. When examined carefully, The Beak of the Finch shows how fragile and illogical the dogma of Darwinian evolution is. Notes1 There is a potential problem of logic worth invest igating in Darwins application of Lyells uniformitarianism. The principle of uniformitarianism is that geologically things continue in a gradual manner without any significant change. Significant changes would suggest diluvialism or catastrophism. To Darwin this meant simply that the earth was quite old. But Lyell believed that he was being consistent in applying uniformitarianism to the organic as well as inorganic world by saying that species do not change. Such a change would be more akin to catastrophism. See McKinney, 1972, 33 and 34. 2 This problem was recently illustrated in an article in American Scientist: There are, arguably, arguably some two to ten million species on Earth. The fossil record shows that most species survive between three and five million years. In that case, we ought to be seeing small but significant numbers of originations and extinctions every decade. .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 , .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .postImageUrl , .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 , .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9:hover , .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9:visited , .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9:active { border:0!important; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9:active , .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9 .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8dee2dbf66241c5147fd8b33cb2996f9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The role of Antonio in Shakespeare's Tempest EssayKeith Stewart Thompson, Natural Selection and Evolutions Smoking Gun, American Scientist, Nov./Dec. 1997: 516. 3 A summary of the Dublin article is found in Brackman, 1980, 74 , 75. Quotation is from page 75. Interestingly, Darwin mentions this article in his Autobiography. He does not speak of the logic of the article or that it caused him to reflect or reconsider but simply that if he were to persuade anyone, the issue was one of propagation rather than of truth or logic. This shows, he said of it, how necessary it is that any new view should be explained at considerable length in order to arouse public attention. Darwin, 1958, 122. It appears that The Beak of the Finch tried to employ the same method, that is, repeat the idea at considerable length so that people will begin to believe it, regardless of the logic or interpretation of the evidence. 4 In this article T. H. Morgan says, Selection, then, has not produced anything new, but only more of certain kinds of individuals. Evolution, however, means producing new things, not more of what already exists. (Bethell, 1976, 74) This is actual ly the underlying message of The Beak of the Finch, too. 5This assessment was my own from reading the autobiographies of Lyell, Darwin, and Wallace. There is no suggestion of any unscrupulous action on the part of Darwin, and he appeared to behave in a scrupulous manner, though consistent with his beliefs. (For example, he refused to allow Karl Marx dedicate Das Kapital to him. He was an opponent to slavery, and though he was no longer a Christian, he gave money to a Christian missionary group whose activities he approved of.)Having said all that, nowadays, others are not quite so charitable in describing Darwins behavior towards Wallace. See, for example, Peter Quammen, The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions, (New York: Scribner, 1996) 111ff. He details the work of a number of researchers which suggest Darwin plagiarized Wallace. Quammen writes, Darwin had behaved weakly and selfishly at best. (113)Quammens book is also interesting in that, while it give s lip service to evolution, it emphasizes extinction, not adaptation. The biogeographic model that this book effectively presents is one of migration of species followed by isolationthe question of evolution is irrelevant. As he puts it, Speciation could be disregarded. (414) 6 This passage continues in a similar vein enumerating the attributes of God:The true God is a living, intelligent, and powerful Being; and from his other perfections, that he is supreme or most perfect. He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, his duration reaches from eternity to eternity; his presence from infinity to infinity; he governs all things, and knows all things that are or can be done. (Newton, 1687, 370)This God hardly sounds like an irrelevant character! A physics professor from California State University at Long Beach testified in a court case that Newton would not be recognized as a credible scientist if he persisted in maintaining a creationist position as he did in Mat hematica Principia. (Vardiman, 1997) Who is having the appearance of a closed mind? 7The more I think about this, the more I am baffled. Even a cursory check of a high school European or American History text shows how important religion was in those three centuries or so. Even those who were opposed to religion (e.g., Voltaire) were very conscious of it and spent a