Recently my mom and I have been watching "48 Hours Mystery", a show on CBS that investigates real life murder cases and how they were solved. This documentary type show combines investigative journalism with forensic science and psychology to give a detailed picture of victims and perpetrators in the murder cases. In the past these kinds of murder mysteries would frighten me but my mom has always been interested in forensic science and solving crimes. If she were not a nurse she told me she would want to be a detective to solve murders. I can always remember watching "America's Most Wanted" with her in the past and getting nightmares from the prospect of notorious criminals on the roof. My 9 year old mind seemed to assume that criminals at large resided in my closet or under my bed. As I matured I out grew this irrational fear or so I thought.
This show follows shocking murder cases that seem almost impossible and even horror movie material. From a serial killer on a multi state killing spree nicknamed "The Railroad Killer" to an alluring woman who lured a man into killing her ex lover. This may seem like a creative concept for an interesting character but the fact is, these are real people, real monsters capable of committing the most horrific crimes. These perpetrators are the embodiment of evil and though they are on the extreme left of human conscience their stories are eye opening. Though these stories are very frightening it is useful to have a healthy suspicion of people to remain safe and be aware. I do not mean thinking everyone is out to get you but simply making smart decisions for our personal welfare and for the safety of others. It also reminds us of the evil man is capable of and the good that can come from the absolute worst of situations. The victims who live to tell their stories feel they received a second chance at life and devote themselves to living true and good lives.
I have become very interested in journalism and have been watching many shows and reading many articles to see which area sparks my interest. My mom got me to watch 48 Hours at first and now I am very intrigued by the idea of investigative journalism. The combination of journalism and psychology in 48 hours fascinates me and from this I may have a career prospect.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Hook Apps?? Awkward.
Apple, Inc. has become the second largest grossing company in the world just behind Exxon Oil. With a large array of cutting edge products, Apple has become a leader in technological advancement. Comercials for the iPhone boast apps that can do virtually everything from turning off your garage lights if you forgot to recording your favorite TV show from your phone. Now there is a new app for the iPhone that is a new take to online dating.
The app is called "Skout" and it incorporates GPS and dating. Created by Christian Wiklund (who is ironically married with two kids) created the app to allow singles to "flirt on the go". Wiklund claims that traditional online dating is too much pressure, "meeting a match you found online is like a definite yes". With Skout, the GPS feature allows someone to see singles in their area, giving their location in feet. Singles can instantly find other singles in their area, begin to chat them, and meet up if they would like. Such a case was that of Scott Kutcher and Amanda Segal. During a Jay-Z concert at Madison Square Garden, Kutcher got on Skout to search hot singles in the area. He came upon Segal's profile, thought she was cute, and started chatting her. They decided to meet up for coffee after the show. Segal brought some of her friends for safety precautions. Upon meeting him Segal said, "He could have been a serial killer, I lucked out!".
WOW! That is so romantic...not. This very line shows how ridiculous and dangerous the Skout App is. The whole concept of this app is to find singles in your vicinity. Why not get your face out of your phone, look up and actually TALK to someone? That is a novel idea! This app shows how dependent people are becoming on technology. People are now intimidated by face to face interaction, so instead they flirt and talk over chat, texting, and e-mail. Because the speaker cannot see the other person's reaction they find courage behind the veil of technology, they become more confident and flirtatious. Though when they meet the person and try to talk to them in real life it suddenly their charming confidence is replaced by awkward tension. I feel like this Skout App is the perfect example of this.
Also as Segal so eloquently said before, "He could have been a serial killer, I lucked out!". This app's GPS feature is dangerous and creepy. It allows people you don't even know that obviously wants something more than just a conversation. These people make their goal quite obvious...it is even in the name "Hook Apps" a spin off of "Hook Up". The feature tells you how far away in feet a potential partner is from your location. Though Wiklund claims user can use this feature to "hook up" to go get coffee. But other users have a different idea for "hook up". As this goal is common on the hook apps, people have certain expectations. Because of this, sexual predators or rapists could find easy subjects and locate them with the GPS feature. Though Wiklund provides safety tips such as taking a friend and meeting in public places, the implied goal disregards these recommendations. The Skout App and the other Hook Apps are awkward and dangerous and therefore should be used with extreme caution if they are to be used at all.
