Defintion Rewrite–Namaste Bean

 Social Media Addiction

       When someone hears the word “addiction,” they will most likely begin picturing a homeless person overdosing on the street, or a scenario fairly close to that. What they will most likely not picture is a young male or female experiencing a fatal accident due to texting and driving. In the dictionary, addiction is defined as “the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.” More often than not, these addictions can lead to negative effects. Understanding an addiction truly broadens the opportunity to improve the well-being of so many people. So, what is social media addiction and how does it affect its compulsive users?

       We’ve all seen the person looking down at their phone on the highway or the entire group of people ignoring each other because they are on their phones; social media addiction occurs when a person checks/uses their social networking profiles in excess, usually at inappropriate times. In a recent survey, ironically ran on an application, FlashGap found of its 150,000 millennial users that 87% of them have missed out a conversation because they were distracted by their phones. More astounding than that, 54% have a fear of “missing out” if they have not checked their social accounts recently. Just how often do you have to be checking your phone to be considered among these addicts? Go-Globe has found that out of 2.3 billion people using social media, 18% cannot go a few hours without checking facebook. Why is this? Well, Harvard University has found in their studies that talking about yourself stimulates pleasure. So, are you a social media addict because you enjoy checking your account in times of leisure, or is there a certain amount of hours spent on social media to confirm you have a problem?  One can not be so sure, but anything that a person allows to cause interference in their life, such as in school, at work, or in conversation, is when things change from a harmless habit to a destructive addiction. What is for certain is that this addiction has been proven to be stronger than that for cigarettes; as found in a study by Chicago University. Things need to be further looked into, here.

       Research has been done to try and unlock the general personality of a person who is most likely to become subject to social media addiction; Isaac Vaghefi and Hamed Qahri-Saremi did such an investigation at DePaul University of Chicago with 300 young adult participants. What they discovered was based on the Personality Model, which consists of five factors used to measure one’s personality. The five factors being openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Out of the five, what stood out the most was neuroticism; the research concluded  that a person who is more anxious and prone to stress vastly increases the chances of them being hooked to social media. On the other hand, people who are more dedicated and attentive, have decreased chances of becoming addicted.

       Obvious, physical effects of social media range from carpal tunnel syndrome to eye strain, but it’s the impact it can have on one’s mental health that is worthy for further research. We already know that persons with anxiety are most likely to be a majority of social media addicts, but will this addiction worsen their anxious symptoms? Castle Craig Hospital in Scotland believes so, stating on their blog titled The Negative Impacts of Social Media

“Your mental health can be impacted where you have a low self-esteem as well as feelings of envy looking looking at everyone’s ‘idealized’ lives on social media.”

This seems logical enough; social media isn’t actually real and that girl you’re so jealous of because of her decor skills is probably three months late on her rent. People only post what they want the world to see, not the raw aspects of their everyday lives. Excessive social media use has also been proven to cause people (specifically young adults) to become less social. Another study by Flashgap found that out of 3,000 participants, 76% of females and 54% of males are guilty of checking their social media at least 10 times when out with friends in real life, social settings.

       Something important to understand about the social media addiction epidemic is that this is only the beginning. Our constant and ever changing needs are what is driving the progression of social media platforms forward. The issue is currently at a stage of relevance; it is becoming more commonly recognized, but actions to be taken to help others minimize the time spent on their phone is scarce. Advice for “turning off push notifications” was given by the Castle Craig Harbor Hospital, but this doesn’t seem effective, as many people already have their phone on silent mode. Could it be that social media will eventually lead its followers to an inevitable social-less, depressed life?

 

References

Saiidi, Uptin. “Social Media Making Millennial Less Social: Study.” CNBC, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2015, http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/15/social-media-making-millennials-less-social-study.html.

NewMan, Tim. “Unlocking the Personality of a Social Media Addict.” Medical News Today, 17 Mar. 2018, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321240.php.

Vaghefi, Isaac. “A Combination of Personality Traits Might Make You More Addicted to Social Networks.” EurekAlert!, AAAS, 12 Mar. 2018, eurekalert.com/.

“The Negative Impacts of Social Media Addiction.” Castle Craig Hospital, Castle Craig Hospital , 2018, castlecraig.co.uk/.

 

Causal Rewrite–NamasteBean

Social Media Use Has Severely Different Outcomes Depending On Whom Is Using

        Why is it that some people can go hours without being in the same room as their phone while others experience anxiety if they have not checked their social media within the last ten minutes? Unfortunately for most, the second scenario is the case.  A new Pew Center Research Survey done in 2018 of the U.S  on social media demographics found that 78% of 18-24 year olds use Snapchat and within that same group, 71% of them check the social platform multiple times a day. That sure seems excessive, but that same study revealed that  68% of adults (25+) in the U.S. belong to Facbook and more than half of those adults “admitted” to at least going on the site at least once a day. This causes confusion on what is considered immoderate; checking your facebook once a day is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it’s normal in this day and age. So, what seperates the group of people that can control their social media use and those who are completely indulged?

