Why go to College Essay Example for Free

Why go to College Essay I believe that one of the best ways for me to be successful in life is by going to college. In today’s world, getting through life happily seems hard to do with only a high school diploma. Hopefully going to college will give me the education I need to have a happy, successful life. Even though college is very costly and time consuming, I hope it will eventually get me a higher degree, so I can live life in a way that makes me happy. College should help me improve myself in many ways and also help me achieve my goals in life. The things I hope to do in college are; enhance my knowledge, obtain new experiences, and prepare myself for a career I enjoy. Many people know that knowledge is the key to success. It is very hard for people without further education to support their families. My father chose to work with my grandfather straight out of high school. They are still in the flooring business to this day. My dad pushed me to go to college because he doesn’t want me to go through what he has to go through every day. The intense, physical labor, and the long hours at work make him regret what he chose as his career. He now knows that if he would have went to college, it could have changed his life. Even though I don’t know what kind of degree I want to get out of college, I thought that going to college would be the best thing for me to do straight out of high school. Trying to live with the job I have right now would almost be impossible to support myself, let alone a whole family. It is proven that almost every person with further learning, makes more money than a person with just a high school diploma. Even though my parents are able to support my family, my dad only having a high school diploma, it is very hard for them to do. Something that is very important to me, is finding a career that I actually enjoy. If I did find a job where I made a lot of money, but didn’t enjoy it, I don’t know if would be worth it. I need to find something that I am happy with, so I will be more willing to go to work every day. I know that I will be spending the next few years of my life in college, and I will also be spending more money than I have. The reason I want to put  myself through all of the schooling, is because I know it will give me a better future.

The Old Man at the Bridge Essay Example for Free

The Old Man at the Bridge Essay The book I have read Ive recently read a book, which has made a very deep impression on me. It is named Gone with the Wind The author of the book is Margaret Mitchell. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in a family of the president of the Atlanta Historical Society. All the family was interested in American history and she grew up in an atmosphere of stones about the Civil War. After graduating from the college Margaret Mitchell worked for a time for the Atlanta Journal. In 1925 she got married. In the following ten years she put on paper all the stories she had heard about the Civil War. The result was Gone with the Wind. It was first published in 1936 and became the talking point of all America. In 1939 the book was made into a highly successful film. Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable played the leading roles. Vivien Leigh won the Oscar. Everyone loved her high-spirited and beautiful heroine, Scarlett OHara. The story is set around the time of the American Civil War (1861-1865), when the Southern states went to war with the North to defend their way of life. It was a way of life in which rich gentry lived in large houses and owned huge areas of land, cultivated by black slaves. Scarlett OHara was born in one of those rich houses. But Gone with the Wind is also about a love triangle. While Scarlett loves the quiet, gentlemanly Ashley Wilkes, the wild and decidedly ungentlemanly Rhett Butler is in love with her. Not so long ago, in 1991, a publishing company asked Alexandra Ripley, a historical novelist, to write the continuation of the story. Her novel Scarlett was not in the same class as the original. Critics have been writing very bad reviews of Scarlett but the book is popular with the public. ? , .  «  ». — . ? , , ? . , ? ? ? . - ?  «Atlanta Journal ». ? 1925 ?. . ? , ? .  «  ». ? 1936 ?. ? . ? 1939 ?. . ? .  «Ã‚ ». ? , . ? (1861-1865), ? , . , ? ? , . ? .  «  » ? . ? , ?  «  » .  ? 1991 ?. , , , .  «Ã‚ » ? ? .  «Ã‚ » , . Entertainment Nowadays everybody knows that people are very busy and don’t have much time to spare. Sometimes it’s only the weekend and I think that every day-off needs some special planning. The English say: Who knows how to work, knows how to rest. I think it’s true. In my view rest is as important as work. I prefer spending my free time with the people whose company I always enjoy. I also like to spend my spare time alone, when I’m tired and haven’t got any desire to talk to anybody, very often I want to get away from noisy streets and go to the countryside and change the scenery. On the other hand I may go to different entertainment centers such as cinema, theatre, concerts halls, etc. If you want to be strong and healthy, go in for sports. There are many sports clubs, swimming-pools, gymnasiums and sport grounds for everybody who loves sports. Sport will make you not only healthier and stronger, but kinder, more sociable, cheerful and even wiser. Sport will give you its strength and energy and you’ll become a greater admirer of life with all its problems and wonders. Travelling is also a good way to spend my spare time. Visiting new places, seeing sights and meeting new people is a very exciting and useful relaxation. I can go hiking. In summer I like to be outdoors from morning till night, sunbathing, walking barefoot on the grass. My family or my friends are the very people to go with to the riverbank, to the forest or to the seashore. Its really wonderful to put up a tent, make a fire and spend time in a picturesque place. People are dreamers, our dreams are different but each person chooses his own way of spending free time, either passive or active. In any case leisure should be refreshment and a source of inspiration. Education in Great Britain: Schools In Britain it is compulsory for everyone between the ages of 5 and 16 years to receive some officially recognized form of schooling, though most secondary schools continue to provide education until the age of 18. The vast majority of pupils attend state schools, which are absolutely free (including all text books and exercise books), but there are also about 500 private schools providing secondary education. The most famous of these schools are Eton and Harrow. There is no statutory age at which students change from primary to secondary school, nor are schools specialized — pupils choose from the numerous subjects taught in their particular school. The recently introduced National Curriculum has made it compulsory, however, for three core subjects — English, mathematics, and science — and seven other foundation subjects — technology (including design), history, geography, music, art, physical education, and a modern foreign language — to be included in the curricula of all pupils. Passage from one academic year to the next is automatic. After a two-year course, usually from 14 to 16 years of age, most pupils take their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), assessed on the basis of a mixture of course work and a written examination, in individual subjects. Pupils obtaining at least five passes at GCSE can then specialize for two years (usually from 16 to 18 years of age) in two or three subjects, in which they take the General Certificate of Education Advanced level (A-level) examination. This is used as an entrance qualification for university (minimum two passes) and other types of higher education, as well as for many forms of professional training. Education in Great Britain: Higher Education (1) There is a considerable choice of post-school education in Britain. In addition to universities, there are also polytechnics and a series of different types of assisted colleges, such as colleges of technology, art, etc. , which tend to provide more work-orientated courses than universities. Virtually all students on full-time courses receive grants or loans from the Government which cover their tuition fees and everyday expenses (accommodation, food, books, etc. ). Universities in Britain enjoy complete academic freedom, choosing their own staff and deciding which students to admit, what and how to teach, and which degrees to award (first degrees are called Bachelor degrees). They are mainly government-funded, except for the totally independent University of Buckingham. There is no automatic admission to university, as there are only a limited number of places (around 100,000) available each year. Candidates are accepted on the basis of their A-level results. Virtually all degree courses are full-time and most last three years (medical and veterinary courses last five or six years). Students who obtain their Bachelor degree (graduates) can apply to take a further degree course, usually involving a mixture of exam courses and research. There are two different types of postgraduate courses — the Masters degree (MA or MSc) and higher degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Evolutionary Approaches to Economic Change

Evolutionary Approaches to Economic Change What is the evolutionary approach to economic change? How does it compare with conventional approach in mainstream economics? Introduction The changes in the economic process brought about by innovation, together with all their effects, and the response to them by the economic system, we shall designate by the term Economic Evolution†, Schumpeter (1939).[1] The above description of economic evolution by Schumpeter aptly illustrates the picture of the evolutionary approach to economic change, where innovations and technology set the economic system in dynamic motion.