lot of time and energy refuting itand not because of any supposed scientific evidence. That really came with Huxley. I begin to wonder that the author, the publisher, many reviewers, and the Pulitzer committee can all be so ignorant of history. Is it deliberate? Are they all stupid or careless, or are they conscious that they are misinforming us? If they are honest and intelligent, then they must be anti-evolutionists trying to show how shaky the theorys foundation is. 8 Luthers strong words against Aristotelianism can be found in Martin Luther, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, 1520, in Three Treatises, Ph iladelphia: Fortress, 1970, 92ff. (Proposition 25). Note 186 on page 92 of this particular edition notes that Roger Bacon and Erasmus also criticized the emphasis on Aristotle in medieval education. Roger Bacon is usually credited with being the developer of the scientific method in the fourteenth century. A Franciscan monk, he spent between two and ten years in prison for heresy. The record is sketchy, but likely this was because of his non-Aristotelian and non-scholastic views. Though he remained a Catholic, Erasmus, a contemporary and sometime friend of Luther, called for reforms similar to Luthers including more use of the Bible in the church. BibliographyLinks may be subject to change, especially links to articles. Links from longer works are as close as possible to relevant material or quotations. Some on-line sources are different editions or translations from those used in this text so the wording may vary. Some on-line articles may be condensed. Aristotle. c. 350. Meteorolo gy. Trans. E. Webster. The Internet Classics Archive. 1997. http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/.22.iipart8.html (29 Dec. 1997). Bergman, Jerry. 1995. The Galileo Affair Continues. Contra Mundum. 1997. http://www.wavefront.com/~contra_m/cm/features/cm15_galileo.html (28 Dec. 1997). Bethell, Tom. 1976. Darwins Mistake. Harpers, Feb. 1976: 70-75. Brackman, Arnold C. 1980. A Delicate Arrangement: The Strange Case of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. New York: Times Books. Darwin, Charles. 1958. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. Rpt.; New York:W. W. Norton and Co., 1969. The date is not a mistake. Darwins heirs did not release his memoirs until 1958. _______. 1859. The Origin of Species. 1997. http://www.literature.org/Works/Charles-Darwin/origin/ (28 Dec. 1997). Diamond, Jared. 1993. Who Are the Jews? Natural History, Nov. 1993: 12-19. Drake, Stillman. 1996. Galileo. Microsoft Encarta, 1996 ed. CD-ROM. Gillispie, Charles Coulston. 1960. The Edge of Objectivity. Princeton NJ:Pr inceton Univ. Press. Gould, Stephen Jay. 1993. The First Unmasking of Nature. Natural History: April 1993: 14, 16-21. Halle, Louis J. 1970. The Storm Petrel and the Owl of Athena. Princeton NJ:Princeton Univ. Press. Loomis, Louis Ropes. 1943. Introduction. Aristotle. On Man in the Universe. New York: Walter J. Black. Luther, Martin. 1520. To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation. Trans. Charles M. Jacobs and James Atkinson, 1966. Three Treatises. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1970. See also http://iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/web/nblty-07.html. Majerus, M. E. N. 1998. Melanism: Evolution in Action. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. McKinney, H. Lewis. 1972. Wallace and Natural Selection. New Haven CT:Yale Univ. Press. Morrison, Douglas R. O. 1997. Bad Science, Bad Education. Scientific American, Nov. 1997: 114-118. See also http://www.sciam.com/1197issue/1197review1.html. Newton, Sir Isaac. 1687. Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Trans. Andrew Motte and Florian Cajori, 1939. Great Books of the Western World. Ed. Robert Maynard Hutchins. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1952. Quammen, Peter. The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions. New York: Scribner, 1996. The 1995 Pulitzer Prizes, General Nonfiction: Jurors. 1997. The Pulitzer Prizes. http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1995/general-non-fiction/jury/ (28 Dec. 1997). Ruse, Michael. 1979. The Darwinian Revolution. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. Shakespeare, William. c. 1598. A Midsummer Nights Dream. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 1993. See also http://quarles.unbc.edu/midsummer/amnd5-1.html. Thoreau, Henry David. 1854. Walden and Other Writings. Ed. Joseph WoodKrutch. New York: Bantam, 1962. See also http://dev.library.utoronto.ca/utel/nonfiction/thoreauh_wald/wald_ch1.html for malaria reference and http://dev.library.utoronto.ca/utel/nonfiction/thoreauh_wald/wald_ch17.html for chapter with references to spontaneous generation. Trachtman, Paul. Book Reviews. Smithsonian, Aug. 1998: 118-121. See also http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues98/aug98/bookreview_aug98.html#one Vardiman, Larry. 1997. Newtons Approach to Science. Impact, 296: i-iv. See also http://www.icr.org/research/lv/lv-r03.htm. Wong, Kate. 1998. Ancestral Quandary. Scientific American, Jan. 1998: 30, 32. See also http://www.sciam.com/1998/0198issue/0198scicit3.html.

