Aldous Huxley

The current society that we live in today is full of problems such as world hunger, (as mentioned by Aldous Huxley in the respect of possible shortages in food due to overpopulation), war, and pollution. Can these problems ever be fixed? Are Aldous Huxley’s claims and views just around the corner? I believe that these problems will and already have taken great toll on the world. Immense amounts of pollution are leading to the greenhouse effect. Polar ice caps are melting and certain species of animals are becoming extinct. Millions of people die each year die due to shortages of food as stated by Huxley. Can you remember the last time you saw one of those commercials where an older man is holding a malnourished child in another country whom then asks you to sponsor that child? I personally see these commercials every time I turn the television on. If these problems are not corrected fast I do believe that humanity could someday evolve into a totalitarian world full of problems such as starvation and mind control.

In class video (aldous Huxley)

This interview was taped at the height of the Cold War and which Huxley saw as an increasing time of tension in the world which could ultimately arise in global problems such as totalitarian control. To be more exact, Huxley saw overpopulation as a disaster that was lurking just around the corner. Huxley argued that increasing populations would place extra pressure on existing resources such as coal and agricultural necessities like food. In his interview Wallace asks “Well, what are these forces and these devices, Mr. Huxley?” Huxley replies “I should say that there are two main impersonal forces… This is the force which in general terms can be called overpopulation, the mounting pressure of population pressing upon existing resources.” Huxley then says “let's just take a simple fact that between the time of birth of Christ and the landing of the May Flower, the population of the earth doubled. It rose from two hundred and fifty million to probably five hundred million.” Mike Wallace then asks “Well, why should overpopulation work to diminish our freedoms?” Huxley basically responds by saying that people in the world have less to eat and less goods per capita than they had fifty years ago due to the problem of overpopulation. This correlates with what was said above regarding that growing populations would place pressure on existing resources.

Brave New World (Qoute)

The quote below stood out to me. I feel like this quote is in a way "drama". When i read this quote it just reminds me of all of the people that are in relationships in the world and all of the drama that seems to be associated with them.

"But it's absurd to let yourself get into a state ... like this. Simply absurd," she repeated. "And what about? A man – one man."
"But he's the one I want."
"As though there weren't millions of other men in the world."
"But I don't want them."
"How can you know till you've tried?"
"I have tried."


This quote makes it sound like Lenina's desire for John is a simple case of wanting what you can't have. If she really loved him, she probably wouldn't be sleeping with "dozens" of other men like she does. Knowing how Lenina is throughout the book you could also suggest that she sleeps around with so many guys because it is her way of dealing with emotion.

A Brave New World

Incredible to think this science-fiction book by Huxley was first published in 1932. It seems like such a long time ago but yet still prevails in today's society as a "good read". A Brave New World portrays a future where happiness is the universal goal of human society. Total happiness is achieved by the removal of art, science, and religion, and maintained by technology, conditioning, sex, and drugs. The novel gets emotional when a 'savage' raised at a primitive reservation in the desert Southwest enters the civilized world. The contrasts of the two worlds become apparent following the adventures of the savage in his new environment.

My favorite character so far i would have to say would be Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe, as I loved the Inner Party member O'Brien in Nineteen Eighty-Four. These patriarchal characters, who have given up their own convictions, hope and happiness for the sake of society are the best plotted.
It is not difficult to see the society of Brave New World coming to pass. Biological engineering and social instruction, to some extent, are increasingly affecting everyday life. We must all ask ourselves, will we seek progress and consumption for their own sake? How do we maintain our humanity in an increasingly networked world?

