Comparative Religion

Reflective Essay

In the Western world, religion has become something that is part of a person’s life. It can be something that we “do” on Sundays, it may determine the people that hang out, or it can affect the way that in which we view politics. For some, it is simply a choice that someone has made to be listed next to the “religious views” tab in the biographical section on Facebook. It is often used by celebrities to appeal to fans, or by businesses to increase profit. This is quite the change from what it has been in the past where religion was vastly important to people; religion once guided entire lives.

A look at the past reveals how truly important religion has been throughout the history of mankind. Over it, countries have united, wars have been fought, genocides have been conducted, and ethnic groups have been identifiable. A look at religious views from across the world shows us how deeply complex and rooted in human culture they have become. It also teaches us that there are many different (perhaps an uncountable amount) of views in which people choose to tackle life with. Some religious claim to be the final authority on God’s will, others choose to follow many different gods, many choose to follow a religion in which the existence of god is not acknowledge or discussed.

Judaism is a religion that believes in one God. According to Prothero, it is the religion that started the trend of belief in a single god (Prothero, 2010). It is religion that believes that God is the creator and the one that makes the laws for mankind. It begins its string of stories with the creation of the heavens and the earth. It also offers hope with the coming of a “chosen one”. Jewish people practice their religion through sincere rituals and atonement of sin (Prothero, 2010). Forgiveness is a gift that must be earned from God, by seeking righteousness and doing the right things. It would be hard to imagine a world that has not been heavily impacted by this religion because it is the beginner of two of the world’s largest religions. This religion has quite literally changed the world and has become a part of what the world is today.

The Hebrew tradition is quite interesting because it is so vastly diverse. There seems to be no certain code or belief that all Jews must possess in order to be considered Jewish. It was until the 12^th century CE that Jewish Rabbi Maimon attempted to establish a core set of beliefs for all Jewish people (Parsons, 2015). Interestingly enough, many Jewish people today do not believe in all of these principles, but still call themselves Jews (Rich, 2011). It seems that there is more than the set of beliefs that “all Jewish people” have in common that unites these people under a single umbrella. This seems to imply that the Hebrew people are accepting of others’ viewpoints. It would make sense that Jewish people have an understanding of their own sinfulness because they spend much of their religious time looking to God for approval of their actions.

Initially, it was difficult to grasp the fact that Jewish people were calling themselves Jewish even when they had known and acknowledged differences in belief and theology. It seemed odd that there could be disagreement about a belief that is as fundamental as the nature of the one that was responsible for the creation of mankind and the world that it inhabits. The disagreements about this fundamental fact seems to suggest that Jewish people don’t really know the nature of God. This realization was a scary one at first, but comfort came after realization of the truth that this implies. Perhaps Jews take comfort in the fact that God is unknowable, which would imply that he is infinite and beyond the understanding of humankind. Perhaps it is comforting to them that such an infinite and unknowable being is responsible for the creation of the universe.

Christianity is monotheistic religion that has become vastly important to mankind because it currently accounts for approximately 30% of the world’s population today (PewResearchCenter, 2011). It is a religious movement that spawned from a man Jewish man named Jesus. He was of divine nature and he was to be the “ultimate sacrifice” for mankind. He called himself the “messiah”, the ones that the Hebrew people had been waiting for. He attracted a small gathering of people around the first century CE; this movement subsequently led to the largest religious group in the world.

This religion stresses the depravity of mankind and the need for a savior, Jesus. Through Jesus, Christians believe that man can be saved from his own evil. What’s interesting is that many Christians believe that there is nothing that can be done to earn the forgiveness that Jesus offers. It is simply a gift. This seems to open all sorts of possibilities for the men and women to take advantage of the free gift that God has given them. What is stopping a person from going out tomorrow and sinning one day and asking for forgiveness tomorrow? This is probably a common question for people who do not consider themselves Christian, but it is still an interesting one. Perhaps that is why this religion is so popular; it offers forgiveness for all sins.

Unlike the previously discussed religions, Hinduism is a religion that believes in many different deities. According to Prothero, “Hinduism is the least dogmatic and the most diverse.” (Prothero, 2010). The religion boasts probably the widest expanse of deities in the world. There seems to be a god for everything. This is in deep contrast the monotheistic religions that many Westerners are exposed to on a regular basis. For the Jewish person or the Christian, God is all encompassing. He is love, he is justice, he is anger, and he is joy. In the Hindu religion, there seems to a god of happiness, a god for anger, a god for sexual desire, and a god of war. Each of these are quite different in nature and each of them is to be worshipped separately.

