For today’s class, you read the Gender chapter from John Medina’s Brain Rules. This is one of the more challenging chapters to read in this book, because the reader has to carefully follow what Medina says about the similarities and differences observed between the brains of women and men. During the first ten minutes of class, write your summary of the chapter, and discuss the relationship between what Medina tells us and your own direct experience.

For today’s class, you read two chapters from John Medina’s Brain Rules: “Vision” and “Music.” Post your summary of these two chapters as a single comment to this blog post before Monday, November 2.

On Wednesday, we will meet outside the entrance to the library on the 4th floor of the Atrium. One of our expert librarians will introduce the library and its useful research resources to you.

During the orientation to the library, we will have some time set aside to use the research tools that the librarian demonstrates to you. Your task during this part of class will be to use the Academic Search Complete database accessible from http://library.citytech.cuny.edu to look at articles relating to your field of study and your future career. Find at least one article that you would like to return to and read in detail as part of your research. In your notebook, write down information that will help you find the article again: it’s title, an author’s name, the journal’s title, the issue number, the date, and the page numbers. If you have time, you can download the article and attach it to an email to yourself for safekeeping, or use the database’s built-in features to email a link or copy to your email address. Before our next meeting, write a 100 word summary of the article (or perhaps another that you find through further research in the database) in your own words followed by an MLA-formatted bibliographic entry using the guide available on the Purdue OWL website (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/07/). Post this assignment as a comment to this blog post.

During the first ten minutes of class, write a summary of your reading from John Medina’s Brain Rules: “Sensory Integration.” Also, discuss how you think sensory integration relates to creating and reading multimodal compositions (combining words, sounds, moving images, graphics, body language, etc).

During lab, we will peer review the writing that you brought into class for Project Two. Your task, however, is to peer review with fellow students who you have not peer reviewed with before.

Remember: On Wednesday, we are meeting just outside the library in the Atrium on the 4th floor. Your reading assignment to prepare for our library tour and in-library assignment is to skim the sections linked from the Purdue OWL’s Conducting Research site (i.e., read that page and skim the pages linked from there beginning with “Research Overview” and ending with “Internet References.”

For today’s class, you read the “Memory” chapter from John Medina’s Brain Rules. During the first ten minutes of class, write a summary of the chapter and discuss your own memory (e.g., What is your earliest memory? What is your happiest memory? What things do you remember the easiest? What things are more challenging for you to remember?). Type and post your in-class writing as a comment to this blog post before class on Monday.

During today’s class, we have these goals:

• Beginning of Class Writing on the “Attention” chapter from John Medina’s Brain Rules. Spend the first ten minutes writing a summary of your reading in your notebook. Also, write about your own experiences with maintaining attention, losing someone’s attention, and dealing with distraction.
• Presentation on “Attention” and subsequent discussion.
• Peer Review Team exercise with the brainstorming writing that you began in our last class and brought print outs of your typed up results.
• End of class reminders for next week.
  • Hand in your print outs as you leave class today.
  • Post your beginning of class writing to OpenLab before our next class on Wednesday, 10/14. Keep up with the reading: “Memory” chapter is next.
  • Begin writing Project Two introduction and bring your writing to our next class (multiple copies not necessary yet).
  • Print out the pages from your department’s section of the College Catalog and bring these to our next class.
  • Need places to photograph for your Project Two blog post? Check out Open House New York: http://www.ohny.org/. Use Google Maps as a research tool, too.

Resources for today’s discussion:

My name is Marc Larose, and I am a freshman in  New york City of Technology known as City Tech  majoring in Computer Science. I am interested in quite a lot of things, but the three things that I am most interested in is playing Soccer, playing video games, and finding enough time for sleep. Growing up in Haiti soccer was one of the most important things in my life. Playing soccer in Haiti meant you were normal, if you didn’t play soccer or you didn’t know how to play it was like you didn’t know how to walk or talk because playing soccer is a  big part of our culture. Everyone in my family plays soccer including my dad , my uncle ,and even  my grandfather . I have played other sports besides soccer like football and basketball. However, I have never felt the same way playing soccer as when I play the other sports. Therefore, I believe that soccer defines who I am. In this essay, I will explain why soccer is so important to me by discussing what its relationship to my dad,its relationship to me , its experience as a video game, and it’s entering my dreams.