Let’s first take a look different personalities and how they may affect one’s social media use. Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism are all factors to help measure one’s personality. In a research study done by  Isaac Vaghefi and Hamed Qahri-Saremi using these five factors, found that people who experience anxiety and stress more often than others (neuroticism) are highly more likely to become addicted to social media. People who are more dedicated and focused (conscientiousness,) are apparently far less likely to become so engufled in their social platforms. Howevever, you can not just lump everyone in these two categories to decipher if they could have a social media problem, it really is not that simple. Being more dedicated than most doesn’t necessarily  keep you safe from becoming hypnotized by your phone. The same research found that people who are generally focused and dedicated could still fall into social media addiction if they also experience stress and anxiety. The same goes for agreeablness and conscientiousness; when a person is empathetic and friendly, they are more likely to use social media in excess and mixed with high levels of dediation, this could vastly increase the likelihood of a person becoming addicted to social media.

If you’re one of the lucky few that do not fall victim to the false world of social media, than the chances of you experincing negative outcomes from the use of your phone are slim to none. Unfortunately for the rest of us neurotics, our mental health could very likey be at stake. Research has found that Facebook has been linked straight to cause sadness and overall low life satisfaction to its heavy users, and this could surely be said for phone applications such as instagram and twitter. Comparing your life to others is something that is done unintentionally when using social media so, when it is happening every day twenty, thirty times a day this can lead a person in to depression. The worst part is, the lives that we are envious of on social media are not true in reality. We only post what we want the world to see; an instagram model may post a selfie every day looking flawless, dressed in the most doiley fashions, but what she may not be posting about is her eating disorder Facebook has been linked straight to cause sadness and overall low life satisfaction to its heavy users, and this could surely bet or the fact that her pictures are highly filtered. This can affect one’s mental health because since they are not seeing the truth, they can not grasp why they can not reach these frankly, untangable standards.

 

References

Vaghefi, Isaac. “A Combination of Personality Traits Might Make You More Addicted to Social Networks.” EurekAlert!, AAAS, 12 Mar. 2018, eurekalert.com/.

“The Negative Impacts of Social Media Addiction.” Castle Craig Hospital, Castle Craig Hospital , 2018, castlecraig.co.uk/.

Schurgin O’Keefe, Gwenn, and Kathleen Clarke-Pearson. “The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families.” AAP News & Journals Gateway, Council of Communications and Media, 11 Apr. 2011, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/4/800.short.

 

Safer Saws- muggastackz

Source 1: In the article, popularmechanics.com/…673/bosch-reaxx-saw, Roy Berendsohn, author for Popular Mechanics talks about how the safer saw works and how Bosch originally created the saw.

Whether Bosch’s design is too similar is a matter for the courts. There’s no way to know for now how the case will play out. What we can tell you is that testing a saw that won’t cut through your finger is a pretty amazing experience.

We can see that this is an evaluative/proposal claim. The author writes about the experience of safer saws. He evaluates that testing the safe allows the people buying know that this safe is very useful and safe while using the tool.

Source 2: In this article, arstechnica.com/…/patent-disputes-stand-in-the-way-of-radically-safer-table-saws, author Timothy B Lee, talks about how the safer saw adapted and how new rules are being created for the tool. Also, he writes about how safer saw creators are facing lawsuits.

But established makers of power tools vehemently object. They say the mandate could double the cost of entry-level table saws and destroy jobs in the power-tool industry. They also point out that Gass holds dozens of patents on the technology. If the CPSC makes the technology mandatory for table saws, that could give Gass a legal monopoly over the table-saw industry until at least 2021, when his oldest patents expire.

This is a factual claim. The text explains that technology will start to expand and become mandatory in a couple of years. More people will find that the safe is very safe and get rid of their older saws to get the safer saws. The author also gives an evaluative/hypothetical claim that Gass could have a legal monopoly over the saw industry until at least 2021.

Source 3: In this article, cpsc.gov/…es/123115/tenenbaum10052011.pdf, this is a statement from Chairman Inez Tenenbaum of the CPSC regarding the rulemaking for reducing safer saw injuries.

Based on the injury data obtained in the 2007 and 2008 CPSC special study, our staff’s injury cost model projected that consumers suffered approximately 67,300 medically treated blade contact injuries annually in 2007 and 2008—with an associated injury cost of $2.36 billion dollars in each of those two years.

