Questões de Vestibular FAG 2019 para Vestibular, Segundo Semestre

    Entusiastas de tecnologia passaram a semana com os olhos voltados para uma exposição de novidades eletrônicas realizada recentemente nos Estados Unidos. Entre as inovações, estavam produtos relacionados a experiências de realidade virtual e à utilização de inteligência artificial — que hoje é um dos temas que mais desperta interesse em profissionais da área, tendo em vista a ampliação do uso desse tipo de tecnologia nos mais diversos segmentos.

    Mais do que prestar atenção às novidades lançadas no evento, vale refletir sobre o motivo que nos leva a uma ansiedade tão grande para consumir produtos que prometem inovação tecnológica. Por que tanta gente se dispõe a dormir em filas gigantescas só para ser um dos primeiros a comprar um novo modelo de smartphone? Por que nos dispomos a pagar cifras astronômicas para comprar aparelhos que não temos sequer certeza de que serão realmente úteis em nossas rotinas?

    A teoria de um neurocientista da Universidade de Oxford (Inglaterra) ajuda a explicar essa “corrida desenfreada” por novos gadgets. De modo geral, em nosso processo evolutivo como seres humanos, nosso cérebro aprendeu a suprir necessidades básicas para a sobrevivência e a perpetuação da espécie, tais como sexo, segurança e status social.

    Nesse sentido, a compra de uma novidade tecnológica atende a essa última necessidade citada: nós nos sentimos melhores e superiores, ainda que momentaneamente, quando surgimos em nossos círculos sociais com um produto que quase ninguém ainda possui.

    Foi realizado um estudo de mapeamento cerebral que mostrou que imagens de produtos tecnológicos ativavam partes do nosso cérebro idênticas às que são ativadas quando uma pessoa muito religiosa se depara com um objeto sagrado. Ou seja, não seria exagero dizer que o vício em novidades tecnológicas é quase uma religião para os mais entusiastas.

    O ato de seguir esse impulso cerebral e comprar o mais novo lançamento tecnológico dispara em nosso cérebro a liberação de um hormônio chamado dopamina, responsável por nos causar sensações de prazer. Ele é liberado quando nosso cérebro identifica algo que represente uma recompensa.

    O grande problema é que a busca excessiva por recompensas pode resultar em comportamentos impulsivos, que incluem vícios em jogos, apego excessivo a redes sociais e até mesmo alcoolismo. No caso do consumo, podemos observar a situação problematizada aqui: gasto excessivo de dinheiro em aparelhos eletrônicos que nem sempre trazem novidade –– as atualizações de modelos de smartphones, por exemplo, na maior parte das vezes apresentam poucas mudanças em relação ao modelo anterior, considerando-se seu preço elevado. Em outros casos, gasta-se uma quantia absurda em algum aparelho novo que não se sabe se terá tanta utilidade prática ou inovadora no cotidiano.

    No fim das contas, vale um lembrete que pode ajudar a conter os impulsos na hora de comprar um novo smartphone ou alguma novidade de mercado: compare o efeito momentâneo da dopamina com o impacto de imaginar como ficarão as faturas do seu cartão de crédito com a nova compra. O choque ao constatar o rombo em seu orçamento pode ser suficiente para que você decida pensar duas vezes a respeito da aquisição.

    ‘English is the global language.’ – A headline of this kind must have appeared in a thousand newspapers and magazines in recent years. ‘English Rules’ is an actual example, presenting to the world an uncomplicated scenario suggesting the universality of the language’s spread and the likelihood of its continuation. (…)

    These are the kinds of statement which seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. Of course English is a global language, they would say. You hear it on television spoken by politicians from all over the world. Wherever you travel, you see English signs and advertisements. Whenever you enter a hotel or restaurant in a foreign city, they will understand English, and there will be an English menu. (…)

    But English is news. The language continues to make news daily in many countries. And the headline isn’t stating the obvious. For what does it mean, exactly? Is it saying that everyone in the world speaks English? This is certainly not true, as we shall see. Is it saying, then, that every country in the world recognizes English as an offcial language? This is not true either. So what does it mean to say that a language is a global language? Why is English the language which is usually cited in this connection? How did the situation arise? And could it change? Or is it the case that, once a language becomes a global language, it is there forever?

