tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645967494533241272024-03-05T19:01:56.368-08:00Monica's brainMonica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-5169412950737615852015-03-07T08:16:00.000-08:002015-04-05T08:17:26.995-07:00Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The last Harry Potter
book is all that everyone imagined it would be and much more. After seeing the
characters develop and gaining magical powers, now we see them taking their own
path in fighting Voldermort. In the magical world, being 17 allows zoung
witches and wizards to use their power to the best of their abilities.
Achieving this age also means that the magical enchantment which protected Harry
from Voldermort will end. In order to protect Harry, Mad Eye Moody, the
Weasleys, Ron, Hermione, Lupin, Thonks all come to assure that Harry goes into
a secret hiding place. Unfortunately the Death Eaters attack them on the night
when Harry turns 17 and kill Mad Eye Moody and injure George. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hermione, Ron, and
Harry reach the safe house, which in the first stage is the Weasley residence.
There they attend Fleur and Bill’s wedding, a last opportunity to enjoy a
pleasant company. On the same night with the wedding, the Ministry of Magic is overthrown
and Death Eaters attack the Weasley’s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barely managing to
escape alive, Ron, Hermione and Harry flee to London, and hide into 12 Grimauld
Place. There, with the help of Kreacher
find out that the Slytherin Locket is under the possession of Dolores Umbridge.
Using a polijuice potion and concocting a plan to infiltrate the Ministry of
Magic, they manage to retrieve the locket, but are unable to go back into the
house, because one of their attackers saw the location of their hiding. As a
consequence, they chose to go into hiding, never staying in one place too long.
Unable to destroy the locket, they must carry it on them in turns, and under the
dark influence of the locket, Ron starts believing that Harry and Hermione are
laughing about him and in a fit of fury decides to abandon them. Both Harry and
Hermione are devastated, but they continue the quest for the remaining
Horcruxes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During their quest to
find the Horcruxes, they also discover more about Dumbledore’s personal life.
Along with new findings, Harry is tormented by thoughts of being used by
Dumbledore, but is aware that he must trust Dumbledore’s decision of how and
with whom he shared information. Also with the help of Hermione they uncover
that Voldermort is after the Deathly Hallows- three magical objects that have
the power to make one invincible. The Elder Wand- which was in Dumbledore’s possession,
the Resurection Stone- that has the ability to bring back the memory of the
dead ones and the Invisibility Cloak. Harry realizes that the Hallows must be
real and that he is the happy possessor of the Cloak. He chooses to continue
the quest set by Dumbledore: find and destroy the Horcruxes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ron returns to his
friends, just in time to save Harry from drowning. One night, a Patronus, a
silver doe appears and leads Harry to discover the Sword of Griffindor on the
bottom of a frozen lake. As he dives to recover the sword, the ice starts
forming above and he is trapped. Ron appears, saves him, and also destroys the
locket with the Sword. United, the three friends resume their quest. Together the
friends piece together the information that one of the remaining Horcruxes is
the cup of the House of Huffelpuf, the other one must have something to do with
the House of Ravenclaw and one of them is Nagini, Voldermort’s precious snake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One night, as they
attempt to set up camp they are captured and taken to Malfoy residence. Hermione
manages to put a transforming charm on Harry’s face, making it unrecognizable.
They are imprisoned in the Malfoy’s cellar and Hermione is being tortured.
Among the prisoners Harry and Ron find their friends Luna Lovegood and Dean
Thomas, Olivander - the wand maker, and Griphook - a goblin working at
Gringotts. From Griphook they found out that the cup is held in the Lestranges
Vault at Gringotts. With the help of Dobby- the former Malfoy house elf, now a
free elf, the group manages a close escape to Fleur and Bill’s Cottage.
Unfortunately Bellatrix manages to mortally attack Dobby with a knife. After
they arrive at the cottage the little elf dies. Harry is full of sadness as he
loses one more friend and after providing Dobby with a proper funeral, he
negotiates with Griphook the price to break into Gringotts. Griphook asks for
the Sword of Griphindor, and helps the trio get into the vault. After they
manage to take the cup, Griphook gets the sword, and they manage to escape
using the trapped dragon. Flying on the back of the dragon they exit London and
return into hiding. Realizing that the Ravenclaw Diadem might be one of the
Horcruxes they plan to return to Hogwarts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Under the new dark
regime, Hogwarts is managed by Snape and is heavily defended by Death Eaters. They
manage to get inside Hogwarts through a passage that connects Leaky Cauldron, a
place in Hogsmead managed by Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus’s brother, to the
secret chamber in Hogwarts. As they enter Hogwarts they find out a couple of
Dumbledor´s Army fellows are there in hiding and more return as they prepare to
destroy Voldermort. Memebers of the Order of the Phoenix also come and a battle
ensues. Trying to find the diadem is hard work, and with the help of the ghost
in the Ravenclaw tower Harry manages to find the diadem. Unfortunately he is
surrounded by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, and one of them uses a dark spell
sending a consuming fire. The fire destroys the diadem and kills Crabbe. Draco
and Goyle are saved by Harry and Ron and Hermione return after destroying the
cup using the basilik fang located in the Chambers of Secret. Voldermort puts a
siege on Hogwarts, and Harry is called to face him in a face to face duel.
Before he goes into the Forbidden Forrest, Harry tells Neville to kill Nagini,
and he sets of alone, under the cover of his invisibility cloak. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Harry realizes that he
must die in order to defeat Voldermort, and being at peace with this decision
uses the Resurrection Stone to see his family and dead friends one last time. Faced
with Voldermort, Harry refuses to use any killing curse, and although
Voldermort holds the Elder Wand, and casts a killing curse, Harry is not
entirely dead; he only visits a temporary link between the dead and the living.
In this temporary voyage he encounters Dumbledore, who lets Harry know the
secret of the Elder Wand and the fact that Voldermort has simply destroyed the
Horcrux that resided in Harry. Harry returns to the living, and resumes the
fight against Voldermort. He is the true owner of the wand, and although Snape
killed Dumbledore, Draco disarmed him first. Voldermort kills Snape, but Snape
manages to give Harry a last memory that forever changed the way in which he
sees Snape (he was his protector, due to the deep feelings of love felt towards
his mother). Due to the fact that Harry
disarmed Draco he had in turn become the master of the Wand. A consequence of
wand’s alliance to a true master is that any spells cast won’t hurt the
rightful owner, and so the curse sent by Voldermort backfires and kills him.
Neville manages to kill Nagini, and the other members of the Order of the
Phoenix and Dumbledore’s Army defeat the remaining Death Eaters. Unfortunately
in the battle Fred, Nymphadora, Lupin and other students are killed, but the
world returns to a peaceful state. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the prologue we find
Harry having a happy family with Ginny, together having three children: James
Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna, and setting his middle child to Hogwarts
with words of comfort regarding the allocation of a particular house by the
Sorting Hat. Ron and Hermione also have a lovely family with two chidren: Rose
and Hugo. All friends meet on the platform of 9<sup>3/4</sup> to see their
children off to Hogwarts. So end the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The last book of the
series is a complex book that deals with the issue of trust, love, death, while
managing your emotions. One of my favourite scenes is when Ron rescues Harry.
For me this is the embodiment of friendship and it shows the necessary path Ron
had to take in order to redeem his moment of weakness. After he chooses to
abandon them in a fit of fury, he had to find them again by trying to predict
where they will end up. It was an arduous task, but with the help of Snape’s
Patronus he manages to find them just in time. Also the epilogue is beautiful and leaves you
with a sense that all is good in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can only advise you
all to read the books for yourself and discover the magic of J.K. Rowling’s
writing and the fascination of reading about the transformation of the main
characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-78382483774477898792015-02-26T04:22:00.000-08:002015-04-05T04:34:59.374-07:00Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this book, Harry and
his friends are almost grown-up while their fight against Voldermort intensifies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After receiving their results on the examinations following their 6<sup>th</sup>
year at Hogwarts, they choose their own subjects according to the path that
they want to pursue after graduation. Harry further take Potions, but on the directional
instruction of Horace Slughorn, a professor obsessed with tutoring bright
students and creating a web of connection with the most powerful wizards.
