Top 6 Programming Languages - You Will Need to Stay Relevant after 2016 !

There are over 200 notable programming languages in the world right now, and at least 25 of those languages are popular enough to land you a job. But with the evolutionary speed of technology in today’s world deciding what language to learn Now can be daunting.
Especially if you’re in College and won’t be hit the job market for another four years. [za2] 

So what makes this Top List of Programming Languages relevant into the future?[za3] 
This list takes into consideration these major factors and grades the languages respectively.  

·         Languages used by Top technology/software companies of 2016.

·         Employer demand in 2016.

·         Sustained popularity from as early as 1996 -2016 & 2014-2016.

·         Popularity growth from 2002-2016.

·         Diversity of Application.

·         Usability.[za4] 

These Factors where measured and listed by popular companies such as TOPTAL, a hiring agency that acts as the go-between for developers and the companies that want to hire them. As well as TIOBE, a company based in the Netherlands that maintains a regular list of the most commonly used languages and assesses the languages for quality. The exact statistics can be viewed at the respective companies links above.

Top 6 Programming Languages - You Will Need to Stay Relevant after 2016! [za5] 

·        #6 SQL
The internet has to be stored somewhere [za6] which safely puts SQL on this list, and every other Top Programming Languages to Learn List on the web.
SQL is a special-purpose programming language designed for managing data held in relational database management system (Servers like your Email), or for stream processing in a relational data stream management system (like Servers you use to stream videos from YouTube).
Point being, SQL isn’t going anywhere so it is and will continue to be a great choice to learn. The defining reason this Language is Not at number one, is the same reason that SQL is a Most in Demand Programming Language of 2016.

Not many people have a passion for writing SQL all day.

·         #5 The C Family
Unlike most languages that evolve over the years, shedding their old versions while promoting and catering to their new Versions. The languages C, C++, C# have oddly enough all stuck around.  This is for two major reasons; the amount of companies who have invested money into systems, technologies, and software that have utilized these languages since the early 1990’s and because of the extreme diversity in usability. These languages can be used to do everything from write operating systems to Apps.
C# the newest programming language is an evolution of Microsoft C and Microsoft C++. C# is simple, modern, type safe, and object oriented. So while any of the C family is a safe bet, C# newest and best bet for future proofing your resume or portfolio.[za7] 

·         #4 GO

If your shooting for the big leagues this will help get you in good with Google.
According to TIOBE “Google's Go language seems to be unrivalled in popularity growth, probably boosted by the immense popularity of Docker, the container application that is written in Go.”
It also doesn’t hurt that this Language was created and is maintained by google who now owns 75% of the global search engine market shares and 40% of the internet itself. If you have experience with C or similar languages, you should feel right at home pretty quickly.
While GO is the biggest gamble on the list the numbers are in its favor especially if you consider the growing amount of children learning to code. Googles Chromebooks for Classrooms grant has taken the lead in ensuring classrooms are stocked with their machines. As well as 4,600 schools have used Googles CS First clubs to introduce computer science to students as well as other various code learning programs for the youth.

·         #3 Python
Maintaining a slow but steady growth of users since 2002 while maintaining its positions for most in demand programming languages of 2016.  Coupled with its adoption by leading technology, government, and science organizations; such as NASA.
Not to mention Its ease of use which has made it one of the most popular secondary programming languages to learn for 2016. Secures Python a spot on this list.
Experienced programmers in any other language can pick up Python very quickly, and beginners find the clean syntax and indentation structure easy to learn.
So while Python should not be the only language you will want to learn, it is a great language to boost your resume or portfolio and set you apart from the competition.

·         #2 HTML 5 / CSS3
Before You scroll down to the bottom and begin commenting on how HTML & CSS are not real programming languages, please let me elaborate. Over $1.2 Million is made in Ecommerce every 30 seconds! It would be foolish to not at least have a basic understanding of the HTML & CSS markup languages that are used to create every webpage on the internet.  [za8] With the ability to understand and/or use HTML as well as CSS will help you in every aspect of the future of technology and how it is affecting our normal commerce model.
When you consider how much website interaction goes on with every piece of technology in today’s world. (i.e. Smartphones, Cars, etc.) Additionally, everyone wants everything to link to their social media, smart watch, or mobile device so webpage-app integration is extremely important. Whether you are learning code to develop mobile or computer apps. Building a Widget for a client’s webpage or for yourself or business. Designing or building operating systems or software. Or ever want to own your own small business or be any type of online entrepreneur these languages are a real asset. The only thing keeping HTML & CSS from being the top of the list is that they are not “technically” programming languages.