[2] It takes into account the complexity of economic change by emphasizing: a.) the importance of technology as a contributing factor to economic change; b.) the factors that create states of disequilibrium; c.) the uncertainty of the economic system; d.) the importance of entrepreneurship; and e.) the diversity of growth rates. The evolutionary approach emphasizes dynamism in terms of competition between and among firms, which necessitates making new adaptations to the changing environment brought about by transformations created by other firms. [3] On the other hand, the conventional approach to economic change in mainstream economics perceives economic change as a function of savings, population growth and technological progress (which are viewed as exogenous), ascertain t he static income per capita levels. [4] It assumes that the growth rate of total output will in fact, always move towards a given constant level which represents a state of steady economic growth. [5] Moreover, the conventional approach operates on the basis of assumptions that center on the existence of perfect information, absence of uncertainty and achievement of warranted economic change. Comparative Analysis of Evolutionary and Conventional Approaches to Economic Change Evolutionary and conventional approaches to economic change differ in many aspects. In the context of economic change, these important differences center on the following points: a.) use of metaphors; b.) states of equilibrium / disequilibrium; and c.) emphasis on technological progress as input to economic change. Use of Metaphors The evolutionary approach uses biological metaphors to explain economic change, which uses the living organism in its analogy in effecting such change. This approach uses biological / genetic mutations to represent the small changes coming from investments in already existing enterprises. The process of mutation as evolutionary adaptation for survival lies on the nature of biological mutations which happens at random and where natural selection weeds out the unsuccessful species. Similarly, economic change in the context of the evolutionary approach occurs in a competitive environment where changes are made at random and where enterprises with less efficient management systems become the unsuccessful ones. On the other hand, the conventional approach uses physical metaphors such as investments taking the form of physical inputs such as â€Å"modifications of existing factories, fields, roads, harbours, etc†. [6] States of Equilibrium / Disequilibrium The evolutionary approach highlights the dynamic interaction of the various firms, consumers, households and markets, taking into account the distribution of income and production among them, thereby emphasizing the influence of a diverse group of variables on economic change. This is in stark contrast to the consideration of the economy as an aggregate entity by the conventional approach. In effect, the variables being diverse and numerous in the perspective of the evolutionary approach, potentially create states of dynamic disequilibrium within the economic system. These states of disequilibrium are in fact embodied in the structural change within the economic system which is â€Å"a necessary reflection of diversity in the growth rates of different activities.[7] It rejects the classical assumption of Say’s Law [8] , [9], since the evolutionary approach is grounded on a more realistic view of the economy where society places a value on the goods produced based on its prefe rences and tastes, thus, the uncertainty of gains and losses are well taken into account. This realistic view of the evolutionary approach to economic change therefore delves into the interaction between the diverse agents or actors involved in the economic system as a whole. These interactive processes being essentially dynamic and transformative in nature, expose the economic system into more random forces that lead to a disorderly state or to a state of disequilibrium. In this scenario, market processes shape the competitive process which breeds innovation consequently leading to the restless quest for technological progress. Technological progress later determines market share and hence, becomes a useful yardstick of competitive edge. In this case, there is hardly any state of equilibrium, but instead, there exist randomly interacting forces colliding with one another, producing further disequilibrium in the economic system. A useful analogy would be to equate biological evoluti onary forces that determine the likelihood of an organism to survive in a constantly changing environment, to the economic factors that cause disequilibrium which determine the competitive strength of firms in the face of imperfect competition. The conventional approach views economic change as a stationary or static process, and thus, the growth of all activities† are â€Å"at a uniform rate†. [10] The neoclassical theory which follows a conventional approach negates the importance of economic forces that often influence the rate of economic change, making it an idealized approach. Thus, in this case, there is a total absence of unemployment or inflation, while what exists is a uniform return to scale. This approach models economic change in a state of equilibrium where economic decisions are made from perfect information, and are carried out with â€Å"perfect foresight and precision so that there is never any excess supply of or, excess demand for, labor or land.