"The Human Conversation"

It is necessary, at least in some cases, to discuss your ideas with others when writing. Without human interaction during the writing process, especially if you're writing about something that begs each person to develop his or her own point of view (such as any political or religious topic), you will be exposed only to your ideas and your writing runs the risk of becoming very one-sided. How will you be able to convince anyone of your argument without knowing what the counter-argument is? Also, your mind will expand and become more open to new and innovative thoughts and ideas through this interaction. If you're writing about your particular experiences or expressing your reflections on a particular event, however, interaction with peers might have a negative impact on this. Your writing will most likely become somewhat influenced by the reaction of your friends, even if you don't intend that to happen.

On the other hand, working collaboratively also develops one's ability to cooperate with other people and come to an agreement as a group in addition to broadening one's mind. This is a necessary skill to learn while in school, especially because almost all jobs in all professions will require workers to collaborate on projects. Kenneth Bruffee mentions in his article "Collaboration of Mankind" that medical school students who were told to collaborate on a diagnosis of a patient "acquired good medical judgment faster than individuals working alone." Perhaps this is why doctors, especially those working mainly in hospitals, often work together in teams when diagnosing a patient.

One thing that was mentioned in Bruffee's article that I didn't quite understand is why this collaboration among students was so revolutionary when it was introduced. I've had to do group projects for school since I was in second grade. Working with others seems simply like another required part of school. Maybe this was the goal of those who developed this method: for cooperative learning to be second nature to students. All in all, I do think this process is extremely beneficial for students. So much can be learned from these experiences that will help students in school ... and in life in general. After all, "the human conversation takes place within us as well as among us."

All That to Describe A Tree.

Yeah, it does seem like a lot of thought...just to describe the movement of a tree.

But Robert Hass has a goal that is larger than simply adequately describing the motions of a tree in the wind. In "The Problem of Describing Trees," Hass argues that many times, in poetry (and in literature in general), language often falls short of perfectly depicting an occurring action. Sometimes, however, this is not necessarily a bad thing, according to Hass. Perhaps he believes that it is this "disenchanting" language that allows us to be impressed by poetry. It is figurations like these that keep the reader interested and provide them with a connection to the poem, even if there might be some exaggerations.

So yeah, it is a lot to think about, just from trying to describe a tree. But he conveys a powerful message, one that was powerfully illustrated by that very tree.

They Strive To Please Us Every Day

And please me they did!

I saw Twelfth Night on Saturday, and I thought it was great. The acting was great, and all cast members played their part pretty well, at least in my eyes, especially Sir Andrew, Sir Toby, and Feste. They've always been my favorite little bunch in the show, and this production was no exception.

When I first heard that it was going to be set in the south around the time of the Civil War...southern accents and all...I was a little concerned as to how that would work with Shakespeare. I've seen some bad southern/western versions of other Shakespeare plays and was worried that this would be another one that fell into that category. Thankfully, it was not. The majority of the cast held their accents throughout the show, which helped with the continuity and flow. If they'd have slipped, it probably would've thrown me off a little bit. Well done though!

Looking at the production side of things, I really liked the lighting for some reason. I thoguht it fit the mood of each scene wonderfully. In regard to the set, I liked how they made use of the room that they had on the stage. Audience right was mainly reserved for Orsino's house, and audience left was where the action regarding Olivia and her attendants took place. The decor of each respective "house" fit the personalities of each character as well. (Olivia's was more ornate and almost majestic, which is how she's portrayed in the eyes of Orsino.)