At first glance, many may mistake Buddhism for a simple philosophy behind life because it does not discuss God or extraterrestrial topics. Instead, it seeks to solve the problems of humanity through “human effort and morality” (Guthrie, 2015). When compared to other religions, it becomes clear just how different this concept is. Christians look to God for their salvation; Jewish people look to God for approval; Hindus pray to their Gods; Buddhists look to themselves to stop the suffering in their own lives and in the lives of the people that are around them.

Buddhism stresses the importance of an enlightenment experience, in which they have come to a totally complete understanding of life and human suffering; from this understanding, human suffering can be stopped in their own lives (Prothero, 2010). Interestingly, this is an individual experience. It cannot be done for someone; an example of this individualistic concept can be seen when one takes a look at the Zen master’s relationship with his disciples (Design, 2015). The enlightenment must be undertaken as an individual and truth will be reached by the person; it is not given, it is not revealed by some higher power, it is derived from mediation and searching.

The individualistic sense that comes from Buddhism is quite appealing because it offers a way for an individual to end his or her own suffering. It offers the possibility of gaining true happiness here on Earth, within one’s own power, and inside of a lifetime. Often times, other religions stress the importance of the afterlife and the importance of actions because of the impact that it will have on that life after death; Buddhism seeks to give answers within the foreseeable future. Enlightened ones can be seen here on earth, in the flesh. It seems to take the necessity of faith out of the question and gives its practitioners a tangible goal to reach. Even more appealing, that goal is simply to be fully understanding and entirely happy in the face of human suffering.

Each of these religions offer a very different philosophy to life. Christianity stresses the importance of God’s love and grace in the face of human depravity. Judaism stresses the importance of seeking God’s approval. Hinduism looks to many different gods. Buddhism looks to oneself. These differences have impacted the world in incredibly complex ways; most of which are so subtle and fundamental that they cannot be detected, some of which have become quite evident in the religious and cultural struggles that have plagued human history since the time that it was born. Understanding the world’s great religions, and how they relate is a vastly important piece to the bigger pie that is human culture, human nature, and human philosophy. An education in the world’s religions will provide a good base for which I will be able to go out and encounter other people’s beliefs and philosophies and try to truly understand them and how they impact the people that carry them.

Bibliography

Design, B. (2015, May). Kodo Sawaki. Retrieved from Zen-Buddhism: http://zen-buddhism.net/famous-zen-masters/kodo-sawaki.html?headerbar=3

Guthrie, D. M. (2015, May 3). Zen Buddhism.

Parsons, J. (2015, MAy 4). Sheloshah-Asar Ikkarim-The Thirteen Principles of the Jewish Faith. Retrieved from Hebrew4Christians: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Shloshah-Asar_Ikkarim/shloshah-asar_ikkarim.html

PewResearchCenter. (2011, December 19). Global Christianity- A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population. Retrieved from Pewforum: http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/

Prothero, S. (2010). God Is Not One. New York: HarperOne.

Rich, R. T. (2011). What do Jews Believe? Retrieved from JewFAQ: http://www.jewfaq.org/beliefs.htm

Buddhism in China

Summary

Buddhism a religion that is able to accommodate many different foreign ways of thinking and concepts. Because of this, it was able to move from India into China in the 1st century. From then on, it has been able to make a lasting impact on the country and its way of thinking. It eventually went through a period of time, now called the Golden Age of Chinese Buddhism between the 6th and 9th centuries. This is a discussion of Buddhism in China.

Caste System in Hinduism

Summary

The Caste System in India is a religiously grounded hierarchical scheme that seems to impact the lives of all Indian people. It is a very old system that classifies people based on the environment in which they were born. Men and women that are born into the lowest caste tend to stay in that caste for their entire lives. It was initially spawned from the belief that all men and women are born with differing levels of emotional character, intelligence, and skills. In an idealistic sense, each caste is considered to be equal; in practice, their has been heavy discrimination based on the Caste system.

Dylan Guthrie

Judaism Essay

Jewish people make up a very small percentage of the world’s population, yet they are responsible for some of the most important and influential events that have ever taken place in the history of mankind. Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr were both Jewish people and are leaders of the major scientific revolution that took place in the 20^th century (Adherents.com, 2015). Bob Dylan, one of the most influential musicians of all time, was of Jewish descent. Jesus, the divine being of the insanely popular religious movement that we now call Christianity was a Jew. Many have asked: why have Jewish people been so influential throughout human history when they are so few in number?

