1. Music- What does the literature reveal about how one's personality is affected by music preferences?
2. Death with Dignity- What does the literature say about the pros and cons of doctor-prescribed suicide?
3. Trauma- What does the literature say about how humans recover from traumatic experiences?
Monday, October 27, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
"Can You Pick Up My Suicide Pills" By Beth Capriotti- Bias
http://www.phillymag.com/news/2012/02/15/hey-stop-cvs-pick-suicide-pills/
Beth Capriotti, a writer for the Philadelphia Magazine, visited Boston in 2012 and learned about the "Death with Dignity" bill being placed in the ballot that November. The Death with Dignity Act allows patients who have approximately six months to live due to medical reasons, to be prescribed a lethal drug in which they can self administer and end their life. The patient must be acting voluntarily, have the ability to make decisions, and must have two witnesses present when the drug is prescribed, but not necessarily when the drug is administered. Capriotti has a biased opinion on this form of suicide, and voices her opinions, showing her bias, in her article.
One form of cognitive bias that Capriotti uses in the article is functional fixedness, or the limitation of an object or ideas and to only view your ideas. Capriotti sees "the role of the physician has been to provide care appropriate for the patient, not to assist in the manner of their death." She has known the idea of doctor to save someone's life. Instead, doctors would be handing over the medicine to end one's life. She doesn't change her views, or see that the world has evolved and trends have changed. She has her views, and will not let that idea go, which can be classified as functional fixedness, a form of cognitive biases.
The ostrich effect, the failure to see the negative outcome to a situation, is another form of cognitive biases used in Capriotti's article. Capriotti talks about how doctor's administering this lethal drug is suicide, homicide, murder. She says its wrong, and that doctors should be saving lives, not ending them. But these people are already dying, they know that their time is limited. They want to be able to die while they're still themselves, not someone plagued by symptoms, intoxicated by medicines, incapable of making decisions. They want to die with dignity, while they're still themselves. Capriotti only sees the side where people are killing themselves, taking their lives with the help of their physician, instead of seeing a positive side, that people are going they way they want. Her ability to only see a negative side, allows Capriotti's article to contain the ostrich effect, a form of cognitive biases.
Capritotti also displays the use of the pessimism bias, or the idea that actions will always result in a negative outcome. She often talks about how negative the possession of this lethal drug can be, and assumes the worst of the patients who plan to take it. She believes those who "suffer financial uncertainty might see this as an opportunity to alleviate burdensome financial obligations of loved ones." Or that a family member eyeing a big inheritance will convince them that the drug is the best option, when it may not be. Maybe the patient will "slip it in hubby’s coffee," says Capriotti. The author assumes the worst from people, and expects a negative outcome to the use of the drug. She believes it will be and issue for the patient, and maybe even the patients family and friends. Capriotti's inability to see a positive outcome, and only see the negative side of things, is an example of pessimism bias in the article.
"Death with Dignity," an act that allows patients with a terminal illness to be prescribed a lethal self-injected drug to end their life on their own terms. This topic creates lots of debate, and Beth Capriotti wrote hers for the Philadelphia Magazine. Her article used different forms of bias in it, including the ostrich effect, the pessimism bias, and functional fixedness. We all have our own opinions on topics, and Capriotti voiced hers with different types of bias.
Beth Capriotti, a writer for the Philadelphia Magazine, visited Boston in 2012 and learned about the "Death with Dignity" bill being placed in the ballot that November. The Death with Dignity Act allows patients who have approximately six months to live due to medical reasons, to be prescribed a lethal drug in which they can self administer and end their life. The patient must be acting voluntarily, have the ability to make decisions, and must have two witnesses present when the drug is prescribed, but not necessarily when the drug is administered. Capriotti has a biased opinion on this form of suicide, and voices her opinions, showing her bias, in her article.
One form of cognitive bias that Capriotti uses in the article is functional fixedness, or the limitation of an object or ideas and to only view your ideas. Capriotti sees "the role of the physician has been to provide care appropriate for the patient, not to assist in the manner of their death." She has known the idea of doctor to save someone's life. Instead, doctors would be handing over the medicine to end one's life. She doesn't change her views, or see that the world has evolved and trends have changed. She has her views, and will not let that idea go, which can be classified as functional fixedness, a form of cognitive biases.
