tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84316809280981241912024-02-07T11:52:19.648-08:00Thoughts of a Wannabe College Dropout.Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-83145950034171859652012-04-24T17:44:00.001-07:002012-04-24T17:44:13.030-07:001984<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I liked
1984 for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, who doesn’t enjoy a bit of thought
crime? It’s not a concept we’re familiar with because we do not have the
limitations concerning every aspect of our lives. But will Winston bite the
hand that feeds him? Problem with that is they aren’t doing that good of a job
feeding him. To fix this problem there are a few safeguards put into practice. The
political philosophy INGSOC is totalitarian. And their motto is “Big Brother is
Watching You.” Totalitarianism is a major
theme and aspect of “Big Brothers” political indoctrination. This philosophy is
explored early on in the book setting the foundation for controversy. All of
the party slogans are contradictory. Maintaining that war is peace creates a
paradox. This and the statement “two and two makes five” is part of the party’s
concept of “double think”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Back to the main point, The Telescreens watch almost every
single aspect of the people’s lives. This is one method of ensuring that
everyone is staying in line. The second way they control the masses is by
indoctrination is by writing history as they see fit. It’s clear that whoever
controls the past controls the present. What I like is that they channel
everyone’s emotions, fears, and energy towards one directive: Goldstein. This is
one way they remove any opposition. The newspeak
language reminds me of <i>The Giver </i>in
the fact that its purpose is to remove any emotion or “unnecessary” words from
the diction. This is another means of controlling the people. If they can’t
think of the concept or idea of what a words means, how can they convey that
feeling? We know what a tree is merely by hearing the word. The word itself is
only a conjunction of letters. It’s the idea it conjures that we focus on. 1984
is one of my favorite books because of the dystopian society. I think that
Orwell wrote it in 1948 after the war to illustrate some of his fears for what
a post war world could have looked like. Besides, there were more than enough
types of governments present in that era and I think he saw the possibility of
a new world order so to speak. Propaganda is probably the most prevalent part
of the book. After all, all of the nations in that time used some tailored for
to provoke a response. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-40023918973367636892012-03-29T20:58:00.000-07:002012-03-29T20:58:10.934-07:00More overpopulation<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Global over-population is the real issue<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By Boris
Johnson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
I think the question of
overpopulation is relevant as the article states. Figuring out what to do about
it is the bigger problem. Ethical and implementation problems arise. It is like
eugenics. In theory, it works out pretty well, however, when it is put into practice,
is where the problems begin. The same goes for prohibition. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>An idea
crossed my mind while sitting in zoo learning about advances in medical
treatment. People living longer are an obvious result. From this, we have more
people living longer and this is a factor in overpopulation I would think. Naturally,
over the decades we have eliminated or greatly reduced the “limiting factors”
of population such as diseases, plagues, etc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t seem feasible, but scaling back
extreme measures to keep people alive such as using life support and reducing
medical services for terminal people. There are definite ethical issues
surrounding this idea. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Back to the
article, Johnson says that population control is the biggest question. I was
annoyed that he never gives any opinion on how he thinks the problem should be
fixed until the end. His solution seemed vague as well. I think that education
is probably the least controversial solution because education is inherently
beneficial. One child policies are to invasive into the lives of people. I
think the government has an obligation to protect and keep its people best
interests foremost. Education should be that solution to using a one-child
policy. Because by doing so they are not intruding into the lives of families
in a way that does not directly, benefit them. Yes, they are being used as a
means to their own end, but they benefit and it should be universally
applicable. Notice the Kantian undertones. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A close
topic to population is quality of population. Eugenics – a good idea with a bad
way to utilize. This however fails Kant’s theory pretty clearly. I only bring
up the topic because with the one-child policy a problem that came about was
which gender is more desirable to have? In China the son normally takes care of
the family when the parents get older. With most families wanting boys, I’m
assuming from the problem, girls were in short supply so to speak. It created
this desirable child almost the way eugenics was based on desirable traits. From
the two, issues with who chooses who gets to live and what traits are best make
for a difficult implementation. I think the reason the one child policy has
worked so far is because there is a greater sense of patriotism that Asian
cultures have. A focus on what is best for the country supersedes any individual
needs.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These topics
get pretty spread out as you look at them from different aspects. As far as the
articles discussion of the issues, I think that a carrying capacity is an issue
that we should work on. I'll add more thoughts as they <span style="background-color: white;">develop.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-60909236276046860202012-03-19T13:55:00.001-07:002012-03-19T13:55:27.787-07:00National Geographic and Over Population<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I think that population growth can
be a problem in the future. I see the whole issue of what to do as very
problematic. First off, in the article is says in a few places that
demographers were taken off guard by drops or booms in population e.g. baby
boomers. So this means that there are other things affecting population. War,
disease, science, and conceptual ideas as it stated all play a role. Let’s say
for arguments sake that war and disease had no effect and conceptual ideas were
a fad that faded. Notice I left out
science. If we have a population that is naturally inclined to facilitate life
expectancy, science is the tool for the job. It has proved that way so far. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I have two ideas or hypothesis’s
for this. One being that the carrying capacity would be reached and we would come
to a point that would require alternative resources. It is possible those resources
would be synthetic foods to artificially increase the carry capacity of earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
My second idea and probably less
likely choice is that we would see a population increase. However, we might hit
a “Breaking point” that after the increase of longer living people we would
balance out in a sense that the new live to be 75 might average at about 100. And
the population birth/death rate might equalize. Don’t forget that the
population booms and slow downs are most likely going to be in there sometime.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
This second idea is based on the book, <i>The Singularity is Near, </i>by Ray Kurzweil.
