The Average Human

                                                 “The Average Human”

The Average Human

Consider “The Average Human” to be the adult millennial child of the economic man. 

As we all know, humans have their minds consumed by many different things at once. 

Unlike the economic man, the average human has incentives other than money. The average human has children, pets, needs, and even wants. Like Raworth says in chapter 3 of Doughnut Economics “A new economic self-portrait must reflect the way that we see humanity’s place in the world.” This includes, as much as people may not want to admit, nonessential spending. According to USA Today, “the average adult in the USA spends $1,497 a month on nonessential items.” That is 26% of the average American’s monthly salary according to ZipRecruiter.

I believe that economics needs to be reformed to think about its participants in a way that is realistic and not hypothetical. Others have found fault with the “the economic man” idea. At a panel of economists, David Eastburn said, “I see this conflict not only within society but also within individuals.- Economic Man is at war with Social Man.” 

He also made a T-chart that showed the differences between the economic man and the social man (or the average human). His T-chart represents the stark difference of what the two models would prioritize and in turn what will influence them in the economy. For example, the economic man would rather produce goods and services quickly and in great amounts; where the average human would rather make a quality product that may have taken more time and care. 

The economic man	The social man (The average human)
Production	Distribution
Quantity	Quality
Goods and services	People
Money Values	Human Values
Work and discipline	Self-realization
Competition	Cooperation

 

This T-chart represents the stark difference of what the two models would prioritize and in turn what will influence them in the economy. The average human model should replace the economic man model because if we change the rigid model the people who do not fit the mold could be better suited in the economy. 

Citations 

Backman, Maurie. “You Don't Need That: Average American Spends Almost $18,000 a Year on Nonessentials.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 7 May 2019,

“Q: How Much Do Average Jobs Pay per Month in 2020?” ZipRecruiter

Raworth, Kate. Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. Random House Business Books, 2017. 

Thought Bubble by Alex Muravev from the Noun Project

Person by Valerie Lamm from the Noun Project

GifterBot 1.0

 Hello and welcome to my second AP for my class Computer Science. In Computer Science we have been learning the coding language Python. In this action project we were asked to look at a popular online chatbot, then make one of our own. For my chatbot, I decided to implement a cool fashion element that allows you to receive a "gift" from the chatbot. 

In the end, I really enjoyed this AP  and this class in general. I found it very compelling to explore and learn this coding language and I hope I will have the chance to use it again. I am very proud of the work that I did in this project and I wouldn't do it any differently if I had more time. 

The Meaning of Life

 Hello and welcome to the second action project in my senior humanities class, Journalism. In this unit, we have been looking at photojournalism and the ethics behind it. We had many class discussions about dilemmas when photographing intense and negative situations. We also learned about Sebastiao Salgado a photojournalist who focuses on climate change. For this AP, we were asked to choose a person in our life and interview them about their ideas of the meaning of life. We were also asked to conduct a photoshoot using the skills we learned like changing aperture, the rule of thirds, and focus. I hope you enjoy this action project 

Throughout my life, I have always questioned my beliefs and have constantly changed my ideas based on what I have experienced in the world. I have struggled (like most) with controlling my ego and working to better myself as a person. When I’m questioning I often ask myself what is my goal or what is my meaning of life. So, I asked one of my friends. 

Shanet is a senior and loves to paint and create art that represents her Puerto Rican heritage. For as long as I have known Shanet, she has had a very personal relationship with God. We met up on an unusually warm November day, and we laughed and talked as friends do. When Shanet and I hang out, we usually do photoshoots, so this time was not odd. We sat on the bench of a local park, and I asked her, “What is the meaning of life?” She pauses and giggles. It takes a while for her to respond, but when she does, she says, “The meaning of life is selfless and intentionally doing what we are called to do-- if what we do at any moment is good, we are glorifying God.” We both sat with this statement for a while. Usually, when it comes to talking about religion with my other friends, the conversation can be awkward. However, Shanet never judges; she always has a friendly and graceful disposition that makes me more open to chat. “Everything that we have here is temporary. Living with an eternal mindset and setting our eyes on God is how we should be living.”

Our conversation lulled and we decided to take our first set of pictures. We moved to the top of a small hill that was perfectly lit with sunlight. The air was perfectly warm, but also still, and the world around us was silent. I thought it was the perfect atmosphere to take these pictures to go along with such a mindful and grounding conversation.

TN "SR" 2020

I feel that this picture perfectly depicts the stillness and the peacefulness of this day. The aperture (which is called f-stop on my camera) was set to a low setting, and the shutter speed was also at a low value. I made sure to place my subject in the left of the frame which means she is only taking up ⅓ of the frame. I also used a special lens that allows me to take beautiful portraits by hyper-focusing on my subject and blurring the background. You can see the effects of the low aperture because the picture is darker than usual. I like this setting because it brings a certain mood to the image. This “moodiness” allows the viewer to really get a good feeling of how the atmosphere felt on the day. I took this photo subjectively because I knew exactly what I wanted to portray in this photo and how I wanted it to be. I told Shanet where to stand so this means that my own opinions of what looked good influenced my photography.


At the end of the photoshoot, we packed up all of our belongings and got in my car. As I drove, I asked her what advice she had for people who are questioning their beliefs. She quickly responded, “I’d say explore them! Don’t be afraid to not understand things.” I asked her to elaborate on that. “ Well, find a community of people that you can trust and can help guide you and answer your questions.” She went on about how it takes a lot of time to feel secure with your beliefs,, and then she recalled a time when she was questioning. “I felt discouraged and doubtful but then I realized that it’s normal and everyone goes through it. Everyone struggles and everyone has this process of revival.”


On the drive home, I went through everything we talked about in my head. The last thing Shanet said that stuck with me was, “Something that I tell myself when I am going through something is that what I go through or what I am currently experiencing doesn’t matter. What matters is that I continue to seek out my relationship with God, I will be okay.” I think about this quote often because even if someone doesn’t believe in God, they can still look towards whatever grounds them and allows them to feel at peace.

TN "SR Field" 2020