Alex Shoenfeld's Blog

I have just finished reading Alex's entire blog, and his project is fascinating. He is focused on the bystander effect: a topic that appears in our lives on a day to day basis. Besides for the common association of a 'bystander' with 'bullying', Alex points out that the bystander effect impacts us in many other different situations. A study he read showed that if one is in a room full of others, he or she is less likely to even stop personal endangerment. Reading Alex's blog made me realize that the bystander effect is way more powerful than I once believed it to be. I always applied it to one being afraid to stand up for others. I never thought that it could prevent one from standing up for themselves. This discovery of mine makes me interested in Alex's project and hopeful that he can teach people to take action. I think it is a good idea for him to give some sort of presentation, being that a long paper may not have as large of an impact on his readers/audience. The aspect that I think he should definitely have in his project is an experiment. The bystander effect is such a simple yet fascinating thing to investigate. Alex could set up some sort of experiment in Frisch or in his community and learn about certain trends in his world. I think he is headed in a good direction and I wish him luck.