diving bell essay

Andrew Cameron

Q: to what extent can we distinguish between knowing as a community and knowing as an individual? How much does one’s knowledge depend on interaction with other knowers?

Knowledge is some thing that can be either collective among people, or kept to a personal level.
Knowledge has both advantages and disadvantages to being an individual thing. When knowledge is a personal thing is mainly an empirical knowledge. For example, when some says that something is hot, it is their preference. However, you might have a higher tolerance or a lower tolerance that the other person. Only I know what I think is hot and no one else. However, even though individual knowledge has advantages, it does also have some disadvantages. For example, it is difficult be communicated or confirmed by others. It is difficult to explain to someone exactly how hot, cold, or painful something because each person has different thresholds for their own personal knowledge.
Knowing as a community has advantages and disadvantages. When we know as a community, we have the advantage of verifying and establishing knowledge with each other. This relation is used to create rules and laws. For example, we are taught that when you drive, a red light means to stop and a green light means to go. Without this collective knowledge, there is not any way that society can establish a code of law. Also, the community is used to ensure comfort to the ones who have knowledge because the community allows them to see that their knowledge may be valid with the knowledge of others I think that this is evident in “the diving bell and the butterfly.” Jean-Dominique likes to have the community around him because it gives him comfort from himself. This is why he hates Sundays because he is all alone on these days without any reassurance. Even though knowing as a community has its advantages, it also has disadvantages. Knowing as a community changes between different communities. This is seen by the travel between different cultures.
Knowing as a community and knowing as an individual are related, but cannot be confused with which is which. I think that we as people can distinguish between knowing as a community and knowing as an individual with ease. For example, we know as a community that green means to go and red means to stop. These kinds of rules and laws cannot be know on an individual level through empirical experience, but through education by the community since the community had made these rules. Individual knowledge is known through empirical experience because we know things on a personal level and through the use of our own senses. For example, “I know that the coffee is hot because I burnt my tongue when I drank it.” This knowledge that the coffee is hot is individual knowledge because I had to drink it to know how it felt. Of course I could have been told that the coffee was hot, but I would not know how hot I thought it was until I tasted it for myself.
When people are alone with themselves, they will only apply on the knowledge they gain on an individual level. This is because there is no reason for a person to have knowledge with the community when the only knowledge they need is knowledge that will benefit the individual. For people alone, there is no need to have knowledge as a community.
In both knowing as a community and knowing as an individual, I think that empirical knowledge is the most important way to gain and retain knowledge. It is also the most justifiable way to claim knowledge. I think this because with empirical knowledge, things are experienced with a firsthand view, which gives the knower how he/she is affected by the experience. When we use deduction we are making assumptions on a single case is based off of a belief. However, we may not know what the end result or that it is accurate on with what we assume it is. I think that the same thing applies with induction, which is when we make a general statement out of a specific example. This way to gain knowledge is not as valuable because it involves some belief. This is because we also assume things with induction. When we base a general statement off of a single specific thing, we are taking the risk that the specific example is a normal example and not some form of an abnormality.
Even though most knowledge can be gained through personal experience and ways that we perceive things, we cannot determine knowledge by acquaintance without interaction with other people. If there are no people to interact with then we cannot know how people react to things outside of what we react to. How can I say, “I know how Jim reacts to these things,” if I do not know Jim on a personal level. With this said, I cannot know what a typical reaction or response is to something without first knowing how other people react to an event.
In knowledge, knowing as an individual, and knowing as a community have both their advantages and disadvantages. As well as they can be distinguished apart from each other. Even though each type of knowledge is essential, you cannot live without knowledge on an individual basis. This is true because a single person cannot be unaware of his or her own thresholds.

pink noise

pink noise is natural and soft music taht dull the interuption of loud noises. i think that sturgis should use pimk noise because in the building, the walls are thin and sounds travel throught the walls easily.

white man's burden

the movie white man's burden was interesting in that it was depicted that only the social class of whites and blacks seemed to be the ones that mattered. also, what made me think was why the director had the white men pick up a poor black accent whereas the black men kept there accent.

the diving bell and the butterfly questions 5

1. A place that i know by smell is my aunts house. the smell is something thta i cannot describe by telling someone the smell, i can only tell them that it is something that they need to smell for themself. i would think that Bauby's condition is more horrific becuase there is no cure for it, while Jean-Paul K is not perminately disformed and he could still move around rather than being confined to remain in one spot.

