Shania McGhee

Becoming Modern Final

December 12, 2015

The Process of How It Is That We Become Modern

Like most people in the world we have a certain view or mindset of the world around us
but what if we were to look at everything in a different light or perhaps maybe even looking at
things from a perspective of a different century. The word modern doesnt only mean the now it
also means becoming something you were based on an adventure almost. I felt that this semester
of Foundations has made me look at things in a more modern perspective because it has shown
me that not only is class about lecture but its also about the experiments in which we take what
we learn and apply it to other subjects but also our life in general. The basis of any great work
isnt just the experiment but also the evaluation and conclusions that you draw from them and
with Foundations it has showed me relationships built, emergent properties and the bigger
picture, games that arent all about winning but about the information you take from it and in
general shifts in our lives that we sometimes take for granted because we cant see the bigger
picture.
First and foremost, one of the most important things we did in Foundations was
participating in experiments. Not only did we come up with some hypothesis and experiment
with something, we drew conclusions and made observations based on what we found. As

always experiments are the main component of all research but also without those experiments
we wouldnt be where we are today without the knowledge we have gained from them.
Becoming modern by using experiments is important because to be modern is to be the newest
thing at that moment. Without our knowledge of experiments of any kind we wouldnt be able to
go to the next step of being modern. This brings me to some of the games we played in class and
the experiments that took place during those games.
One of the first games that we did was the Darwin game. During the Darwin game we
learned that things arent always black and white and we sometimes have to scratch the surface
to find the gray. During these games we had to do vigorous research on our characters, read our
textbook, as well as take part in the discussions and debates. It may not have went like it should
have but one of the main things about that game that I took from it was the fact that even back in
the 1800s, we were still trying to figure things out just like we are now. It takes time and people
to try to figure out the things we havent yet discovered. The main concept of the Darwin games
was the theory of evolution. With this theory we obviously had people who agreed with Darwin
and people who disagreed which will always happen. Because of Darwins theory, we have
found so much more information than we would have if we had have just sat back and said no.
Again, becoming modern means we have to take that next step just like Charles Darwin. Even in
our current politics, we have agreement and disagreement on things but we still argue for what
we believe in. Without those beliefs we wouldnt be able to move forward as things are revealed
to us with research. With any form of debates, we have to be able to sit back and listen but also if
our views change we have to be willing to maybe alter our views to what has been revealed to us.
It may be hard at first but we had to come from somewhere and knowing where we are now just
proves we still have a long way to go.

Probably the next biggest thing to think about when talking about ourselves in
retrospect is probably when we think about things more in a whole understanding instead of an
individual set of mind. When dealing with emergent properties, we dealt with multiple
experiments. Not only did we learn that if something is emergent is the individuals coming
together to create a whole but that we need to look at it instead of animals, weather, etc. we can
look at it as a community, country or nation. Just like ant a colony of ants or a hive of bees, here
is some form of beings coming together to make things work in some sort of way. Modernity,
wouldnt exist without some semblance of coexistence and natural law of cohabitation.
Just like with emergent properties where we must come together to allow ourselves to
have some sort of future we also have to have some sort of relationships as well. We each have a
role whether we like it or not. We are one individual in a community in a state in a country and
so on. We only make up a small part of the world but if everyone does their part we have a
future. If no one does their part we would still be back in the Stone Age. Although we each have
a role, some relationships havent come together for the better. I feel that talking not only about
the Darwin games but also having some insight on the topic of 9/11 and the hijackings and
terrorist act, some relationship that people have formed arent for the better. Yet, I dont feel it is
wholly based on ourselves becoming modern but also a little bit of culture change over the years
as well. We see our country and our ways but if we look at other countries we see them as
deviant and different. Its not because theres something wrong with us or them its because of
the fact we all have come from different places with different cultures and we have to be able to
see the bigger picture. We are all people no matter what, when or where. Just like in a romantic
relationship, feelings can change or evolve just like our relationship with ourselves and those

around us. We just have to be more accepting of those that may seem a little different then our
own.
Last but not least, probably the most important part of this class was the aspect of
paradigm shifts. When we talk about paradigm shifts though we dont just mean one form of
them we mean all of them. One of the most important was probably the paradigm shift dealing
with science. Yet, it may not seem as important to some people as the shift in technology and
how far we have come. Throughout the whole semester, I felt that because of the fact everyone
differs in their views, its hard to see how people truly feel about some things such as this. Yet,
we wouldnt be where we are today without some kind of rules. I feel our world it useful in some
ways and in some ways they are not. The revolution in science helped pave the way for medicine
and technology. Yet, it also has helped for bio weaponry and the use of drugs. There will always
be a fine line between the good and bad in everything we just have to decipher which side is
which. When determining the use of rules there will always some that are only needed at certain
times and some that can be used for multiple occasions. Rules keep us on tract for better or
worse and they help us keep in check. Without them in any sort of fashion we would have
complete chaos and everything around us would just halt and come to a standstill because we
would no longer have people striving for something better if everything is now a mess. We also
need to have some form of rules for ourselves to follow as well. With myself, my number one
rule is to complete whatever task is the most important and due the earlier no matter if its
homework or a task at my job. Some would say I could be a work now, play later kind of
person. We have boundaries in which we need to live or else well be stuck in the present and
never be able to become modern again.

Throughout the semester, the main topic has been modernity which doesnt mean the
newest things but the things we have come from and how we can take those things and learn
from them good or bad. Just like with the experiments, your conclusions may not turn out
correct, but you drew some sort of information from the things you did and you will learn them
not because you studied it but because of the fact you actually did something dealing with life
and drew from that on how other things work in relation to that. Becoming modern isnt easy nor
will it ever be. We have to work for something and that something is our future because thats
what we have to look forward to but also that is the most modern thing we can imagine.