Ibrahim Soliman Portfolio

Ibrahim Soliman Portfolio

ENG210

Reflective Self-Assessment

Ibrahim Soliman Professor Zayas English 210 12/12/2024 Writing for Science Self-assessment   My name is Ibrahim Soliman, and this class has taught me a lot in the past five months. While I may not have...

Science in Movies

The Terminator (1984) Introduction The film: The Terminator (1984) is directed by James Cameron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Michael Biehn. It is about the Terminator who arrives in 1984—from 2029— on a mission...

Jargon To Translation

ENG 21003 – Writing for the Sciences This research article examine how two new technologies, namely lasers and ultrasonics, may have an effect on root canal therapies. When bacteria reach the inner tooth’s pulp region,...

Reflective Self-Assessment

Ibrahim Soliman

Professor Zayas

English 210

12/12/2024

Writing for Science Self-assessment

 

My name is Ibrahim Soliman, and this class has taught me a lot in the past five months. While I may not have talked much, I was definitely interested in what we did in class. This self-assessment serves as a reflection on my journey, and areas of improvement.

From the beginning of the semester, I wanted to improve my writing skills because they were still mediocre, especially in the context of scientific writing. I found the structure and clarity required in this type of writing to be particularly fascinating. At first, I struggled with organizing my thoughts and articulating complex ideas clearly and concisely. However, as the weeks progressed, I began to embrace new strategies for improvement. The fact that we kept on drafting, revising, and doing peer review sessions proved very valuable in enhancing my writing.

One of the most significant improvements I experienced was in my ability to construct a well-organized research paper. Learning to formulate a strong thesis statement provided a solid foundation for my arguments, allowing me to present my findings more coherently. Additionally, I became more skilled at incorporating evidence from various sources, ensuring that my claims were well-supported. This not only strengthened my papers but also deepened my understanding of the scientific research process. This is proven by my literature review, I struggle so much in it by over time I began to understand what was missing in my paper

Moreover, the constructive feedback I received from my professor and classmate played a crucial role in my growth. They were able to  identify areas for improvement and encouraged me to think critically about my writing. I learned the importance of clarity and precision in language, which is important in a research paper. By addressing these aspects, I became more confident in my writing style and gained the ability to express complex ideas effectively.

In conclusion, this course has been instrumental in shaping my abilities as a writer. The skills I have acquired through practice and feedback have enhanced my confidence in crafting research papers. I am now better equipped to communicate scientific concepts, which I believe will be beneficial in my future academic endeavors. As I continue to grow as a writer, I will carry the lessons learned in this class with me, applying them to my future writing challenges. I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on my journey and look forward to further developing my writing skills in the years to come.

 

Introductory Letter

   Ibrahim Soliman          Professor Zayas     English 210     09/06/2024                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           My Voice                     “ I can’t move my body!” is what I wanted to say... Read More "Introductory Letter"

Science in Movies

The Terminator (1984)

Introduction

The film: The Terminator (1984) is directed by James Cameron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Michael Biehn. It is about the Terminator who arrives in 1984—from 2029— on a mission to locate Sarah O’Conner. Due to a lack of knowledge of which Sarah he is specifically supposed to find he vehemently searches in a phonebook and begins to kill every Sarah O’Conner he can find. Resse, a human soldier, also arrives in 1984 to warn Sarah that the Terminator is after her. When he finds her, he reveals that he is from the future and the great unsettling future that is ahead of her by means of Skynet. The unsettling future is that of Skynet (a form of AI) causing a nuclear holocaust between humans and machines. While telling her of such events he reveals that her own son: John is the only hope for humans. He spends the film trying to protect her from the Terminator in his efforts to 1) kill her so Reese cannot be born, and 2) (after Reese is born) track Sarah and Reese down to kill them both. While protecting Sarah and Reese he reveals different moments of the future to her, one being that he is in love with Sarah. Throughout the film the Terminator has many confrontations with Sarah and Reese. Towards the ending confrontation Reese sacrifices himself to destroy the cyborg, and Sarah finishes him off by crushing his robotic body by killing him in a hydraulic press. In the final scene Sarah is seen driving into the desert to protect her soon to be born son: John. 

Methods

        Science fiction portrays real and/or fictitious science and technology as a part of the theme, plot, and/or setting. Examples of science fiction are advanced science technology, forms of life other than humans, parallel universes, and time travel. In The Terminator all four of those are shown within the film. Advanced science technology: Skynet the AI that causes the impending war between humans and machines. Forms of life other than humans: the Terminator himself, since he is a machine, and the machines. Parallel universes: when Reese sees the photo of Sarah from John in the future, and when Reese describes the war going on between humans and machines. Time travel: when the Terminator and Reese travel from 2029 to 1984. This movie exaggerated the use of technology in our day-to-day life, and if we rely on technology to do everything for us. In 1984 things were different, they had innovations such as: fax machines, answering machines, floppy disks, pagers, cassette tapes, the rise of personal computers, etc. Today we have surpassed such technology in music streaming services, voicemail, laptops, etc. In the movie it had things such as surveillance, facial recognition, and tracking technology. We see this today in apps like Life360 and Find my iPhone, and in Face ID on phones. 

