Cyclical Thoughts

Tuesday's class got me thinking about problem solving. We were using examples from Rampton and Stauber's Trust Us We're Experts, specifically the lead in the water issue and the section on silicon mining. Then Dr. Mahoney drew a chart on the board to illustrate his points. He seems to like drawing charts, but that's cool. I respond well to charts. That one got me thinking, so I looked through my class notes and found this:


He had used this chart to illustrate another point. Apparently, I didn't feel the need to add any information to the chart to lend any contextuality to the diagram. As I have said before, I respond well to charts. They simplify things and, quite frankly, I like them. So back off!

I'm interested in the mind, how it works and patterns in thought. Not to get all controversial but I think that thinking is what separates man from beast. I should be more clear; critically thinking separates man from beast. I also feel that the more you examine your life the the more you learn; and in turn, the more you examine your thought and behavior pattern the more you can mature.

So, back to the chart. I liked it a lot because of the simple truth it illustrates. This cyclical thought pattern is plaguing our society because of it's stagnation. Cyclical thought does not encourage progression because you are destined to end up back at the beginning. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart made light of this fact during a sketch bashing FEMA. They aired a screenshot from FEMA's actual website which illustrated the flow chart which they use when addressing a disaster. Stewart worded the sketch in a manner which suggested that FEMA is inherently responsible for causing added disaster simply by following their own flow chart. I like Jon Stewart almost as much as I like charts.

Well, thanks for suffering through this ramble. I was just testing out the link functions of this site.