1984 Conclusion to a Great book

I cannot stress this enough. I really enjoyed this book. I have said this again and again in before posts but it is true. The first thing that comes to mind when i read this book is i think of a communist society such China or how Germany used to be before the fall of the Berlin wall. I went to China 2 years ago and it was scary in a way. If you try and go on the internet you cant. The government only allows you to go on websites such as News sites or General public Information. If you try and go on facebook or something like that a message comes up saying that you are being blocked. That is strange and scary to me that the government constantly monitors your information. It seems like a terrible place and a place that i wish to never live in. Living in a totalitarian society like the one of Oceania would be unbearable for me. I would never be able to live in a society like this. I myself have no regard for authority. I feel like almost all my life i have been screwed over by the police for stupid things when i was younger. Now that i am older i have learned to keep my head straight. I have been pulled over before for going 41 in a 35 and have been put at gunpoint to get out of the car at 1 o'clock pm. Now really??? What is that about... Things like that really piss me off and thus contribute to my lack of regard for authority.

I feel as if Shippensburg University in a way has a sort of Communistic control over its students. By this i mean the following. Second semester last year i had my final exam on the last Friday of school. My exam was at 8 am so i decided to drive to the cub at 7 am and get some breakfast and study for a bit. I come out of the cub at 7:35 to move my car and BAM! I have a ticket for OVERTIME PARKING. I would like to add that there was only 2 other cars in the lot because it was the last day of school and No ONE is even on campus anymore. I received a $30 ticket for parking 4 minutes overtime. After my exam i drove to the police station and argued my case, explaining what the situation was and that it wasnt a big deal. But OH NO!!! it WAS a big deal to them. I didnt have the money to pay for the ticket so Ship uni Police put a hold on my account until i paid it. With this hold on my account it basically meant i was not allowed to schedule for classes for next year. Now in my opinion i DO NOT think it is right for the Uni Police to do that. To me that is saying if you dont pay this stupid parking ticket you CANNOT come back and fulfill your college career. If you do not pay this ticket we wont let you come back to school. That is basically what they are saying. So long story short the school basically screwed me over. I couldnt register for my classes. When i finally was able to i didnt get any classes i wanted and it put me a semester behind. REALLY????? Basically Ship Police are saying that if you do not pay a stupid parking ticket you cant schedule your classes. That is sooooooo dam wrong. Stupid things like this make me think of 1984. A total communistic rule. If you don't do this then we will punish you.

I would never be able to live in a society such as the one in 1984. I would rather go down in a hail of gunfire then put up with that bullshit. I hate authority and as Justin Stine said in his blog

"I would have to say that I would stockpile a bunch of weapons and go down fightin in a blaze of glory if I was a person living in the world that this novel portrayed." (Justin Stine)

I completely agree with him. I would do the same exact thing then live in a totalitarian society where i am constantly being watched and told what to do. I would go insane. All in all the book wrapped up well. I cant add any other comments about the book because i simply loved it and that is something that is rare for me to say. I hardly ever read unless i have to. I have a hard time finding books that interest me and this one truly sparked my interest.

Now i know i just ranted above about SHIP police etc but DO NOT even get me started about the parking ticket i got the other day because my front right tire was 1 GOSH DAM inch on the DAM grass!!!!!. $30 ticket because 1/4 of my front right tire was 1 inch on the grass..... REALLLY?????????? Ok i better get off my computer before i break it.

In conclusion i would never be able to live in a communistic society and i loved this book!

George Orwells 1984

Without a doubt this book is extremely popular among readers. I chose to read this book because I had read it before whilst in high school. Now as you can imagine when i was back in high school I was not exactly fond of reading but this book really allowed me to stretch out and enjoy what literature has to offer. George Orwell's 1984 takes place in three roughly equal groups. Eastasia, Eurasia, and Oceania. George Orwell's 1984 is set in Oceania, which includes the United Kingdom, where this story is set, known as Airstrip One. Oceania is operated by a totalitarian society where the federal serviceman have complete /power over the inhabitants. The people of Oceania are subjected to 24 hour surveillance via telescreens. These people are constantly being watched and must also be careful not to commit a thought crime. A thought crime is when a inhabitant of Oceania can be arrested for just "thinking" about a conducting a crime. This goes to show that privacy is no longer a known word.

