Carlson's BioBlog: 2011

Sooo, here for the first time?

Welcome to the Stevenson Biology blog. I created this site to foster discussion of issues surrounding our current unit of study.

For each unit, each student is required to post at least one unique response to either the initial prompt or to one of the other responses. Repetition benefits no one. Avoid it. In order to limit repetition there will be a limit of 15 comments per post. This is a graded activity, so please maintain the sense of etiquette you would otherwise display in the classroom.

For your responses, you may choose from any of the selected articles, podcasts, or videos. Within each response, prove that you have actually read or listened to the featured selection by utilizing quotes or data from the selection to bolster your response. In addition, please show me that you have truly learned something in class by synthesizing class material with blog content.

That should cover it. Have fun.

Mr. Carlson

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Buying a conscience

Why'd you do that?

How do you make the decisions that you make on a daily basis? Scientists are beginning to unravel the neural network that governs how we make decisions. Why might this be valuable to know? Is there anyone out there who might actually benefit from this knowledge? (And when I say benefit I mean MAKE MONEY?)

Discover magazine recently took a look at our shopping behavior to try and figure out why we make certain decisions. Who should know about this? Would you want a company to know why you make certain consumer choices? How could they profit from this? Read the article and let us know what you think.