Sunday, December 14, 2008
Semester Reflection
Over the past semester, for the most part I am really satisfied with the work I have produced; mainly the essays which I have written. Some parts that I wish I would have taken more time on are the creative pieces like Activity II. I feel when it comes to writing essays though; I take pride in my compositions. Before COMP 106 I would never like anyone to read my papers because I didn’t feel like they were worthy of representing me. Though the work I have produced over the past semester I am very proud of. Of course, as I look back at the pieces I put out I find that there is still many things I can revise, but isn’t that what it always is, a composition is never perfect; there are always changes to be made. The one piece that I would really like to revise is the reflection of my Module I visual advocacy project, I read the directions completely wrong and it hurt my grade quite much. The actual project I produced was good, but the reflection was my biggest shortcoming. I wish I could go back and re-do the whole piece. Another piece which I would love to revise is the Module III article summaries. I would like to organize my ideas better, and correct many things to make the paper more fluent. I feel like I could do a much better job in that. My favorite assignment was the Module II, where we created an experiment, wrote an essay, and created questions. I liked how there were 3 parts to it, and I feel like I did a great job writing the paper. Overall, this has been my favorite English class, and the one I feel I have done the best in. I feel Professor Yerks did an adequate job telling me what my shortcomings are, and her advice was very helpful. Not to mention she gave me great compliments which were major confidence boosters. As for this blog, I’ll be honest I’ve never been much of a person to keep a journal, let alone a public journal. Perhaps I shall use this as an outlet when I want to express anger, or something that just rattles my cage. As for things more personal, I will keep to myself.
Microserfs reading response
Joseph Fenner
Comp 106
Professor Yerks
14 December 2008
Karla says, "computers will continue to be developed . . . an 'entity is going to be created that has its own intelligence." What is Karla saying about artificial intelligence (AI)? What are your perspectives on AI?:
Karla is stating her belief that an “entity” will be created, and that it is not a matter of “if” it will be created, but more a matter of when will it be created. This entity will have its own intelligence, meaning that it is its own being, it will not need a human to operate it, nor will it need a human to reproduce; including the AIers’ current goal of mimicking evolution through cross-breeding of programs to develop intelligence, or as previously referred to as, an “entity.” Then Karla raises the question of “Will this Entity be something other than human?”(Coupland 34) Which shows her belief that it will be something other than human; perhaps a brand a new species. Daniel states, “…What else will the Entity be? It will have spring from our own brains,” (Coupland 34) which I disagree with.
I think that this question is very much similar to presentation by Kevin Kelly, “Predicting the next 5000 days of the web.” As he states the internet is already approximately the equivalent of the human mind, yet it is still controlled by humans. Kelly also says that by the year 2040 the web will exceed humanity in processing power. I feel that this “entity”, having sprung from human minds, will be able to mimic human actions, and to an extent human emotions. I think it’s possible to create many scenarios for the entity to react with the proper emotion, but I still feel that it will still be insensitive and immoral; making decisions based on efficiency rather that morality. In fact it actually scares me to think that we will create an entity, which once created, will be able to handle reproduction and self management. So, in my mind, we will just be creating a species on the same level if not better than us to which we must compete with. We depend on computers for many things, but if we create a totally independent “entity,” one must question, what will it need us for? Considering that sometime in the soon future we may be second to this “entity” strikes some fear into my mind.
Why do you think Coupland's characters speak in computer jargon, and use technical expressions to describe their lives and environment? How does this compare to your experiences of the workplace and home? What effect does this way of speaking have on others?:
As Daniel mentions many times, everyone at Microsoft lives the same life, they are all approximately 31.2 years old, all drive grey sedans, etc., so they all live the same live the same lives. Not to mention nearly all the characters in the book all worked at Microsoft, Apple, or some other major computer corporation, so they are all familiar with this jargon that is used. Since the characters are pretty much always with their co-workers they never find themselves leaving the state of mind, or environment to a place where this jargon is uncommon or inappropriate.
