Category: Summaries

Purposeful Summaries—paolor9

Summary 1: Advocating Presumed Consent for Organ Donation

It seems counterintuitive that with so many people dying at any given moment, that there would be any shortage of organ donors. In the United States, organ donation requires that someone be living to opt-in to the program. Given that the main function of an organ is to keep its owner alive and functioning, the notion that a dead owner would want to keep their organ would only be for visual reasons than functional, or if the currently living owner wishes to keep them for the future. A 2010 law aimed to combat this by making organ donation opt-out rather than opt-in. This would mean moving anyone who has not updated their position onto a new list of donors. In some states, the waiting list for organ donors stretches out well over a thousand people long, and given that many people will not go out of their way to change the default orientation, more people will be able to access the organs they need to survive.

 

Summary 2: Obscurity: A Better Way to Think About Your Data Than ‘Privacy’

It seems counterintuitive that one of the best ways to keep information secure doesn’t make it inaccessible, just not easily understood. Data that is obscured to all but a small target audience is therefore useless to most people, assuming they ever even see it. This begs the question if unobfuscation is really a breach of privacy, and the legal definition of this states that even if information may be publicly available, it would be so time consuming to sort through the information that it is effectively concealed. Given that many things such as mugshots and social media posts are public and can be found with dedication, what may seem like a moral gray area is numbed by the fact that they are known to be public, and in the case of some personal information can often be made private instead.

 

Summary 3: Is Walmart Really Going Organic and Local?

It seems counterintuitive that Walmart would be the number one seller of organic, local produce, but in many ways they are. Their produce was already in some part local, yet Walmart expressed their interest in expanding the amount of local produce to some 9%. In part, this was due to keeping costs down, as moving the mass amounts of produce that they do was quite expensive. Local produce only requires it be grown within the state that it is sold in, and as such this makes the requirement for being local much easier to meet in some states. Calling all their grocery items organic however, would appear to be misleading given that the majority of items sold under that title are not fruits and vegetables, but rather items such as milk and baby food.

Summaries – aloofgemini

Summary 1: “Do Multivitamins Really Work?”

It seems counterintuitive that multivitamins should serve the purpose of improving one’s health and provide our necessary daily supplements but they actually provide no health benefits. Taking multivitamins can actually provide excessive amounts of nutrients and can be detrimental to one’s health, such as causing birth defects, colorectal cancer and heart disease.

Kiera Butler goes on to say that with all the studies that have been conducted on multivitamins, there is no virtual evidence that they improve people’s health and that it’s pretty much a money grab for the supplement industry. Stores like GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe make so much money off of selling multivitamins and supplements to people that don’t provide any benefits while getting people’s money in return. In addition, the FDA doesn’t regulate the labelling of these types of products either, which makes it look like the government and the industry just want our hard earned money.

Summary 2: Elderly Animals

It seems counterintuitive that this photographer takes pictures of animals because of their emotions, but it feels wrong to photograph humans for their emotions. Isa believes that by doing this, it provides her comfort and is like “therapy” to her. However, when her mother had Alzheimer’s she said she stopped taking pictures of her family completely. It would normally be that you would take pictures with family because you know and have a personal connection with them, but instead of that, take pictures with animals that don’t have the ability to agree or disagree with having their photo taken.

Summary 3: Heroin addiction in Vancouver

It seems counterintuitive that Vancouver combats their heroin issue by providing addicts with more heroin. Although the purpose of this is to help facilitate the rate and amount of heroin consumed for addicts, most people in other places would make people cut it out altogether. Insite, a safe zone in the city of Vancouver, is a center open to only 26 heroin users in the city. At this safe zone, nurses supply Vancouver’s worst addicts supplies, such as clean needles, disinfectant wipes, and top of the line heroin. This way, these users can shoot up without fear of being arrested.

This solution came about when Vancouver tried supplying a heroin substitute, such as methadone, but was not successful. With this new alternative, the city doesn’t have to worry about addicts out on the street overdosing and or dying, committing more crime, and engaging in prostitution.

Purposeful Summary – landingzone210

The all-American beer: a case of inferior standard (taste) prevailing?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681304001004

It seems counterintuitive that America’s most popular beers would be “homogeneous, bland-tasting beer,” as the author puts. The case may be that it isn’t a result of Americans having bad taste, but instead a collection of historical events that influenced today’s standards. Events such as prohibition and the explosion of consumerism significantly opened the doorway for generic name-brand beers to dominate the market making them the only choice for most Americans for decades.

