Revisiting the Ender's Game Anticipation Guide

After reading my original responses to the Ender's Game anticipation guide statements, I am surprised because most of my opinions only changed slightly, but some I agree with now more than before. For most of the statements about violence my opinion that violence is not preferable, but acceptable in certain situations, did not change. For statements relating to more general ideas, there were more changes.

Lying is justifiable if it's for the greater good.
I had at first ranked this as a 4, because I thought that the statement was true most of the time. My opinion on that has not really changed, because many people in Ender’s Game lie because they want to save the world from the buggers. For example, when Ender kills his peers such as Bonzo or Stilson when fighting them, the adults don’t tell him because they know it would ruin him. If he had found out earlier than he did, he wouldn’t have been able to be a successful commander. As an adult says “At least they had the good sense not to tell Ender that the boy died” (226). They are hiding the truth for the benefit of the general people.

Sometimes violence is the only way to solve a problem.

I ranked this one as a 4 also, but now I think that it is more of a 3. Although it still seems true, and there are situations where violence has to be a part, I think it is awful how true this is after seeing to what extent violence can go. When I originally read this, I thought that the statement was referencing being punched in the face or kicked in the shin, not one kid killing another in the bathroom. Also, there were places in the book that Ender hurt others where he didn’t need to, such as when he hurt all of the mean boys ganging up on him and his friends in the battle room. It is described “Ender threw the boy with the bleeding nose at one of them; they entangled, and Ender’s leg came free” (116). Those kids couldn't have done anything that bad to him so he shouldn’t have hurt them like that. I still agree with this statement, but only to a certain extent.

It is okay to kill someone in self-defense.

I now agree more with this statement than I did before, because of Ender's problems with Bonzo and Stilson. At first I said that was a 3, but now I would say a 4. Ender was trying to keep himself alive when he was fighting with Bonzo and Stilson, and in the process he killed his opponent, but that is not his fault and I think that what he did was fine. However, Ender killed them accidentally not intentionally, and I don’t think I would be as accepting of that statement if death was his original goal. The adults think it's bad too “...those videos of Bonzo’s and Stilson’s deaths were pretty gruesome. To watch one child do that to another” (305). Ender did a bad thing, but in his situation it was necessary.

Words are stronger than fists.

I now really believe in this statement because of what Peter and Valentine accomplished through Locke and Demosthenes. I ranked this as a 2 originally because I thought that sometimes war and violent methods had to be used, but now it seems like more control comes from other ways. Peter never hurt anyone physically as Locke, yet he had incredible success, arguably more than Ender. Also, one of Ender’s greatest triumphs was when he wrote as Speaker for the Dead and was able to share the story of the buggers with everyone else. “On Earth, the book was published quietly, and quietly it was passed from hand to hand, until it was hard to believe that anyone on Earth might not have read it” (322). Ender was able to speak to everyone through that book, and he couldn’t do that by winning a war.

Bullies hurt others because they have low self esteem.

Before reading Ender’s Game I said this was a 4 because I thought that was the main reason for bullying, but I also said sometimes there are people that are bad in their core. Now, I would still say 4, but I think there are other reasons than bad people or self esteem issues. Bonzo had those problems but he also had issues with his honor and his family life. Those problems fed into the other problems and he started hurting others. Ender provoked him by bringing up those issues, talking of his father, “He would love to see you now, come to fight a naked boy in a shower, smaller than you, and you brought six friends” (208). Ender embarrassed Bonzo, and Bonzo retaliated.

Only the best and brightest students should receive the best education to become a nation's leaders.

Originally, I did not support this idea, but I see the sense in it now. My first opinion was a 2 but now I would say a 4. If every child went to Battle School as Ender did, society would be ruined. All kids can’t end up scarred like Ender because they had to see and do bad things, and if they did all the adults that grew out of those kids would be messed up. Sometimes there must be things that only the elite get to see and experience, and Battle School is only for those who can take the pressure. As Ender says later on another planet “I’ve lived too long with pain. I won’t know who I am without it” (323). If I was Ender I would have gone crazy by then, as would many other normal kids that couldn't handle the intense lifestyle.

Revenge is never justified.

I now disagree with this idea much more than the 4 I gave it originally shows. At first I said that getting even isn't necessary, but sometimes it has to happen. Now I see that if people couldn't get even they would just have a bunch of pent up anger that would lead to issues later; without a little bit of revenge more bad things could happen from someone lashing out at the general populace as opposed to settling the score with the one who deserves the punishment . Most of the time, people need to deal with their opinions and resolve them. For example, Bonzo hit Ender and wouldn’t let him fight and was mean to him in every way, and Ender needed to get even so the bullying would stop. Ender may have gone too far by killing Bonzo, but the idea is the same.

Crying is evidence of weakness.

I ranked this statement as a 2 originally, having said “I think it does show weakness, but that is a good thing” and I still agree with that. I think crying could also be applied to the saying about pain, the one that claims pain is weakness leaving the body. In a lot of ways crying is like that, and though it is an act of weakness, in the long run in can make you stronger. When Ender first gets to Battle School, “And his tears could fall unwanted on his sheet, but his sobs were so gentle that they did not shake the bed, so quiet they could not be heard” (44). Once Ender had that release and he got over his homesickness, he was a stronger and better warrior.

Any action is acceptable in war.

This statement I wholeheartedly agreed with originally, and I still agree with it, but not as much. When I first thought of this statement I was thinking about two sides battling each other for the upper hand, each giving it their best shot and trying to harm their opponent. I thought they meant a normal, human war, where people fight but eventually it is resolved without an entire species almost going instinct. The act in the book that I don’t think was acceptable was how the humans sent out spacecrafts to completely destroy the buggers, without knowing that the buggers were innocent. Humans are too afraid of what might happen, and as Graff says “Would you bet the human race on the chance of them giving up and leaving us alone?” (250). People aren’t sure of what’s going to happen, so they just go ahead and strike out blindly without thinking that it is unnecessary to cause so much destruction. I don’t think that what they did was OK, even though it was an act in war.

Teenagers need discipline and rules because they can't control themselves.

Originally I said this was a 3, and I still believe that, but the teenagers in Ender’s Game are different than the kind I was thinking of. When I said it was a 3, of was thinking of average, ordinary teenagers, not the kind who are in control of the fate of the world. Ender, his siblings, and his peers all have exceptional mind power and self control, so I don’t think that teenagers like them need many guidelines on how to act and what to do. However, there are some very bright teens in the book that could do better by having some rules to follow. For example, Peter needs to be taught not to harm things just for fun early in the book “She pictured Peter trapping it, staking it, then carefully parting and  peeling back the skin without breaking into the abdomen, watching the muscles twist and ripple” (123). Peter would do better with more supervision and guidelines so he wouldn’t end up doing things like killing squirrels in his free time.

