Are Todays Tv Shows Making Us Smarter - 2025 Words

Are Todays TV Shows Making Us Smarter? I recently read an essay written by American author Steven Johnson entitled Watching TV Makes You Smarter. Millions of Americans who are engrossed in today’s TV programming might be surprised at the concept. You see, for years, sitting down to watch TV was thought of as a lazy way to turn off your brain and veg out (to spend time idly or passively). (Britannica) While this may still be true, Johnson argues that the increased complexity in today’s TV shows forces us to become intellectually involved as opposed to merely entertained. The idea of TV increasing our intelligence would be a fantastic idea to most viewers. Dana Stevens (movie critic for Slate Magazine) offered a rebuttal in response to Johnson’s piece, struggling to make sense of his claims in her piece Thinking Outside the Idiot Box. Just from her title of describing the television as an ‘Idiot Box†, you can easily guess her thoughts on the subject. I believe that Johnson has presented some very intriguing evidence to back his claims while Stevens’ rebuttal offers little to no evidence to the contrary. Steven Johnson bases his argument on the observation of increased complexity we have seen in TV shows over the last thirty plus years. In spite of this, most critics continue to argue that TV has a way of dumbing down our culture. Instead of focusing on the aspects of values, violence, sexual content, and obscenity in TV, Johnson focuses on how much mental work is requiredShow MoreRelatedThinking Outside the Idiot Box by Dana Stevens vs. â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter† by Steven Johnson1125 Words   |  5 PagesEnglish Comp I Kayal 11/5/13 TV Does Not Make You Smarter There is no doubt that television holds a purpose in our society today, but is that purpose brain-numbing or actually beneficial to our brain development? The television, also known as: TV, the boob tube, the idiot box, as well as many other nicknames, has been around for almost a hundred years. Ever since cable TV became popular in the 1950’s, there has always been a worry that people watch too much TV. Most people believe that with exorbitantRead MoreWatching Tv Makes You Smarter967 Words   |  4 PagesWatching TV Makes You Smarter In his essay â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter, Steven Johnson - an author specializing in media, pop culture and technology - claims that watching TV is actually healthy for the viewers mind as contemporary television requires more cognitive thinking than it did previously. Johnson supported his claim by explaining about his sleeper curve throughout the essay. â€Å"The most debased forms of mass diversion – video games, violent television dramas and juvenile sitcoms thatRead MoreDoes Television Make Use Dumber? Essay535 Words   |  3 Pages Television is a big part of society today. The shows on television entertain most of America, along with conveying information to viewers. Many people today look down on television and blame it for problems we have in society along with making viewers dumber. Johnson’s Watching TV Makes You Smarter and Stevens’s Thinking Outside The Idiot Box have near opposite positions on the issue of television, both describing wha t they feel is the right answer when it comes to television and society. ThroughoutRead MoreCan Tv Be Making You Smarter?1444 Words   |  6 Pages Can Tv be Making You Smarter In Steven Johnson’s â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter†, he argues the growing complexities of contemporary TV shows through time. Johnson explains, because of the developing intricacy of TV plot lines people are having to spend more time paying attention to the TV episodes. To show this, Johnson compared shows from the past and more recent shows to  display how on screen intelligence and off screen intelligence of shows have developed to become more challenging and realisticRead MoreIs Pop Culture Good Or Bad?1163 Words   |  5 Pagespopular culture in our society today. It is everywhere. From watching TV, to reading magazines, being on social media, and just browsing the internet. Popular culture is the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, images, and other phenomena that are within the mainstream of a given culture. The question is popular culture good or bad? Pop Culture has a great impact on our society of today. The main problem with pop culture is that some people think that it can dumb us down, and also that it promotesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie Thinking Outside The Idiot Box By Dana Stevens And Watching Tv Makes You Smarter937 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"The Evolution of Television Show’s† As television viewers, we tend to slouch in front of this electrical box after a long day’s work, many of us don’t think or know about how much television programming has changed since our parent’s childhood. In â€Å"Thinking outside the Idiot Box† by Dana Stevens and â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter† by Steven Johnson, both writers give their thoughts and opinions about how television programming has evolved over the last three decades. These gentlemenRead MoreReality Television : Is It Reality?849 Words   |  4 Pagespoint in time. Today, reality television is a part of the society’s popular culture (Johnson 289). The question is why? Reality television is a genre of television programming that focuses on members of the public living in conditions made by the creator, and displays how people are intended to behave in everyday life (Johnson 290). Reality television is debasing and should be strictly controlled, if not banned altogethe r (Johnson 293). Reality TV is very dishonest (Cox). Reality shows make for corruptingRead MoreTelevision : A Blessing And A Curse940 Words   |  4 Pages Television: A Blessing and a Curse Televisions first came about in the 1900s, originally being used for advertisement and adult entertainment shows. When television