Knowledge.

To answer the question posed to us in the prompt:

Yes, knowing absolutely requires contact with other intellect. To learn you must experience things. How will you know if a stove is hot unless you touch it? I suppose that you could know something by reading it in a book. But what if you’re reading a book about how the earth is at the center of the solar system? You’re wrong if you believe what the book is telling you. It would take someone to tell you (either via a conversation or through a book) that you’re wrong. You truly wouldn’t know until this happens.

I like what Bruffee has to say about peer editing. I feel like I learn more from this than just simply reading a teacher’s comments on my essay about what’s wrong with it. Not only do I learn what’s wrong with my paper, I also learn how to edit other people’s work and my own. One might think that peer editing is flawed because peers tend to be more laid back when compared to teachers. I don’t think this is true. I tend to try just as hard because I do not want to make a fool out of myself. It can definitely be a powerful tool in the collaborative learning belt.

Collaborative learning reminds me a lot of what we’re talking about in my speech com class right now. We’re learning about small group communication right now which is basically the same. We learned in class that this type of communication offers a high level of both verbal and nonverbal communication and immediate feedback. This is really great when trying to solve a problem like a diagnosis like Bruffee mentions in his essay. The immediate feedback and high level of communication can lead to a better solution or more knowledge. It seems ideal for almost every situation we find ourselves. What movie do you guys want to see? What disease does this patient have? How should we fundraise for our group?

Scenery in Hofstra's Production of TWN

I was really surprised when I was admitted into the theater and saw that the stage seemed to be set up like a scene in the Notebook. It looked very southern. I was expecting a traditional set. Instead, I'm assuming, the play was set around the Civil War in a southern state like Virgina or Georgia. I thought this because of the costumes that were worn and that Sir Toby Belch was wearing a confederate hat . After I got over the initial shock of hearing Shakespeare's play spoken in a southern drawl, it began to make sense to me. I could see the whole Art of Courtly Love thing happening during this time period. Rich southern gentleman wooing proper southern belles and servants causing chaos and all of that. I never would've thought of placing TWN in this time period. It was smart for literary value and entertainment. Watching the actors recite Shakespeare in a southern drawl was very entertaining. It must have been quite challenging.

Haas' Poem

I think that Haas is saying that poetry/poets try too hard to capture the beauty of nature. A majority of of nature poems focus on that beauty and poets try to capture that. Haas says that sometimes poetry should "disenchant" us. Aka not all poetry should capture the beauty of nature. Hence his line at the end about an ordinary tree (or something like that, i can't exactly remember).

Essay Reflection

For me, writing this essay was pretty fun. I love having an iPod and I find the impact of technology on our culture really interesting. I thought finding research to back up my statements would be difficult, but it wasn’t at all. I guess this is because the iPod is such a large symbol in our culture. The introduction is one of my favorite parts of this essay because I’m proud of it. Usually, the introductions I write for research papers are much more bland. I decided to take a risk and I think it paid off. I tried to incorporate this kind of snarky vocabulary into the rest of my paper too. I also learned some new information from this paper. I didn’t know the difference between hard drive storage or flash memory. Now I do. If I could change anything, I think I’d edit the section about “having a soundtrack to your life.” It doesn’t sound scholarly enough. I was really excited about this essay because I thought I did a good job writing it, but now that I look back, I’m not so sure. That always happens it seems like. It’s kind of depressing.

FFW Act II and Act III

I AM THE MAN. (II.II.25)
Viola says this when she discovers that Olivia loves her. Viola is shocked by this because, obviously, she is not a man. This is ironic because Viola, dressed as a man, is able to woo Orsino’s love, instead of Orsino himself.

…AND YET TO CRUSH IT A LITTLE, IT WOULD BOW TO ME… (II.V.143-145)

Here, Malvolio is reciting the fake letter that Maria wrote to him, pretending to be Olivia. Maria does this to put Malvolio In his place. She believe that he thinks too highly of his position, and needs to be punished for it. In the letter, Maria asks him to wear yellow stockings and cross garters, both of which Olivia hates.

VIOLA: THEN THINK YOU ARE RIGHT. I AM NOT WHAT I AM
OLIVIA: I WOULD YOU WERE AS I WOULD HAVE YOU BE.

Like the quote above, it is ironic because Olivia has no idea of what “I would you were as I would have you be.”, means. She doesn’t know that having Viola/Cesario be what she truly is would ruin her love for Cesario. Viola is desperately trying to tell Olivia that she is not a man, but Olivia is so caught up in Cesario’s illusion, she can’t see it.