The app is called "Skout" and it incorporates GPS and dating. Created by Christian Wiklund (who is ironically married with two kids) created the app to allow singles to "flirt on the go". Wiklund claims that traditional online dating is too much pressure, "meeting a match you found online is like a definite yes". With Skout, the GPS feature allows someone to see singles in their area, giving their location in feet. Singles can instantly find other singles in their area, begin to chat them, and meet up if they would like. Such a case was that of Scott Kutcher and Amanda Segal. During a Jay-Z concert at Madison Square Garden, Kutcher got on Skout to search hot singles in the area. He came upon Segal's profile, thought she was cute, and started chatting her. They decided to meet up for coffee after the show. Segal brought some of her friends for safety precautions. Upon meeting him Segal said, "He could have been a serial killer, I lucked out!".
WOW! That is so romantic...not. This very line shows how ridiculous and dangerous the Skout App is. The whole concept of this app is to find singles in your vicinity. Why not get your face out of your phone, look up and actually TALK to someone? That is a novel idea! This app shows how dependent people are becoming on technology. People are now intimidated by face to face interaction, so instead they flirt and talk over chat, texting, and e-mail. Because the speaker cannot see the other person's reaction they find courage behind the veil of technology, they become more confident and flirtatious. Though when they meet the person and try to talk to them in real life it suddenly their charming confidence is replaced by awkward tension. I feel like this Skout App is the perfect example of this.
Also as Segal so eloquently said before, "He could have been a serial killer, I lucked out!". This app's GPS feature is dangerous and creepy. It allows people you don't even know that obviously wants something more than just a conversation. These people make their goal quite obvious...it is even in the name "Hook Apps" a spin off of "Hook Up". The feature tells you how far away in feet a potential partner is from your location. Though Wiklund claims user can use this feature to "hook up" to go get coffee. But other users have a different idea for "hook up". As this goal is common on the hook apps, people have certain expectations. Because of this, sexual predators or rapists could find easy subjects and locate them with the GPS feature. Though Wiklund provides safety tips such as taking a friend and meeting in public places, the implied goal disregards these recommendations. The Skout App and the other Hook Apps are awkward and dangerous and therefore should be used with extreme caution if they are to be used at all.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Walking in Wonderland: A Look inside Dreams
You are in a forest, you turn around to see a huge bear running toward you, you turn to run but though you try your hardest, you cannot seem to move at all. You turn around to see the bear's snarling snout wickedly close to you...and then you wake up thankfully realizing it was just a dream. Some dreams can be frightening, or funny, or happy. Dreams can be very strange and quite puzzling but what is the purpose of these night time movies in our minds? Just why do we dream?
There has been a fascination about why we dream since the beginning of time. Many cultures believed that dreaming was a glimpse into the spiritual realm. According to World Religions teacher Gail Hartman the Australian Aborigine religion places a strong emphasis on dreams, "Aborigines believed dreams were so powerful that the world was dreamed into being." In other religions, individuals experienced a spiritual calling or the voice of God in a dream as well. In the Bible, many saints and important figures have a religious encounter or realization through a dream. For example, Mary's skeptical husband Joseph was convinced by an angel to be a father to Jesus in his subconscious state. It was believed for centuries and sometimes even in modern times that, as Junior Katie Etchart says, "Dreaming is a one way street to God."
Many studies (both scientific and psychological) have been conducted on the purpose of dreams, why we have them and what they mean. From a scientific stance, dreams are a representation from the sensory areas of our minds. They occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep which makes up for about 100 minutes of sleep. During this period everyone dreams, but the dreams are only recollected if the dreamer wakes up in the middle of or at the very end of a dream. According to psychologycampus.com, dreams help the brain grow by exciting neurons and also play a role in memory. Dreams strengthen connections between certain areas of the brain while releasing other connections so less useful information can be forgotten. According to Ernest Hartmann, professor of psychiatry and director of the Sleep Disorder Center at Newton Wellesley Hospital in Boston, "activation patterns are shifting and connections are being made and unmade constantly in our brains, forming the physical basis of our minds". This principle is part of the Contemporary Theory of Dreaming, which holds that these connections are guided by our emotions. This theory considers that a possible function of dreaming could be to weave new material into the memory system in a way that reduces emotional arousal and is adaptive in coping with trauma or stress. This would be very valuable to early humans who in general probably had many more traumatic experiences than modern humans.