This is a factual numerical claim. This refers to all of the injuries over a year long from the safe. 67,300 were medically treated from the contact within a year apart. The claim helped generates that people are getting hurt and money is being spent to help treat the people.

Source 4: In this article, https://fcir.org/2013/05/16/power-tool-industry-circles-the-wagons-as-disabling-saw-injuries-mount/, the author writes about all of the financial bills that are happening because of the safer saw.

They say the market for popular, lightweight saws costing as little as $100 to $200 would be destroyed by the added expense of SawStop. They note that under some circumstances, SawStop can stop a blade without skin contact–such as when the blade touches conductive materials like metal or very wet wood. In such cases, the owner usually has to replace the blade and an electronic cartridge.

The claim that the numbers of injuries made by table saws and the financial costs. This is an opinionated claim because they think that Gass is ruining other business and tools because the safe-saw would be a high profited item and will be around for a long-term.

Source 5: In this article, https://www.schmidtlaw.com/table-saw-amputation-lawyer/,  this discussion all of the lawsuits dealing with safe saws. They try to explain ways to refrain from using the saw.

Since 2000, a safety device called the “SawStop” has existed that could prevent nearly all table saw amputations, but manufacturers have refused to voluntarily place the safety devices on their products, citing an unreasonable increase in price (about $100 per table saw).

 

This is a factual claim, its main focus of the statement is to make sure people prevent saw amputations. The claim is ethical/moral claim because it blames the creators on why people are getting injuries from the saw. There are strict guidelines in using the saw so the manufacturers shouldn’t be blamed for the victim’s wrongdoings.

 

 

Grammar Exercise- muggastackz

Original

If a primary caretaker has a negative attitude toward their child it increases the risk that they’re child will grow up hostile towards others. And its not just aggression toward others that results from child abuse; a large amount of children raised by abusive parents also harm themselves. The reason for this negative behavior is because the children don’t learn appropriate techniques for handling lifes disappointments. If you aren’t raised with coping skills, your much to likely to act ‘inappropriately’ then if you have developed more reasonable approaches. The affect of poor parenting as reported by Dr. Geoffrey Dahmer in “The Bully Papers”, is that everyone gets the child they deserve.

Revised

Negative attitudes from primary caregivers toward children are risking them to grow up hostile towards each other. And it’s not just aggression toward others that results from child abuse- a large number of children raised by abusive parents also harm themselves as well. Children who learn appropriate techniques tend to have behaved positively. Those who aren’t raised with coping skills are much too likely to act “inappropriately” than if they’ve developed more reasonable approaches. This effect of poor parenting reported by Dr. Geoffrey Dahmer in “The Bully Papers”, is that everyone gets the child they deserve.

 

Causal Rewrite-jokerthefool

What our searches after shootings say about us

Analyzing search trends after violent crimes provides insight into the intentions of the people searching. There are distinct groups created after a polarizing event happens. Some people search because they want to know more about the event, others search because they want to write about it, and others search because they want to prove their friends wrong. After a violent shooting blamed on video games happens, there is an increase in searches for topics like “gun control”, “video games”, and “shootings”, because people want to gather information for their own day to day arguments. Each of our key-words are searched in varying levels, depending on the group. Evidence suggest that not all of these groups are affected when a violent crime occurs because they don’t have a need for the information the internet offers.

The first group of people, who just want general information are the easiest to identify and examine. Their intentions are the easiest to guess at as well. They want information about violent crimes because they like finding out the information for themselves. After a shooting that happens, that’s blamed on video games they tend to react the least. These people don’t really care about what the shooting was blamed, they just want to know what the “what” is. For the most part, they also just want to be in the know of things that are happening in the United States. This group is created from anything big happening. There is always a hunger for information that people naturally have, regardless of whether that information is accurate. This is how fake news is spread often, because people simply want information of some kind relating to a topic. After a violent crime, this group tends to be the one’s searching for “shooting” the most, as they only have limited information and want more. For example someone unfamiliar with the Parkland incident in 2017, would likely search “Florida shooting”.

The second group, is the group of people who search to write about, or report the topics. Now this group is interesting because they are created for a purpose. The last group didn’t necessarily have a purpose outside of simply acquiring information, regardless of what the information entails. This group searches the most and for the sole purpose of getting the most accurate information. Most people who report on, or write about a subject want to have reliable information so they will obviously do quite a bit of searching. This group is also less interested in the “what” unless they are writing specifically about that. This group is significant because they are the group that takes information for their own benefit. The first group is mostly focused on acquiring some kind of information, while this group acquires accurate information that backs up their own opinion. A good example of this is news outlets. They will acquire accurate information of events, but may tweak what the causes, or effects are of the event to suite the message they are trying to send to their audience. A more right leaning outlet may focus less on ideas like gun control because they don’t even want that topic coming up. Now this group is the group that focuses the most of their searches on terms like “gun control”, “mental health”, and “shooting”. They want to see a correlation between these terms so that they can either include them in their own argument, or leave them out if they don’t agree with their point of view.