·         #1 SWIFT
Apple invented this language in 2014 as their new programming language for IOS & OS X developers. Why? Simply because Apple always does things their own way.
Although it is Apples creation, SWIFT will feel surprisingly native to those who already know any of the C family. The language is uber fast and the syntax is very compact.
While not a defining factor, a good consideration is Apples current and future role in the Smartphone market. Samsung’s newly released Galaxy Note 7 has had an immediately negative impact on their stock value and Apple stock is looking up which in an economic perspective means Apple will be hiring more, and in more demand for top programmers.
Even if you don’t score a job with apple to be competitive in app sales. Or to ensure all possible customers can utilize an app you build for a client. An App needs to be Cross-Platform (work on both android & IOS or WIN & OS X).
I would be happy to write that you heard it here first, but if you think your ahead of the curve, your just barely in time. [za9] SWIFT is one of the fastest growing Languages in popularity between devs; according to the TIOBE Index. SWIFT is no secret in the business world either it was quickly adopted by American Airlines, LinkedIn, and many other leading corporations. SWIFTS growing popularity within the business market is also reflected in SWIFTs mention in every Most in Demand Programming Languages of 2016 list as well TOPTALs Lists.
For these reasons SWIFT tops the list as the #1 Programming Languages - You Will Need to Stay Relevant after 2016!

As with any mastery, you must have your many tools. Each a perfect choice for their respective situation.  Likewise, there is no single programming language that will need to be learned and even languages learned will need to be continuously re-learned and mastered as each language improves and evolves to keep pace with innovation. Oregon Institute of Technology offers B.S. or A.E in Software Engineering Technology. Graduates of the Software Engineering Technology (SET) Program will have a thorough understanding of the key principles and practices of applied software engineering, including possessing the ability to identify, analyze, test and solve non-trivial software engineering technical problems. Find out more at http://www.oit.edu .

Have a question, a comment, or you just don’t agree with this list of Top Programming Languages - You Will Need to Stay Relevant after 2016? Leave a comment below to let me Know.

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·         Note to self; This blog post is lending itself to the opportunity to embed great blog titles that can be written later then linked to for more hits as well as SEO hits from alternate blog titles.

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 [za4]Maybe make infogram for each language with noted rank for listed factors?

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GOOGLED; How Googles Analytics Manage the Best Teams on Earth.

Alexander, Anaya Ashe

Oregon Institute of Technology

Abstract

Introduced by a brief history of the company as well as an analysis of googles employee culture and how it is synchronous with googles unique management style. Followed by an in depth managerial analysis of the world industry leader Google, with an emphasis on Fayol’s four functions of management. How Fayol’s functions apply to googles management practices; specifically Googles use of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), how that method has affected the company’s ability to innovate and how the company turned the management world on its head with Project Oxygen to redefine what it means to manage.

Keywords:  Google, leadership, organizational behavior, 4 Functions of Management, Project Oxygen, OKRs

GOOGLED; How Googles Analytics Manage the Best Teams on Earth.

     In the early 1900s Henri Fayol, the CEO of a large steel company, weighed his twenty years of experience and came to the conclusion that “the success of an enterprise generally depends much more on the administrative ability of its leaders than their technical ability.” (Williams, 2015) A millennium later, googles very own analytics would lead them to the exact same conclusion. Why? Because the best ideas and employees can only take a company so far;
it takes the best management to turn a company into a world industry leader. 

Background. PhD candidates Larry Page and Sergey Brin conceived the internet search engine at Stanford University in 1996 which they originally named BackRub. It wasn’t until 1997 that they would change the name and officially register for the domain Google.com.  In 1998 the team received capital to begin development and by 1999 a team in a Palo Alto garage had become a Company.  By 2001, Google started to really challenge the market by taking an old idea and turning out a real product. The idea was PageRank, which Google patented in 2001. Webmasters of the time had made great effort to create a system for ranking pages in relation to the webpages authority. But as Steve Jobs Says “Real Artist Ship.”
In 2004 Google continued to create and ship innovative ideas by releasing Gmail & Google Earth. Gmail quickly took over the Email market previously held by Microsoft and Yahoo. As if the world was not enough, in 2005 Google partnered with NASA to create Google Moon and Google Mars. 2006 brought even more growth with the company’s purchase of YouTube and the launch of Google Docs. Thanks to googles management, YouTube has since become a video search entity of its own and an alternative to television.
Google currently holds 72.48% of the Global market share for Search Engines, and has no plans on stopping there. Google has purchased companies in every market imaginable to be able to never stop innovating. The company’s newest endeavor; Alphabet Inc., takes Jobs’ idea that “Real artist ship” to a whole new level. With their websites description clearly labeling themselves as “a holding company that gives ambitious projects the resources, freedom, and focus to make their ideas happen.”. (Alphabet Inc., 2016)
To do all of this, Google has and continues to hire the best employees in the world, but it is their passion for the best management that has turned the company into a world industry leader. 