† [11] This approach also assumes that a perfect suitability exists in production between capital goods and consumption goods, thus, â€Å"only one commodity is produced which may be used either for final consumption or for addition to the st ock of instruments of production.† [12] Hence this steady state of economic change in the perspective of the conventional approach assumes that: (i) all elasticities of substitution between the various factors are equal to unity, (ii) technical progress is neutral towards all factors, and (iii) the proportions of profits saved, of wages saved, and of rents saved were all three constant, [13] The conventional approach inherently possesses an â€Å"apparent inability to account for observed diversity across countries† and a â€Å"strong and counterfactual prediction that international trade should include rapid movement towards equality in capital-labor ratios and factor prices.† [14] Since it emphasizes the production function where the relationship of inputs of factors used to generate the output becomes a major consideration, in effect, it uses the classical assumption of Say’s Law.[15] Technology as Input to Economic Change The evolutionary approach to economic change emphasizes the role of technological knowledge in the improvement of economic productivity. It presupposes that technological progress and innovation are central to the attainment of economic change. J.S. Gans asserts that acceleration to the growth rate could be achieved if resources would be allocated to the production and distribution of knowledge. [16] The endogenous sources of technological progress and innovation are the institutions and organizations within which it becomes an integral part. This approach emphasizes the need to capitalize on institutions and organizations as sources of technological knowledge, in effect highlighting the importance of entrepreneurship in the quest for economic change. The costliness of technological innovation becomes embedded in the central factor of entrepreneurship which is viewed as a factor that drives capital deepening through shifts in the production function to achieve a higher rate of techno logical progress.[17] The conventional approach regards technology as exogenous and therefore is not regarded as an inherent part of the economic system . It does not trace the source of economic growth to technological innovation and consequently assumes that technology is a free good,â€Å"manna from heaven.† [18] Conclusion In the final analysis, the revolutionary and conventional approaches to economic change lie on opposite planes of the overarching concept of economic change. Their differences lie on the following salient points: The evolutionary approach emphasizes: the use of biological metaphors, dynamic change, and disequilibrium factors in a diverse economic system and entrepreneurship; and puts significant consideration on the role of technological knowledge as an endogenous part of institutions and organizations responsible for wealth creation and distribution. The conventional approach on the other hand, espouses: the use of physical metaphors, static or comparative static condition; disregards entrepreneurship due to the aggregate production perspective; and considers technological knowledge as a free, exogenous good , not directly associated with wealth creation and distribution. References: Dosi, G., Nelson, R. R., â€Å"Evolutionary Theories†. In Markets and Organization, ed. Arena, R., Longhi, C., 205-234. New York: Springer – Verlag, 1998. Gans, Joshua, S. â€Å"Knowledge of Growth and the Growth of Knowledge†. Information Economics and Policy, 4 (1989/91): 201 – 224. Green, Eric Marshall. Economic Security and High Technology Competition in an Age of Transition: The Case of the Semiconductor Industry. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1996. Lucas, Robert, E. Jr., â€Å"On the Mechanics of Economic Development† . Journal of Monetary Economics , 22 (July 1988): 3-42. Martens, Bertin. The Cognitive Mechanics of Economic Development and Institutional Change. New York: Routledge, 2004. Meade, J. E. A Neo-Classical Theory of Economic Growth. New York: Oxford University Press, 1961. Meliciani, Valentina. Technology, Trade, and Growth in OECD Countries: Does Specialisation Matter?. London: Routledge, 2001. Metcalfe, J. Stanley. Evolutionary Economics and Creative Destruction. London: Routledge, 1998. Metcalfe, J.S. â€Å"Knowledge of growth and the growth of knowledge.† Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 12 (March 2002): 3-15. Nelson, Richard. How New Is New Growth Theory?. Challenge 40, no. 5 (1997): 29+. Reinert, E. S., Riiser, V. Recent Trends in economic theory – implications for development geography. Oslo, Norway: Studies in Innovation and Economic Policy ( Step Group) , 12 (August, 1994): 1-12. ISSN : 0804-8185. Available from: http://www.step.no/reports/Y1994/1294.pdf. Accessed ; 18, November, 2006. Scott, Maurice Fitzgerald. A New View of Economic Growth. