There are multiple theories of creation. Each theory is distinct, from the Big Bang theory to Christians Gods creation theory. Renditions of the creation theories or stories are also apparent, as illustrated by Ovids rendition of The Creation. Ovids rendition of The Creation explains how the Earth was created by a god, who is not described in detail, referring to the God as Some god (line 26) and that god (whichever one it was) (line 41), while in the Christian Bible, the creator is referred to as God; in the book of Genesis (Puchner et al. 80). Ovid positions that creation began by settling chaos through divisions such as land and water bodies, with different creatures for each part, and formations such as the globe shape of the Earth. In contrast, the world is presented as lonely and dark in the Christian Bible, and God creates all creation in seven days. These are just a few of the differences in Ovids rendition.
In Ovids excerpts, women are depicted in several ways to portray given characteristics. Some portrayals include feminization (Sharrock et al. 35), as defenseless beings, support for one another, and defying men illustrated through their triumphs and struggles. For instance, in book V, Proserpina was abducted by Dis (Pluto), who she smote. Proserpina could not defend herself against him as he carried her way. Additionally, Cyane shows support for Prosperpina by stating:
You cannot become the son-in-law of great Ceres
against her will: you should have asked and not taken! (line 583).
This also demonstrates that as a goddess, she stood up against the underworld king by getting in his way.
As an epic poem, the Metamorphosis has numerous lessons I took away. The first is resisting lust or desire, whereby many gods sexually assaulted women they were attracted to, which came with consequences. The second is the significance of moral virtues and responsibility, elaborated throughout the books through the gods who possessed a lot of power that, while utilized wrongly, led to dire consequences, with rewards for good actions. Such as the transformation of Iphis into a young man (Kamen 21) in book IX and Galatea from sculpture to a woman in book X.
Works Cited
Kamen, Deborah. Naturalized Desires And The Metamorphosis Of Iphis. Helios, vol 39, no. 1, 2012, pp. 21-36. Project Muse, https://doi.org/10.1353/hel.2012.0000.
Puchner, Martin, et al. The Norton Anthology Of World Literature. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., pp. 80-614.
Sharrock, Alison, et al. Metamorphic Readings: Transformation, Language, And Gender In The Interpretation Of Ovids Metamorphoses. 1st ed., Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 33-40.
This week, you read excerpts from books 1, 2, 5,9, and 10 of Ovids The Metamorphosis. Please answer the following:
The Metamorphosis
1. How does Ovids rendition of The Creation explain how the Earth was created and by whom? Is this different from other creation myths youve read in this course and may have heard in places like the Christian Bible? Explain.
2. How are women represented depicted in the excerpts youve read? Choose at least one book as an example to support your answer.
3. What, if any, moral lessons are you able to take away from The Metamorphosis?
Part 1: A summary of the Bluemink (2017) article focusing on the key ideas that was most interesting to you. The ideas are not opinion, but you get to choose those pieces most interesting to you.
The first idea that struck me was the fact that Socrates was right. Recording information in books meant people had to remember less because they had books as reference points. Sadly, the same is true for the Internet and very true in my personal life. Bluemink (2017) says that the Internet is evil in itself as much as it is a blessing. This brings me to the 2nd idea of the Internet basically making one dumber as it simultaneously gives one the impression of becoming smarter. I had no idea that the brain processes information faster when accessing the Internet, but it does not retain the information. This is quite frightful for two reasons; the first being the fact that with old age comes dementia, and the Internet is basically fast-forwarding that process, and second, being there seems to be no time for people, and me in particular, to shut down and read an entire book. I would rather look for information on the Internet rather than read through a book trying to extract useful information. If the brain is not storing information at the intensity that it ought to, it means there will come a time when there will be a generation of dumb people who have to literally rely on the Internet for their everyday life. A simple calculation such as 1+3 will need someone to search for the answer because the brain will refuse to tax itself to think.
Lastly, the idea of decreased attention has rung home ever so accurately. I find that I cannot concentrate long enough on one issue on the Internet without opening other tabs to check for more information or updates. I cannot sit down still for one hour straight and do maybe my assignment, without having 7-10 interrupting breaks to check my mail, Facebook, Instagram, and other interesting stuff on the Internet. The revelation that the Internet has played a huge role in decreasing my attention span is a real blow to me.
Part 2: With the ideas put forward by Cloudera, Inc. (2019) and by Roose (2018), how would Socrates respond to Facebook and to Lufthansa?
Socrates would be proud to know that this prediction has come to pass. Lufthansa uses the data it collects to predict possible faults in airplanes and airways and takes action rather than wait for accidents to happen. The data that the company collects has enhanced passenger experience and averted unnecessary costs associated with aircraft damages, including lawsuits from airplane crashes from mechanical failure. Lufthansa plays the part of a palm reader/medium that is able to predict possible worst-case scenarios by reading and interpreting data (Cloudera, 2019). On the other hand, Facebook uses the data it collects from its users to make more money for the company and advertisers. The data targets potential customers and places product and service advertisements that the user is most likely to purchase (Roose, 2018). In the case of Lufthansa, Socrates would have to disagree with his own prediction because, in this case, the data collected and stored can inform future events. In the case of Facebook, Socrates will assert that the data-generated marketing and advertising strategy denies individuals a level of independent thinking about what they would really want to purchase. The data-generated suggestions do all the decision-making for the user and present the final product, thus eliminating the need for the user to deeply think about what they want and why they want it hence, leads to mindless purchasing or impulse buying. Chan, Cheung, & Lee (2017) assert that these random acts of buying products and services via the Internet have contributed heavily to the financial instability in many persons lives both in the US and other compulsive Western countries.