During his first Potions lesson, Harry is given and old book to practice the
day’s lesson and it turns out to be a highly commented book, which belonged to
the Half Blood Prince. Following the directions in the book allowed Harry to
create a wonderful potion and win a bottle of Felix Felicis- a potion designed
to give luck to the one that consumes it. Too much of Hermione’s anger, Harry
follows the comments on the book and outshines her in Potions, in the following
lessons. Another development of the year is that finally Snape receives the
post of Professor of the Dark Arts, alongside with Harry receiving regular
lessons with Dumbledore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dumbledore gives Harry
private lessons in the hope of finding out more about Voldermort’s past and
understand how he became obsessed with power. They also find out that in
Voldermort’s pursuit of eternal life he had split his soul in seven Horcruxes (objects
designed to encapsulate one’s piece of soul). Two of the Horcruxes were
destroyed – the Riddle Diary, which allowed the entrance to the Chamber of
Secrets, and a ring, of the heirloom of Slythering House. The ring was
destroyed by Dumbledore and left him with a slowly progressing dark spell that
will ultimately kill him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The quest to discover
the past and understand how Voldermort can be destroyed progresses with the
help of Dumbledore’s memories of young Riddle. Harry finds out more about the
boy and young man that will become the greatest dark wizard of all time. He is
both amazed and shock to find out some similarities between him and the Dark
Lord, while also finding out the one important thing that distinguishes him
from Voldermort: his power to love and maintain a true friendship with Ron and
Hermione. Ron and Hermione help him make sense of all that Harry finds out
during the private discussions with Dumbledore, though they don’t agree with
Harry’s intensive use of the Half Blood Prince’s Potion Book. Furthermore, Ron
and Hermione develop feelings for each other, but Ron is jealous of the
friendship between Hermione and Krum and he ends up dating Lavander Brown,
which totally impedes the friendship between him and Hermione. Luckily Harry
maintains contact with both and somehow manages to go through the year and his
own love life, mostly in one piece. Harry starts fancying Ginny, but fears Ron’s
disapproval, so he keeps it a secret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Upon following Draco
Malfoy into the Dark Alley, Harry is convinced that Draco plans to kill
Dumbledore, and after couple of attempts to smuggle dark art objects into the school,
he starts using his Marauder’s Map and Invisibility Cloak to follow him through
the school. Unfortunately this disturbs his ability to recollect a last piece
of information vital to finding out how Voldermort can be destroyed. Pressed by
time and Dumbledore, one night Harry drinks a portion of his Felix potion and
manages to retrieve a vital memory from Slughorn. With this piece of
information he and Dumbledore manage to deduce the number and the identity of
the last Horcruxes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In one night, almost at
the end of term, Dumbledore asks Harry to accompany him in the journey to
destroy one of the Horcruxes (the Slytherin locket). They go to one remote
place where the young Riddle was on holiday and there they manage to pass all
the charms, only to find out that the locket was a replica, the real one being
in the possession of R.A.B. When they
return to Hogwarts, they find the school being attacked by Death Eaters, and
in the feath of the Battle, they go up in the Astronomy Tower, where cornered
by Draco, Bellatrix, and other Death Eathers, Dumbledore is being attacked.
Harry cannot defend his mentor, being immobilized by a spell under his
Invisibility Cloak. Then his worst fears come to life: Draco tries to kill
Dumbledore, revealing a pact made with Voldermort, but is unable to kill and so
Snape kills Dumbledore. Paralysed with pain, Harry tries to scream and fight
back, but only when Dumbledore dies the spell is lifted and he can pursue the
attackers. The whole school is fighting the Death Eaters, and after Snape and
the others escape the premises the whole school turns to Dumbledore’s dead body
and mourns the loss of one of the greatest wizards of their time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the aftermath of the
fight, Ron and Hermione forget their dispute and rekindle their friendship and
also Harry enters a relationship with Ginny, having Ron’s blessing. Without
major events, the school-year ends. The friends decide to continue Dumbledore’s
quest, to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What I enjoyed the most
in this book is finding the characters developing insights into their own
personal life and personal development. You can feel that the characters are
growing-up, as they become more aware of others and their feelings alongside
with discovering a purpose for their own abilities, and how to use them in
their fight against evil.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-73858835862184357692015-02-17T03:50:00.000-08:002015-02-18T04:23:31.897-08:00Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The fifth book in the
Harry Potter series begins with Harry being attacked by Dementors as Dudley and
he return home one late summer evening. Forced to use magic in order to ward
off the attack, Harry receives a letter from the Ministry of Magic and is accused
of underage magic and expulsion from Hogwarts. He is even subjected to a
hearing at the Ministry of Magic and only after a witness testifies in his
favour he is free to attend to Hogwarts and continue his schooling. At the
Hearing, Harry meets the under-secretary, Dolores Umbridge, which will play an
important negative role in the new school year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a consequence of the
dark activity and the Dementor attack, Harry goes to a safe hiding place, the
house of his godfather - Sirius Black. There, he meets his friends and is
introduced to members of the Order of the Phoenix, a group of witches and
wizards led by Dumbledore in attempt to fight Voldermort. At the headquarter,
Harry finds out about the extensive campaign to discredit his name and claim
that Voldermort is back. His emotions intensify as he experiences more dreams
and scar pains related to Dark Lord’s activity. He demands more information
from Dumbledore, but is denied in an uncharacteristically cold fashion by the
Headmaster. Feeling more and more misunderstood and left out from the Order,
Harry’s emotions grow and he finds himself experiencing more and more scar
pains, dreams and also Voldermort’s emotions. Sirius becomes his confident and
friend and helps Harry to understand the importance of training his mind and restraining
from acting impulsively. Sirius is also bound to remain into hiding after
Malfoy recognizes him, when disguised as a black dog. On this note of secrecy,
Hermione, Ron and Harry begin their fifth year at Hogwarts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The magical world seems
oblivious to Voldermort’s return, and the Ministry of Magic interferes with
Hogwarts educational politics, by instating Umbridge as Defence against the
Dark Arts teacher. Umbridge is an avid power seeker and doesn’t miss any
opportunity to gain power in Hogwarts, by forcing stupid decrees and laws. She
even bans the use of courses in her class and uses barbaric methods on students
that receive detention. Needless to say, she hates Harry and tries to force him
to remain silent by having him in a long detention period and ultimately
banning him from Quidditch and locking away his broom. As a reaction to all the
restrictions set by Umbridge, Hermione, Ron and Harry create a secret group,
Dumbledore’s Army, in order to practice Defence against Dark Arts. The group
has members from different houses, and they meet in secrecy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After Harry experiences
a dream in which he sees Voldermort attacking Mr. Weasley, Dumbledore urges him
to start training Oclumency with Professor Snape in order to close his mind from
Voldermort’s influence. Harry ignores the practice of closing his mind and is
constantly haunted by nightmares in which he goes in the Department of Mysteries
and searches for a weapon. In one of the meetings with Snape he breaks into one
of Snape’s early memories, and sees the young professor being tormented by
James Potter (Harry’s father) and his group of friends. Feeling the urge to better
understand his father’s behaviour he contacts Sirius in order to hear the story
from him. Slowly he realises that everyone makes mistakes and nobody is
perfect, and he too must try to contain his anger, frustration and negative
emotions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Without the practice of
controlling his mind and emotions, Harry believes one nightmare in which he
sees Sirius being held captive in the Department of Mysteries. Unable to
contact Sirius he decides to go and save him. He is accompanied by Hermione,
Ron, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom in their attempt to
break into the Ministry of Magic and rescue Sirius. Only after the group succeeds
in retrieving a prophecy concerning Voldermort and Harry, did they realize that
they have been lured into a trap. Death Eaters appear and try to steal the
prophecy and in the fight Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna are injured,
and the prophecy is destroyed. Coming to Harry’s help Sirius, Lupin and Mad Eye
Moody alongside a group of Aurors appear. Unfortunately, by the time Dumbledore
appears Sirius is killed, but he is successful in withholding Voldermort and
catching the group of Death Eaters. Following this battle in the Ministry of
Magic, the officials, led by the Minister – Cornelius Fudge, are forced to
recognize the return of the Dark Lord and take action. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Losing
the closest person he had to a father is proving very painful to Harry and he
feels like he needs to avenge him and also to punish Dumbledore for not helping
him earlier. Dumbledore finally tells Harry the truth about why he was left in
the custody of his aunt and why he wanted Harry to learn Occlumency. Apparently
the great spell that enabled Harry to live after his parents were killed is due
to the immense love that his mother had for him. This tie of blood must be
renewed constantly, thus the need to return and live with his aunt and uncle
every summer. Understanding this, but reluctant to the idea of a fun less
summer, he goes on to spend his summer holiday in the company of the Dursleys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this book, we see
the maturation process of emotions and also the need to contain impulses whilst
listening to the advice of other. We are forced to trust our loved ones even
when they don’t share the full information. Without this trust we are bound to
make mistakes, possibly costing us more than just our pride. In Harry’s case
his mistake of failing to listen to the advice of his mentor and friends led to
Sirius’s death. This left him with a feeling of emptiness and the realisation
that he contributed to his godfather’s demise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A moral idea of the
book is that we need to contain our impulses and also listen to the advice of
others even if we think we are misunderstood or nobody feels the way we feel
about a particular experience. We are not alone and the greatest power that we
have in overcoming any challenge is to love, trust and listen wholeheartedly to