began, one of its objectives was to present the news to society. It was a branch of broad communication, airing presidential news and news covering other states other than your own. Over the years this goal has altered, and now we can find all kinds of programs with different resolutions. There are many different forms of entertainmentRead MoreHow Tv Makes You Smarter1532 Words   |  7 Pagestelevision is making people smarted. People all over the world turn on their television each night and watch a few moments to a few hours of television and it is hard to miss a reality show which on almost any channel. If they were to pause on one of these shows they might not know it but they would bettering themselves on a personal level. Based on the ideas of Steven Johnson the average person could learn a thing or two from reality TV. In his article called, â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter† JohnsonRead MoreHow Media Has Impacted Society1158 Words   |  5 Pagesand oh let us not start with cell phones†¦. In our view, teenagers and young adults, find no harm is watching â€Å"too much† television and relying on our mobile devices to often. Some topics to be discussed are: Sleeper Curves, realism, linguistics, and overstated context. The point of this paper is to reflect how mass media has effected society in a positive and successful way although many people do not believe it. They, as in editor and writer Steven Johnson in Watching TV Makes You Smarter, celebrate

Blood Loss, The Decline Of The Serial Killer - 886 Words

Blood Loss, the decline of the serial killer by Christopher Beam was published in 2011 on January 5th. The story was published in a magazine that is usually directed towards the general public. In his article, Beam discusses how the medias intrest in serial killers has decresed thoughout the years. He explains how the medias facination with serial killers has fluctuated since the 1920 s to now. Beam talks about some of the more famous killers and why the media found them so interesting and then explains how the number of serial killers has decreased since the media changed its fasinations from serial killers to terrorism. The main point that Beam is trying to make is that the population is only interested in what s trending. As stated in his article, What child abductors were to the 20 s and serial killers were to the 70 s and 80 s, terrorists are to the early 21st century., the trend that the media follows is always changing. Beam uses LOGOS, or logic frequently thoughout the essay. To prove that the media is always changing the trends of crimes he mentions some famous serial killers from the 70 s and 80 s, such as Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffery Dahmer. He describes what each of these killers did to get them labled as serial killer. He uses statistics such as how many each person killed. For example, he states that Ted Bundy would try to get sympathy from women before killing them and he includes that Bundy killed roughly about 30 women. Also, howShow MoreRelatedFalsely Accused: A Defense of the Death Penalty Essay2368 Words   |  10 Pages Gary Leon Ridgway may not be a household name, but the infamous Green River Killer is one of the most accomplished serial murderers in U.S. history. In 2003, Ridgway confessed 48 accounts of aggravated first degree murder (more confirmed murders than any other American serial killer) during a two-and-a-half-year period in the early 1980s near Seattle, although it is believed he slaughtered even more. The majori ty of his victims were runaway teenage girls and hookers whom he picked up on the interstateRead MoreMonitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology ( Icmart )9447 Words   |  38 Pagesgonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues to inhibit endogenous production from the hypothalamus. Ovarian stimulation follows, with daily administration of subcutaneous gonadotrophin analogue (Follicle Stimulating Hormone- FSH) monitored by serial transvaginal ultrasonography. When at least one follicle shows features of a favourable response to stimulation, subcutaneous human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) analogue is administered to induce ovulation.8 The oocyte is retrieved from the follicleRead MoreCommunity Acquired Pneumonia18251 Words   |  74 Pagesenvironmental pollutants, and drug and alcohol abuse are all risk factors for having CAP. (Schmitt, 2011) Several tests can be performed to identify the cause of an individual s CAP.  X-rays  of the chest, examination of the  blood  and  sputum  for infectious  microorganisms, and  blood tests  are commonly used to diagnose individuals with suspected CAP based upon symptoms and physical examination. (Smeltzer, 2004) Most cases of pneumonia generally run an uncomplicated course. Complications may include theRead Moreshakespeare influences16068 Words   |  65 Pages2, Macbeth has a soliloquy where one of the symptoms is present. Macbeth says â€Å"Is this a dagger which I see before me†, but there is not really a dagger there. This is a clear example of a hallucination (2.1.3-61). In Act 4, Macbeth says â€Å"For the blood-bolter d Banquo smiles upon me And points at them for his†(4.1.121). Macbeth is saying that he sees bloody Banquo and that he is actually sitting at the table during their dinner. Macbeth is paranoid because he thinks everyone knows that he had killedRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 PagesFed-Ex – packaging new business models to deliver competitive advantage. Forestry Commission – from forestry management to service provider: the challenge of managing change. Marks Spencer (A) – can new initiatives and ne w management reverse a decline? KPMG (A) – managing change in professional services. Xerox – difficulties with leadership at the global giant. UNHCR – managing change in a global not-for-profit organisation. Burtons (A,B,C) – three stages of a retailer’s development under differentRead MoreInstructor Manual37126 Words   |  149 Pageswould