I work at St. Mary Mercy Hospital, and as you common on televisions, there is a wide range of hospital jargon and acronyms which while at work, or even with co-workers outside of work I still find myself using. Though once I leave work I tend to turn this jargon off and not use it at home because there isn’t a point, it’s a different world. Though in Microserfs, the characters are always with their co-workers and always in work mode, so they never do turn that jargon off.
When speaking this jargon in front of others, particularly those who are not familiar with it, you find it can be at times rude. Being that I am a PCA (Patient Care Associate) at the hospital I notice the doctors using hospital jargon when speaking to patients or their family. Although they are actively listening to the doctor, they do not understand everything they are being told, yet they still nod and pretend to understand. After the doctor leaves I often notice the same dumbfounded look on most people’s faces, so I politely ask, “would you like me to break that down for you?” In most cases the family, or patient, respond with a yes. So what I’ve concluded is the “nodding” process, is really just the people omitting what they don’t understand. This is something I found myself doing when reading Microserfs, if I didn’t understand the jargon, I found it made no sense to me, therefore subconsciously decided it served no purpose to me and found myself, skimming and omitting sections where this computer jargon was present.
What perspectives does Coupland have on big corporations, the workplace and the towns in which they are situated? How does this compare to your own experiences and perspectives?:
Douglas Coupland has many perspectives about big corporations. These perspectives are portrayed directly through the characters he has created. Such as the fact that all the characters display the same features shows his perspective that at major corporations most employees fit the same criterion. Then he pointed out that not only are all the employees the same, but so are all the big corporations in the competitive market. This is evident on page 121 of Microserfs, when Daniel creates a comparison chart between Apple and Microsoft after Anatole states "Apple is Microsoft!!!" As you look at the items listed on the chart, you notice they are very similar, just competing with each other. So it brings forth the idea that rivals are usually rivals because of their close similarities.
Coupland even expresses one of his perspectives on lying off employees through Karla when Daniel's dad gets fired from IBM. Karla comforts Daniel by explaining that presently people who are "fiftysomethings" get treated in major corporations like they were treated centuries ago, as if they were dead. Though she feels this is because those in the fiftysomething's category are a little slow at accepting technology, but feels this trend will dissipate shortly. So basically Coupland's perspective is that these older people get fired because they are considered obsolete compared to those fresh, young minds entering the job market (Coupland 23). Given that this book was written 12 years ago, in 1996, I feel as if that trend has passed. As for the trend about major corporations being nearly identical, I picture this being true. When i used to work at an auto dealership, I would notice the similarities not only between our sister dealerships, but also our competitors. Such as there were all service advisors, service porters, technicians, all serving the same purpose at every dealership. Really the only difference was the uniforms, or the logo on the dealership.
Works Cited
Coupland, Douglas. Microserfs. New York, 1996. HarperCollinsPublishers.
Kelly, Kevin. “Predicting the next 5000 days of the web.” EG 2007 Conference. December 2007.
Comp 106
Professor Yerks
14 December 2008
Karla says, "computers will continue to be developed . . . an 'entity is going to be created that has its own intelligence." What is Karla saying about artificial intelligence (AI)? What are your perspectives on AI?:
Karla is stating her belief that an “entity” will be created, and that it is not a matter of “if” it will be created, but more a matter of when will it be created. This entity will have its own intelligence, meaning that it is its own being, it will not need a human to operate it, nor will it need a human to reproduce; including the AIers’ current goal of mimicking evolution through cross-breeding of programs to develop intelligence, or as previously referred to as, an “entity.” Then Karla raises the question of “Will this Entity be something other than human?”(Coupland 34) Which shows her belief that it will be something other than human; perhaps a brand a new species. Daniel states, “…What else will the Entity be? It will have spring from our own brains,” (Coupland 34) which I disagree with.
