Friday, July 10, 2009

Believing and Doubting

The Believing and Doubting Game

When faced with a controversial or threatening idea, it is a human tendency to find a "camp", or an established ideology to align with. People will choose either a believing camp or doubting camp. The problem with this is, that in choosing only one perspective to align with, it's easy to forget there is an entirely different point of view on the subject.

Playing the Believing and Doubting game helps us to focus on alternate ways of thinking about a topic and not become blinded by our own prejudices and assumptions.

The main hindrance to the search for truth is an unwillingness to abandon a "cherished assumption" once it has been disproven. One reason may be that we dislike admitting we are wrong and having our pride deflated, or, even scarier, accepting change. There is a deep fear of being "infected" or "taken over" or controlled by a bad idea.

The Believing and Doubting Game stretches us to expand our minds by embracing new ideas and abandoning old, worn or ineffective ones. Ultimately, we become more open minded, more informed and hopefully, better writers.

Believing

  • Believe all the assertions--even if they contradict each other. Get inside the ideas and experience them as much as possible.
  • Settle for truth mixed with error.
  • Never argue. Believe everything. Walk in others' shoes. Make metaphorical transformations of assertions so you can enter them. Get other people to agree with you.
  • Make the idea work--find ways to make it happen.

Doubting:

  • Find truth by seeking error
  • Question overt and hidden assumptions/assertions
  • Be rigorous, rational, and tough minded
  • Discover all the problems and pitfalls

Assignment:

1. Read articles discussed in class about the effects of the internet on teens. (NYT   &  Internet Dangers)
For each article engage in the believing and doubting game by creating two columns. In the believing column, list all thoughts that support your belief in what the author is saying. In the doubting column list all ideas, thoughts and questions that create doubt about the author's ideas. You should have one doubting and one believing column for each article.

2. Summarize and consolidate your believing and/or doubting ideas about the articles in the comments below.

3. Respond to one of your classmates' comments by either expanding on what has already been stated or by "testing" the comment.

28 comments:

  1. The internet is a great source for: communicating with friends when you don't have a phone, research, fun entertainment (youtube), facts, and much much more. I guess you could say we learn a lot of different things from the internet. But some teens take advantage of it, such as talking to strangers, going on not so great sites, and talking trash about other people online. Some don't understand the harmful sides of the internet and that one day you many really get hurt. I had some friends that went on sites and talk to "strange men", but because we are all friends we try and talk each other out of doing stupid things. These bad sites can be blocked, but it makes some teens want to go on them even more, thus we have friends to also tell us our rights and wrongs. Parents can also try to explain to the teens why they don't want them to go on those sites. If you are allowed to go on myspace or facebook you are responsible for your own actions, and to stay aware of harmful things.

    sofie

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  2. life is all about taking risks. and we take them every day. using the internet is a risk, but it is also extremely helpful. we use it everyday to check the weather, the surf, to research for upcoming projects and papers. it is not only used for educational purposes but entertainment as well. the internet can also be dangerous because of the online predators and illegal advertisement about drugs and sex. It is the users responsibility as well as their guardians responsibility to know what is right and wrong on the internet. you can put your childs computer out in the living room so they are under constant supervision, or you can make firewalls and install equipment to block websites of your choice. myspace is also dangerous because it is open to the public and can be viewed by anyone.

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  3. The internet is a wide expanse with many things in it. Though there are risks involved with the internet it is often necessary in gathering information for projects. The risks involved with the internet are solely based on the user and the internet should not be blamed for our irresponsibility. If parents made sure that their children knew right from wrong, then the risk of them being exposed to dangers on the internet would be gone. Although people have a higher risk of being exposed to harmful things on the internet then for instance a book, the responsibility of the actions on the internet are solely the responsibility of the user.

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  4. There is nothing wrong with the internet only the people using it for bad things are wrong. The internet is full of information. It makes school work much easier when you have to research something. It makes it easier to find places. It makes it easier to keep in touch with old friends. There are so many good things about the internet but people still think that it is bad. The only thing bad about the internet are the people using it. It's their choice to go on the bad websites and talk to strangers. Also if parents put on security settings their kids won't be able to do all that stupid things. So people just have to use good judgement while using the internet.