It is a common thought that Jewish people are smarter than the rest of the world’s population. Some have tried to explain the disproportionately large number of people with high IQs by taking a look at Jewish history. Cochran et al. tried to explain “Jewish genius” with a scientific approach, stating that their unusually high level of intelligence is due to the fact that Jewish people were practitioners of selective inbreeding, where smarter individuals were highly sought-after mating partners (Cochran, Hardy, & Harpending, 2006). This is a scientific approach to the answering the question but it takes personal responsibility away from the men and women that happen to be of Jewish descent. It neglects the type of work that these men and women have done to earn the positions that so many Jewish people have throughout history.

Perhaps a better way to understand the reasons that Jewish people have been so successful and influential throughout history would be to take a look at how these people live their lives; perhaps the biggest part of their life, would be the religion in which they practice. That religion is known today as Judaism. It is a monotheistic religion, which stresses the importance of relationships with God with the people around them. Where Christianity stresses the importance of forgiveness and faith in order to receive grace, Judaism tends to stress the importance of ritual, work, and practice over faith (Prothero, 2010).

The tendency in their religion to practice (or to do) is central to their lives. People that practice Judaism are consumed with the need to celebrate Jewish holidays, atone for sin through rituals, and to do right by God. By its very nature, Judaism trains its people to be doers. It seems that this need to do, to practice…to perfect their lives has made its way into the professional lives of the Jewish people. It is well accepted that people are to work hard (endlessly almost) so that they can become the master of a respective field. Jewish people are workers, doers. They have allowed this to impact the way that they approach careers and the crafts that they choose.

In addition to being doers, Jewish people tend to be arguers. Not arguers in the sense that they are constantly bickering over pointless things, but they are constantly on the search for truth through debate, research and contemplation. According to Prothero, Jewish students in traditional schools (called yashivas) are constantly studying the religious texts and debating the meaning of each of the scriptures (Prothero, 2010).

The tendency to debate the meaning of scriptural truth with one another has been a part of Judaism for quite some time. Contradiction and debate has even become part of the scriptures themselves in the Talmud (Prothero, 2010). Debate and search for truth is another fundamental piece of the Hebrew tradition that seems to have made its way into the habits of many Jewish people. The search for truth and understanding is central to many different fields, such as science and mathematics. Coincidentally, Jewish people have become some of the most influential scientists and mathematicians (Einstein and Niels Bohr were list above). This constant search for truth and understanding must have played a vital role in the level of mental sharpness that these people achieved. It is not beyond reason to give partial credit to the type of tradition that these people were raised in for their intellectual abilities.

People who were raised amidst the Hebrew tradition were steeped in a religion that stresses the importance of intellectual debate, asking hard questions, and the importance of work ethic. Each of these things happen to be very important in the professional world. Engaging in intellectual debate is a vital part of politics, science, literature, and business. From debate, many of the great achievements that humankind has accrued have come. Jewish people are often taught to debate, to argue, from a very young age. Without a strong work ethic, Einstein would have certainly quit as he began to realize the magnitude of truth that would encounter when he pursued some of the most difficult questions that man’s curiosity had to offer. It is likely that, through his ethic and religious upbringing, he was well accustomed to the work that it took understand and to answer questions that had never been answered before his time. It is no coincidence that Jewish people have become so influential throughout history.

Bibliography

Adherents.com. (2015, May 4). The 100 Most Influental Jews of All Time. Retrieved from Adherents: http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_jew100.html

Cochran, G., Hardy, J., & Harpending, H. (2006). Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence. Journal of Biosocial Science, 659-693.

Prothero, S. (2010). God is Not One. New York: HarperOne.

Dylan M Guthrie

Zen Buddism

Presentation and Essay

Buddhism in China

While Buddhism is becoming more popular in the West, it still seems extremely alien to many westerners because it is a religion without gods, doctrine, or the belief in metaphysical realities. It is a religion that seeks to explain and overcome the problems that humanity suffers by practicing a moral code and gaining wisdom about the world through meditation and compassion toward humanity (White, 1993). It is more easily identified as a philosophy to westerners because it lacks a god or heavenly being; Buddhanet says that “Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith” (White, 1993). It that sense, Buddhism seems very rational and human. It focuses on the very real problem of human suffering and offers a way in which can be ceased through human efforts and morality.

