#kivagayle

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Activity 4: Unbiased Perspective Piece

April 22, 2015

Kiva Gayle

Social Domain

To: The Board of Supervisors

Because you have the task of deciding whether the proposed Spectra Pipeline will be placed within our area or not, I have a few possible priorities that I wish to bring to your attention. The first is compensation for the pipeline for those families affected. The second is preservation of the area. The third is possible effects of the implantation of the pipeline for the community and the environment.

Compensation for the Pipeline

The pipeline is going to run through the farmland of some your residents, including the Goodall family’s farm. The company is going to pay them a lot of money to dig up their land, however, the long term costs of the pipeline may exceed the lump sum given by Spectra. The family’s future generation also may not feel the same way about the pipeline as their predecessors do leading to the farmland to losing sentimental value.

Preservation of the Area

Since Madison County is home to many mountains and hills as well as a farmers market that attracts many tourists, If the pipeline implementation destroys the beauty of the area, then the amount of tourists to this area will decrease. The county will, however, be paid a large sum for the pipeline to be placed and it is possible to restore the beauty of the land. Although, this process does take many years to finish and the land will never be fully restored to its original beauty as routine fixes will further disturb the land.

Possible Effects of the Implantation of the Pipeline for the Beyond Madison County

With the implantation of the pipeline, there is the possibility of gas leaks that can cause health issues. Family members that are located close to the pipeline with poor health can be badly impacted if this was to occur. The gas leaks also cause pollution in the atmosphere which can impact other areas in Virginia or farther. The pipeline will allow natural gas to be transported to areas that may need it the most. This in turn can help create billions of dollars in revenue for the United States as it is a versatile, renewable, sustainable gas.

There are still areas that need further research before a decision can be made. One is how much it is going to cost to restore the land after the pipeline is in place. Another is what the likelihood of leaks will be to the area and to what extent the impact is on both air pollution and heath of the residents.

I hope you will take these priorities into consideration.

Kiva Gayle

Social Domain

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The Relationship Between Innovation and Disaster

There are many innovations that transpire throughout history. If all of them resulted in disaster, then either new technologies would take much longer to surface or humankind would be wiped out under all of the catastrophes that would occur. Because our planet has been progressing extraordinarily fast when it comes to breakthroughs in science and technology, it is unlikely that all of them are ending disastrously. Even the most profound innovations don’t always court disasters, for example, the iPhone. It revolutionized the world back in 2007 and changed the game for Smartphones forever. Low and behold there is no disaster on record for the iPhone. I think that the link between innovation and disaster is often steamed from the pressure that comes not from the invention itself, but from societal pressure and the people that are pushing for its release. When it came to the Challenger explosion, management didn’t want to stall the release date and urged the scientists to quickly evaluate the risks to make the ship flight ready. The engineers knew that there were issues with the O-rings and safety, but went ahead with the launch anyway. If they were not under pressure, then the issues could have been evaluated more carefully and closely to prevent such disaster. Societal pressure tends to cause a lot of issues when it comes to innovations. This situation is also prevalent in regards to cold fusion. Jones and Pons/Fleischmann were in such a race to publish their findings for cold fusion that they harmed their research credibility. While this didn’t result in a disaster necessarily, it did cause a setback in nuclear reaction research. I believe that there is a third component to the relationship between innovation and disaster and it is societal pressure. If there wasn’t another person or power pushing for the innovation, there would be less disasters as a result.  

