Analysis of Changing Minds by Gardner - Assignment Example

Please respond to each of the 11 questions in essay format; one or two paragraphs to half a page per response In Changing Minds  Gardner talks about Fundamentalism. How does this manifest?  (We are not talking about religious fundamentalism, we are talking about the key philosophical aspects that make up fundamentalist behavior – think outside the typical association of fundamental thought to the roots of what fundamentalism means) What does it do to the minds of those you would wish to change? How can you approach such a person or group and attempt to change their minds? Being a fundamentalist, one adheres to a strict doctrine of thought. Basically, it is similar to a computer in that it already has programmed responses; fundamentalist already have responses in which they are going to act in certain parameters. It makes it extremely difficult to sway the minds of those that are fundamentalist in that they are dedicated to a certain pattern of thought and straying from this thinking pattern can cause them anxiety. In order to convert fundamentalist, you must be able to reconstruct the view so that a person can easily integrate into the mindset. 2.       In Changing Minds Gardner talks of an ‘Integrated viable identity.’ How can the work of a site such as ours impact and attempt to create change in a way that supports the development and enhancement of any existing ‘integrated viable identity’ in any of our readers? (Hint – this is hard to find yet findable – look at references provided in the back of the book to help you find it if needed). This involves the conversion of the fundamentalist to what could be considered the radical and changing point of view. In order for the variable to become viable, he idea that is radical must be integrated into the cognition and memory of the fundamentalist. The final step is taking this integrated thought and moving it into behavior. In terms of the project, you had to not only convince them that the idea of ecologically sound cars is good, but in order to make it integrated and viable, they must move the belief into actions. 3.       In Changing Minds Gardner speaks of ‘Representational Redescription.’  Explain what this is, and whether we have it in our site. If we do, describe where it is and how it works in the site.  Also, explain how you might effectively use it in the future. Representational Redescription is where a reformist must radically change the ideas of the group by reversing traditional roles and values. We did this by showing how traditional technologies are not beneficial. The function of compressed gas does not mean that it is compressed as in explosive like when we think of compressed gas in a can, however the explosion itself can help power as an alternative resource. 4.       In Changing Minds Gardner describes how ‘Designated Driver’ became a household word internationally. Using this model, what could be done on this project or others in the future to successfully establish a similar acceptance of an idea in the average public person? What would you do differently on the project knowing this? This shows that society is actually the driver in change, whether it is locally or universally, such as in reforms for drunk driving and texting while driving. We want the community to push for change in the electric vs CNG debate. In order to get public support, you have to show that not only is it economically feasible, but also that it will make a difference. 5. In Changing Minds, Gardner talks about Wetware, Dryware and Goodware. Explain these terms and how you either used them in our project or how you might use them effectively in the future. Be sure to integrate and compare all three in your response. Gardner used his creative writing techniques to compare our psychological reasoning and aspects in comparison to a computer. Dryware is the basic components in processing and traditional data processing techniques. Goodware is the natural altruistic behavior, which guides people to do morally right actions in society. In terms of our project, Dryware and Goodware are integrated in our project in that the fundamental points of ecological conservation are there, but Goodware comes into play due to the fact that we want to help the environment. Wetware or the ‘mind change will take time due to the fact that we are so reliant on fossil fuels. 6.       By now in the class you have learned that miscommunication, dropped communication and conflicting communication are part of the human experience both in the class and when working with the public. Based on your experiences in the class what communication strategies would you try in the future to attempt to improve upon your ability to successfully communicate either verbally or in writing? What strategies might you try in the future to gain the maximum impact on communicating with the public in general? I would focus on the conciseness and the direct lines of communication through proper delegation. This requires strict interpretation and meaning behind the communication in order to make sure that the directions and the process of making the project work. In terms of communication with the community, public speeches and group advocation are required in order to effectively portray the message of the problem instead of through non-emotional media such as posters and the website. The action of human interaction is essential. 7.       