Culture The Minds Eye What The Blind See - 1691 Words

According to cultural anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor, culture is a â€Å"complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.† In other words, culture is a concept that social organizations practice in order to explain certain phenomena in nature whether through mythology, rituals, art, music, and language. However, as explained by Ethan Watters in â€Å"The Mega Marketing of Depression in Japan,† culture is not permanent, since it has the ability, and more than ever in the present society, to â€Å"move across boundaries of race, culture, class, and nation† (Watters 519). In addition, as demonstrated by Oliver Sacks in the articled called â€Å"The Mind’s Eye: What the Blind See,† it is a mistake to think that individuals are bound to behave in a way that culture told them to behave. Instead, individuals are free to create his or her own unique ex perience of interpreting the world. We might consider the â€Å"reality† that we live in to be fiction to the extent that we are willing to use different faculties and analyze what we are witnessing; this gives us the power, as individuals, to think and search for each of us’s unique interpretation of reality. . John Hull, a religious studies professor in England, easily debunks one cultural â€Å"reality† that constantly surrounds blind people, which is: people who suffer from blindness has lost all meaning in life and are less informed regarding theShow MoreRelatedTwo Articles on the Mind and Defense Mechanisms and Coping Method1295 Words   |  6 PagesOf all the human body parts, the mind is the one that serves multiple roles. It is the part that allows humans to turn their knowledge and intelligence into useful inventions. Indeed, it is what makes humans more superior than animals. 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Collingwood begins â€Å"The Principles of Art† by determining to define what is a work of art. He suggests it is made, but not by turning a medium into some thing, and not by use of planning. Here Collingwood considers that it should be determined what sort of â€Å"making† it is when art is made. It is not construction, like a bridge, nor is it accidental. In the past, it was thought that neither the skill of the artist nor his conscious mind had anything to do with art, for itRead MoreThe Identity Is Essential For Identity Essay1757 Words   |  8 PagesQuestions like what the identity means to them, how to perform their identity, does the identity is important to them, and how social mainstream values their identity, is essential for them to have a precise personal image of themselves. A part of individuals’ identity comes from heredity and ethnics, while a part of identity is formed through influence from parents and peers, personal choice, and life experiences. 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Are Harry Potter Harmful for Children Free Essays

Are Harry Potter Books Harmful for Children? As far as I’m concerned, the Harry Potter series are quite suitable for children to read. As we all know, this set of books is written about a boy who is a wizard, and he fights with the devil for the justice, during the process it also show us how to treat our real friends and our family. Some parents and censors consider this book harmful for children to read and try to ban it, because of the manipulation, lying, violence, witchcraft (which they think is against god) and rebellion in Harry Potter books are unfit for children to read, for they will imitate the same thing and learn something adults don’t want them to acquire that early. We will write a custom essay sample on Are Harry Potter Harmful for Children or any similar topic only for you Order Now But I have to say it is just a book, in today’s world if a child wants to know these things, all he need is just to go online and google it, so if they want to protect their children, why don’t they ban the Internet? If you think that because there is witchcraft and devils in the novels which supports satan and defies God, I have to say that you are definitely wrong. If you have ever read this set of books, you’ll find out that it’s just the background and a part of this novel. The witchcraft is just the background which the author set to entertain readers. , because this field is very attracting and can satisfy children’s curiosity. And it also keeps children’s minds open. This world is nothing like the real world, so they can imagine lots of things which can develop their imagination and creation. When J. K. Rolling wrote about this darkness part, she also mentioned the right part. And it is a tale of good triumphing over evil. I think we can’t see this series from just one perspective. We can’t deny it for the author writes about the darkness and the devil then forget that from all perspectives, what she real emphasize and want readers to learn is the braveness, the justice, the friendship, the love, and the family. It taught our children, even adults how to become an upright person. For example, when Harry Potter, Hermione and Ron play â€Å"chess†, for the friendship and the justice Ron sacrifice himself to save Harry. In this real world, many adults can’t do the same thing when they meet with difficulties. If we banned this book, what about Snow White? It i also filled with wicked, blackness things. Instead, we taught our children the correct and proper way by telling Snow White when they are very