Only through personal sacrifice can someone create positive change.

Before, I barely agreed with that, giving it a 2, but now it seems so true to me. The best way to make things better is to do something that helps others. Selfless acts of kindness, or facing our fears to protect someone else, or many other things like that would pay off well in the end. In Ender's case, he had to give up his childhood and a lot of happiness, but he lead the human race to victory. Without him, the buggers would have won and the human race would have discontinued existence. When talking to Alai he knows, “I want to go home, thought Ender, but I don’t know where it is” (302). He gave up having a place to call his own where he is safe and comfortable, all so other people could be happy.

Generating compassion for your enemies is the only way to create peace.

I agreed with this originally, but now I do much more than before. At first I thought this was one of the primary ways to create peace, but now I see that it really is the only thing we can do. The way Ender took the bugger pupa and plans to remake the bugger world is what convinced me, “And always Ender carried with him a dry white cocoon, looking for the world where the hive-queen could awaken and thrive in peace” (324).  I could never have done that, and I think it shows great things about him that he could; it amazed me the way that he was so helpful and understanding for their lives. Of all the anticipation guide statements, I think my opinion was impacted the most about this one. I would never have expected the book to end that way, but I think it's a good lesson that it did.

Response to Card Article

I was very surprised to read about Orson Scott Card, the author of Ender's Game, having strong views against gay marriage, especially after reading the end of the book. Though the book has Ender struggling with who he is and his beliefs, it seems like it also involves him coming to accept himself. For example, when Ender and Valentine are on the raft, Ender talks about how he has looked into himself and puzzled out some of the reasons for his anger, and he lives with that knowledge. At the end of the book, Ender finds the bugger eggs and he takes them in, accepting the species for what it is and forgiving it for all of the problems it has caused. He tries to cultivate the eggs and keep them alive, so I am surprised that the author would be so rude and closed-minded about accepting other people and their beliefs.

Card's views change my views on the book slightly, but not too much. I think of the book and the author as separate entities, so the book itself seems to me to be a good book. However, knowing about the author makes it hard for me get the same meaning and understanding of the book as I had before. The way that Card is so strict in his disbelief of gay marriage makes it hard for me to think how he could have been so genius and imaginative when coming up with the plot and the story of Ender's Game. Nevertheless, I don't think that Mr. Vack should remove this book from his curriculum because I think it is a good lesson. To read the book not knowing about the author and then to be told about it at the end made me think about my perception of things and how many different factors play in to how a book is read and understood, and I think that that could be something for Mr. Vack to discuss and talk about. Also, most of the kids enjoyed reading Ender's Game more than most novels, so I think he shouldn't remove it.

I think it is a good idea for the movie company to keep Card out of the limelight because this would be a good movie. This movie could turn into a great business endeavor for them, they just have to separate themselves from Card. Movies are always different from the books they are based on, so they should just make sure one of the differences is Card's involvement. Maybe they could even fire him from being a producer, but that might not work because that might bring more spotlight to the situation. I don't think this movie should be boycotted because by itself it is a good story. Not everyone who sees it will know the truth about the author, and many would enjoy watching it even if they knew. These are good discussions to have, so the movie should be made for people to view it and make up their own opinions about it. I still want to see the movie for Ender's Game.

Ender's Game Questions Chapters 12-15

Chapter 12
1. Ender provoked Bonzo by bringing up the weak points in his emotions. He started talking about his dad, and his honor, and it made Bonzo angry. Ender says: "You can go home and tell your father, Yes, I beat up Ender Wiggin, who was barely ten years old, and I was thirteen" (208-9). Ender knows that because of Bonzo's Spanish heritage and upbringing makes him very proud, and uses that against him. Bonzo responds by trying to make the fight fair, but he is still angry and has a lot of pent up aggression towards Ender so it does turn bloody.

2. Stilson was Ender's bully and tormenter at school before he came to Battle School. Ender was thinking of him because he had a big fight with Stilson where he ended up hurting very badly, just as he did with Bonzo. Little does Ender know that he killed both of them.

3. Ender still expects help from the teachers because he thinks he is too good for them to risk losing. He knows they believe he is their only hope, so he thinks they won't let anyone hurt him. When he wakes scared in the night he comforts himself with this idea.

4. I knew Stilson and Bonzo were dead, but only after the adults actually said it at the end of the chapter. A clue before that could have been how it says "...just that dead, stupid look on his face, that terrible look, the way Stilson looked when I finished with him" (212). Ender realizes that there is a very empty look that Bonzo and Stilson shared. Also, there is the way that Bonzo was sent to his hometown instead of moving on to another school, like a student of his level should have. And when the adults talk one says "They didn't tell him about Stilson, either" (226). That implies there was something very bad to be told, and before that they talk about a death in the school.

5. I think Ender was justified because his opponents would have done the same to him given the opportunity. He did not really mean to kill them, he was just a very good fighter. The adults did not tell him about the deaths because they knew it would break him. If he found out, he would have thought he was becoming Peter, and he already had a lot of problems with what he did to the boys without knowing how bad it really was. The adults needed him to have some guilt, but not an overwhelming amount.

Chapter 13
1. This quote is saying how when you act like something for long enough it will become part of you. After a lot of acting, it can be hard to distinguish between you and the character. For example, if you wear a certain type of clothes for a while trying to fit in with what everyone else is wearing, eventually you will come to like the clothes yourself and may gravitate toward them. Valentine writes like Demosthenes so much that her school assignments sound like it and she is almost discovered.

2. I think it is a good natural instinct for humans to kill. Humans are only animals, and animals don't hesitate to hurt others if it is in their best interest. Survival of the fittest is necessary for species to evolve and grow in a positive way. Without it, we may still be apes. In the book, it is Ender's natural instinct to protect himself against dangers such as Bonzo and Stilson, and those instincts win out when he ends up killing them. His instinct won out when he fought Bonzo in the bathroom because he had to make sure he was the fittest.

3. The conversation between Ender and Valentine on the raft is very deep. Ender talks about his problems, and Valentine talks about her new found political strength. I think they both benefited from that conversation because they could see deep into each other like they used to when life was simple as little children. Ender reveals that he hates himself because he strikes his enemies down by understanding them and approving of them. "Killing them with kindness" so to speak, except that he does not let them see the kindness. He sees his enemies soul and accepts and appreciates that soul. He does this with Bonzo by seeing his family relationships and honor and pointing them out to make Bonzo mad and vulnerable. Ender also says his soft spot, which is how Peter will always be able to control him and strike him down.

4. Valentine has mixed up feelings about her brothers because they are linked to her in confusing ways. Ender used to have a great relationship with her, because it was them against Peter who she was linked to, but more icily and distantly. However, when Ender left the spots switched and she started to have a stronger relationship with Peter. Ender was gone for so long that they grew apart and Ender's personality changed, with him growing a hard emotional shell. Valentine sees that all three of them share similar traits, and how they all need power and people to control around them. She loves Ender, but their is the distance because of the time he was gone in their childhood. She thinks she can control Peter, but at the same time she is afraid of him and what he might do. However, she spends much more time with him now than Ender.