One of the reasons why I have so much love for soccer is because of my dad. He told me stories about playing soccer when he was a kid. He and his friends would get up at 6:00 am every weekend to play soccer it was their routine. My dad was my motivation to get better at soccer because he always pushed me beyond my limits. He was also my coach growing up, him and I, we were already close and  soccer brought us even closer. we used to play against each other as we playing we will state each other’s mistake. That was our way to get better, we were each other’s critics. we spend  time doing other thing but none of them were as good as playing soccer. We also watching professional matches together and the best thing is that we support the same team, so you can only imagine us watching soccer. .  When there’s important match, friends and family come to our house to watch the games because of the perfect ambiance there. Once our favorite team makes it to the final of champions league my dad automatically plan a party because they have never lost a champions league final but they have lost others.

I believe that Soccer is the best sport known to mankind because it gives me a unique feeling when I play. I feel like it’s a gift every time I set foot on the field because I feel joy in my heart when I play and kick the soccer ball. This feeling started when I was young. In fact, I started playing soccer as soon as I started walking. Also, I watch professional soccer matches, which ignites my joy about the game too. I used to be on a team called Brooklyn Italians. During that year, I played for them it was the best time of my life because We made so many memories we traveled to other states to play games. I considered my teammates as my second family, Even after two years after playing for them I still talk to every last one of them . Now, I only play with my friends, but the feeling is nearly the same as if it was the first time I kicked a soccer ball. I still get excited when it’s time for me to play. I believe soccer has made me a team player it has helped to get along with people because it taught me that you can’t do everything by yourself and together we are stronger.

Everything I do is soccer related. When the weather is nasty and I can’t play soccer outside I simply go on my video game and play Fifa which is a soccer video games.  I like to play with my favorite team which is Real Madrid  located in spain also known as Los blancos and My favorite player which is Cristiano Ronaldo .I don’t really like to play against the computer, I prefer playing against my friends or stranger online because I want to interact while I’m playing. When I’m playing against my friend and I’m winning I like to tell them how they suck and they will never beat me but I cannot do that against the computer. My friends and I, like to play Fifa tournament that’s when we play against each other in the video game and whoever has the most wins is the best. Playing Fifa has almost the same feeling as playing soccer in real life. I have other games on my xbox like 2k and GTA but I always find myself playing Fifa. Everytime my little brother come in my room he always see me playing fifa and one day he said’ why do you have other games in your xbox when all you do is play Fifa. Don’t you get bored of playing only one game” I looked at him and said  I brought them just in case I got bored of playing Fifa but then  how do you get bored of doing something you loved. Fifa taught me how to interact with others. I didn’t really like to interact with others until I started playing Fifa online.

In addition to video games, sleeping is also related to soccer because I cannot remember how many time, I have dreamed about becoming a soccer player. The love I have for soccer is unbelievable because even when I am unconscious, I somehow still manage to think about it. One of the best dream, I have had  was when I used to play for the Brooklyn Italians. We had made it to the finals and our opponent was Red Bull .The night before the game I dreamed that the game was 1-1  in the last minute of the fourth half and I had scored the winning goal and I was nominated  man of the match. Another dream I had was as a Real  Madrid player , which is my favorite team and I helped them win their 10^th champions league trophy by providing the assist to the winning goal. That Trophy was so important because we been chasing it for 12 long years and  I was the one to help win it.