Chan, T. K., Cheung, C. M., & Lee, Z. W. (2017). The state of online impulse-buying research: A literature analysis. Information & Management, 54(2), 204-217.
Cloudera, Inc., (2019). Director. Lufthansa Technik: Reducing Airline Operating Cost by Leveraging Clouderas Big Data and Analytics. Youtube, Cloudera, Inc., May 7, 2019, Retrieved September 20, 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TMYGoLIYhk.
Roose, Kevin (2018). Director. How Facebook Tracks Your Data. Youtube, The New York Times, April 10, 2018, Retrieved September 20, 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAO_3EvD3DY
The whole idea of this assignment is to look at what Socrates, a traditional ancient philosopher, had to say about the ethics of technology. Using those thoughts, jump forward to modern-day concerns seen within Facebook and Lufthansa. From this point, your goal is to review and think through how these two companies would be viewed by Socrates based on his ideas as expressed by Bluemink (2017).
Cloudera, Inc., (2019). Director. Lufthansa Technik: Reducing Airline Operating Cost by Leveraging Clouderas Big Data and Analytics. Youtube, Cloudera, Inc., May 7, 2019, Retrieved September 20, 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TMYGoLIYhk
Roose, Kevin, (2018). Director. How Facebook Tracks Your Data. Youtube, The New York Times, April 10 2018, Retrieved September 20, 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAO_3EvD3DY
Case Assignment
In this case, you will be writing a two- to three-page paper describing the following from the sources within the reference section:
Socrates Warning
Part 1: A summary of the Bluemink (2017) article focusing on the key ideas that were most interesting to you. The ideas are not opinion, but you get to choose those pieces most interesting to you.
Part 2: With the ideas put forward by Cloudera, Inc. (2019) and by Roose (2018), how would Socrates respond to Facebook and to Lufthansa?
Strategies for completing the assignment:
Read through the entire article by Bluemink (2017).
Review the YouTube videos.
A good strategy would be to make a list of bullet points of all you remember from the Bluemink (2017) article. This will help you write Part One of your paper. Note: Do not just reproduce your bullet points for Part One; use the list to structure a written summary.
Next, take notes on what specific bullet points are relevant to what you would want to say regarding Socrates warning about technology and how Socrates might approach some of the problems within Lufthansa or Facebook. This will form the basis of your arguments for Part Two.
Any time you use information, ideas, or data from one of the sources you used to research your paper, cite it using in-text citations.
Assignment Expectations
The assignment should be 2-3 pages (12-point font, Times New Roman, double spaced, and 1-inch margins), not including the title page or the reference section.
Include in-text citations for all sources used in the assignment. The sources must also be listed on a reference page or bibliography.
Citations and references should follow APA style. Use this APA guide as a reference.
Your paper will be graded using the rubric attached to this assignment in the Dropbox.
A fable is a fictional narrative, usually a short piece of literature like a short story, poem, or prose. OfteAesop tells a story using animated objects or animals. These animals and animatedAesopss are personified and have anthropomorphic abilities like reasoning (650.org). Notably, using animated objects and animals makes fables interesting pieces of literature for all ages but are more appealing to children. The function of fables is to convey a specific moral lesson to the reader (Writing Explained). Fables also help the reader to understand the virtues, customs, and cultural values in which the fables are narrated.
Aesops most popular fables, known for their unique wisdom and timelessness, are those by Aesop. Aesop has many fables, but my favorite one from the assigned excerpt is The Ass in the Lions Skin. In this fable, an ass is found and put on a lions skin and scares away all men and animals who approach his way (Puchner et al. 605). He was delighted. In his happiness, he forgot that he was supposed to roar like a lion and, instead, he brayed. After this, everyone knew who he was by his voice, including the Fox.
Consequently, the Ass owner cudgeled him for the fright he had caused. This fable aims to teach its readers that an outward appearance may hide a persons true identity, but their words or what they say reveal their intelligence and who they truly are. Also, a key takeaway from the fable is that every action has its consequences. For instance, the Ass was cudgeled by the owner for the fright he had caused.
As already mentioned, fables display the cultural values in which they are written, and Aesops fables are no exception. In the fable, The Ass in the Lions Skin, the cultural values or traditions portrayed include living harmoniously and peacefully in society. This is demonstrated when the Ass owner hits the Fox for the fright and chaos he has caused. This story also reveals that misconduct is not tolerated in society; those who violate moral conduct are punished for wrongdoing.
Works Cited
650. org. Characteristics Of Fables For Kids. 650.org, 2022, https://www.650.org/en/how-to/characteristics-of-fables-for-kids.
Puchner, Martin et al. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 4th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2018, pp. 605-612.
This week, you read some of Aesops Fables. Please answer the following:
Read Aesop pgs. 603-604, excerpts from Aesops Fables pgs. 605-612
The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 4th Edition Package 1 OR Volumes A, B, C
General Editor: Martin Puchner
ISBN: 978-0-393-26590-3
Published by: W.W. Norton & Company
1. What is a fable, and what purpose do they serve?
2. Talk about your favorite fable from the excerpts assigned. What is the purpose, and what did you take away from it?
3. What cultural traditions around storytelling are involved with Aesops fables?