2. I dont think that Bauby is fond of these torturers because they annoy him

3. I think that Bauby admires Oliver because he is never a bore. he is always coming up with a new story. the connection between emotion and memory is that certain memories make us react differently than others.

4. i think that Bauby likes the song "a day in the life" because it lets him place his life in the song. i think tha humans always wait for life's crescendo because it is seen as what our life was for. i think that he places this chapter at the end of the book instead of the beginning because i think he wants us not to really know how this event happened without us first knowing him after the event.

5. Bauby savors the last week in august because it is the last of vacations. eventhough this does not affect him, he know that it affects other people, and he knows that. i think that we can learn from him that we are creatures of habit because no matter what condition we are in, we recognize vacations ending and begining, as well as holidays and years.

the diving bell and the butterfly questions 4

1. when bauby describes himself as belonging on a vegetable stall and not the human race, he believes that he has become distant from characteristics that fit a human. i think it is necessary for people to category things because it simplifies the identity of people. for example, we categorize people as being black, white, male, female, fat, and thin. i think that this is done not only for simplification, but for recognition. you cannot pick someone you are looking for out in a crowd by being told that the person has a selfish personality.

2. personally, i hoard loose change. i do this because they have value that i can compond later into billed money that i can use.

3. I think that all the time that bauby has spent isolated with himself, he has come to learn closely what people think and why they do certain things. i think that bauby doesnt tire from the smell of french fries because they are his favorite food.

4. i think that it is nor beneficial to have regrets because if we spend our time regreting things, then we can never expect our lives to progress. try not to regret too many things, adn the things that i do regret, i try to pull a lesson ot be learned, or a moral to be found out of it.

5.i think that bauby says he has butterfly hearing because he can further develop the severity of sounds and voices. also, he can let his mind wander as to what those sounds really are.

6. Bauby hates sundays because it is the day that the people who work in the hospital have their day off. no one visits him and comes to comfort him. Sunday is the day that he is all alone with the TV tuned to the shows thta he does not like

the diving bell and the butterfly questions 3

1. the significance of the last sentence is guardian angel is that bauby feels that at times he forgets exactly who he is, and that he has lost his identity. he sees himself as just another person waiting to be treated without any specific thing that distinguishes him form the other paitents.

2. the photo he recieves is ironic because it is dated from the same location that jean-dominique is staying at.

3. i think that bauby's contition can give us some insight to his condition because like the dream, he feels that he is a prisoner who is being taken places by strange people.

4. Bauby's butterfly in my lucky day was when he was humming to himself the song "don't worry baby, it'll be alright."

5. one moment in my life that i regret was not taking up piano playing again. i took lessons for 4 year, and then stopped. now that i am in the IB program, i do not have time to play piano anymore. i dont think that it is possible to live and appreciate significant moments because we only know if the moment was significant or not until it is over. 

the diving bell and the butterfly questions 2

1. “But I see in the clothing a symbol of continuing life. And proof that I still want to be myself. If I must drool, I may as well drool on cashmere.” The reason that I think that Bauby wrote this quote is because he sees his clothing as his identity. Without the styles and designs that he wore before he had his stroke, he sees himself as blending into the other patients. Clothing is just his way of keeping his thought of who he is.

2. I think that if Bauby had spoken Chinese of Japanese, the writing of the book would have been very different. Since there are vast more symbols in Chinese and Japanese than in English, Bauby would have spent much more time writing his book.

3. Bauby finds his appearance humorous because he feels that he resembles a specific piece of artwork.

4. if i was given one last opportunity to spend the afternoon in one place, i would choose to spend it in Mad River Valley, Vermont. i would choose this place because it is the location of my favorite mountain to snowboard in the winter, and my favorite place to vacation in the summer. in the summer the valley river runs north and snakes along the valley. the river created swimming holes along that are as deep as 2o feet and parallel rock structures from which a person can jump off of. in the winter, the constant snowfall covers the entire valley and the mountain is the perfect place to snowboard. 

 

5.  i think that we dont make an effort to connect with those that look or act different that us because we feel that it will make them uncomfortable. most people are self conscious on how they appear and what they say to others. since they are so self conscious,  they worry that what they say may offend some people.