be strung for miles across the prairie, making a lot of travel for the skinners, with the added certainty that many hides would be missed. Also, every buffalo left alive would be stampeded clear out of the country in a day s hunt, and the killers would have to move camp or wait for another herd. In stories about Buffalo Bill Cody and other Western characters who went into the circus business, I ve read of a single horseman holding a bunch of buffalo stock-still by riding around and aroundRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pageswork at the company, quit the board in 2003 and began a campaign to try and oust Eisner. In his letter of resignation Disney asserted that Eisner has become an ineffective leader, claiming that Eisner consistently â€Å"micro-manages† everyone resulting in loss of morale. He saw Eisner’s cost-conscience decisions to shut down an Orlando animation studio and cut costs at theme parks as resulting in â€Å"creative brain drain† and creating the perception that the company is looking for â€Å"quick buck† solutions ratherRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pagesby sales representatives orwritten sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care DepartmentRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pagesproject life cycle typically passes sequentially through four stages: defining, planning, executing, and delivering. The starting point begins the moment the project is given the go-ahead. Project effort starts slowly, builds to a peak, and then declines to delivery of the project to the customer. 1. Defining stage: Specifications of the project are defined; project objectives are established; teams are formed; major responsibilities are assigned. 2. Planning stage: The level of effort increases

Literature Review for Instructional Pedagogy - MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theLiterature Review for Instructional Pedagogy. Answer: Instructional pedagogy is a process through which tutors teaches its students. It contains various types, which also produces different results with the different types of pedagogy. Some of the well-known types are such as joint productive activity, contextualization, language development, challenging activities and instructional conversation (Tolerance.org, 2017). These all the different form of pedagogy gives a sound control to the teachers on their students. However, this is also an undeniable fact that different type pedagogy is partially practiced in the contemporary school curriculum. The main purpose of this literature is to review the issues that are surrounded to the existing pedagogy of the contemporary education. Contemporary schools depend highly on the leadership quality, which they try to achieve through any means. For this purpose, they feel that some teachers in the schools are better group, which could really help the principals in their purpose. These teachers are responsible for designing the courses as per the mutual understanding of the group. This paper studies the relationships in between the principles and the teachers. To the principals their teachers are like their partners who provide their helping hand in incepting the leadership quality in the schools. Teachers are believed to be as a mediator in between the principals and the students. It acts like a common thread in between them. It tries to communicate with the students and delivers the message of principals in the form of instructions or in the firm of curriculum. Two kinds of characteristics have been revealed in the leadership qualities of the principals in the past. Instructional leadership is one of such kinds, which believes in giving instructions to the teachers regarding their certain purpose. It can be because of their personal interest or because of the interest of the school well being. The other kind of leadership is the transformational leadership, which believes in motivating their teachers. This is very effective indeed, as motivated teachers would therefore put forward some enjoying and engaged discussions with the students. Transformational leaders are also very close to the purpose of the school, which is to nurture the students with utmost cares of knowledge and fun. They try to assure that every single possibility is dislodged. This is why they also put some strict instructions on the teachers. They also instruct teachers for considering the required changes in their instructions (Beetham Sharpe, 2013). Both the instructional and the transformational pedagogy have their own importance; however, both have different productivity rates. The transformational kinds of leadership of principals are more suited to the betterment of educational standard. Moreover, the transformational leaders take a deep into the curriculum designing. They instruct the teachers accordingly to change their instructions if they are not appropriate to their tasks. This kind of leadership helps its teachers on developing motivational skills, which is also reflected on their instruction quality. Moreover, principals in such cases gets involve in partnership relation with the teachers, which is important for continually analyzing the importance of restructuring of study curriculum. Despite of all the leadership styles, the contemporary education is facing some challenges, which is hard to dislodge from the academics. The highly incrementing changing dimension of education has put ample pressures on the teachers as well as on the principals to redesign their curriculum according to the demands. The inception of some new curriculum in schools especially in the primary education has put enormous pressures on the students. The pressure is also reflected on their performance. The high burden of wide ranges of books in the primary education is also physically not appropriate to the students. They have to carry a wide range of books, which affects their physical betterment. Apart from that, they have also high pressures of homework, which is limiting their growth to some extent. Students