My idea isn’t actually in the book but that’s why it’s an idea. The singularity
is in essence the fusion of technology with the soma. Our intelligence and
creativity will combine to produce essentially bionic humans. I’d love to be around
to see this. This would lead to increased population size as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
However, both ideas produce ethical
dilemmas. In the first one, creating artificial animals is questionable. I don’t
have any specific comments at the moment. But more importantly the second one
creates longer living people. This is problematic. Is there a certain point
when the quality of life is defiled and it’d be better for a person to depart? I
believe its ok to use means necessary to keep people alive but to what extent? These kinds of questions are pretty big in
regards to the permissibility of the actions taken. I will be discussing, I imagine, some of these
issues in the next paper. Clearly with the amount of literature and arguments
behind the questioned posed, there will be substantial work put into the paper. Later on, i may put more thoughts on here. Most likely asuming ones at that and related to the article read.</div>Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-31457888615536822202012-03-01T22:36:00.000-08:002012-03-01T22:36:00.292-08:00Hero/ Villain paper thoughts<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
Unit II Essay Hero/Villain</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Bernstein’s article tries to dissect
what exactly a hero might be. In doing so he divides the group into physical
and intellectual heroes. Aside from the group the person is placed in, it is
agreed that said person is held to a higher standard. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The traditional idea of a hero is one whom has
great physical strengths e.g. the Spartans, Hercules, Superman, etc. I think
that defining intellectual heroism is difficult because it does not always
produce quantifiable characteristics. His definition four-pronged criterion for
heroism includes “<span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">moral greatness, ability or prowess, action in the face of
opposition, and triumph in at least a spiritual, if not a physical, form.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am going to use this definition with minor tweaks and explanations to qualify
my character. I choose C.S. Lewis for his contributions to literature and
thought as an intellectual giant of the twentieth century. However, pending
research, I may use the same criterion, apply it towards William F. Buckley
Jr., and use him as my character. Both people possess some of the same
characteristics that put them into the group of intellectual heroes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-56331953962988884362012-02-23T20:39:00.000-08:002012-02-23T20:39:00.454-08:00BernsteinArticle<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; mso-outline-level: 2; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HEROISM<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">By Dr. Andrew Bernstein<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Bernstein
defines whom we would generally give the title of “Hero”. This makes me think
of all the books I have read recently. The first name that came to mind was “Yossarian”
However; I would not define his struggles with staying alive by going to the hospital
as heroic. I think he had a flaw that made him relatable. The idea of heroes,
such as Achilles having a susceptible heal, makes me think that the fictional
heroes like batman, superman, etc have a fatal flaw that shows they have some
human quality to them. Superman’s weakness was Kryptonite and batman had no parents.