I think that this question is very much similar to presentation by Kevin Kelly, “Predicting the next 5000 days of the web.” As he states the internet is already approximately the equivalent of the human mind, yet it is still controlled by humans. Kelly also says that by the year 2040 the web will exceed humanity in processing power. I feel that this “entity”, having sprung from human minds, will be able to mimic human actions, and to an extent human emotions. I think it’s possible to create many scenarios for the entity to react with the proper emotion, but I still feel that it will still be insensitive and immoral; making decisions based on efficiency rather that morality. In fact it actually scares me to think that we will create an entity, which once created, will be able to handle reproduction and self management. So, in my mind, we will just be creating a species on the same level if not better than us to which we must compete with. We depend on computers for many things, but if we create a totally independent “entity,” one must question, what will it need us for? Considering that sometime in the soon future we may be second to this “entity” strikes some fear into my mind.
Why do you think Coupland's characters speak in computer jargon, and use technical expressions to describe their lives and environment? How does this compare to your experiences of the workplace and home? What effect does this way of speaking have on others?:
As Daniel mentions many times, everyone at Microsoft lives the same life, they are all approximately 31.2 years old, all drive grey sedans, etc., so they all live the same live the same lives. Not to mention nearly all the characters in the book all worked at Microsoft, Apple, or some other major computer corporation, so they are all familiar with this jargon that is used. Since the characters are pretty much always with their co-workers they never find themselves leaving the state of mind, or environment to a place where this jargon is uncommon or inappropriate.
I work at St. Mary Mercy Hospital, and as you common on televisions, there is a wide range of hospital jargon and acronyms which while at work, or even with co-workers outside of work I still find myself using. Though once I leave work I tend to turn this jargon off and not use it at home because there isn’t a point, it’s a different world. Though in Microserfs, the characters are always with their co-workers and always in work mode, so they never do turn that jargon off.
When speaking this jargon in front of others, particularly those who are not familiar with it, you find it can be at times rude. Being that I am a PCA (Patient Care Associate) at the hospital I notice the doctors using hospital jargon when speaking to patients or their family. Although they are actively listening to the doctor, they do not understand everything they are being told, yet they still nod and pretend to understand. After the doctor leaves I often notice the same dumbfounded look on most people’s faces, so I politely ask, “would you like me to break that down for you?” In most cases the family, or patient, respond with a yes. So what I’ve concluded is the “nodding” process, is really just the people omitting what they don’t understand. This is something I found myself doing when reading Microserfs, if I didn’t understand the jargon, I found it made no sense to me, therefore subconsciously decided it served no purpose to me and found myself, skimming and omitting sections where this computer jargon was present.
What perspectives does Coupland have on big corporations, the workplace and the towns in which they are situated? How does this compare to your own experiences and perspectives?:
Douglas Coupland has many perspectives about big corporations. These perspectives are portrayed directly through the characters he has created. Such as the fact that all the characters display the same features shows his perspective that at major corporations most employees fit the same criterion. Then he pointed out that not only are all the employees the same, but so are all the big corporations in the competitive market. This is evident on page 121 of Microserfs, when Daniel creates a comparison chart between Apple and Microsoft after Anatole states "Apple is Microsoft!!!" As you look at the items listed on the chart, you notice they are very similar, just competing with each other. So it brings forth the idea that rivals are usually rivals because of their close similarities.
Coupland even expresses one of his perspectives on lying off employees through Karla when Daniel's dad gets fired from IBM. Karla comforts Daniel by explaining that presently people who are "fiftysomethings" get treated in major corporations like they were treated centuries ago, as if they were dead. Though she feels this is because those in the fiftysomething's category are a little slow at accepting technology, but feels this trend will dissipate shortly. So basically Coupland's perspective is that these older people get fired because they are considered obsolete compared to those fresh, young minds entering the job market (Coupland 23). Given that this book was written 12 years ago, in 1996, I feel as if that trend has passed. As for the trend about major corporations being nearly identical, I picture this being true. When i used to work at an auto dealership, I would notice the similarities not only between our sister dealerships, but also our competitors. Such as there were all service advisors, service porters, technicians, all serving the same purpose at every dealership. Really the only difference was the uniforms, or the logo on the dealership.