Culture. All extremely successful companies who have been equally successful at innovating new ideas have created their own culture. Google actively creates a hybrid culture based on analytics that maximizes effectiveness and innovation. Interestingly enough, the Google analytics have birthed a culture that contain elements of many previously successfully and innovative companies such as Macintosh, Enron, Skunk Works, and Disney.
Enron (though known for its evil nature) was incredibly good at innovating new; albeit illegal, ways to create profits. The corporate culture of aggressive, double-or-nothing, risk takers created an ideal environment for innovation. Google has adopted a moral version of this culture to add to their own; it asserts the idea that “More risk, while daunting, means more fresh ideas that may be what a company needs rise to the next level.” (Larry Page).
Google takes Enron’s ambition for innovating new ideas, then amplifies that notion by coupling it with those ideas by utilized Macintoshes cultural trait that “Real artist ship”.
The Google culture is not solely about taking risks in an attempt to short circuit the law of averages, it is also about collegiality and passion. Skunkworks team leader Clarence Johnson understood that the creative process to great minds is enjoyable and when employees enjoy their work enough they put aside personal differences for the greater good of the project. Google understands this as well and in an even greater way than Johnson ever did with his team. Google keeps employees happy, engaged, and appreciated. To name only a very few examples of how Google does this is through; free chef prepared meals, massages, child care, unconventional office spaces built to focus creativity, as well as off the wall freedoms such as the ability to ride bicycles through buildings, and creative management ideas. Paired with Googles relatively flat organizational structure, this culture builds a strong level of trust between employees as well as management throughout all levels of the company.
Don’t be fooled, Google is no full blown democracy (although Google does let employee’s way in on decisions by employing google design partner Jake Knapp’s “Note and Vote” meetings). Much like Disney’s approach to managing, Google leaders and employees know that the leader makes the final decision, and that said decision needs to be carried out to the best of the group’s ability. Even if others in the team do not agree with the decision made, Johnson of Skunkworks called it “Signing up”. (Bennis & Biederman, 1996)
Googles culture is an incredible innovation all its own, but the culture is only a reflection of Fayol’s Four Functions of Management working synergistically throughout the company.

Organizing.  Googles pattern of hybrid-ing older great ideas into innovative actions continues into the company’s organizational structure. Google has a matrix type organizational structure that utilizes functional and product departmentalization depending on the manner of the department. This is beneficial to Googles creativeness because it allows both specializations in a specific area of expertise and cross-department coordination. (Williams, 2015). Cross-department coordination and collaboration is emphasized by what Nathaniel Smithson (2015) describes as having “considerable flatness” in their organizational structure. This means that employees have duel or even multiple reporting relationships. To provide example, an employee may report to both a functional manager as well as their sales manager. (WebFinanceInc., n.d.) This allows Google to cut out middle management and create an organizational structure in which frontline employees, teams, or groups can directly contact top management such as CEO Larry Page himself, and vice versa. This has large advantages for a company bent on innovation. It utilizes all employee’s creativity, be it the janitor or the CFO, so no great ideas are lost. It also takes away risk of upper level decisions becoming disassociated from the employees, partners, or consumers, thus providing the firm the ability to respond in a timelier fashion to changing market conditions or demographic preferences. (WebFinanceInc., n.d.) (Smithson, 2015)

Controlling. Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) originally invented by John Doerr while at Intel, is a method of tracking goals and their outcomes. Google evaluates progress being made on a quarterly basis in reference to its corporate OKRs which allows them to dynamically evaluate and adjust their smaller goals to align and make their main objective successful. Doers OKRs have sat as the keystone to the company’s structure for controlling, planning, and evaluating, since its Palo Alto garage in 1999, and while this method serves as the compass for company goals, Google has taken it even further.

