What Item Would Have Immense Value In 200 Years

Cards

I have not yet clear that this is going ... but cool. The only thing it says nothing about "get well" or "congratulations." It will not be all business ... you? are for sale.

Dune Buggy Blue Prints/plans

IMOV Lanzarote


This international competition looks really interesting, especially for canaries. And the sign denotes a special sensitivity to the landscape, I imagine that the projects will also ... or at least the winner! Click on image for details.

Drinking Soda Canker Sore

Peter Zumthor Buildings and Projects 1986-2007 Architectural Competition

I just read that Peter Zumthor will be responsible for making the Hall annex to the Serpentine Gallery 2011. I think I've said to the architect on the blog, but we're going to do ... if I mola, me mola. As yet no information about the project in question, I leave a nice collection of models ... very good from my point of view. No need to look far to see that this architect is an exceptional. (And the models are very expressive, click the image to view ... very pretty!)

Where To See Hatchet Vs. Genitals

RIDLEY: "WHAT MAKES U.S. HUMAN

(This corresponds to the "Readings", which you can view the presentation here )

Matt Ridley.

What makes us human
( Nature via nurture. Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Humans ).
Translation Teresa Carter and Irene Cifuentes.
Year: 2003.
Edition: Taurus, Madrid, 2004.

The author, Matt Ridley is a science journalist (The Economist , The Daily Telegraph ) and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Oxford. Specializing in areas of genetics and evolution.

The theme of the book it falls into the category of behavior genetics.

As main thesis, Ridley argues that human behavior is shaped by the confluence of experience and heritage, from the idea that there are two sources of influence and facing opposite because the genes act in accordance with the environment ("nature via nurture") respond to the environment as turn on and off (this biological phenomenon is explained in the text very clear and accessible). Accordingly, it highlights the lack of meaning of the classic debate between environmental and genetic, one of which historically have had more weight in various sciences, both natural and human, and the ability to overcome reformulating the terms in which it has been producing traditionally settled on misconceptions that the latest scientific discoveries have come to override.

"I think that the nature or heredity and environment explain human behavior. (...) The discovery of how genes actually influence human behavior and how human behavior influences genes, is about to give a whole new way to debate. And it is not nature versus the environment, but nature via the environment. (...) The genes are designed to be guided by the environment. (...) Will have to abandon the ideas we cherish (...) our genes are not puppet masters pulling the strings of our behavior, but puppets mercy of our conduct; (...) instinct is not the opposite of learning, (...) environmental influences are sometimes less reversible than genetic and (...) nature is designed to support the environment . (...) The more we uncover the genome more vulnerable to experience genes appear to be. " (pp. 15-16).

"Genes themselves are implacable little determinants, which produce non-stop entirely predictable messages. But they are far from having a stock unchanged, due to manner in which the promoters of activated or deactivated in response to instructions external. Instead, they are mechanisms for extracting information from the environment. Every minute, every second, change the pattern of genes being expressed in the brain, often as a direct or indirect response to what is happening outside the body. Genes are the mechanisms of experience. " (p. 418)

As a strategy to defend the thesis exhibition above, the author uses a development that is interspersed experience counts and supporting data with a tour of the major milestones of the controversial environmental-genetic, so that shows how the main thesis is supported by empirical data at the same time to show the errors of approach of the leading representatives of both sides of that controversy.

Some of the topics discussed in the text, in a non-exhaustive, are:

-The discovery of the complete human genome sequence as its impact on gene-environment debate (pp. 11-14).

-The comparative human-animal as a way to determine the human idiosyncrasy: positions of various thinkers (pp. 21-38).

-The previous comparative concrete in sexual behavior (pp. 38-48).

-The human uniqueness compared to other primates from the point of view of genetics (pp. 48-71).

-instincts. The theory of W. James. Love as an instinct and its biological basis (Chapter 2).

-experimental support to the theory of gene-environment interaction (pp. 92-95).

-Lo nature and nurture in gender differences and gender: biological traits, gender roles, sexual orientation, functions and brain and mental abilities (pp. 96-120).

-nativist position of Galton and about the same as inaugurator of nature-environment debate (pp. 123-130).

-Twin studies and providing results to the controversial nature-environment. On the heritability of different traits: physical, personality, intelligence, ... (Pp. 130-168).

"The research on the causes of schizophrenia. The pluricausalidad of mental phenomena as another support for the theory of gene-environment interaction (chap 4).

-The evolutionary theory of Piaget (pp. 215-218).

-The K. nativism Lorenz (pp. 218-223).

"The theory of imprinting (Chapter 6). Interpretation from the same range of phenomena: homosexuality (pp. 268-277), the acquisition of language (págs.284-290), aversion to incest (pp. 290-295).

-deterministic theories of learning: Pavlov, Watson, behaviorism (chapter 7).

-F. Boas and cultural anthropology and its influence on the heredity-environment debate. Cultural learning. Culture in the evolutionary process (pp. 340-387).

-Sociobiology (pp. 407-418).

-Various consequences of the approach advocated in the book: about the relativity of the influence of parental education (pp. 421-430), on the influence of peer groups (pp. 430-437), on the Meritocracy (pp. 437-443), the concept of "race" (pp. 443-447), on the individuality (pp. 447-451), about free will (pp. 451-462).

