While I was in the gym one morning, a commercial for Symbicort came onto one of the television screens. Symbicort is a medication that was created to treat Chronic Obstructive Pulminary Disease (COPD). What was striking about this particular commercial was that it utilized a cartoon of the Big Bad Wolf from the Little Red Riding Hood story. Here's the video of the commercial below:
http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7CM2/symbicort-wolf
This isn't the only instance of a medication commercial using animation. The drug, Abilify, also includes animation in its ads:
http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7oAZ/abilify-add-abilify
It is an interesting approach away from the traditional medication commercial that would include a typical user and their story. The Symbicort commerical is clever in using the Big Bad Wolf as a victim of COPD and advertising their medicine through that story. However, what is the deal with the use of animation in the Abilify commercial? Usually when I see a cartoon, I expect it to be visually happy or funny. A woman suffering from depression is not something that you would usually see in a cartoon. So what is the benefit or advertising power that comes from using animation such as what is seen in these two examples?
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
Categorizing the Disordered
The art of classifying does not seem to be wholly objective as I am quickly learning through this week's reading. Social influences, geographical locations, and technology all play a role in how we classify everything from animals to mental disorders. Social influences and pressures play a particularly significant role when it comes to classify people. Many times, these classifications come at the cost of offending groups that are classified unfavorably due to how the persons completing the classification perceive those who are being classified. For example, homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder in the DSM-II in the early 1970's (Pomeroy & Parrish, 196). It's fairly apparent that those who identified as homosexual were upset with the APA on this classification, as evidenced by their "protests toward APA for its perceived stigmatization of homosexuals (Pomeroy & Parrish, 196)."
The key may lie in how we distinguish between what is different and normal in society. In my last blog post, titled "1.2 Million and Counting," I delved into the classification of monsters, including humans with strange physical attributes. Our discussion in class on this also got me thinking of how we do not take the feelings of those who are being classified into account. These categories have the potential of identifying someone in a very negative light and they would be stuck in that category throughout human history. How does a woman, who has the fate of growing a full beard feel about being categorized among history's bearded women? Furthermore, how does she feel when her defined role as a bearded woman belongs with a circus freakshow? It is translatable to this case with homosexuality. The APA, whether intentionally or unintentionally, grouped them with those who are "different" from the rest.
According to Bowker and Star in "Sorting Things Out," there are traces "of bureaucratic struggles, different in world-view and systematic erasures do remain in the written classification system...(55)." Take this homosexuality issue in a geographic context. Different areas of the United States will have different ways of displaying their city or town. Some place like Fargo, North Dakota would probably be a very unlikely place for a gay parade, whereas Los Angeles would be a more likely location. Furthermore, the perception of the classification of homosexuality may be vastly different between the local populaces of these two cities. So is there any benefit or use to these types of classifications? It seems to do more harm than good to those who are being categorized as such. How do the social institutions that govern these classifications modify them as to avoid any potential subjectivity? Is it even possible that a list can be categorized in a universally accepted method?
The key may lie in how we distinguish between what is different and normal in society. In my last blog post, titled "1.2 Million and Counting," I delved into the classification of monsters, including humans with strange physical attributes. Our discussion in class on this also got me thinking of how we do not take the feelings of those who are being classified into account. These categories have the potential of identifying someone in a very negative light and they would be stuck in that category throughout human history. How does a woman, who has the fate of growing a full beard feel about being categorized among history's bearded women? Furthermore, how does she feel when her defined role as a bearded woman belongs with a circus freakshow? It is translatable to this case with homosexuality. The APA, whether intentionally or unintentionally, grouped them with those who are "different" from the rest.
According to Bowker and Star in "Sorting Things Out," there are traces "of bureaucratic struggles, different in world-view and systematic erasures do remain in the written classification system...(55)." Take this homosexuality issue in a geographic context. Different areas of the United States will have different ways of displaying their city or town. Some place like Fargo, North Dakota would probably be a very unlikely place for a gay parade, whereas Los Angeles would be a more likely location. Furthermore, the perception of the classification of homosexuality may be vastly different between the local populaces of these two cities. So is there any benefit or use to these types of classifications? It seems to do more harm than good to those who are being categorized as such. How do the social institutions that govern these classifications modify them as to avoid any potential subjectivity? Is it even possible that a list can be categorized in a universally accepted method?