6. if i couldnt eat again, the meal that i would miss the most would be a cheeseburger. the reason that i would miss this meal the most would be because it is a combination of meat and vegetables. 

the diving bell and the butterfly questions

a)       What is 'Locked-in syndrome'? Why would one consider Bauby's condition a prison? What is the significance of The Butterfly? The locked in syndrome is a condition where the patient is paralyzed from head to toe. This would be considered a prison because the patient cannot move, confining him to one place until he is either moved with help, or dies. The butterfly is significant because it is a parallel for the writer to think that he can fly anywhere with his mind.

b)      What was Bauby's "frightening truth'? Bauby’s frightening truth was that he was stuck in his state of a quadriplegic. Also, he would now be on his own.

c) In your opinion, how do you think Bauby should measure progress? Why do you think Bauby ends the chapter "Prayer" with the phrase, "I set out for the kingdom of slumber with this wonderful talisman, which shields me from all harm."  I think that Bauby should measure progress by through the movements that he can make. I think that Bauby ends the chapter “prayer” with this phrase because it gives the reader the thought that these prayers helped him with his suffering. 

"man is the measure" chapter 4 questions

According to Abel, what is perception? perception is an active task and not a passive one. this means that perception must be initiated and used. it will not guarantee anything unless the perciever chooses perceive things.

What does Abel mean by “seeing as?” by seeing as, Abel means that what we are seeing is just what we can interpret without making conclusions to what it is that we saw, or heard.

To see what is the case, what is required? Please define each term. to see what is the case, it requires context, inference, concept, experience, and interpretation. The context means that to understant what you see, it must be set in its environment. Inference is to form a conclusion based on pre-existing knowledge. concept is the general idea of what something is. experience is the way that we perceive through deduction of experiences. interpretation is how we judge what it is that we see into something that makes sense.

What did Nietzsche mean by “the fallacy of the immaculate perception?” How does Psychologist Joseph Jastrow prove this point? When have we done this in class? Nietzsche meant by "fallacy of the immaculate perception" is that everything that a person percieves is he/she must add their own sense. no single act of seeing is not nessecarily right of wrong. Joseph Jastrow proves this point by an illistration which depicts either a rabbit or duck. there is not right answer to what animal this picture. this example was done in class during the perception test with the stack of blocks. when the picture is one way there are 6 blocks, whereas when the picture is rotated 180 degrees, it depicts 7 blocks.

What does Abel mean when he writes: “there is no sharp line dividing perception and illusion?” abel means that in perception there is no right answer to what we see, only what is accepted until someone sees something else in the picture.

Why is perception selective by nature? perception is selective by nature because people filter out outside stimuli in order to focus on one distict stumulus. this means that stimuli are ignored and are not percieved.

What does Abel mean when he says: “to perceive is to solve a problem?” Abel means that we use perception to figure out what thing are and what is their value.

What is the role of social conditioning in determining how things “naturally look?” social conditioning determines how things naturally look because it determines what belongs in a
picture and what doesn't.

What is significant of the Durer rhinoceros story? How was the influence of convention demonstrated when some tribes were given a photograph? the story of durer's rhinoceros is significant because it proves tradition has a great influence on interpretation.

How does convention influence perspective drawing? perspective drawing is influenced by convention because drawing does not entail our manner of distance.

What does Abel mean when he writes: believing is seeing? How might this point be seen in the study of the natural and the social sciences? by writing believing is seeing, abel says that in order for something to be there, or thought ot be there, you must believe that it exists. this point may be irritating to other studies because they might think that things are always there.

What does Abel mean by “hearing as…”?

Blink question #2

 

1. Three fatal mistakes: Gladwell explains that our attitude and thoughts towards other is always being changed. The example of this is the police incident that Gladwell writes about. The perception of the police towards the suspect was to make him fit a description. “

 

2. The theory of mind reading: this section relates to our study on perception because it describes how every facial movement that a person makes, is influenced by their emotions and thought. “It was a gold mine of information.”

 

3. The naked face: my making certain faces and moving certain facial muscles the body will actually respond by doing bodily functions that are associated with that emotion. “…the expression alone is sufficient to create marks changed in the autonomic nervous system”

 

4. A man, a woman, and a lightswitch: the gestures that we make are of equal importance with perception because it gives us clues and direction on where to look and what to look for. “Our eyes would follow the direction that nick is pointing.”