Works Cited
Coupland, Douglas. Microserfs. New York, 1996. HarperCollinsPublishers.
Kelly, Kevin. “Predicting the next 5000 days of the web.” EG 2007 Conference. December 2007.
Module III article summaries
Joseph Fenner
Comp 106
Professor Yerks
16 November 2008
Wisdom
“The quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight,” as defined by Dictionary.com Unabridged. Wisdom is something which is developed over time in most people and is usually not evident till the later stages of one’s life. One is to question how does this develop, what conditions facilitate the development of wisdom, which conditions do not?
Professor Thao N. Le, of Colorado State University, believes there are two main things which provide means to developing wisdom, cultural values and life experiences. His study particularly, “…explores and extends the discussion of life crises on wisdom, specifically, the extent to which different life crises are related to wisdom, and are moderated by values for older adults” (Le 260). Le believes there are two types of wisdom, practical, which entails knowledge and understanding about human nature, and the ability to provide judgment and solve complex human problems, and transcendent, which entails knowledge, insight, and understanding about existential dilemmas and the nature of being. Practical tends to results in historical, interpretive kinds of knowledge, whereas transcendent wisdom reflects emancipator interests. The types of life experiences to be examined are those which are considered stressful or negative, and positive life experiences. Professor Thao Le conducted a study which one hundred ninety-nine participants, half European and half Vietnamese American, took part in one and half hour interview assessing their wisdom and values. When referring to values Le pays particular attention to two factors, openness to change and self-enhancement, and conservation value, values centered toward security and safety needs. The study provided evidence showed that the stressful experiences which people face throughout life may have negative effects, but also facilitate a positive effect on wisdom. It also showed a correlation between stressful experiences and development of wisdom. This is because individuals change from these experiences, they gain knowledge to foresee any reoccurrence, and they also gain the skills to deal with similar situations. This is a process of growth towards a wholesome individual; similar to the ideal of learning from one’s mistakes. These result in the two different types of values mentioned above. Dependence of which type of value is created is on what types of experiences are faced, macro social/war, family, health, etc.
The next article to be explored is one by Professor Robert Sternberg titled, “What is wisdom and how can we develop it?” In this article he defines wisdom and explains a new idea on how to promote its development. Sternberg explains that wisdom is not something necessarily connected to intelligence and even states that intelligence often comes with qualities such as egocentrism, omniscience, omnipotence, and invulnerability. Intelligence with such things can evolve into using ones knowledge for bad purpose, such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin did, both were intelligent beings, just used their intelligence in the wrong way. While knowledge integrated with wisdom, or even wisdom on its own provides actions for the common good. Sternberg makes the point that wisdom is the integration of intelligence and experience, therefore supporting Thao Le’s idea’s previously stated. Professor Sternberg believes that wisdom is the ability to use this intelligence and experience to appropriately balance, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and extrapersonal interests over short and long term periods of time and facilitate “adaptation to existing environments, shaping of existing environments, and selection of new environments” (Sternberg 165). Sternberg then continues to provide a plan to integrate the teaching of wisdom into primary schools in order for individuals to be taught this concept at a young age. Doing so would teach students to balance their life, and make better decisions, thus allowing students to develop somewhat of an artificial wisdom whereas they don’t need to face such negative experiences to develop their wisdom.