    -Matt 1

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  5. The Internet is one of the greatest masterpieces of modern culture. Though there are certain cons relating the use of the Internet, I believe that the benefits outweigh the dangers. The Internet is a huge portal of information. Any type of information on any topic is available on the Internet. This access of information is useful for projects, papers, or simply to fulfill the curiosity of a teenager. Along with providing an abundance of information, it also supplies a great service of communication. This allows a teenager to build a social network, meet new people, and keep in touch with old friends. But this access to the social world may lead to danger and cause harm towards a teenager. Exposure of inappropriate content and people is never good for a teenager, well anyone in general. However, these threats are preventable. Depending on the actions taken place by the teenager and his/ or her guardians. Most importantly, it is depended on the sense of morality and choices of the teenager.

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  6. In response to Jennifer,
    I totally agree with you. The actions on the internet is wholly based on the responsibility of the user. "If parents made sure that their children knew right from wrong, then the risk of them being exposed to dangers on the internet would be gone", is where I disagree. Simply relying on the ability of a child to differentiate between right and wrong, does not eliminate the dangers exposed by the Internet.

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  7. Steven Yee...The internet is one of the most helpful inventions in the modern era. It has created a huge social network that anyone can join. People are able to stay in touch over any distance at any time. Sites like MySpace and Facebook have allowed people to even form relationships. The internet has also given people access to greater knowledge. Instead of having a repair person fix his computer, a teenager looked it up and did it himself. Despite how helpful the internet is, it has many problems. It’s hard to block all the inappropriate content so children and teens are often exposed to it. Some people take advantage of the anonymity of the internet to harass others and bully them. Online predators use the internet to create false relationships and take advantage of others. The internet is good and bad.

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  8. Steven Yee...
    I agree with Stephen. The internet is good and bad. We have to be aware of the dangers while using it. Using firewalls and being under supervision are some of the ways to keep users safe. I'm not sure how long this comment is supposed to be so I'll mention that there are probably so many many many bad bad bad websites that they can't all be blocked. The supervisors have to be mindful of what the user is looking at.

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  9. the internet has influenced the world greatly. sure it may have its pros and cons but imagine what the world would be like if the internet didn't exist. the people would have a harder time getting in touch with each other. the internet has been able to make life easier. if a child looks up an innapropiate page its not the internet's fault, most likely the parent's fault for not blocking those sites. the internet is not at fault.
    -Justin

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  10. The internet is an excellent place for people of all ages to look at. With that statement, the internet is a good place for anyone to go. The only problem is when people misuse the internet for the wrong reasons. On the internet, one can find a route to get somewhere, keep in touch with anyone, seek information for any purpose, improve social and technological skill, and so much more. It is one’s, as well as one’s parents’, responsibility to see that there is no misuse of the internet and that one is well protected. With the help of internet security, one’s computer can operate efficiently; therefore, the internet can be beneficial to one than almost any other resource.
    -Matt 2

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  11. I would have to agree with Matt because there is a role that parents has to do with the safety of their child. Also, when someone goes onto a website, they know what they are looking for and the risk they can take. By looking at the end of a link, such as ".com," ".org," and ".gov," a person may be able to tell how valid a link is. As a student of the new technology age of school, I am told to go to different types of websites to find information for a certain project or activity.
    -Matt 2

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  12. I totally agree with Matt 2 because the internet is a good place to get instructions, talk to old friends and get info for a project. Also I agree that the only problem with the internet is people misusing it. I also agree that the parents could easily put up security settings and make some sights unable to go to. It is also the person veiwing the internets responsility to be smart about what they are looking at.

    -Matt 1

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  13. The internet is good for gathering information, communicating with people, and networking with others. It is supposed to be a new generation for the people, not to set people back. Although some people missuse the internet, it is still a good source. People just have to take precautions to viruses, hackers, and bad sites. Since not everything on the internet is being monitored, no one really has boundaries on what they can do on the internet. So parents / guardians should take precaution and make sure that their child is on the internet for appropriate things and to make sure they are safe.

    -Manabu

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  14. i agree with steven yee because the internet is extremely helpful because it is used for many educational purposes. yet it can be dangerous if it is not used properly. i feel that it is the parents and users responsibility to be careful online

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  15. The internet can be very good and bad, but it depends on the way in which people use it. I believe that if people use it properly, then it is beneficial, but if people stray off, then it will be negative for them. It can be extremely helpeful, but it can also harm teenagers all over the world.

    ~Alec Catalan~

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  16. i agree with matt 2, the parents have responsiblity over their child. and if a teen misuses the internet it is the parets fault for not securing it. but to some point in life, the sites that a person goes to is the indivisual's fault. the internet is a great source of informtion.