 

Results

This film is not accurate from scientists’ standpoint nor in the representation of science and technology. Skynet (AI) is inaccurate because it’s shown with the ability to make decisions beyond what the human programmed it to do. Further it is shown with the ability to make attacks without a human being behind the machine programming it to attack. This also pokes holes in the mannerisms of the Terminator. The advanced thinking and human behaviorism are not found in any robotics nor AI that is present in 2024. The whole autonomy of the Terminator is also widely inaccurate because cyborg technology does not exist in 2024 nor did it exist in 1984. There is no technology now that even remotely replicates how the Terminator looked in the film. The Terminator’s ability to self-repair after damage in the showdowns with Reese and Sarah is inaccurate. The weapons that were used in the movie are also inaccurate because nothing that the military systems around the world or in the U.S have are able to operate the way the killer drones and Terminator functioned. The biggest most inaccurate technological advancement in the movie is that of time travel. Scientists have not found ways to manipulate quantum mechanics to make such events happen. 

Discussions

The Terminator (1984) gives an exaggerated portrayal of what could happen if we allow technology to take over our lives. The movie focused on a cyborg trying to allow a war to happen between machines and humans. In order to do such, it had to kill the parent who was going to give birth to an offspring that would save humankind from such. As seen in the movie, the Terminator spent the entire movie chasing a human soldier sent to protect Sarah—who would give birth to John: the human savior.  This movie was made to show how advanced technology can become and what it can do to us. We believe that this movie was made as a warning to humans to show that we need to stop leaning on technology so much, because we don’t know how one day it can turn against our benefit. Even though in the 1980’s the AI system R1 was all that time has, we have AI systems like ChatGPT. This AI is severely decreasing the intelligence of children, due to their lack of using their brains and human thinking in school and daily life.

 

 

Introductory Letter

   Ibrahim Soliman          Professor Zayas     English 210     09/06/2024                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           My Voice      ... Read More "Introductory Letter"

Introductory Letter

   Ibrahim Soliman      

   Professor Zayas 

   English 210

    09/06/2024                                                                                                                

 

                                                    

                                                                                My Voice

     

    

         “ I can’t move my body!” is what I wanted to say when I broke my wrist at the park, but that is not what came out of my mouth. I was not able to make a sound to express my pain or ask for help. Speaking is something people take for granted, but I know I never will. I was unable to utter a word until I was eight. Even then, my vocabulary was limited in every language I knew. While I tried to be as clear as possible, no one could understand me. I listened to children my age chatting with one another, laughing and smiling. Their whole faces would turn red because of little silly jokes that I could not join in with my own quips. I didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy humor as a kid. Most of the time, I would feel out of place. My mother would cry of sadness, tears dripping from her eyes, worrying that her baby boy wouldn’t be able to lead a normal life. My father would put his arm around her to comfort her, saying, “Everything is going to be alright; let’s just give it time.” Naturally, as a young child, I had little understanding of how my silence affected my parents. I felt like I was the only one suffering because I couldn’t convey how I was feeling. My voice box felt as though it was blocked by a thick wall, as if my ability to speak had been chained up from birth. The only thing I had to offer was my smile. I visited my grandmother’s home during my winter break. She was a very kind old woman who spoke very few words. My mother and my grandmother were sitting on the floor making desserts. I was very excited to be at my grandmother’s home with all of my cousins so I was running around a lot. I ran all around her house until I bumped into a chair and hurt my head. The blood poured from my wound, staining my clothes and pooling around me on the cold, hard ground. Each moment felt like an eternity as I lay there, helpless and in excruciating pain. The world around me blurred as tears streamed down my cheeks, the fear of the unknown overwhelming me. In that moment, as I lay broken and bleeding, I felt utterly alone and vulnerable because I was unable to vocalize my pain or ask for help. All I wished for was to scream my moms name and ask for help but all I was able to do was cry until she heard me and took me to the hospital. This moment repeated itself multiple times throughout my childhood. There were moments where I felt pain or got my feelings hurt but was not able to communicate this since I was non-verbal. I felt trapped throughout my whole childhood and was not able to feel free until the speech therapy I was receiving came into play. I started communicating my feelings and thoughts regularly because it was the only thing I wished for as a kid. My mother woke me up one day, got me dressed, and held my hand. We walked outside and waited for the bus. Even though it was still early in the morning, the clouds started to part. The sun began to appear. The bus finally arrived, and we went inside and sat patiently. My mother tried talking to me, but I sat there silently. We got off the bus and entered a big building. The inside of the building was completely white. It felt like I was in a laboratory and about to be experimented on. A doctor greeted us and took us into a room. I was introduced to a woman wearing a white lab coat, and she looked at me with a big smile on her face. She shook my small, chubby hand and began to play games with me. At first, I thought she was annoying because she wanted me to repeat the same word over and over again. I began to see her every single week, right after school. It would be me and her in the room, and she would make me say different words each session that I had with her. It was very irritating because she was very persistent. It caused me to snap in one of our meetings. I remember that I felt upset and started to scream at her, “OLD OLD OLD OLD!!! Ok, I said it, leave me alone.” I was expecting her to be upset or angry, but it was the complete opposite. She was instead,very happy and crying tears of joy. She would hold both of my arms and say,” You have finally talked.” For the past 7 years, I have finally spoken my first word. Through intense behavior and speech therapy, I gained the proper speech skills. The moment I started speaking confidently, I made sure to express myself without fear in group settings. I take part in public speaking positions, such as communicating my thoughts and feelings to the best of my ability. With speech and behavior therapy, I gained many skills and was able to express myself. First, it started with hand movements, then it developed into words and phrases. Now my family and friends consider me to be the funniest person in their lives. I made my childhood dream of making others smile and being in on the laughter that comes with a joke come true. My voice and words impact people more than I can ever imagine. It puts a smile on my mother’s face, sometimes a frown on my sister’s face, and a grin on my best friend’s face. A person’s voice can educate people, save a life, and impact generations. I plan to treat people who have speech disorders by working as a speech pathologist in the future.

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