Discoverie's blog

My family believes that education is the best gift anyone can give and receive. Thus, it is a family tradition for my parents at least to financially help siblings and relatives finish college.

(This was an essay I wrote for ethics class:)

Sex selection has been carried out by many cultures throughout history. Some methods, such as following certain sexual practices or eating certain foods, have not necessarily posed a risk to either the couple or the fetus1. Less safe practices, including tying off the left testicle to produce boys, lean toward controversy (1). In particular, abortion, infanticide, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) are extremes of gender selection as these involve killing an innocent life. The ethical issue, therefore, is not merely gender selection, but more specifically, the violence of abortion, infanticide, and IVF to achieve this purpose.

Wikipedia is a free, widely used online encyclopedia, wherein the entries can be modified by anyone.

That is where the catch is.

I am not totally against Wikipedia.  Wikipedia gives the opportunity for anyone to create an encyclopedia entry, which was once a class project in college (though not mine).  It can be used as a quick - yet crude - research tool, just to get a general idea of a topic.  My professor sometimes borrows images from Wikipedia to illustrate biological mechanisms in class.  Many articles are reviewed, or scrutinized, by the world; Wikipedia's hope/argument is that since the people who read Wikipedia include those who are knowledgeable on the subject(s), any mistake found on the article can be easily corrected by them.  In time, the information presented in the article will be "balanced" or almost (or totally) accurate.  I think that Wikipedia provides a good service to the global community by providing easily accessible information.

I know that every time you post a comment, you get 10 points.  You also get a point for every read on your blog.  This blog site is aimed to promote progress in thinking and action.  The comments are part of discussion and debate.  However, it is unfair and unprogressive to write nonsense comments only for the points.

I mean nonsense literally.  That would mean logging out of your account, posting a comment as a "Guest," and typing in random sentences, words, or letters, like "dflkjadlkf dkfjasljf akldfjlasdjoi."  Also, that is advertisers putting random web links, such as Home Equity Loan, which are unrelated to the subject of the blog.  It can be writing something with a point, but which is totally unrelated to the blog's point.  Otherwise, if the blog has specific questions for the audience and the comment just says, "I like ..." or "I don't like..." without elaborations and which does not even answer the question(s), it is semi-pardonable, but still rather pointless. I think that these types of nonsense are almost the same or worse than comments containing profanity.  Spelling errors - although I personally do not like them - can be pardoned as long as the comment has a point.

Too much of anything is harmful.  Using a good value/quality on a wrong pretext is bad as well.  So nationalism or patriotism is not really a negative thing, but it needs to be controlled to avoid negative feelings and actions.

On the good side, patriotism can inspire people to aim high and have great achievements.  For example, it can inspire athletes to perform well, good politicos to make unselfish, righteous decisions, men and women to join the army/navy, and various people to do acts of charity.  Patriotism has united people to fight for independence, freedom, prosperity, recovery, and justice. 

In a recent ethics class, we came upon the question: Why should the public appreciate science?  Answers varied from benefits (current and potential), such as in health to scientists' need for funding, not just for research but also to earn a living.  But one response remained in my head: Because through science, we may be able to see a higher truth.

I came to a Catholic college to major in biology, knowing that I want to become a physician scientist.  It has been a common misconception that many scientists are atheistic.  One of the reasons I want to be involved in scientific research is to prove that it is possible to be a religious/spiritual scientist.

   Internships are experiences that are beyond shadowing since they are more hands-on.  It is like testing the waters of the field or career that you are considering.  There are many benefits, including:
1. Learning new skills, techniques, and knowledge
2. Applying your own skills and what you have learned in classes into the workplace/ real world
3. Making connections/networking (eg. for grad school or a job)
4. Experience - understanding if you really want to do that career in the future
5. Experience - If you are doing it at a university, for example, then you would already know the environment and see for yourself if you want to go there for college/grad school/work. 
6. Experience - It is an asset on your resume.
7. Self-discovery - understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and interests at a greater level
8. (Optional) Fun
9. (Optional) Paid [Internships can be paid or non-paid.]
10. (Optional) Challenges - You are forced to think.
11. (Optional) Get credit for it in your college/university.  Some universities actually require internship units.
12. (Optional) Pride for the work you have done and the competition you may have faced to get the internship.

Is it ethical and/or healthful to allow alcoholics and drug addicts to donate their kidneys and livers?   

My friend and I were discussing this a few weeks ago, as she was doing a paper on it.  There is certain legislation regarding this topic, but I did not get a chance to read (or remember it) and I could not find it on the Internet...as for now.