In conclusion, soccer a worldwide sport mostly known as football. I have play with every race and there was no problem between us. There’s no color when we play soccer but how you move and what you can do with the ball. I guess soccer bring us closer and we see past our differences. I also had bad memories in soccer because I have lost important matches. I have seen the team that  I support lost important matches too. I remember, back when I was still playing for the Brooklyn Italians  we reached the Colombus cup finals and we were winning  and in the last two minutes we concede two terrible goals. That day I cry until I couldn’t cry anymore, only soccer had made me this emotional . One of the most important thing I learn from soccer that night was you can’t win them all. Even if I do not make it to the soccer world as a soccer player. I want to make it to the soccer world somehow and recently I have been thinking of changing my major from Computer Science to Sports Medicine .

During the first ten minutes of class, write your summary of the “Wiring” chapter from John Medina’s Brain Rules. What are some of the most important things that you remember from the chapter? What is special about the wiring of our brains? How does our wiring reflect who we are individually? How does our wiring reveal how we are similar, too? What is the Jennifer Aniston neuron?

I am Prince Miller, an Electrical Engineering student at City Tech. I was drawn to this major because I have always had an affinity for electronics, and I think that stems from my video games as a child. All my life, I have been extremely interested in video games. According to my mother, I even learned to read using a toy that would announce and pronounce a letter upon my pressing the correspondent button. I’ve been pushing buttons on video game consoles ever since, from Super Nintendo to PlayStation 4. Video games were a huge part of my childhood, and many people who know me personally believe that my infatuation with video games is what inspires my childlike and playful nature, but I think that stems from having playing video games as a means of bonding with my family. Having these people to play with, and against, has made me extremely competitive. I even started outdoor sports because I liked the video games about them.  Honestly, I don’t think I would be the person I am today had I never played video games.

My first introduction to video games happened when I was a baby. I have a brother who is fifteen months older than I am, and when I arrived home from the hospital after being born, our family already had a Super Nintendo, and from what I remember, he was pretty good at video games without needing much help. Strangely enough, I was told that I initially hated video games because I thought they were too scary. My brother constantly used to tease me for crying whenever I saw a bad guy or monster. I did, however, really enjoy playing with my alphabet toy, which helped me learn to read fluently at just two years old. That was my first positive encounter with a game-like device, and since then it has been off to the races for me. In no time at all, I grew to have an affinity for video games over the years, since I beat my first game, Pokémon Red, at just three years old. Ever since then, I have been playing some game or another. Nowadays, I enjoy my Playstation 4 games the most.

As I grew older, I found that playing video games with my family and friends also served as a bonding mechanism.  This bonding made me like video games all the more, because family has always been one of the most important things for me. Whether we had to work together to defeat a level in Army of Two, battle one another to settle a dispute in Mario Party, or simply see who was best in NBA 2k, video games have always been an integral part of my relationships with my brother, sisters, and even my parents. For example, video games taught me a lot about sharing, taking turns, and playing fair. I found that simply the act of sitting beside someone while you play the game together, whether you are playing as their teammate or as their opponent, can silently bring two people closer together. Put another way, I believe that video games go a long way in bringing people together, because their difficulty (to solve a puzzle or beat a level) and competitive edge (having someone push you to become a better player) requires you to reach out to others. For this reason, video games have the power to end arguments and repair relations. The camaraderie that results, among other things, is one of the most enjoyable parts of gaming for me.

I also always liked that my favorite video games usually became cartoons, and vice versa. Especially as a child, that was a big way of connecting two of my passions, and being able to play as my favorite characters from television definitely made my Saturday morning cartoons all the sweeter. Even today, the nostalgic value of these games has not been lost on me, and I am still able to have fun playing as Goku from Dragonball Z or Batman from the comics and Batman cartoons. Getting to play as my favorite action heroes in an amazing action game is a feeling that is extremely rewarding.

Generally speaking, I think life is fun, or at least the pursuit of fun and happiness, though my line of thinking may be due in part to my generally cheery nature. I am always in a playful or happy-go-lucky mood, laughing and joking day in and day out. I personally believe this is in part because of my lifetime of playing video games. When I play video games, the entire world is almost shut out at times. I can lose myself in the vast open world of a role-playing game, be thrust into the excitement and adrenaline of a sports game, or simply be too focused on the fast paced combat of an action game. The satisfaction and enjoyment of playing well is euphoric, and often lifts my mood, which does not change very often. Because of this, I am usually very cheery and laid back about most things in life, because my mind is not stressed easily. My parents agree, and are always complaining that I do not take things seriously enough, but I cannot help it. Since I have been playing these games for so long, any other activity or task I am ever involved in, I have to find the fun in it or a way to make it fun for myself, or I will not be likely to be productive in it.

