Epistemology/Article

What exactly is knowledge? How is knowledge received? These questions and others like it are those asked in the branch of philosophy called epistemology. Epistemology is the branch if philosophy that deals with and focuses on the range and nature of knowledge. I believe that epistemology is one of the most important and prominent branches of philosophy. My reasoning behind the previous statement is as stated before epistemology deals with the nature and limits of knowledge. If the notion and nature of knowledge is grasped then a better appreciation and understanding of knowledge comes about. In the context of today's society knowledge is a very prominent and leading role in the function of the society that stands today, if the context of knowledge is grasped a huge part of the modern and advancing society is grasped. I want to close this post by providing a link to an article I found on Seed Magazine.com titled At the Edge of Perception by Greg Boustead. The article is about the work of an artist named Luke Jerram who challenges the brinks of both science and art. Link: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/at_the_edge_of_perception/

Reader Posting

I am typing/writing this post to give readers of this blog a chance to write their own intellectal posts and/or submit intellectual ideas for me to type/write about. If any reader of this blog is willing to submit an intellectual idea or post please send it to intellect.harris3@gmail.com Thank You.

Epidemics/The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Yesterday I finished reading the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. In this post I would like to express the points the author made about epidemics and how they come about. One of the points expressed in the book about epidemics that I found interesting was the Law of the Few chapter. The Law of the Few chapter was based on people called connectors, mavens, and salesmen who aid in the starting points of epidemics. The role and/or premise of the connector is to know and relate many people other than personal friends. The role and/or premise of the maven is to have an expanded(ing) knowledge about things such as cars, deals, etc. The role and/or premise of the salesmen is to find innovators who create and/or start new trends that are not normally found in the mainstream world. Another point the author made in the book is in the chapter called,The Stickiness Factor. The Stickiness Factor chapter is based on how the stickiness of an idea is a component in an epidemic. The chapter used the example of the television show Blues Clues, and how the production of the show propelled its success. For example the show aired one episode 5 days a week which gave viewers the opportunity to make new assumptions and conlusions each time the show was viewed. If any errors are within this post please, please comment.

My Top 10 Favorite Books

1. The Knowledge Book: Everything You Need to Know to Get By in the 21st Century by National Geographic
2. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
3. Showdown by Ted Dekker
4. Psychology for Dummies by Adam Cash
5. The Rough Guide to Genes and Cloning by Rough Guides
6. Think India: The Rise of the World's Next Superpower and What It Means for Every American by Vinay Rai and William L. Simon
7. The End of Food by Paul Roberts
8. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
9. The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage by Alexandra Harney
10. Best 174 Law Schools, 2009 Edition (Graduate Schools Admissions Guides) by Princeton Review

Comprimising Scientists

Are professions and/or fields of/in science being compromised for money? In a past post titled Scientists For Pay?, I provided a short summary on an article I found on Seed Magazine.com which addressed the rise of modern scientists that worked in the industry/for money. In this post I want to provide my own personal analysis on the notion/issue. In agreement with the article, more scientists are paid for their work and are starting to provide skills and knowledge for the industry. The pros of this rising notion is that it provides products and knowledge that can generate revenue for the businesses involved and income for scientists which also helps the economy. Another pro is products are created that better help the general public. Also it creates jobs for scientists and provides valuable workers for businesses. The cons of the rising notion is that the integrity of the scientist is almost tarnished. Also irrelevant and unimportant findings are concluded among scientists who work for the industry. The rise of capitalism can kind of come into play because of the increasing revenues coming in to huge companies and/or businesses. Feel free to comment on errors made in this post or on the topic at hand. Link to post:http://theintellectblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/scientist-for-pay.html
Link to article: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_state_of_the_scientist/

Article

The following link is to an article called Thinking Meta by Jonah Lehrer on Seed Magazine.com about the decision-making process in humans. http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/thinking_meta/P2/

Moral Relativism and Moral Objectivism

In the two contrasting elements of human morality, my belief leans more toward moral objectivism. My belief also spans to moral universalism and meta-ethical relativism. In my opinion, morality is a universal concept that includes some or most universal moral concepts but has exceptions due to certain traditions, cultures, etc. of a certain group of people and/or people. Please comment on any errors made in this post or what you stance is on the topic on moral relativism and moral objectivism.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology. What exactly is it? From the book Nanotechnology for Dummies by Richard Booker and Earl Boysen and my research, nanotechnology is defined as an "interdisciplinary field" that deals with the control of subject matter on a molecular and/or atomic level. The field of nanotechnology is also a field that changes and brings opportunities to different aspects of human life. Examples include advances in the areas of security, health care, technology, and many other fields and/or aspects. Nanotechnology helps to effectively pinpoint tumor(s) in a cancer patient and heat the tumor(s) until it is eliminated. Nanotechnology also helps to create security devices that are sufficient but in small and compact sizes which creates easier and faster transportation. Although nanotechnology is an advanced/advancing field of study, the major implications of nanotechnology will set in within years and/or decades of research.