5. To me, the reasons Graff gives for the bugger wars seem like the reasons for many problems. It boils down to religion, wanting space, not thinking the other side knows what they are doing, and thinking the other side is too forceful or violent. All of these things that relate to the buggers relate to real wars. World War II was because Hitler was being too violent because of religion. The whole book relates to real issues.

Chapter 14
1.Ender doesn't like the feeling of Eros. It disturbs him because he feels like it is unnatural to be there, like people don't fit. It turns out he is right, because when he asks about Eros Mazer Rackham tells him that Eros was set up and made livable by the buggers, so it makes sense that humans would not fit there.

2. Mazer is going to be the only teacher Ender ever had because he is the only teacher that has valuable experience and that Ender can learn a lot from. He is Ender's only teacher who is smarter than him and better than him, and he fought the buggers first hand. Mazer also acknowledges that he is the enemy. Ender's other teachers try to tell Ender that he is fighting against his peers, but Mazer is honest. When they fight "his face and shoulders were being pressed into the floor by the old man's knee, while his back was excruciatingly bent and his legs were pinioned by the old man's arm" (262). Mazer is physically and mentally stronger than him.

3. Mazer was dishonest with Ender about him fighting real buggers because he knew that Ender had too much empathy for others and could not succeed if he knew the truth. Ender always feels about when he hurts other people, so if he knew he was killing people he wouldn't do it. Ender couldn't have have handled knowing because he wouldn't have been able to do the right things and make the risky decisions. He would have compared himself to Peter and given up.

4. I think that the adults have pushed the child commanders too far, but it was worth it. Ender has always been sad, but he does snap in a way as his training continues and after he wins. He is not completely broken, but he will always have issues. It was worth it though, because if they hadn't done so they would have charged into battle against the buggers without good leaders. If they had done that the human race would have lost and been wiped out.

5. Xenocide is never justified. I can understand a war to establish who is the dominant race, but a complete extermination of a species is never a good thing. However, I think that the buggers' genocide was inevitable because all of the captains and government officials in Ender's world seem incredibly paranoid; their minds were set on beating the buggers once and for all. Plus, as Graff informs Ender, "We are the Third Invasion" (250). They sent battle ships years ahead of time so they now have to deal with the fighting those ships will start. As Graff later says, "So if we can we'll kill every last one of the buggers, and if they can they'll kill every last one of us" (254). All of the people are waiting to be attacked, so they just go ahead and get it over with. This is natural selection; the triumphant race will survive, the other will end.

Chapter 15
1. I think Ender would agree with Valentine's statement because it is how his own life has worked out in many ways. The adults in Ender's life all control what he does and how his life will go, and for the most part he lives with that, but he has put good people in the positions of his life. He has Graff and Mazer Rackham as mentors, he has Alai and Petra and others as friends, and he has Valentine for family. The rest of his family is not ideal, but he can compensate for that. When Alai said "salaam" to Ender, he knew he had found someone he could trust, and that is good for him.

2. Ender's opinion about Stilson's and Bonzo's death is that it is bad that they died, but it doesn't matter all that much because of how many other creatures he killed with the bugger xenocide. As he thinks, "All his crimes weighed heavily on him, the deaths of Stilson and Bonzo no heavier and no lighter than the rest" (309). He has reached an indifference of the bad things he does to others because of how many bad things he has done.

3. Valentine made sure Ender could never return to earth because she wanted to protect him from becoming another piece in Peter's game. Peter's success got so huge that he had the ability to feed off of Ender's success and use it to help him, and Valentine doesn't want that because she is still wary of what Peter may or may not do given the opportunity.

4. Many things are ironic about Valentine's statement that Peter saved millions of lives. First of all, there is the fact that he used to live for hurting others, such as when he would mutilate the squirrels. His early childhood was devoted to hurting lives, not helping them. Secondly, there is the fact that Ender did so much harm to others' lives when he defeated the buggers. The roles have been reversed.

5. Ender gets his information for The Hive-Queen from the things he sees through the bugger pupa he finds. Through it he sees things such as the wars through the buggers perspective, and how the buggers want Ender to help their baby queen remake their world. He learns of their innocence. As he realizes they thought "We did not mean to murder, and when we understood, we never came again" (321). When he sees all of this, he knows he must let the world see as well.

6. Ender called himself Speaker for the Dead because he wants to be out of the limelight and he thinks people will read it differently if they knew it was by him, who had killed all of the buggers. He has had enough of the spotlight and wants people to know the truth without him having to be involved. Also, it is like how we did not know about Orson Scott Card's views against gay marriage when we read Ender's Game, and it was better that way because we could read it without judging the book based on its author.

CEJ #5: Science

2/26/13

The Owl Comes Into Its Own

(Angier, Natalie)

"The New York Times"
2/25/13
Science
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/science/long-cloaked-in-mystery-owls-start-coming-into-full-view.html?ref=science&_r=0

   Owls have always been known to be amazing birds, but now people realize it more than ever. They have been thought of as good creatures for many centuries since Greek goddess Athena was linked to owls, and they are still popular now in books, such as Harry Potter, and elsewhere. People have a lot to learn from owls. One of barn owls' many positive attributes is their human like generosity; they share food with those smaller than them. The way they speak is a language in itself. Also, all types of owls have their entire body built in a way that helps them and makes them the best they can be. For example, researchers are finding that plane flight would be more successful if we modeled plane wings after those of the owl. The shape and the openings at the ends between the feathers helps create silent, smooth travel which could be good for airlines and could help use less fuel. Owls also are very successful hunters; with in one year a group of 10 can eat 25,000 rats (nytimes.com). However, the best quality of owls is their hearing. They have very large ears that can hear even the slightest movement of their prey, and the way the head moves and where the ears are located on the head make the system even better. The eyes of the owl are on a certain part of the head because of where the ears are, and the flat face is also to help pick up sound. Owls are amazing creatures, and there is now a lot of research to prove it. 

   I thought this article was very interesting. This was not the kind of article where bias would be an issue, but I could tell the author was a big admirer of owls, else she would not have written it. I liked this article because it seemed to me that people should be doing things like this more often. I think there is a lot we can learn from other creatures around us, and I don't understand why we don't tap into that resource more. If we could make planes fly better by observing owls, couldn't we make ships sail better by observing a water creature? People like to do things as fast as they can without thinking about the best and most practical way to do it, but if we thought a little more I think society and many things in general would be more successful. However, I have never thought much about owls or how we could learn from them, so I should not chastise others for doing the same as me. After reading this article I think that we should definitely continue to research owls and the ways they can help us. 
  