Whiskey’s Resurgence: Distributed Distilling in the Post-Prohibition Era

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-49852-2_10

It seems counterintuitive that a decade ago amidst an economic recession, America’s whiskey industry would spring to life. Despite that, there has been unprecedented growth in distillery tourism and the number of craft distilleries across the country.

This growth is most likely a result of legislative changes in several states allowing special licenses for craft distilleries being easier to obtain as well as the increased focus on distillery tourism such as the growth and development of the “Kentucky Bourbon Trail” among other factors.

The curse of the Michelin-star restaurant rating

http://fortune.com/2014/12/11/michelin-star-restaurants-down-side/

It seems counterintuitive that many chefs around the globe would voluntarily give up their Michelin Star status, the most prestigious honor a restaurant could receive and one that many chefs dedicate their lives to, yet in recent years that has been the case.

While it is true that earning a Michelin Star can put a restaurant on the map bringing in a huge amount of customers, many chefs complain that having a star becomes restrictive, almost as if they’re wearing a straight jacket. Once they have a star, the expected standard of their dishes becomes so high that chefs feel like they’re unable to try new dishes for fear of losing their star. This fear and stress is so great because academic studies have found that losing a star can cut sales as much as 50%, potentially ruining and bankrupting the restaurant.

For these reasons many chefs are returning their stars and removing themselves from the list. In the words of Pisano, “if you quit, you can no longer be fired.”

Summary – Wismann101

“Vancouver combats heroin by giving its addicts the best smack in the world”

It seems counterintuitive that a port town of Vancouver became a hub for drugs that come by boatfrom the Pacific, including pure heroin. The harm that people can cause to themselves and society is reduced if the drug simple will be given.

People that are now getting free heroin prescribed by a doctor, two or three times a day as needed, are people who were in those two research studies and are now simply getting heroin on a daily basis as what their doctors describe as treatment. Schauffler says these are the heroin addicts who didn’t seem to take to heroin alternatives in an effort to get clean.

The Vancouver men, and the heroin addict whom Schauffler profiles in his story, speaks glowingly of the program.

A certain number of them, the most severely addicted are heroin addicts, will always be heroin addicts, there is no hope of them getting off heroin, therefore let’s provide them with heroin so they are the least dangerous drug addict they can possibly be.

Summaries—roc050

Purposeful Summary 1 : “After Combat, Victims of an Inner War”

It seems counterintuitive that a soldier is strong enough to survive combat overseas but not strong enough to survive regular everyday life of being back home. But that is exactly what happened to members of the 1451st and hundreds of other military members in the United States.

Suicide in among military and ex-military members who have been to combat zones is on the rise. Vets that come home from war often experience incredible guilt and mental pain. These vets tend to isolate themselves and some actually would rather go back overseas because it is too difficult to adjust to normal everyday civilian life.

These symptoms and problems vets experience can be too much to handle. And although they were strong enough to fight for our country and made it through month and year long tours in a warzone, the trip and life back home can be too much to handle. Unfortunately in many cases it ends with the veteran taking his own life.

Purposeful Summary 2: “Ptsd Crisis That.s Being Ignored”

It seems counterintuitive that a normal us citizen can experience ptsd even though they have never been in the military or in combat zones. But they can.

It is being discovered that individuals who live in more violent neighborhoods and those that have experienced a traumatic incident are developing ptsd at an alarming rate. Its very clear to many doctors and social workers who treat victims of violent crimes that these victims can and will develop symptoms of ptsd just like a veteran who toured Iraq or Afghanistan.

Many hospitals across the country have patients who will likely develop ptsd. However they do not have the resources or means to help individuals deal with the disorder. pstd in our neighborhoods and among civilians is becoming a serious problem.

