Looking for Dr. Fuller
It's the next to next to last day of English 381: The Personal Essay. We're reading Annie Dillard's Teaching A Stone to Talk and I call attention to a blurb on the jacket by Edward Albee. A student notes asks about another quotation from Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller. She doesn't know who Fuller is, and no one else in the class does either, but the running speculation is that he's a fundamentalist evangelist, a sort of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.
I fumble for an explanation of Fuller--architect, philosopher, voice of a generation like Dr. Spock. I joke that I should bring in my Whole Earth Catalog so I can illustrate my remarks. I explain that Fuller invented the geodesic dome and when some in the class aren't certain what that is, I scrawl a bad drawing on the board. Finally someone saves me by mentioning Epcot Center, and we go off awhile on that. I mention that another dome much closer is in Downs, Illinois, ten miles down the road in a one-tavern town. Here is an essay possibility, the connection between Epcot Center and Downs, Illinois. But that's not the road to travel in this essay.
At the library I plug Fuller's name into the computer. Twenty books pop up, their call numbers ranging from C, to H, to P, to T, and I suddenly recognize a title Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, its publication place of Carbondale reminding me that Fuller taught at Southern Illinois University. There's a picture of his geodesic dome house in Carbondale, by the way, in the plates between pages 96 and 97 of Ideas and Integrities: A Spontaneous Autobiographical Disclosure. For kicks I also ask the computer to find The Whole Earth Catalog, call number AP2.W5. My book search will take me, then, to five different floors.
The Whole Earth Catalog is yellowing and brittle. Its publishers, the Portola Institute, probably didn't expect back in 1969 that the they would show up on university library shelves, and so they didn't bother with acid-free paper. When I flip through the pages I remember the day I bought a copy myself, a later edition, at least, in 1975 and, reading, through it, came upon a recipe for baking bread, from the Tassajara Bread Book. It was summer. Breaking bread sounded like a righteous thing for a college freshman to do and so in my mother's kitchen I measure yeast and molasses and water and whole wheat and salt and oil and kneaded out six loaves.
... middle of paper ... ... He was a very intelligent man. Works Cited Claypool, June.
She begins the chapter by explaining the importance of invisibility in the classroom. “Don’t be too noticeable is the rule” that is commonly known by most students (91). She elaborates by explaining that a student should not add new information into a conversation yet ask a question that would concern all students about upcoming work or tests. Later in the chapter, she highlights that the instructor 's main role in the classroom is “getting [students] to say something” because students felt pressured into remaining silent (94). This pressure came from personal self-doubt and the desire to not be defined as unintelligent. In conclusion to these points, Nathan states that “despite official assertions about the university as a free marketplace of ideas, the classroom doesn’t often work that way in practice” (95). In addition to in class discussions being intellectually weak, conversations outside of class rarely involved academics, but when academics were mentioned, there was a limited set of a few questions like “‘Did you do the reading for today?’ and ‘Did we have anything due today?’” (96). She explains that no students ever asked question about how interesting assignments were because they “weren’t acceptable or normative topics to introduce” while outside the classroom (96). Based on the lack of intellectual discussions in and out of class, Nathan concluded that academics play a minor role in the life of
Frank Lloyd Wright is widely known and is considered to be America’s greatest architect. He is considered, in the eyes of many, to be the most consequential American architect of the 20th century. “Strongly individualistic, flamboyant, and arrogant, Wright designed and built more than four hundred structures that reflect his architectural genius. Directly and indirectly, he heavily influenced twentieth century architecture with his diverse use of geometry in his designs” (Eisenman).
Samuel, Henry. "French Bread Spiked with LSD in CIA Experiment." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 17 Jan. 2011.
Ogloff, J. R. (2006). Psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder conundrum. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, (40), 519-528.