our friends and mentors. I believe everyone (myself included) needs to remind
her/himself that s/he is not alone and that we can ask for help or receive
advice even if we think we don’t need it. Extra knowledge and advice from
others are signs that people care about us and our well-being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-68422842634359786842015-01-22T01:55:00.000-08:002015-02-18T01:57:22.000-08:00Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the fourth Harry Potter
book, as Harry grows he attends the Quidditch World Cup and is a participant of
the Triwizard Cup, which is held at Hogwarts. Both events are deemed to foster
cooperation between wizards and witches from around the world. Even though in
the magical world the returning of Voldermort is kept secret, signs of his
return appear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the Quidditch World
Cup, at which Hermione, Ron, Harry and the Weasley Family are all present, the
Dark Mark of Voldermort appears after a group of Death Eaters start killing
half-blood wizards and witches. The resulting wave of panic is blamed upon a
house-elf belonging to Barty Crouch’s family (an official of the Ministry of
Magic) and an unofficial investigation concerning the identity of the Death
Eaters begins. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Harry is convinced of
the importance of this dark activity, as he experiences pains in his scar and strange
dreams about Voldermort’s activity. Dumbledore sets put extra precautions, and
he even bans students under the age of 18 years to compete in Triwizard
challenge. In order to compete at Triwizard Tournament, participats from two
other prestigious schools: Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrive at Hogwarts,
alongside Ministry of Magic officials. The guests are received with curiosity
and enthusiasm. As a mean of selecting suitable champions from the schools the
Goblet of Fire (an ancient magical sorting device) is used. It comes as a
surprise that after the election of Cedric Diggory, from Huffelpuff House – Hogwarts,
Viktor Krum from Durmstrang and Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, Harry´s name
is also selected, without him entering in the competition. With suspicions over
the person which entered Harry´s name is trying to kill him, his friends and
close professors seem to help him figure out clues on how to overcome the three
challenges. As he finds out the nature of the first task he also shares
information with Cedric, managing thus to get the golden egg protected by a
fierce dragon. In the second task, Cedric repays the help by giving Harry a
clue on how to open the egg and understand what the second task will be.
Between the first and the second task a great Yule Ball is given, and Hermione
attends it with Viktor, leaving Ron to feel for the first time a surge of jealousy
and to notice that he has certain feelings for Hermione. Harry and Ron attend
the party with the Patil sisters (Padma and Parvati), but end up talking to
each other the whole time, as neither really fancies the girls. In the second
task they must recue the loved ones from the lake, where they are guarded by
Meerpeople. Harry’s need to be assured that all the captives are rescued almost
cost him the points, but in the end the judges decide he showed moral fibre and
award him points nonetheless, sending him in the second place for the Cup. The
last task is a Maze completion and as he and Cedric decide to reach the cup at
the same moment they are transported to Voldermort´s whereabouts. The cup was a
portkey, bewitched to bring Harry to the Dark Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
the fight to save their lives, Cedric is killed and Harry manages to escape.
Harry shows incredible strength when duelling with Voldermort and realizes that
his wand and Voldermort’s are sister wands, having been made with magical
feathers from the same phoenix bird (Fawks - Dumbledor´s phoenix). After Harry
returns with Cedric’s dead body, nobody believes him that he had to duel
Voldermort, and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, goes to great lengths
to publicly discredit this claim. Only Dumbledore makes the information known
to students in the end of the year feast and sends cautionary messages to all
witches and wizards who believe him. In this note, the school year finishes and
Harry is left to return once again to his uncle and aunt at Privet Drive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The book follows the
same themes such as death, friendship and bravery as the previous ones. It is
enchantingly well-written and makes you think twice about the important
decisions and trials in one’s life. I am reading it from an adult perspective
and I am always amazed at the meanings which appear in the book. For example,
how to deal with challenges set ahead of you and also how we tend to regard
everything that has come to pass as something that was bound to happen. It
seems he have a certain need to think that once we overcome something we were
always meant to live it, and how we tend to forget the anxiety and stress that
accompanies our struggles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-77564658152016422572015-01-14T03:23:00.000-08:002015-01-25T03:25:01.915-08:00Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The third book in the series
opens with the story of a dangerous criminal wizard (Sirius Black) escaping the
maximum security prison called Azkaban and going after Harry Potter. The action
thickens with the arrival of new security measures at Hogwarts, Dementors -creatures
that thrive on any sad and traumatic memory. Dementors are the keepers of
Azkaban, ferocious creatures that can kill by sucking the soul out of a person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Harry enters his third
year at Hogwarts and finds himself highly protected against the threat of the
escaping criminal, rumoured to be after him. Unfortunately he is very sensitive
to the presence of Dementors that keep making him re-experience the night in
which his parents were killed by Voldermort. Due to an accident when playing
Quidditch (the most popular sport played in wizard world, and one at which
Harry is extremely good) theyr professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, Pr.
Lupin, decides to help Harry conjure a Patronus, a charm that works against
Dementors. Everyone in the school seems to have their watchful eyes on him, as
he is considered Sirius target. Because the students are allowed to visit a nearby
town of witches and wizards, Hogsmead, Harry resorts to his Invisibility Cloak and a
gift from the Weasley twin, a Marauders Map, to join his friends there. Using
this Map unveils to him the story of how his father was a close friend of
Sirius, and how betrayal leads to the death of Harrys parents. With a surge of
revenge, he wants to avenge his parent’s death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The theme of this book
seems to be overcoming the sadness of losing your loved ones and also finding
resources to go through the sorrow and become optimistic about the present and
the future. The lesson for me was that one should never let him/herself be
stuck in the past, because only remembering the suffering and negative experiences
will send you to your own personal prison. It is a powerful analogy that is
spot on with how depression evolves and is maintained. Whenever we find
ourselves stuck on our failures we are doomed to relive them and in doing so we
experience the same level of sorrow and negative effect. Only when we focus on a
positive experience we escape the sorrow of the past and live the present in
peace, without any shadow of regret lurking upon us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With the obvious help
and courage of his friends, Hermione and Ron, Harry discovers the truth about
Sirius Black, how he was his father’s best friend, and in fact didn’t betray
them. He found out that his father, Black, Lupin, and Wormtail have created the
Marauders Map, because they wanted to be all the time with their friend. Lupin
is a werewolf and when studying at Hogwarts he had to go every month in a safe
place to transform, and be secluded for the safety of other students. The other
three friends wanting to show support for their friend decided that they would
transform into animals and continue they adventure into different forms. So
they became illegal Animagus, and roamed the school grounds in peace. But as
they grew older, it was obvious that while James Potter, Sirius and Lupin were
much more gifted at witchcraft than Wormtail, and the latter joined forces with
Voldermort in order to achieve power and influence. It was him who had betrayed
Harry’s parents, and upon killing about 20 wizards and framing Sirius for the
murders he continued to live as Ron’s pet rat. Discovering this and seeing
Wormtail transform into human form allows Harry to see his godfather in a new
light and hopes of visiting him and living with him, instead of the Dursleys
bright up his future. Unfortunately,
even if they discover Sirius innocence they cannot prove it to the Ministry of
Magic and Sirius is forced to flee into exile. Harry manages to conjure a
beautiful powerful Patronus Charm that saves Sirius life and allows Harry to
realize that he can be happy again and that he can indeed experience great
happiness, not only sorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As with the previous
books, this one is superbly written and it is a pleasure to read it and reflect
upon the fantastic adventures that the characters go through. I have presented
a very short summary of the action, deciding to focus on only those aspects that
I find important. One of which was the constant training on beeing aware of positive
experiences when you are faced with recollections of bad events. This is an
important ability to master, as it protects you from being enslaved in your own
prison of sorrow and despair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-6978754163450363542015-01-07T01:53:00.000-08:002015-01-25T01:54:34.916-08:00Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the second book, the action grows as the
characters grow older. I like the book and how it’s written. Prior to starting
the Harry Potter series I haven’t read any books that follow the character as
s/he grows older. This type of "Bildungsroman" is really enjoyable. Along the narrative
lines of the novel you can almost feel some parts which are suitable for any
stage in life. For example, I find myself now on the edge of learning German, building
my life in Germany and all these seems to take me in a stage where I did attend
school and did have some nice adventures with friends. Of course, for me right
now it is much more similar since I do have to go every morning to school and
learn German and afterwards do my homework and practice speaking. But, I should
return to the novel and present a bit of my opinion on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The theme of the second book seems to be overcoming
fear. Fear of not being good enough and finding courage through the unconditional acceptance given in a friendship relationship. Treating the
problem of lineage, from which background the characters come, Rowling
beautifully discusses the issue of friendship and how this can overcome any
superficial and semantic barriers put by the society. Harry is a pure wizard,
descending from both wizard parents; Ron comes also from a long line of wizards
with only Hermione being of Muggle (non-wizard parentage). This mixture of
background isn’t a problem for the trio, but in the face of Dark Magic it becomes
problematic, as Voldermort and his followers try to exterminate all non-wizards.