Extensive psychological research on dreams has also been conducted. The most famous researchers of dreams were Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Freud was a physiologist, medical doctor, psychologist and father of psychoanalysis. He is generally recognized as one of the most influential and authoritative thinkers of the twentieth century and refined concepts of the unconscious. Freud defined a dream as, "a disguised fulfillment of a repressed wish". Carl Jung was also a psychologist who specialized in psychiatry and became Sigmund's partner in the study of psychoanalysis. According to Jung dreaming is "the subconscious mind telling you what your awake mind is trying to avoid." Both Freud and Jung spent years studying dreams and how to uncover their meaning. Due to their research many methods of dream interpretation are used today.
Dreams can be interpreted in a number of ways. One theory is that certain objects stand for certain ideas. The meanings of these objects can be found in a dream dictionary, and then their meanings can be pondered from there. These meanings sometimes appear as predictions rather than interpretations of feelings. There can be many significant symbols in a dream, even seemingly small things have an interpretation such as food, or the setting of the dream. For example, important symbols in the nightmare I described earlier would be "bear", "night" and "running". According to "The Illustrated Dream Dictionary" by Russel Grant the meaning of these symbols is as follows: "if a bear attacks you look out , someone looks set to persecute you"; "night suggests obstacles and delays. A really dark night is a sign you are hiding your resentment towards someone who harmed you in the past"; "if you see yourself running you are trying to escape from a tricky situation, find yourself unable to run and it suggests a lack of self-confidence". Tying all these symbols together suggests that a person having this kind of nightmare may be lacking self confidence because of a past relationship or friendship and maybe needs to change their actions for their subconscious realizes someone is not liking how they are treating them.
Another approach to dream interpretation is having the dreamer try to make connections between the emotions they felt in the dream and the events occurring in their lives. This approach was used by Jung in order to get the full meaning of the collective unconscious experience. According to Jung, symbols did not have fixed meanings but should rather be interpreted as a discovery of a hidden feeling or conflict that needed to be resolved. Dreams are mostly metaphorical and NOT literal. The people and places in a dream are associated with a feeling, and the dreamer need only to figure out what emotion they stand for and why they are feeling that way. Hartman uses this method to evaluate and think about what her dreams may mean, "I wake up, write the dream down, and go back and look at them". This process of course can be quite "open for interpratation". Certain things to remember are that dreams often mean the opposite of what they seem to mean and recurring dreams relate that a past conflict or feeling has still not been dealt with and should be.
Dreams are still a mystery to scientists and psychologists who study them. Even those who have extensive knowledge on the subconscious are puzzled by their subjects. Trying to figure out what a dream means can be very intriguing and insightful so try it! Catch some Z's and see what experience your dreams will lead you through. Remember that, as guidetopsychology.com says, "all dreams are essentially telling us one thing...'WAKE UP!'". See if your walk through wonderland can't help you wake up to the conflicts and feelings dying to be more than a dream.
There has been a fascination about why we dream since the beginning of time. Many cultures believed that dreaming was a glimpse into the spiritual realm. According to World Religions teacher Gail Hartman the Australian Aborigine religion places a strong emphasis on dreams, "Aborigines believed dreams were so powerful that the world was dreamed into being." In other religions, individuals experienced a spiritual calling or the voice of God in a dream as well. In the Bible, many saints and important figures have a religious encounter or realization through a dream. For example, Mary's skeptical husband Joseph was convinced by an angel to be a father to Jesus in his subconscious state. It was believed for centuries and sometimes even in modern times that, as Junior Katie Etchart says, "Dreaming is a one way street to God."
Many studies (both scientific and psychological) have been conducted on the purpose of dreams, why we have them and what they mean. From a scientific stance, dreams are a representation from the sensory areas of our minds. They occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep which makes up for about 100 minutes of sleep. During this period everyone dreams, but the dreams are only recollected if the dreamer wakes up in the middle of or at the very end of a dream. According to psychologycampus.com, dreams help the brain grow by exciting neurons and also play a role in memory. Dreams strengthen connections between certain areas of the brain while releasing other connections so less useful information can be forgotten. According to Ernest Hartmann, professor of psychiatry and director of the Sleep Disorder Center at Newton Wellesley Hospital in Boston, "activation patterns are shifting and connections are being made and unmade constantly in our brains, forming the physical basis of our minds". This principle is part of the Contemporary Theory of Dreaming, which holds that these connections are guided by our emotions. This theory considers that a possible function of dreaming could be to weave new material into the memory system in a way that reduces emotional arousal and is adaptive in coping with trauma or stress. This would be very valuable to early humans who in general probably had many more traumatic experiences than modern humans.