The religion (or philosophy, as some would prefer to call it) was started when a man named Siddhartha Gautama was exposed to human suffering for the first time after being protected from it for his entire life in 500’s BCE (Prothero, 2010). After being exposed to suffering for the first time, he was on the search for answers to the problems that humans face. He eventually came to the conclusion that human suffering can be dealt with (or in some ways solved or overcome) through the Noble Eightfold path.

Fundamentally, the Noble Eightfold Path is a way to end human suffering. It is a moral code that stresses the importance of the love for others and understanding of the Four Noble Truths. The Noble Eightfold Path is central to the Buddhist tradition because it gives action and experience to the philosophy that guides Buddhist practitioners. The belief in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path are the things that unite all followers of Buddhism.

Zen Buddhism is a sect of the religion that stresses the importance of the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, and that everyone can achieve true happiness through rigorous meditation  (Britannica, 2004). The stress of this sect of Buddhism is on the necessity to meditate to achieve true happiness and enlightenment. This has led many Zen Buddhists to live out a monastic lifestyle, where a follower is given a master so that they may learn how to truly seek out spiritual happiness.

Zen is a sect of the larger group of Buddhism. Among Zen, there are two separate schools of practice: Soto and Rinzai. These schools are alike in that they reject theories of gods or otherworldly influences in their lives and they focus on the practice of mediation and spiritual labor to achieve enlightenment or live through the experience that is Buddhist mediation.

While the two schools of Zen Buddhism are alike at the fundamental level, they do distinguish themselves when it comes to religious practice. According the Zen Buddhism website, those who follow the Soto school of thought tend spend hours practicing Zazen. Zazen is the simple practice of sitting mediation. The ones that meditate in this way are not directly seeking enlightenment or transcendence; they are practicing Zazen for the sole purpose of experiencing it. Soto followers also use koans, which are code phrases that used to trigger or lead a person to enlightenment. In the Soto school, these are ever-changing and less important to them that zazen and having the meditation experience (Design, 2015).

Koans are important to the Soto followers, but they are much more important to Rinzai school of thought. To the Rinzai, koans have the ability to “shock the mind into awareness” (Design, Rinazai, 2015 ). These words or phrases are used to validate the level awareness that one has achieved throughout their meditation. These phrases seem to be reminiscent of the many verses and rituals that Catholic Christians chant and repeat during religious practices; they are designed to bring the disciple closer to their religious goal.

Meditation is a lifestyle to the Zen Buddhist. It takes precedence over philosophy and good works (Zen Buddhism, 2015). It seems to make better sense to Westerners, whom have been exposed to theological religions like Christianity or Islam, because it stresses a religious practice and the need for spiritual guidance from a more experienced leader. The picture of Buddhism that often appears in the minds of Americans could be Zen monks that are sitting cross-legged as they meditate to achieve true happiness and fulfillment.

Zen Buddhism is attractive to many people for the same reason that Buddhism, in general, is appealing to many different people. It identifies a very human problem (suffering), describes it in a very humanistic manner, and offers a very humanistic approach to solving the problem that touches all human. Zen Buddhists reject deities and religious texts, so that they can focus on the issue at hand: human suffering. They simply choose to do so by meditation and the recitation of koan.

Bibliography

Britannica, E. (2004). Zen. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.

Design, B. (2015 , May 2 ). Rinazai. Retrieved from Zen Buddhism: http://zen-buddhism.net/two-schools-of-zen/rinzai-zen.html?headerbar=1

Design, B. (2015, May 2). Soto Zen. Retrieved from Zen Buddhism: http://zen-buddhism.net/two-schools-of-zen/soto-zen.html?headerbar=1

Prothero, S. (2010). God Is Not One: The eight Rival religions that run the world–and why their differences matter. New York: HarperOne.

White, B. (1993). Basic Buddhism Guide: A Five Minute Introduction. Retrieved from BuddhaNet: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm

Zen Buddhism. (2015, May 2). Retrieved from Religion Facts: http://www.religionfacts.com/zen

Einstein once said that to solve the most difficult problems in science, “a state of feeling similar to that of a religious person or a lover” is required. This is coming from a man that single-handedly changed the world through the venue of theoretical physics; his theory of special relativity is especially important because of the implications and technological applications that have been found for it. His love and pursuit of physical problems single-handedly changed the culture of physics; it provided evidence that a new and better way of thinking was required to make advancements in the understanding of the physical reality. Einstein’s love and passion for the subject has not only changed the culture of physics, but of civilization as a whole.