I think some of these qualities are meant to serve as an example showing that;
Hero’s as well have struggles, internally or externally. Another example of a
Hero of sorts would be Hamlet. Yes, by being mad he in one way or another, he
was able to remove Claudius from the throne. But his fatal flaw was the ability
to think in great depth about his actions and not be able to act on them. I fell
that we occasionally have his mindset about things: we know how to give other
people advice about what to do about their problems and yet cannot always
figure out what to do about ours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A major idea I got from this reading was the question of
defining heroism. Are there qualitative or quantitative measures of one’s
heroism? I should think so. The military defines heroism with two examples, a Purple
Heart, and a Medal of Honor. These two elicit quantitative requirements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There is a distinction made between intellectual and physical
heroes’. Ayn Rand is an intellectual for her perseverance in maintaining her philosophy
of Objectivism. I have only read some of her work on the theory. I like the
idea of turning a metaphysical idea into a physical form such as art. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
idea of a person reaching the zenith of human morality seems to parallel
someone attaining nirvana. I would call this idea crap other than the fact that
a definition is given “</span><span style="font-family: "Times","serif";">an
undeviating commitment to rational values, in action, in the teeth of
opposition that would dismay a lesser man.”Morality is subjective to the person
interpreting its meaning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hitler is
referenced in the article. Hitler had his own view of morality I am assuming. The
definition gives the term a criterion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times","serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The article was interesting in the
fact that it tried to dissect the whole concept of heroism. I think that there
are varying levels of heroism. Particularly in defining how one is deemed
heroic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times","serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There is much more that can be added
to the topic. The most striking feature of the intellectual hero is the concept
of standing on the shoulders of giants, but not just any giants: intellectual
giants. The most defining idea of physical heroes is their perseverance to
overcome all obstacles.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEZiuH5rYOgn2W3xSrTU6EvBveUCKmpYOyEGBB0zwt-W-_cxWg3VQJKOgnqLS4iEEMybR5MurJVRveSQmjBEV9UQNS8zB7oGj8lfCPf51L74RcRbKyno0NrvEac1CtD-_0ARB9kodQxc/s1600/John+Galt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEZiuH5rYOgn2W3xSrTU6EvBveUCKmpYOyEGBB0zwt-W-_cxWg3VQJKOgnqLS4iEEMybR5MurJVRveSQmjBEV9UQNS8zB7oGj8lfCPf51L74RcRbKyno0NrvEac1CtD-_0ARB9kodQxc/s1600/John+Galt.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-78590495702746515022012-02-13T08:19:00.001-08:002012-02-13T08:19:43.523-08:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
I remember reading about the
invention of the steam horse. It was quite a new technology. One concern was
that of the speeds it traveled. Could humans survive or be able to function at
those speeds? Thinking now that my car cruises on the highway at a mere 75mph,
it almost seems farfetched that one would think speed is a factor. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Moving on, I
started to get the idea that information, whatever it is, can have no intrinsic
value. Its like the importance is not in the information, but in the fact that
we can obtain “information” as needed. I wonder if the readily availability of
information via Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, etc have , what some researchers
think, caused a degradation of memory in adolescences. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why learn something when you can just learn
where to find the information? While watching a video about technology called “Did
you know; Shift happens” <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q&feature=fvst"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q&feature=fvst</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not only is the technology expanding
exponentially by some accounts, that a week’s worth of New York times contained
more information than a person living in the 1800s was likely to come across in
a lifetime. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think the
metaphor of “water everywhere and not a drop to drink” illustrates essentially
the whole chapter. I think the only information I use from the news regards
traffic and weather, after that, it only serves to provide prompts for dinner
time conversations. Which makes me wonder, has the amount of information
dwarfed the importance of it? </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With the
progression from word of mouth, radio, print, and television, wouldn’t the pass
less advanced mode of communication be obsolete? Did video kill the radio star?
Perhaps that even with the loss in quality and information there is still
underlying pieces of a general form of communication between people that have
kept all these mediums intact. It’s arguable the extent to which these mediums
have shifted.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-72410724438595559962012-02-07T19:15:00.001-08:002012-02-07T19:17:25.554-08:00<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Postman
Chapter: 1</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
While reading the chapter from
amusing ourselves to death, I wondered, “Will I be (fill in the blank) to death?”
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This got me pointed in the direct of
topicality. They use the wording “to death” instead of “‘til death” which
prompted me to think that it is somewhat our fault. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I noticed
that this first chapter goes in a few directions off the start. The idea that
the printed word and digital word aren’t compatible in this day and age makes
me think of a few phenomena. One being that with the use of printers and computers
to shift the medium to electronics means, in effect, made it even easier to use
paper. Instead of copying notes by hand, we can mass print and distribute. Our
paper usage increased significantly. This may have been an unforeseen consequence.