Planning. Google institutes OKRs at every level. This means the same practice for setting and evaluating goals is used at the company level, the team level, at a managerial level, as well as at a personal level. These OKRs in tandem with Googles Organization style aligns every team member’s goals from the top down and helps remove elements that can cause the five dysfunctions that teams face on a daily basis; inattention to results, avoidance of accountability, lack of commitment, fear of conflict, and absence of trust. (Lencioni, 2002) For this process to work, a few key objectives must be met. Key results of OKR goals must be easily measurable; Google uses a 0.0-1.0 scale when grading key results. (Klau, 2012) This helps overcome inattention to results as well as avoidance of accountability.
Secondly, objectives must be ambitious and make the goal setter feel almost “uncomfortable” as former product developer Rick Klau describes it. Keep in mind Googles culture; “More Risk…means more fresh ideas…”.  This objective helps alleviate fear of failure as well as fear of conflict which are toxic to innovation.
Thirdly, low OKR grades should not be punished but rather viewed as data to help refine next quarters OKRs. (Klau, 2012) This is an interesting idea because average companies have always associated maximum goal accomplishment as being perfect 1.0’s across the board. Google on the other hand, actually wants OKR grades in between 0.6 and 0.7. If OKRs are consistently receiving a perfect 1.0, then the OKRs being set are not ambitious enough.   This objective helps alleviate the absence of trust among colleagues because googlers do not have to lie in fear of reprimand.
Lastly, OKRs are public. Google stores past and present OKR data and makes it available to everyone in the company. (Klau, 2012) This last objective of the OKRs hits on four of the five dysfunctions; inattention to results, avoidance of accountability, fear of conflict, and absence of trust.
As you can see, OKRs have been a cornerstone of Googles management success that interacts through all of Fayol’s four Function of Management.
With all of this cooperation, openness, and general good moral in the corporation, it is easy to fall into what is known as Groupthink – The intense pressure to agree. (Williams, 2015) Groupthink is often invoked by fear of conflict or absence of trust. Jake Knapps Note and Vote Meetings found the best way to “short circuit” the tendency to groupthink at meetings. The short of the idea is that each attendee of the meeting begins by writing down as many ideas as they can in ten minutes. These ideas are not shared yet. Instead the attendees are provided two minutes to review their own ideas and pick their two favorite ideas from their own list. After the two minutes, all attendees individually share her or his top ideas as one specified person writes the groups ideas on the board. At this time no one pitches their ideas; these ideas are only shared and recorded. The timer is again set for five minutes in which time the attendees commit their vote for best idea onto a piece of paper.

Votes are counted and documented on the whiteboard. At this time any attendee is allowed to pitch an idea to the group but regardless of the validity of the pitch, attendees cannot change their vote. Finally, the decision. As discussed in the section about googles culture, an important part about Note and Vote is that at this point; the highest authority at the meeting makes the final decision. The decider can choose to honor the votes or not. The idea is that after the final decision is made and attendees have had a chance to weigh in on the decision, those attendees must now get on board with whatever decision the decider has made. This alleviates tiptoeing around personal feeling in lieu of getting the group onboard with a decision quickly and efficiently. (Knapp, 2014)

Leading. It’s what google does. When Google looked to evaluate what it is that successful managers do, they found the most successful management tool is: leadership.
This was not a midnight CEO epiphany, but data driven results derived from a multiyear study which google cleverly named; Project Oxygen. Googles conclusion from over 10,000 observations and 400 pages of notes produced from interviews, performance evaluations, management awards, surveys and the like was the same conclusion Fayol had made a millennium earlier. “the success of an enterprise generally depends much more on the administrative ability of its leaders than their technical ability.” (Williams, 2015).
While Fayol’s statement has a very profound ring to it, what does it entail? Googles analytics provided by Project Oxygen enabled Google to produce the eight behaviors that successful managers perform.

Beginning with the most important behavior;

1.      Be a good coach.

2.      Empower; don’t micromanage.

3.      Be interested in direct reports, success, and well-being.

4.      Don’t be a sissy: Be productive and results oriented.

5.      Be a good communicator and listen to your team.

6.      Help employees with career development.

7.      Have a clear vision and strategy for the team.

8.      Have key technical skills so you can advise the team.

(Smithson, 2015)

So while many managers are hired because of their qualifications of key technical skills for the position, it is the least important of the eight behaviors. Project oxygen proved that in fact the best trait to have despite the profession is actually the ability to coach, and the commonality between all eight behaviors was deep commitment to employee success. Successful managers want their employees to be successful.
Not just “make the quota” successful, but truly successful as a person. These successful managers are not just showing up to work but are being proactive in regards to strengthening employees individual and team prowess. Many managers lose sight of the fact that they are employed to lead, not to do the same job as the employees they are managing.
In the book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the main character Katheryn, a newly hired CEO shows incredible resolve to turn a company, who despite the fact that it had the most experienced and talented executives, more money, and better products than their competitors, were scraping by as third in the market. Katheryn has many situations in which her decisions were questioned as the CEO, especially when she chooses to coach the executive staff on teamwork instead of chasing down new clients, or purchasing young cutting edge companies in an effort to expand. (Lencioni, 2002)
She understood what Googles project oxygen has proven. The best ideas and employees can only take a company so far; it takes the best management to turn a company into a world industry leader. 

In an effort to approximate how google has gone from a garage to a world industry leader in only seventeen years I find three key ideologies practiced in everything Google does;

·         Real artist ship

·         Successful managers want their employees to be successful.