The second half of the class is about implementation. I asked you at the mid-term to set out some goals for yourself for the rest of the term. Please re-state briefly what your goal was and how the pursuit of the goal unfolded for you. Was it successful? Why? Did you run into roadblocks? How did you overcome them? What would you do differently in the future based on what you learned in this class experience about building and working with other team members and the general public? If it was unsuccessful, why? What would you do differently in the future? One of my goals was making sure that delegation of the tasks was equal and effective. I wanted to make sure that the website unfolded the way it was supposed to by equally distributing the work and creativeness behind it. I think that we were successful in that the process of delegation occurred smoothly, although there were always problems with people who either procrastinated or who had to learn how to do the tasks due to lack of training. In light of that, I would try to make sure that everyone’s tasks were tailored to their strengths and such that all the work progresses smoothly. 8.       Consider your interaction with the public, whether it be client, web-based contact or personal contact. One component of the Capstone is to be able to experience service-based learning by providing service in the community. Describe how the work you did in the capstone can benefit the community, and what you would add next or do next to make it more effective if you had the time and resources to do so. We worked on promoting greener technology in terms of energy use. For me, this required researching the pros and cons of the implementation of greener technologies. This technology will not only benefit the society, but it will also benefit the environment and make living conditions healthier. I would then go public with this issue in the schools and communities, maybe even during Earth Day, by informing them of all the green technologies that we have. This interpersonal approach will help sway the fundamentalist and make the information more easily remembered. 9.       Awareness of diversity issues, as they are now in society or might be in the future since diversity issues will always exist to some extent or another, is always an important consideration in the development or evolution of a project. Are there any facets of our project that might be inaccessible or misunderstood due to any diversity issues? If so, describe, and explain several ways these could be mitigated in the future, time permitting. There are not many facets about diversity, which would affect our project since it encompasses everyone and is not a discrimitory issue. However, it is typical that those of minority demographics represent lower economical classes would be less prone to the idea of green technologies due to the fact that green technologies are a bit more costly than their traditional components. 10. For the most part, we are all wealthy, relative to the rest of the world. Some parts of the world live on only a few dollars a day per person and at that level, they don’t often if ever have time to think about sustainability, they are too focused on daily life and surviving. This is a socioeconomic diversity problem. Their level of poverty makes them unable to respond to calls for sustainability, unless programs are developed and implemented that interact with them on their level, day-to-day.  The question: Is it better to put time and energy into educating the wealthier world citizens who can cause greater change and disseminate the message more widely through their influence; or is it better to focus at the bottom and educate and change the minds of the masses of world population at that level; or is it better to spread the same amount of energy into some combination of both? Build and argue your case for one of these three. Support it with your rationale, logic and facts. Remember, regardless of your proposed solution, you only have the exact same amount of energy to put into any combination. Which do you think would yield the better results, and why? I think that it is more important to target those of greater economic status first. This is because like in our service project, the topic of green energy comes with a price tag. They also have the funds readily available to fund such changes. Those in lower economic status levels are more fundamentalist because they live off a strict budget. Education here would be more through awareness and gaining support rather than through actual implementation of policy. This way everyone is being educated, but each is being catered to his/her available funds. 11. Consider our issue this term.  How much did you know of this issue beforehand? How much did you learn this term? What, if anything about the topic, surprised you? What aspects did you learn on your own and what did you learn? Will your behavior, thoughts, or actions change? Do you anticipate educating others after the term on this issue? If so, why? If not, why not? I had the basic understanding of green technology as far as we had alternative resources that we could use. I also knew that we had electric and hybrid cars, even though no one really uses them. I always figured that green technology was too expensive and honestly would not be economically feasible in the real world. This project and research showed me that through proper implementation and planning, the possibility of replacing dirty traditional technology with cleaner green technology for a fair price is a possibility. For a person in my situation, I can anticipate myself supporting these issues such as on campus or in politics, but as a college student, it is hard for me to put this directly into practice since I fall into one of these lower socioeconomic levels. However, I will try my best to help in environmental issues such as through carpooling and conserving electricity/water. Read More