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991. Sengupta, Jati K. New Growth Theory: An Applied Perspective. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 1998. 1 Footnotes [1] J. Stanley Metcalfe, Evolutionary Economics and Creative Destruction (London: Routledge, 1998 ): 103. [2] Giovanni Dosi, Richard R. Nelson, â€Å"Evolutionary Theories† in Markets and Organization, ed. Arena, R., Longhi, C. (New York: Springer – Verlag, 1998): 205-234. [3] Maurice Fitzgerald Scott, A New View of Economic Growth (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991): 124. [4] Jati K. Sengupta, New Growth Theory: An Applied Perspective (Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 1998): 13. [5] J. E. Meade, A Neo-Classical Theory of Economic Growth (New York: Oxford University Press, 1961): 30. [6] Maurice Fitzgerald Scott, A New View of Economic Growth , 125. [7] J. S. Metcalfe, â€Å"Knowledge of growth and the growth of knowledge†. Journal of Evolutionary Economics 12 ( March 2002): 3-15. [8] Say’s Law assumes that â€Å"everything produced has some value for the community†. [9] Joshua S. Gans, â€Å" Knowledge of growth and the growth of knowledge†. Information Economics and Policy 4 (1989/91): 203. [10] J. Stanley Metcalfe, Evolutionary Economics and Creative Destruction, 3. [11] J. E. Meade, A Neo-Classical Theory of Economic Growth (New York: Oxford University Press, 1961): 4 [12] Ibid, 6. [13] . J. E. Meade, A Neo-Classical Theory of Economic Growth, 30. [14] Robert E. Lucas, Jr., â€Å"On the Mechanics of Economic Development†. Journal of Monetary Economics 22 (July, 1988): 3-42. [15] Joshua S. Gans, â€Å"Knowledge of growth and the growth of knowledge†. Information Economics and Policy 4 (1989/91):203 [16] Joshua S. Gans, â€Å"Knowledge of Growth.., 220. [17] J. S. Metcalfe, â€Å"Knowledge of growth†¦, 4. [18] Erik S. Reinert and Vermund Riiser. Recent Trends in economic theory – implications for development geography. (Oslo, Norway: Studies in Technology, Innovation and Economic Policy: Step Group, 1998): 10. ISSN: 0804-8185. Available from: http://www.step.no/reports/Y1994/1294.pdf. Accessed: 18 November, 2006.

Dealing with Society Edna Pontelliers Battle with Social Class Essay

Dealing with Society Edna Pontelliers Battle with Social Class Edna Pontellier, the main character in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, is a woman trying to form her own identity, both feminine and sexually, in the repressive and Victorian Creole world of the latter nineteenth century. She is met by a counterpart, Mademoiselle Reisz, who is able to live freely as a woman. Edna herself was denied this freedom because of the respectable societal position she had been married into and because of her Presbyterian up bringing as a child. The role that Mademoiselle Reisz played within society, a society that failed to view her as being a truly respectable social member, was quite opposite to that of Edna’s respectable position in society. Edna was ordained in the Presbyterian ways as she became an adult in Kentucky and Mississippi (Companion 123); as one critic put it, she was of â€Å"solid old Presbyterian Kentucky stock† (Petry 58). Edna was raised in a truly â€Å"restricted Victorian† (Nikerson) manner to be â€Å"an American woman†¦with a graceful severity of poise and movement† (Companion 123). To understand the social order she was born into you have to look at the Presbyterian background she grew up in. Presbyterianism took the view that women were â€Å"regarded as equal to men†¦[but women were] the weaker vessel†¦and should become subordinate to the husband† (Wolff 2). In broader terms, this is saying that women are equal, but are still below men in society. This construct was reinforced by the fact that â€Å"married women in Louisiana†¦[, in Edna’s time,] were legal property of their husbands† (Chopin 121). By a broad range, women of high V ictorian society were greatly scrutinized if they tried to step out of any of the normal set boun... ...ction. Westport, Greenwood Press Inc., 1988 Chopin, Kate and Cully Margo, Ed. The Awakening: A Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton & Comp., 1994. Mahon, Robert Lee. â€Å"Beyond the love triangle: trios in â€Å"The Awakening.† The Midwest Quarterly 39.2 (1998) : 228-236. McCoy, Thorunn Ruga. â€Å"Chopin’s ‘The Awakening.’† The Explicator 56.1 (1997): 27-26 InfroTrac SearchBank. Online. 30 Nov. 1998. Nickerson, Megan. â€Å"Romanticism in The Awakening.† Online. 29 Nov. 1998 Petry, Alice. Critical Essays on Kate Chopin. Printice Hall International., 1996 Thorton, Lawrence. â€Å"The Awakening: A Political Romance.† American Literature 52 (1980): 50-66. Wolff, Cynthia Griffin. â€Å"Un-utterable longing: the discourse of feminine sexuality in ‘The Awakening.’† Studies in American Fiction 24.1 (1996): 3-23. InfroTrac SearchBank. Online. 30 Nov. 1998.

