Framing Assignment

               Every person in Canada should be given a government sponsored Segway, as the benefits to owning these magnificent scooters would be endless.  If everyone owned a Segway, transportation would be much better.  Because the Segway moves faster than the average person, people would reach meetings and various other activities much quicker, thus making all of life more efficient.  With the extra time people could spend more time with family or working on hobbies or a plethora of other things that they would enjoy. This would lead to increase in overall happiness for the entire country.  Another advantage to giving every citizen a Segway would be that it would give those who formally were unable to get around properly, the chance to function like everyone else.  The elderly would be able to keep pace with the young and sprightly and the overweight could ride side by side with the physically fit.  By instituting a mandatory Segway policy, not only would society have increased happiness, but the country would also have a greater sense of equality.

               Some people believe that the government of Canada could not afford to provide all of its citizens with Segways, but in reality it cannot afford not to.  The benefits far outweigh the costs.  With people moving through the streets at a quickened pace, business will be conducted faster and thus will be lead to an economic boom.  The increased production of Segways would create thousands of new jobs and Segway repair businesses would pop up all over the country.  This would lead to another boost to the already booming economy.  While the original costs of the Segway would be high, the return would astronomically higher.  With the simple implementation of a Segway policy, Canada could become one of the most economically prosperous nations in the world.

               Other opponents to the Segway bill argue that it could lead to a decrease in health, as people would not have the need to walk.  However, these people clearly are not aware of how humans remain physically fit.  They simply make assumptions, without basing their claims on anything.  People like that are the scum of the earth.  They leap into situations with no idea what they are doing, while simply ignoring the fact that they do not have the proper experience to form an opinion on the matter.  These people should be ignored and their ideas should never be given any merit.

               The proposal to give Segway’s to all Canadians is a masterful plan.  It would boost the entire country emotionally, economically and physically.  There is literally no downside to this plan.  Hopefully the government of Canada will implement this policy as soon as possible.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

      In "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" the main character, Joel, decides to have all memory of his former girlfriend, Clementine, erased through a special medical process.  The majority of the movie takes place going through Joel's episodic memories, where we learn what occurred in his relationship.  As the movie continues, Joel realizes that he does not want to forget about Clementine, and most of the movie is spent trying to avoid the parts of his memory that are being erased.  Memory plays an incredibly large role in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
    The psychological procedure used in the movie is not very accurate, you cannot fully remove a memory by following a 'map' of the mind.  Memories are located all over the brain and certain memories trigger multiple areas of the brain at the same time. In order for all of the memories that are shown to be removed, a significant part of Joel's brain would have to be removed.  Such a substantial amount that he would probably end up dead.  While the procedure is very unrealistic, there is still some slivers of truth.  At one point in the movie they have Joel remove all things that he associates with Clementine from his apartment.   This is to prevent him from seeing these objects and using them as retrieval cues, which would allow his brain to remember.  That part is very accurate, as retrieval cues are a proven psychological process.
       The most important cognitive understanding that I gained from this movie was a decent comprehension of retrieval cues.  I learned that almost every object can have a strong attachment to a memory and that many memories are interconnected.  I also gained an important emotional understanding of the value of memories.  Memories help you to understand who you are as a person and why you are like that.  They also allow you to explain your feelings for another.  If you did not have memories of someone, you would base your opinion of them entirely on their current mood.  This could be both confusing and emotionally stressful.  "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" while not an entirely psychologically accurate movie, it still provides great emotional insight into the effects of memory.