    These are fascinating questions to explore, whether your frst language is English or not. If English is your mother tongue, you may have mixed feelings about the way English is spreading around the world. You may feel pride, that your language is the one which has been so successful; but your pride may be tinged with concern, when you realize that people in other countries may not want to use the language in the same way that you do, and are changing it to suit themselves. We are all sensitive to the way other people use (it is often said, abuse) ‘our’ language. Deeply held feelings of ownership begin to be questioned. Indeed, if there is one predictable consequence of a language becoming a global language, it is that nobody owns it any more. Or rather, everyone who has learned it now owns it – ‘has a share in it’ might be more accurate – and has the right to use it in the way they want. This fact alone makes many people feel uncomfortable, even vaguely resentful. ‘Look what the Americans have done to English’ is a not uncommon comment found in the letter-columns of the British press.

    But similar comments can be heard in the USA when people encounter the sometimes striking variations in English which are emerging all over the world. And if English is not your mother tongue, you may still have mixed feelings about it. You may be strongly motivated to learn it, because you know it will put you in touch with more people than any other language; but at the same time you know it will take a great deal of effort to master it, and you may begrudge that effort. Having made progress, you will feel pride in your achievement, and savour the communicative power you have at your disposal, but may none the less feel that mother-tongue speakers of English have an unfair advantage over you. (…)

    These feelings are natural, and would arise whichever language emerged as a global language. They are feelings which give rise to fears, whether real or imaginary, and fears lead to conflict. Language is always in the news, and the nearer a language moves to becoming a global language, the more newsworthy it is. So how does a language come to achieve global status?

    ‘English is the global language.’ – A headline of this kind must have appeared in a thousand newspapers and magazines in recent years. ‘English Rules’ is an actual example, presenting to the world an uncomplicated scenario suggesting the universality of the language’s spread and the likelihood of its continuation. (…)

    These are the kinds of statement which seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. Of course English is a global language, they would say. You hear it on television spoken by politicians from all over the world. Wherever you travel, you see English signs and advertisements. Whenever you enter a hotel or restaurant in a foreign city, they will understand English, and there will be an English menu. (…)

    But English is news. The language continues to make news daily in many countries. And the headline isn’t stating the obvious. For what does it mean, exactly? Is it saying that everyone in the world speaks English? This is certainly not true, as we shall see. Is it saying, then, that every country in the world recognizes English as an offcial language? This is not true either. So what does it mean to say that a language is a global language? Why is English the language which is usually cited in this connection? How did the situation arise? And could it change? Or is it the case that, once a language becomes a global language, it is there forever?

    These are fascinating questions to explore, whether your frst language is English or not. If English is your mother tongue, you may have mixed feelings about the way English is spreading around the world. You may feel pride, that your language is the one which has been so successful; but your pride may be tinged with concern, when you realize that people in other countries may not want to use the language in the same way that you do, and are changing it to suit themselves. We are all sensitive to the way other people use (it is often said, abuse) ‘our’ language. Deeply held feelings of ownership begin to be questioned. Indeed, if there is one predictable consequence of a language becoming a global language, it is that nobody owns it any more. Or rather, everyone who has learned it now owns it – ‘has a share in it’ might be more accurate – and has the right to use it in the way they want. This fact alone makes many people feel uncomfortable, even vaguely resentful. ‘Look what the Americans have done to English’ is a not uncommon comment found in the letter-columns of the British press.

    But similar comments can be heard in the USA when people encounter the sometimes striking variations in English which are emerging all over the world. And if English is not your mother tongue, you may still have mixed feelings about it. You may be strongly motivated to learn it, because you know it will put you in touch with more people than any other language; but at the same time you know it will take a great deal of effort to master it, and you may begrudge that effort. Having made progress, you will feel pride in your achievement, and savour the communicative power you have at your disposal, but may none the less feel that mother-tongue speakers of English have an unfair advantage over you. (…)

    These feelings are natural, and would arise whichever language emerged as a global language. They are feelings which give rise to fears, whether real or imaginary, and fears lead to conflict. Language is always in the news, and the nearer a language moves to becoming a global language, the more newsworthy it is. So how does a language come to achieve global status?