Essay --

Magic Johnson once stated, â€Å"You can’t get AIDS from a hug or a handshake or a meal with a friend.† AIDS and HIV is not something you can receive by touching someone’s outer skin. AIDS and HIV can only be transmitted when an infected persons; fluids meets with another person. AIDS and HIV is one of the most deadliest disease in the world that already has killed 1.6 million civilians. People need to understand the facts behind AIDS and HIV so people do not treat others who are infected like they are going to kill them. Everyone has possibility of contracting AIDS and HIV; it can change one’s world in a heart beat. 1 HIV/AIDS has become a pandemic virus because of how quickly it has spread throughout the entire world. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which means that it is a virus that attacks the immune system and it can only infect humans. HIV are like other viruses but there is an important difference, overtime your immune system can clear most viruses out of your body. HIV is different, the human immune system can’t get rid of it and scientist are still trying to figure out why our immune system can’t clear it. HIV hides in your body for long periods and it attacks a key part of our immune system, your CD4 cells or T cells. CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell that circulate around our bodies, scanning for cellular abnormalities and infections (www.tcells.com). Which your body must have to fight the virus. AIDS stands for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome, which means that AIDS is the cause of a different virus, which is HIV. Over 2.5 million people are infec ted with HIV worldwide. HIV/AIDS can be so deadly to humans because of the viruses capability if attacking our immune system. When HIV replicates itself ... ...ns; it affects us all in every aspect of our lives. Thanks to the efforts made for research , and treatments have been made to control the virus. Most importantly, the HIV/AIDS virus cannot replicate violently in the immune system because of these treatments. I think humans hold the real key to cure, if they would think about there actions before they do them, then we can save a lot more lives from the virus and stop the spread of it. Sharing needles with infected individual is a way of acquiring the disease. If we do this the percentage of people with HIV/AIDS will decrease significantly. If we do the little things to help solve this big health issue, it might help find the cure. So it is important that information about this virus is being shard and education is being taught to people all over the world who are not familiar with the virus to help the spread of it.

Cicero :: essays research papers

Marcus Tullius Cicero, is remembered in modern times as the greatest Roman orator and innovator of what became known as Ciceronian rhetoric. He was the son of a wealthy family of Arpinium. He made his first appearance in the courts in 81. His brilliant defense, in 80 or early 79, of Sextus Roscius against a fabricated charge of parricide established his reputation at the bar. After his election as consul for 63 his chief concern was to discover and make public the seditious intentions of his rival Catiline, who, defeated in 64, appeared again at the consular elections in 63 (over which Cicero presided, wearing armour beneath his toga). Catiline lost and planned to carry out armed uprisings in Italy and arson in Rome. Evidence incriminating the conspirators was secured and they were executed on Cicero's responsibility. Cicero, announcing their death to the crowd with the single word vixerunt ("they are dead"), received a tremendous ovation from all classes. He was hailed by Catulus as pater patriae, "father of his country". This was the climax of his career. At the end of 60, Cicero declined Caesar's invitation to join the political alliance of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, and also Caesar's offer in 59 of a place on his staff in Gaul. When Publius Clodius, whom Cicero had antagonized, became tribune in 58, Cicero was in danger, and in March fled Rome. In 57, thanks to the activity of Pompey and particularly the tribune Milo, he was recalled on August 4. Cicero landed at Brundisium on that day and was acclaimed all along his route to Rome, where he arrived a month later. Pompey renewed his compact with Caesar and Crassus at Luca in April 56. Cicero then agreed, under pressure from Pompey, to align himself with the three in politics. He was obliged to accept a number of distasteful defenses, and he abandoned public life. In 51 he was persuaded to govern the province of Cilicia, in south Asia Minor, for a year. By the time Cicero returned to Rome, Pompey and Caesar were struggling for complete power. He disapproved of Caesar's dictatorship; yet he realized that he would have been one of the first victims of Caesar's enemies, had they triumphed. Cicero was not involved in the conspiracy to kill Caesar on March 15, 44, and was not present in the Senate when he was murdered.

