Weisman Chapters 2 and 3

In these two chapters, Weisman describes the ecological and climate changes that the structures of our civilization will undergo once humans are gone from this planet. In these chapters, he explains the scientific processes that different types of buildings, ranging from houses to skyscrapers to bridges, will go through. He also explains what the environment will look like, reverting back to its state before it was corrupted and mauled by humans for food, shelter, and even just aesthetics. He describes how the floral plants and the indigenous animals will interact with species introduced into the environment. As fascinating as all of this is, the reason that I kept reading through these chapters because of all the questions and ideas I had as I was going through them.
First of all, what did the environment of the country used to look like before humans? What did my house look like before it was a house? What came before us that is buried deep under the ground, or has been swallowed up by the sea and glaciers? Weisman says that palm date plants grow in the Amazon, and that is proof that others lived there, but that time and the weather have washed away all other evidence of their existence. Who were these people? Our own buildings and technology will crumble and disintegrate, and future inhabitants may have the same occurrence of finding floral non-indigenous to the local environment as proof that we existed, but none of our structures nor amazing feats of science will be left. Could civilizations long ago have had the technology and expertise of science as we have today? Planet Earth is a hostile entity, vicious storms, ground-shaking movements, if a person survives one catastrophic natural event, there will sure be another one to get through. Coupling that with climate change, and our society is in for hell. If we don’t survive it with our capability to adapt, there is no possible way that buildings will be able to.
Secondly, the article made me realize my own mortality. “Once humans are gone” is a scary phrase. That’s in relation to all people for generations to come; yet the author speaks of it as if it is so close. In all reality, it should be soon relative to Earth’s time, but whereas eighty years is half a blink of the eye to the Earth, it is a lifetime to me. I am on Earth for such a small percentage of the time that it has been here, that it is almost negligible. However, humanity is at a crossroads, what we do today, will ultimately determine how much longer humans will be around.
Lastly, what will the world become once we are gone? Will the Earth return to its pre-human state of wildlife, or have we ruined it beyond repair? Will any beings inhabit Earth after us, and if so, what will they be like? If I could have one wish, it would be to have a time machine, not to go back a couple hours or days and take back something that I said, but to see the distant past and distant future, what our world looked like, and what it will look like someday.

Reprogamming Cells

In this article, Gretchen Vogel describes the recent research and breakthroughs that are going on in the world of genetics. Doctors are now able to reprogram cells to perform different bodily functions in a matter of weeks. However, the road to achievements such as these has not been any easy one. At first, embryonic stem cells could be programmed to become any type of body cell, as long as they had not already begun to diversify from the other cells of the embryo. This raised many ethical and legal questions though, and it seemed as if stem cell research would come to a standstill. Then Japanese researchers developed iPS cells, induced pluripotent stem cells. These are cells that have already matured, and are able to be reprogrammed, with the insertion of only a small number of genes, to embryonic-like cells. American researchers built upon this research and were able to reprogram a cell to go directly from a mature cell of one type, to a mature cell of a different function.
However, there are many problems of reprogramming cells still to be resolved. The efficiency of these processes is terrible, and less than 1 in 10,000 cells can be reprogrammed. New research suggests that keratinocytes from skin cells provide a better course of action, because roughly 1% can be reprogrammed and only take days to mature instead of weeks. Yet, much more research must be done because 1% efficiency is still terrible. If my car engine was only 1% gas-efficient, I might shoot myself. This is a medical development that needs to be invested in because so many genetic diseases can be kept under control, if not all together nullified. Diseases such as Lou Gehrig’s disease and Type I diabetes would be more controllable, and not destroy the lives of so many. As with all medical technology and medications, there are risks and genetic altering therapy has many, including an increased risk of cancer. However, as more research is conducted, the risks will be minimized. I am also willing to bet that a good amount of people with these diseases will accept these risks and try the therapy if it will help their live and the lives of their loved ones.