·         A thorough understanding that success of an enterprise depends on the administrative ability of its leaders.

This last one is the main key; the best ideas and employees can only take a company so far, it takes the best management to turn a company into a world industry leader. 

References

Bennis, W., & Biederman, P. W. (1996). Organizing Genius. Addison Wesley.

Inc., W. (n.d.). flat organization. Retrieved from businessdictionary.com: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/flat-organization.html

Klau, R. (Producer). (2012). How Google sets goals: OKRs [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://library.gv.com/how-google-sets-goals-okrs-a1f69b0b72c7#.csg52t5b1

Knapp, J. (2014). Note-and-vote: How to avoid groupthink in meetings. Retrieved from Google Ventures: https://library.gv.com/note-and-vote-how-to-avoid-groupthink-in-meetings-24e829e43295#.hlnjzsmps

Lencioni, p. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Smithson, N. (2015). Google’s Organizational Structure & Organizational Culture. Retrieved from Panmore Institute: http://panmore.com/google-organizational-structure-organizational-culture

WebFinanceInc. (n.d.). Matrix organizational Structure. Retrieved from BusinessDictionary.com: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/matrix-organization.html

Williams, C. (2015). MGMT Principals of Management (7th ed.). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.

The 14th Amendment & Affirmative Action

The 14th Amendment & Affirmative Action

Alexander, Anaya Ashe

Oregon Institute of Technology

     The 14th amendment was originally written to ensure that the civil rights act was upheld by the states. and give African Americans the right of naturalized citizenship and equal protection under the law. But it would take another 50 years to get rid of separate but equal rights and for the 14^th amendment to truly make minorities equal citizens.
(14^th Amendment, n.d.)(LaMance, n.d.) 

     As in any interpretation, the laws that have been born from persons interpretations of the 14^th amendment, depend on who is interpreting them. The amendment has provided both positive and negative outcomes. They have provided women the right to vote and all races the right to marry any ethnicity they choose. But interpretation of the amendment has also been abused at times such as in the New Haven Firefighter case. (14^th Amendment, n.d.)(LaMance, n.d.)

     The major issue is that the amendment was not written to give everyone equal rights, it was written to limit/remove unjust discrimination by the states and federal government against minorities.
(14^th Amendment, n.d.)(LaMance, n.d.)

     Even before the 14^th amendment, in the eyes of the law, corporations have been considered artificial persons. This means the 14^th amendment actually provided more power to corporations. Even though the 14^th amendment applies to business much in the same manner as an average citizen with a couple exception. These exceptions include the right to vote and the right to plead the 5^th. (Clark, n.d.)(Morgan, n.d.)

     Affirmative action began shortly after the addition of the 14^th Amendment, but took the form of separate but equal right. The idea of affirmative action that we reference today did not begin until around until 1941 with president Roosevelts Executive order 8802 which required defense contractor’s nondiscrimination in employment in government-funded projects. Since 1941 affirmative action has evolved to what we know today by way of civil rights advocates.(leadership conference, 2001)

     In the New Haven Firefighter case it was brought to attention that results from the exam designed to identify qualified firefighters for promotion to lieutenant and chief was showing that white candidates had scored higher than minority candidates. This resulted in arguments about the legitimacy of the test. The city in fear of lawsuit decided to no longer certify the exam results in the process of determining promotion. That decision sparked a petition to overturn the choice because the city was now discriminating against those who had passed the exam (in this case Hispanics and Caucasians). (Supreme Court, 2008)

     In the Landmark case of Tinker ET AL. v. Des Moines Independent Community School District three young petitioners; John Tinker 15 years, Mary Tinker 13 years, and Christopher Eckhardt 16 years had worn black armbands in protest of the Vietnam war. This was a violation of the schools newly adopted dress code which stated that armbands were not allowed. The students were suspended by the school for not removing their armbands. The student s fathers sued the school district for violating the students 1^st amendment rights. According to Linder (2016)  “The District Courts recognized that the wearing of  an armband for the purpose of expressing certain views is the type of symbolic act that is within the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”. (Linder, 2016)

References

14^th Amendment. (n.d.). In Cornell Legal Encyclopedia; Constitutional Law: Constitution. Retrieved

     from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/overview

LaMance, K. (n.d.). Understanding the 14^th Amendment. LegalMatch. Retrieved

     from http://www.legalmatch.com/understanding-14th-amendment.html

Clark, J. (n.d.). The 14^th Amendment and artificial Personhood. How Stuff Works; Money. Retrieved

     from http://money.howstuffworks.com/corporation-person1.htm

Morgan, S. (n.d.). Why is a corporation considered an artificial person by law. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved

     from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/corporation-considered-artificial-person-under-law-57912.html 

RICCI ET AL. v. DESTEFANO ET AL.. (2008). In Supreme Court Library. Retrieved

     from http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-1428.pdf

Affirmative Action. (2001). In Civil right History; Civil Rights 101. Retrieved

From http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/affirmaction.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Linder, D. (2016). Exploring Constitutional Law. University of Missouri-Kansas city Law

School. Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/firstamendment/tinker.html

Mitochondrion is like your PCs power supply!