The ostrich effect, the failure to see the negative outcome to a situation, is another form of cognitive biases used in Capriotti's article. Capriotti talks about how doctor's administering this lethal drug is suicide, homicide, murder. She says its wrong, and that doctors should be saving lives, not ending them. But these people are already dying, they know that their time is limited. They want to be able to die while they're still themselves, not someone plagued by symptoms, intoxicated by medicines, incapable of making decisions. They want to die with dignity, while they're still themselves. Capriotti only sees the side where people are killing themselves, taking their lives with the help of their physician, instead of seeing a positive side, that people are going they way they want. Her ability to only see a negative side, allows Capriotti's article to contain the ostrich effect, a form of cognitive biases.
Capritotti also displays the use of the pessimism bias, or the idea that actions will always result in a negative outcome. She often talks about how negative the possession of this lethal drug can be, and assumes the worst of the patients who plan to take it. She believes those who "suffer financial uncertainty might see this as an opportunity to alleviate burdensome financial obligations of loved ones." Or that a family member eyeing a big inheritance will convince them that the drug is the best option, when it may not be. Maybe the patient will "slip it in hubby’s coffee," says Capriotti. The author assumes the worst from people, and expects a negative outcome to the use of the drug. She believes it will be and issue for the patient, and maybe even the patients family and friends. Capriotti's inability to see a positive outcome, and only see the negative side of things, is an example of pessimism bias in the article.
"Death with Dignity," an act that allows patients with a terminal illness to be prescribed a lethal self-injected drug to end their life on their own terms. This topic creates lots of debate, and Beth Capriotti wrote hers for the Philadelphia Magazine. Her article used different forms of bias in it, including the ostrich effect, the pessimism bias, and functional fixedness. We all have our own opinions on topics, and Capriotti voiced hers with different types of bias.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Bucket List Completion
On my bucket list, I wrote as a short term goal that I would eat a dragon fruit, and this is what I decided to tackle for our assignment. It took a while to find, as the pitaya, nicknamed "dragon fruit", is a fruit most common during late winter/early spring, but we did find some of the exotic fruit at Whole Foods. The skin of the fruit is inedible, but the inside is bright and delicious. I was expecting the fruit to either be super sweet or extremely sour, but it was neither, almost even a little bland. The fruit was very good, and I would eat it again, maybe not everyday, but I'm glad I got to try it. 
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Semi-Structured Interveiw
I interviewed Brian Holmes, born and learned some interesting things about his life, his interests, and his personality. Brian Holmes was born in Boston on "October 23, 1998, at 12:08 am." He has a twin sister but they "have different birthdays due to the time of birth." He also has a dog, which he describes as "very old," being 14 years of age (in people years). When he was younger, Brian was "afraid of the dark," but got over his fear when he "matured, and became a heavier, less frightened sleeper." Brian also has a fear of heights. "My friends force me on roller coasters all the time," exclaims Brian in our interview, "but I don't like them, or anything that goes up high" When asked the question about what he would do with only one month left to live, Brian stated he would "climb Mount Everest, then attempt to ski down it." He would then "move to Japan and live out the rest of his life in a bonsai tree garden, making sure to visit plenty of aquariums," which he enjoys very much due to the "brightness and colorfulness." Brian's worst memory he can remember was playing soccer, when he let in "multiple goals while playing keeper." While he doesn't enjoy soccer, he does enjoy "watching football, hockey, and baseball; and also playing baseball practically year-round." With sports often come injuries, but the only injury Brian has ever had was a "sprained pinky toe." Brian has witnessed a major injury though, while outside a KFC. "I saw a guy get hit by a car head on," exclaimed Brian, "as he was crossing the street, a car just came and hit him. There were ambulances everywhere, I'm not quite sure he lived!" My interview with Brian taught me many things about him and what type of person is.
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