The last group of people is the group that searches to bolster their own personal arguments. Now this group isn’t writing for any outlet, or paper, so they don’t tend to be focused too much on accurate information. In fact, they mostly search for terms and ideas that only support their argument, not even acknowledging the other side for the most part. This group tends to search for all the key terms because they want to find a link of any kind between the terms in order to make their personal arguments sounder. This group searches the most out of any group because they are the group that makes up a majority of the searches. Directly after a violent crime happens that’s blamed on violent media, people either take the side of for or against. Are video games to blame for a violent crime, or is that a bunch of crap? People storm the internet searching not only for the answer, but one that satisfies them. It’s honestly extremely logical if we consider how many people want to prove themselves right. Especially if they are in an argument with their friends, or family about a topic. This is why the search trends increase so much after big shootings like the Sandy Hook, Parkland, and Las Vegas shootings.

 

 

References

Kilgarriff, Adam, et al. “DIACRAN: A Framework for Diachronic Analysis.” Lexical Computing, 2013.

Ramat, Anna Giacalone, et al. Synchrony and Diachrony: a Dynamic Interface. John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2013, books.google.com/books?id=YdnA6nBjXjAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:9027272077&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQj6TkzY7eAhUyTd8KHQIXBiAQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Rogers, Simon. “What Is Google Trends Data – and What Does It Mean?” Medium, Google News Lab, 1 July 2016, medium.com/google-news-lab/what-is-google-trends-data-and-what-does-it-mean-b48f07342ee8.

Campbell, C. (2018, March 10). A brief history of blaming video games for mass murder. Retrieved November 28, 2018, from https://www.polygon.com/2018/3/10/17101232/a-brief-history-of-video-game-violence-blame

 

Definition- 3g

Needs a Title

Not many things can mystify the mind like black holes do. When examined in depth, black holes aren’t all that confusing. Thanks to the discoveries of physicists, we have a pretty good hold on what black holes are, and how they function.  First, though, one must know the basics of the physics that we apply to black holes.

Gravity is the essence of black holes. Gravity is a well known force, as it has an enormous effect on the earth and everything on it. The factors that effect the force of gravity are the universal gravitational constant, the mass of said planet and the radius of said planet. Therefore, the gravitational force is different on each planet, not taking into account that distance between planets which also effects their gravitational pull on eachother. The force of gravity on earth is equivalent to about 9.8 meters per second squared. That is equal to the acceleration at which objects are pulled back down to earth. As a more advanced way of thinking of gravity, Tia Ghose defines it in What Is Gravity as: “the consequence of the fact that matter warps space-time.”

Now that there is a general understanding of what gravity actually is, lets examine how gravity works within a black hole and what a black hole actually is. Black holes form by the death of stars. When they die, most stars will just form white dwarfs, but the largest of stars will become black holes. These stars will quite literally go out with a bang, exploding and leaving behind nothing but their stellar core. The remnants of the star will then collapse in on itself, thus creating a black hole.

Black holes are essentially invisible on the black canvas of the universe, but their intense gravitation pull and it’s effect on the stars around it gives away the location. Though these elusive beings are depicted as a huge danger to the universe, and to our own planet, there is no need to be alarmed. As National Geographic explains in Black Holes 101, “if our sun was suddenly replaced by a black hole of similar mass, our planetary family would continue to orbit unperturbed, if much less warm and illuminated.” Our own milky way is out of the way of danger of any impending black holes.

The physics that we apply to black holes are governed by Einstein’s field equations. These equations stem from Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Simply, a “black hole,” isn’t a hole at all, but rather a singular point of such large gravitational pull that no object within the event horizon could ever gain enough velocity to escape its gravitational force. The event horizon is, as the author of What is a Black Hole explains, “the last distance from which light can escape the pull of the black hole. Inside the event horizon, everything, including light, must move inward, getting crushed at the centre.” Some theorize that a black hole could be used as a worm hole if entering only the event horizon in just the right way.

The gravitation pull of black holes is so intense that it even warps spacetime. Every mass in space slightly alters spacetime, almost like a dent. Think of spacetime as elastic, the heavier the object, the more of a dent it makes. Planets like earth make a small dent, but it is nothing in comparison to that of a supermassive black hole. This effect can actually be visible, Robert Britt describes and example of this in Einstein’s Warped View of Space
 Confirmed, “In observations of activity around black holes in 1997, researchers noted that gasses spiraling into the black hole wobbled, or precessed, like a top.” Unusual motions can also been seen of light when entering a black hole. In fact, the entire view of the universe is warped when looking at it from the view of the black hole.