Immune to Reality Essay

â€Å"Upon my back, to defend my belly; upon my wit, to defend my wiles; upon my secrecy, to defend mine honesty; my mask, to defend my beauty. † (William Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida) (Gilbert 133)This quote pertains to the mind protecting and or lying to you to not be harmed, which has been proved in test today. Immune To Reality written by Daniel Gilbert is a piece about how the mind can play tricks on us by covering up the truth with a believable lie, how we â€Å"cook facts† (134), and how our mind’s choices can affect our feelings. Throughout this essay I will be discussing a real life situation of my own, and the studies and the outcomes and whether they make sense or not. They say the mind protects us from ourselves, but we also â€Å"cook facts† (134) which happen to go hand in hand. Cooking facts are â€Å"†¦deliberate attempts to generate positive views†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (134) a few examples are failing miserably on the test but tell yourself there is always next time and you’ll study harder for the next one and example from the book being is that your fiance left you at the altar but saying â€Å"She was never really right for me†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (134). The mind tries to protect us from remembering bad things or bad experiences. I’ve seen some of my friends try and deny the fact that his father had died of cancer, he just didn’t believe it until the day of his funeral. But in the end they made it in their mind that he was in a better place and no longer suffering. In my own case, my family and I were coming back from a trip to Florida on a coach bus which ended up being hit by another car and flipped on its side on a four lane highway which ended up being hit by two more cars. I am thankful to say that I was buckled so I only came out of the crash with a concussion, but it still affects me every day. My vision has never been the same, yeah sure I can read really fast when I’m reading to myself but when it comes to reading out loud. It’s a completely different story. There’s no medical term for it but the best way they could put it is that I have an acute form of dyslexia. I just thank to this day that it actually isn’t worse than it could be and this being my cooked facts. To this day I cannot remember anything about the crash, this being the way my mind protects me from pain. Our minds and feelings are always going to have some sort of connection since it is our brain that tells our body us what we are feeling. Studies show that what we choose can really affect our moods for the time being or even throughout a week. On pages 135-136 a study shows a group of volunteers went through a job interview. â€Å"Some of the volunteers were told that their interview would be seen by a judge†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (135) â€Å"Other volunteers were told that their interview would be seen by a jury†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (315) the volunteers not knowing that everyone would be rejected the job. The Pre Rejection Prediction shows that the volunteers wouldn’t have really cared if they were rejected by the solo judge or the jury group, but what the results showed is that the group of volunteers that were rejected by the jury was much more upset than the ones rejected by the solo judge. I mean I’d be upset if 12 people told me I wasn’t capable to do a job, you automatically think that something is wrong with you. But with the judge your mind just makes up excuses to make you feel better, examples being he doesn’t know the real me or I don’t really need that job anyway. The mind is very deceiving, but it is sometimes for the best. When you need protection from yourself or whether it’s to give you a boost. We just need to be able to tell when and when not our mind is doing these things. References: * Gilbert, Daniel. â€Å"Immune to Reality. † The New Humanities Reader. By Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, n. d. 133-50. Print.