Doctor Paul Wong proposes his own definition of wisdom, “Wisdom may be defined as a special gift or ability to see clearly, discern correctly, understand deeply, and judge appropriately. It is based on the humility and openness to listen and learn from unlikely sources, including the mouth of a child and the whisper of a dying man. It involves the courage to be true to oneself, to do what is right and to achieve maximum good in spite of situational constraints and personal dangers. As a spiritual gift, it is to be received with humility and gratitude; as a human ability, cultivated with diligence; and as a character of authenticity and courage, practiced consistently.” I feel this is a great definition as it provides examples to what wisdom is, showing applications to one’s life. Dr. Wong also mentions Anne Frank, and provides an example of a passage from her diary, the passage depicts great maturity for a thirteen year old, and Dr. Wong justifies this by concluding that her quick development is due to the many hardships faces in short period of time. Dr. Wong feels there are 3 different examples to which wisdom is acquired, the first entails grasping of the concept with little to none help; usually common in rare cases with intelligent individuals. The next is acquired through mentors or teachers who instill their wisdom on one, and the last is defined as “learning things the hard way,” through trial and error, and negative experiences. Wisdom is often spiritual and taught traditionally through religious books, such as the Koran, Bible, and books of proverbs. Dr. Wong also provides two lists, one which provides profiles of people who are wise and another which provides portraits of intellectual fools, those who are smart but not wise. He also makes the point that it is much easier to find “fools’ paradise” than it is to find wisdom, but often the pursuance of wisdom keeps you away from the wrong path. Dr. Wong holds a common phrase which he passes to all his patients, “wisdom is the touchstone of character rather than intellect.”
Even though I am only nineteen years old as I look at my own development of the past decade I can see the many steps I have taken towards developing wisdom. I have had many negative experiences as Professor Le mentioned promote development. Take for example when I was 17 I got into an accident which was my fault. I had rear ended someone because I was not paying attention while driving. I learned from that experience and now devote my all my attention to driving when I am in the car. When I was 13 I used to fight a lot with my parents, through their parenting, I learned that talking thing out in a calm manor is much more efficient and polite than arguing. These are examples of learning wisdom through experiences. While on vacation in Peru I went with a teacher from high school that seemed to possess infinite wisdom. While on this vacation I took into account all the wisdom he showed through his actions and all the wisdom he passed through direct dialogue. This is an example of learning wisdom from a mentor as mentioned by Dr. Wong.
All three articles provide insight on the concept of wisdom, while Professor Le offers clarification on what causes the development of wisdom, life experiences, and what they result in, different values. Professor Sternberg defines wisdom as a balance through is proposition of a balance theory. I feel this is a great example because it elaborates on having all the intelligence but dividing it into a balance which promotes a common good for all. Doctor Wong shows wisdom is something that is spiritual and over very rarely learned without some form of teaching. With these ideas in mind I question, what sort of wisdom will we develop from the macro social crises, America’s economic problem, at hand?
References
Paul T. P. Wong. “Practical Wisdoms for Flourishing in Difficult Situations.” (n.d) Retrieved 8 November 2008 from < www.meaning.ca/archives/presidents_columns/pdfs/wisdom- june05.pdf>
Robert J Sternberg. "What is wisdom and how can we develop it? " Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 591.(2004): 164-174. Research Library. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 8 Nov. 2008
Thao N. Le, “Cultural Values, Life Experiences, and Wisdom.” The Internation Journal of Aging and Human Development. Voume 66, Number 4. (2008): 259-281. Research Library. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 6 Nov. 2008
"wisdom." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 16 Nov. 2008..
Comp 106
Professor Yerks
16 November 2008
Wisdom
“The quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight,” as defined by Dictionary.com Unabridged. Wisdom is something which is developed over time in most people and is usually not evident till the later stages of one’s life. One is to question how does this develop, what conditions facilitate the development of wisdom, which conditions do not?