For a very long time, Newtonian physics prevailed in the world of science because it seemed to work in all natural situations and it proved to be almost entirely common sense. It has been used to describe the force that acts upon objects, the acceleration that objects experience as they fall to the floor, and speed at which things travel as a result of the forces that are acting upon it. Classical physics works in most situations throughout daily life, even for the common engineer. It remained the standard in science until scientists began to realize its shortcomings.

In 1887, an experiment that is called the “The Michelson-Morley Experiment” was conducted. It was designed to detect small changes in the speed of light while making use of a light beam and a moving mirror. The developers of this experiment were surely surprised to discover that they could not detect a difference in the speed of light, even as they changed the parameters of the experiment. The experimenters struggled with the results for some time, only to find out that the speed of light is constant regardless of the conditions they imposed on the experiment (Serway, 7). This conclusion defied their understanding of physics, but the science community was forced to consider other options.

While the classical understanding is proven to be useful, it was becoming apparent that classical physics was beginning to reach its limits through experiments such as the Michelson-Morley experiment. It failed to explain some of the phenomena that scientists had discovered throughout the late 19^th century. It failed to explain to true nature of light, describe objects with exceptionally high velocity, and take into account true relativity between different reference frames. As these problems began to become more and more apparent, the need for a new theory arose; Einstein’s theory of special relativity has come to be accepted as the more truthful theory about physical reality because it has shed light on physical phenomena and has more been proven to provide more accurate descriptions.

The theory of special relativity assumes two fundamental logical truths: the speed of light is constant to all observers in a vacuum and that the laws of physics will hold constant to all observers. With these two assumptions made, Einstein went on to make many different predictions about the world that have been proven to be valid. For example, time dilation is principle that Einstein predicted and it states that clocks in relative motion to an observer will appear to be slowed down. The mathematical relationship is shown below:

The  term of this equation is the time interval measured by an observer who is constant motion with respect to the clock and the ’ term is the time interval according an observer who is stationary in relation to the clock . The  term is the relative velocity of the observer, and the c term is symbol for the speed of light. Notice that as the relative speed increases, the time interval difference grows. It predicts that time appears to slow down as velocity increases; this prediction seems to defy logic and certainly defies personal common sense and the natural intuition of most individuals.

This important concept has proven to be useful in everyday life through global positioning systems. Because satellites orbit around the surface of the earth at a very fast pace, they are subject to time dilation. Without the adjustment for time dilation given in the theory of special relativity, GPS systems would not be capable of providing the accurate results that they provide for human civilization (“Real-World Relativity…”).

Imagine a rod of a certain length that is travelling at a speed that is very close to the speed of light. How would you expect the length to change as you measure it while it is in motion and when you measure it at a stationary state? The theory of special relativity predicts that the rod actually contracts in the direction of motion as it move through space; furthermore, the magnitude of contraction depends on the rod’s velocity. This concept is commonly referred to as length contraction. It is yet another example of the proven physical reality that was discovered because of Einstein’s theory that seems to defy logic but catch the attention of the inquisitive mind.

Among other intellectual achievements, Einstein’s special theory of relativity has earned him a place in nearly every facet of American culture. He seems to be mentioned all of the time in popular culture. He has certainly become a personal intellectual hero. His achievements have shed light on the world of science. He represents a culture that is determined to make developments in understanding so that humankind can continue to progress. The manifestation of scientific understanding has come through innovation that has benefitted much of mankind.

Bibliography

1. “Real-World Relativity: The GPS Navigation System”. Accessed 5 December 2014. Website. http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps.html
2. Serway, R.A. Moses, C.J., Moyer, C. A. Modern Physics. Third Edition. Belmont. David Harris, 2005.

“The Day the Universe Changed-Episode 9 (Making Waves)” was a short video that depicted the progress of science and technology as related, but separate stories. According to the video, the innovations in technology have come about because of the world of science and have received far more public attention than the discoveries that were responsible for new inventions. Furthermore, the video implies that technology has clouded the view of the public from the importance of scientific discoveries because it is so quick to apply the discoveries in order to use them in daily life.

According to Webster’s dictionary, science is the knowledge about and study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observations. Note that the application of discoveries made in the world of science is not mentioned within the definition of it. Technology is the application of scientific discoveries through inventions and innovations. While these fields are related, they are definitely discernable.