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Langdon Winner vs The Amish: How the Practice of Using Technology is a Reflection of Values

The articles, “Do Artifacts Have Politics” by Langdon Winner and “Amish Technology: Reinforcing Values and Building Community” by Jameson Wetmore both deal with the issue of technology and their influences on society. Winner brought up the point that “… the theory of technological politics suggests that we pay attention to the characteristics of technical objects and the meaning of those characteristics,” something that the Amish tend to really focus on as discussed in Wetmore’s article (Winner 12). According to Wetmore, the Amish use extreme caution when handling newer technologies that come about over time. They pay attention to the “characteristics of technical objects and the meaning of those characteristics” to determine if the technology is appropriate for their society. The Amish are very keen on the preservation of their culture. They understand that technology and social order coexist and influence each other tremendously in such a way that it, “both embeds and is embedded in social practices, identities, norms, conventions, discourses, instruments and institutions — in short, in all the building blocks of what we term the social” (Wetmore 2). This is similar to what Winner was discussing when he mentioned that some technologies that exist have political properties in themselves. These properties affect the society in which we live in. Both Winner and the Amish also reject technological determinism. Because technological determinism means that technology drives the development of social and cultural values, Winner disproves that with his example of the Cyrus McCormick’s reaper in which it was built in order to bring down labor unions, a way that society drives the development of technology. The Amish disprove this by showing how they have the power to use technology as a tool in their advantage rather than technology being an overpowering force.

 There are, however, also some differences in their arguments. The Amish believe that the world is filled with distractions that have to be avoided in order to live a life full of devotion and worship. Winner does not state that he believes that all the distractions should be avoided, instead, they should be looked at in such a way for humanity to take control of the new technologies that arise and not have the technologies run humanity. The Amish also believe that separation from others whom don’t share their values is an appropriate response to the avoidance of new technologies. New technologies, in a way, are unavoidable and what Winner called, “inherently political.” Some technologies require societies to come together to operate it. Another difference is the Amish Ordnung, a spoken and understood rule that regulate the Amish community from the clothing they wear to the technologies that are acceptable and unacceptable. Rather, Winner’s “spoken and understood rule” is both some inventions are designed as a way to settle an issue in the community and others are designed to coexist with political relationships. They are more guidelines for understanding and utilizing the relationship between technology and society rather than rigid rules that everyone has to follow.

Over all, these similarities and differences between the Amish community depicted by Wetmore and Winner’s argument over technologies having politics help society understand that the practices in which we use artifacts and technologies are a reflection of our values. This is shown in both Winner’s McCormick example and the Amish’s decision making on what technologies they consider proper for their community.

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"Proving" The Theory of Relativity: The Differences About How Science Gets Made

During an experiment conducted by Michelson and Morley, they set out to prove that light travels through a medium known as an aether and when the earth moves, it creates an aether wind. Michelson expected the results to show that the speed of light increases by the speed of the aether wind, but when the experiments were conducted, the results proved the exact opposite. Instead, the experiments proved the speed of light moved consistently in all directions. Because this was conducted before Einstein’s theory of relativity and was therefore not understood that light was supposed to have a constant speed in all directions, the null results were considered a science anomaly by many that had “to be explained away” (42). Eventually, it was noticed that the results of this experiment lead to more of a finding rather than an anomaly after the theory of relativity rose to prominence. In this situation, it should be noted that science doesn’t always depend on the results of the experiment. As pointed out by authors Collins and Pinch, “the meaning of an experimental result does not, then, depend only upon the care with which it is designed and carried out, it depends upon what people are ready to believe” (42). Sometimes science gets made based on what people favor rather than what the experiments produce.

After both Einstein’s theory and Newton’s theory of relativity were published, scientists conducted experiments to determine which theory was the correct one. By measuring the extremity of the bend of light coming from stars as it passes through the sun’s gravitational field, they are able to compare the results of this experiment to Einstein and Newton’s theories to see which is closer to the value they obtain. After several trials, it was concluded that Einstein’s theory was closest to the results acquired. The actual data collected was higher than what Einstein predicted, but was still closer than what Newton claimed. This situation when proving the theory was opposite of the Michelson-Morley situation in which the experimental data was more believed rather than what was favored. The data leaned towards Einstein, therefore, Einstein’s theory is correct. On the flip side, science can also be made based on what the experiments produce rather than what is favored by the people.