With Hogwarts being attacked from inside by a dark magical creature, the time
is ticking for Harry, Ron and Hermione. They must find remedies to stop this
creature from killing students. Following their attempts to discover who and
what lurks inside the school, Hermione gets petrified and the two boys discover
an important clue about the identity of the monster. It is a Basilisk and can
kill only with a stare. This strange and powerful monster was summoned through
a manipulation of Ron’s sister Ginny, which used an old diary of Voldermort,
and in doing so transferred her energy to the Dark Lord. By this strange
mixture of events, the identity of the Dark Lord is revealed as the
young-bright Muggle born wizard Tom Riddle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course Ron and Harry manage to find the entrance
to the secret chamber, by using logic and the clues put together by their
brilliant, but petrified, friend Hermione. Killing the Basilisk with its own
venom and destroying the diary in the process, Harry rids the school of danger
and can enjoy the rest of the school year with his friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was an enjoyable second book, and I am glad that I
could start right away to read the third book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-84900707192615242392014-12-31T17:30:00.000-08:002015-01-02T01:16:23.715-08:00Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, I have read the first book in the Harry Potter
series. I have fallen in love with the way in which it is written. It is simply
captivating. You would think that after seeing the movie series one wouldn’t be
so captivated about reading the actual book, but this is one example of those
cases in which the book is so entertaining that you simply cannot stop reading
it. A wonderful adventure of Harry Potter and his friends Ronald Weasley and
Hermione Granger is unveiled before your eyes. I have to admit that all the
faces of the characters for me where those of the actors in the movies. I just
couldn’t imagine any other face to the name. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is one piece of literary craftsmanship that you
have to read for yourself. I am now bewitched by it and will continue to read
through the series. It is just beautiful! more delightful than I have imagined
it to be. The way in which Rowling presents the characters and their reactions
to the events is just simply natural and it seems to come with an ease that
makes you wonder at points whether she has seen the persons in action. I
particularly liked the way in which she described Prof. McGonogall’s stern look
and her reactions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are many other examples in which the book is astonishing
but that is left for other readers to discover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even though this is not exactly a book review and it
is my opinion on it, I still though it is worth mentioning. There are other
great reviews of the book and one must not invent the wheel in order to enjoy
the movement (a bit of artificial paraphrasing ;)).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-51069932240174857032014-12-26T04:09:00.000-08:002014-12-27T04:13:14.249-08:00Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The book is a beautiful philosophical introduction to planetary astronomy. I like the way in which Sagan presents the arguments for the necessity of exploring the space. We live in a limited environment. Our confined planet is a
pale blue dot in space. This is all that we have and all that
we are accustomed to. It gives you a perspective on our struggles as a species
in the vast incommensurable Universe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YqlqqZDFe5Eg9saqpSalDGifWZtLErW55pTfRa5VCDSG_EV492KnbfX8_HW8K4dC1V9bTMm2k1nY1nkXpXOPMpDUz_hcs9qWVUVPXeGtqqk0WmluhvAz56a-BXOLqMO8qprCD9nRuzZ7/s1600/pale-blue-dot-voyager-earth-nasa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YqlqqZDFe5Eg9saqpSalDGifWZtLErW55pTfRa5VCDSG_EV492KnbfX8_HW8K4dC1V9bTMm2k1nY1nkXpXOPMpDUz_hcs9qWVUVPXeGtqqk0WmluhvAz56a-BXOLqMO8qprCD9nRuzZ7/s1600/pale-blue-dot-voyager-earth-nasa.jpg" height="283" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Humans have come a long
way since believing that the Universe was all that we saw and it was created to
suit our purposes. Science provided us an objective way of seeing ourselves for
who we are: an intelligent life form that is evolving. Our evolution was formerly
confined to the exploration of our planet, but as we grow in numbers we are jeopardizing
our future. We must find new ways to colonize the space if we are to evolve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before reading the book
I was aware of the limited resources that we have on the planet. I was also
aware of the struggles that scientists had to overcome in order to broadcast
their findings and the negative role that religious institutions had on stopping
the progress of science and technology. After reading it, I feel like we [the
human species] are foolishly thinking that we could circumnavigate the problems
that we have created: global warming, the thinning of ozone layer, the overpopulation
and the modification of life-threatening viruses. These problems are already
taking a toll on how we live. We are more prone to climatic changes and the
scarce food resources already determine a struggle for survival. These are
important points to consider and problems that Sagan has foreseen more than 20
years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, it is refreshingly
encouraging when I see the human species for what it is. It is a species with
vast potential for evolution, creation and destruction. The perspective given
by the planetary exploration probes Cassini, Voyager I and II, and the Apollo
missions, are crude, objective status of what we are. We are a fragile species.