of contemporary age have now pressures on their shoulders from their early days in schools. They are getting mentally tortured from the effects of high-end loads of homework. They hav e now less time to play, which is also very much required for having a free flow growth of their career. Fun and play are an important part of the kids life, which helps them grow and live without any anxiety. They are not matured and they are not supposed to think about the pressures. However, the existing curriculum system is enabling the fact to happen. Teachers also have no clues as they are bound to live under such system. The changed faces of educational curriculum have affected both the teachers and the students. Teachers now have less time for having some fun session at the different schools. The work pressures have become wider (Loughran, 2013). There are some reasons behind the changed curriculum, which are influencing the behaviour of both the teachers and the students. The highly changing world and the needs to be advanced in technologies have probably encouraged the inception of some new subjects in the course module. This is just in response to the created urgency. The rising trends to have a dominating power in the world of economy have all encouraged the different nations towards a technically more advanced nation. They want to achieve the top most position in the technological advancement. This is because of such reason that they are focussing high on the institutional knowledge. They have understood that technological advancement can easily be brought in by laying the foundation of the same at the institutional curriculum. Nevertheless, this is the one platform, which can incept the advanced thoughts in students. However, in search of this, they are putting ample pressures on the school students. They are expected m uch at their earliest of age. At one point, they are getting in contact to the all the kinds of technically advanced curriculum. However, on other hand, they are being put into high pressures of wider study curriculum. This is very challenging as this now depends entirely on the absorbing power of the individual. The soaring demands of the teachers and the system and the relatively less responsiveness from the students because of the high pressures of curriculum have brought some complexity in the contemporary curriculum. One of the major issues, which the contemporary curriculum is facing, is the limitation of knowledge in some schoolteachers. Teaching has now become a better option to resolve the financial gap. The contemporary world is now finding their utmost financial solutions in the teaching jobs. This is an undeniable fact that culture of teaching has been largely replaced by business means. This is not such a major problem but some people are misusing the given benefits. They are just trying to commence formalities while during their teaching. They are teaching History just for the sake to teach the subject; however, they are not going deeper into the subject may be because of any reason. This is indeed doubling the pressures on the school students, which is the result of the added pressures on them in the form of a wider curriculum and the relatively lower approach in teachers towards the teaching. They are knowledgeable; however, they are not utilising it because they have much values to th e monetary benefits only. The literature on the contemporary teaching styles and the available school curriculum designs have largely been suffered by the less availability of quality and dedicational teachers and the elevated study curriculum. The curriculum design is not in control but the availability of quality teachers is quite viable. The school management needs to take some serious considerations for healing the existing issues in the contemporary teaching styles (Yang, 2014). Contemporary curriculum complexities are largely in response to the rising demands of technological advancements, which the particular nation is expecting from the institutional centres. The changing behaviours of teachers are also because of the changing nature of teaching, which is largely been replaced by some business means. Teaching has now become a good source of profession, which is providing high earning opportunities to its bearer. Both the curriculum changes and the style of teaching are going into opposite directions. The highly incrementing pressures on the school students require some effective remedial actions, which requires the governance of principals and the administration as well. The administration should instruct their HRM to recruit only such teachers who are both qualified and have interest in the teaching field. However, it is very hard to diagnose at the time of interview to observe the level of interest in the interviewee regarding the profession. It is inde ed relatively easier for the management to take strong decision up against any such practices. The principals should give strict instructions to such teachers regarding their job and responsibilities. They should also regularly monitor the progress of the teachers and their respective batches. This would provide utmost control to the management over their staffs. This would definitely help them find such teachers who have less dedication to their responsibilities. However, this would also put some extra costs, which they expense on such hired teachers. References Beetham, H., Sharpe, R. (2013).Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: Designing for 21st century learning. routledge. Loughran, J. (2013).Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding teaching learning about teaching. Routledge. Tolerance.org. (2017). Five Standards of Effective Pedagogy | Teaching Tolerance - Diversity, Equity and Justice. [online] Available at: https://www.tolerance.org/supplement/five-standards-effective-pedagogy [Accessed 31 May 2017]. Yang, Y. (2014). Principals transformational leadership in school improvement.International Journal of Educational Management,28(3), 279-288.