In parallel and complementary to the main line of development work, it is the theme of utopia (as an appendix at the end of some chapters: 2 nd, 3 rd and 5 th to 8 th) :

"One of the common sins patents in the nature-environment debate has been the utopianism, the idea that there is an ideal model of society that can be derived from a theory of human nature. Many of those who thought understanding of human nature were ready to make prescription description and drew a model of a perfect society. This is a common practice among the supporters of nature as between supporters of the environment. Yet the only lesson to be drawn from the utopian dream is that all utopias are awful. All attempts to create a society in reference to a narrow conception of nature human, either on paper or on the streets, just producing something much worse. I intend to finish each chapter making fun of utopia which involves bringing any theory too far. " (p. 120).

and discussed as such utopias resulting from taking the positions of nativism and extreme environmentalism:

-Plato The Republic (p. 120).

-Galton's eugenic society (p. 169).

-El Huxley's Brave New World (p. 255).

-Nazism and theoretical support for K. Lorenz to it (p. 295).

-Skinner and Walden Two (p. 337).

- of Commons (p. 387).

Essential to update knowledge of the area of \u200b\u200bconcern which may have as a reader to both the general public as a work of disclosure, and the specialist. It is a very clarifying text, which breaks some of the more established topics in the scientific and philosophical debate and makes the most reliable way to do this: from empirical data without any speculation which inevitably takes place in a vacuum. Of equal interest from the point of view of natural science, humanities or philosophy.

This book has been two issues in our country, that of Taurus which is referenced at the beginning of this article and another in paperback by Punto de Lectura in 2005. The latter is currently out of print, but the first can be found with relative ease.

Matt Ridley's Web Site: http://www.rationaloptimist.com/

They Put A Camera Inside

If you are a student and time apeteciéndote throw some eccentricity, this could be a good excuse:

the Russian magazine Domus announces that it has opened the VIII International Students of Architecture "STAR'S HOUSE"

The main idea is to create a home for a famous person: Steven Jobs, Angelina Jolie, Alexander Ovechkin, Natalia Vodianova Nicolas Sarkozy and Kira Plastinina.

to let your imagination!

How To Build A Toothpick Tower

FILM AND GENDER ISSUES

Customarily used films, both fiction and documentary, as a resource in most subjects they teach. This reflects my conviction as much about students' receptivity to the audiovisual and the wonderful learning opportunities offered by the aforementioned means (and also simply because I like it, dammit.) Of course, never as a mere "let's watch a movie not to teach, which is what we always hope and wish the lads, but as a starting point for a reflection analytical and critical of some depth. Of course, I always try there is also a recreational component, selecting films that not only possess educational value but also might like my students, although this effect is indeed often unpredictable. Is at stake in the motivational factor, essential in the teaching-learning process.

In this section, which was titled "Learning from the movies" (sorry, but I have thought of anything more clever), we present some films that can be learned something, always related to a particular topic and focus our comments on the educational potential rather than on purely cinematic. This last we left for when we speak of our other films in the sections: "Recommendations." It can serve as a guide and source of ideas for teachers or any adult interested in offering an edutainment younger, or simply as a film repertoire suggestions for any reader of this blog.

Take My Eyes (Icíar Bollaín, 2003).

is poised to become a classic for the classroom, and is certainly the best film that has never been done on gender violence. Portrayed with fidelity and realism typical psychological profiles of victim and aggressor, and the dynamics of abuse prototypical process, reviewing all the behaviors and attitudes typical of those who are involved in this type of situations, including members family and social environment of those affected. It also makes a very tight drama that avoids any sentimentality or horrifying free and cleverly avoiding superficial and simplistic Manichaeism. For all the above, has the virtue of being as informative as any manual specialist in the field, while it is an effective means of raising awareness of the problem is.


Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, 2007).

animation film based on the eponymous comic magnificent Marjane Satrapi. Chronicles the experiences from childhood to early adulthood, is an Iranian born Islamist theocracy of the mullahs, with the decline involved for the situation of women. It is an autobiographical story whose point of first-person view gives a special value. Besides the obvious, ie, reflects the situation of women under radical Islam, some scope for many clichés and stereotypes break spectators seated in the ignorance of the true situation of the countries Islamic culture and its people (oh, surprise, people who feel, think and act like "us"). Even, why not, may be useful to vindicate the narrative genre of comics, as common as unjustly neglected.




The Quiet Man, The Quiet Man- (John Ford, 1952).

A classic and a joy to film. Of course, if you are able to perform the act of abstraction that allows decouple the aesthetic dimension of morality (which is both possible and desirable in many cases to art objects, from my point of view), because it is the height of misogyny on a screen. A surly young man whose strong personality away any potential suitor (Lesson No. 1: If you aspire to a husband, be submissive) is finally "tamed" (or reinstated to the role he is assigned, if we want to get technical) by the protagonist. And besides, including physical violence, which by the casual tone that is told he must not be at all politically incorrect at the time of making the film. We suspect that, on the contrary, not surprised or shocked to previous generations of viewers (and, we fear, many of today), would attend the happy ending sequence, the climax of the development of the narrative, the woman finally "get what they deserve" and subjected to male of the species. There's more: all this happens with her acquiescence satisfied with what the authors merely an exercise in hypocrisy masking victim status of women. It appears as tacit accomplice of patriarchy, the status quo that accepts and even want, and therefore is fully justified. Film with a lot of crumbs, as we see. Not only portrays the uses and modes of a masculine society, but also to reflect on the normality with which they were made as recently as just over half a century (and I would say that even today ... and what we have, unfortunately).

Trailer Persepolis