The main character in this story is named Winston. Winston despises the totalitarian rule over the people. He is a weak, frail, thin, and almost malnourished minor member of the ruling party. The inhabitants of Oceania are constantly reminded that "Big Brother is Watching YOU". This slogan is Oceania's primary means of propaganda. This slogan goes to show how little privacy there actually is. These posters are littered everywhere, set as a reminder for anyone who may even think about committing a crime. Big Brother is constantly watching you. Big Brother never actually appears in the Novel as a real person. So as far as i am concerned he may not actually exist at all but rather serves as a mental scare for the people of this totalitarian society. Big Brother is the perceived ruler of Oceania. His face is plastered everywhere bearing the message "Big Brother is Watching YOU". He makes you think twice before you do anything and i mean anything. One cannot even "think" about a crime. This goes to show how strict Oceania is.

All in all i really do like this book. It is extremely hard for me to find a piece of literature that actually envelops me. This book does this quite well. Except for Big Brother the characters seem very believable and very realistic. I also liked the part where O'Brian makes Winston confront his biggest fear of all; strapping a cage full of rats onto Winston's face. I thought it was funny how he wanted Julia to do it instead of himself. I also like the idea of how Winston and Julia met. Julia slips Winston a note that says "I love you" and from there their relationship begins. There relationship must be a secret. If any of the party leaders find out they risk punishment.

If a society like this were to actually exist it would be very scary. One must also think whether or not our U.S. Government is already doing this. I personally do not feel like i am being watched but you never know. The Government could be tapping everyone's phone and you would never know it.

Lastly, the question i ask is "Do you think that our current Government will ever one day become this strict?"

EXTRA CREDIT (Without a Cell Phone) PART 3 of 3

So here I am. Its week 3. I have learned to accept the fact that communication is coming to a halt. In weeks 2 post I spoke about my alternative activities one which was sitting in my room and doing absolutely nothing. Week 3 i realized that this was not a good option. I am naturally a very active person so i thought hey! why not start going back to the gym? Week 3 was a marking point for the gym. 3 days a week and cardio in between is more than enough. I also focused on eating healthier. While on the computer starring at facebook waiting for a friend to log in i began researching healthier eating habits etc. Week 3 of being phone less actually proved to be a good thing. Between going to the gym more, eating healthier, and actually doing my homework how could this not be a good thing. My friends began to accept the fact that i didnt have a phone thus backed out my life.

Living without a phone for 3 weeks was at first terrible but in the end bearable. What i learned from this experience is that we are so dependent on technology. It runs our lives. In a way this is sad. What happened to sending letters and face to face conversations? These types of communications have a certain emotional attraction. Sending someone a text message lacks a certain inner emotional connection between you and the person you are talking to. All in all i learned to deal with being without a phone. It was extremely hard at first but easy in the end. In a way i enjoyed this extra credit assignment. In a way it helps you find who you are inside and helps you stray from becoming reliant on technology as a means of communication.

EXTRA CREDIT (Without a Cell Phone) PART 2 of 3

Being for without a cell phone for some for just a few minutes is nerve racking. Now imagine not having one for 3 weeks! It is ridiculous. A week into not having my cell phone i almost began to shut down. Not having a phone for 3 weeks was one of the hardest things i have ever had to adapt to. A MAJOR problem that i noticed that had arose was the communication between family members. I am no mamma's boy by any means but my parents do like to keep in contact with me while i am at school. My family and i are very close and are open about everything. The week that i lost my phone was also the week that i needed to pay for my car insurance. I have a reminder on my cell phone that goes off a day before i need to pay my insurance every 6 months. I write my parents a check and they cash it and send the money off to the insurance company. Now not having a phone really messed things up for me. My reminder did not go off because i didnt have a phone. I forgot all about paying for the Insurance. My parents tried calling me wondering where the money was but they had no idea i had lost my phone. My parents began to get a annoyed because they didnt want to have a late payment to the Ins. Company. 1 week after the payment date i suddenly remembered that i needed to pay so i wrote a check and mailed it off.