Margaret, Prioress And Mystic Essays - Christian Prayer,

Margaret, Prioress And Mystic Margaret of Oingt was one of the many women living during the Middle Ages who turned to mysticism to become closer to God. Mysticism, unlike scholasticism, takes a direct approach to God using sensory perception, not reason. For this purpose, it allowed women to identify with God on a very personal and spiritual level. This is significant to Margaret's rationalism for writing her visions in a time when women had such a trivial amount of power in the intellectual community; she did not write her visions for others to learn from, but rather as a personal form of worship to God. In her compositions Margaret describes herself as having almost no importance or authority in matters of the church, and this is why her work was graciously accepted as valuable in her time. Because she disclaimed possession to any understanding of reason, the church believed that her writing was given to her directly by God through prophetic visions. This was the only way that she could have any authority to re cord her thoughts, because in her time women were seen to have no understanding of reason, and were therefore incapable of understanding knowledge. Although she was a prioress of a Carthusian convent, she still had to adhere to the regulations that women could not practice scholasticism. Margaret denied that she might understand reason, and by virtue of this, she was free to worship God through her writings. The imagery and language in Margaret's meditations, prayers, and letters, captures the essence of her love and passionate devotion to Christ, and they also act as a window to the understanding of this popular form of piety in her time. The intimate level upon which Margaret identifies with God is strikingly clear in the many ways she addresses Him in her meditations. As a nun, Margaret renounces her earthly family and vows a symbolic marriage to Christ. In a sense, Christ becomes her lover as well her entire family. At times she describes her love for Christ with language that borders along the lines of being erotic. When she thinks of his body lying on the cross, she describes her heart as being on fire. In one of her letter speaks of kissing Christ while he lies on her bed. And when she addresses him she declares when I see you on the cross, I want to be despised and disfigured for your love; and even more, I want to be able to die for your love and for the salvation of those that you so lovingly set free. It was prevalent for nuns to speak of the lord with such passion. In actuality, they vowed to love no other man except for the Lord, and mystics found that referring to God with so much desire defined more prom inent and personal relationships between women and Christ. It also is consequential that, in many instances, Margaret refers to Christ as her mother. Margaret compares the life of Christ to her worldly mother in labor, The mother who bore me labored at my birth for only one day or one night, but you?were in labor for me for more than thirty years. This comparison serves as an insight into the beliefs of female mystics during this period. In Margaret's own time it became common to refer to God as feminine, as well as masculine. Because God was seen by many as sexless, women found that they could identify the term creator to be substantially in common with the term mother. Men occupied most significant roles in the church, and women had a lower level of identification between themselves and God than men did. By incorporating the use of feminine language to describe God, women could identify with God on a much more intimate level than by using masculine language to describe the Lord. Margaret's effective use of language in her imagery describes the intense vivacity of her visions. Her description of hell in her meditations is an ardent example of the senses she uses to depict her visions. She explicates how people will be tortured by demons, There will be burning flames, stinking, sulfur, and devils in the form of snakes who will gnaw