Austin Fontaine 
Megan Novelli Self Diagnosis: Who Made You the Doctor?
One thing that always fascinates me is the amount of people that will tell me how many things they have wrong with them at that certain time. Then the same question always comes out of my mouth, “Did you go to the doctor?” I already know the answer to this question before my friend even tries to justify their reason for why they believe that certain illness has taken over their body. That answer is NO.
As a culture, we have seen how subliminal messaging can affect one’s thoughts and unconscious behavior. I believe the same can be seen in someone’s self-diagnosis of themselves or others around them. For example, the new rave is to buy a self-help book, which explains certain illnesses or diseases by stating which symptoms connect to them. Another example is WebMD. This website gives you the definition of illnesses ranging from asthma all the way to illnesses one in a billion people have ever been attacked by. Doctors go to medical school for several years to be able to recognize these illnesses and still have trouble knowing exactly what it is. Why would someone believe that they can diagnose themselves after simply reading an article on the internet or the new hot book?
The newest episode of The Modern Family shows us a taste of this happening in our culture today. YouTube would not allow me to post a clip of this episode, but if you would like to check it out you can at Hulu.com. It’s season two, episode nine. The scene I am focusing on is when Gloria catches Jay and Manny on the WebMD website. She does not believe Jay has anything wrong with him and states, “You think it here, you see it there, you feel it here!” Later in the episode you find out that Jay actually has acute appendicitis, but he went into the hospital because he believed he had another illness that was complete different from the truth. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Brandon Schmermund on School's out for summer...
2:41 pm, 11.27.10
One thing to think about when we are looking at movies about mental illnesses is the new shiny light it might shine on having a mental illness. Yes, I do believe that documentaries about certain people that have struggled with these illness are very interesting and movie worthy, but what we really need to think about is what sort of message are these movies sending to the viewer? I believe it to not be positive for more and more movies to come out having main actors with mental illnesses. I know that someone cannot help the fact that they do have a mental illness, but I also believe people today practice self diagnosis because of outside influences such as movies. Some people believe they have a certain illness without getting a check-up by a licensed physician. This is never a good thing.
Brandon Schmermund on Fiction: Fulfilling Our Needs?
2:14 pm, 11.27.10
Mary has a good point. One thing I was thinking about while reading this post was the fact that some people have to resort to this fantasy world because they do not like the actual real world they are in now. I believe it is harder to be satisfied with the world around us when we have so many fairy tale options we can run away to when this world is too boring for us. What about the old times when people were satisfied with going outside to find their fun? When talking to elderly people I am surprised to hear them say they do not have boring times in their lives. They find things to be involved in and appreciate. Our generation becomes too easily bored with anything now because the next big thing is already coming out. This is a great post by Mary, but I believe we just need to get outside more and turn off the fantasy world that so many of us would rather live in.
Brandon Schmermund on Subliminal Messages
2:06 pm, 11.27.10
I believe this is the big issue on a lot of people’s minds in today’s culture. I recently wrote my major essay over free will and determinism and the effects of unconscious thinking. I agree with Rachel when she states that we do not have complete control of actions, but we want to think we have some sort of control over what we do. After saying that, I believe that in today’s culture we have to realize that subliminal messaging is everywhere and it is going to have some sort of effect on us. This is going to happen whether we want it to or not. For example, how many beer ads do we see when watching the super bowl? Better yet, how many times have we started to see cartoons that children watch drinking beer or smoking a cigarette? Rachel makes a good point about subliminal message, but I think the real question is how as Christian in a fallen world do we stop this type of advertisement from happening anymore.
Brandon Schmermund on When I Grow Up I Want to Become a Dog Psychologist...
1:13 pm, 10.25.10
This is a great idea! One thing to think about concerning this topic though is that the subject being trained isn’t getting to decide what they are being taught. I believe it is solely up to the master, or teacher, Caesar in this situation. He controls what the dog will do next or stop doing. The dog really just wants that next treat. Whatever that dog believes will get him a treat next is the action that dog is going to continue to do.
Brandon Schmermund on Advertising: Who is in control
12:40 pm, 10.25.10
The fact that Jordan makes is very interesting, but I believe this is already happening in all types of commercials. Just the other day my girlfriend and I were in the kitchen when she took out her iphone and started to play some music. The random mix on the player went to the song, Bad to the Bone, and I immediately thought of Brett Favre and the Wrangler commercial he is in. That song plays during the entire length of the commercial, so naturally after watching ESPN for a few years of my life I automatically think of Wrangler Jean Co. when I hear that song. Companies are starting to make behaviorism in commercials more obvious then we could imagine.
Brandon Schmermund on Artificial Intelligence
1:59 am, 10.25.10
I believe with Jonathan that the main difference between humans and artificial intelligence is that we, as humans, have the ability to use reason in our perception of the way we interpret situations. I believe logical thinking can also be a way to distinguish a difference between humans and A.I. In a sense, we control what a computer can and cannot do. What is amazing though is that no matter how smart humans allow computers to become, computers will never be able to reach a level of thinking or understanding as humans because they lack a use of emotions.
Brandon Schmermund on I'll take theories for $1,000
6:20 pm, 10.04.10
I agree that this is something that I contemplate over often. It is crazy to think that God could have used evolution to create if he had wanted it to be that way. My whole life I have been told that Evolution was completely false but your post reminded me that God can do what he wants the way that he wants to and while I drift away from he idea of evolution, I understand that if God wanted to do it that way then he could.
Brandon Schmermund on Darwin's Theory: This, That, and the Other
6:16 pm, 10.04.10
I also like the point that you made about making our own history. It does seem like a simple idea but we do forget it often. It is good to know that whatever we accomplish, as insignificant as it may seem, it will help those in the future development further understanding.
Brandon Schmermund on Laughter
6:04 pm, 10.04.10
A lot of times I will end up watching videos of others hurting themselves when I am wanting to cheer up from a day that wasn’t very positive for me. It is sad to say that sometimes we feel better by making others feel bad or by witnessing others get hurt, whether by accident or on purpose. This may sound terrible, but watching others getting injured is a good stress reliever.
Brandon Schmermund on Is the need for God innate or derived?
10:19 am, 09.20.10
Well I’m hoping that when you had this discussion with your friend you remembered to mention that we do indeed have artifacts that one can actually touch and learn from to have a full and most powerful faith in the true God, one in-particular, is the Bible. How many stories have we heard of people not wanting anything to do with a so called “god” controlling their life and the next thing we know that person has given everything they possibly could to God. One ministry that has many examples of lives turned around is, I Am Second. It is an online ministry that has real people explaining their “God story”, and how their life has changed by the things God has done for them. If your friend still has trouble believing in a higher being, let them check that website out.