Li, I really liked your essay on blind photographers. It is something that not too many think of. My favorite line of yours was how “we ignore the beauty of things around us,” it was eloquently stated. This journal discusses the perception of beauty and I think it could help add to your argument. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/beauty-is-in-the-mind-of-the-beholder

I had not even considered something like this to even exist. Wonderfully written! I enjoyed learning about the topic and I decided to look at more on the subject. Check this out: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/blind-photographer-book_us_57d71a8ee4b0fbd4b7baf722

Li, I think this discussion topic is very interesting. It’s awesome that attention is being called to this and it really changes your view on things you don’t see as possible. It was well articulated and the beauty in a blind photographer is really well discussed. Here are some interesting people and who are also blind photographers:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/blind-photographer-book_us_57d71a8ee4b0fbd4b7baf722

I was amazed by your article. I never knew the workings behind such an intricate peice of photography. This was such an intersting read here is another article that you may find interesting.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/blind-photographer-book_us_57d71a8ee4b0fbd4b7baf722

Hi Li! I think this post is really amazing in how it takes photography and completely flips it in a way that makes it accessible to all people. It is a beautiful concept and is very well presented. I liked that you focused on what people who are blind can do isntead of what they can’t do. Here is another article that showcases photography by blind artists:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/aug/20/the-work-of-blind-photographers-in-pictures

Hi Li, I really liked your essay. It gave me a new perspective on photography and how we view things. The idea that someone who is blind can give people a view of their world is really cool. How you talk about the idea of beauty and how maybe we don’t always see it is something I totally agree with, the world around us is beautiful, nature is beautiful.

This was an amazing peice, that was very insightful. When you said “we ignore the beauty of things around us” I thought that was very true and powerful. This was a very interesting peice, and this topic i have never really heard of that much. I thinnks its so cool how these photographers can use their senses to get a great picture. Great essay, good job!

Li, this piece is wonderful! I love the topic and I love what you said. Blind photographers are not people one would normally think of on the daily; I didn’t even know there were such types of photographers. However, I learned a lot, like how blind people can feel the temperature of pictures to get an idea of what it looks like. I also really liked how at the end you posed a question that not many would think of. People who are not blind are usually blinded by stereotypes, which doesn’t allow them to see everyone for who they are, which people who are actually blind can do. This is a link to a website that show cases photographs taken by blind photographers and I think it might interest you: http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1897093_1883570,00.html. I look forward to readying more interesting and/or unique pieces from you! Thank you for sharing this

Li, this is a great article! I was unaware of the concept of blind photographers before I read this so I’m glad that I was introduced to it! I thought the line, “but, when we see things according to stereotypes, we also lose our ability to see” was very powerful. I can relate because stereotypes are constantly shown to us everyday. I found some great photos by blind photographers! I loved your coverage of a topic like this and can’t wait to read more of your work!

http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1897093,00.html

Li, I love this piece. Thank you for sharing it. I can understand this because I am training to be a photographer and knowing someone who doesn’t see anything must seem to be difficult for someone to see. Again, thank you.

This was a very interesting post, Li. You were able to provide valid arguments for both sides of the issue which was very impressive. Looking at environmental issues and the potential to solve those issues was a smart perspective to take because it made it relevant to your audience. I especially enjoyed your conclusion, that “it seems that it is inadvisable to contact extraterrestrial lives because we cannot bear the cost.” You were able to make a very compelling, logical argument about how the cons of contacting extraterrestrial life significantly outweigh the pros. I am interested in what you think about the likelihood of being able to understand any communication from extraterrestrial life. Do you think we would be able to translate their form of communication into something comprehensible? You might find this Astronomy article interesting because it tackles a few of those possibilities: http://astronomy.com/bonus/alien-contact

When I saw the percentage of kids who have suffered sextual abuse, I was shocked too. Hope this problem can be solved in the future.

Interesting article, Li! The topics of cell phones is certainly a relevant one in today’s society. I liked how you included that cell phones make our lives “more convenient” yet dominate our lives at the same time. Based on your post I think you would enjoy reading this article (http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/10/22/gahran.mobile.phone.lives/index.html) that I recently read. I look forward to seeing what you post next because this was definitely an interesting topic.

Li, this post is very interesting. Everyone these days are obsessed about their iPhone and the next one coming out. Another negative about smartphones is that it decreases the need for in person interactions. There has been an obvious drop in people physically going out and interacting face to face with friends; instead they text them or speak to them over video game chat. I really liked this post of yours and I would definitely come back to learn more about restrictions or increases/decreases in smart phone use.
Here is an interesting article on the use of social media and a decreases in physical interactions.

The Negative Impacts of Social Media on Face-to-Face Interactions

Li, this is a very interesting and thought provoking essay. I enjoyed reading it and I loved how you used different points of argument to strength your writing. For example, you talked about how app designers try to make their games as addictive as possible, and not only do they take away your money, but “they are stealing your time” as well. I also liked that you talked about how people, especially girls these days, are dependent on their likes on social media and they are obsessed with getting a “perfect selfie look”. You did a good job of planting seeds of thought into your audience’s mind and forcing them to think about how smartphones are affect them and their lives. Everything you said really resonates with me as well as probably any other teenager, or adult even. An article that I think you would find interesting is about how “Smartphone technology is slowly taking over our lives” (http://www.laloyolan.com/opinion/smartphone-technology-is-slowly-taking-over-our-lives/article_610f2815-992b-5dd8-b6b3-6180575495e5.html). In your conclusion you stated the positive and negative of smartphones, but in the main body of your essay you mainly discussed the negatives. Does that mean you believe smartphones are doing more harm than good? Or are you at a neutral position? I would love to read more of your argumentative work, it is very interesting.

hello