We have evolved more in the last 100.000 years than before, and our evolution has
pushed other species into extinction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The search to find new
inhabitable places brings hope and sense of purpose into our evolution. Scientists
are finding new planets, satellites, asteroids with a chemical composition that
would put our ingenuity to the test if we want to make them inhabitable. The
terraforming, as Sagan calls it, would create suitable living condition and
creation of human outposts on the Moon, large asteroids, and Mars. It would be
a new kind of migration and would need the concerted support and involvement of
all the nations. We must find solutions and find them fast if we want to secure
our place in the universe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am optimistic about
the future when I see the progress made with colonizing Mars and also the
research into safely landing and taking off from asteroids. Maybe there is hope
for the human species. Maybe I will see it in my lifetime. Carl Sagan’s book is
a beautiful exposition of the reasons which motivate the search for intelligent
life and also for places were humans could continue living after Earth has
exhausted it resources and the environment in no longer suited for life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-27378583191235161552014-12-03T06:53:00.000-08:002014-12-21T06:55:12.532-08:00Scotland's Stories of Home<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8TB-y1PcwQq6PhA8r5eeU3osXgMwm2ZWdaRzjLus59pZNhNcHzpkTJ7dRXk5GitOG94DPAStdTPuT45TWOiuzk2TQJ7ugdAcDPOKnc3xQgkxLI277noRHqcZ-Wl7s__GPtttrRf54zXs/s1600/targul+de+Craciun+in+Edinburgh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8TB-y1PcwQq6PhA8r5eeU3osXgMwm2ZWdaRzjLus59pZNhNcHzpkTJ7dRXk5GitOG94DPAStdTPuT45TWOiuzk2TQJ7ugdAcDPOKnc3xQgkxLI277noRHqcZ-Wl7s__GPtttrRf54zXs/s1600/targul+de+Craciun+in+Edinburgh.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This November as I went to Edinburgh for the
Graduation Ceremony of my MSc studies I was offered this book with short
stories from Scotland. Offered by the Scottish Book Trust as part of the Book
Week Scotland it provides a great opportunity to come in contact with beautiful
stories about places in Scotland. I am proud and happy to be able to call
Edinburgh my home for the last year, and even though I am not Scottish I feel
like the magic of the place will forever live in me and also guide my path to
going back there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Scotland reveals itself as a welcoming place, full
of international people that bring flavour to the place and also place their
dreams in the service of their adoptive country. It distinguishes itself through
its rich history, an amazing place to live and learn and also for offering you
a sense of community. Reading the short stories you are transported in place
you wish to go, to feel joys and share the sorrows of the Scottish people. This
small book achieved a great mission as Scotland’s emissary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-4445104699810001012014-11-20T06:19:00.000-08:002014-12-21T06:22:04.219-08:00The Sleepwalkers - How Europe went to war in 1914<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am always amazed at
how decisions taken by a handful of powerful figures can alter the course of
humanity. The story of how the First World War started in 1914 fits perfectly
in the setting of the early 20<sup>th</sup> century Europe, when great
monarchies struggle to manage vast empires. The Austro-Hungary Empire appears as
the main character in the story, with the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
and his wife Sophie on the 28<sup>th</sup> June 1914 igniting a diplomatic and
military mobilization. Another important role is played by Serbia, which foster
the terrorist movement for the unification of all Serbs and was responsible for
the assassination. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Christopher Clark brilliantly
presents the course of events that lead to the murder of Franz Ferdinand and
Sophie Chotek, while detailing the background conflict between alliances forged
in the pre-war wars. Great Britain’s alliance with both France and Russia
allowed her to maintain vast colonies in Asia and Africa, while not endangering
its North African stronghold from France and Germany military advances. On the
other hand, the Russian Empire wanted to obtain control in the Bosporus
straight and also suzerainty over the newly formed Balkan states: Bulgaria and
the Kingdom of Serbia. Germany was advancing both technologically and
economically in the world stage and this enabled the empire to provide
assistance for African States in the independence struggle against France and
Great Britain. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was ethnically too vast to be united
and also employed a slow bureaucratic system that would prove to be a premise
of its demise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When you read about
these economic and political subtleties, you cannot stop and be amazed with the
way in which the emperor and kings played such an important role in both maintain
peace and also engaging in war. Austrian-Hungarian Empire was portrayed by the
international press as an oppressor of the newly independent Balkan states and
as a dying empire, with Germany as the main supporter for its external
policies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The book is a
monumental work on how the First World War broke in the summer of 1914, and
after reading it I gained more knowledge about the intricate political work of
empires and states. The external affair cabinets were powerful in dictating
directions for alliances and the influence with which the ministers exerted
this is astounding. Even though I cannot claim to understand all the reasons
for which Europe engaged in a global war, it is clear that all the key
decisional figures were ready and anticipating the war as necessary for the
establishment of new order. Looking back through the lenses offered by knowing
past events it is hard to imagine how such a war was necessary. Sadly it
happened and was the deadliest conflict in human history. 100 years later it is
necessary to understand how WW1 started, in the hope of preventing such
catastrophes from ever happening again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-39903844686353904872014-09-30T12:00:00.000-07:002014-10-25T02:05:46.838-07:00Wine: A Cultural History<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having a little more
time after finishing my dissertation studies I decided to start cultivating my
love of wine and what better way to start than reading about its history? And
what a history wine has! It starts sometime between 8500 BC at the earliest and
4000 BC at the latest (p.11). The book is perfect for afternoon readings,
especially if you have a glass of nice wine to accompany it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">John Varriano carefully
selects historical sources to carry you through the journey of wine making and
consumption, from ancient times to modern day times. It is beautifully illustrated
with works of art: sculpture, pottery, paintings and lithographs, all
thoughtfully inserted to make the reading more enjoyable. It made me aware of
the importance of wine in all rituals and aspects of life, in ancient Greece,
where the drank wine mixed with water, than in ancient Rome, where members of
high class used to feast on wine taking it as a reminder of <i>momento mori </i>and <i>carpe diem, </i>whilst also encouraging the people to drink it for
medicinal purposes. Often time throughout the history wine was used to cure
various ailments both topically and internally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Galen’s account of wine
usage for treating wounds is one of the most vast and attentively constructed
medical books of those times, widely used until late 17<sup>th</sup> century,
describes mixes of herbs with wine and even usage of wine as a disinfectant for
open wounds. It really made me think twice about what natural medicine can do
in order to cure diseases, especially those linked to mineral deficiencies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story of wine and
how it became widely enjoyed by all people also describes the first wine with
controlled denomination, <i>Château
Haut-Brion – founded by Jean de Pontac- 1550</i>, to be named by the region
where it was made. Wine continued to be enjoyed by members of high class,
royalties and popes (<i>Châteauneuf “Vin du
Pape” – 1316-1334</i>) (p. 103). The pleasure and rituals associated with wine are
depicted beautifully in art. Works of art: painting of Michellangelo, Leonardo
da Vinci, Bellini and Titian, Rubens, Poussins, Vermeer, and sculptures and
lithographs embroider the story and make you wish you could see them all first
hand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Modern time abounds with
pictures, descriptions and studies all hailing the benefits of moderate wine
consumption. Starting with wine’s effect as a means of aiding people suffering
from minor social inhibition and continuing with recent studies suggesting that
by drinking wine we attain longevity and better health, the list is vast. It
makes you wonder why with every meal you don’t appreciate the curative and
pleasurable effects of moderate wine consumption. It definitely makes me want
to know more about wine and cultivate my taste so I can enjoy both the health
benefits and also the small pleasures of life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-27707796139080031822014-09-15T13:00:00.000-07:002014-10-25T02:06:09.522-07:00Confessions of an English Opium-Eater<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since ancient times the nature and behaviour of
people taking psychic altering drugs has been surrounded by a lot of
preconceptions. When reading Tomas de Quincey’s book you are transported into
the 19<sup>th</sup> century English society and discover the stereotypes and
preconceptions regarding drug use. de Quincey starts in a more descriptive and
apologetic note just to make sure that he appeals to his readers. At first this
style seems a little too contrived in 21<sup>st</sup> century biographic
writing, but one must keep in mind that when this book appeared it stirred the
high circles of society and created a new awareness regarding the use of opium.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It seems a courageous move to describe and expose
publicly a private behaviour, such as drug usage. Whether the reason was to
make the public aware of this or simply the book emerged as a result of de Quincey’s
belief that preconceptions must be changed is a matter of historical hypothesising.
Needless to say, you come into first contact with the exhilaration of the drugs
effect but also with the negative effects that it can have on the consumer and
his family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I enjoyed reading this book simply because it was a
way to gain access into a world of sealed doors and social stigma. I applaud
his heroic act of describing his behaviour and by doing so exposing himself to
public criticism. A lot has changed since that time, but the stigma surrounding
the drug consumption still remains. Even the author warns against opium usage
and argues that better medical care or better living conditions should be a necessary
condition for all those who wish not to take the drug or be tempted by other psychedelic
drugs. At one point de Quincey presents his hypothesis stating that opium might
alleviate the symptoms of Consumptions or other grave medical condition that
affected British Society at that time, but tones down his tone to include a
cautionary message that the drugs early positive effects should not be abused
and care must be taken when measuring the dosage. Another noteworthy hypothesis
is that a life that includes regular exercise and a balanced diet could provide
more positive effects on overall health rather than subsiding to drug use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Taken together the messages that de Quincey sends to
his readers are worthy of consideration and admirable, especially when thinking
that this is the first biographic book to expose opium usage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-55247657510192496312014-08-30T08:28:00.000-07:002014-10-25T02:06:30.521-07:00Too Far<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Robbie, a small boy of
six-seven years moves to Alaska with his family. There he discovers a world of
great and incommensurable meaning. Shapero describes this transformation by
following his main character through the journey of growing up and letting go
of small boys mystical fantasies. Robbie learns to explore the surrounding
forest, befriends Fristeen and together they form a bond that helps them both
overlook the dramas unfolding in the adult world. Robbie’s parents are emotionally
crippled by relationship issues: his father is enmeshed in his studies and his
mother is battling depression. Fighting often, they neglect Robbie and this
constant bickering pushes their son in to the arms of an imaginary world, ruled
by the Dream Man and Shawn, under constant threat of being captured by Shivers.<br />
<br />
<br />
Fristeen’s world is even less structured than Robbie’s. Without knowing her
father and with no involvement from her mother, a drug addict, she is often
left to herself, and sometimes the only food that she gets is Robbie’s
sandwiches. Together the children set forward in an adventure through the woods
and try to make sense of the world around them. They are very careful when
exploring, and also are under constant threat by the imminence of Shivers
power. (Apparently living in Alaska means that one must always be prepared to
face a sudden freeze.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Throughout the brief Alaskan summer the drama in their houses unfolds, to the
point that at the start of the autumn Robbie’s parents decide to separate and
Fristeen’s mom decide to get back with an abusive partner. The children decide
to run in the forest and hide, thinking they will manage to survive
independent, but a sudden freeze, Shivers, puts them in grave danger. The rescue
team finds them in time. This last adventure concludes their initiation into a
different stage of existence, marked by an absence of magic and fantastical
beings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Too Far is an enjoyable
book, one that emphasizes the human power to search for meaning in the
surroundings and also pinpoints to the mental characteristics that led early
humans to construct gods endorsed with magical powers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-85118705357603644842014-08-24T07:27:00.000-07:002014-10-07T07:28:23.457-07:00“De ce este Romania altfel?” (Why is Romania different?)<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lucian Boia’s
historical account on the causes and political context that influenced current
day Romania is insightful and well-written. Browsing through topics, this essay
is definitely a piece of history that especially Romanians must be aware. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It starts with the
Dacians - an ancient tribe that was attested here before the Roman Empire
expansion in the first and second century, continues with the Great Migration
of the Huns and the political and economic reign of the Otoman Empire.