 

5. Arguing with a dog: this section relates perception to reflexes. When an occasion occurs which calls for spilt second reactions, the mind only focuses on what the eyes choose to. The object then becomes the only focus. “My vision changed as soon as I started to shoot. It went from seeing the whole picture, to just seeing the suspect’s head.”

 

6. Running out of white space: the example of the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan shows how slow our reactions are to events that happen close to the source. The white space really does determine the reaction time that it takes to perceive an event. The Reagan incident is a great example because the white space was less than 5 feet. “Reaction time didn’t make a difference because he was too close.

 

7. something in my mind just told me I didn’t have to shoot yet: the perception of this section is that some people can be trained to slow their reactions. This means that they can slow their perception time, to judge things more thoroughly.

perception test

my impressions of the lecture test were that how oblivious the human brain really is. it amazed me that the mind is an auto correcter and, if needed, appears to add and eliminate words when needed. also, it still amazes me that when the human brain focuses on one thing, it can block out all other images and sounds. i think that people should know how much our brains filter the world around us. people shoud understand exactly why we do not remember, hear, or see the majority of things that are going on around us.

the warren harding error

Describe how Warren Harding rose through the Republican Party to become President in 1920. Warren Harding rose through by being pushed by others. One of the reasons that he rose was because people thought that he looked like he could fit in politics. “Once, at a banquet, a supporter cried out, ‘why, the son of a bitch looks like a senator,’” people believed that he looked like a politician even though he was not that intelligent. He was noticed at a republican convention because the people wanted someone that they could all agree upon. So they elected him as their candidate.

Why does the author believe that people were in error in promoting Harding to higher office? The author thinks that people were in error in electing Harding to a higher office because they had associated his looks with certain characteristics. People thought that since Harding was a tall, distinguished man, they assumed that he was a brave, leader because of his qualities.

What was the point of the “Implicit Association Test (IAT)?” the point of the IAT is to prove that people associate certain word with certain characteristics. Since people are raised to associate words with characteristics.

What are the advantages to completing the IAT on computer? Why does Gladwell believe the IAT has become “so popular in recent years?” An advantage of taking the IAT on a computer is that it measures results down to one millisecond, which aids in scoring. It has become popular in recent years is because its measuring is not subtle. It is used to see if the test taker can come to a conclusion between the differences in word association.

Why, according to Gladwell, did he become mortified upon completion of the first part of the IAT test on race? What occurred on the second part of the IAT test? Gladwell was mortified upon completion of the first part if the IAT because he had a difficult time pairing good words with the category of African Americans. This mortified him so because this meant that he had an association of being pro white. Even though he claimed to have equal views of all races.

Did it make any difference how many times Gladwell took the test? What does the author believe is the reason for our answers on the IAT (i.e. what does the IAT measure)? It did not make a difference how many times Gladwell took the test; he still had the same difficulty each time. Gladwell believes that the answers on the IAT are influenced by out subconscious attitude.

If Gladwell is correct, that your unconscious acts as a computer that “crunches all the data” from our lives and “it forms an opinion”; would you consider this to your true self? Please explain your answer. I would not consider this to be your true self. I think that it would your true self if you were to accept the data that is presented to you. Also, if the data that you received from your life were false and you knew this, then your subconscious would not record this.

Does Gladwell feel that it matters if one has a “strongly pro-white pattern of associations? Gladwell feels that doesn’t matter is one person has a pro white pattern of associations because it is a subconscious opinion that seems to manifest into everything that a person perceives.

How does the Warren Harding error impact the business world? The warren Harding error affects the business world because the majority of business CEOs are tall white men. The stereotype of these men are that they are natural leaders because they look like the role of a leader.

How does Bob Golomb’s strategy defeat the Warren Harding error? Bob Golomb’s strategy is to treat every customer that walks into his car dealership as having the same chance of buying a car. His strategy relies on not judging the likelihood of a customer to buy a car based on his outward appearance.

What were the results of the Ayres study? What does Gladwell believe to be the explanation for these results? Ayres’ study showed that women and minorities were more stereotyped to be easier to “lay-down” to a bargain instead of bargaining for it. This type of thinking has been imbedded in our unconscious and therefore influences the initial reaction to another person.