Abstract;

Discussion points on the topics of the analogy of mitochondrion being like your PCs power supply to explain mitochondrion function. As well as What benefit would there be for animal cells (including those of humans) to make their own food? The factors that would need to be considered for chloroplasts to function in an animal or a human. A short comment on if; cell, tissue, or genetic engineering could allow humans to use chloroplasts this way?

·         Choose 1 organelle, and use an analogy to explain its function.

The mitochondrion is much like your PCs power supply.
You may not be aware but the power supply in your PC does much more than just supply your PC power. The PC power supply actually takes the 120 Volts of AC power (that’s a lot of power) that comes from the wall outlet and converts it into 12 volts of DC power that the components of your PC can actually use.
So, much like your PC cannot run on AC power, the mitochondrion cannot run on pyruvate molecules alone. The Mitochondrion must take the pyruvate molecules from the glycolysis process and turns them into ATP (and a little power) that the cells can utilize.

·         What benefit would there be for animal cells (including those of humans) to make their own food?

If animal cells could In fact make their own food no animal (humans included) would ever go hungry or even need to seek food. Additionally if animal cells could make their own food by way of photosynthesis animals would no longer need plants to create oxygen either.

·         Describe 1 or 2 factors that would need to be considered for chloroplasts to function in an animal or a human.

One factor that would need to be considered would be surface area. If you notice, a plants leaves and also the Green Sea Slug itself have large surface areas for catching light energy from the sun. Humans do not have large surface areas that are normally exposed on a regular basis because of our clothing. So pretty much everyone would have to walk around close to naked to be able to catch enough light energy to convert for use, additionally skinny people would have a much harder time catching as much light energy as larger people so eventually humans would need to evolve into very large possibly flatter creatures over time to thrive.

The Second Factor would be if photosynthesis alone could create the amount of energy needed to run our complex organs. Especially in the case of our brains, which need at least 260 calories a day (or 20% or your daily caloric intake) just to function. 

·         Could cell, tissue, or genetic engineering allow humans to use chloroplasts this way?

According to what I have learned so far in this course I would hypothesize that Cellular engineering would need to occur to place chloroplasts into animal cells then genetic engineering would need to be used to change our DNA because our animal cells do not have photosynthesis related genes to sustain the photosynthesis process carried out by the chloroplasts. Past that I would still be unsure that adding chloroplasts into animal cells could work because of the gaps in evolution created over the years between the Animal and plant cells.

References

CrashCourse(Biology). (2012, March 12). ATP & Respiration [Video file].

     Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00jbG_cfGuQ

Milius S.  (2010). Green Sea Slug IS Part Animal, Part Plant. Wired. Retrieved

     from URL http://www.wired.com/2010/01/green-sea-slug/

Editorial Board. (2015). BIOLOGY. Words of Wisdom. Retrieved from

    https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781934920602/cfi/0!/4/6@0:0/

Dead or Alive!?

Discussion Points on the topic of what defines  a living organism from college biology course.

Alexander Anaya Ashe
SCI206 American InterContinental University

• Make comparisons between living things and nonliving things that have some of the characteristics that define life.

I am majoring in IT so this is a great opportunity to bring up how a computer can simulate a living thing. A computer has many of the eight characteristics of life. It can maintain its homeostasis via internal fans and software.  A computer consumes energy and depending on the technology incorporated, can even utilize solar energy.  A computer responds to stimuli based on its programing and incorporated hardware.
Though we are getting closer every day currently computers do not adhere to all of the eight characteristics of life as we do not yet have the technology to make computers grow, reproduce, or evolve on their own. Additionally even if we did could make a computer that could grow, reproduce and evolve this iPinocchio would still lack two very important characteristic before it could be a real live boy.

Cells and DNA, without these characteristics no matter how closely a computer simulated a living thing it could never truly be alive.

• Compare the following pairs and explain what the differences are using the 8 criteria:

A rock to a snail

In comparison of a rock to a snail it is quite easy to determine which is alive without much experimentation. If you were to watch a snail and a rock long enough you would generally see that a snail adheres to all eight characteristics of life, while the rock adheres to none.