Psychopaths are different than their common criminal counterparts because they live a parasitic lifestyle, are often charming, apathetic, and may have average to above average intelligence. Psychopaths, or predators, usually impress others as friendly, outgoing, likeable, and alert. They appear to be well educated and knowledgeable. Predators can be verbally skillful and can talk themselves out of trouble. Psychopaths exhibit arrogance and are selfish, self-centered, and self-motivated to secure their own self-interests (DeLisi, 2009). Psychopaths, like life-course persistent offenders, start offending at a young age as persistent and versatile
This quote establishes the upbeat, enthusiastic tone that Bradbury maintains throughout the entire text. In the beginning of the book where this quote is located, Bradbury emphasizes the joy that great artists, authors, and musicians experience from their work. Bradbury specifically cites El Greco, Tintoretto, and Thutmose in order to show that all great creators share a love for their creations. Following the quote, Bradbury states that people who write without “zest, gusto, or fun” are not complete writers.
[3] Williamson S, Hare RD, Wong S: Violence - Criminal Psychopaths and Their Victims (1987)
Psychopathy has fascinated the public for years due to the gruesome and evil portrayal it has received in the media. Psychopathy is defined in the DSM-III as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior (Patrick, Christopher, Fowles, Krueger, Rober, 2009). Psychopathy represents a cluster of different dimensions of personality found amongst the general population to varying degrees (Patrick et al, 2009). The diagnostic definition is meant to be applied to adults, however psychopathology can occur in children. Controversy surrounds the topic of childhood mental illness because the brain is not fully developed until the age of 18; thus allowing the possibility that symptoms are the result of growing up and will change. The triarchic model, formulated by Christopher J. Patrick, is the most commonly used model in diagnosing adult and childhood psychopathy. This model suggests that different conceptions of psychopathy emphasize three observable characteristics to varying degrees; boldness, disinhibition and meanness (Patrick, et al, 2009). Boldness is the first observable characteristic and is comprised of low fear including stress-tolerance, toleration of unfamiliarity and danger, and high self-confidence and social assertiveness. Disinhibition; characterized by poor impulse control including problems with planning and foresight, lacking affect and urge control, demand for immediate gratification, and poor behavioral restraints. Meanness is defined as lacking empathy and close attachments with others, disdain of close attachments, use of cruelty to gain empowerment, exploitative tendencies, defiance of authority, and destructive excitement seek...
Not only do the people that students socialize with influence the way scholars think, but so do the instructors. In W.D. Snodgrass's poem "The Examination", the people who are mutilating this person are actually instructors, and th...
One half of the story was of a man named Daniel Burnham, who was a famous architect of his time. It’s in this half of the story that can you see the good part of the city. Pride can be seen mainly throughout his story. His life in these pages was based on the construction of the World Columbian Exposition which was a fair held in Chicago in 1893. This magnificent fair was in honor of one of America’s most well known discoverers, Christopher C. Columbus. This was the 400th anniversary of his discovery of the new world. Through Burnham’s pride and his determination, he was able to complete the fair in almost a year. However, it was not truly ready for opening day due to a few construction issues, such as the world’s f...
allowing a patient to take his or her own life, range from untreated depression, to the deadly mix
For this paper I plan to first define and outline the features of psychopathy. Then I will explore how traits of psychopathy are measured and present in children and adolescents and subsequently what relation there is between the expression of these traits in both 9childhood and adolescence and later criminality. Finally I plan to conclude my paper with possible interventions to help prevent persistent delinquent and criminal behavior as well as exploring any criticisms of measuring psychopathy and interventions in both adults and children.
I believe that drawing parallels between Winesburg, Ohio and the "Allegory of the Cave" helps provide insight into how the human race has wrestled with the problem of finding ways to act upon the higher ideals that reside in the character of mankind. Perhaps realizing that Man has contemplated this problem for thousands upon thousands of years, from the time of the ancient Greeks through the early twentieth century to the present, can assist human civilization to see the higher plane of existence, which Plato says is the "author of all things beautiful and right."
Jonathan Cilley was probably his most intimate friend in the class; and yet his discrimination would lead him to say, I love Hawthorne; I admire him; but I do not know him. He lives in a mysterious world of thought and imagination which he never permits me to enter.' (40)