Human vs. Machine

In the argument of humans vs. machines humans are the thesis and machines are the anti-thesis. Humans were the beginning and then machines came afterwords. Humans have feelings and are alive they are organic and nature. Machines are inorganic, they are made out of metals and plastics. They are logical and not alive. Machines are the exact opposite of human beings. In class our professor raised the question of how can humans and machines join together without a problem occurring? He explained how a synthesis starts to occur and that machines start to become human-like. The example given in class was the terminator movie and how a man becomes a machine and how a machine becomes a human. This synthesis of human and machine is referred to as a cyborg. There is a movie that is called Cyborg where a plague takes over and a certain cyborg woman who is half woman half machine contains the cure to the plague. This 1989 action packed movie was in reality introducing the notion that people can become synthesized with a machine. Now we are claiming that humans can become synthesized with their computers and their cell phones. This takes the saying, attached to your cell phone literally.

The World of Video Games

EA Games is currently bringing in the most amount of gross pay compared to any other company. Video games are on the rise. In class we talked about why video games have become so appealing to gamers throughout the years. One of the major reasons that video games have become so popular is because they are like a second life to people. In video games such as Call of Duty and Sims, a gamer is able to go onto the video game and play the role of someone else. This second life aspect becomes appealing to people because they are able to play a different role in society. This is also known as role playing. There are many different kinds of role playing such as gaming, theater, and even historical re-enactments. People enjoy role playing because they are able to become a different person within society. Some really intense gamers even bring their gaming role into the real world and have a hard time separating the two lives. There are many websites where gamers can go and talk to other gamers. They have gamer social networks. Intense gamers will substitute their fantasy life for real life and live through their video games. Video games allow us to explore various types of identities and allow us to work out the displeasure that we may experience with our current identities. Many gamers enjoy this because they feel that video games are very concrete and that they can control how their lives play out.

Healthy Social Networks

Recently in class we were asked to read an article about how social networks can affect a person's health. At first I thought that this meant that if a person is involved in more social networks then they have a good chance of being happy which will ultimately affect their health. This is not what the article was trying to claim. The article discusses how being in a social network can help you to become immune to different viruses. It says that being around people will build your immune system and help you to remain healthy. Then the article describes the different types of social networks. The two types that it talks about are the dyad and the triad. A dyad is a social relationship between two nodes or social units. A triad is a social relationship among three nodes. Although the difference between them seems minor, in reality it is major. A dyad is a strong but unstable relationship. Both partners involved tend to be very intensely and intimately involved. A triad however consists of alliances and is more stable. This is because there is always a mediator that can help to keep the entire group together. I think that this makes sense because I have a brother and a sister and when there is an argument between two of us, usually the third one will try to mediate and fix the problem. I found an article that further studies the effects of social networks on people's health. The article discusses how social networks are both good and bad for a person's health.

Hypertext

Hypertext is changing the way that people obtain knowledge. Hypertext has made it possible for people to be constantly learning new things, even if they do not realize it. Hypertext makes it easy to move from information to information, topic to topic. Hypertext is fluid and has multiple vectors. It contains links which allows people to instantaneously see related information by clicking on them. Hypertext is the new and improved version of print. With print, it took a long time to reproduce information and it took a long time to access related information because a person must find the publication first. Ted Nelson coined the word "hypertext" in 1965 and worked with Andries van Dam to develop the Hypertext Editing System in 1968. Hypertext gives Web surfers the ability to issue many commands on any text on the web, not only pre-written links. Hypertext has really advanced and helped when it comes to retaining knowledge.

Art in the Age of Mechanics

The publication, Art in the Age of Mechanics was discussed in class this week. I have looked further into this essay online to get a better understanding of it. I found a review of the essay saying "In the absence of any traditional, ritualistic value, art in the age of mechanical reproduction would inherently be based on the practice of politics." In the essay he discusses mechanical reproducibility and the development of types if art such as film. In class we talked about how film is like the internet and new media. This meaning that film and montages are changing and moving so fast and so is the internet. With the internet we can change and manipulate the world via YouTube and web pages. This raises the question if the internet and new media will break us out of our old mold or will it further our ways. The internet can help us to change media or it can assist us in keeping media the same. Also, the essay talks about politics and in class we discussed how the internet could just be another form of capitalism. All of these issues are covered in the essay, Art in the Age of Mechanics. The essay which happens to be the most frequently cited of Benjamin's essays.

Knowledge is Power

Is knowledge power? Can knowledge change a person, society, the world? Knowledge does impact all of the above because knowledge can change or prevent change in one's life. What exactly is knowledge? In class we spoke about what we think knowledge is. I proposed the idea that knowledge is experience. I believe that knowledge is what a person gains from different experiences throughout their life. Knowledge is often confused with information which is given to a person. Facts and information are things that are imbedded into a person's brain to remember not something that they are knowledgeable about but something that they remember. If knowledge is based on experiences, knowledge can cause a person to change or prevent change. For example, the saying, "we learn from the past" means the same thing as changing or not changing something because of what we have experienced before. Many companies and organizations have started to use their knowledge (experiences) to change the way that they work. For example, Recall North America, a global leader in information management, announced it has teamed up with the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), a national network of 82 free, open-enrollment, public charter schools. KIPP has a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. If students have more knowledge and experience more they will be able to direct their lives so that they can succeed. Also, by helping students realize that they can change themselves, they are able to then realize that they can also change the world. Students are the future of our country and if they are being involved and using their knowledge, they will be able to make the world a better and more functioning society.

http://www.lostremote.com/2010/03/29/embracing-a-new-media-paradigm/