Natural Fractals


These pictures of lightning bolts are clear examples of fractals, each of the small lightning bolts look very similar to the original lightning bolt, they repeat over and over and get smaller everytime they but very similiar to the original, which is one of the basic characteristics of fractals.
http://thehiveiscoming.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/fractal-lightning.jpg


This video shows that even though lightning bolts are dangerous natural marvels it doesn't explain the mathematical significance of lightning strikes, and fractals do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wY_t7zVIXY

Natural Science Blog

David Reimer

In 1965 David Reimer was born in Canada. When he was 8 months old, he was taken to the hospital to have a circumcision done. Unfortunately, his penis was burned off during this standard procedure due to the fact that the physician used an electrocautery needle instead of a standard scalpel. David's parents went to a psychologist named John Money and he suggested that a sex change was the simplest solution. David's parents agreed without knowing that Dr. Money had other intentions than to help them. He wanted to use David as his private case study to prove that nurture, not nature, determined gender identity. David had a vagina constructed and was given a hormonal treatment, he was now known as Brenda.

This experiment was completely unethical because John Money used David as his own private case study, and told David's parents to change David's sex so he could have a case to research on, he was not profesional at all. He did not tell them that he wanted to do this experiment so he did not have their consent or David's as we was not aware of this at all. He did not take into account all the different problems that this would bring into David's family's life and David's as well. David's mother was suicidal, his father was an alcoholic and his brother was severely depressed. David's parents decided to tell him what had happened when he was 14, and he decided that he wanted his penis to be reconstructed. After many year of struggling with gender identity he committed suicide at age 38.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/dailypix/2004/May/13/ln52a_b.jpg

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51K5E5TH1PL._AA240_.jpg

http://www.dctp.de/medienbibliothek/bbc/david-reimer.jpg

Perception Post
"Doubt is the key to knowledge" (Persian Proverb)
Perception is how we see things and doubt is a key element in perception. When we see something we don't necessary need to believe it, it depends on how we perceive it that make us believe something immediately or have doubts about it. When we doubt something we have this tendecy to try and get the correct answer and therefore we acquire more knowledge.
1. A cultural example could be that not all cultures believe in God. Some cultures perceive God as a superior being but they don't call it God. Some cultures have doubts about God's existence and they all have different ways and paths to search for this "truth".
2.In school sometimes teachers make mistakes and most of the time they are not corrected and we end up learning something that is not correct. But sometimes some one notices the teacher's mistake and doubts that what he/she said is correct, so he asks and then the correct answer is given and knowledge is acquired thanks to the student's doubt.
3. One time, I was in my math class with Mr. McDowell and he was solving an equation on the board but for some reason I doubted that the answer was correct, something didn't look right. So then I started solving the equation on my own, and I figured what he did wrong and I corrected him. Thanks to my doubt everybody was corrected and acquired the real knowledge, thanks to the way I perceived the problem.

Emotions Post
Joy


This is a video clip from the movie "Big Daddy", this scene make me laugh every time I see the movie, and makes me enjoy the movie everytime I see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AiYy8cKE7s

Sadness


This scene from "Big Daddy" makes me sad everytime I see it because,I don't think it is fair that social services took Julian away from Sonny, they love each other and then they are separated. (The first 15 times i saw this scene, I cried)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn9J1QlOZKA&feature=related

Surprise


This scene is from the movie "What Happens in Vegas" and the movie had already ended and the credits were on and then this scene happens. It really surprised me because the movie had already ended but I bet the guy was even more surprised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBithOSdf6o

TOK IB Assessment

Topic: How important are the opinions of experts in the search for knowledge?

Opinion: The opinions of experts in the search for knowledge are very important because how can we believe that something is true without a reliable source such as the opinion of an expert.

Support 1

http://jgero.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/einstein-quote-3.png?w=586&h=630

Albert Einstein's opinion is worth a lot in the world of mathematics. By reading this quote people are more likely to believe it becomes it comes from a recognised expert such as Albert Einstein.

Support 2

http://media.katu.com/images/071012_Al_Gore.jpg

Al Gore is known as an expert in global warming due to his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". When people are researching this controversial topic they might research on Al Gore because his opinion really matter in that particular subject.

Historical Reasoning

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF FEBRUARY

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/Russian_Revolution_of_1917.jpg)

In the first Russian Revolution in February 1917 the Tsar was deposed and a Provisional Government replaced him. The revolution began due to the inequality of the clases and they wanted to even them up but instead they ended up eliminating all the nobles and leaving a Provisional Government incharge of the country, one step closer to the creation of the Soviet Union.

ROBERT KENNEDY ASSASSINATION

(http://iconicphotos.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/rfk-conspiracy-test.jpg)

June 5, 1968 Robert Kennedy, democratic party presidential candidate and brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles after addressing his campaign supporters and claiming victory in the state's democratic presidential primary. He was a civil rights activist and supporter of Martin Luther King Jr. and after his campaign against criminal acts he was on his way to give a press conference after winning the California Primary when he was shot by a Palastinian Arab, Sirhan Sirhan, with a .22 revolver.

THE BEATLES-"MORE POPULAR THAN JESUS"

(http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/conservation/exhibitions/beatles/graphics/large/peto_beatles_interview.jpg)

The Beatles began as a sensation in England and came to the United States a became even a bigger sensation. The Beatles were seen as idols until John Lennon compared the band with Jesus saying that "they were more popular than Jesus". This disturbed the christian society and The Beatles lost many of their followers, ultimately leading to the assassination of John Lennon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ6NL3iNNMs&feature=related

(Video of John Lennon clearing the "more popular than Jesus" misunderstanding)

5 Important Aspects of my Life

This is a very important aspect of my life, my family. This was a picture taken in Puerto Rico last September when we went for my brother's wedding. This is a picture of my me with my parents, my ciblings and my brother's wife. One of my sisters is missing in that picture but she requested not to be used for this project.

This is just a picture of the dog I would like to have. I love dogs but I am not allowed to own one because my sister is afraid of them and my mom doesn't like them. When I go to college I will buy one of these and name him "Shorty".

This is a picture of my favorite sport, racquetball. This is the sport I am currently practicing and is the sport that I enjoy the most because it is aggressive and very physical but at the same time very fun and exciting, and I think those are some qualities that define me.

This is Andy Samberg. He is one of the funniest guys that I have ever seen on t.v. and my favorite comedy actor. He acts on SNL and one of my dreams is to be able to perform on SNL and be as good as a comedian as he is.

This is one of the few things I collect, shoes. I know this is really shallow but this is one of the things that define me. I enjoy buying shoes, I don't know why but when some people are collecting coins or rubberbands, I am collecting shoes.