Unit Reflection: Problems

“Toil without a song is like a weary journey without an end” H.P Lovecraft. Beyond the outreach of a problem, there is no logistical point to articulating a solution, in other words. Humans have evolved on this simple notion, and continue to evolve using the idea. Without a problem, no solution is to exist, and without a solution, the conundrum is to continue existing. The previously indicated affair, of course, has evolved alongside humanity. Throughout our social media unit, we have learned the importance of identifying dilemmas and the significance, along with the outreach, of each one.

As we began the unit, the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee was assigned to the class. Throughout the reading, we learned that the antagonists in the novel each shared one common issue, the fact that each one could not identify the problem in which they created. One prime example of this was the scene in the courtroom. In the book, it was found that “[a] jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson” (Lee, 72). This proves that Lee was trying to convey the jury’s ignorance to the issue at hand, which directly revolved around Tom Robinson. Another instance of this arising was when the character Mr. Raymond explained the reason he pretends to be a drunk. Mr Raymond explains that “[s]ome folks don’t like that [he] lie[s] with a black woman since [he’s] white.” (Lee, 69). Raymond then proceeds to clarify his reasoning by explaining “It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason.” (Lee, 69). In this situation I learned that he didn’t correctly identify the problem, for he just ignores the issue allowing it to fester in society. This doesn’t allow him to understand the problem and eliminate it with an appropriate solution. These instances prove the validity of problem identification by displaying what happens when no problem is identified or simply ignored. This point is prevalent in more than just social situations, however, for it can be seen especially in scientific work.

To Kill a Mockingbird

When the year started to hit its end, the class was allocated with the responsibility of designing a solution to an issue in the environment as our final project. In this project it was impossible not to identify the environmental problem before the project actually began. In my case, I chose to rid of plastics in landfills. I thought my problem was important, because plastics in landfills have been shown to be troublesome for the land, atmosphere, wildlife, human health, etc. Identifying this complication allowed me to understand what my solution was to pertain to. During the lab process I ran into smaller problems, for instance not being able to get ahold of a hemocytometer, which in turn would allow me to actually get numerical data. Identifying the problem, which happened to be the angle in which the data was being collected, allowed my group to come up with a solution to the issue. This smaller solution made way to the gargantuan plastic problem being more translucent. Correctly identifying a problem and dividing it into smaller issues to deal with makes paving the way to a solution more practical and accurate. Making a problem more clear can be done in a different way as well, as a came to learn.

Pestalotiopsis Microspora

During a hefty research session on a fungi I was working with in my environmental project, I swiftly discovered that there were a lot of different ways to look at a problem that would lead to a different solution. In fact, in one instance I found someone working with the same plastic eating fungi that I had come to enjoy working with. In this case, they decided to tackle three issues at once. She wanted to get rid of plastic, convert this plastic into food, and then present the solution in a stylish way that has the potential to become a trend amongst different people. In this case, this person thought that identifying multiple problems could lead to a more efficient solution. However, in other cases I found that identifying a problem that has been appropriated to a solution that doesn’t match up to its distinct nature can, in itself, become a point of controversy. On a separate occasion, when identifying the #blacklivesmatter social media campaign, I found that it was trying to deal with racism by creating an organization amongst a group of individual entities that come to represent the organization. Using social media platforms, namely Twitter a media site that only allows users to type 140 characters limiting explanation, they tried to spread awareness for the issue, but ultimately met conflict with other ideas, generating more problems. I found that mixing different problems together to enter a realm of solution can either emit harmony, or chaos.

Fungus Farm

In hindsight, I learned throughout the unit that problems are to be identified correctly, for each one is different and needs to be treated with the correct resolution. Without end to a problem, disarray is to follow imminently. In this unit I learned the importance of the problem in relation to a solution and their significance to the common human mind.