Ode to Water

Water, such
clear pristine liquid
Sparkling drops
like rhinestone gems
dance and jump and bounce.
Fall gently
washing off the dust
of all messes
Drops fill glasses
Frozen it chills
ice clinks glass chimes
Such cold
gentle syrup
slides down my throat
My tongue is coated
my mouth not dry
I taste the ocean
I taste the puddle
the glacier and the raincloud too
Listening
to the pitter patter
of a storm
Within my
deep
cold
glass of water.

Ender's Game Questions Chapters 9 - 11

Chapter 9
1. I think that in the battle between Peter and Valentine,  Peter has the power and is manipulating his sister. At the same time, Valentine knows what she is doing and is fairly in control of herself, if not the full situation as she wants to be. The power is in both of them, but primarily in Peter. As Valentine realizes, "By having her write Demosthenes, it meant he also had some empathy, just as Locke also could play on on others' fears. But the main effect was to keep her inextricably tied to Peter" (136). Peter set up his master plan so that Valentine would help him, but that so she is still his servant operating under his ideas and purposes.

2. To me, Peter seems to have a lot in common with Locke. They both get their power through writing, they both had difficulties being accepted by the people in charge, though Peter's main problem was that he was a child so he could not go public with his work early on. They also both want to shape government for the greater good of the people. Peter seems to have a more evil side than Locke, though Peter eventually caused a greater good. Demosthenes and Violet seem to have some things in common, but Demosthenes seems more mean that Violet. Demosthenes was radical and not afraid to speak against others, and Violet seems to be too compassionate for that. They both are very influential to others, and have a great way of speaking their mind.

3. Ender is still angry because none of the people around him are close enough to him to relate to him or be friends to him; it makes him mad that they all look up to and honor him so much. He hates how having the respect of everyone means that all his peers are bland and uninteresting. When he first came to Battle school, he had to work to make friends, such as with Alai and Shen. Now that he is the best at everything and revered by everyone he has less to work for.

Chapter 10
1. Ender is a smart leader. He is like that because he took his experience with other commanders figured out a happy medium between being too gentle and too mean, or being to easygoing and too strict. He is smart and responsive because he is not stuck in his ways as the other commanders are. He was not good to Bean the first day, but he acknowledged it and Bean grew from the experience.

2. Ender singled Bean out and made him work the hardest to get him to his full potential. He separated him from the other kids because he saw a bit of himself in Bean; he could tell that Bean was smart and had abilities similar to him. He knew that Bean could one day do great things, so he wanted to get him started and make him work for his successes. For example, when Ender makes Bean explain how to use your knees when all of the other boys are confused, he is acknowledging that the boy knows something, yet making him think it through and be able to explain it.

3. Salaam means "peace be unto you". The 'salaam' said between Ender and Alai shows the power of religious identity is very strong. Alai was only willing to share that word with Ender because he trusted him and that was how he wanted to be seen. Alai saw the meaning of 'salaam' as a part of his past and who he was, and he wanted Ender to see that depth of his being. 'Peace be unto you' shows how when it is said to someone else, the person is very meaningful to you; you care deeply about their welfare and want them to stay in a happy place.

4. The last two sentences of chapter 10 are important because Ender decides that he should be fighting against the teachers, not the other students. I think that this reaction was the one the teachers wanted, whether they knew it or not. It seems like the adults in the Battle School wanting a strong reaction, without realizing what reaction that might be. The teachers want Ender to keep working hard and fighting for success, and now Ender will definitely continue to do that because if he doesn't win the teachers do. As he knows, "I wish, and they deliver" (176). He wants to show them that he can't be broken, and therefore triumphs in the battles they give him as they hope he will.

Chapter 11
1. The computer does know Ender very well, but the adults in Battle School do not know how it does. I think the computer has found things out about Ender through his extensive playing of its games and through searching through their internet. As some of the adults said, the computer would have to do a lot of digging around to find the picture of Peter that was put in the game to manipulate Ender, yet somehow it did and it knew that that would provoke him. I also think it could figure out plenty of things from his school files and the way he played the game. Ender is very violent and resourceful in the game, and I think the computer takes note of that.

2. When Ender says "Yes. That's the worst that could happen. I can't lose any games. Because if I lose any-" (198). He means that he has to be absolutely rock solid and perfect. If he loses a game, then the teachers and the other armies know that he can be broken and that there are ways to stop him. If he loses one then it may become a pattern and he may start losing many games, and he would lose all of his stature and credibility as the best. If he is not the best then he might as well be the worst.

3. The teachers are pushing Ender very hard because they think he is the chosen one, the one who will win against the buggers. As they say "I have heard him described modestly as our only hope of victory in the upcoming invasion" (201). They know that he can be the best, but they want more than the best so they are pushing him bast the limits of normal people and practically making him crazy. At the same time, their methods appear to be working because Ender is becoming great at what he does. The teachers are also afraid of the buggers, so they want to make Ender the best in the least amount of time possible.

4. In the last two sentences of the chapter, it talks about how Bean fell asleep thinking of stupid ideas of things to do with his toon. This is important because that is, in a way, Ender's battle strategy. He thinks of things that no one else would even consider because no one else is smart enough to make them work, yet he does them in a way that makes them appear genius. Ender is so smart that he realizes that when everyone around you thinks like a genius, you have to think in a different way. For example, Ender instructs his army to always be moving and not to be stuck in formations; everyone else wouldn't do that because it might turn out disorganized.

5. 'Veni vidi vici' is an appropriate chapter title because Ender did exactly what it said. He came, as in he rose up to the challenge, he saw how to beat his opponents, and he did that, he conquered them. Every time he is in a battle setting he does that and sees through his opponents plans to win easily. For example, when Bonzo's army sets an at first glance unbeatable trap for Dragon Army by surrounding his door against the walls, Ender outsmarts the other team to triumph.

CEJ #4: Opinion

2/12/13

The 'Die Hard' Quandary

(Nocera, Joe)

"The New York Times"

2/11/13

Opinion

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/opinion/nocera-the-die-hard-quandry.html?ref=opinion

It is often debated whether the viewing of violent content causes aggression. As many people know and are excited for, the new 'Die Hard' movie is coming out in a few days, and as with many popular series, there is going to be an in-theater marathon of all of the previous movies culminating with the new movie's release. The marathon will take 12 hours and include five 'Die Hard' movies in total. Those 12 hours will be action and violence packed showing various types of machine guns and general aggression between the characters. These movies have a very real side to them these days because of how much spotlight and attention has been focused on gun control and the pain that can be caused by those guns. Some people want to start banning rifles and such but its argued that that banning would lead to other banning and all of a sudden there would be no weapons left to use, but others stick by the Second Amendment. This relates to violent media because if it causes aggression, and then the aggressive movie watchers may go and get an unregulated gun that they could cause serious trouble with. People do not want to ban violent media though, because of the First Amendment and the problem with not knowing how much to ban and how eventually nothing may be allowed. These issues are often debated and are problems we will eventually have to face. In conclusion, the author noted that the movie theaters did have a back up plan because of the chance of violence in their viewers. 

