Blinded Science

While reading different essays addressing the topic of nature, I came to the conclusion that they all shared the idea that being outside can make an impact in everyone no matter if you believe you only belong in a city or forest because it can bring you serenity and show you all the amazing things you wouldn't be able to see anywhere else. In Wendell Berry’s essay “An Entrance to the Woods,” he states that people can use the quiet of the woods to forget all their problems. Berry wrote “One is that, though I am here in body, my mind and my nerves too are not yet altogether here. We seem to grant to our high-speed roads and our airlines the rather thoughtless assumption that people can change places as rapidly as their bodies can be transported.” Nature has a way to transport ones mind and spirit elsewhere while the body is left behind on earth as we travel deep into thought. Adding on to that idea, the essay “A City Person Encountering Nature” by Maxine Hong Kingston the author explains that nature is a giver of peace and patience with its slow cycles that may frustrate people, but help keep a sane mind. Society is fast paced, making everyone feel that they need to keep the same pace in order to get things done, but we don't realize that although our bodies are moving and pushing, our minds are exhausted and cannot keep up with the fast pace. Kingston wrote “Preferring the city myself, I can better discern natural phenomena when books point them out; I also need to verify

that have been compelled to care for their forests by systematic managing. He also says that, “In their natural condition, or under wise management, keeping out destructive sheep, preventing fires, selecting the trees that should be cut for lumber, and preserving the young ones, these forests would be a never failing fountain of wealth and beauty” (360). We can clearly notice that nature is important to him. His writings moved presidents, and congressmen, “Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed—chased and hunted down as long as fun or a dollar could get out of their bark hides……-God has cared for these trees…but he can not save them from fools – only Uncle Sam can do that.”

As corpses permeate the graveyard, the ability sustain life itself comes into question; Olds warps the significance of the tree to argue that life is no longer sustainable. Due to the lack of enough wood for coffins, the disposal of corpses exemplify desperation and require inhumane treatment. The sheer number of corpses necessitates that many are “Bound with rope like the tree's ball of roots / When it waits to be planted”(7-8). Literally converting poisonous carbon dioxide into oxygen, a tree preserves life on earth. Ironically, as the

The initial portion of Todorov’s theory involves the balance of an equilibrium within the plot shown by the symbolic setting. The depiction of the character’s and their setting around them renders the first part of the theory accurate. In “Somewhere.”, it can be argued that the tree is main part of the plot line. In which case, the story would skip the first step of equilibrium and directly enter the second phase of disruption due to the tree being marked to be cut down. However, that is not the portion of story that

Change blindness is a phenomenon in attention where drastic changes to a scene can go unnoticed. This is important to the field of Human Sensation and Perception because it helps illustrate how a visual scene is processed. Specifically it shows how even if there is direct attention to a scene, there are times when drastic changes can occur without perception of the change occurring. With extensive research already conducted illustrating this effect, new research has recently been conducted studying different types of scene changes in the hopes of understanding which changes are easier or harder to notice. The results of these studies were quantified by the measurement of change detection time (usually reported in seconds). This subset of change blindness research has far-reaching practical applications, especially in the field of security and law enforcement. By applying the knowledge of which type of stimuli lead to longer change detection times training programs could be developed that allow this population to improve their observation skills.

Trees represent life because they aren’t simple, trees are large and strong, their roots are in the ground and its leaves sway in the sky. At first, Melinda’s life was as solid as the tallest tree in the world, the Hyperion. “This was the girl who suffered though Brownies with me, who

Oh, you don't know too much about trees, do you? Well let me tell you that trees are amazing, and I mean, we literally breathe the air they are creating, and they clean up our pollution, our carbon, store and purify water, give us medicine that cures ours diseases and food that feeds us.

There has been more and more research being done all over the United States and a multitude of other countries pertaining to how nature affects the humans overall health. Many scientists have even been working, and conducting experiments to find the right "dose" humans need in their lives (Christopher 3). In fact, in a series of studies just recently done in 2010 some "doses" of nature were proven

In the novel Chasten the Blind by Kyle Woodend, the main villain and theme smoothly integrate together to create a compelling storyline and thoughtful arguments to ponder. The book is written in the dual point of views of Andy Chopak and Norah Hazel. Within the novel, Andy Chopak is excitedly awaiting a letter from Wisco Stock, where he had applied for an apprenticeship. Unfortunately, Andy was turned down and spirals into destructive behaviour. Harmlessly, he moves out from his parents home then quickly develops a bad habit of using, lying and hurting people around him. The turning point of this behaviour happened when Andy physically abuses his manager after he learns he's being let-off work just days following the suicide of his fellow co worker. Correspondingly with Andy, is the plot of Norah Hazel, who has found out she is pregnant. However without knowing it she gets tied up in Andy’s deceit, who also happens to be the father of her baby. One by one lies begin to unravel and Andy is left facing them all and coming to terms with what these lies have costed him.

The Blind Side is a movie based on a person who has gone through these events in life named Michael Oher. This African American teenager is homeless and lost because he was abandoned at a young age which led him to have a very poor education and no one wanting him because he was a different skin tone to everyone else. The author shows a different type of techniques such as close-up camera shots on faces showing emotion, sound and how it shows Michael Oher to be seen shy in the film as an unfortunate African American individual. Themes such as Kindness, overcoming obstacles, and stereotypes are interconnected from the real-life world and the movie that Hancock directs.

In Canada, there are many controversies over the logging industry. Logging is one of Canada’s major industries, as it supplies countries all over the world. Wood is one of the most used materials in society. There are many reasons why logging is controversial. People all across the world rely on Canada for it’s logging industry to build buildings, houses, and is used in everyday materials.

Nature is necessary and everyone can gain from it, as Bryson said, he felt “...healthier and stronger…” after walking the trail. Spending time in nature can bring a feeling of alleviation. It does not only have a positive effect on one’s physical health, but mental health as well. Bryson mentioned, “He saw the AT [...] a network of mountaintop work camps where pale, depleted urban workers in the thousands would come and [...] refresh themselves on nature” (Bryson 39). Nature gives way more than people think. It can help cleanse the body and reduce any type of stress that may bother a person. Not to mention all beautiful creatures and life that live within

The forest not only hides man's enemies but it’s full of man's medicine, healing power and food. ~African Proverb.

> This was an important point made in the article as it places emphasis on how interaction with the environment can increase a person’s overall well-being: physical and mental. Many clinicians that I know will communicate to their clients the importance of engaging in nature to reduce depressive symptoms; they communicate that mental grounding and nature activities will improve self-confidence and provide clients with a sense of altruism and purpose.

Traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, is one of the oldest systems of medicine to exist among humans, and it is extremely prominent to this day. According to legend, the system has been in use since the third millennium BCE. The views of such an old system differ greatly from those found in modern western medicine. Perhaps most prominent is the fact that TCM focuses more on the patient than the illness. The system considers the human to be a microcosm of the universe, implying that the body is affected by the traditional Taoist forces of yin and yang, the five elements, and Qi in the same way the cosmos are. Each of these forces act upon the “zang fu,” or organ system, directly influencing a patient’s health. Healers use qigong to assist in the restoration of stability in the body. Achieving balance, both internally and externally, is the most important aspect of healing in TCM.