Summaries- 3g14159

It seems counterintuitive that I’m trying to decrease the amount of cobras, India created a lucrative cobra market. In efforts to rid themselves of the pesky cobra problem in the country, India offered a bounty for any dead cobra brought to them. In the beginning, the plan seemed to work as the government received many dead snakes; but, the country was poor and riddled with poverty and the citizens soon found it more lucrative to rather capture and breed cobras to kill. Rather than decreasing the population of cobras, they increased it immensely and moved the problem into the homes of those they were trying to protect. This method is now the origin of the term, “Cobra Economics,” which by definition, in completely counterintuitive.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobra_effect

 

It seems counterintuitive that extreme obedience should become destructive. It was sixty seven years ago that Stanley Milgram performed a set of experiments to determine how destructive obedience could be. Though obedience is most commonly considered a good quality, but when obedience surpasses an individual’s better judgement, it can be destructive. Milgram found in his studies that sixty five percent of participants obeyed strict orders even when it involved electrocution of another person at four hundred and fifty volts. Those numbers increased as the voltage went down. This outcome was unforeseen and greatly varied from the low percentages that were first predicted. It shows that situational forces and absolute authority can turn obediance from a good attribute to that of destruction.

https://medium.com/@Kauweloa/the-counterintuitive-nature-of-actions-from-milgram-to-sewol-98d4946c49d5

 

It seems counterintuitive that during the cold war, the Soviet Union had to destroy itself in order to destroy the enemy. In order to prevent the German army from defeating the Soviet Union used the scorched earth policy to deprive the Germans of the supplies necessary to their survival. While the plan did work, the Soviet union had many harsh consequences. These include the deportation of millions upon millions of Soviet citizens, along with the destruction of almost all raw material depots, and the annihilation of almost all goods necessary to sustain the country. The Soviet Union suffered from these consequences for years to come, and one must wonder if the effects of German control would have been more or less negatively impacting than that of the scorched earth policy.

https://www.ihr.org/jhr/v06/v06p-91_Sanning.html

Summaries – d2forsaken

Child Euthanasia

  1. It seems counterintuitive that we discuss if children should be euthanized. In Belgium they decided to allow children to be euthanized. They are euthanizing people who are depressed and tired of life and don’t want to live anymore. Even though it seems like a simple process the government is putting strict laws on who can be euthanized or not. Most people are concerned that the new law will be abused but the Belgium government says they have it under control and will be very strict about it.

Paper or Plastic?

2. It seems counterintuitive that the more paper and plastic we use the more CO2 is taken out of the environment. People say tress are being wasted for paper but there is always a cycle when it comes to trees, you cut them, then you replant them to be cut down later. Trees even after they are cut down and made into paper still hold a pretty good amount of carbon credit. Wood is a carbon storer as well and some say more should be used in building to help keep carbon. Others say paper is not good for keeping carbon because it degrades to quickly and turns itself into a methane.

Net Neutrality

3. It seems counterintuitive that after only a few years of net neutrality, people want it taken away already. Net Neutrality ensures that everyone has the same internet speed and you can’t pay to have faster internet. It also allows all applications and website browsers to be with the internet provider. Net Neutrality lets even the poorest companies to reach the large audience. Removing Net Neutrality allows full control of the internet speeds forcing you to pay more it you want a better speed or connection to get anywhere on the internet.

Summaries-jeprr1271

Purposeful Summary #1: Go to Trial: Crash the System

It seems counter-intuitive that fighting for your Sixth Amendment right is better than pleading guilty for what seems a lesser sentence. Our judicial system seems rigged because criminals who are charged with minor crimes are recommended to plead guilty and pay a lesser sentence. At first, this seems like a better option since you can suffer a larger sentence when you lose in a trial. But the truth of the matter is that there are other unknown consequences when you choose to plead. After you serve your time in prison/probation, you have to pay your fines and you are known as a felony. Food stamps, financial aid, housing, etc. all get stripped. You practically are in a worse state than you were before. So, instead, criminals should fight for their Sixth Amendment right where they can hold a trial and a lawyer to, not only lessen a sentence, but to reduce consequences that would arrive after your sentence.

Purposeful Summary #2: Happiness Cannot be Pursued; It Must Ensue

It seems counter-intuitive that happiness should be ensued, not pursued. In the American culture, we are ordered to be happy and search for this happiness. But, in reality, happiness is a product of purposefulness. There has to be a reason for you to be happy. You have to find meaning in life in order for the possibility to obtain that happiness to show and through suffering, hardship, and responsibility, you should be able to obtain it.

Purposeful Summary #3: Humane Food Labels?

It seems counter-intuitive that following Humane Food labels are not what they seem to be. Many companies use different labels to confuse the average consumer. Even with a label companies find loopholes to manage their livestock which, uncovered, people would find inhumane. Some companies would perform false advertising. Typically, these are performed by industry-produced quality assurance programs. Independent assurance programs usually have foundations that sprout from programs with the objective to end inhumane treatment of livestock. But, in the end, the best way to find whether a produce is of organic and humane quality is for the consumer to do their research and ask the source about the produce.