Extensive psychological research on dreams has also been conducted. The most famous researchers of dreams were Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Freud was a physiologist, medical doctor, psychologist and father of psychoanalysis. He is generally recognized as one of the most influential and authoritative thinkers of the twentieth century and refined concepts of the unconscious. Freud defined a dream as, "a disguised fulfillment of a repressed wish". Carl Jung was also a psychologist who specialized in psychiatry and became Sigmund's partner in the study of psychoanalysis. According to Jung dreaming is "the subconscious mind telling you what your awake mind is trying to avoid." Both Freud and Jung spent years studying dreams and how to uncover their meaning. Due to their research many methods of dream interpretation are used today.
Dreams can be interpreted in a number of ways. One theory is that certain objects stand for certain ideas. The meanings of these objects can be found in a dream dictionary, and then their meanings can be pondered from there. These meanings sometimes appear as predictions rather than interpretations of feelings. There can be many significant symbols in a dream, even seemingly small things have an interpretation such as food, or the setting of the dream. For example, important symbols in the nightmare I described earlier would be "bear", "night" and "running". According to "The Illustrated Dream Dictionary" by Russel Grant the meaning of these symbols is as follows: "if a bear attacks you look out , someone looks set to persecute you"; "night suggests obstacles and delays. A really dark night is a sign you are hiding your resentment towards someone who harmed you in the past"; "if you see yourself running you are trying to escape from a tricky situation, find yourself unable to run and it suggests a lack of self-confidence". Tying all these symbols together suggests that a person having this kind of nightmare may be lacking self confidence because of a past relationship or friendship and maybe needs to change their actions for their subconscious realizes someone is not liking how they are treating them.
Another approach to dream interpretation is having the dreamer try to make connections between the emotions they felt in the dream and the events occurring in their lives. This approach was used by Jung in order to get the full meaning of the collective unconscious experience. According to Jung, symbols did not have fixed meanings but should rather be interpreted as a discovery of a hidden feeling or conflict that needed to be resolved. Dreams are mostly metaphorical and NOT literal. The people and places in a dream are associated with a feeling, and the dreamer need only to figure out what emotion they stand for and why they are feeling that way. Hartman uses this method to evaluate and think about what her dreams may mean, "I wake up, write the dream down, and go back and look at them". This process of course can be quite "open for interpratation". Certain things to remember are that dreams often mean the opposite of what they seem to mean and recurring dreams relate that a past conflict or feeling has still not been dealt with and should be.
Dreams are still a mystery to scientists and psychologists who study them. Even those who have extensive knowledge on the subconscious are puzzled by their subjects. Trying to figure out what a dream means can be very intriguing and insightful so try it! Catch some Z's and see what experience your dreams will lead you through. Remember that, as guidetopsychology.com says, "all dreams are essentially telling us one thing...'WAKE UP!'". See if your walk through wonderland can't help you wake up to the conflicts and feelings dying to be more than a dream.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Christmas Spending 2010
Though the economy is still in the "Great Recession", Christmas spending did not seem to be especially modest this year. Shoppers flocked to malls to swarm their favorite stores for the perfect Christmas gifts. Though shoppers were more conscious of holiday deals, if the gift they sought was expensive they usually bought it anyway. Gaming systems including the new XBOX Kinect, the new iPad, and new phones including the Verizon Droid were among some pricey gifts consumers opted to buy anyway. Buyers turned to online shopping to avoid the hassle of big crowds at stores, According to CNNMoney.com, consumers spent a record $30.8 Billion this holiday season and spent 13% more than they did last year.
According to CNNMoney.com, favorite stores for this holiday season included department stores (Macy's and Kohl's), clothing chains such as Gap and Abercrombie & Finch, and anything with the Apple logo. Even with the rough economy, Santa certainly came to town in a big way this year.
According to CNNMoney.com, favorite stores for this holiday season included department stores (Macy's and Kohl's), clothing chains such as Gap and Abercrombie & Finch, and anything with the Apple logo. Even with the rough economy, Santa certainly came to town in a big way this year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)