Science and technology are often thought of as a single thing in the minds of people who are not trained in these fields. As explained by the video, people have long taken light and electricity for granted. They are not often concerned with how or why these things work, but how they can be harnessed in daily life.

The lack of discernment for science and technology is important today because it has stolen the genuine curiosity about nature. The enthrallment and love of all things new has kept us from asking truly important questions about the way things are and how they work. This love of industry is interesting because its very existence is due to the discoveries that have been made in science, but it quickly destroys the scientific curiosity that has brought us this far.

The worlds of technology and science seem to differ today in major way. It seems that popular culture believes that technology can answer all of the problems that we as a race face today. Edison is premiere example of this because he believed that all things could be improved. In his mind, invention and improvement had no limits. Science, on the other hand, has taken a view point that is in direct opposition to this. In the world of science, nothing can really be known for sure because of the relativity and uncertainty that is inherent to our universe. Additionally, it has stopped trying to answer the question “why” and has settled for the question “how”.

Science, or the study and knowledge of nature, is misunderstood by the general public. This is exemplified by the way in which it is talked about. Einstein’s famous equation (E=mc²) is talked about in all types of scenarios (from children’s shows to comedy skits), but the general population does not have the opportunity to think about the implications that it has on our understanding of reality. If the entire population were able to truly ponder scientific discoveries such as this, the advances in understanding of nature would exponentially grow.

The definition of an integral is given below:

An integral is basically the summation of values for a certain function within a certain range. In fact, integrations use Riemann summations. Riemann sums are used to approximate the total are under a curve.

Energy is often spoken of in continuous terms when relatively large systems are being considered. A good example of energy being treated as continuous is when problems are being solved with the ideal gas law. Consider a system that is constant in pressure, and the temperature increases. The volume must also increase to compensate for this change. Typically, we think of this compensation and the increase in temperature as continuous processes. We rarely think of the increase in temperature as a quantized process in our daily lives.

We think of energies (and measures of energies) in our lives as continuous because it gives us useful and easy to understand approximations. In macroscopic systems, these approximations are typically close enough for the purposes of daily life.

While these approximations are true, they are technically incorrect. Because all systems are made up of atoms, things on the quantum scale, they must all follow the rules that are established in the quantum scale of things. Energy is quantized at all levels; energy in a continuum is just an abstract and useful idea that can be applied to larger systems.

Because the laws of physics apply everywhere in the universe, all energy is quantized. Since all energy is quantized, that means that everything should be quantized because everything is interrelated. Momentum, for example, must be quantized because it can be related to the energy of a system.

Source:

http://archives.math.utk.edu/visual.calculus/4/definite.1/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_sum

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Cited sources

“Einstein’s Big Idea” helped to remind me that science is a craft that doesn’t take place in a vacuum; in other words, it’s a communal effort to answer questions about nature. While Einstein is perhaps the most famous scientist of all time (perhaps rightly so), it’s important to realize that he did not make the scientific advances alone. He was simply at the culminating point of hundreds of years of scientific inquiry. If it were not for Newton, Planck, and other important scientists before him, perhaps he would have never come to the conclusions that he was able to decide on within his lifetime. Today, scientists are standing on the shoulders of giants from the past.

In addition to the communal effort, I came to understand that great scientists are often simple and extremely curious men and women that are determined to answer the questions that they have about the universe. Einstein’s childlike obsession with the idea of light led to the discovery of the world’s most famous equation: E=mc2. Because of this important equation and the understanding that it brought to the world, many technological and scientific advances have been made. Because of Faraday’s fascination with electromagnetism, we understand so much about the magnetic lines that come from electrical current. The curiosity of some very determined men and women is responsible for many of the things that we have today.

The sort of film is fascinating to me because I want to become a professional scientist. It helps me to continue to chase my own curiosity in hopes of finding answers that could potentially bring a change to the world. Through science, we have the chance to solve many of the problems that we face today as a whole.

I call the Appalachian Mountains because I was born in the Appalachian region. I once thought that I understood the culture of the area because I have been personally involved with the people and their traditions for my entire life. In the past, I understood it to be a simple culture. One without real cultural struggle. I also understood that the Appalachian people were often called hillbillies, and that people from Appalachia were generally expected to fit a certain stereotype; I never truly understood the reasons and history behind this stereotype. Until I began the study of the Rhetoric and Culture of Appalachia, I never considered the Appalachian region in full. I was never educated on the history of the area, or on the effects that history has on the culture that that we see today. While I began life assuming that the Appalachian culture was simple, I now understand that the culture is made up of a heterogeneous community of individuals that have all undergone oppression and ridicule from American society through the hands-on experience and research of the Appalachian region. The Appalachian culture is complex and misrepresented.