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
1.2 Million and Counting
I remember when the visually stunning Planet Earth documentary came out, that I was absolutely mesmerized by the plethora of different animal species on our planet. Everything from land creatures to deep sea fish, the visual diversity was endless. There are also many ways of categorizing all of these species, such as whether they walk on legs or swim, stay in packs or travel alone, have fur or leathery skin, and so on. There are many of these descriptive categories that can be used to classify all of the known animals of the animal kingdom. Currently, there are 1.2 million known species of animals on planet Earth, but there are an estimated 8.7 million species in all that currently or may exist (nature.com). Attached to all these species are various forms of categorizing based on criteria such as what was stated above.
There is a unique nature to taxonomies, which is best described by Aristotle's Categories. In it, he says that after the "primary substance" follows the "secondary substances." We can think of the primary substance as being the kingdom and secondary substances as the genus or species. Secondary substances are more descriptive and specific than primary substances. Continuing, Aristotle states that, " For only they [secondary substances], of things predicated, reveal the primary substance." This means that if I were to pick out a species, let's say lions, then I can trace the species of lions up through the other 6 levels of the taxonomy tree until I reach the animal kingdom. This is the general case for other forms of categorizing.
Another example would be monsters and other disfigured or abnormal beings. The Platypus and the Mermaid by Harriet Ritvo delves into the more imaginative forms of classifications. Monsters seem like an odd entity to classify. In the cases of animals, foods, plants, and clothes, they seem to make sense and allow society to become more organized and functional. However, what is the point of classifying monsters? Why are we so engrossed in disfigured human beings and animals to the point of categorizing them as single monsters, dicephalous monsters, pyopagus monsters (Ritvo, p. 40)? Although the monster categorizing is referenced to the 18th and 19th century in Ritvo's work, this form of categorizing and fascination continues today. We categorize dwarf-sized people into cultural genre of its own, which resonates throughout reality TV shows and comedy. Another question that I would like to pose is if this form of categorizing abnormalities extends to the mentally abnormal people? If it exists, then how are these people categorized and how does it affect these people in terms of their health care or social treatment?
Additional reference: 1. Lee Sweetlove, “Number of species on Earth tagged at 8.7 million,” Nature, August 23rd, 2011, http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110823/full/news.2011.498.html.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Your Timeline is Your Storyline
Look back to all the exciting and unexciting times in your life. Did it not seem that those times that were exciting and fun flew by as a fleeting moment. On the other hand, those of the more unexciting times such as waiting in line at the DMV or sitting through a tedious lecture seem to drag on forever. Also, think about when you become cognizant of the time, looking at the clock often in an attempt to accelerate the passing time, but always to no avail. Then, as you look back to all those times, you realize all the years that have passed in your life and wonder where all the time went, all those memories feel like vague dreams.
Time seems to be a cruel force in our lives. It knocks us around and does not give us anytime for relief. Bad times always seem to last much longer than good times. One hour to a person having the time of their life would seem a lot shorter to them in comparison to another person looking at paint dry for an hour, yet they both experience an hour of time. As Bryan Mendez asks in his article, "Time Travel: There's no Time Like Yesterday": "We have a belief that time exists independent of us, but is it perhaps only something that is measured by our minds' and bodies' perceptions?" Time is a topic of human obsession. It permeates our mathematics - as seen in Einstein's theories of special and general relativity (Mendez) - our society, and our personal lives. We love to reminisce about the past and anticipate the future, but the past and future do not exist as is discussed in the podcast, "Hugh Mellor On Time."