As stated before, though black holes can sound very intimidating, there is nothing to fear. It is common knowledge that the milky way has its very own supermassive black hole at its center, and studies suggest that there are thousands more joining it. Nell Greenfieldboyce states in Center of Milky Way Has Thousands of Black Holes, Study Shows: “Their calculations show that there must be several hundred more black holes paired with stars in the galactic center, and about 10,000 isolated black holes.” These entities though, do not negatively effect the earth because we are lightyears away from their event horizons, and essentially out of danger.

Over the past decades, scientists have made incredible strides researching black holes, and there is plenty more to come. No on can really what is to come of further black hole research, but there is hope that black holes could be an essential piece of the puzzle when explaining how the universe began and how the universe will end. If that is the case, this research could change he course of history dramatically. Scientists are also diving further into the idea of wormholes and harnessing them for the use of time travel. Using Einstein’s rules of general relativity, many have theorized the existence of entities called “white holes.” A better explanation is given by Jessica Krall and Jessica Felhofer in “The Future of Black Holes.”

The idea of wormholes first came from the idea of white holes. The equations of general relativity have an interesting mathematical property: they are symmetric in time. This means that you can take any solution to the equations and imagine that time flows backwards rather than forwards, and you will get another valid solution to the equations. If you apply this rule to the solution that describes black holes, you receive a white hole. Since a black hole is a region of space from which nothing can escape, the time-reversed version of a black hole is a region of space into which nothing can fall. So, just as a black hole sucks things in after they pass the event horizon, a white hole would spit these things out.” The future of black holes is more than promising and could mold the future of not just this planet, or the milky way, but the future of the entire universe.

References

“Black Holes.” Physics For Idiots, physicsforidiots.com/space/black-holes/.

“Black Holes, Explained.” What Is a Black Hole?, 25 Sept. 2018, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/black-holes/.

Ghose, Tia. “What Is Gravity?” LiveScience, Purch, 3 June 2013, http://www.livescience.com/37115-what-is-gravity.html.

Greenfieldboyce, Nell. “Center Of The Milky Way Has Thousands Of Black Holes, Study Shows.”

NPR, NPR, 4 Apr. 2018, http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/04/599437677/new-study-shows-the-center-of-the-milky-way-has-thousands-of-black-holes.

Britt, Robert Roy. “Einstein’s Warped View of Space Confirmed.”

Space.com, Space.com, 8 Mar. 2016, http://www.space.com/456-einstein-warped-view-space-confirmed.html.

Krall, Jessica, and Jessica Felhofer. “The Future of Black Holes.” The Future of Black Holes, http://www.felhofer.com/blackholes.htm.

Causal- 3g

Needs a Title

Stephen Hawking has long been praised as one of the most intelligent minds of our time. He has made incredible strides in the field of astrophysics and is arguably the most innovative influencers in said field. He has theorized many properties of black holes that we take to be truth today. Many more theories have stemmed from these, furthering our understanding of black holes and the way in which they function, or so we think. Consider though, if Stephen Hawking was not in fact correct in his theories. If these theories were incorrect, not only would they lead us to the wrong conclusions when studying black holes, but it also limits our creativity when viewing black holes conceptually.

One of Hawking’s most well-known theories is Hawking radiation. This theory is basically an answer to the question: If black holes absorb particles, what do they emit? Joel Hruska better explains this theory in Stephen Hawking may have finally solved the black hole ‘information’ problem as: “black holes do emit particles in the form of so-called Hawking radiation. That means that over time- an absolutely fantastic amount of time- black holes evaporate. But if a black hole can evaporate, what happens to the information about the material it once absorbed?” The problem with this theory is that seemingly whatever happens to the information stored in black holes, contradicts quantum mechanics.

If the particles do in fact just disappear with the black hole, that defies the principals of quantum mechanics, but if they do not ever escape the hole, that also would not be quantumly possible. From this complication, stems more theories. This next theory, also masterminded by Hawking, gives an answer to this. He considers the idea that the particles absorbed never actually enter the black hole, but rather are trapped in the boundaries of the black hole. Those boundaries we call “super translations.” So, for this to be possible, Joel Hruska again explains in the same article that, “the physical material (information) swallowed by the black hole never actually enters it at all. Instead, it’s smashed into the point of no return and encoded as a two-dimensional hologram.” This may seem incredibly hard to believe, but the theory behind them is very strong.