Throughout his discourse one can feel that the great things that make up the
Romanians: adaptability, cunning determination to stick to their land, and industrious
spirit were exactly the key pieces which together kept Romanians on a different
route than its neighbouring countries. Boia refutes the claims that only the Communist
Regime had a detrimental effect on the modernization of Romania, or that the
socialist administration is solely to blame for a lack of political reorganization
following the 1989 Revolution. One stringent need that was never prioritized by
any Administration, ancient or current, is Education. This is precisely the
reason why so many good ideas felt short of achieving success due to a chronic
deficit in middle and long term vision of development. Without a vision for a
country or without a healthy class a country can never escape some ancient
frustration or achieve to stand at the same table with other European countries.
Even though Romania joined the European Union in 2007, only this year were the
bans of free access to labour market lifted. This is in striking contrast with
other countries that have previously joined EU, namely Hungary and Poland. What
makes Romania’s case different?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Lucian Boia’s
opinion a key element rises to prominence: the lack of intellectual elite that
could question tyrannical decision and set an example for the lower working
classes. But where and how could Romania forge an intellectual class when
across all time only the powerful minorities (Hungarians, Germans, Jews, and
Italians) had access to schools? It is paradoxical to think that under the
Socialist Regime there were more Schools and Universities built than previously
and yet after the Regime fell they valued little to the majority of people. What
is even more baffling is the fact that nowadays there is an inflation of
university degrees on the job markets in Romania, yet the Education is not
valued. We have come to be a nation of poorly educated university degree
holders. Most of the talented young people, bright individuals, choose to study
abroad and never come back, as to come back and work in a university lab
resembles sometimes the titanic work done by the scientist in medieval times. This
is a powerful example of wasted potential and a condemnation to an export of
intellectual power. Moreover the curse of Romania’s wasted potential doesn’t
stop with the small percentage of the elite. On the contrary, the majority of
those that lack education are deemed to work as unskilled workers and migrate
to countries with better minimum wage (Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Great
Britain, just to name a few), leaving in the country those that could not go (children
and elders) or those that chose to stay for various other reasons. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The picture is grim: a country
lacking long-term political/ administrative vision, which is readily opened to
emulate the Western Societies, but deemed to be seen as an exploitable country
for both its people and resources. Until Romanian Government prioritizes
Education, Health and Agricultural Economy things are only bound to become
worse.<br />
<br />
In the eve of a new electoral mandate I am left with a century old question: “And
me, whom shall I cast my vote?!?” (<i>Paraphrasing
I.L. Caragiale, 1884</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-72548941658675994892014-07-13T11:00:00.000-07:002014-07-13T11:00:52.921-07:00Think by Simon Blackburn<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Think</i> is a great introductory book into some of the
most important problems in philosophy. Blackburn introduced his essay with a
powerful paragraph: “<i>In the end, it is
ideas for which people kill each other. It is because of ideas about what the
others are like, or who we are, or what our interests or rights require, that
we go to war, or oppress others with a good conscience, or even sometimes acquiesce
in our own oppression by others. When these beliefs involve the sleep of
reason, critical awakening is the antidote</i>.”(p. 11)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Throughout the book he deals with important issues
that define our human nature: the problem of knowledge, mind, free will, the
self, god, reasoning, the world, and what to do in the future. I enjoyed this
introduction through the ideas that shaped our knowledge: Descartes dualism
about mind and nature, its shortcomings and often misinterpretation of the
example that he used: about the doubt being the evil in deceiving us.
Wittgenstein remark of how our personal knowledge and mind deceives us into
thinking about states and things as immutable needs to be addressed. “<i>Always get rid of the idea of the private object
in this way: assume that it constantly changes, but that you do not notice the
change because your memory constantly deceives you</i>.” (Wittgenstein(1953) in
Blackburn, 1999, p. 74). Blackburn brings into attention also the assumption of
future being fixed:<i> “Which events unfold
from time’s womb depends on what we decide to do- this is what the <u>inside</u>
control of a person or a thermostat means. Our choosing models are implicated
in the process, unlike those of a mere spectator.” (p.113)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The essay about important thoughts that shaped human
thinking continues with the presentation of how we reason about the possibility
of things happening in the future or when trying to predict the outcomes of
certain decisions. In all do respects any particular musings that our minds
might entail in trying to make sense of past events in order to foresee the
future can be summed up by the phrase: <i>“The
future will be what it will be. Its events are already in time’s womb. So get
cracking.</i>” (p. 112)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Indeed with this thought my appetite for philosophy
grows even bigger and my wish to comprehend deeper and fundamental problems is
expanding by the day. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in
having a taste of the problems and concepts dealt in philosophy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-31404381609580096802014-05-23T08:58:00.000-07:002014-07-13T08:59:49.449-07:00Hindsight - The Promise and Peril of Looking Backward by Mark Freeman<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Freeman’s book
attracted me from the first sight of it. It was a mixture of curiosity with a
sense that this book, implicitly its contents, is something that I need in this
stage of my life. It proved out to be just that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hindsight is rather an
essay on the problem of human reconstruction of the self through incorporating
and giving meaning to past experiences. Written in a clear concise and yet
philosophical style it transports you into a world of thought and guides you
through the stories of other real life humans that have sought some peace with
the past in order to look at the future in a more positive way. Some of the
protagonists in the examples chosen, found their peace and strength to recreate
themselves and to embrace the future selves in a more powerful and creative
way, whilst others have become prisoners of their own past: regrets and failed
expectation leaving them scarred and unable to progress. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Human beings need to
have a feeling of narrative self, the integrative part of us that is unique but
as a whole represents us, becomes a part of our identity. In light of present
knowledge we tend to evaluate past experiences and seek to amend them in order
to create an acceptable image of ourselves. It made me think a lot about the
power of our understanding and the frailties of our expectations about the
future when anchored in the present and also the disappointment of the
realization that, what we thought will be a sure course of our developmental
trajectory did not happen. Stopping to re-evaluate our personal history can be
a source of immense growth and also the crossing-point to new avenues for
future enterprises. It can also be a source of regret and resentment when we
realise that what we set up to do was never achieved or we perceive as failing
to meet our hopes and expectations. No matter what the result will be, it is
important for us to reconsider from time to time our values, our expectations,
our past decisions, just to be aware of the direction I which we are heading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I loved the book and
especially the way in which I found the opportunity to think of my own journey
of growth and to reconsider the expectations that I hold and how to let go of
regret and of un-necessary worries about the future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-83271679573746842572014-03-18T01:25:00.000-07:002014-06-05T01:28:01.019-07:00The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Allan Karlsson, a hundred-year-old man sets on
another adventure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The book is a fascinating account of adventures and
happenings in Allan’s life. It all fits with the perfect twists of occurrences,
fate, whatever you want to call it. Reading the book, I had a feeling that
Allan’s life is magnificent, but I guess every life in which you have no
expectations other than: nice food, a place above your head, and something to
drink is the dream. Given the strange context in which Allan live, it appears
that only by constantly wanting to live he sets himself yet on another
adventure.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During his 100 year life he has become a bomb
specialist, helped create the most deadly bomb, be-friended presidents, and
also spend a nice long vacation on the beach (more than a decade), and during
the whole time he was an honest, open-minded and completely apolitical person. On
the celebration of his 100 year birthday he decides to do something new, other
than spending his day in the senior house, so he climbs out the window and just
goes off to another place/ adventure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In a fantastic twist of randomly circumstances, just
as anyone would know to expect from an ordinary life, he comes in the
possession of a troller full of money, than pursued by the rightful Swedish mafia
proprietors, and by the police, suspected of kidnap and manslaughter. While taking
part in this exciting adventure the author carefully portrays Allan’s previous
history, just to make the reader clear that when we come to know this person we
will see how all the things make sense, and culminate in this adventure that
started on his 100<sup>th</sup> birthday.