I began the course of the Rhetoric and Culture of Appalachia with an idea of Appalachia that is very common. To me, most of the Appalachian people were hillbillies (An Introduction); I seemed to subconsciously know that my conception of the people was unfair because I felt the need to defend my assumptions about Appalachia. In “An Introduction”, Appalachia was full of people that were often uneducated and resistant to change. Through my studies, I have learned that the stereotypes that I have held of Appalachia, and the people therein, are not only misrepresentative, but held by most American people.

Appalachian people have been the victim of cultural stereotyping for a very long time. It often takes the form of name-calling, where these people are labelled “hillbillies”. It is commonly assumed that these people are uneducated, unintelligent, and the product of incestuous relationships. I learned about the hillbilly stereotype from a simple google search of the term. The search yielded pictures of For the purpose of study, I was asked to search the term “hillbilly” and found strong examples of the way in which the Appalachian people are stereotyped by American popular culture (Music: Rednecks and Hillbillies). Hillbillies are often toothless, alcoholic and gun-toting. Sometimes, they are depicted as homicidal, degenerate, inbred people that are out to wreak havoc among the “normal” American people.

My understanding of the Appalachian stereotype, and its perpetuation, has been further developed through class assignments such as the reading the play, The Kentucky Cycle. This play is about the Rowen family that began to inhabit Appalachia in the late 18^th century. The family struggles throughout its time in the Appalachian area. They are subjected to unfair treatment by the coal mining companies that arrive in the area, violence with their neighbors, and internal strife. Many of the individuals in the family are portrayed as evil, greedy, and violent. Michael Rowen is the best example of a character that fits the Appalachian stereotype; he kills out of greed, he kidnaps a woman to force her into marriage, and violently beats the members of his family. Michael Rowen is the quintessential Appalachian hillbilly.

As expected, the hillbilly stereotype has been a major source of social shame to people that are from the Appalachian region, but do not necessarily fit the hillbilly stereotype. I have learned from stories like “One Affrilachian Woman’s Return Home” by Crystal E. Wilkinson that the shame that Appalachian people feel about their regional identity is so intense that it forces people to change the way that they act and speak when they are away from Appalachia (The Appalachian Experience). The way that Appalachian people are treated by the American society is unfair because it often forces them to do unfair things such as changing the way that they speak and act. The perpetuators of the Appalachian stereotype are mistreating the Appalachian people.

According to Ronald Lewis, “Appalachia is a region without a formal history”. He argues in “Beyond Isolation and Homogeneity” that the common conception of the Appalachian region was developed in the late 19^th century by local color writers. The color writers developed stories of the region as entertainment for the middle class (Beyond Isolation and Homogeneity). I have learned that many of concepts that Americans tend to hold true about the Appalachian region were born in the time in which the color writers were developing the story.

I had the opportunity to interview an individual from that grew up in the Appalachian state, West Virginia. I was able to ask him about his experience with the Appalachian stereotype, and the effects that it has had on his life. He explained to me that people have not been able to discern him as an Appalachian from other Appalachian people. Additionally, he mentioned that he could not pick out an Appalachian person from another at first glance (Interview Project). From this, I developed an even deeper understanding of Appalachian misrepresentation (Interview Project).  In reality, Appalachian people do not fit the hillbilly stereotype.

I have learned that that this stereotype, while heavily influential to the American understanding of the Appalachian people, holds little real validity as a true representation of the Appalachian people. In an interview of an Appalachian man, we had the opportunity to discuss Appalachian stereotyping, and his experience with it. While he was familiar with the stereotype, he had no personal experience with someone that fit the stereotype (Interview Project). The obvious implication is that most of the Appalachian people do not fit the stereotype of the region.

In conclusion, I have learned that the Appalachian people make a culture that has been misrepresented by American society for the benefit of others. The Appalachian stereotype holds little validity, and has been used as an effective tool to mistreat the community. I now understand that I have helped to perpetuate the hillbilly stereotype because I did not have a real understanding of the culture, its complexities, and the misrepresentation that it has endured.