One of the ways I have the absolute most fun is competition. Whether it is in sports, video games, board games, academically, or even socially, having someone to jostle against for bragging rights always pushes me to excel to or past my absolute best. When I have someone who I personally have a vendetta against, I don’t view tasks as tasks or work as work, only as competition. I bring this mindset to everything I do and apply it nearly every day, but I think it stems from playing video games as a child. All my life, my brother and I have been fervently competing with each other to beat games first, or beat games on the highest difficulty, or die a fewer amount of times, or to master the best moves. When we got Madden 08, we tried tirelessly to make the better character and score the most touchdowns. When we got our own separate Game Boy Advances, that was the first time we each had our own separate game consoles, and we played Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire that entire day until the next morning, each of us trying to be the first one to catch the legendary Pokémon. These personal battles, I think, have shaped my mentality in life, and even drove me to compete in other ways, such as in real life sports.

Video games have also shaped me as an athlete . I began to play sports because of some of the video games I liked to play. When I was younger, playing the Madden and Fight Night franchises made me want to go out and actually become a defensive back, or a heavyweight boxer, respectively. I still remember the interception my created cornerback caught that made me ask my parents to put me on the local Little League football team, and eventually my high school football team. Later, when my father left home, I began to box as a means of connecting with him, because I remembered playing against him in Fight Night, and he had always told me I could beat Muhammad Ali if I set my mind on it.

In retrospect, having had video games as a constant throughout my lifetime has done me a lot of good. In addition to shaping me as a person, both mentally and physically, video games have helped my family chemistry by adding a dynamic that requires us to cooperate and have some level of sportsmanship with each other. For a family with five children, this was monumental in forming some of the bonds we have today. Also, they have been a safe and constructive method of having fun over the years. Playing video games has extended my vocabulary, kept me young and dexterous, and helped sharpen some of my math skills, since most games require some level of computation. I still play video games, though I have upgraded over the years, from my old Super Nintendo to my current PlayStation 4. Instead of playing those intense battles in Super Smash Bros. 64 or Pokemon Puzzle, I now play Rocket League and NBA 2K16. I don’t know if I will ever stop playing video games, but I do know it won’t be anytime soon. In fact, I plan to play with my children, because I know that it will help to bring us together and inspire their creativity and competitive drive. I am sure they will learn toappreciate video games as I have.

My name is Jonathan Valverde i’m eighteen years old and i’m attending New York City College of Technology as a freshmen, the major I selected was Construction Management. As an individual I have various different things that interest me, such as my favorite sport soccer, where I play the role of center attacking midfield and it’s my job to assist the attackers of the team.  The history channel, for the shows that I can watch for hours and lose track of time but yet learn more about various different events and beliefs.  Lastly video games, a childhood hobby that will remain a staple for the years to come. In addition to some of these hobbies one thing that stands out and astonishes me the most is Greek Mythology. The fascinating stories of the gods and heros, such as the God of Gods Zeus, the terrifying Medusa, and the heroic adventure of Hercules. It all intrigues me and each story has its own significant meaning to me as an individual.

