Warm-up activities reflections

Although all of these activities are, on the surface, very small things, they each reveal deeper personality traits within all of us and are a decent reflection of our characteristics. The first one, concentric circles, was a very obvious but effective tool to get to know each other and ourselves better. This is because it forces us to reveal facts about ourselves that we may not have liked to share or may not have told others without prompting. Doing so not only lets others know you better, but also gives you an opportunity to reflect upon your own experiences.

The second exercise, paper folding, was interesting in the way that it showed how different people interpret the same instructions. Although it may not be a direct representation of an individual's characteristics, it was still a way to reveal differences between members of a group. After the activity, almost everyone's paper turned out differently, which tells us that every person may perceive something differently when given the same instructions, ESPECIALLY when they lack perspective or confirmation from people around them.

The final exercise, the human know, was meant to build teamwork and give people the opportunity to "lead" in a circumstance that might benefit from a leader. However, after completing the activity, I was surprised to find that no one in my group really took true leadership; rather, each person simply gave input that would be helpful to the group as a whole, and therefore each person contributed equally. Surprisingly, we found that this method was very effective, and we managed to complete the activity in a short amount of time using this method.

Personality Test

1. My two main personality types were ISFP and INFP. I feel that the first personality type, ISFP, was a very accurate description of my personality, although both had several correct statements. I found it interesting and surprising that the test revealed me to be primarily introverted, as I always thought I was in the middle. Furthermore, I was very astonished when I received "feeling" rather than "thinking" on my third trait, as I have always considered myself a fairly logical person

2.  I mainly agree with the initial snapshot. Although there are a few pieces of information that I don't necessarily agree with, I feel that it is for the most part accurate, especially about the deeply-held values. This part is especially true, because I find that if I believe in something, I really believe in it, and rarely relinquish that idea unless direct contradicting evidence comes up to refute me. Furthermore, I usually base many of my decisions around my values, which sometimes leads to conflict with others; however, I feel that those decisions are still the right ones to make. 

3. The personality test is a useful way to help one better understand themselves. This is potentially beneficial in all aspects of like, such as when making important decisions on what projects you want to do (in this course and otherwise) and even what jobs seem interesting and what jobs you would do well in.

4. What surprised me mainly is how many people were placed in the same category or similar categories, as I expected more variety in the personality types of the class. I was also surprised that most people were introverted, as I thought that introverted and extroverted people would be about even.

New Planet Debrief

New Planet Debrief

1. I made my decisions in a purely utilitarian way. I evaluated the usefulness of each of the people, looking mainly at two large factors: ability and age. Ability is the first and most important factor to examine when deciding who goes and who stays. For example, if one had to choose between a drug addict and a doctor to go on the ship, one would almost certainly choose the doctor because he/she has skills that are more valuable to a new society. Similarly, if one had to choose between a 25-year old and a 65-year old, one would most likely choose the 25-year old due to he/she being fertile, where as a 75-year old would not be. However, there is a fine line when choosing in which one cannot pick based purely on age nor on ability. A 65-year old doctor would be more useful than a 25-year old drug addict, even though the addict is younger. One must consider both factors before making a decision, and consider whether it is worth sacrificing one for the other. 

2. My group made decisions by examining each other's choices. For the most part, we agreed on who was needed and who wasn't. However, there was some disagreement. In that case, our main course of action was to debate the merits of the specific person in question using the guidelines set out in answer 1.

3. For the most part, our group got Along pretty well. One of the only big problems my group faced was a simple logistics error. When we were talking about who we should pick in the final copy, we wrote down the number of each person on the list. However, there were a few people for whom we accidentally wrote the age rather than the number. This led to some confusion on who we highlight, but was sorted out after we looked through all of the choices.

4. See 2.

5. Our group had no definite leader. Each of our members had their individual ideas, and we each had equal time to share them. No one told the others what to do; rather, each person was free to share their own ideas whenever they wanted. I felt that this was a major benefit to our group because we could work together without having to worry about issues that arise from having a leader, such as control conflicts.

6. My decisions were made in a purely utilitarian way. I did not consider morality or what would be morally correct, such as saving a pregnant woman. Rather, I looked purely at how valuable a person would be to the group, using the guidelines outlined in question 1. Although each individual has values that have been instilled in them from birth sad through their experiences, these individual values must be put aside for the good of the whole. To ensure the survival of the human race, one cannot consider individual morality as a factor.

Inspiring Video

This is a video that I found inspiring.

I found this video fascinating. This is because it covers a topic that I am very interested in - religion. Furthermore, I love that Bill Nye was willing to get up there and talk about such a controversial topic. I feel that Ken Ham's "Creation Museum," although successful, is actually a bad thing, as it is attempting to convinc children to disbelieve well-documented scientific research in favor of 2000-year old stories from a book. I was very happy to see that science is "fighting back" and spreading the truth of scientific research. Finally, the debate itself was very engaging and interesting in itself, which made it even more interesting.

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