It is really a beautifully written account of the story of a man who is
true to himself, his morals, his beliefs, and constructs his sense of
self-coherence by reflecting on the issues bigger than himself, thus being
genuinely open to people, to happenings, to revise his actions and construct
his life in accordance to his beliefs. Although the author or the main
character doesn’t state the beliefs plainly, by the end of the book I had the
feeling that Allan’s main belief is in the power of people accepting themselves
and others as they are, without imposing external morals, ideas, or political
agendas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This fantastic story made me reflect on the ways in
which I too construct the story of my life. The way in which I can revise what
I am living and what I am experiencing, to make sure I spot the difference
between unrealistic expectation of events going the way I want them to go, or
happening in the putative way that I can imagine them to take place. It is
indeed a liberating feeling to know that I will not come to understand all the
potential outcome of a decision, situation, and my best action is just to act
the way that my morals and beliefs dictate me. Keeping in mind that I cannot
envisage all the potential situations is the best feeling, but that doesn’t mean
I should be paralysed by inaction; on the contrary that means I am more
responsible for how I act and react to everything that comes in my life, thus I
will take a step closer to having and behaving in accordance to my free will –
because, you see, whenever I know there are multiple course of action, what I
choose to do becomes my decision, even is the setting is not in my control, the
decision, reaction, action Is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-73250140837846276282014-01-08T00:01:00.000-08:002014-01-09T00:01:47.725-08:00A Short History of Nearly Everything<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ever wonder
how great scientific minds had their insights? How history was shaped by events
ignited by great ideas? Have you ever wonder how we, as human tend to still be
here, on the planet? Or how the planet in itself exists? This and many other
questions are the foundation for one of the most enjoyable popular science
books out there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bill Bryson
gives you a tour of the most fundamental ideas, which change our thinking and
understanding of life, evolution and our place in all this. Due to his
meticulously combination of scientific facts with murky historical events it is
a great pleasure to read the book. Although at some point you might feel
overwhelm by all the facts presented you begin to see science at what it is, a
build-up of knowledge, with credit for discoveries, being most often given to
the few who were lucky enough to speak and international language (read as English),
lucky to have the material means to pursue their interest in their own time,
and lucky to have the connections that could help popularize their findings.
All of these are extremely similar to how science is made today. Wherever the money goes, some discoveries in that field
are bound to take place. This is not to say that great minds are not born every
decade and are not capable of great insights, merely the fact that most often
being a genius and not having the right connections or luck, means that your
genius might be acknowledge well past your lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One of my
personal favorite past time book, I enjoyed taking the tour through the history
of many great discoveries, and must confess that at the end of it I was left
with a taste of wanting to find out more about scientific discoveries in all
fields of knowledge. As it turns out, this is the effect of great books and
wonderful writers, they keep you hooked, wanting and longing for more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-54028021455224340652013-12-10T23:38:00.000-08:002014-01-08T23:40:00.462-08:00The Hobbit <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This one is
one of the hottest books in the last century. The creation of feature movies
made it more desirable as a book. I am lucky to have received it as a gift from
my boyfriend, as a sign of appreciation and surprise. Though it is a children’s book is by no means
childish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Hobbit
is one of those books that really spark your imagination. One of those books
that lead you into a world full of magic, where you feel as if you were always
a part of, then you can be a member of a party set to have amazing adventures.
Of course if I were to have read it as a kid I would have imagined it
differently, but know I can appreciate it for what it is. A wonderfully written
book, where the author is both a confident and all knowing, letting you wonder
through his imaginary world, but keeping you on track, by not letting you go
astray and forget the main purpose of the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Being a
part of Bilbo Baggins adventure is great, watching unfold some great feats of
courage as part of one’s development, makes you realize that you have more
courage in you and only by going in adventures you unlock it and use it. It
really made me think more about my life, taking it as a quest into the unknown.
Because I really believe that our own lives are just journeys to save our
world, to reclaim our title, to reclaim some fortune and in turn to find our
home. When I realized that sometimes journeys are not set from the beginning,
that the end result is just a probable consequence of all the decisions taken
during the journey, it made me anxious and yet at peace with my own journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Like most
people I have dragons to slay, friends to help me through that, building trust
along the way and never forgetting where I am from. Although my home might not
be as magical as under the hill, it is still the place that made me what I am
today, and set the foundations for the greatest adventure of my existence,
living my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Hobbit
is, to me, the journey and tale of a fragment of life, when you have the
courage to step outside your comfort zone into the unknown and never lose fate
in your abilities. It is magical, and a must read in everyone’s development, at
no matter the time in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-1037135369302398322013-11-10T23:16:00.000-08:002014-01-09T00:03:07.043-08:00Working Memory, Thought and Action by Alan Baddeley<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As it is with the interesting things, it started with a desire to find out more about this
human ability of ours to manipulate knowledge, concepts and information in the
present, to integrate them and to retrieved them in order to do all our mental
processes. All this is amazing when you ponder on it, especially when you
realize that even pondering and planning your future lies on this ability. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Upon reading
the book I realized I was drawn to the field and that it is something that
might taunt me for life. I deeply enjoyed the history of research that
sustained the conclusions and made me think about new ways to improve the
current knowledge on the topic. Having prof. Robert Logie explaining
misunderstandings in a working memory course at the university really helped me
grasp the concepts and clarify my mind. It was this co-occurrence of fortunate
events that I credit for the spark and development of my interest in the field.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyone
interested in psychology or memory would love to read a short scientific
history about the development of one of the most fruitful and influential
theory and models on working memory. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Working memory is viewed as consisting of specialized
systems: <i>the visuo-spatial sketchpad</i>
(deals with visual and spatial information), <i>the phonological loop</i> (deals with auditory material, and it helps
with the rehearsal of material<i>), the
episodic buffer</i> (integrates and stores in the short term memory all the
information from multisensory systems<i>),
the central executive</i> (an attentional controller of resources, and monitors
the implementation and continuous adaptation of
plan); all of which are in continuous communication with long term
memory , the depositary of information and knowledge. This active construction
and reconstruction of knowledge through use is one of the most astonishing
abilities we possess. Only when it goes wrong, as in the case of
neurodegenerative disorders ( Alzheimer’s disease, some form of frontotemporal dementias)
we begin to realize what a great ability we have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I strongly
recommend this book to anyone practicing psychology and to all of those who
want to find out more about how human mind is being unraveled through scientific
inquiry and continuous research. Even though the field of working memory has
distinctive theories and it will evolve as a result of research it is useful to
know the process by which this multimodal model of working memory has guided
research for more than three decades. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-39458708638836604022013-07-12T01:06:00.000-07:002013-10-27T01:08:13.570-07:00Far from the Madding crowd - Thomas HardyThis book is one that found its way to me in a day of rain of meditative stance.<br />
<br />
From the first pages it appear clear that something powerful and yet wonderful would be encapsulated in the book. I don't consider myself to be the type that reads romantic novels, but I found this book to be a very accurate account of what love and pride can do to people caught in its strings.<br />
<br />
Batsheba Everdene is a woman who takes life by it's strings, values honesty, integrity and independence. All this are on top of her beauty and feminine power that makes Gabriel Oak, Boldwood and Troy fall in love with her and try to win her heart. In the developing of the story it becomes clear that only one man endowed with perseverance and wisdom will be able to be a perfect match for her. This is more clear to the reader than the characters and so a long chain of tragedies unfolds until the happiness that all people want takes place.<br />
<br />
Without wishing to spoil the action of the novel, I will limit myself to some brief remarks. It is wonderful to get an idea of the English countryside and to see a powerful women in times when it was thought that a women's best role was to be a good wife to her husband. One can almost sense the power and vigor of her actions, and see her transformed from a youthful, intelligent and impulsive woman to a more mature and wise one. At the end of the book it seemed as if it was the only realistic possibility: her inner force would not have allowed her to drown in the harshness of life.<br />
<br />