Professor Thao N. Le, of Colorado State University, believes there are two main things which provide means to developing wisdom, cultural values and life experiences. His study particularly, “…explores and extends the discussion of life crises on wisdom, specifically, the extent to which different life crises are related to wisdom, and are moderated by values for older adults” (Le 260). Le believes there are two types of wisdom, practical, which entails knowledge and understanding about human nature, and the ability to provide judgment and solve complex human problems, and transcendent, which entails knowledge, insight, and understanding about existential dilemmas and the nature of being. Practical tends to results in historical, interpretive kinds of knowledge, whereas transcendent wisdom reflects emancipator interests. The types of life experiences to be examined are those which are considered stressful or negative, and positive life experiences. Professor Thao Le conducted a study which one hundred ninety-nine participants, half European and half Vietnamese American, took part in one and half hour interview assessing their wisdom and values. When referring to values Le pays particular attention to two factors, openness to change and self-enhancement, and conservation value, values centered toward security and safety needs. The study provided evidence showed that the stressful experiences which people face throughout life may have negative effects, but also facilitate a positive effect on wisdom. It also showed a correlation between stressful experiences and development of wisdom. This is because individuals change from these experiences, they gain knowledge to foresee any reoccurrence, and they also gain the skills to deal with similar situations. This is a process of growth towards a wholesome individual; similar to the ideal of learning from one’s mistakes. These result in the two different types of values mentioned above. Dependence of which type of value is created is on what types of experiences are faced, macro social/war, family, health, etc.
The next article to be explored is one by Professor Robert Sternberg titled, “What is wisdom and how can we develop it?” In this article he defines wisdom and explains a new idea on how to promote its development. Sternberg explains that wisdom is not something necessarily connected to intelligence and even states that intelligence often comes with qualities such as egocentrism, omniscience, omnipotence, and invulnerability. Intelligence with such things can evolve into using ones knowledge for bad purpose, such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin did, both were intelligent beings, just used their intelligence in the wrong way. While knowledge integrated with wisdom, or even wisdom on its own provides actions for the common good. Sternberg makes the point that wisdom is the integration of intelligence and experience, therefore supporting Thao Le’s idea’s previously stated. Professor Sternberg believes that wisdom is the ability to use this intelligence and experience to appropriately balance, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and extrapersonal interests over short and long term periods of time and facilitate “adaptation to existing environments, shaping of existing environments, and selection of new environments” (Sternberg 165). Sternberg then continues to provide a plan to integrate the teaching of wisdom into primary schools in order for individuals to be taught this concept at a young age. Doing so would teach students to balance their life, and make better decisions, thus allowing students to develop somewhat of an artificial wisdom whereas they don’t need to face such negative experiences to develop their wisdom.
Doctor Paul Wong proposes his own definition of wisdom, “Wisdom may be defined as a special gift or ability to see clearly, discern correctly, understand deeply, and judge appropriately. It is based on the humility and openness to listen and learn from unlikely sources, including the mouth of a child and the whisper of a dying man. It involves the courage to be true to oneself, to do what is right and to achieve maximum good in spite of situational constraints and personal dangers. As a spiritual gift, it is to be received with humility and gratitude; as a human ability, cultivated with diligence; and as a character of authenticity and courage, practiced consistently.” I feel this is a great definition as it provides examples to what wisdom is, showing applications to one’s life. Dr. Wong also mentions Anne Frank, and provides an example of a passage from her diary, the passage depicts great maturity for a thirteen year old, and Dr. Wong justifies this by concluding that her quick development is due to the many hardships faces in short period of time. Dr. Wong feels there are 3 different examples to which wisdom is acquired, the first entails grasping of the concept with little to none help; usually common in rare cases with intelligent individuals. The next is acquired through mentors or teachers who instill their wisdom on one, and the last is defined as “learning things the hard way,” through trial and error, and negative experiences. Wisdom is often spiritual and taught traditionally through religious books, such as the Koran, Bible, and books of proverbs. Dr. Wong also provides two lists, one which provides profiles of people who are wise and another which provides portraits of intellectual fools, those who are smart but not wise. He also makes the point that it is much easier to find “fools’ paradise” than it is to find wisdom, but often the pursuance of wisdom keeps you away from the wrong path. Dr. Wong holds a common phrase which he passes to all his patients, “wisdom is the touchstone of character rather than intellect.”