Health Care and Sociological Concepts Essays

Health Care and Sociological Concepts Essays Health Care and Sociological Concepts Essay Health Care and Sociological Concepts Essay Health Care and Sociological Concepts It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. The American Health Care Industry is a very large social institution. The health care is the care, servicers, or supplies related to a person`s health. The three major sociological orientations are functionalist, conflict, and interactions; we will discuss each perspective as it pertains to the health care industry. Functionalism considers each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to societys functioning as a whole. On the other hand the perspective received criticism that, functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various parts of society will compensate naturally for any problems that may arise. While functionalism focuses on positive aspect of society, which contributes to its stability, the conflict perceptive focuses on the negative and ever-changing nature of society. Conflict theorist encourages social change and believes that rich and powerful people force social order on poor and weak. Critics of the conflict perspective point to its overly negative view of society. The theory ultimately attributes humanitarian efforts, altruism, democracy, civil rights, and other positive aspects of society. The symbolic interactions, directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other. The American philosopher George H. Mead (1863–1931) introduced this perspective to American sociology in the 1920s. According to the symbolic interactionisms perspective, people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective interpretation of these symbols. Critics of this theory say that, symbolic interactions neglects the macro level of social interpretation- the â€Å"big picture. † In other words, symbolic integrationists’ may miss the larger issues of society by focusing too closely on the â€Å"trees†, rather than the â€Å"forest†. As we can see each perspective has its strengths and weaknesses, from high function to discrimination through social class, to stability and lack of accessibility. From functionalist perspective health care industry employees a large number of medical personal, it effectively replaces the personal, trains new recruits, provides important service to its members and it`s community, preserves order through strict regulations and operating procedures, and maintains its purpose through motivation for social change and charitable characteristics. The functional perspective emphasizes the contribution the health care industry makes to our societys overall stability. Health care provides basic protections against the spread of contagious diseases, maintains awareness of healthy practices, and contributes to the wellness of the community. Functionalists assume that everybody can afford the health care, it doesn`t acknowledge that a vast majority of American population can`t afford health insurance to cover their health care needs. Conflict perspective suggests that health care system can present as greed, economic influence, and unavailability to specific groups, or prejudice privilege provided to insured patients. Health care in USA is considered the most expensive care in the word, due to the high cost of health care people who don`t have health insurance can`t afford to pay for their medical needs. Medical care has become increasingly bureaucratic; many clinics and doctors offices are overwhelmed with paperwork and regulations which can prevent them effectively helping the ailing masses. Health insurance is used to supplement the outrageous cost of medical care and is out of reach to many United States residents. New data indicates 50. 7 million Americans are without private health care insurance and the outlook is grim due to the erosion of the economy and employer-based insurance plans. Federal programs attempt to provide basic or restricted coverage to the one out of every six Americans stretching the systems already limited resources. These constraints leave the uninsured with few choices, less comprehensive care, long wait times, and increased frustration within poor communities. Conflict theorist lack to see the progress that medicine has reached, life expectancy is higher, infant mortality rates are lower, the development of vaccines for many infectious diseases, allowing many people to live longer, and healthier lives. In last century the medicine reached unbelievable high`s, if in last century people where dyeing from tuberculosis, now we have the cure and control the diabetes. Even though there is a long way to go, today health care compare to the last centuries is more advanced and can diagnose and cure many times more than before. For example the technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), although expensive and not accessible to everyone, who can benefit, have had major impact on healthcare system. The symbolic internationalists would be interested in the effects of limited health care on a micro level. Symbolic internationalists focus on how people experience the healthcare system on individual level. They focus on relationships between patients and physicians, such as how they interact, what they discuss, who leads the discussion, whether physician addresses all of the patient`s concerns, or only select ones and the outcomes for these interactions for the patient. Solution to any problem indentified would focus on this individual level. The specific communities most affected by health care coverage are the elderly, children, and people living below the poverty line. Symbolic interactionalist’s theorist would emphasize that our social behavior is influenced by the social roles we accept. By accepting that health care is difficult to obtain or the system unfairly represents wealthier patrons, the lower classes of people resort to alternate means including local clinics, alternative medicine, internet applications such as WebMD and other community resources. As the community of the uninsured grows as does the demand for centralized and government provided programs. The growing number of people requiring assistance will influence future legislation and can change public opinion on the necessity of adequate care for everyone, eventually lowering fatality rates and increasing public awareness on the