This article relates to many things in my life right now. As the author said, it relates to gun control debates and citizens' rights; it relates to what the class is reading in Ender's Game as well. In Ender's Game, Ender gets very angry and his emotions are overstimulated when he plays video games. It cultivates his already aggressive disposition and takes it to a level that is less than healthy. In real life, people can be as bad as Ender or worse; people can get a gun and go on a shooting rampage. Granted, that does not often happen, but it is still an issue that could be lessened. With this in mind, I think the article did have a bias, though I think that being an opinion article it is supposed to. To me, the author seemed to be writing as a concerned parent, believing that violent media is evil and makes kids awful. He even mentioned how he was informed by the psychologist Craig Anderson that it is proven that watching a head get pecked by a woodpecker in a cartoon causes accelerated aggression. I am not a parent, but I agree with what the author is saying because it seems that violence does promote violence, just as peace promotes peace. If I was a parent, I would not want my kids to be shooting each other in video games and watching their favorite characters be blown to pieces in a movie. The author's opinions make sense and seem very logical overall. Though I am sure the new 'Die Hard' is good, I don't think I will be seeing it anytime soon.

Drones Personal Response

The idea of drones scares me. The way that they are so violent yet so distant seems a bit too futuristic for me to comprehend. I understand how we have technological advances with iPhones and tablets, but I don't like to think that war is becoming distant and impersonal; if a person is fighting I think they should only be able to do the damage they can cause themselves. To me, drones seem like the Facebook of violence: we can accomplish things or cause problems from the safety of our own homes, and we don't have to be around to face the backlash and various results of our actions. Everything people do these days is done so that the least amount of effort possible is involved, and if that has reached war then why do we still have battles to fight? If the human race is so lazy that we make technology do all of our fighting for us, then I think that world leaders need to take a better look at what we are fighting for. War is most of the time an unnecessary and costly evil, but with drones it seems that it would become even more pointless. If there is really fighting to be done then we should have the dignity to go fight our own issues out in person. If everyone just shoots drones at each other then the one with the most firepower will always be the winner.

I don't like to think about the future, in fact I am afraid of it. If drones are going to become the way to fight then there is more to be afraid of. What if, hypothetically, I get a person with a big drone collection mad at me twenty years from now? I could be killed in an instant and not be able to do anything to stop it or protect myself. Similarly, I like to have relations with actual people, and I feel like because our personal connections and relations are very technology oriented then we should try to minimize technology elsewhere in our lives. I know that eventually the world will involve drones and many more advanced technologies that I can't yet imagine, I just feel like we should try to postpone that for a while and be happy with what we already have, not what we are trying to create. I see that there are many positive sides of drones as well; they are an advanced way to fight which I'm sure is a great achievement to some people. They are a fun hobby for collectors and have everyday purposes such as scouting for traffic reports and Google Earth. I am sure drones are going to do great things for humanity in the next hundred years, I just don't like them invading life now.

CEJ #3: National

2/5/13

A Death Penalty Fight Comes Home

Annapolis, MD

(Shane, Scott)

"The New York Times"

2/5/13

US/National

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/us/exonerated-inmate-seeks-end-to-maryland-death-penalty.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=us

The death penalty seems harsh, but it is much worse if you imagine how many innocent people can die by it. Kirk Bloodsworth was given that harsh sentence when he was accused and found guilty of the rape and murder of a little girl, but sadly, he had committed no crime. He was accused in 1984, and was not found innocent until 1993, having spent almost a decade in prison. A DNA test set him free, even thought back then the tests were just getting starting and were not trusted by many. Lots of people have been freed by DNA testing these days, but in our country he was the first. He has come back into the spotlight recently because of his extensive work against the death penalty; he has done so much in Maryland that they are close to ending it in their borders. He travels the nation, spreading his story and causing people to truly believe that the death penalty must be ended. As he said, "If it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody" (nytimes). His work is paying off, and there is going to be a vote in the State Senate deciding whether or not to do away with the death penalty for good in Maryland. Luckily for him, the man who really committed his crime was found and will spend the rest of his time behind bars. Bloodsworth is completely free and innocent now, but he still works hard to make sure that anyone else in his position gets out as he eventually did.
This article shocked me. I had never thought much about the death penalty, but I don't think I could support it after reading this man's story. If I had been the one who accused him and said he should die, I don't know how I could live with myself. I think that as our technology continues, we should be able to determine accurately whether or not a person is guilty, but until then we cannot kill people that might be innocent. Isn't that how our country is supposed to be, with no one guilty until proven to be so? This article was free of bias, but it still caused me to disagree with the idea of the penalty. I think that soon, it will be illegal all over the United States. When people like Bloodsworth speak out, it is hard not to listen to their story and feel awful for letting them spend time in prison when they did nothing wrong. Many states have outlawed the penalty, and the amount of people killed by it is lessening every year. The death penalty is too harsh, and I think the general population is starting to see that.

Video Game Reflection

I don't have much of a connection with video games. I don't mean to sound sexist, but I'm a girl; the most violent game I've played is Super Mario Bros. My sister and I used to play that when we were younger, and have a lot of fun with it, but once we reached the last level we gave up. We kept trying to beat it for a week or two, but we weren't motivated to finish it. We weren't very good, so for us it was too hard. I don't know much about video games: I am familiar with the names of the popular ones, but besides that, I'm lost. Last year, despite my lack of experience, I wrote about video game violence for an assigned essay. My position was that the game violence promotes aggression in the people that play excessively, and I read about extensive evidence that proved my theory. On the other hand, I know plenty of people that play those games, and they have perfectly normal personalities. In relation to Ender's Game, there may be cause to think that Ender's violence is brought out by the stress and violence of the battle room and the video games. I don't think that is why Ender overreacts in combat situations, I just think that it spurs the anger on because he already has violence in his blood from Peter. Ender would still be aggressive without the games.

If I could design a video game, I wouldn't want it to be exceedingly violent. I hate how for any game to be socially acceptable, the characters must mutilate or blow each other up. If I designed a game I would want it to be something that people would like, yet they wouldn't come away mentally scarred. In Ender's Game the Giant's Drink is a dark game, but it doesn't seem that bad because it is more about outsmarting what's thrown at you than being the strongest and having the biggest gun. The character dies in many creative ways, but it does not resemble a war or involve the crazy machinery of today. If I designed a game I would want it to share some attributes with the Giant's Drink. I like how the Giant's Drink grows off of itself and creates new situations as you move forward, and I would want to make my game grow to challenge the player to be better than they were before. I like how Ender's abilities in the game are unlimited, and in my game I would want my players to be able to do the unexpected. I can't imagine that a game without war would get very far, but I would find a way to make mine irresistibly interesting.

