The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. – Albert Einstein




Friday, January 30, 2015

ARR # 1 Period 3

Follow this link and read the article posted there. In the space below, leave a comment. You should react to the article AS WELL AS your classmates comments. Feel free to pose questions that will invigorate the conversation.

17 comments:

  1. I think forensic science is so cool. Even though they are not 100% accurate I have always enjoyed watching shows like CSI, NCIS, Law and Order and of course Criminal Minds. I cannot even imagine how cool it would be to have a job as a detective or work for the FBI. I would definitely love to be a crime scene photographer. To me, that sounds like the coolest job in the world because you get to take pictures and your photos are used to solve crimes. Being a crime scene photographer is definitely one of my dream jobs. Overall, I thought the article was really interesting! It was cool to read about people that actually do these jobs for a living and not just play a role as one on TV. One thing that really surprised me in the article is that 99.8% of our DNA is identical to every one else and that only .2% of our DNA makes us different. It is weird to think about how only .2% of our DNA is what makes us so different from everyone else.

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  2. I have always been into the science scene and loved the doctor and shows that revolve around the general science facts. I think this article was cool because it gave a more realistic view to the "science fiction" shows. It cleared up; for people who thought the show was completely true, what really happens behind the scenes. Hope, I agree with you that it's crazy how only .2% of our DNA is what makes us different from another person. With that, I think that it is crazy how people are bullied for the small external things not realizing that they are not too different from that person.

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    1. I found it interesting that a crime analyst compares evidence to information in a database and that a criminal could be found based on the fact that they left behind a shoe! I am a huge fan of the crime show Castle and this article cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had. On one episode Beckett solved a crime because of a symbol that was written on a wrinkled piece of paper in under an hour. Obviously, criminals can take years to find. TV gives people false impressions of what it is really like to work in forensic science or be a cop. It is also really strange that a fresh body and become a skeleton in less than two weeks! I agree with you Hope because it is amazing how similar we are and that only .2% makes us different. Shakeith you made a great point about the fact that despite similarities people still bully each other. I could definitely work in this field because everyday seems like there would be something new.

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    2. Like everyone else, I think forensic science is very interesting. It's so amazing that technology is able to identify someone based on a tiny sample such hair or even bottles that they used. We are extremely lucky to live in a time where this is possible. I'm sure criminals are scared to commit crimes because of this fact, and families,for example, can get some relief knowing the person who murdered a love one is getting jail time.
      It can be scary though as technology advances. What if it evolves to the point where your DNA has to be on file from the second you're born? That's kind of an invasion of privacy. Hopefully that never becomes a reality.
      As the article stated, years ago, it was much harder to even estimate how long a body had been dead. Now, we can identify the age of the body at a faster rate. Like Hope, watching shows such as CSI or Criminal Minds certainly sparks the interest of forensic science. However, they article states that shows like they exaggerate lab time and I feel as if that was pretty obvious. Shows like CSI and Criminal Mind make forensic science much more dramatic as well. I disagree with Hope, Shakeith, and Chloe as seeing this as a possible career. While the thought sounds cool, I cannot see myself handling dead bodies or sitting in a lab all day. Chloe does make a good point saying though, saying that there would be something new each day. But for me, reading and watching about forensic science is just enough to satisfy my interest. No hands on experiences for me.

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    3. The study of forensics and using DNA to solve crimes is amazing especially when you think of the riddles and clues scientists need to pick up on when solving crimes linked to serial killers. Other than fictional TV series on forensics these scientists are truly the unsung heroes of law enforcement because they are the ones who struggle to find evidence. To agree with Shane I would not enjoy studying a decomposed or badly mutilated body but I could get into solving mysteries. The fact that accurate forensic evidence has only been around for a couple of decades makes me think about all the unfair trials and unsolved murders of recent history. Many murderers could still be alive today and not in jail because of a lack of good forensic equipment. People who donate their bodies to science sound crazy but I guess it is a cool opportunity for science lovers. I also agree with Shakeith on the basis that so little truly separates humans from each other and that it is foolish to judge each other based on each other's differences.

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    4. I agree that all of us really are fortunate to live in a time where forensic science is being used and understood. This science is not only beneficial to law enforcement when solving cases, but it also provides closure for the victims and families of the victims of crime. Going back to what Declan said about all the unsolved crimes, the families of those victims are still suffering. Forensic science allows families to get that closure. Therefore forensic science is truly a science for everyone.

