The Irony Behind Black Friday

This weekend, Friday specifically, my mom and I went to Old Orchard to pick up a book at Barnes and Noble. As we drove around the parking lot trying to find a space, we noticed just how crowded the mall was. We than realized it was Black Friday, the annual tradition of going shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I have never participated in this event, but I always question the meaning behind it.

To begin with, I find it quite ironic that the day right after Thanksgiving, the day we give thanks for what we have, we go out and shop for ourselves. Also, according to this article from the New York Times it explains how one woman would spray pepper spray at anyone who tried to take an X-box that she wanted. This violent behavior seems to contradict the lessons we emphasize during Thanksgiving, peace and sharing. To add, two people in a Wal-Mart parking lot were shot fighting over store products.  With this uncomfortable violence it always puzzles me on how such distinctly different days come right after one another.

Now, one could argue, that Black Friday can be seen as a tradition that is keen in giving. Since goods are priced so low, people can go out and buy presents for others that normally wouldn’t. However, considering how violent Black Friday can get, it is hard to see the kindness associated with the tradition. Overall, I just find it so strange on how plainly different these two days are. What other differences, or even similarities, between Thanksgiving and Black Friday can you point out?

   During the presidential election, Bolos and O'Connor told us about a man named Nate Silver. silver created an algorithm that predicted the outcome of the election. Just like Silver, Lada Adamic, a computer scientist at the University of Michigan and Facebook, loved algorithms as well. However, her algorithms are not used for politics, but rather used to predict how successful a recipe will turn out, according to this article from NPR. Also, like Silver, her algorithm was pretty accurate, nearly 80 percent accuracy. Adamic has not put up her predictions on website yet, due to time, but you can read about how she built her algorithm here.
           With all of these algorithms, it seems that the outcome or future can be closely predicted. As such, it made me curious about whether or not I would like to know a suspected outcome of an event before it even happens. Personally, I do not think I would enjoy knowing because it would take the suspense and excitement out of it. However, knowing what will happen will definitely allow you to be mo prepared. What do you think? Would more Americans like knowing the outcome of such events through algorithms? Or do you think more people would rather not know a suspected outcome until the actual outcome happens?

Project ORCA failed...

        In class we discussed how if a person running for president decided to buy everyone an Iphone, than he/she would win the election. While, Romney did not buy every single American an Iphone, or win the election, he did create an app for smart phones. This app was called ORCA, and it was designed to see who would vote for Romney, and who Romney's campaign still needed to contact. Unfortunately, there was a lot of technical issues with the app, and was rather a burden, than an asset according to an article from NPR. Currently, the US is moving towards a more technical advanced society, as such, I wonder, if ORCA did run smoothly, would it have changed the results of the election? Also, I am curious to see how future candidates will use technology for their campaign?

       Now, on the other hand, Obama, our president, chose a more direct route for his campaign, through face-to-face contact. 1 MILLION people volunteered for Obama's campaign to help get people to vote for him through knocking on doors and making phone calls! Harold Pollack, one of Obama's volunteers, said he, "Knocked on hundreds of doors, and made many more phone calls" to persuade people to vote for Obama. This more personal route seemed to have helped Obama in the long run. Therefore, I am now wondering weather if ORCA, if ran smoothly, will become a very sufficient way of getting votes, or if a more direct route, like Obama did, will always be just what Americans appreciate more?

The Expectations of Parents

This weekend my parents kept questioning me about school, colleges, and sports. They kept asking me if I knew where I wanted to go to college, or how my grades are doing, or even about the dreaded ACT. With this constant questioning I become very anxious. I felt all of this pressure about having to succeed in everything. It made me wonder if all parents are usually this intense about their child’s life. As I thought about this question I came upon this article in the NY Times about two little girls, who supposedly are tremendous runners. These two girls, Kaitlin (12) and Heather (10), ran a thirteen-mile marathon in Huntsville, Utah. When I first read this I was shocked, how could any parent allow their child to run such an extreme race at such a young age? As I continued reading I saw that their parents not only allowed for them to compete, but also encouraged them, especially the farther, Rodney. Rodney would constantly tell his children how they must win, or work harder. Apparently, these two children have been training to run since the young age of five. As well, these two parents expect a 93% average in every class they are in. The amount of effort and intensity these two parents are demanding from their children is overwhelming.

           

After I read this article I was mind-blown. I thought my parents were intense; Kaitlin’s and Heather’s beat mine. So I wonder why do parents add this amount of extremity into their child’s life? I understand that they want their child to succeed, but I don’t get why a majority of parents who were annoyed by their parent’s high expectations of them, expect even greater expectations from their own children?