The tenses that we use in our language - past, present and future - are not actually part of time (Mellor). We use these tenses as a means of categorizing what has happened, is happening and will be happening to us. Time is actually comprised of events that have occurred earlier than what is happening in this instance as well as those events that happen after this moment (Mellor). We feel that we need to organize the sequence of time in order to understand the sequence of our lives. If I simply stated that I ate a salad earlier than the moment I am currently in, then that leaves a lot of context out. Instead, I would say I ate a salad for lunch around noon today. There is more detail in the latter description. Then, let's say I had pasta for dinner in the evening. Now I have an order to how my day is going. It is becoming a sequence of events, a timeline on which my life is following. This timeline is particular to me and no one else, so when I feel time going faster or slower in certain situations, I am perceiving the pace of my timeline. It is individual to everyone and it is the basis for everyone's storyline, of how they sequence their life from birth until the current moment that they are describing their life to you when you first meet.
Time seems to be a cruel force in our lives. It knocks us around and does not give us anytime for relief. Bad times always seem to last much longer than good times. One hour to a person having the time of their life would seem a lot shorter to them in comparison to another person looking at paint dry for an hour, yet they both experience an hour of time. As Bryan Mendez asks in his article, "Time Travel: There's no Time Like Yesterday": "We have a belief that time exists independent of us, but is it perhaps only something that is measured by our minds' and bodies' perceptions?" Time is a topic of human obsession. It permeates our mathematics - as seen in Einstein's theories of special and general relativity (Mendez) - our society, and our personal lives. We love to reminisce about the past and anticipate the future, but the past and future do not exist as is discussed in the podcast, "Hugh Mellor On Time."
The tenses that we use in our language - past, present and future - are not actually part of time (Mellor). We use these tenses as a means of categorizing what has happened, is happening and will be happening to us. Time is actually comprised of events that have occurred earlier than what is happening in this instance as well as those events that happen after this moment (Mellor). We feel that we need to organize the sequence of time in order to understand the sequence of our lives. If I simply stated that I ate a salad earlier than the moment I am currently in, then that leaves a lot of context out. Instead, I would say I ate a salad for lunch around noon today. There is more detail in the latter description. Then, let's say I had pasta for dinner in the evening. Now I have an order to how my day is going. It is becoming a sequence of events, a timeline on which my life is following. This timeline is particular to me and no one else, so when I feel time going faster or slower in certain situations, I am perceiving the pace of my timeline. It is individual to everyone and it is the basis for everyone's storyline, of how they sequence their life from birth until the current moment that they are describing their life to you when you first meet.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Creation and the Number Two
Order and Chaos
Creation and the Number Two
August 26th, 2014
Sean Zilberdrut
As I was reading through the creation stories told by various cultures, I began to notice that certain quantities were assigned to the creation of the world. For example, in the creation story of Odin and Ymir, it says, "Instead, long before the earth was made, Niflheim was made, and in it a spring gave rise to twelve rivers." The number twelve is a very specific number, where did they get it from? Or how about the Genesis story, of how it took G-d seven days to complete the creation of the world - hence our seven day week. One number struck out among them all and that was the number two. This is a very powerful number as it describes the most basic symmetries in our lives, such as man and woman. It also suggests opposites; of light and dark, water and fire, land and sea, and so on.
What's funny about the number two, is that it seems so much larger than the number one even though the distance between them is one. Its exactly doubled the amount. Think about the difference from one to two and then think about the distance from ninety-nine and one hundred. Both would result in a difference of one, but which distance seems larger? From the Radiolab podcast, "Numbers," it mentioned the ability of babies to recognized differences in quantities. It's remarkable in that quantities seem to be inherent in humans from birth. For example, the scientists behind this study of babies observed increased brain activity when the number of ducks on a screen turned from eight to sixteen. Furthermore, babies have a unique sense in the distance between numbers, such as the distance from one to two seems so much greater than the distance from eight to nine (Radiolab "Numbers"). It is actually described as a logarithmic sequence in how babies observe these differences. Translate this to the creation stories and the power of the number two is revealed.