CEJ #2: World

Kate

2/4/12

Bones of Richard III Found, Deemed Genuine

(Chu, Henry)

"Los Angeles Times"

2/4/13

World

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-richard-iii-remains-20130204,0,7667709.story

  It was recently found out that a skeleton found in Leicester, England in September is the remains of King Richard III of England. He was known as a bad king who supposedly killed his nephews and ruled tyrannically, but some think that he was a good and was just portrayed in a bad light by his successors and Shakespeare. This September, the skeleton was discovered under a church and extensive DNA testing was done. It turned out that the bones' DNA matched as it should when compared to DNA from a distant descendant of his sister, and the skeleton is therefore his. Other things proved that the skeleton was Richard, such as skull wounds that would come from dying in battle as he did. The skeleton matched what he would have looked like. An archaeologist, Richard Buckley, said: "Beyond reasonable doubt, the individual exhumed ... is indeed Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England" (latimes.com). They can tell for certain that these are his bones. The Plantagenet Family line ruled for a long time but Richard was overthrown in battle, he was the final king to die that way, and since then the rulers have been Tudors. It is debatable whether or not Richard III was a good king, but it is not debatable that we have found his remains.
  This article did not have much bias, but I think the author was leaning towards the opinion that Richard III was a bad king, not just unfairly portrayed. The author started and ended the article by mentioning things about his reputation of being awful; he also talked about the idea that he was good, but not as much. I partly agree with the opinions in this article, because I think that Richard III was probably bad, but I don't necessarily think that he was all bad. If educated professionals believe that he had good in him, I think there must be some truth to that. The Tudors probably made him sound worse than he was to help get control of their subjects. What confuses me about this event is how the king was lost in the first place. If he was royalty, wouldn't he have had a more official burial, or at least a marked tombstone? I did not think that society would have been able to lose someone like that, and even if we did, why did it take 500 years for him to be found? Our society does a lot of things wrong, and I think this was one of those things. This article was interesting for me because I have read things about Shakespeare and England in historic times, but I had never heard of something like this. Hopefully we can recount history more correctly now that we have Richard III's skeleton.

Ender's Game Questions Chapters 6-8

Chapter 6
1. The purpose of the Giant's drink game is to see how prospective soldiers deal with certain death. Ender knew that whichever drink he chose was going to kill him, and the game taught him how to work around that. He knew that he was probably going to die, but through the game he figured out how to have success even though it may involve his death. Ender should evaluate his success at this game as an accomplishment. As the adults said, "...he won the game that couldn't be won" (66). The game was supposed to be impossible, and yet he figured it out cheated death. I don't think Ender is a murderer, I think he was just doing what he had to do to succeed. It meant he had to kill some imaginary people in a game, but it does not mean that he really has a bad heart.

Chapter 7
1. Alai said "salaam" to Ender. He also kissed him on the cheek. This exchange was very important because it was not something Alai was supposed to do. It relates to his religion, and religion was supposed to be outlawed so exchanges like this cannot happen. It shows how much Alai supports and trusts Ender, and how he knows that Ender is on his side and would not tell that that had happened. Ender learned how to win people over and make friends.

2. The "just living" mentioned in this chapter is what Ender considers a normal life to be. Living alone with your family, spending time with friends, going to school. No monitors or Battle School in his idea of normal life. I think it is true that Ender has never done this. There was a time when he did not have a monitor, but at that point his siblings had one. Ender wants success out of life. He does not want to be a killer like his brother, but he wants to be liked by people and he wants to be with his sister Valentine. He wants peace and rest and a lack of pain and fear. If I was him, I would be sad that I had never had the opportunity to live in that more simple, gentle way. I enjoy my life and I don't think I would like it if I was in Ender's place.

3. Petra helped Ender by being his friend and by instructing him in battle moves. She taught him how to make his shot better and in doing so she spent a lot of time with him. As she said, "...why don't we be friends?" (79). She accepted him and showed him that not everyone is trying to be mean to him and bring him down. Petra's friendship is a hindrance to Ender because she is not popular in their army and is not especially liked by everyone else. Ender does not want to be outside by association, yet he still wants the companionship of Petra.

4. Ender learns various things about leadership and tactics from Bonzo. Bonzo shows him that appearing as if you know what you are doing does not what you are doing is correct. Bonzo looks like he is doing the right thing, but Ender sees that his battle tactics are flawed but at the same time Bonzo shows him how to bring an army together and create a sense of unity. As said on page 77, "Madrid was not trying to hurt him, merely taking control of a surprising event and using it to strengthen his control of his army". When Ender first arrives and is thought to be awful, Bonzo turns that into a chanting session rallying army pride. Ender also sees that Bonzo pushes around and physically abuses his soldiers unnecessarily. Bonzo does not even give Ender a chance to try, he just orders him to stay immobile. He shows him that you must show your army your power, even though he does it in bad ways.

Chapter 8
1. When Graff says that "Ender Wiggin is ten times smater and stronger than I am" he means literally, but also emotionally. Graff sees that Ender had that strength to, at 6, leave his family and go work for the greater cause. Ender is smart with his emotions; he has learned not to cry or show pain. Graff also means in the games. Ender solves problems and comes up with solutions no one else can see. Graff is also afraid of Ender. He is not sure what Ender is capable of, and doesn't want to take chances.

2. The quote "So teach me." "So learn." shows how on their own everyone is at battle school. Ender's toon leader, Dink, is telling him that he must learn by observing, because no one is going to go out of their way to help him. He is saying that he has to catch up, because until then he is useless and will not have any success.

3. Ender's response to an attack is significant because no one else has tried it before. He has come up with something unique and unexpected that actually helps a lot in battle. His method has not been seen by the other teams so they do not know how to respond to it. He came up with something on his own that was useful for everyone else, which is a special occurrence. Most of the other soldiers can't think outside the box to do something like that, because they cannot understand how to think of up and down  in the Battle Room like he can. Ender also notes that "...even though Dink was very, very good, his persistence in holding onto the corridor gravity orientation instead of thinking of the enemy gate as downward was limiting his thinking" (102). Ender thinks in his own way.

4. The scene with the snake and Peter's reflection represented his conscience. He saw in the mirror what he was afraid of becoming: a murderous monster. He grew up under Peter, so he is used to evaluating what he does in terms of what Peter would have done. He does  not like it when he finds similarities between his and Peter's actions.

5. The game knows about Peter because it is created by adults, such as Graff, that are in charge of what goes on at the school. They know Ender is special, so they put something special into the game to draw him in and see how he reacts. The adults saw that he defeated the game when he shouldn't have, so now they are throwing knives in to make it interesting and test out any theories they may have about Ender.

