Metacognition: My Process Thinking

When I write an essay, I usually make an outline. It helps me think clearly and stay focused on my topic. But before that, I put down all of my ideas randomly on paper. I feel that this is the most effective way to get your best ideas out in a concise format. When I brainstorm, I usually try to find connections to my life to the book so I can understand the essay more. I believe my process of writing is effective because I have more information and ideas than I need, so usually I never struggle to put out my ideas. What suprises me about my thinking is how long it sometimes takes me to find a good idea. I estimate how good the idea in my head actually is before I choose it. It is suprising because when I'm writing I am sort of a perfectionist which is not my personality at all. One aspect of the way I think that I like is that I put a lot of ideas into my paper. I could improve my writing if a fully explained each idea. Sometimes I want to put out all the ideas I have which isn't ideal. This is my process of thinking.

Best of Week: Vertical Listening

For me, the best activity in class throughout the week was listening to Maple Leaf Rag. By listening to the song vertically, I believe I enjoyed the song to its full affect. It was hard at first to filter out just the bass from the song, but eventually I was able to hear the song in layers. I play piano so I have always enjoyed listening to good piano pieces, but it has been a while since I heard a song that I enjoyed this much. It was hard to just listen to the bass line or the melody, because I wanted to hear the two parts together. While listening to Maple Leaf Rag, I noticed how different the base line was than most piano pieces. It never stopped entertaining and kept them tempo really upbeat. I am used to playing and hearing piano pieces with slow and long base lines that are boring. But I felt that in Maple Leaf Rag, the base line could hold on its own. To me, it seemed like the song had two medolys playing along together. I enjoyed last week immensely because I was able to listen to such a great song.

Connection: Colonel Sanders and Philo Farnsworth

While reading the article on Philo Farnsworth and the creation of the television, I could not help but thinking about the creator of KFC, Colonel Sanders. Both men spent a lot of time perfecting their craft. For Sanders it was creating his famous original recipe for his chicken, and for Fransworth, it was making the television. Both had to go through trial and error to produce the best effect. After Sanders was done with his recipe, he turned his small diner next to a gas station to one of the most popular stops for truckers. Later on he would franchise KFC and create one of the most popular fast food reastauruants in the United States. It may seem that Sanders and Farnsworth were nothing a like because unlike Farnsworth, Sanders created what some may call a corporation. But Sanders was mistreated by the owners of the restauraunt he created. After selling his business, Sanders became a wealthy man. But he was not content to whither and grow old aimlessly. He loved being called the colonel ans still wanted to be the a part of KFC. He was fortunately their spokesmen, but even that was taken from him. They took the name of colonel away from him. This started a feud between him and the business he created. He filed a law suit for being associated with products that he did not help create or endorse. They sued back for libel after he denounced the products that were being associated with him.
I believe that both Philo Farnsworth and Colonel Sanders hold ill will towards corporations. Farnsworth was run out of business by corporations and his patents were adapted so others could claim them as their own. Both men were mistreated by corporations and were left without what they loved most. Unlike Farnsworth, Sanders might have negotiated with corporations, but he was left feeling bitter. Just like Farnsworth, who disliked corporations from the start.

Change of Mind

Before our discussion in class on the essays that were inspired by September, 11, I pictured the terrorists as nothing more evil men who acted irrationally. To me, they were no more than crazed fanatics who created more catastrophe than even they were expecting. But after reading the article I have come to realize that the men who orchestrated the attack were clever. They successfully got past airport security and with only a few people, took over an entire plane full of passengers. I also came to the conclusion that the men were also very brave. It takes a lot of courage to get on a plane that you know is going to directly hit a tower. The terrorists were willing to give up their own life for their radical religion. Their actions were shamefully impressive and made one feel sick from even thinking of being impressed by such a horrible deed. This is another thing that I changed my attitude on. I now believe that it is all right to be impressed by something that is terrible. Acknowledging the awe-inspiring event does not mean that you believe that the committer of the deed is right in any way. These are the beliefs that I have acquired during our discussion in class.