How does Gladwell believe you can change your score on the race IAT? How, according to Gladwell, can we apply this rule to our everyday lives? Do you agree? Gladwell suggests that the score on the race IAT can be changed by associating blacks with positive attributes and by reading about positive black figures like Martin Luther King jr. or Collin Powell. We can apply this rule to our everyday lives by exposing ourselves more to minorities and some positive attributes to them. I agree with this rule because the reason that some people develop these unconscious opinions is because they lack exposure to what they are assuming about.

the mouse and cheese story

Based on our conversation in class, what is the point of the story: "The Mouse That Ate The Cheese?"

the story "the mouse that ate the cheese" is a clear example of the flaws that occur within the process of knowledge. in the story, Bill had justified his knowledge through empiricism  (because saw the mouse) which makes his knowledge more believable. however no one believes him because it was not an impersonal experience (only he saw it). another example of conflict with knowledge was that the owner of the flat where the mouse lived uses confirmation bias against bill. "thats absurd. I loathe mice so I spent a lot of money making sure that this flat is mouseproof. to be doubly sure I have the best firm of pest exterminators come in and check it over regularly." the owner, george, uses his own information to attempt to prove Bill's knowledge as false. however, George did not see the mouse and does not know for sure that there really are no mice, but instead is accepting the word of the extermination firm

Man is the measure questions-chapter 2

How does Bertrand Russell differentiate between “knowledge by acquaintance” and “knowledge by description”? (check out the footnote at bottom of p. 19)
Bertrand Russell describes “knowledge by acquaintance” as raw feeling, that every attitude we have towards something is based off of the experiences we have had with them. It is only a felling that one person knows. Knowledge is description is known but it is not something that is felt, but something that is described in a way that it does not generate raw feelings.

How does Abel distinguish between “knowing how” and “knowing that”?
Abel distinguishes that knowing that is propositional and cannot be explained how one person knows it. Knowing how is evident where you can see someone performing the task. Abel explains that “one may know how to swim, for example, or how to tie a bowtie, without being able to describe exactly how one does these things” (pg. 19) this quote enforces that it is harder to explain how some knows to do something, than actually show that that person knows how to do that task.


What does he mean when he asks: “can knowing how theoretically always be reduced to knowing that? What is Abel’s answer? What do you think?
The meaning that Abel is trying to give about Knowing How being theoretically reduced to Knowing that is that all things that you know how can be explained how one does these things. Abel’s answer for this is that “knowing how to do these things perhaps cannot be fully specified in propositional Knowing that.” I think that Knowing how cannot be reduced to knowing that because certain knowledge cannot be explained how one knows how to do it, such as muscle movement. Someone knows how to move there fingers, but does not know how to describe to another how he knows.

How does language become a problem of knowledge?
Language becomes a problem with knowledge because it can be translated differently and be meanings ad terms can be lost in translation from one language to another.

What do you think William James means when he says: “Life defies our phrases?”
when William James says “life defies our phrases,” I think that he means that there are no phrases that we know that applies to our lives. These phrases are created from the experience of one person and then it is applied to someone’s life by the person in the same situation. However, the person who applies the phrase does it because it feels like it matches the situation whereas it actually it does not.

What, according to Abel, is the difference between “experience” and “propositional knowledge”?
The difference between “experience” and “propositional knowledge” is that experience applies to one person only. One person cannot describe how pie smells to them because it is something that is known through one’s own personal view and that is it. However, propositional knowledge is that believed and knows by everyone as fact. It is not personalized and experienced by one person but it is known to all people without feelings and senses intertwined into it.


What are Abel’s Four Conditions for propositional knowledge? Where have we seen this before? Why does he add a Fourth Condition?
Abel’s four conditions for propositional knowledge are:
· Something needs to be true to be known
· Belief is a necessary condition for knowledge, but not a sufficient one.
· Evidence is a necessary but not a sufficient component for knowledge.
· There is now evidence to undermine a belief.
Theses conditions are the exact same thing for platonic knowledge.

FRENCH FRIES!!!!!!

How would Gladwell respond to the responsibility question from September 15th? (Does the producer of this knowledge have any responsibility? What is your responsibility as a knower?)