little. Therefore, why can’t we treat the Harry Potter series the same way or even kinder. It is also a tale for children to learn the world by means of using the metaphor, changing the scene to the magic world. The dark part is not the point, but the love, the moral part that hit the nail on the head. If parents really worried about the darkness part, he/she can read the book for children while explain these for children instead of banning it. Although the censors think that their efforts are benefiting children, in the long run it is destroying them. We are destroying our children’s imagination. We put them in the same frame we set up for them. We decide which kind of books they read, which friend of children they make friends with, which kind of games they play, etc. If all these matters had to be approved and set up by adults, each child would be a mindless, characterless character. There would be no unique qualities to distinguish one from another, all children being of the same mold. If our children grew up with out creativity or imagination and only knew what was approved, this world would become numbing, vapid and meaningless. The Harry Potter series is encouraging the growth of a child’s imagination, allowing our children to grow into fully functioning, creative adults. As for the religious part, they say the book encourages witchcraft. I think they are too mean, too extreme. There are lots of fairy tale and legend for children about witchcraft or magic. We can’t ban and criticize all these things. It is the same with Harry Potter. Just because Harry Potter is so popular and attractive to children, so they afraid the witchcraft will take the place of god, and they try to ban it. They say it’s harmful for children actually on behalf of their own interest, not really for the children’s sake. In conclusion, the Harry Potter books are not harmful for children. On contrary, it will enhance children’s moral standard and imagination. Therefore, we should really recommend our children to read it. How to cite Are Harry Potter Harmful for Children, Papers

Diamond and Cubic Zirconium free essay sample

Diamonds shine and sparkle. Diamonds are very old and are made of a very basic mineral. They are a symbol of portable wealth and thought of when searching for engagement or wedding rings. Money may or may not be an issue, real is better than fakes because value, different colors, and they last for generations. Some people will disagree and think that any gem will do when looking for jewelry. Most people will buy the cheapest stones they can buy. This paper will inform and enlighten any reader to how real diamonds are better than fakes ones. To understand the difference between real and fake, a person needs to know some background on how diamonds are formed, and the process in which diamonds go from ground to what we see today, and some history about diamonds. To understand why fakes are less superior a little history on how they are created and why to choose such a gem would be a costly mistake. Diamonds are made of carbon and with incredible pressure and heat. The heat is said to be at least 2000 degrees, but not much higher than that because conditions will no longer be suitable for their formation. Diamonds come from deep in the earth, around 90 miles or 150km. (Wisegeek. com, 2010). Magma moves diamonds closer to the surface and when the magma cools, it forms a rock called kimberlite. Diamonds may or may not be found in this rock, but it is a likely source. There are several mines throughout the world. South Africa is the largest diamond producing country. Once diamonds are found the stones are then ready for processing. There are four steps to a finished diamond cleaving, cutting, bruiting, and grinding and polishing. The last two are done at the same time. Harlow, G, 1998). When a person goes looking for a diamond most do not know exactly what they are looking for. The amount of money they have to purchase the diamond is usually foremost on the mind. When purchasing a diamond one must consider the Four C’s. The Four C’s are Color, cut, clarity, and carat. Gemological Institute of America (GIA) the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, colored stones, a nd pearls has created the clarity scale and the D-to-Z color scale for diamonds. Any company that has diamonds uses these scales to evaluate the diamonds they have. Most diamonds found in jewelry stores run colorless to near colorless, with slight hints of yellow or brown. The color scale starts with the letter D, representing no color or colorless and with more color the higher on up the scale. Diamonds can come in a variety of colors. The most valuable color is red. Red is also the rarest then comes the colors green, orange, blue, and finally pink. Colorless is still the most popular color people tend to choose for wedding rings. (Renken, S, GIA, 2010). The closer a diamond is too colorless, the more valuable and beautiful it is. The diamondbuyingguide. com, 2010) Clarity is seeing if the diamond has any sort of marks either internal or external. A diamond that has no flaws is very rare. A jeweler uses the GIA grading scale that contains 11 grades ranging from (FL) Flawless to Inclusions 3 (I3). Cut is what makes the diamond shine and sparkle. If the cut is wrong, the diamond will not shine as much as it should. The Scale ranges from excellent meaning that the diamond is cut to perfection and will shine to the most of its ability. The major parts of a diamond are the crown, girdle, and the pavilion. Carat is the last C and is what makes the value of the diamond. If a person were to have two diamonds of the same weight, they can have different values depending on the other members of the Four C’s. (GIA, 2010). A diamond is divided into 100 points, which is equal to 1 carat or 0. 