The novel is a really nice and enjoyable read and one could easily see the messages that are still applicable today and will be as long as men and women are in love while struggling to keep their independence. In the end independence might not be the value that gives you happiness so one must be wary and wise when the time to put it aside comes near, because otherwise she/he will find herself/himself in unwanted troubles and pain. Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-41535993462959820292013-06-28T00:29:00.000-07:002013-10-27T00:30:41.863-07:00Why Kids Lie: How Parents Can Encourage TruthfulnessAs a school counselor I work with children, their parents and teachers. It is important to see how the relationships develop and are maintained, mainly because almost any major event in the life of a student will be reflected in her/his academics.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hoped to find more insights into this matter, and my hopes were partially fulfilled, because I expected somehow a more theoretical approach to this issue, and that was a mistake from my part, due to the fact that the book was written for the lay public. With this reference in mind, I changed my expectations and I began to take a new approach to the information presented. I could appreciate its usefulness its depth of insight and how to transpose it into my work.<br />
<br />
I would warmly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about why some relationship work, and why others don't, the starting point being the building block that is trust. Of course when we think more about it we realize that it was something we knew in the back of our minds, but it needs researchers and methods to actually make it meaningful to a world that is bigger than one's own view. </div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-6670663277572458082013-05-30T23:18:00.000-07:002013-06-08T23:19:13.555-07:00Working with Dreams, Understand your dreams and use them for personal and creative development<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Some books come into your life drawn by the desire to
understand yourself or to understand others. For e it was the former path by
which this book entered in my lecturing interests. Everyone dreams and
sometimes the dreams are so beautiful, so much as you want your life to be,
that you want to linger in their company even after you wake up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The desire to understand why some things appear in my dreams
led to read the book and it helped me realize what I forgot: to pay more
attention to what I want and the obstacles in my life. After reading it and
through some discussions with a close friend I started to relax and just take
things as they go. The book offers an insight into the most common symbols for
dreams and is an instrument that can be used to create and develop your own
dream notebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to these helpful and
easy guidance tips it becomes ease to be more aware of what you want, what are
the influences of events in your life and on your general well-being. This was
for me one the perfect thing in a tumultuous time, and helped me take a break
from it all and enjoy my life as it is. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Truth be told, this book alone would have been useless
without the aid of the conversation had with my best-friend.</div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-2076451395799398242013-03-18T14:14:00.002-07:002013-03-18T14:14:23.422-07:00Neuroscience of Decision Making<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This book treats contemporary topics in cognitive neuroscience and has given me a myriad of ideas to
follow and think through, making it more difficult to settle on just one idea
for research. I assure myself that this might be one of the factors characteristic to creative thinking,
particularly the defocused attention described by the “cognitive disinhibition hypothesis” (p.320), although I
feel the stringent need to use some sort of heuristic (that will presumably
activate my left temporal pathways, p.126), a kind of spontaneous thought (p.
275), which will lead me in taking the decision to elaborate just one idea for
a research project.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With this in mind I choose
to elaborate on the implications and ramifications of decision making in a
social context, especially under the pressure of a significant person, and find
that </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">important regions lie in the <i>prefrontal cortex</i> having projections to and from the <i>hypocampus</i>, <i>amygdala,</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.25in;"> the </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.25in;">human striatum</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.25in;"> which is a central
region of interest when researching social decisions. Another brain region of interest
is the </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.25in;">anterior insula</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.25in;">, which exhibits a greater activation in unfair
situations, an interesting point when one considers that
it is also found to be responsive to physically painful stimuli (p.233).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Taking it on the “who
knew!?!” aspect that each neuroscience book comprises, I have found that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ventromedial
prefrontal cortex is important in personal and social decision making, and
impairment in this structure can make it difficult to choose friends,
partners and activities (p. 74). <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An abnormal
social environment can have negative consequences on the structures
involved in triggering somatic/emotional states, deficits which were
observed in various laboratory settings, when individuals with
neurobiological abnormalities failed to express proper emotions, empathize
or fear negative consequences. This negative learning can be undone when
individuals are exposed to proper learning environment (p. 90). <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An acetylcholine
(ACh) deficit (lack of sensory bound signals) might be involved in some
hallucinatory experiences, a consistent point of the idea that
hallucination is antagonistic to sensory processing(p.105).<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ventral
striatum is sensitive to the magnitude of an anticipated reward (p.151).<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A feature
of depression is a diminished functional connectivity within fronto-cingulate
pathways which can contribute to a diminished behavioral adjustment as a
consequence of difficulties in cognitive control (p.212).<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Intranasal administration
of oxytocin (a neuropeptide involved in affiliative behavior) increased
trust behavior (p. 231)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These ideas were just a
few of the wonderfully treated ideas presented in the book. They have harvested
my interest and the corresponding neuronal pathways involved in learning and
memory formation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I must confess that writing
a review, or rather a personal view of the book I carefully read and learn from
has proven to be a challenging task. For any confusions or misunderstandings made
I apologize in advance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964596749453324127.post-81399757444884683532013-02-17T09:32:00.000-08:002013-02-17T09:32:20.162-08:00The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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When I received the book (that came among a collection of
great books) I thought it will help me get a few research ideas stick and take
me to another level. It has helped me in that sense. :)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scott Plous’s account
of some of the most intriguing and striking cognitive biases and implications
of decision heuristics on everyday life has helped me rethink all the classes
on Social Psychology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From a hindsight
bias “it was clear” that all the information is context dependent, that I have
an attribution error, that memories are reconstructed and above all that I make
prediction based on facts scrambled together by my mind in search of meaning,
not taking into account some actuarial evidence, therefore setting and
actuarial prediction regarding future events.
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was an informative book, and although it was written in
1993 it felt very up to date. This feeling might be due to the fact that I feel
that I need to read more about decision making process and partly because I
strive to make the basic ideas of research more clear and relevant to research
laboratories. The fact that each chapter finishes with a set of conclusion that
offer some guidance in how to avoid the negative outcome of some biases is of
great help. For instance, concerning representativeness heuristic, I have to
take into account the tips offered (Plous, 1993, pag. 119): </div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>don’t be misled by highly detailed scenarios;</li>
<li><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>whenever possible pay attention to base rates;</li>
<li><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span>remember that chance is not self-correcting; and</li>
<li><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span>Don’t misinterpret regression toward the mean (especially useful when considering that we all would like to have an
exceptional performance all the time). </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another set of useful suggestion is that offered in relation
to probability and risk. I must remember to: - <i>always think back at the actual
probability that something I envision in my future is only a desirable event
and it is no more probable than un undesirable but unforeseen event;</i> and most
importantly perhaps to <i>break compound events into small events in order to see
that is something has a small rate of probability or risk than an accumulation
of small events with their respective small risks might lead to catastrophes</i>
(pag. 143-144). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The most relevant information to remember is that concerning
correlation, causation and control, and to remember to take into account the
illusory correlations and the invisible ones, after all, Holmes was very keen
on addressing things which ought to happen and failed to be seen, not just
sticking to the obvious events that might validate hypotheses. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many biases which seem to help or hinder us when
trying to go through this motion we call life. We may be entrapped in different
situations and fail to see the reward of exiting the situation just because we
have invested so much that we feel as we stand to lose too much. Many times the
decisions we take are not the most accurate by mathematical standards or prove
to be economical correct, yet they help us in everyday tasks and therefore
prove to be useful. After all, we have limited resources, cognitive and
otherwise, to make the best decisions we can make. </div>
Monica Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06684250507924576642noreply@blogger.com0