An Instinct to Acquire an Art from “The Language Instinct” by Steven Pinker

• language is control, language can make others feel emotion, perform certain behaviors, believe certain things--we can change people's thoughts through language
• In speech we learn to inform, to persuade and to entertain
• each technique is different but each technique gives the reader or listening something they didn't have before or changes something they did have
• we all find a way to communicate somehow, even if at first we are unwilling or uncomfortable
• language is a part of all of us 

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2/27/15

•  everything in the world is based on language
• "a common language connects the members of a community into an information-sharing network with formidable collective powers"
• First sentence = hook
• Starting on the journey...

•  automatically persuasive
•  making arguments by examples
• language helps solve problems BUT it also creates conflicts, divides
• knowledge gap
• the more your vocabulary grows...does this help you find the words you need or complicate things
• Last line: is language everything? If we take away language/communication, do we take away personhood?

A Brief History of Time by Steven Hawking

• science and math try to be so definite in their findings, but can we produce a mathematical model for everything?
• nature is interpreted differently by everyone, so is history, therefore nothing is really a "fact", per say, even time
• time, although numbers, again is not definite because it all depends on where you are--time zones--something is happening at the same "moment" but not the same "time"
• religion, philosophy and science used to be intertwined but science has since removed itself from these specialists and yet we still ask philosphical questions in science--aren't theories just philosophy?
• and if we had an answer to everything, wouldn't that just make us God?

Stupid How-To

How to get ready for class in 3 steps.

1. WAKE:

• You must physically wake up and get out of bed. Some people rely on alarms on their phones or clocks which make a sound, waking up an individual. Others can wake up with the sun, or birds chirping at dawn.

 

2. DRESS:

• You must put on clothes appropriate for school. At Wake Forest, that probably includes jeans or leggings, a sweater and riding boots. If you are an athlete you can get away with wearing a Wake Forest sweat suit.

 

3. PACK:

• You must pack your backpack or Longchamp with your notebooks, textbooks and laptop. Remember to pack pens and pencils and a calculator for your math class. Don’t forget your laptop charger as well.