A rock is not made of cells, it does not grow, reproduce, evolve, control its own temperature (Homeostasis), it has no organized genetic code, and does not seek or metabolize energy. Lastly no matter what you try, a rock (even a pet rock) will not respond to stimuli.

A rock to a tree

A tree being alive is not as obvious, but you can see some signs of the eight characteristics of life with the naked eye. If you have ever been in the forest after it has snowed you may have noticed that the snow will cover the rocks but the trees will maintain an empty space between the snow and themselves. This is because the tree maintains homeostasis and the tree’s temperature is warmer than the snow.

A dog to a TV

Both dogs and TVs are entertaining but a dog adheres to all eight characteristics of life while a TV only has a couple. For example a TV consumes energy and responds to stimuli but sadly does not reproduce or grow.

Before science fire was thought of as having life, my assumption would be that this is because upon observation of fire it appears to have characteristics of life. So much so that many phrases associated with fire are still used today such as “feed” a fire.

With just observation you can see that a fire seeks additional energy sources and if given fuel it then grows. If you were not so educated perhaps you could even interpret this quick growth as reproduction?
Additionally if you add water or air you can see fire react to stimuli. And lastly fire appears to have its own temperature unrelated to other objects around it.

References

Editorial Board. (2015). BIOLOGY. Words of Wisdom. Retrieved from

    https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781934920602/cfi/0!/4/6@0:0/

The Science of Biology. (n.d). Biology Corner.

Retrieved from http://www.biologycorner.com/bio1/notes_ch1.html

Six Branches of Philosophy

Six Branches of Philosophy

Alexander Anaya Ashe

American Intercontinental University

August 2^nd 2015

Six Branches of Philosophy

   Philosophy is the maturation of our ideas about our beliefs and mindsets we hold of ourselves as well as our world. Philosophy is such a broad subject; it can question literally anything at all. Branches of philosophy where created by scholars and though these branches are very much each a specific subject of their own, philosophical discussions will most often begin in one branch and progress to and from the others. There are six branches of philosophy which are metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy, and political philosophy.

Metaphysics is the first branch of philosophy which questions the most basic principles of life such as mind, soul, and the ultimate question of existence.

To question such things you must first question what is actually real? “that we can never

know—or at least we can never be sure that we know—the world at all…

If anything is to be true, it must be true by reference to the facts and objects of the world, or it must be true as a “truth of reason.” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. Pg. 158 para. 1)

I agree and feel as though what I know as fact through my own knowledge of science and mathematics, I cannot disprove that my reality is any more or less real than what any other person experiences as real. This raises the question of the physical world being more or less real than the spiritual or psychological world?  To which I respond, that reality is subjective to what a person believes to be true, not because reality has been proven nor disproven at this time.

Other questions such as do all people have free will, or are their lives determined by fate?

To this I respond that the question of free will or faith is subjective to a person’s religious or spiritual beliefs.
While metaphysics is the most basic of philosophies it is not shallow or easy. It does attempt to question the deepest and still un-answerable questions to this day, like is there such a thing as a soul?

“Epistemology is the second branch of philosophy, “the study of knowledge” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. Pg. 7). Epistemology questions; how is anything known? To which philosophers have created two schools of thought one based on innate reasoning the other based on experience. I feel as though it is a little of both, though if I had to choose I mostly agree with John Locke; “whether inspired by God, radiated by -Forms,- built into the structure of our minds, or - born into - our brains (that is, innate). Experience might provide some of the material for our thinking, as well as some clues and perhaps the trigger to the answer, but experience cannot by itself, according to the rationalists, teach us anything at all. Truth is not subject to the vicissitudes of experience.” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. pg 153) According to philosophy everything is subjective but there are some universal truths such as Mathematics. “A statement that is true because of the facts is called an empirical truth.” and “Necessary truth: 2 + 2 = 4. Necessary truths cannot possibly be false, nor can we imagine circumstances in which they might be false.” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. pg. 149 para. 1) These truths lead us to questioning the relationship between faith and reason and because faith is constructed from your own reasoning. If your reasoning tells you that you can walk on water based on facts you believe to be true, than you have faith that you can walk on water. With that said, we leave epistemology with the idea that there are no limits to human understanding, only limits to accessibility of information as well as the understanding of the information presented.