6. The significance of the last paragraph of chapter 8 is Ender's inner turmoil. He feels used, like he wasn't created to live life he was created to be played and used for other people's will. He hates himself and what he has to do, and that could end up affecting his results in real life. He could end up not being able to accomplish what is necessary because he has not feeling of success or pride. He is starting to get deeper into this dark depression where he is not content with anything that happens or that he does. He hates everything: the game, his life, his abilities and their results. He does not care if he dies in the game because he does not care about most things "...when the little serpents killed me in the game, I agreed with them, and was glad" (119). At this point, he has lost the will to live.

CEJ #1: Technology

As Music Streaming Grows, Royalties Slow to a Trickle

(Sisario, Ben)
“The New York Times”
1/28/13
Technology
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/business/media/streaming-shakes-up-music-industrys-model-for-royalties.html?ref=technology

    It is a well known fact that most people these days listen to their music through online streaming sites. Spotify and Pandora are some of the primary ones in America, but there are many others internationally. What the common person doesn’t realize, though, is how the free streaming sites affect the artists whose music is being played. For example, a song played once on Pandora only brings in a half to 0.7 of a cent to the artist who recorded it (nytimes.com). Major artists can make millions off of that system through one popular song, but a little known artist can barely scrape by. One artist, Zoe Keating, received about $1652.74 for a million and a half Pandora songs (nytimes.com). Many small artists can have those issues. However, the owners and other big people in the corporations say that the systems will begin to work better when more people join and are paying. They are comparing the new system to how CD’s used to be, saying “Artists didn’t make big money from CD’s when they were introduced, either... as it became mainstream, the royalties went up” (nytimes.com). When Donald Passman said that, he meant it, but for some artists, that could be hard to see. Many people have complete faith in the new way of doing things, but for now it is difficult for some of the everyday people involved.
    The news described in this article did not surprise me. When I looked over the article for bias, I could find none. It was purely meant to inform people about this problem, and I don’t think it specifically supported the artists or the people. I was interested to read about this because I use some of those sights, such as Pandora, fairly often, and I would want to know if what I was doing was negative in the long run. I am not a paying user, so I feel a bit bad knowing that my listening is not good for the artist in the long run. On the other hand, it is good publicity for the artists because if I really like a song on Pandora I am more inclined to get it from iTunes. I think that eventually music will change and there will be money in having your song played on a streaming site, but I don’t think that will be for a while. For now, I think this problem will stay with us. I enjoy streaming music, even though I feel bad that it is not completely positive for the artists.

Ender's Game Questions Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1
1. The adults lie to Ender because they are cautious around him. They are not sure what he is capable of, so they are careful and make sure to tell him that things will not hurt so he will not freak out thinking that they will. They are correct to be cautious though, because he knows they are lying. He puts up with the pain, but I could imagine that if he did not want to he could control the adults fairly easily.

2. I think Ender being a "Third" means that he is a third-born child. I am guessing that maybe third-borns are typically illegal, but for some reason they are special so had an experiment going with one that they allowed to be born. To his parents, this is positive. They got to have a third child even though it is not usually allowed, so it was good for them. For his brother, it is negative. Everyone thinks that Ender is so special, so Peter never gets to have the spotlight and doesn't seem to be valued as much as Ender is. For his sister Valentine, it is also negative. She would not be compared to Ender as much as Peter would be, but she would still be in the shadow of Ender. That could possibly be a good thing if either of them did not want to be in the spotlight at a certain time. For his classmates, it would be positive. They could get away with things because everyone is watching Ender. They could pass normal assignments off as too hard saying that it was more aimed at Ender's abilities. They would have an immediate target, so the kids that would normally get bullied would be off the hook.

Chapter 2
1. I think Peter was joking when he threatened Ender. I think this because he had the opportunity to hurt them, and he didn't. He is afraid of the consequences. If he does want to be an elected official like Valentine said, then he can't do anything to kill them. Also, at the end of the chapter, he said "Ender, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know how it feels, i'm sorry, I'm your brother, I love you" (15) when he thought no one could here. He is just bad on the surface; his heart is fine.

2. I think Peter's behavior at the end of the chapter is different from the rest of the chapter because he is not being watched. He is accustomed to having eyes on him all the time, so he has built up a hard, mean shell that only comes off when he thinks he is the only one awake. He probably would have strangled Ender if he did not think he was sleeping.

3. Ender: I think Ender is a good person who was put in a hard situation. The author made me feel like this by describing him being hurt by someone but then having him come home to be hurt himself. It showed me that he is vulnerable yet still capable of using his power to stand up for himself. I also think that he is very smart because of the way he disconnected in class yet was still following what was going on.
Valentine: I think Valentine is the peacemaker. She seems to know that Peter is capable of hurting her yet she does not appear to be afraid. She can see that Peter is not a real threat yet she still knows that Ender needs protection. I saw this because the author first said she had a soft voice, which portrays being gentle. Also, she stood up to him saying "And do you know why you don't mean it?... Because you want to be in government someday" (13). She knows how to control Peter.
Peter: At first I was afraid of what Peter would do to Ender and Valentine, but after his outburst where he said how he loved Ender, I think that he just acts mean, he isn't deeply mean. He seems like he has a lot of issues that he needs to work out, such as his violence toward Ender "I could kill you like this" (12). He seems violent, but because of how vulnerable he was when people were sleeping, I just can't believe that.

Chapter 3
1. What Graff meant about evolution working against girls is that time has not made them to be fighters. Girls grow into mothers, into gentle caretakers. Over the years that is what they have become accustomed to. In this story especially, it seems as if they were really meant to have kids and take care of things. Graff is pointing this out because it does not make good fighters. They are to gentle, to kind, and they care to much for other people to be good in battle.

2. OSC included the act of Ender taking Graff's hand because it showed more of what he was. He was a six year old little kid who was being taken away from his parents and his home, and him holding Graff's hand on the way out helped portray that. The way the story is told he could be 15, and that action helped show that he isn't.

Chapter 4
1. When Graff said that "Individual human beings are tools that the others use to help us all survive" he means that each person is just a tiny dot in the big picture, and that our purpose is to help the whole picture. If we only focus on our tiny dot, then humanity will end. He thinks that people are just the vessels for a greater power to be shown through. That greater power will eventually perform something for the greater good.

2. The quote "Isolate him enough that he remains creative - otherwise he'll adopt the system and we'll lose him" means that the people at Battle School want to keep Ender in isolation from the other kids in that they don't want him to make friends. They think if they let him become a part of the normal system and adopt the ways of everyone else he will not come up with battle strategies and solutions that are creative enough to have success. They think he will lose his potential if he integrates with everyone else.