Whilst not having a cell phone i resorted to using my friends phones to contact my parents/friends. I have a lot of friends here at ship so that means a lot of different cell phone numbers. I would call my parents from one phone then 10 minutes later call them from a different phone and so on day after day week after week. Doing this confused my parents so not only did not having a cell phone affect me it also affected the people around me. The funniest thing about this situation was that when my parents needed to contact me about Doctor visits etc they would call and text my friends phones. It seemed like every time my parents called my friends phones i was NEVER around them. So there my friends are running around trying to give me messages from my parents. Sometimes i wouldn't get a message until about 5 days after my parents left the message. So as you can see things were VERY unorganized. Now some of you may ask, "why didn't you just email your parents?" Well my parents are very technologically inclined and dot even know how to send an email so instead of fussing with that i just avoided it. To prove my point i actually did send my mother 1 email and to which this day have still not gotten a reply. In my post regarding week one i started going a little bit crazy, not knowing what to do. Week 2 was easier for me. I began to accept the fact that i would not have a phone for while. Again, some of you may ask "Why didn't you just got out and buy another phone?" Well the simplest answer i can give is... I am BROKE!

Finally accepting the reality that i would be out of commission for a while i noticed that i began to sit in my room alot more. I am rarely in my room and being phone less almost was like i locked myself in my room. I sat in my room alot because i started using the infamous Facebook as a cellular replacement. Facebook did prove to be very effective through the day time but towards the night it didn't work. By this i mean that most of my friends are on facebook throughout the day so it was easy for me to catch them and see what was going on for the day. My friends like to party a lot so therefore NONE of them are on facebook at night so it was hard to find out what they were doing at night because none of them were on facebook. While sitting around my room i began to notice that it was cleaner than ever. When i would get bored in my room i would clean. I would vacuum, dust, and make my bed. This was obviously a good thing. Being out of contact with friends also made me go to the CUB more often. I would go to the CUB, get food then head straight back to my room to eat it. Now one would think that if you were sitting in your room all day you would do more homework. For me i think that i did absolutely zero homework. The television, video games, and facebook became a huge distraction. It was kind of like i was drunk off of laziness.

I may seem like i was acting like it was the end of the world for me, not having a phone but it really kind of was... Despite, the clean room, incomplete homework, late Insurance payments and terrible communication I reluctantly survived week 2. [Week 3 (final week) to come]

EXTRA CREDIT (Without a Cell Phone) PART 1

As some of you may have known i have been and are still without a cell phone. It all started off when I was leaving a friend of mines house over on College Park the night of the terrible blizzard. I was walking down the steps and took a nasty spill. I slipped and fell off over the railing into a HUGE snow drift. It was dark out, snow in my eyes, I just couldn't see. I began searching for it frantically but then quickly realized that;I couldn't find it. Thrashing through the snow, it was nowhere to be seen. Even after several later attempts to find it with a metal detector. It was still lost in the mist. The Story of the Lost Cell phone, was sure to have an ending that would stun us all. Seconds began to pass, then minutes, then hours, and then even days. I lost touch of all of my friends. I never knew when to eat with them or go out with them anywhere. I was slowly being "shut out" from the cellular world. What to do what to do? I don't have a cell phone what do i do? It was like Dr. Seuss was in my head, the world almost spinning. Boredom set in from the lack of communications, i began watching t.v. more often and definitely sitting around more often. It was like I was high off a technological marijuana joint. I was slowly slipping out of reality and into the a cold, manipulative Cell Phone terror mania. Panick began to set in quickly, i felt as if my very own cell phones was taking my friends away. Days of not having a phone starts to reek havoc. Am i going crazy? [Stay Tuned for PART 2]

FEED. Close to a WiFi Fead world?