Secondly, newspapers seem to be obsolete. However, the content is still there,
it has just evolved to stay in the game. New apps and online outlets have taken
the place. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A lot of
the chapter talks about the shifting mediums. Postman says that Reagan was
president while writing this so I assume that while writing one of the big
improvements in home tech was Betamax and VHS. I don’t imagine that technology
was as cheap as it is today. The price and availability is what put more
electronic devices in people’s hands.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The medium
is the metaphor is an interesting concept. The last page describes how a watch
recreates time under its own volition in a precise manner. This relays the
notion that in every tool created has associated schemas or constructs that we
all understand. What this conveys, is an idea that the metaphor is a literary
term to describe a similarity that we already understand but need a way to
understand what one another means. Today, if I were to say “I’ll text you later”
or “ttyl”, people would understand the concept. I had one final thought:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLd31hm0fDwbilv3dPdQLtTJxfyaUhFgY1Rl09WsDDqKZDvQ58lGii27yznaOCKrPhv9O9DwB1_RIX76p0PH198wfdK1_46vjI-ymHD1OPSUF72SLYZ20cvL4epm2t0gaQXiACpPzg4A/s1600/1241222446876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLd31hm0fDwbilv3dPdQLtTJxfyaUhFgY1Rl09WsDDqKZDvQ58lGii27yznaOCKrPhv9O9DwB1_RIX76p0PH198wfdK1_46vjI-ymHD1OPSUF72SLYZ20cvL4epm2t0gaQXiACpPzg4A/s320/1241222446876.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter">
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0">
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0">
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1">
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2">
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth">
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight">
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1">
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2">
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth">
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0">
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight">
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0">
</v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas>
<v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f">
<o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit">
</o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-54392615018998607882012-02-01T17:57:00.000-08:002012-02-01T17:57:48.814-08:00Gulati - Facebook<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gulati – Facebook <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I liked how this article was direct in saying, “Facebook is making us
miserable.” It made me think of a particular episode of South Park where one of
the characters is feeling lonely and unimportant because he has but one friend
on Facebook. He is compelled to tell his parents about all the things his
friend is up too. His parents, unknowingly, acknowledge this new friend as a
classmate their child plays with after school. </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdbPVSWqm2w"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdbPVSWqm2w</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This inevitably leads to the mentioned
problems as a result in the article. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What surprises me the most is
how often we get on Facebook. I’d notice that for no apparent reason, while
reading an email or text, I would click the little blue “F” on my phone. This caused
me to realize how much of the time I was just acting out of habit. Sometimes I’d
completely forget that I looked at Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Along with this mindless checking and updating, I noticed, rather others
noticed that I was only partially present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Mostly they wouldn’t notice. They were on their phones as well touché).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Playing the devil’s advocate,
there are benefits to using social networking. For instance, my family is
spread throughout the states and we only see them around holidays. Calling is
sometimes difficult. However, the desire to see what is going on in their lives
is still there. When my sister was in South Korea, cell phones weren’t the best
or cheapest way to communicate. We resorted to Facebook and Skype. This was
really helpful. My sister could post pictures, comments, etc when she was able
and on our time we could do likewise. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the last paragraph, the idea
of quitting Facebook was thrown around. I thought about this and wonder how my
social life would be impacted. I thought for only a week I would resist
Facebook. I managed a week, and then it turned into two weeks. After a month
and seeing no change, I thought it was time to “go offline” permanently. This
was in September.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as I enjoyed
the benefits, I found myself in one of those categories of decreased social (fill
in the blank).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431680928098124191.post-21465666527258699302012-01-24T19:22:00.001-08:002012-01-24T19:24:19.935-08:00Nardy and O'Day Article<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reading this article stirred a few
thoughts. It was ironic seeing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Metropolis</i>
talked about because I have had that book on my e-reader for quite some time
and have yet to read it. I liked some of the points made in the article. I
think that as my generation has grown up, technology has been advancing as we’ve
grown up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember when my parents had
a mobile phone attached in the car. Back then, what I remember, it was an
amazing prospect. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today the I-Phone is
the standard for comparison. Size is apparently a factor.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another
thought that crossed my mind was about cloning humans. Technology may be
advancing that way inevitably or not; the jury is ever changing. I personally
don’t like how technology is getting into even younger hands every year. But to
the main point, I thought of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I- Robot</i>
when the question of clones came up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
know if the benefits of cloning are progressive for our population, or if the
investment should be focused on medical improvements that would eliminate the
need for the former. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A
pretty big part of the article was over the good vs. bad of technology and an
aspect that I definitely like looking at is the social part. This global communication
system allows for us to be intricately connected via Facebook, Skype, texts,
etc. As much as these facilitate communication, I think that it stunts our
social interaction. We lose some of the personal skills through this medium.
There is a veil of anonymity present that I think diminishes our social skills.
I read a journal last year about “disconnect camps” or something to that degree
that focus on removing kid’s attachment, nay, addiction to electronics in Japan
I believe. This could be a fact as well here in the U.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The potential is there. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
last point that I liked, being a tech guru, is the notion that we should use
technology for its benefits but also be aware of the dangers it can pose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to find a happy medium when it comes
to balancing my tech life with everything else. To a certain extent, it does
envelope its own world accessible beginning with the three W’s. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Paul Bear bryanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731278002200758826noreply@blogger.com0