Month: October 2019

Group members : Maura, Nick, Liv, Seamus

Today in our discussion group we talked about Percy’s question “Is looking like sucking: the more lookers, the less there is to see?” We thought about it and discussed the meaning of the point that Percy is trying to get across. We discussed how the more people there are the less opportunity you have. As in if there as a lot of people trying to get a job the less opportunity there is to get that job. We also discussed how the more you look the less you have to value something and the less it will be apriciated. The more you look at something the less you are looking at something else, you can be missing out on something so incredible or a opportunity that you are not even looking at. The little things mean a lot and if your wasting your time looking at one thing you can be missing out on something even better. 

On Thursday, October 17, Makayla and I discussed what changes an experience for someone. There was a misunderstanding in where the discussion was so this group met in two different groups. Therefore, this discussion was only Makayla and I.

Makayla and I talked about how experiences can be altered greatly by the way you view the experience. If one enters an experience behind a camera or while staring at their phone, they will never get the same experience as someone who actually experiences it. For example, some people will go to a tourist attraction such as NYC and walk around taking pictures and will not once look up from their phone or camera. An experience behind a camera is not nearly the same as truly being there mentally to experience something.

We also said that some people will walk into an experience with expectations of what their experience should be like. These expectations greatly alter your actual experience because it changes your mindset and if the actual experience is not the same as the expectations, one may be greatly dissatisfied with the experience. If they did not previously have these expectations though, this dissatisfaction would have never been a problem.

We also said that by taking your own path and through experiencing what others normally do not, you are allowing yourself to truly experience something. We decided that along with this, simple things such as positive or negative attitude, and uncontrollable things such as those that surround you, the weather, etc. also affect your experience greatly. In conclusion, we said that phones and cameras, expectations, new experiences, attitude, and external uncontrollable variables affect an experience.

People: Julia, Olivia, Seamus, Nick

Leader: Amanda

Percy was talking about that if there are more people then there is nothing else to look at. The more you look at something the less value you get out something. If you have a idea of what something is before going you will expect to see what you have seen before. You need to keep a open mind before going to somewhere new. Going into something with a expectation will ruin your experience because you will have a mindset already. You also need to not look at the view through a screen. People always spend so much time taking pictures of different scenes  rather than just taking in the view. You need to live in the moment and not worry about taking a picture of the view that you are looking at. Enjoying it with the people you are with also plays a role in living in the moment.

group members: Maura, Julia, Seamus, Nick

Response: In todays discussion we talked about how Walker Percy said something along the lines of, looking is like sucking and the more lookers there are the less we will see. We discussed how if more people were to see something the less value that something would have and the less it will be appreciated. The person who first discovers something will have a different view on it then everyone who sees it after them. The first person who sees something gets to interpret it in their own way. Everyone else who sees it after, has an image already in their head of its supposed to look like and be like. The first time something is discovered it is like the raw reaction to it. After that, that something gets associated with things and your kind of forced to view it just like everyone else does.

By Seamus Corkery

Group Members- Amanda Regan, Julia, Maura, Liv, and Nick

Today in our discussion group we discussed Percy’s question “Is looking like sucking: the more lookers, the less there is to see?” What he means by this is that when you don’t follow your own path and go on a journey to call your own, you won’t enjoy the final product as much as if you were to have your own journey. This is why so many people are let down when they travel for so long to see something that they thought would bring them joy. Instead of giving the looker joy, it ends up making them feel let down. To really be impressed by something, you have to go on your own journey and have lower expectations of what everyone else has. When you are not expecting as much, that is when you are impressed most by something, not when you set your expectations so high. This is the key point that our group made in today’s discussion group, to make your own path.

Participants: Kenzie Neiderer, Haley Myers, David MacMullen

Leader: Makaya Medycki did not show

In this discussion group we responded to the prompt of what could change an experience for someone based on Percy’s The Loss of the Creature. Percy uses the example of the Grand Canyon to explain that seeing a landmark is the best for the first person who sees it. For those who see postcards and tourist books of a landmark, form a preconceived idea of what it will look like, therefore not making it a good experience when they see it for the first time. Having background information on the place will make you create a preformed opinion in your head of the place you are going to see. He also says that the experience is the best for the first person who discovered the Canyon because they did not go with a tourist guide, where you can only take a certain path. The first person to discover a place can go off the beaten track and get the most out of the experience. The location of where you live also affects your experience of seeing a landmark, because if you see something everyday, it will not be as great as someone who sees it for the first time. Percy also stresses that the problem with seeing is not other people or the world, the problem is inside the seers mind.

Discussion leader: Jeff Biancaniello

Topic: We will be discussing Percy’s statement ” No, but it means that the student should know what he has on his hands to rescue the specimen from the educational package”. We will be discussing what he means by talking about getting your hands on the educational package.

Date 10/17 @ 8 am

Location: Sykes couches on the right side once you walk in

Leader: Juliana Beristain

Topic: In this discussion we will talk about the idea that Percy have on how people can learn from experiences that are driven by pure personal desire and not experiences already predetermined by experts.

Date: Friday 10/18 @ 10:00 am

Location: Tables outside of Sykes

Percy talks about how views and experiences get altered by media and preconception. “The thing is no longer the thing as it confronted the Spaniard; it is rather that which has already been formulated—by picture postcard, geography book, tourist folders, and the words Grand Canyon.” (Percy). Are we really getting a new experience or one that has already been planted in our mind?

Location: Tables outside of University Hall

Time: Friday, 10:00 am

Leader: TJ Fitzpatrick

In this discussion group we will be discussing whether the creation and use of technology better supports or debunks Walker Percys belief that seeing something is less interesting and great then the first person to see it. We will also discuss whether it affects seeing it in person opposed to seeing it on a screen.

When Thursday October 17th at 3:15 PM. (Ill be running 5 minutes late my class is running longer today)

Where The tables outside Lawrence.