October 17, HW#1, Reading reflection
Chapter 5 in the Ethics book was interesting because it talked about how the meaning behind a communication can be changed based on circumstance and the situation. One of the examples that I enjoyed reading about was when it talked about the O-Rings on the Challenger shuttle. It explained that the O-Rings that joined the different segments of the booster rockets were found to be charred meaning that they had been exposed to the gases inside the booster. This posed a great danger because if both levels of O-Ring failed the gases would work their way out of booster housing and cause an emplosion.
This information was originally communicated up as a very serious safety concern, but after several more launches without incident it was reasoned that it was no real threat. Even though the recovered boosters from each launch showed these signs of charring, over time they just expected to see it and began treating it as normal.
It was a great example of how something can change meaning over time and affect peoples interpretation. I also think it was an example of how people adjust to things and over time it becomes "the norm". It reminded me of this video I downloaded off of the internet that showed some of the most insane game shows in Japan. They were crazy -- people being launched off of cliffs attached to bungie cords, people having hot wax poured on them, sitting in scalding hot water, etc. I showed it to my Dad who thought these people were absolutely nuts. He went on to say "those Japanese people are crazy!" I looked at him and said, "have you ever heard of fear factor?" It was just funny because in the US we don't go to the same extremes, but we definately do things that I'm sure that Japanese would think are crazy. The norm for each culture is different.
This information was originally communicated up as a very serious safety concern, but after several more launches without incident it was reasoned that it was no real threat. Even though the recovered boosters from each launch showed these signs of charring, over time they just expected to see it and began treating it as normal.
It was a great example of how something can change meaning over time and affect peoples interpretation. I also think it was an example of how people adjust to things and over time it becomes "the norm". It reminded me of this video I downloaded off of the internet that showed some of the most insane game shows in Japan. They were crazy -- people being launched off of cliffs attached to bungie cords, people having hot wax poured on them, sitting in scalding hot water, etc. I showed it to my Dad who thought these people were absolutely nuts. He went on to say "those Japanese people are crazy!" I looked at him and said, "have you ever heard of fear factor?" It was just funny because in the US we don't go to the same extremes, but we definately do things that I'm sure that Japanese would think are crazy. The norm for each culture is different.
posted by Josh Grauer at
10:24 PM
2 Comments:
What is out of the ordinary yesterday can be tomorrow's "norm", like values and beliefs. Not everyone accepted that the world was round at first.
This can have ethical implications too. If someone is getting picked on at school, at first it seems irrational, but if nothing happens, eventually it becomes "the norm", and everyone does it because it's "the norm", and it is not questioned.
By
Monica, at 10:53 PM
The most interesting thing I've seen on a Japanese game show, is one where they made these custom port-o-pottys that open up the roof and raise the person sitting on them up above the walls so everyone outside can see them. Though they do this to random people, so it's probably more like a candid camera type show than a game show. I don't think there's anyway they could get away with doing this in the US. Again I think it must be different cultures. Here's a link to the video on YouTube, though beware, while it does censor out the more private areas, the backsides of some people are briefly visible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsDbOMJOMgQ
By
Jeff, at 11:23 AM
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