3. Yes, Ender did mean to break the other boy's arm. He did not think he did, but then he realized "No, he had meant to hurt him, and had pulled with all his strength" (33). Deep down, he did want to hurt the boy. This incident shows us that Ender is not in control of his emotions. He knew that he should not do something that violent in public, yet he lost control of his power and ended up hurting the other boy. I think it is acceptable to do despicable things for survival, because sometimes life comes down to survival of the fittest. If you want to make it out on top, you have to do what is necessary to get there. However, Ender was not strictly in a survival situation, so I don't think he should have broken the other boy's arm.

Chapter 5
1. I think it is healthy that Ender does not show feelings in battle school. Some positive things if he did show feelings are that he would not build up a lot of sadness inside of him, and he learn better how to cope with different emotions without pushing them down or letting them run wild. Some negative things are that he would be made fun of by the other boys and that the adults would not take him seriously as a fighter. Positive things about not showing feelings are that he learns how to cope with emotions by himself, and he gets more respect from the people around him by being strong. Negative things about not showing feelings are that he may become emotionless and ruthless as a soldier, and he may forget about his family and his relationship with them if he tries to hide his feelings for them. I think in the long run it is good for him to not show feelings at Battle School.

2.  Ender beat Bernard by taking away the respect everyone had for him. He made anonymous jokes about Bernard so that everyone else would not take him very seriously, so Bernard would not have a group supporting him. Now Bernard is just the jester who everyone makes fun of. This is an unusual solution to his problem because usually he fixes his problems with physical violence, but this time he learned a better method. I think that Ender is starting to see that he gets better results if he wins with his mind rather than his body.

3. Coping Mechanisms Ender Uses:
Violence: He will fight to solve his problems. In the end violence is harmful for Ender because it makes his victims want to retaliate and get revenge against him.
Hiding: He will hide his feelings and try to deal with his problems on his own. In the end hiding is good for Ender because it means that he does not face the problems that come from showing what he is really feeling. For example, hiding his homesickness prevented the other boys from making fun of him for it.
Outsmarting: He will solve problems by outsmarting his opponents and doing things that hurt them without literally hurting them. Overall, this is a good method because he does not get the backlash and remorse of physical violence but he still gets the satisfaction of success that does not come with hiding.

Ender's Game Anticipation Guide

Lying is justifiable if it's for the greater good.
I ranked that statement as a 4, because I think that it is okay to lie as long as it does not hurt someone else and there is purpose to it. I don't think random, compulsive lying is acceptable, but if there is a rational reason then it is fine.
Sometimes violence is the only way to solve a problem.
I ranked this one as a 4 because I think that is fairly true. Most of the time there are ways to avoid violence, but sometimes people just need to let their physical anger out. Sometimes pushing down the urge to fight will just make it boil over later.
It is okay to kill someone in self-defense.
I said that statement was a 3, because it is not all right to kill people, but sometimes it may come to that in serious combat. I think that it would be okay to do that if you knew they would do the same to you if put in that position. If it really was a fight to the death, then you would have to kill them if you did not want to be killed yourself.
Words are stronger than fists.
I ranked this statement as a 2, because I think that words can be stronger, but in some senses fists would work better. If it is in a civilized setting, words would be the best course of action. Sometimes in war, primal instincts beat the idea of words solving problems.
Bullies hurt others because they have low self esteem.
I said that this statement was a 4, because I think that is the reason most of the time. I think that some people are just genuinely mean, with a bad heart. The real mean people are not doing it because of self esteem issues.
Only the best and brightest students should receive the best education to become a nation's leaders.
I ranked this statement as a 2, because I think everyone should have equal opportunity. It makes sense that the brighter students would be selected more often for leadership placement, but everyone should be able to try for leadership positions. Just because everyone has the opportunity to try for a spot doesn't mean it will be given away to someone unsuited for a job.
Revenge is never justified.
I said this statement was a 4 because most of the time it isn't justified. Sometimes, revenge is a good thing though. Getting even is not always a bad thing, because all people are supposed to be equal on some level.
Crying is evidence of weakness.
I said this statement was a 2, because I think it does show weakness, but that is a good thing. When people cry it is a release of fear or tension, and people have to do that. I wish I cried more often, but I just don't cry very much.
Any action is acceptable in war.
I said this statement was a 5 because I think that makes sense. "All's fair in love and war" is a common saying that I think is pretty reasonable. If a person commits to fighting a war, then they are smart to expect anything.
Teenagers need discipline and rules because they can't control themselves.
I ranked this as a 3. I think that some teenagers can be completely crazy and unreasonable, but I don't think that applies to everyone. Some teenagers "rebel", so I think discipline is needed there. Some people thrive off of discipline, but it is not always needed.
Only through personal sacrifice can someone create positive change.
I said that was a 2. I think there are lots of times when change comes because of personal sacrifice, but that is not the only way change is created. Change can happen because of chance, or overtime without sacrifice. That is merely one way to do things.
Generating compassion for your enemies is the only way to create peace.
I rated that as a 4. Creating compassion is a primary way to create peace. It is hard to have peace when you don't understand someone else or their motives. Once their is mutual understanding, peace can come much easier in a situation where there is strife and war.

My Learning Styles

#	%	Type	Summary	Response
1	56%	Interpersonal	Interpersonal learners thrive on social interaction. Friends often ask you for advice because you are understanding and in tune with the people around you and their motives, emotions, perspectives, and moods. Your ability to manage relationships helps you understand situations and take a leadership role when necessary. You enjoy teaching and sharing your thoughts.	I was surprised that this was my top type of learning. When I read the summary I was surprised because I thought I was more of an intrapersonal learner, who keeps to herself more and works to set goals for herself.
2	42%	Verbal- Linguistic	Verbal-linguistic intelligence (along with logical-mathematical intelligence) is often associated with doing well in school. You have the ability to use words effectively for reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The poet has been described as the epitome of verbal-linguistic intelligence.	This category and the math category are interesting to me. I did not think I would be much of a linguistic learner because I often cannot understand when someone tells me instructions rather than showing me instructions.
3	38%	Logical- Mathematical	Logical-mathematical intelligence is often what we refer to when we call someone -- such as a mathematician or an engineer -- smart. You possess the ability to understand complex problems, both logical and mathematical. This intelligence asks questions, finds solutions, and reflects on the problem-solving process.	I like math, so I see how this category would relate to me. I enjoy problem solving and logical thinking, so this category fits me.
8	0%	Naturalistic	Naturalistic learners often understand the patterns of living things, and they apply scientific reasoning to the world. You recognize (and can classify) different types of plants or animals. You also empathize with animals. Some well-known careers for those with naturalistic intelligence are farmer, naturalist, animal behaviorist, and scientist.	I understand why I did not rank high in this category. I am not a scientifically oriented or outdoorsy person. Its not that I don’t like nature; I just don’t like doing very outdoor specific activities. I like sports and things but am not big on hiking, camping, etc...