Cultural Barriers

Watching Ghosts of Rwanda yeasterday in the lecture, I couldn't help but feel annoyed at the social following and rejection that took place. Particuarlly with countries wanting to pull out their troops, but as they did not want to be socially shunned they convinced other countries to do so at the same time in order to avoid a possible 'reputation' (one which they inevitably gained anyway). While I recognise that the leadership of a country would be a mammoth job with an unthinkable amount of pressure and hard line decisions to make, I was alarmed to hear that other countries were so easily led. They then determined that they were not able to help as their government policy stated that they were not to involve themselves. However thinking to the september 11 terrorist attacks in the US for example the fight this has still not ended nearly six years later. Why is there this indiscrepancy? Is the sociocultural / racial barrier so thick that we are unable to assist in times of such turbulance? So my question is: to what extent do cultural barriers exist? Does anyone know of any theories or research which has been conducted in the area of this divide?

The Complexity of the Human Brain

Catching up on the reading which I had already fallen behind on I thoroughly enjoyed chapter five in our text book. I found the section on heuristics particually fascinating. While I had heard of the concept of heuristics I was in awe of the complexity of the brain. It is almost comparable to a computer - though a computer is not adaptable. The ability of our brains to fix incomplete information (or at least to make it understandable) is amazing. Researchers at Cambridge University have found that as long as the first and last letter of the word are in the right place it doesn't matter the order of the other letters the word. This is because or brain does not read each individual letter of the word but the word as a whole. If you would like to try this out for yourself, I have posted the jumbled sentences onto the bottom of my blog page.

Mission Completed!

Good day everyone! What a challenge it has been to get this up and working! Knowing only the basics surrounding the wonders of the internet the world of cyberspace in this regard is completely new to me. Though while finding it a challenge, I have found it interesting and been in awe the technical capabilities the internet can support. Remembering back to the time in which the internet was a new concept and technological breakthrough for all, the advances in this technology have not yet ceased to amaze me. Oh what else must lie ahead for people like I who are being taught about the exciting new world of cyberspace! While still finding the concept creating a personal blog daunting, I hope for everyone that you enjoy embarking on this journey as much as I have so far!