Who is responsible for limiting the ecological footprint of humans in international waters?

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

“The Therapeutic Effects of Singing on Neurological Disorders”

            This article discussed the effects of singing on neurological disorders, specifically: stuttering, Parkinson’s disease, Aphasia and autism. It has been discovered that singing “can ameliorate some speech deficits” associated with these conditions and potentially lead to the development of specialized treatments for people suffering from these disorders. Discoveries such as this form an important connection between the arts and the science. Many forms of music therapy for various diseases and conditions beyond those discussed in this article have been successfully used for years.

I connected this to my younger brother, who suffered from complications when he was born which led to years of problems with many basic skills. One of the most difficult things for him was speech. He went through two years of speech therapy and I remember one of the techniques his therapist used most often was music. It was always easier for him to sing than it was for him to speak. He has since overcome his speech problems which can be credited to the specialized music therapy.

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

“Whisper of the Wild”

Kim Tingley discusses the research of Davyd Betchkal, a sound catcher focused in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Betchkal is studying natural soundscapes of areas like Denali, and how human sound pollution is effecting the species within the park and the soundscape itself. Tingley focuses on the adverse effects of plane, cars and other human noise on the inhabitants of these habitats. For example, “the droning of the freeway traffic and the 24/7 rumbling of natural-gas-pipeline compressors directly harm the ability of birds nesting nearby to reproduce” (Tingley, 9).

I connect Tingley’s experience in Denali to my own experiences in the Adirondack National Park. When you’re standing on top of a mountain or canoeing out in the middle of a lake, you don’t hear the sound of cars and there aren’t many people. It is peaceful and that is one of the reasons why it is so beautiful. However, moments later you might hear the roar of a plane over head or of a boat on the water and it breaks the silence. Noises that effect humans and their perception of the land must certainly have an even greater effect on the species that live there, which forces us to wonder why we don’t do more to protect natural soundscapes.

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

“Land Divided, Coast United”

            In this piece on the state of water and sewage management in Gaza, Josie Glausiusz discusses the specifics of the problems face by the people of Gaza and the involvement of the Israelis. According to Glausiusz the biggest issue Gaza faces presently is Israel’s refusal to provide additional electricity for an already constructed water treatment plant. Despite funding from the World Bank and assistance from other international organizations, the main problem in Gaza is Israel’s refusal to assist. However, the current state of Gazan water, where “today, about 72 percent of the population [of Gaza] is serviced by a poorly maintained sewage system” (Glausiusz 6) and “[the dumping of sewage into the Mediterranean] can pose a risk to not only humans via recreational water use but also to marine mammals” (Glausiusz 7) suggests to me that this is an international crisis. While I have never seen such devastating pollution in my area, I do live on the coast of Lake Ontario where the condition of the beaches and the lake itself have deteriorated for years.

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

“The Clan of the One-Breasted Women”

            Terry Tempest Williams states that the United States of the 1950s was red, white and blue… If you were against nuclear testing, you were for the Communist regime” (Williams 5). This idea caused many issues for those living in the southern United States, particularly Utah, where Tempest grew up. She watch as nine women in her family fought and several lost their lives to breast cancer. Williams came to the realization that the nuclear testing was to blame for their deaths and the creation of the “clan of one-breasted women” and stated; “Tolerating blind obedience in the name of patriotism or religion ultimately takes our lives” (Williams 8). This statement seems to me the most important in her paper. As someone who was raised to question everything, I agree that family is the most important reason to stop tolerating and start asking. This shows that she has moved past her blind obedience in the name of her family and of the clan of women she has joined.

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 250 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

His Brain Can’t Make New Memories — So He Built an App to Store them Instead

Science Reporter Nidhi Subbaraman met with Thomas Dixon, a man who suffered severe brain injuries in a car accident to discuss his new app and its role in his life. The hardest hit to Dixon’s brain was his medial-temporal lobe, the memory-making center. After his accident the memories he formed before remained intact, however, he lost the ability to make or remember new memories. Thomas Dixon attempted many methods of remembering his day to day life but wasn’t satisfied with his results until his newest method- an app. When journals became too difficult to find information in and private twitter feeds didn’t have the recall capacity Dixon was looking for, he created his own solution. He is now able to easily recall important details of his life, and those less important day to day memories most people take for granted.