Summaries- muggastackz

https://intpolicydigest.org/2015/03/11/is-the-media-altering-our-perceptions-of-crime/

It is counterintuitive that social media plays a crucial role in what we should perceive when hearing the daily news. In today’s news, we only hear about police brutality and or racism that is starting to happen more frequently because there is a significant growth of crime rates that are vastly becoming a national crisis due to social media news.

81 percent of Americans access social media for news coverage every day. Because society only sees what they actually see. Statistics from the FBI show that there is a decrease of 4.4 percent in crime that deals with homicides or violent crimes. Regardless of what society, they are usually given the wrong information. Crime rates have decreased drastically in the last 40 years. The news we see on social media aren’t credible enough to say they play a role in crime rates.

https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/marijuana-addiction/marijuana-and-brain-2/#gref

It is counterintuitive that marijuana doesn’t kill brain cells. In today’s society, people think that smoking marijuana will kill brain cells later on in life. In fact, there has been researching shown that marijuana affects an older person brain and the results from that are very different from the brain of a younger person who smokes marijuana. Some scientists aren’t aware of the relationship between the two and how it will affect someone in the long run. Marijuana and the brain are in a relationship with one another, smoking weed technically doesn’t kill brain cells, but it can affect the gray matter in the brain at a young age depending on when you start.

https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/preventing-sexual-assault/

It is counterintuitive to think that there aren’t rapes happening every day in the United States. More rapes are happening every day, and they are even more prevalent on college campuses. Most of these rapes happen due to parties that students attend. When alcohol is involved the perpetrators find that these females are easy targets. 70% of victims don’t inform the police about the incident, and 25% of the reported assaults ended up eventually getting arrested. It isn’t just females who are also being sexually assaulted. Males are also victims when dealing with sexual assault. 1 and 6 men suffer from sexual abuse at an early age. Society doesn’t acknowledge how many rapes are happened every day, month, year, etc. If people in society become more aware of the sexual assaults, there wouldn’t be as many rapes in the United States.

 

Purposeful Summaries- PeterBomersbach

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/03/econundrums-do-vitamin-supplements-work/

It seems counterintuitive that multi-vitamins which are supposed to help humans, don’t help them at all. The 28 billion dollar industry mentions multi-vitamins are recommended for staying healthy but data suggests that is not what is happening at all.  I am part of the percentage of humans that take multi-vitamins on the daily. People who take vitamins do it to stay healthy and or don’t get the required vitamins from their food.

I say that vitamins do make a difference to health from personal experience. Ever since I had started taking vitamins 2 years ago, I have seen a noticeable difference of getting sick or not feeling well. Nutritionists have previously said they have no way to tell if multi-vitamins do make a difference. Then how would they know if they don’t help you if they have or cant find any information about them in the first place. I say we humans should look into taking daily vitamins as they as they in the slightest could help us.

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/counterintuitive-world/

It seems counterintuitive that back in World War II the Royal Air Force lost an abundant amount of planes from the German anti-aircraft, only few made it back safely. In return they thought of a way to protect the rest of their planes from the fire and that was armor. Their thought process was to put armor on the planes where their were bullet holes in order to protect the planes. A Hungarian mathematician came up with the theory of not putting the armor on the locations with bullet holes but to put them on the locations of no bullet holes.

If the planes made it back with no bullet holes in those locations, that means the planes with bullet holes there never made it back which puts up a red flag. To me, this idea is something I would of never thought of because anyone would of said put armor where there are more bullet holes, not the other way around.

 

It seems counterintuitive that no one has thought of a device sooner considering how long people have been using this machine. It saves your finger or hand from getting cut off within the blink of an eye. I used to work with machines like this back in high school in a class called wood tech. I would have to use a machine like this on the daily in order to get my work done. Something like this could come in clutch for some kids or adults you have trouble cutting wood using this machine.

Within the machine itself there is a saw stop which does exactly what it says, it stops saws. This device detects flesh within a split second and activates the stop which puts the blade to a dead stop preventing any further damage. This device saves your fingers but destroys your saws as it completely demolishes part of the blade and the device as it can only be used once every activation.