The third branch of philosophy is Ethics; the systematic study of how people are supposed to behave toward themselves and other people (American InterContinental University [AIU], 2015). This branch asks questions such as does virtue lead to happiness? In which case it would be sensible to refer to other ideas of philosophy such as what is happiness and because happiness is different for different people living a virtuous life does not guarantee happiness. As is the nature of philosophy this leads us to another question. Do the ends justify the means, or is a virtuous action virtuous in and of itself? This question can be argued as being a very broad question and is very subjective to the situation. It falls under the same subject as; is stealing wrong if your family is starving? Some may say it is still wrong, some may say it is ok because the ends justify the means. But now imagine at the same time, if the shop employee lost his job because you stole? As stated before, everything is subjective to the situation. Now you may say what does that mean about morality in humans?
How does living in a society affect morality? To which I answer that living in society only affects morality if a person cares about or interacts with society. So does that mean that morality is culturally based, individually based, or is there a universal morality? My response is that morality is culturally based, determined by what society deems as normal and productive behavior.

Aesthetics is the study of art and beauty. It examines the art and beauty of individual experiences and attempts to define what the nature of art, beauty, and taste mean to the individual. Aesthetics also explores the possibility that such an experience could be either universal or unique to the individual. (AIU, 2015) So then what is beautiful? “Beauty is its own kind of truth, even the ultimate truth…” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. p.364 par. 2)

So does Keats mean that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, or are there some things that all cultures find beautiful? It must be in the eye of the beholder for “as different cultures have very different ideas about the nature of reality, so, too, their arts may differ.” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. pg 365 p 1) So if beauty is relative, then what is the purpose of art? To which the reading defines art as a revelation of the “deep truths about the world, perhaps even truths that cannot be articulated by science or philosophy.” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. pg. 364-365 p. 1) So in short art is man’s attempt to capture the essence of what cannot be explained. This is why love has always and will always be a leading theme in the arts.

Political philosophy is an exploration of how to combine and balance individual freedoms with governmental regulation of the society’s economic systems. (AIU, 2015) Longstanding philosophical debates over who should be in power, what is the best kind of government, and how much power should that government have never been determined for a real society.  This is because people are not perfect, nor are they all the same. As in the debate over what is happiness, the answer to this question would also be different for all cultures and even possibly different for each group of individuals according to their mindsets. “Who the leader is… will depend on the nature of the society.” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. pg 293 para 1) Now as for how involved should the common citizen be in government depends on the type of government as well as on the type of people. Is this an intelligent society, or a society of warriors? Warriors would probably not make good decisions on public affairs as would scholars most likely not provide the best battle strategies. So what is the best type of government for all? That question again is still unanswered, but I do feel as though Thomas Jefferson had it close when he stated “That gov’t is best which governs least.” (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. pg 294 para 2). To compare these ideas to another aspect of life; a parent who makes all of their child’s decisions will raise a child who does not know how to think for themselves. So this leads us to question how much power should the government have? To which again there has been no definitive answer to date. Some believe anarchy is what the people need, others believe that a totalitarian rule is the only way to create true order, and some believe the answer lies somewhere in between. So for now, the same as past philosophers, we can only dream of utopian governments that lay somewhere in between control and freedom.

           

            Lastly I will discuss Social philosophy; “the study and interpretation of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations.” (AIU, 2015) Social Philosophy is more about the people than the control of said people. Inviting questions such as; how should humans behave in a society? “what the Greeks had in mind, of course, was the idea that, to live a good life one had to live in a good community—one in which people respected one another and obeyed the rules, one that flourished and was not overwhelmed with problems of crime and poverty, one in which the happiness of one person was not to be gained at the expense of others”. (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. pg 290 para 2) So in short to treat others as you wish to be treated is the answer to this overcomplicated notion. Now to do so does this suggest that people give up certain rights when they choose to live in a society? If it is my opinion, I answer yes they must. It has been proven by history that anarchy does not provide a stable or fair society. To govern people, the people cannot have complete freedom; otherwise you would not be governing the people. Now when individual’s social values come into play, you must question how this will affect their own beliefs? It will affect how a person perceives the world, decides what is right or wrong and immoral or just. Their beliefs are ruled by what they experience as well as what their society teaches them. (Solomon, Higgins, 2014. pg 292) This idea is amplified when people are together, people will often behave differently in a crowd than they would individually bringing into the picture the famous quote “An individual is smart, people are stupid.” (Unknown, N.D.) In short, this references the fact that people can be intelligent when making their own decisions but the mob mentality can breed many poor ideas.

   Philosophy and its six branches of; metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy, and political philosophy will continue to play a role throughout history. Though the details of issues we face may change, the urge to question everything will always remain, as it is and always will be human nature to ask “why?”.

References

American InterContinental University. (2014). Introduction to philosophy: Why Study Philosophy? [intellipath]. Retrieved from American InterContinental University Virtual Campus, PHIL201-1503A-03: https://adapt.careered.com/RealiseIT/Main/LearnerSkin.aspx/1/15/eMyLearning_-1_7239041_-1_-6/

Solomon., and Higgins. The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy, 9th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2014. VitalBook file. https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781133610649