I think that the producer of this knowledge has the responsibility of allowing everyone to view it. If it were to be kept from the public, it would not follow Plato’s view of truth, where it has to be public for all people to know it and read it. People who eat at fast food places and eat these fries should know how they are made. Also, this article describes the transition to vegetable oil. Most people don’t know that this made the French fries unhealthier. “In the course of making vegetable oil suitable for deep frying, it is subjected to a chemical process called hydrogenation, which creates a new substance called a trans unsaturated fat… they wreak havoc with the body's ability to regulate cholesterol.” Most people do not know this information and it is the responsibility of the producer to bring it the reader’s attention.
Our responsibility as the reader is to understand what the author is doing making a point of this fact. It is up to the reader to make his or her own decision on whether to act upon this information.

class notes

Plato

• wanted knowledge that provided "certainty"
• it has to be described
• communicated effectively to others (must be convincing to reasonable people)
• certain knowledge: knowledge by description

different names for this

• platonic knowledge
• knowledge by description
• propositional knowledge (formal statement of convincing knowledge)
• knowing that

platonic knowledge

justification

• empiricism: knowledge by experience (seeing, touching, smelling, tasting, hearing)
• induction: from a specific to general theory
• deduction: from a general to specific theory
• rationalism: knowledge be previous knowledge ( A Priori knowledge)

truth

• is eternal
• is public
• is independent from a belief system

belief

• necessary but not sufficient
• component to knowledge

McDonalds ingredients

Big Mac® Bun: Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, soybean oil, canola oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, contains 2% or less of each of the following: sesame seed, salt, wheat gluten, calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate, ammonium chloride, calcium carbonate, baking soda, soy flour, dough conditioners (may contain one or more of the following: distilled monoglycerides, DATEM, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, enzymes, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, guar gum, mono-and diglycerides, calcium peroxide), calcium propionate & sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin


Big Mac® Sauce: Soybean oil, pickle relish [diced pickles, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, vinegar, corn syrup, salt, calcium chloride, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate (preservative), spice extractives, polysorbate 80], distilled vinegar, water, egg yolks, high fructose corn syrup, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, spices, propylene glycol alginate, sodium benzoate (preservative), mustard bran, sugar, garlic powder, vegetable protein (hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat), caramel color, extractives of paprika, soy lecithin, turmeric (color), calcium disodium EDTA (protect flavor). CONTAINS: WHEAT, EGG AND SOY.

the Omnivore's dilemma

Did any information in the book come as a surprise to you? If so, why do you think that specific piece of knowledge was kept from you? Does the producer of this knowledge have any responsibility? What is your responsibility as a knower?



a piece of information that came as a surprise to me was how much the american culture treats food as a marketing tool. everything that we eat is all based on what is supposed to be healthy at that time. also all these studies tell us what is the best food to eat for weight loss, and then a few years later it is told that the food we are eating to loose weight is actually causing weight gain. and the people who tell us the food we are eating is bad told us five years earlier that the food we are eating is good and healthy. i think that this knowledge about food trends is kept from people becuase eatinf trends are the most popular trends and have the biggest market. since there are so many choices for a person to choose from, these trends are need to steer people towards certain foods to eat. if we knen why these eating trends were created people would not pay thousands for the type of food and resort to eating what they like. the producer of the knowledge is responsible for keeping the buyers in the dark so they will not question the test.

knowing

How do we Know what we Know? What evidence do you have to support your claim

i think that we know when we acknowledge that the information is there. knowledge is a way of perfroming what information we have. without performing this task, we dont know any information. the evidence that i have to support this is that everything is information and a transfer of information is the first step of knowing. after that, if a task is performed with the information it acknowledges the memory of the user

Do parents matter?

i think that parents do matter in the development of a child. even if their characteristics are already programed into them, ethical problems are things that are taught to the child and not programed into them. also, i think that parents are significant in the development in a child's living style. this would include hygiene, clothing style, and diet. however, i agree that a child's peers do affect them and their actions more than parents do. but all that a child learns is a direct influence from their parents.

TOK first class

Q. What were your impressions of the first class? Are we our Name, our Family, our Sex, our Nationality or our Location? If not, then what is responsible for our identity? Do we have an identity apart from our community?

i feel that we are not our names. A name does not make us, we make the name what it is. people spend thier lives trying to make the name that they have something to be remembered, becuase history remembers people not on their nationality, race, sex, or family, but by the means of the name that thay have or make for themselves. the names that we have can link us to communities and cultures, but it doesn't bind a person to live in that culture and that person can choose to accept the heritage that his name gives, or break away from it