Even if you were not familiar with Greek Mythology you have most likely heard of the name Zeus. According to the Greeks and their ancient stories Zeus, known as ‘The king of the Gods’ was an immortal god and commander in chief. However Zeus does not start out as being the king of gods, he escapes the wrath of his father Cronus and years later battles him alongside his siblings the olympians. This was known as the battle between the Olympians vs Titans, he acquires the power of lighting which ultimately results as being the deciding factor of victory and the God of Mount Olympus. Later Zeus’s own siblings the Olympians betray him even after saving them, they were going to overthrow him but he survives the encounter and punishes all of them in different ways. At the end a raging Zeus drowns the world killing everyone except two surviving humans who built an ark. This is one of the better known stories of the ancient greeks for obvious reason, this was a way the greeks explained what was occurring in the real world when science did not yet exist. The significance of this particular story is the idea of betrayal, how the people you once helped could turn their back on you without any regret. In a personal level I once was betrayed by a particular group of people, who I saugh out to help but then rather than when I needed help they insist on carrying on without helping me. In another level being a Catholic, there is an eerie parallel between the greek story and the old testament. The nine days and nights of rain and how all mortals die except for two by devising a ark. All in all the story of Zeus is fascinating and I see myself always going back to read it once in awhile.

Greek mythology some of the best stories ever told. Next is the story of the terrifying Medusa, once a beautiful woman which had her fate become a horrifying monster. In the beginning Medusa a young beautiful individual is to worship Goddess of war Athena a virgin. She is then raped by Poseidon god of sea and she alone is punished for losing her virginity. She is transformed to a hideous beast without warning and her world is changed forever, and given the power to turn anyone who looks at her to stone and vanished to a garden to be isolated. Eventually a demigod by the name of Perseus goes on an adventure to challenge Masuda for the fate of his mother. He is given assistance by his father the one and only Zeus, he is given the famous winged sandals, a magic bag for Medusa’s head, and a reflective shield. In the end the battle between Perseus and Medusa we are told with one slice to the head Perseus cleaning removes Medusa head from her body. This story can be related to many people including me, being a victim of something whether big or small than being punished for doing nothing at all and the one who actually did do something receives no punishment at all. In my lifetime there has been different occasion in which this has occurred to me in different levels. From being blamed for breaking something I had nothing to do with at home to being punished in class for throwing a paper ball across the room just because it came from my direction. Overall the Medusa story is a great story the greeks told on the power of the gods of humans.

Lastly is the great adventure of Hercules, the greatest warrior of greek mythology. It tale starts of with Hercules the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, and the enviness towards Hercules by Zeus’s wife Hera. Hera sends madness to him in his sleep and thinks his own wife and two children are his enemy and kills them. He soon awakes from this madness to find himself with his family blood and stains on him and the guilt he has. From here his adventure unfolds for him to purify himself he must go on a quest and perform a series of twelve labors each becoming of greater difficulty . The idea of nature is evident throughout the labors, they range from fighting a massive lion to fighting a beastly snake. His last labor we see Hercules travel to to the underworld to Hades and battle Cerberus a three headed dog with only his bear hands. But it has even a greater idea, that humans can go to the underworld and come back. Finally we see Hercules commit his final act, Hercules own undoing is burning on a funeral fire and Zeus then makes his son a God. I always see myself going back and reading this story, from reading each individual story to watching a film on it. The concept of redeeming yourself from something negative is big in the real world to many individuals. There are times where I want to redeem myself from something bad I have done to satisfy my own mind, for instance in a soccer match I may have given up the ball and the other team scored because of me, due it being my fault I wanted to take penalty later in the game so i can redeem myself to the team but more importantly my own guilt i had throughout the match. The significance and idea of people envying you will always exist but you as an individual are able to control the outcome.

Greek mythology some of the most astonishing stories ever told by the greeks to make sense of what nature did when science did not yet exist. Zeus the God of Gods the one who controlled the other gods and mortals kind of Mount Olympus, helped his siblings the olympians to later be betrayed by them. The terrifying Medusa who once was a beautiful incnet woman to have her innocence taken away from her and being the one is gets punished for it while the accused is not punished demonstrating the power the gods. Hercules and his twelve labors, the enviness of his mother committed him to murder his own loving family and is set to challenge twelve labors each increasing in difficulty, ultimately to have him commit his own undoing and ascending into the Mount Olympus. All three stories I am able to connect to and see the other side of the story, whether fighting for your life or having your innocence taken away. In short Greek mythology has been an intriguing subject that I will keep on continuing to read various different stories.