Once in a while a book comes along that is so important, so defining of our time, that nobody reads it. This may be that book. This is our very possible future and it is terrifying as well as avoidable... While I did end up liking this book, this book is one that I found hard to get into, the beginning is slow and slightly tedious with all of the slang and the "Like, totally, man" quality of the narrators speech, it was not until about page 50 that I really started getting into it. Reading this book with all of the "Likes'" in it etc made me feel like I was in a classroom with the girl or guy that is like well like, i did not like even know like, how like the world like, like, like. It drives me crazy when people say like every 2 seconds and in reading this book it felt like i was hearing it just like that. It seemed at times that the author was trying too hard to get his point across/to me the whole time saying things like "Know what I mean? Huh? Do ya get it, do ya?" which got tiring very fast. The plot of the book seemed like any other futuristic story line. The whole "there is a chip in my head mind controlling scenario has been done plenty of times." Like in George Orwell's 1984 there was not direct mind control but in a way there was. The government could read your thoughts etc. So to me it was kind of like feed but feed is more futuristic. So all in all i really did not find the story line that original. I did like how Titus met Violet on the moon and she sort of opened a new light to him. I thought Violets character was portrayed very well. Some of the ideas in the book were also kind of cool. For example when Violet and Titus where at the club on the moon and the one guy came in and started hitting everyone on the head with a "virus" stick. I thought that was sort of original that being hit by this thing caused your feed chip to malfunction. In the end I did slowly begin liking the book more and more.

As I digress I ask a simple question. "Do you think that our world may some day be run by a sort of feed chip?"

The dumbest Generation? Excuse me...

Think for a second. Humans evolve, we change, we alter our minds, and we adjust to changes. In regards to the video of Dr. Bauerlein that we watched in class he says that todays generation of people are the "dumbest generation." Dr. Bauerlein and his ideas regarding the "dumbest generation" are to me false, I do not exactly agree with his opinion. He goes on and on about how old knowledge is being forgotten. Isn't that just a part of life? I mean what i said before, humans evolve. How can you expect someone from 2010 to be able to be a history major on what happened in the time of 1650? In my opinion you cant. What i am getting at is how can he say that just because somebody has never heard of Moby dick that they are dumb? I guarantee if i asked Dr. Bauerlein about rap music, the latest gadgets, or what club i should go to in Philladelphia he wouldn't know what to say. How can he expect people of the new generation to know what the Old man and the Sea is? To some people that stuff is not important. To people like Dr. Bauerlein, Mozart, Moby dick, The old man and the Sea, Beethoven are all important things. Dr. Bauerlein does not see a positive side in today's youth. To him rap music is just loud obnoxious noise. Just because he doesn't like Ludicrous doesn't mean everyone else does. As time goes by new things become more special and some lose importance. Ludacris is one of the wealthiest rap artists out there. In his song "Big A$$ house" his second verse is as follows...

"I got the biggest house that you seen thus far, *yeah*
Twenty-two acres and it fit a hundred cars.
Five million dollars, I bought it straight cash,
and my fat bank account is out of your weight class."

This song that he wrote is about his life. At the time he wrote that song he did have a $5 million house and he did buy it with cash. He also does have just over 100 different cars which range from a quarter of a million dollars to 1.5 million. Now he lives in an even bigger more expensive house thats somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 million. So in 100 years i don't think that Ludacris will be forgot. He is one of the greatest rappers out there. His work 100 years from now will still be looked upon and listened to just how Beethoven and Mozart are still listened to this day. So for Dr. Bauerlein to not think that rap music is important is naive. Ludacris has his own foundation where he donates millions of dollars to help kids with disabilities. So other than being a rapper hes helping people. This is something that will not be forgotten in society.

Now let me get off my rant regarding Ludacris. I just cant fathom how Dr. Bauerlein thinks that today's generation is dumb. All the question that were asked by Jay Leno in the video i knew the answers to but just becuase the people in the video didn't doesn't make them dumb. I didn't know what the Dead Sea Scrolls were until about 3 weeks ago. Am i the dumbest generation? According to Dr. Bauerlein i am but i know that i am smart. I mean i made it this far in college/life so i must have some common sense.

All in all how can we be expected to remember information that happened 200 years ago. What happened 200 years ago doesn't exactly affect how i carry out my day. Yea what happened 200 years ago shaped today's world but how do you know that what is happening nowadays wont shape the world 200 years from now?