This information is then released in the form of quantum fluctuations. These are ripples in a quantum field, like an electric field. These quantum fields still exist even if there are no particles existing within them. Even if this is the case, these fields are never actually quiet. Described by Matt Strassler in Quantum Fluctuations and Their Energy , “Even in what we consider empty space, the fields are still there, sitting quietly in empty space, much as there’s water in the pond even if no wind or pebbles are making ripples on its surface, and there’s still air in the room even if there’s no sound.” The amount of energy that a single fluctuation can produce in just one cubic meter is millions upon millions of times larger than that of ordinary matter. This energy has enough power to cause mass destruction throughout the universe, and that is just within one cubic meter of these fluctuations! So, it is not impossible to imagine that these fluctuations release an incredible amount of information.

One must remember that these theories are still just that, theories. Because the dangers of black holes prevent us from being able to study them physically, the only other ways to are mathematically and theoretically. Though numbers don’t lie, the theory could be completely wrong, and what is known about black holes today could be at least distorted in comparison to reality. It seems that if Hawking’s theories are indeed correct, the idea of a wormhole within a black hole seems completely impossible, at least the way we envision it today. Even though, there are still many theories surrounding this idea, as it is still on the forefront of the astrophysics curiosities. There are surely many other theories like this as well, and it is reasonable to predict that most of these are incorrect.

Perhaps the most interesting theory is that of wormholes. This theory comes from the idea of spacetime and the curvature of it. Space time can be visualized as elastic, or almost like a trampoline, except it isn’t ejecting any planets into other parts of space. When a mass is placed on a trampoline, the trampoline sinks around the mass, and it creates a sort of dent in. Now, if one pictures spacetime as two trampolines on top of each other we can use Kevin Bonsor and Robert Lamb’s logic in How Time Travel Works to explain how this effect creates wormholes, “Placing the baseball on the top side will cause a curvature to form. If an equal mass were placed on the bottom part of the sheet at a point that corresponds with the location of the baseball on the top, the second mass would eventually meet with the baseball. This is similar to how wormholes might develop.” This is why black holes are often theorized to be wormholes as well. They have the largest mass and gravitational force in the universe that we know of, and if the spacetime curvature was large enough, it could be used as a much faster passage to another part of the universe. This is only one of the theories that could be proven by different mean if not for Hawking’s theories.

If Hawking’s theories are neglected completely, there is a world of opportunity to explore new ideas about black holes. If we neglect everything we know about them, there is a completely blank slate to start anew on. One could theorize that black holes don’t crush anything, but act solely as wormholes, or that the event horizon acts as a shield and keeps any particles out of the center of black holes. The possibilities are endless. If Hawking had never theorized Hawking radiation, many advancements in the studies of black holes would have been made, and the course of black hole studies could have been drastically different.

References

Hruska, Joel. “Stephen Hawking May Have Finally Solved the Black Hole ‘Information’ Problem.”

ExtremeTech, 27 Aug. 2015, http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/212968-stephen-hawking-may-have-finally-solved-the-black-hole-information-problem.

Lamb, Robert. “How Time Travel Works.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 20 Oct. 2000, science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/time-travel4.htm.

Strassler, Matt. “Quantum Fluctuations and Their Energy.” Of Particular Significance, 30 Aug. 2013, profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/particle-physics-basics/quantum-fluctuations-and-their-energy/.

Rebuttal- 3g

Just as time is, credibility is relative. Stephen Hawking is widely known across the globe and recognized as one of the most brilliant minds of our time. He is ranked among the greats of astrophysics next to Einstein and Newton, and he has been formally recognized for his great accomplishments. These accomplishments though, are only as credible as we assume them to be. As of now, it is impossible to explore and examine black holes close enough to prove Hawking and his theories to be correct or not. Therefore, because his theories lie within the confines of physics, his word is taken as fact because he is so highly regarded. At the end of the day, Hawking is merely a human, and humans will always make mistakes.

It is no lie that Hawking is absolutely brilliant and deserves the utmost respect for his incredible dedication to the study of astrophysics and cosmology. He has been awarded with several medals including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Albert Einstein metal, the Albert Einstein award and so many more. Even with all these, well deserved, awards, it is very likely that Hawking was not correct in all of his theories on the basis that he is human. Hawking himself has shown signs of doubt about his own theories.

One example involves his multiverse hypothesis and fine tuning. Fine tuning, as BioLogos describes it in What do Fine-tuning and the multiverse say about God, “refers to the surprising precision of nature’s physical constants and the early conditions of the universe.” Certain values in our universe are so precise that if they were changed even slightly, life would never have been possible. A few of these include gravity, the formation of carbon, and the stability of DNA. For example, Philip Goff in Did the dying Stephen Hawking really mean to strengthen the case for God, explains how gravity could have affected life as we know it: “if gravity had been slightly stronger, stars would have lived for thousands rather than billions of years, not leaving enough time for biological evolution to take place.” Luckily, all of these tedious details came together to allow life in the milky way. The problem with this arises within Hawking’s multiverse theory.