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  17. the internet is a great place for people of most ages to gain access to new worlds of information. it allows people to search almost any topic imaginable, and get results within the second. But, there are problems to this unrestricted source. Unfortunately, the internet is also a place where a lot of inappropriate content and online predators exist.
    -ren

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  18. i agree with alec because the internet can be good or bad depending on how people choose to use it. this decision is completely dependant on whether or not the indivual has enough morals to use the internet for good use.
    -ren

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  19. Steven Yee...
    "Govt push for mandatory internet filtering." (n.d.). TOPICsearch. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 13 July 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tth&AN=P6S284538366308&site=ehost-live.


    This is a dictation between some reporters and executives discussing internet filtering. The main goal is to prevent child pornography. One of the ways to do that is to use mandatory filtering by the government. But that would be really expensive and make the internet really slow. Also, the filter would have to be really specific to prevent viruses and inappropriate content. This would still take a lot of money and create privacy issues. But they both agree monitoring should be done by parents directly sitting with their child. But deciding what’s good and bad is a grey area.

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  20. good idea sofie(:
    i liked the real life examples and your closing statement. "If you are allowed to go on myspace or facebook you are responsible for your own actions, and to stay aware of harmful things". i agree with this statement it is your choice what you have to do with your internet use.

    ttyl,
    amanda(:

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  21. i agree with manabu in the essence that not all people misuse the internet, but the internet should not be condemned for the bad decisions of a few individuals.

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  22. Coben, Harlan. "The Undercover Parent." The New York Times. 16 Mar 2008.

    This article covered spyware, which allows the parent to view everything the child does on the internet. There are arguments on whether this is an invasion of privacy. I think a method this extreme is sort of an invasion of privacy but something similar to this could be very helpful to a teenager's safety on the internet. No I do not think that parents should have to monitor everything that their children do on the internet. I think that there should be some form of trust if the parents taught their children right and wrong. The online protection I believe in is parental block, which allows freedom but has some boundaries. Internet protection is a very important matter and could eliminate some of the dangers for teens.

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  23. The Internet if used appropriately is a great tool. It’s a quick and easy way to find out the latest news or information about things. The Internet is also used for entertainment. Posting videos on Youtube of yourself or friends. Commenting on your friend’s photo on Facebook. Messaging a bunch of friends all at once, it’s all for fun. Another good thing about the Internet is email. Email which is a faster way to write messages to old friends you don’t see all the time or to ask a quick question to the teacher about last nights homework. The Internet is improving while more and more unnecessary sites are being added. The type of people and the information they post about themselves and the people you become “friends” with makes the Internet unsafe. It is all about the choices you have to make when going onto the Internet. Be careful!

    -Amanda(:

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  24. amanda....

    I agree with the internet begin a very useful tool. Although the internet can be harmful we yes indeed are very responsible for our own actions. Do you think the reason for the internet being less safe is that every few years it is improved so people find better ways to hack, and possibly stock people?

    -sofie : )

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  25. Baller, I agree with you that the internet is good and bad. Social networking is good because that is how people keep in touch. It also has a lot of information so it helps people fix problems because there are answers online. The flaws of the internet cannot be fixed that easily, and it is hard to protect children from the harmful contents online. They are likely to be harmed or harassed by cyber bullies or online predators.

    -Manabu

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  26. The internet is a great way to catch up with old friends that we haven't seen in a while. We can even use the internet to talk to friends that we see everyday in school. Websites such as Facebook and Myspace, are both social networking websites where people can connect with each other. However, the internet can also be a dangerous place to be. Online predators wait for innocent teens to prey on. These online predators pretend to be other teens and talk. The "real" teens think that they are talking to another kid like them. What they don't know is that they may be talking to a 40 year man or woman who isn't are not their right mind. Because these teenagers cannot see who is behind the profile, they sometimes pour their heart and soul out to the other "kid." Because of this, teens end up telling these predators their whole name, addresses, and phone numbers. Some teens even agree to meet with this interesting new "friend." So I believe that the internet is very dangerous

    -Andrea

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  27. ERIN'S MAKE UP WORK

    The internet is one of the word's greatest resources. However our sense of anonimity on the internet can lead us to make careless decisions and perhaps speak more candidly than we would in person. This can be a good thing and create an outlet for people to voice thier opinions without fear of judgement. There are circumstances in which the internet can be a source of danger. A concern that has risen from this is the issue of cyber bullying. The fact is we as a society are not very kind to our peers at times, we are at our worse behavior in our teen years. Since teens have become one of the most avid users of networking sites such as myspace and facebook this is where the problem of cyber bullying is most prevalent.

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  28. ERIN'S MAKE UP WORK

    I wholly agree with andrea. It is true that some teens make friends online. The fact that some of these teens would be even more foolish to meet with them is even more disturbing.

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