importance of healthy families. Critics of the symbolic internationalism would argue this approach focuses too much attention to individual situations, rather than situations that are generalized to others. Symbolic internationalism also ignores the larger social forces at work, shaping social health issues (race, politics, poverty, etc. ). The strength and weakness of each perspective lies in its definition of the institution. The functionalist view shows us the power and influence the health care industry has on society, its ability to sustain itself and grow. The functionalist view does not specify how society does or does not benefit from the growing institution. The conflict perspective shows us the potential downfall of the industry, the alienation and lack of care for low-income or unemployed people. The perspective does not analyze the benefits organized health care provides but it can suggest areas needing reform. Internationalist`s show the impact of available health care on specific communities but it does not consider the wider implications of deficiency. As we can see no one prospective can fully explain all the social aspects of medicine. Each explains important information and different questions and solutions. Applying all these three perspectives to medicine allows as to see at the structure of medical care (functionalism), any issues of the power tension (conflict) and collective definition of the situation (interpretive). These way sociologists can understand the complexities and issues of the health care system, because each perspective compliments the other one, so looking at all three perspectives we can see the full picture. Our family can most closely identify with the conflict perspective because of the high unemployment rate in our area, the central valley of California. Although we do have medical insurance our rates have steadily increased over the last few years and our overall coverage has decreased. It is blatantly clear how difficult it would be to obtain adequate coverage if our employers were not providing it to us. We have friends who do not go the Dr. unless absolutely necessary and we support a generalized plan that would at least take care of children who can potentially spread viruses and diseases without prejudice to the surrounding population through their public access to schools.

World War II and the Holocaust Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

World War II and the Holocaust - Assignment Example ine restrictions and conditions put upon them in the form of the indemnities and other penalties, the fact that Adolf Hitler considered Jews and the Austrians as the main agent and factor of brining about defeat to Germans in the First World War sow the seeds of evil and hatred within. Initially when Adolf Hitler and Nazi party came to power, they claimed to aim at restoring the pride, honor and power of the Germans, but the undertaking of the Jews under a formally approved program of genocide in the name of Holocaust caused havoc and ran counter to the initially set forth principles and doctrines under the banner of National Socialist function and mandate they had received. Historic as well as cultural factors were incorporated into the statement and actions against the Jews. On the historic front, they were being held as the guilty party for having brought about shame and defeat upon the Germans in the First War, on the social and societal front, the Jews were being termed as the inferior race that with their presence brought about downfall upon the other tribes and societies. Considering the Aryans as the superior tribe led to the creation of the concept of hatred for others (Blain, 2009, 79). An ultimate feeling of ethnocentric identity prevailed. The outcome and the future prospect were so horrific that it led to the utter hatred and annihilation of the Jews by the German Nazi party. They were to be eradicated step wise and the muzzling was so complete they their literature, their governmental occupational posts, their achievements, their identity all was removed step wise. Formally approved containment centers and Gas Chambers were introduced (Bre itman, 2013). Designated posts of Ministry of Propaganda and spread of hatred against Jews were formally established. Strategies were being devised in the early phases of regime empowerment; formal actions came about towards the start of the Second World War. By the end of the Second World War, the concept of

Online Personality Tests Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Online Personality Tests - Essay Example I can tell that the test was valid because occasionally, it asked for a response to a question and later again asked for a response to a statement negating the prior question. For example, if a respondent said â€Å"very accurate† in response to the statement â€Å"I easily get upset†, he/she should say â€Å"very inaccurate† to the next statement â€Å"I am not easily frustrated†. After the test, the next screen explained my personality using adjectives constituting one to two words like â€Å"fun-loving and broad-minded† etc. I think the descriptions offered by test results were the true reflection of my personality. Such online tests give a person a clear insight into his/her personality so that he/she can know what can he/she change about his/her behavior to convert into a better person. Such online tests can be occasionally dangerous if an individual starts believing them blindly. It was a long test based on 45 general and about 20 particular questions that pertained to investigating the demographics of an individual. As the name implies, the test was designed to measure five key personality traits namely, â€Å"openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.† I would criticize the test for a number of reasons. First, it was too taxing to answer about 70 questions in order to get a computer assessment of my personality. Often, the statements were too long and cumbersome. Secondly, the test had some unnecessary details about myself. The items constituting the test were fundamentally assessing my behavior. I can tell this from the fact that the five personality traits I have mentioned before are the most underlying components of an individual’s behavior. The screen that popped up once I submitted the completed test showed a grading for my personality on the scale of the five personality traits as named befor e. The grading was