The multiverse theory basically describes that if there are an infinite number of universes, there is a very high chance that the conditions for life exist within another universe, if not several. With such a huge number of universes there is also a very good chance that some of these universes infringe upon the fine-tuned laws of the universe. Goff again explains, “Stephen Hawking defended a naturalistic explanation of fine-tuning in terms of the multiverse hypothesis. According to the multiverse hypothesis, the universe we live in is just one of an enormous, perhaps infinite, number of universes. If there are enough universes, then it becomes not so improbable that at least one will chance upon the right laws for life.” With at least some universes defying such precise laws, the multiverse theory conflicts with that of fine-tuning.

Hawking’s own multiverse theory has changed over time. The older version had large varieties among to universes, but, the laws of fine-tuning have forced that theory to change. In his latest paper on the multiverse theory, Hawking himself doubts the multiverse theory’s ability to explain fine-tuning. Other physicists also have these concerns and have begun looking to quantum physics to explain what the multiverse theory could not. It is known that Stephen Hawking is a very adamant atheist, and the inability if his theory to explain fine-tuning leaves only quantum physics to explain, allowing more room to justify a Godly being, and possibly nullifying what Hawking believes in most strongly.

Another topic that is widely controversial is that of alien life. Hawking was a strong believer in alien life and conducted a one hundred million dollar hunt for aliens. When examined mathematically, there should be about ten thousand planets with alien life that we could communicate with. This does not necessarily mesh well with reality, though. As Sarah Kaplan points out in Scientists believe there’s other life in the universe. Why haven’t we found it yet? “If the universe is so full of the ingredients for alien life, why haven’t we found it yet? Or, more pertinently, considering how young humans are (100,000 years) compared to the age of the universe (13.8 billion years), why haven’t the aliens found us?” With the given age of humanity compared to the rest of the universe, if there is alien life there is a very good chance that it developed way before we did. If that is the case, their advanced technology would have the capability to not only find but communicate with us. Not only have we never made contact with, or received contact from any kind of alien life, but the one hundred million dollar search has been unsuccessful as of yet. It is not a stretch to claim that Hawking could be wrong in his theory about alien life. If Hawking could be wrong about this, and even doubts his own theory’s ability to explain fine tuning, there is always the possibility that he could be wrong in any of his theories.

Topics like black holes, that are much more complicated both mathematically and conceptually, challenge the mind even the of the most virtuoso people. The likelihood that Hawking was in fact wrong about his theory of Hawking radiation is strong. Not just because black holes are so hard to understand, but also because he has made changes to his previous theories and beliefs several times. There have been numerous times that Hawking has changed his mind and made contradictory statements about his theories. One time he even stated that black holes do not exist at all. As it is a common part of the thought process to change one’s mind, this is a drastically different stance than what he had theorized before. Stephen Hawking was an incredible man with a brilliant mind, that being said, even he made mistakes. If he happens to be wrong about his theories, that could change everything that we know about black holes and the universe as it is today.

 

BioLogos. “What Do ‘Fine-Tuning’ and the ‘Multiverse’ Say about God?” BioLogos, biologos.org/common-questions/gods-relationship-to-creation/fine-tuning.

Goff, Philip. “Did the Dying Stephen Hawking Really Mean to Strengthen the Case for God? | Philip Goff.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 May 2018, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/07/stephen-hawking-god-multiverse-cosmology.

 

Kaplan, Sarah. “Scientists Believe There’s Other Life in the Universe. Why Haven’t We Found It Yet?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 July 2015, http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/21/scientists-believe-theres-other-life-in-the-universe-why-havent-we-found-it-yet/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.187bb5fc57ea.

“Stephen Hawking.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking.

Bibliography- Peter Bomersbach

 

Goldbeck, L., & Pew, A. (2018, March 27). Violent Video Games and Aggression. Retrieved October 17, 2018, from http://www.center4research.org/violent-video-games-can-increase-aggression/

Background: This article gives some information about violent video games and why people think they should be banned. People looked right at violent video games after mass shootings thing that it was the cause. Studies they provided show that they can increase aggressive thoughts, behaviors and feelings.

How I used it: I used this article to show that studies prove violent video games increase aggression towards others, increase in aggressive thoughts and feelings. The longer children play violent video games for, the higher the chance they will have a negative change in behavior.

