Short-Answer Responses
SuperMan
HUM/114
May 19, 2001
Louis and clark

Short-Answer Responses
1. Our individuality is affected by everything that happens from the time we are born. My parents divorced, our father took us from our mother, and was drafted in the Army. My sister and I were forced to live with our grandparents on the farm, who loved and cared for us. We were taught to work hard (chores), do our homework completely, and to keep our rooms clean. We could only watch television if our homework and chores were done first, teaching us responsibility. Our grandparents were not political or religious, but they were hardworking people and tried to raise two grandchildren at their age. Even though we were taught to be nice to everyone, our grandparents were not nice to our mother and did not like black people, very biased. Also I struggled with the relationship I had with my father. He said many times, “you are stupid like your mother.” It made me think I was stupid and insecure, and gave me low self-esteem. I loved my mother dearly, however I hated my father. Words can hurt coming from a parent who disapproves of the other. I learned I did not need his approval, only to do my best and believe in myself. I am very protective of my younger sister and kids in general, because I do not want others to feel the disapproval I felt in myself. Our grandparents did not encourage my sister and me in any particular direction, only to work hard for what you want in life. I am not outstandingly political or religious; however, I believe all people should be equal. Racism should not be a factor that affects this equality. People should always protect their children for they are the innocent ones and need to be given unconditional love and taught good morals because this affects how they develop as people. 2. My childhood environment affected my level of curiosity in various ways. Growing up on the family farm, I was taught to work hard with no questions asked. I did this without verbal question; however, I did question this ordeal in my mind. I wondered why I needed to have such work ethics or why it was important to have it. Later my grandparents explained to achieve and gain items in life I desired, I had to work hard for it. They also told me that I always had to have my homework and chores done before I could play or see my friends. These rules made me question why it was so imperative to do my house and schoolwork first. Why was I not allowed to play first and do my chores later? My grandparents explained that it is always good to do your work first before play, so you get it done on time and not procrastinate. Both of these instances in my life were great contributors to boosting my level of curiosity. However, there was one other ordeal that was more prominent in boosting my level of curiosity than the others. My grandparents always thought that black people were lesser than they are. As a curious child, I questioned why some people were treated different because of their skin color. Also I knew other families that didn’t have the same morals as my grandparents did, which made me question my morals. I later learned that it was left up to me to develop my own morals and with my level of curiosity I could determine what was right and wrong for me. Moreover, these events in my life have given great opportunity for boosting my curiosity and have changed my perspective greatly. To improve my curiosity I could look at world events that are going on in the present and think of how that affects me and the world in general. Also I could look at the newspaper or other things that deal with news in the world, and talk to more people in general just to get more insight to life and give myself more to ponder about.
3. In the nature vs. nurture debate there can be a lot of passionate debate and controversy. Most people would agree that this is a problem because one side thinks it is better than the other. As you get more engaged in the debate you will be able to see several issues arise depending on the particular situation. So as for nature vs. nurture, it is a problem.
4. Three sources you could use when investigating a problem or an issue would be personal experience, expert opinion, and statistics. When comparing the steps between refining solutions to problems and issues, you notice similarities like identify the problem, find out how to solve it and how to apply the found solutions. There are differences as well such as the detail in finding out the solution and how to overcome any difficulties.
5. Yes I think that some personalities are better at receiving criticism than others. To avoid this problem I will look at all criticism at a way to learn and grow. I will have to avoid the mine-is-better habit and be more open minded to feedback. I will have to also look at it with more curiosity because that will allow me to view the problem or issue from different perspectives. One the most important ways to get better at receiving criticism is to avoid assumptions about the criticism being given and the person giving the criticism. This will keep me from missing out on some important information that would make my ideas and solutions better.
6. To avoid oversimplifications in my arguments I will have to ask, what important aspects of the topic does my argument ignore? By knowing and understanding why people reject ideas it will force me to look at my arguments more critically. By knowing the audience that I will be presenting my argument to I will be thinking of their misconceptions, if they will be familiar with the facts, and will their understanding of the argument be as clear as mine. This will make me find oversimplifications in my work. Another way that I will avoid oversimplifications is when I am trying to anticipate the objections that the audience will have to my argument. When doing this I will see if there are any oversimplifications because I will be trying to find and answer any objections the audience might have with my argument, allowing me to see oversimplifications better. Oversimplifications should never occur if I am using the techniques I learned to persuade others.