Subbaraman’s piece on Thomas Dixon is effective public-facing science writing because the message of her piece is that this app could impact all readers. She emphasizes Dixon’s idea that his app is useful for everyone, not just those who have suffered from a brain injury. Subbaraman writes, “We don’t remember a majority of our own lives,” Dixon said. “People will say to me, ‘So this is an app for people with memory loss.’ And I will look at them and say, ‘You mean you?’” By incorporating this quote from Dixon she has been able to make this app, and its creator, highly relatable.

Subbaraman’s article can be found at: https://www.buzzfeed.com/nidhisubbaraman/memory-app-for-that?utm_term=.rogqYLK3G#.uxZAR5EdW

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

Skepticism and Importance

            Throughout the course of my essay I discuss Bruno Latour’s ideas on the ways in which people comprehend information. He separates the world into two types of people: those who see things in distinct zones, and those who see the ways in which things are connected across disciplines. The goal of my essay was to introduce a third party, who do not see boundaries at all but rather a cohesive world. Skeptics may point out that Sturges Hall isn’t necessarily the best example for this idea, however, by drawing additional evidence from the objects which surround Sturges I believe I have given enough primary evidence. It is important to recognize all ways of thinking and by presenting this additional group of people who see the world boundary-less, our understanding of the world and others’ viewpoints can be expanded.

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 200 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

Bruno Latour and Sturges Hall

Latour’s job and interests involve science studies which “are talking not about the social contexts and the interests of power, but about their involvement with collectives and objects” (Latour 4). By stating this Latour implies that he sees himself as a “translator”, meaning he understands the ways in which objects and ideas are connected through many disciplines. Therefore, I believe Latour would see Sturges Hall as a hybrid between human and nonhuman. However, he also acknowledges that our world functions best with the existence of both translators and purifiers. Purifiers are those who create zones of human and nonhuman which are distinctly different. To these types of thinkers Sturges Hall is a purely human construct, the controlled growth of the ivy around the windows shows that the ivy is not truly natural. Latour finds it crucial to keep both of these viewpoints distinctive but equally present in our society. In my opinion, what is truly fascinating about Sturges is the reestablishment of the natural world to a man-made structure, a reminder that the human and natural worlds can coexist. This way of thinking acknowledges the human and natural as both separate and connected at once.

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

“We Have Never Been Modern”

Bruno Latour’s essay “We Have Never Been Modern” focuses on the way in which knowledge is shared in our modern world. “By all means, they seem to say, let us not mix up knowledge, interest, justice and power lead us not mix up having an earth, the global stage and the local scene, the human and the nonhuman” (Latour 3). According to Latour there are three distinct approaches to discussing our world: “naturalization, socialization and deconstruction”. Throughout he speaks of modernity and how the way in which certain groups of people think change how they choose to compartmentalize information. His hypothesis surrounds this idea, that there are those who practice “translation” and mix beings, creating hybrids and those who practice “purification” creating zones of human and nonhuman which are distinctly different.

This can be connected to Sturges Hall in the way that people look at it differently. Some view the hall as a hybrid between human and nonhuman, with its ivy covered walls, while others view it as a human construct, and see the careful grooming of the ivy around the windows as another separation between human and nonhuman.

Emma Cooke                                                                                     about 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19 Science Writing

The Trouble With Wilderness

William Cronon’s “The Trouble with Wilderness” is his response to the idea that “wilderness is the preservation of the world”. Cronon argues that the wilderness is actual a human creation, that the very idea of the wilderness is a product of our culture and interference. He gives examples of the many ways in which humans have interfered in the wilderness including our emphasis on the sublime and the frontier- preserving that experience. He states that “if we allow ourselves to believe that nature, to be true, must also be wild, then out very presence in nature represents its fall” (Cronon 97).

This concept can be connected back to the ivy growing up Sturges Hall. The growth of the ivy is managed, humans chose not to allow the ivy to grow over windows, how high it grows and often only allow it to grow because it is aesthetically pleasing. William Cronon emphasizes that there is not a true border between the human and natural worlds because humans have interfered in what was once the natural world.