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The Significance of "What Do We Think, What Do We Know, and What Can We Prove."

Because science can be very tricky and unpredictable, it is important for scientists to have as much of a grasp on the issue at hand because of the impacts it can have on thousands of people. Not only are the scientists working at the CDC worried about the health of the population, their credibility is at stake as well as the funding needed to continue research.

The preliminary question “what do we think” is a gateway question as to “what we know.” By questioning what the CDC thinks about the AIDS issue, they can further determine what they actually know. This leads into the research process of utilizing what they know to find what they can prove.

The question “what do we know” is asked as to establish what information is already understood in order to determine what direction they should take in the research process. What they know creates the solid ground they need in order to begin understanding AIDS and the impact it has on its victims. The CDC recognized that they knew that AIDS was impacting gay men in California and New York. With that information, they went to that location to interview those men who were sick to find the cause of the disease.

“What can we prove” is asked to determine what the CDC needs to research and test. This helps the scientists to figure out what they are able to work with in order to find the results they need to help the increasingly sick population. Sometimes, however, what can be proven isn’t always what is most supported. This is evident when Dr. Frances believed that AIDS and HIV were caused by a sexually transmitted virus, and the CDC was reluctant to prove this theory. 

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Hunter Post - How To Ensure a Meaningful Career

NCIS agent Hunter Post's lecture was very eye opening and helpful. He brought up many points that I had failed to think about when considering a job. I may only be a freshman, but I, like every college student, dream of having a successful career (with lots of money) right out of school.

One of the first points Post mentioned was to not assume you will have a good paying job right after graduating. For most people it doesn't happen like that and it takes some searching and trial and error until you find the right job for you. And while that search is on-going, try not to be insecure. Displaying your insecurities and letting them take over your decision making can really harm you. Confidence is key, even if you have to fake it!

A huge point that Post really wanted everyone to understand was to find a job that creates meaning in your life. Yes, money is important, but having a job that makes you unhappy every day can make your whole life unhappy. Contrary to popular belief, your work life and personal life are completely connected, not separate. It isn't worth it.  Post says to create a balance with a job that makes you happy as well as pays well enough to keep you going. This way everything is content.

I definitely want to make enough money to be able to live nicely, but Post is right, money isn't everything and it takes time before everything is working at a balance. Keeping these tips in mind, I think my ISAT career goals will not disappoint! 

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Science and How It Impacts Me, My Family, My Community, My Generation, My Nation, and My Future

Science is the study of the natural world and how it works using what we can observe through exploration, experiments, and predictions. There are different ways in which we observe the world, for instance, physics is used with matter and energy, chemistry is used to investigate the make up of matter, and biology is the study of living things. Because thing are always changing and evolving, a scientist must always be fluid and able to adapt to new discoveries.

Science impacts me just as much as it does everyone on this planet, however, I pay more attention to it than most people do. Because I am an ISAT (Integrated Science and Technology) major, I learn the specifics of how the world functions and its impacts on society. For instance, in my environmental class, I learned about tropospheric ozone and how it is created by the breakdown of nitric oxide reacting with the oxygen in the air. Nitric oxide is most prevalent in fossil fuel burners and emissions from cars and trucks. I understand that this causes respiratory problems in people especially whom are asthmatic.

This impacts my family as my mother and brother both have asthma problems. The science of tropospheric ozone, without knowing the details of its formation, still has a big impact on them. Those who are asthmatic within my community, my generation, and my nation are also affected. Using what science has taught us through this observational chemistry, my society can take the steps needed to rid the atmosphere of tropospheric ozone.  This means working together to reduce emissions so that their future, as well as my own, won’t be damaged by the ozone.

Science has a huge impact on everyone and everything in the world. Using what is learned through exploration and experiments, everyone can work to find ways to use science to benefit themselves and the planet. Science, however, can also be used to destroy people and the planet. This is why it is very important for society to use it in moderation (even though most people do not).