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  4. Just like Shane I'm not really for touching of the dead bodies however like everyone else i still think that watching shows that try to depict is is pretty amazing because most if not all of those actors actually know what it is like to actually be in a forensics lab. I especially find it interesting on how they use the Polymerase to find and extract the DNA from the victim or the attacker. But I was wondering through all of this, once they extract the strand of DNA how and where do they know to stop searching in the strand in order to find out who is connected to that DNA?

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  5. Forensic is very interesting and I agree with what Shane said about how amazing it is to be able to identify a person by a single hair or a sample of saliva. I am also amazed at how technology has improved over the past 40 years. The article said that in the 1970s, determining the date in which someone died was based on a guess rather than science. I am glad to be living during a time in which we can find out so much from few objects or samples at a crime scene and find out what happened. In theory, I would love to work at crime scenes, however seeing dead bodies and a lot of blood almost every day would freak me out. I think Shakeith brought up a good point about bullying. People are so similar in terms of genetics and it seems pathetic for people to make fun of others when .2% of our genes differ us from one another.

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  6. Forensic science is not my thing personally only because I would be the over dramatic one to say “eeewww”. However I find it very interesting and exciting, I would also agree that this is a career for people who are curious and enjoy solving puzzles. I also find it interesting easily someone can leave behind DNA.

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    1. I agree with Azja, I think that forensic science is amazing and that it's also a little nerve wracking how a person can take evidence from a crime scene, analyze it and then figure out who that person is and based off of that, solve the crime. Because of this, I think kids should aspire to be forensic scientists, it should be coupled with "I wanna be princess!" or "I wanna be a doctor" or "a lawyer!" even "an astronaut!". Yes I understand that to be a forensic scientist it requires "a specific set of skills", but this way children can aspire to be better and DO better. And like the article said "the dead tell stories" and who doesn't like a good story?

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  7. I've also have watched shows like Criminal Minds and NCIS for years so it is cool to learn about what the jobs actors play on the shows actually intale. Like Rosemarie and Shane, I'm glad that we live in a time where we have the technology to scientifically determine people's time of death and cause of death. I'm also curious how one goes about applying to donate their body to science and how it is decided where bodies go. I personally don't think I could do that because I would not want to sign my body off for just anything, but may consider it if I had a little bit more control. Declan wrote about how he'd like the solving mysteries aspect of the job; I think I, too, would like to solve cases, especially involving serial killers. It might sound crazy but their psyches fascinate me and make me want to study psychology in college just because. As for Shane's comment on how DNA could potentially be a violation of privacy in the future, I think it would be very hard to put that into legislation and if it were it could be very beneficial (it could prevent sociopaths from acting because a lot of them go unnoticed and blend in with society until they strike, Ted Bundy first comes to mind). I think it would be beneficial and most people would be okay with it if it only tested for very specific traits (that we might have access to in the with further research) but it is unlikely that that would be the case (because with access, curiosity would eventually win-out) so I ultimately I hope it doesn't ever became a reality in the future.

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  8. I would also say i have to agree with Rosemarie about how amazing it to identify someone with a single string hair, down to a persons saliva. I think its amazing how far forencsics science has come over the past 40 years. From watching shows such as Criminal Minds, I learned a lot about how these jobs actually help lives of others. That is because I think its crazy just how the tinniest piece of DNA can find out who a criminal is. I Would also l say i agree with Shane and his comment about how DNA can be a violation of privacy overtime. That is because in cases it could be beneficial for finding criminals or helping advance privacy. But then again it could be negative because of the amount of crazy people in the world.

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  9. This article was among the more insightful, giving it's readers a more in depth look into the world of forensics. I've always found it interesting, and like Shane and mekhi, a bit concerning; mainly because with a field as painstaking to find results as this, it is also easy to make an error that can violate the security and privacy of individuals in a society -for example in planting DNA therefore misdirected results to someone who is probably not even involved

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  10. I agree with both Rosemarie and Dhakiya that forensic science does make me a bit squeamish. I do, however, think that it is crucial to know about how someone died and the signs that can help scientists come to conclusions about the past. Why? Because without these clues and signs, we would not be able to tell a story about a certain person's death. I like Declan's point about how forensic science is extremely useful at crime scenes, as well. What would we do without this profession? Criminals would be off the hook more often and victims and their families would not earn proper justice. All in all, forensic science is a very important study that is all about examination (with a bit of theory mixed in).

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