Americas Image

The video that we watched in class, Killing us Softly 3 Advertising's Image of Women regarded an undoubted issue of how the media portrays women in a uncanny way. In the video Jean Killbourne elaborates how the advertising industry in 1979 grew from a $20 billion a year Industry to a $180 billion industry in 1999. There is no doubt that advertising is a key player in Americans Economic and Socioeconomic time line but there is doubt on what all of this mass advertising is doing to peoples self images and how they see themselves in this expanding world.. The average American is exposed to over three thousand advertisement each day which means that the average American will spend 3 solid years of his or her life watching television commercials. Americans are litterally fed image upon image of mass advertisements. Whether its an advertisement on a city bus, a billboard, a television, a movie, or over the radio these ads are everywhere. As said in the video, advertising promotes normalcy and due to this there is a constant need for people to feel that they need to be socially accepted among everyone. 40 percent of adults in American are obese. With that said take in to account of all of the ads you see that promote healthy living, slender figures, and beach body's. The media in a sense tells us who we need to be or what we need to look like in order to be considered normal in this current day and age. I agree with what Jeanne Killbourne is saying in that the media has a growing expecatation of what women "should" look like in order to be considered normal. I do believe that this is wrong. There are so many ads out there that tell women that they need to be skinny, have large breasts, and ultimately be considered an object rather than a human being. Instilling this false image upon women at an early age just sets them up for problems. When young girls see these images of beautiful skinny women on the beach or whatever they may be, they feel as if they need to look like that in order to be socially accepted. Advertising tells women how they should be. Advertising surrounds women with the image of ideal beauty so that women learn from an early age how important it is for a women to be beautiful. Women learn that they need to spend mass amounts of money in order to achieve this "so called" ideal beauty. Ideal beauty is inevitably false and non achievable because the ideal image of what a women should be is flawless and it is impossible to achieve this. I think that the false image of women that is being bestowed upon young girls is a terrible thing that alters how people think and thus brainwashes them in to thinking that they must be perfect in order to be liked.

In relation to men. Obviously there are advertisements out there that picture the ideal man but being a male myself I personally do not think that men strive as hard as women to become this ideal image. I personally do not care what i look like or how i dress or let alone what people think about me. I think that i have a terrible sense of style and have learned to accept this. I wear basketball shorts, sweatpants, and a sweatshirt almost everyday and never really think twice about how i look. I wake up, roll out of bed and stagger off to class. Some girls on the other hand have to make sure that their clothes and hair are perfect before they even consider leaving their room! I believe that this is primarily because of the media and their false representation and expectation of what a women "should" be. I cant say that i have ever met a guy that spent 1 hour getting ready go out to a party or asked me if i thought he looked fat in his new t shirt. The issue of how the media is in a way controlling what the ideal women should like is a bad thing and it is up to people like me and you to stray from this ideal image and be ourselves. I ask to you "Is there a way of fixing this problem? If so how or what do you suggest?

Mood Disorders (Becoming Detached from the Cultural World)

Page four paragraph four in Culture jam explains how humans are becoming more detached from the natural world. It gives examples of how most people don't even know why the sky is blue or cannot remember the last time they smelled wild skunk cabbage. It also talks about how we as families are becoming less engaged in story times. In early years Native Americans told stories of the moon, epic battles, hunting experiences, and the stars. Instead we are now becoming more reliant on television and technology to tell us stories. Examples of this would be television shows such Jerry Springer, Oprah, or Maury. Instead of families telling stories with one another they now gather around the television and stray from that inner culture being and substitute technology as a form of story telling.

So the question I ask is. Is the fact that humans are straying from the "warmth" of mother earth an accepted fact of evolution, or is it a serious problem that needs to be addressed?

About me "David"

Hey everyone, my name is David Marks. I am a Sophomore here at Shippensburg University and are majoring in Exercise Sciences. I like doing just about anything and consider myself pretty down to earth. If you want to know more about me just hit me up.