Even though I am only nineteen years old as I look at my own development of the past decade I can see the many steps I have taken towards developing wisdom. I have had many negative experiences as Professor Le mentioned promote development. Take for example when I was 17 I got into an accident which was my fault. I had rear ended someone because I was not paying attention while driving. I learned from that experience and now devote my all my attention to driving when I am in the car. When I was 13 I used to fight a lot with my parents, through their parenting, I learned that talking thing out in a calm manor is much more efficient and polite than arguing. These are examples of learning wisdom through experiences. While on vacation in Peru I went with a teacher from high school that seemed to possess infinite wisdom. While on this vacation I took into account all the wisdom he showed through his actions and all the wisdom he passed through direct dialogue. This is an example of learning wisdom from a mentor as mentioned by Dr. Wong.
All three articles provide insight on the concept of wisdom, while Professor Le offers clarification on what causes the development of wisdom, life experiences, and what they result in, different values. Professor Sternberg defines wisdom as a balance through is proposition of a balance theory. I feel this is a great example because it elaborates on having all the intelligence but dividing it into a balance which promotes a common good for all. Doctor Wong shows wisdom is something that is spiritual and over very rarely learned without some form of teaching. With these ideas in mind I question, what sort of wisdom will we develop from the macro social crises, America’s economic problem, at hand?
References
Paul T. P. Wong. “Practical Wisdoms for Flourishing in Difficult Situations.” (n.d) Retrieved 8 November 2008 from < www.meaning.ca/archives/presidents_columns/pdfs/wisdom- june05.pdf>
Robert J Sternberg. "What is wisdom and how can we develop it? " Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 591.(2004): 164-174. Research Library. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 8 Nov. 2008
Thao N. Le, “Cultural Values, Life Experiences, and Wisdom.” The Internation Journal of Aging and Human Development. Voume 66, Number 4. (2008): 259-281. Research Library. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 6 Nov. 2008
"wisdom." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 16 Nov. 2008.
Module II Experiment
Mobile Phone Experiment
Who: Individuals of all ages who own cell phones.
What: A log will be kept of cell phone usage, encompassing not only calls, but texts and internet use. The log will record time, place, reason for use (pleasure, business, etc.).
When: Over a 7 day period of time.
Where: Anywhere the individual goes over the period of time. Particularly focusing on institutions and social situations where an individual is present.
Why: To prove Hans Geser’s ideas that cell phones undermine social order.
By keeping a log it could show how frequently mobile devices are used in institutions proving Geser’s point that these institutions are becoming empty shells without much determining influence on what is “really going on” on the level of social communication and cooperation. Since the experiment would record all times of use it could capture those moments where individuals look to their phone for support, proving Geser’s idea that it is simply an umbilical cord promoting infantile dependency in adults. Allowing the logging of place would encompass the different institutions mentioned, such as, school, work, church, etc. Recording the reason for using would along with the time would show whether or not individuals are contacting their clientele or those providing them with service. The experiment would entirely cover all of Geser’s main points, showing calls which were made to create/cancel plans, those which were providing support, those providing service during the private life, and those which made while in an institution. Thus highlighting the frequency and perhaps even the importance of realizing how we abuse our social order with this device.
Who: Individuals of all ages who own cell phones.
What: A log will be kept of cell phone usage, encompassing not only calls, but texts and internet use. The log will record time, place, reason for use (pleasure, business, etc.).
When: Over a 7 day period of time.
Where: Anywhere the individual goes over the period of time. Particularly focusing on institutions and social situations where an individual is present.
Why: To prove Hans Geser’s ideas that cell phones undermine social order.
By keeping a log it could show how frequently mobile devices are used in institutions proving Geser’s point that these institutions are becoming empty shells without much determining influence on what is “really going on” on the level of social communication and cooperation. Since the experiment would record all times of use it could capture those moments where individuals look to their phone for support, proving Geser’s idea that it is simply an umbilical cord promoting infantile dependency in adults. Allowing the logging of place would encompass the different institutions mentioned, such as, school, work, church, etc. Recording the reason for using would along with the time would show whether or not individuals are contacting their clientele or those providing them with service. The experiment would entirely cover all of Geser’s main points, showing calls which were made to create/cancel plans, those which were providing support, those providing service during the private life, and those which made while in an institution. Thus highlighting the frequency and perhaps even the importance of realizing how we abuse our social order with this device.
