School, Education, Wisdom and My Life :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

School, Education, Wisdom and My Life One day in class, I was asked what I "know about", and how what I "know about", relates to me today, in my life, as I am living it. Well, this is an account of whether or not I know anything at all. If I do know something, I'll make clear of how it is connected with me. If I come to the conclusion that I don't know anything at all, then I'll write about something else, if I know what I'm writing about. I shall base this narrative around me, starting from birth, and concluding it with the now and present. This I know I'll do because I have told you I will. And I try not to lie. On an early evening of October the fifth, 1978, I, John Moren was born to an average, eight pound, five ounce body. How do I know this? First, I have hospital records to prove it, and second, I do not believe my parents would lie to me about something so monumental, such as my birth. At this time in my life, if someone were to ask me if I knew anything, I wouldn't know who they were, who I was, where I was, or what that gibberish was that was coming out of that hole in their face. I also wouldn’t know what a face or hole was. Starting off well, wouldn't you say? I was then transported off somewhere with some people, but I was happy because whatever it was that I was wearing stank of something ripe and everyone kept making funny faces. After countless hours of repetition, I finally came to realization that one of these huge beasts was mama, and the other was dada. The next couple of years, I am told, were spent learning how to walk, learning how to talk, learning how to peeâ₠¬ ¦. Well, I always knew how to pee, but it was always in my pants. Among these amazing astonishment’s, I learned how to get into trouble, and get out of it with my charming eyes and goo-goo ga-ga’s. So at this point in my life, I knew a couple of things, but I didn’t know why I knew them. It just helped out. I soon started hearing things about school and was told I'd be there for a Long time. YA HOO! In my mind, I was thinking of a place where they sent all kids to be branded and molded into something suitable for the real world.

Pride and Poverty Essay

â€Å"It is a beggars pride that he is not a thief† (Japanese Proverb). In today’s economy people are shameless and would rather be on welfare and disability than get a job and earn a living. Pride has been discarded, and poverty has become normal. People in today’s society would rather lie and steal then make an honest living that they are proud of. However in Frank McCourt’s memoir Angela’s Ashes pride and poverty go hand in hand. During the time this memoir was taking place many families were very poor and didn’t have many possessions. One thing they could always hold dear was their pride. â€Å"The master says it is a glorious thing to die for the faith and Dad says it is a glorious thing to die for Ireland† (McCourt 113). This is important because from a young age children were taught to be proud of who they were and what they believed in. They were also raised in an era where it was almost assumed that every adult person either was an alcoholic or smoked cigarettes. It was â€Å"the norm†. Not because of an addiction but as a status quo or for relaxation during hard times. â€Å"A puff of the fag is the only comfort we have in the world† (McCourt 64). As Mam’s friend, Nora, says this Mr. Quinlivan he gets angry because he understands that all of the women at the St. Vincent De Paul have families at home starving but they can still find money to buy cigarettes. Pride is truly a huge part of the memoir. Frank clearly shows this in his writing: â€Å"Even the poorest of the poor don’t go out on Christmas Day picking coal off the road. There’s no use asking Dad to go because he will never stoop that low and even if he did he won’t carry things through the streets† (McCourt 99). This shows that even as a young child Frankie understands that even though his family isn’t â€Å"the poorest of the poor† his parent’s lifestyle force him and his brothers to humilify themselves and humbly do things to survive. Frankie gets frustrated at his parents when he gets older and starts to realize they can spend so much money on cigarettes and alcohol but they never have enough food in the house. â€Å" There may be a lack of tea or bread in the house but Mam and Dad always manage to get the fags† (McCourt 138). Even though the McCourt family doesn’t have any money Mam sends Malachy to the store to get cigarettes on their family’s tab. Throughout the book Mam and Dad spend a lot of money on cigarettes and alcohol and it isn’t necessarily for an addiction but for a getaway of sorts.

Heuristics

Heuristic can be defined as a method of argument in which postulates or assumptions are made that remain to be proven or that lead the arguers to discover the proofs themselves. Examples could be an educated guess or common sense. Educated guess because a person considers what they have observed in the past, and applies that history to a situation where a more definite answer has not yet been decided. Common sense because it is practical approaches that right and wrong nswers seem relatively clear cut.One out of three examples is the representativeness. Also considered the rule of thumb; when people are asked to Judge the probability that an object or event A belongs to class or process B, probabilities are evaluated by the degree to which A is representative of B, that is, by the degree to which A resembles B. Are used mainly in algorithms which is a program that doctors use to diagnose their patients by putting n their symptoms and following the questions and leads to more question s until the computer can say what is issue is and how to cure it.Two out of three examples is the availability. This is defined as a cognitive heuristic in which a decision makes relies upon knowledge that is readily available rather than examine other alternatives or procedures. This example shapes the way we view our world. The probability does make a difference in availability whether it be lives, whether or statics. Three out of three examples is the anchoring and adjustment.Anchoring and adjustment is what people use to make quantitative estimates. The primary effect and anchoring may combine, for example in regards to a Jury opinion can be swayed by an anchor by the first opinion. First impressions are everything but people are better at relative thinking than absolute thinking. Relative thinking is more conclusive because the truths are altered and absolute thinking is more of a common sense thing in todays functioning society.