The Checklist

In “The Checklist,” Atul Gawande describes how Peter Pronovost of John Hopkins Hospital is introducing checklists into Intenive Care Units, or ICU’s around the country. In 2001, Peter Pronovost made a simple checklist of basic sterilization steps for ICU doctors at John Hopkins to follow when putting a sterile tube into a patient. In 25 months, only two patients had infections in the tubing when doctors followed the checklist. Peter was then asked by the State of Michigan to implement similar checklists in the hospitals around the state. Before these checklists, one hospital had 75% more tube infections than the national average, and after the implementation of the checklists, had less tube infections than 90% of the country. However, many doctors are still opposed to checklists, saying that they do not need checklists because of their rigorous training and schooling.
This really angers me. When lives are in danger, doctors cant put away their damn egos and suck it up. Infections are commonly referred to as the number one killers in hospitals. When this is the case, why aren’t hospitals doing more to fight them? It is because doctors are egotistical, and feel that they are too smart to have to fill out a checklist. It is an “insult to their integrity” if someone thinks that they need a checklist to perform their job. I consider myself to be pretty smart, not in a way that’s comparing myself to anyone else, but just in my own knowledge, and I use checklists all the time. They are a good way to stay organized and to be able to repeat the same process multiple times without missing a step. Many of the things that checklists help me remember are things that are very simple or minute that I may just escape my notice because they are so basic. If doctors want to be so egotistical, they should look at checklists as a complement to them, which implies that they are so smart, they might forget basic, simple things.
Peter Pronovost is now working with the country of Spain to implement these checklists in the hospitals nationwide there. I don’t think anyone could put it better than he did when he was asked about the United States adopting a checklist policy “I at least hope we’re not the last.”

White House Joins Grand Challenge for Engineering

This is a brief post by the National Academies on how President Obama and the National Economic Council is creating a joint effort with the National Academy of Engineering in order to combat the joblessness rate of the country. Previous administrations did not necessarily listen to their economists, so now the unemployment rate is much higher than it has been in the recent past. The reason why I am writing on this post is because I am glad that the leader of our country and the Free World is using all the resources available to fix this economic crisis. Although much progress has been made, there is still more to overcome, mostly the unemployment rate. It is about time that the National Academy of Engineering has been called upon because every facet of the economy and industry is understood by one tract of engineering or another. Collectively, engineering is the most diverse industry, so it makes extreme sense to me that the engineering community has been called upon in this time of pain for many in the country.

Polymers are Forever

"Polymers are Forever" by Weisman raises the question of how to deal with all the plastics that the world economy is producing. I have a problem with this article in that the author seems to complain about how much plastic is in the world and how long it will take for it to biodegrade, yet the world uses so much plastic that it is not feasible to think that the world could ever stop using them in an amount that would do anything to help the environment. I also think that if all the plastics end up in the one area of the Pacific that boats don't venture into anyways, then why not use that space as the "ocean fill".

Stereotype Threat: Causes, Effects, and Remedies

https://www.courses.miami.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_270898_1&frame=top

This article is about the stereotypes that keep women away from engineering. The amount of women that are in the engineering field is staggeringly low, and also a very unfortunate to society in general. Women bring a different perspective to most things than men, so not having their input has a drastic effect. Since the engineering field is one that requires peer editing of ideas, and the more people there are to brainstorm the further technology advances, especially when there are many different perspectives dissecting the same ideas.
The causes of women not being in engineering is both self-inflicted and society-imposed. A large reason is that many women feel like their performance in the classes must be better than their male colleagues because if not they will be looked down upon. Society also pictures women still in generic jobs and lifestyles. They are pictured as teachers and nurses, and even still stay-at-home moms.
This article outlines many different ways to combat these stereotypes. This includes ideas such as being more personal with all students so that women don’t feel singled out or all alone, and making teachers aware of how they teach the class so that they do not make subconscious comments that could be taken as sexist.
I firmly believe that women must be encouraged to be engineers. Their different perspectives, and attitudes help to advance the technology in ways that the male-dominated society may not have thought of.

"What Will life be Like if People Stop Reading?" by Caleb Crain, and the notation system

This article is about what will happen to people and society if people stop reading. It describes the social effects and also the effects on one's brain. The one thing that I liked about this article is that it provides a lot of interesting facts about who reads, how many people read, and the difference between how educated and uneducated people think. Overall though, I disagreed with the arguments of the article. The article basically insinuates that in order to be educated and well-rounded, a person must practice reading. I disagree with this statement for two principle reasons. First, I believe that the reading that a college student has to do is more than enough to keep their brains functional for reading intensive purposes. Secondly, I believe that the internet and news stations provide all the news of the newspapers, except these mediums cut out the excess, and get to the news.
In regards to the notation system that we used, I do not really like it. I think that it is something that would be needed to be practiced for a very long amount of time, for minimal gains. I did not feel like it helped me understand the article anymore, and it took me longer to read the article.