Take the Genesis story. In the beginning of the creation of the world, "G-d created the heavens and the earth." Here is the first instance of the number two. These also have deep and opposite meanings. Physically, the heavens could mean the sky and the earth is the ground. Add another level to this meaning and the earth could signify our physical world that we dwell in with our bodies and the heavens are the world that G-d inhabits. There are actually two worlds at play here and a very large distance between them. Many people struggle with the existence of a creator, which is illustrated by the distance between the spiritual world and the physical world.
Continuing with the story, G-d said, "Let there be light." Light came forth and now we have light and darkness. Another couple of opposites. Not only is there light and dark, but there is morning and evening associated with these entities. There is a separation between the two; a great distance after which much of our art, literature, culture and religions are based off of.
How does this play into our narrative of order and chaos? Before creation occurred, there was nothing, just a void in which nothing existed; it is something that we as humans cannot conceive. Many of these stories attempt to describe this nothingness, such as the story from the Kono peoples of Guinea saying, "In the beginning there was nothing: neither matter nor light existed." A number we could associate with this is zero, it is void of any value. One might think that a universe devoid of anything may be a very orderly place, since there really isn't anything to order. However, think of what happens when you divide zero by zero. This is an interesting phenomena in mathematics where two distinct extremes collide. If you divide zero by any number other than zero, the result would be zero. On the other hand, if you divide a number by zero, then the result is infinite. Here, both cases could be true, resulting in an indeterminate answer. Huh?! This means that the lack of anything could be a very chaotic place. The fact that we can seek out the mathematics in the universe that we see today means that the place that these gods created is a very orderly place. Not only that, the order that we see from the math of the universe allows us to create devices of our own imagination!
What's funny about the number two, is that it seems so much larger than the number one even though the distance between them is one. Its exactly doubled the amount. Think about the difference from one to two and then think about the distance from ninety-nine and one hundred. Both would result in a difference of one, but which distance seems larger? From the Radiolab podcast, "Numbers," it mentioned the ability of babies to recognized differences in quantities. It's remarkable in that quantities seem to be inherent in humans from birth. For example, the scientists behind this study of babies observed increased brain activity when the number of ducks on a screen turned from eight to sixteen. Furthermore, babies have a unique sense in the distance between numbers, such as the distance from one to two seems so much greater than the distance from eight to nine (Radiolab "Numbers"). It is actually described as a logarithmic sequence in how babies observe these differences. Translate this to the creation stories and the power of the number two is revealed.
Take the Genesis story. In the beginning of the creation of the world, "G-d created the heavens and the earth." Here is the first instance of the number two. These also have deep and opposite meanings. Physically, the heavens could mean the sky and the earth is the ground. Add another level to this meaning and the earth could signify our physical world that we dwell in with our bodies and the heavens are the world that G-d inhabits. There are actually two worlds at play here and a very large distance between them. Many people struggle with the existence of a creator, which is illustrated by the distance between the spiritual world and the physical world.
Continuing with the story, G-d said, "Let there be light." Light came forth and now we have light and darkness. Another couple of opposites. Not only is there light and dark, but there is morning and evening associated with these entities. There is a separation between the two; a great distance after which much of our art, literature, culture and religions are based off of.
How does this play into our narrative of order and chaos? Before creation occurred, there was nothing, just a void in which nothing existed; it is something that we as humans cannot conceive. Many of these stories attempt to describe this nothingness, such as the story from the Kono peoples of Guinea saying, "In the beginning there was nothing: neither matter nor light existed." A number we could associate with this is zero, it is void of any value. One might think that a universe devoid of anything may be a very orderly place, since there really isn't anything to order. However, think of what happens when you divide zero by zero. This is an interesting phenomena in mathematics where two distinct extremes collide. If you divide zero by any number other than zero, the result would be zero. On the other hand, if you divide a number by zero, then the result is infinite. Here, both cases could be true, resulting in an indeterminate answer. Huh?! This means that the lack of anything could be a very chaotic place. The fact that we can seek out the mathematics in the universe that we see today means that the place that these gods created is a very orderly place. Not only that, the order that we see from the math of the universe allows us to create devices of our own imagination!
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