Wednesday, March 18, 2020

LIsbon essays

LIsbon essays The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake and Candide In 1755, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale occurred in Lisbon, Portugal, changing European history and philosophy. But how does one geologic event trigger a paradigm shift from naturalism to liberalism Naturalism unites with rationalism during the Age of Enlightenment, a philosophical movement during the 18th century, which rejects traditional social, religious and political ideas with an emphasis on rationalism. People believe in a world, which follows logical rules, where reason can be used to discover and implement a perfect society. The earthquake in Lisbon shook the very foundation of their beliefs. The Age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason is characterized with a belief in natural law, universal order and the confidence of human reason in the 18th century. Organized religions like Christianity became the enemies of the "enlightened ones and Voltaire created the slogan, Erasez Iinfame!, meaning Wipe it out! Wipe out the infamous thing! i.e. the church of the old order. His influence popularized the ideals of the age. In Candide, Voltaire expresses his philosophy through his characters that embody different ideals of Enlightenment. For example, Candide represents the ludicracy of total optimism. The religious satire of Candide criticizes the traditional dogma. One of the major proponents of the Enlightenment is that individuals have to take control of their own lives which is what Candide finally does after the earthquake. His character growth is based upon the destruction of the world around him. The devastating earthquake of 1755 in Lisbon killed about 30,000 people in a matter of three and a half minutes. Many were killed because they were packed into the citys churches in celebration of All Saints Day; the heavy roofs of the church collapsed on top of them. Also, the candles that were burning at the time started a huge ...

Monday, March 2, 2020

How to Think like a Hiring Manager and Get the Job

How to Think like a Hiring Manager and Get the Job When you’re interviewing for a new job, the odds are in your favor if you can rely on a referral from a mutual friend or a big-name former employer. If that’s not the case, you’re going in to a situation where you’ll need to sell yourself. Hiring managers are often misled by their personal biases- and learning to stack the deck in your favor can pay off when it comes time to get hired!Keep the following in mind if you’re gearing up for an important interview:We tend to think positively about people who we think are like us.What can you find out about the company culture or even the hiring manager in particular to help you demonstrate interests they may share?We tend to view those different from us negatively, even if we need someone with very different skills.While it’s good to be yourself in an interview, it’s only common sense to downplay any fringe interests or edgy personal style features- for example, hide visible tattoos or pierc ings until you’re sure the office culture is receptive to them.First impressions count.â€Å"The halo effect† and its opposite (â€Å"the pitchfork effect,† maybe?) is what happens when we find one quality we like in a person and assume that the rest of their unknown qualities are probably just as good (or as a bad, if we focus on a quality we don’t like).If you make a great impression with one area of experience or personality trait, the interviewer may give you the benefit of the doubt in areas where they know less about you! (The flip side is of course that one bad impression may color their whole perception of you just as easily.)People  make subconscious assumptions.Try as you might, you won’t know what traits will ping a hiring manager’s radar. It could be your college, your  last company, your hometown, the teams you  support, or the stores you visit. Keep an eye out for what you might mention, but always always  be genuine. E veryone can spot a fake.Living and working in New York, I have had to become as cautious about disclosing sports affiliations as most people are about politics, religion, and money! But when I’m lucky enough to encounter a fellow Mets fan or a member of my alumni association, I play that up like nobody’s business- don’t be shy about school/team/town name-dropping, just avoid coming across like The Office‘s  Andy Bernard and trying to mirror everyone’s experience with your own!