Snider, M. (2018, October 1). Study confirms link between violent video games and physical aggression. Retrieved October 17, 2018, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/1486188002

Background: This article talks about more studies done to try and prove that violent video games lead to increase in aggression, behavior etc.. This article also talks about how it was brought up by president trump on how it was a known issue probably from mass shootings.

How I used it: I used it to prove my point further on how kids should not play violent video games. I used president Trump’s claim and the studies scientists have done to try and prove violent video games are bad for kids.

HowStuffWorks. (2007). Choice Reviews Online, 45(03). doi:10.5860/choice.45-1203

Background: This article explains what video game ratings are and what they mean. It ranges from rated E which means for everyone to AO which means adults only. The ESRB are the ones who give each gam its rating based on the content within the game.

How I used it: I used it to talk about the meaning of a violent game with ratings of M and AE and why they chose the rating. Rated M games have blood and gore, violence, strong language, sexual content etc..

Morris, C. (2011, June 27). Violent Videogames Can Be Sold to Minors: Supreme Court. Retrieved October 23, 2018

Background: This article explains how in California, they try to restrict selling of violent video games to children but it was turned down. The U.S. Supreme court said it was a violation of free speech.

How I used it: I used it to show one quote that was stated which was “A new survey from the Federal Trade Commission found that more retailers and movie theaters are enforcing age-based content ratings by turning kids away.” I used this quote to show what other states need to start doing and becoming more aware of the situation.

Ferguson, Christipher. “Violent Video Games May Increase Aggression in Some But Not Others, Says New Research.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 7 June 2010.

Background: This article talks about the frequency of children becoming more hostile from violent video games. There were cases performed where no results were found and then there were cases where results are noticeable but only in a handful of children.

How I used it: I used it to prove some of my points but to also portray how rare it can happen within individuals. I used the quote from Christopher Ferguson which states “Violent video games are like peanut butter,” said Ferguson. “They are harmless for the vast majority of kids but are harmful to a small minority with pre-existing personality or mental health problems.” This is a nice example to see how rare it could be which goes against my point in the rebuttal.

“No Evidence to Support Link between Violent Video Games and Behavior.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 16 Jan. 2018.
Background: This article explains within their case studies, they found no correlation between violent video games and a change in behavior after. They performed multiple cases with 3,00 plus patients to test the theory.
How I used it: I used it because it was a good article that went against my point of view. I explained what they thought and what their results came out as. I sated that there were holes in their studies about the patients personalities before hand and their past.

 

Olsen, Cheryl K. Children’s Motivations for Video Game Play in the Context of Normal Development. Massachusetts General Hospital, 16 Jan. 2010.

Background: This is a report that talks abut Children’s motivations on video game play. I mainly focused on the first page and  that tacked about the motivations of young children and their tendencies and even parents choosing appropriate games.

How I used it: I used it to discuss my point of how children and parents really should start watching what they play because it will result in a change in behaviors for the worse. Researchers started looking into what children can game from these electronic games.

Self-Reflective Statement- Peter Bomersbach

Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

The work from my Definition Rewrite is a perfect example of how I met my goal of exploration and development. This was the first argument we had to create to start our research and it really gave me some good ideas and resources to use for the future arguments. Also the fact that there are multiple versions of the definition essay which get better and better is a good example of how my work develops over time. All three arguments could be a good example but the definition argument stand out the most to me since it was the first that got me into the research and information.

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

The assignment Safer Saws is a good example of how that piece of work shows what I did with using other user’s ideas and opinions on Saw Stop. I used the opinions stated by various customers that had bought safe stop and used them to determine what type of claim it is. This is an assignment that uses other people’s statements and ideas which are put into my words to create meaning and if I agree or disagree with their point of view. I have also critically read what they had to say and I had to disagree with some of them.

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

A good example of rhetorical analysis is the assignment visual rhetoric. It let me watch a video that has no audio and only use my eyes and what  believe to be true. Throughout the video I would try and describe detail in every given image. I analyzed the purpose and audience the video was trying to portray and it was talking about feeding America and maybe how some of the population doesn’t get to supply themselves with food but still have a lot of love to give.

Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

My piece of work Research Argument is a good example that illustrates evidence that support my ideas and beliefs. Throughout the research aspect of this assignment, I really found many studies and scientists that do agree violent video games are not for kids. All the information I found on that topic including studies support my idea or claim as to why kids should not play violent video games.

Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. 

The annotated bibliography is a great example of sources of my information that represent complex ideas and even have appropriate citation. It has reasons as to why I chose that resource and why it is relevant to my topic of Violent video games are not for kids. It should be properly cited with the authors name and date of publication if applicable. Also the work taken from the resources are cited and used fairly with the authors given ideas stated clearly.