ECON371/UBCO2024WT1/CadenTuson/ReflectionOne

When I first came into this class, I only had a basic understand of economics (learned from ECON 101/102), and some experience working with and researching the environment and sustainability. I was firmly of the opinion that the environment should be protected at all costs, and sustainability should always be promoted when it came to any policy. However, as the first half of the term progressed, my opinions began to change. I've come to realize that the topic of economics and the environment isn't as simple as protect the environment at all costs. This course has taught me that a lot goes into economic decisions, and how to assess the costs of a given situation.

I've come to appreciate the nuances of considering the real world costs of economic decisions, and thinking outside the typical assumptions that economists make.

I am very much looking forward to the second half of the term and what we are going to cover.

Prof: I was hoping for your exploration of one or two of those nuances.

Reflection 2 (End of the term):

This class has had a significant impact on the way I view economics, and has even had a small impact on my worldview. I really appreciated that the main focus was less on the numbers and more on the political, ethical, and decision making involved with economics. every day when I came to class, I was always looking forward to seeing what conversations would arise from the topic of the day, and adding my contributions to the discussion. The Iclickers were also interesting, and was shocking to see some issues where I wasn't in the majority of the class consensus on a given problem or topic. As strange as it sounds, it was very refreshing to discuss issues that made me apprehensive and even uncomfortable, as it would often lead to fresh perspectives I had never considered before and forced me to think about things I otherwise try to avoid. I'm usually not one to discuss current day politics and news, as I avoid news outlets as they often focus on more depressing or disturbing topics to get people to watch/click the article, and the current trainwreck that has been American politics for the last 8 years tends to either stress me out, or just leave me incredibly disappointed (I still don't know enough about Canadian politics to speak on the matter). However, by discussing these topics in class through the lens of economics, I was reminded of the importance that both of those subjects had, and why I still might not actively seek out discussing politics in day to day conversation, it has encouraged me to at least be more aware of the current happenings around the world, even if the issue at hand involves something I have no control over whatsoever. It was also kind of fun (although sometimes very difficult) doing research for the wikis by looking at different news stories. I definitely have a long way to go in terms of improving at interpreting articles, as it's something I wasn't amazing at before, and I am definitely still out of practice now. This is something I want to continue to practice some more after this course is done, as I now believe it is a very important skill to have when it comes to understanding the economics of today and the recent past, and very helpful when it comes to making educated economic decisions in the future.

The scenarios I enjoyed going over the most in class were the ones that don't exactly have a right answer or comfortable solution that would satisfy everyone. I tend to see things as one way or the other, and it's difficult for me to think about gray areas when it comes to most things. The situations that were presented in class often forced me outside of my mental comfort zone, leading to me even questioning or sometimes even changing my opinion on certain topics. For example, one I think about a lot is my stance on certain environmental subjects such as harvesting trees as a resource to help build more homes. On one hand, doing so would be to the benefit of people, but it destroys the habitat in which the local wildlife resides. Before this class, I was more inclined to side with the environmental side, as I believe it is the duty of humankind to protect the beautiful world we live in, and all the creatures that reside in it. However, throughout the semester, I slowly came to the conclusion that humanity, being above other living things, should be prioritized first, and sometimes that means sacrificing some of the environment in the process. That doesn't mean I'm simply of the opinion that humanity should do whatever it wants to its benefit though, and I still think there's a lot of issues with the current way things are handled, as not all the decisions being made are fairly and accurate to what the public reception is on the subject. One opinion I have stood to and was reinforced by the course was that climate change is an incredibly serious issue that is more urgent than it appears, and to say that we aren't doing enough to stop climate change would be an extremely generous way of describing humanity's current efforts against it.

Besides what I mentioned already, one of the main takeaways I have from this class is to be more open-minded and willing to hear different opinions on complex ethical issues, and not just ones that involve economics. While I would have claimed to be open to a change of perspective on issues and willing to hear contrasting opinions to my own, throughout the course I realized that I had a subconscious bias to only be open to change in subjects I actively have an evolving opinion on, and while I would listen to other perspectives, I would often dismiss it without much thought if I felt strongly about the subject, instead of trying to think of it from a different point of view. This class has taught me how to look at things from a less biased point of view, considering the pros and cons of each way of tackling an issue, and has made me more aware of subjects I am bias towards my opinion on and have to get past that bias. Sometimes my opinion might not change, but I have found that I changed my point of view on much more economic and environmental issues than I would have expected. I hope to take this new mindset and not only apply it to my future economics classes, but to anytime I find myself in the situation where I strongly stand by an opinion, where I could use an open mind the most.

Prof: Thanks. Doom-scrolling the latest info from various news sites can be depressing. Sucks up some of my time every day!

We all have biases. The trick is to be aware of them so that they don't master us. Sounds like to you are building that awareness!