Blog #35 - Holen Yee - Period 3 - 5/12/2020

Blog #35, Holen Yee, Period 3, 5/12

5/12/20

Holen Yee, Period 3

Sophomores 2020

Blogger #35

Aim: How does language construct and impact thought?

Reflection:

What did I learn?

I learned that language affects our way of thinking more than I thought. They can influence things that we think are totally unrelated, like how we distinguish colors from one another, our sense of direction, and how we order time. It is possible to limit people’s thoughts by imposing limits on the words that people use, restricting them to thinking certain thoughts or using certain words to describe something. These restrictions could also limit the complexity of one’s thoughts. Culture also influences language. If something is not important to someone’s culture, it is likely that there is no term for that in that culture's language.

Why did I learn it?

I learned this because this is related to both the book and our daily lives. Newspeak, the language in the book 1984, aims to limit the thoughts of people by limiting their vocabulary. Their reasoning behind this is that if they can cut out words that go against their ideology and their totalitarian rule, no one will be able to form the thoughts that cause them to rebel. Even in English, there are connotations to words that influence your opinion of what the words are describing. If someone is described as cowardly, you would think that they are untrustworthy. If someone is described as cautious, you would think that they are just being careful.

How will I use what I learned?

I will use what I learned to be more aware of what influences my thoughts. People choose the words they use because they feel that it is more accurate, even if there are other words that mean practically the same thing. Using the example from before, they might use the word cowardly instead of cautious because they believe that the person is untrustworthy and they need to convey that to you. The information that I have learned during this lesson also makes me want to expand my vocabulary further, so I am equipped to translate my thoughts into words more easily and more accurately.

What is it like learning from home?

Learning from home is an interesting experience. I have more time on my hands and less classes in a day than I would if I were still going to school normally, so the workload is not a problem. I also have different classes every day, which keeps things interesting and makes it so I don’t get restless from the repetitiveness of staying home all day. There is also more responsibility necessary when learning from home, since I am the one that has to ensure that I am doing work diligently, unlike when going to school normally, where I had teachers to watch over me.

Write about your thoughts regarding this reading.

The first chapter in 1984 gives me a lot to think about. There is a lot of information that is given to the reader at once, and many things that are not explained. There are many terms that are used but not explained. Terms like the Thought Police, Victory Gin, Victory Cigarettes, the Junior Anti-Sex League. The fact that Winston hates the government and there is supposedly a secret society of those like Winston, those that are against the government might be important in the future. Overall, the first chapter of 1984 is interesting and is a good introduction into the setting of the book.

What are the updates around the world/community regarding the virus?

There have been over one hundred cases of a rare and dangerous inflammatory syndrome that affects children and appears to be related to the coronavirus. The illness is known as pediatric multi system inflammatory syndrome and there have been three deaths so far. Some companies have also decided that even after the pandemic is over, not all workers will return to working in their offices. Their reasoning behind this is that while the crisis has forced their workers to work from home, it has also made them realize that it is not necessary for their workers to go back to working in offices afterwards.