Screen Capture Activity 2
Analaysis
“California Love” by Tupac Shakur is a song where the artist is giving credit to his city, a “shout out” if you will; Tupac is showing love for his home state. It is a song about being prideful of your homeland and not forgetting where you are from. I also see it is as a form of bragging; announcing to everyone else that you are from a better state. Also Tupac was an icon is the classic East vs. West gang wars. So during this rap he is glorifying the Westside and even rips on the East by saying “Let’s show these fools how we do this on that Westside.”
For my design I chose to take the song lyrics and split them into columns attempting to form a big city background with skyscrapers and such. I did this because in his rap, Tupac mentions many big cities: L.A., Compton, Hollywood, etc. Then the choice of “Big City” as my font is self explanatory. The font reminds me of Gotham City or some other famous city. Then I took the phrase “We in the sunshine state” and made a circle above the skyscrapers representing the sun to show it is the sunshine state. The font I chose for that was an orange colored “Juice ITC” because the letters themselves reminded me of rays of sunlight. During the song there is a verse which states “Shake it” repetitively, I chose a font called “Ravie,” because in my opinion the letters themselves looked as if they were shaking. Then I chose a shade of pink because it fits the party mood where someone would be most liable to “shake it.” Then for the “California Love” part of the song I chose a red-colored font named “Lovelett,” which has little hearts embedded in the letters. Obviously I chose this because red is the color of love and the hearts directly represent the love for California.
Screen Capture
When looking at my screen shot I thought about how a computer makes multitasking an easy task. I saw that not only on one tab I was composing an ebay listing, on the other tab I was browsing myspace, and on the third tab doing this assignment all at the same time. Also if you notice I had my buddy list open at the bottom along with a picture which I was using in my ebay composition. Not to mention that picture was taken via digital camera and then uploaded to my computer to be included in this composition. On another layer I was listening .38 special. Consider that this is all occurring at the same time on only the computer to screen. Outside the computer I was eating a bowl of cereal. Composing changes shape in the digital space quite much. Most people think of creating a composition people picture a pencil and paper; when you bring this idea in the digital word no longer is this task done on a piece of paper it is done on a computer screen through many different windows. All these windows and tabs allow someone to multitask and organize their ideas in a more timely and manor. While composing in a digital space you have many more resources to use at your expense: the internet, paint, notepad, calculator, etc. It is much easier to find motivation and creativity you have you have so many resources readily available. To better understand digital composing processes I think we need to focus on collaboration. All the tools which are being used to come up with one single piece of work. To understand the process you must understand all things which are happening on that computer screen. Digital compositions are the products of multitasking.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
250 response Module III
Between my rough draft and my final draft I made several changes, take for example the inclusion of a new paragraph entailing my own personal experiences with the subject of wisdom. I felt this was important because in a summary you should not only paraphrase the item which you read but also include your own feedback to better explain the article. Also by relating the subject to my own life shows that I have an understanding of what I read. At several points in the essay I added more examples such as the references to Joseph Stalin and Hitler when referring to intelligent individuals holding bad purpose. I also added a short piece about Anne Frank explaining how wisdom may have developed so quickly in the thirteen year old girl. I did this because examples help with clarity, you can directly define something, but relating it to a real life example really brings the definition together. In the rough draft I failed to draw connections between the 3 articles, so I tried to do so by adding sentences which connected the articles. I also changed the conclusion to sum up what all the articles mean in one paragraph allowing the connections to become more evident. When writing the rough draft I couldn’t seem the piece together a conclusion, though I feel the one I created for the final draft completes the task appropriately. Also looking back at the article after several days of my final draft I feel I could’ve made more changes, perhaps a second draft before the final would have been more appropriate for me. It’s a good representation of how nothing is ever perfect, there are always changes that can be made.
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