2 grams. The cut of the diamond is so important that the cut is often measured to the hundred thousandths of a carat. Any stone over 1 carat is shown in carats and decimals. For example, if a diamond that measures 2. 08 ct. the decimal shows how many points that stone has. The more points the more expensive the diamond can be. The largest diamond ever found is called The Cullinan. It was discovered in 1905 in South Africa. Originally, it weighed 3,106 carats, but in 1907, it was cut into nine major stones. One stone that might ring a mental bell is called the Star of Africa. This stone weighs in at 530. 20 carats and is set in the royal scepter and housed in the Tower of London. Another of the most popular large diamonds around is the Hope Diamond. Its original weight was 112 3/16 carats, but now years later it is 45. 52 carats and mounted in a pendant. (Harlow, G, 1998). There are many diamonds that are well known and very large. Some other names you might recognize are the Tiffany, The Koh-i-Noor â€Å"Mountain of Light†, and The Centenary just to name of few. The cutting of a diamond has several steps. The jeweler needs to visualize what the stone will look like as a finished product before the next step of cleaving. Cleaving is the best way of dividing a diamond. Cleaving has become easier when we started using lasers to guide in the cutting process. Cleaving splits the diamond on one of its four planes that is weak. A person who cleaves must be very good at what he or she does. If the person does not do this process correctly, it will result in a crushed diamond. Marking a diamond will help in making a notch, this notch will make cleaving easier. To notch a diamond a jeweler needs to use another diamond. Only a diamond can cut a diamond. Cutting is next which is removing a large section of diamond that is not being worked on by the jeweler. Bruting, plainly put is using brute force to round edges. Grinding and polishing come next; grinding is done by using a mixture of crushed diamonds and oil to shape the diamond to the finished product. Polishing is just that, making the diamond shine. Harlow, G, 1998). Diamonds are used to fashion a wide variety of other hard substances, one such substance is tungsten carbide. Diamonds are also used as a cutting tool, an abrasive, and either a powder or paste for grinding and polishing. Throughout history, a person can read about kings and queens having such enormous wealth that they wore many diamonds. Diamonds were wor n by kings and queen as early as the 1300’s. Diamonds were first worn in crowns, coronets and jeweled garlands (also known as rosary). Over the years, diamonds were added to gowns and collars then to accessories like combs and mirrors. Diamonds have grown in popularity ever since. If we look into the past, we see kings; queens and other people of station wear something with diamonds. With the rise of the movie industry, jewelers began to place their diamonds in the movies for free if the movie people would list the name of the jewelry company in the credits. Jewelers started to open stores in Hollywood to attract the rich and famous. This is also were diamond sales sky rocketed. Diamonds helped promote the movie industry and the movie industry promoted the diamond industry. We have seen diamonds used for many different purposes. Diamonds have become the objects of desire in movies as a forbidden treasure or curse, we see people trying to smuggle them in coats, hats, linings and even in human bodies. Movies had people use diamonds as a way of paying for goods or services. An example would be when Linda Fiorentino, in The Moderns (1998), tosses a diamond earring on a cafe table in exchange for a glass of whiskey or Liam Neeson, as Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List (1993), pours a mountain of diamonds on a SS commandant’s desk in payment for a trainload of doomed Jews. One of the most popular diamond look alikes is Cubic Zirconium (CZ); this is a laboratory created gem. A gem that is created in a laboratory is considered synthetic because it was not created by natural means. This is a popular stone to get if money is an issue, the next popular is the synthic Maissanite. Cubic Zirconia became popular in the 1970s. Cubic Zirconium rates higher on the color scale and are almost as brilliant as a real diamond. A Cubic Zirconium rates an 8. 5 on the MOH’S scale and a diamond rates a 10. A Cubic Zirconium weighs more than a diamond of the same size; this is due to the Cubic Zirconium being denser. penoir. com, 2009). A real diamond will keep its value through the whole of its life where as the fake Cubic Zirconium will not be worth as much as when you bought it. Some jewelers will offer a lifetime guarantee for the gem, but why would you need it if the gem were not expensive in the first place. Why have a stone that has no history? History is what gives everything value. Do you think that having a gem that might be 3 million years old is better than a laboratory created gem? Do you think that whoever is getting the diamond would like it more if it had the possibility of being a part of one of the largest stones available?