Spring Break

Alright, I am going to be cliche and talk about my upcoming Spring Break. Even though I'm not going anywhere exotic, I'm excited to get away from school and everything that goes along with it. I will be heading home to Kenosha to visit family and friends. Because our Spring Break is so late, not very many of my college friends will be home, but luckily there will be a couple. One thing I'm really looking forward to is seeing my nephew. After all, I haven't seen him since he was born, and he is now about 2 1/2 months old! Another aspect I'm looking forward to is not having to work for a full week! Even though I love my job, it will be nice to take a break from the sometimes-screaming kids for awhile. I will also be meeting my new dog for the first time. His name is Rocky, and he's a full-grown Chocolate Lab. We have 2 other small dogs and a small house, so this situation should be interesting. I plan on renting lots of movies, going shopping in Milwaukee/Chicago, and SLEEPING! However, I did just realize how much is due the week after Spring Break, so I guuess a little studying might be in order, but not too much!

Reading Notes #6

Last week, we read Andy Clark’s “Natural Born Cyborgs”, which focused on the proposition that all humans are inherently part human and part machine. Clark believes that we will become “human-technology symbionts” that will think with both a biological and non-biological mind. His proposition that people are “natural born cyborgs” stems from his belief that reason derived from the human mind cannot be attached to the body. As time goes on, he says, the “mind is just less and less in the head” (181). The human brain is good at physical feats but performs poorly in areas of logic.
Clark also believes that humans naturally have minds that were “made for mergers” (182). He even goes so far as to call us “Tools-R-Us” (182). As society becomes more technologically advanced, so do our tools. This explains our ability to interact with tools (in order of increasing complexity) such as pens, paper, and computers.
An everyday illustration of a human cyborg-like behavior is the use of cell phones. Almost everyone nowadays owns one, and many do not let it leave their sides. It is, in some sense, “attached at the hip” of many people. Text messaging is becoming increasingly popular. Clark sees this behavior as an “extension of the hand” (183). He also believes that when people purchase new phones, they are simply buying “mindware upgrades” (183). The non-biological machinery combines with the biological brain as users learn more about the technology.
Clark does make a point that we “aren’t ourselves” in some manner (184). There are questions of the extent to which technology will become a part of us. This is a very valid question, but the answer lies in the future, and is thus unknown.
In class, we discussed the pros and cons of the concept of cyborgs. Initially, many people react with the “ick” factor, or technophobia. Some worry that technology will ultimately take over and machines will become superior to humans. Fears of this are illustrated in many science fiction movies, such as The Matrix. However, some technological advances can be seen as beneficial. For example, in the Turkle article, a woman who had lost a limb finds comfort in creating an online identity before creating a real-life one. The Internet provides anonymousness as well as an outlet for creativity.
In conclusion, “Natural Born Cyborgs” illustrates humans’ ability to utilize resources and tools while at the same time acknowledges fears of reliance and dependence on these same tools.

Reading Notes #5

Jeff Rice’s Chapter 7 (Popular Culture and Cool) centered around how modes (music, electronic writing, literacy etc.) of “cool” affects current popular culture. Rice believes that the development of new media technologies directly relates to literacy growth, and I have to agree. He points out that “before the 1500’s, few people knew how to read and write, and, consequently, the ability to produce written texts was a limited activity” (126). After the invention of the printing press, however, many people were able to both write and read text in public and private spaces. Computers and related technologies have furthered these abilities. People are now even more able to connect with a large number of people or work in solitude. For the purposes of this class, I believe the focus should be on the large-scale connectedness that results from new media developments. Rice thinks that developments of literacy and technology are intertwined. A key term Rice mentions is “computer literacy” (127). The traditional notion of these words is one that focuses on one’s ability to turn on and use a computer’s components. As mentioned in previous blogs, I would say I am not very “computer literate” using this definition. However, Rice points out that the true definition of computer literacy” streches beyond the traditional one. “Computer literacy” also encompasses one’s ability to “create discourse with computers...and rhetorically be persuasive” (127). I’ve realized that new media is developing rapidly, and that in order to be fully competent in all aspects of society, one needs to keep up with and adapt to these developments. In this sense, I believe I am slowly beginning to improve my “computer literacy”.

After reading all of the articles by Barabasi, Rice, and Gladwell, I’ve been a bit more aware of “cool” people around me. I recently heard my roommate talking about certain people called “hipsters”. I didn’t really know what this term meant, so of course I turned to Urban Dictionary. Their definition is as follows: One who possesses tastes, social attitudes, and opinions deemed cool by the cool. The Hipster walks among the masses in daily life but is not a part of them and shuns or reduces to kitsch anything held dear by the mainstream.” Apparently, hipsters are what most of the above authors would call the “innovators”, the first people to start a trend or fad. The part of the definition that says the hipsters “walk among the masses in daily life” also gives a sense of mystery and disconnectedness. In order for these people to be considered “cool”, their overall ways of life must reach a hub, who must “spread the word” and influence many other people. If these trends catch on, they are accepted by other “cool” people.
Also, the fact that the hipsters “walk among the masses” seem to connote that they are difficult to spot. Gladwell would agree with this notion, and would say that it is actually impossible to truly observe “cool” kids because “the quicker the chase, the quicker the flight”. Just as “cool” is being accepted and becoming the norm, another hipster or innovator is producing some other “cool” trend.
Overall, I think the idea of “catching cool” is tired and somewhat impossible. There are always new ideas being formed and new people to accept them. Although I admire the effort of cool hunters like Baysie and DeeDee, who ultimately record random observations, I don’t think I could base my job on something so unstable.

Since I didn’t have too much free time to conduct an official “cool hunt”, I did mine on Bus 80 going to work. The bus is certainly a public place, right? Anywise, I was waiting for the bus and started to observe the people around me. There was a handful of girls wearing puffy Northfaces with Uggs, which is quite a popular trend around campus. This fashion statement is clearly considered “cool” by a large group of people. However, this look is highly criticized, especially in the Badger Herald Shoutouts. So, according to another group of people, this look is definitely very “uncool”.
I also noticed a guy wearing baggy clothes and who had a pierced ear. I remember back in the day, when I was in elementary school, when a pierced ear on a boy meant that they were “cool”, and somewhat rebellious. I still think these connotations carry over to some extent in today’s society.
Once I got on the bus, I noticed a variety of people. There were many ethnicities and well as fashions and overall appearances. Some people were wearing athletic clothes, while some wore business casual. I noticed that many people, if wearing tennis shoes, wore either Nike or Adidas. A couple of people stood out, however. They looked significantly different from the others. They were wearing different fashions and would not be classified in the same group as the other people on the bus. These “innovators”, as Barabasi and Gladwell would call them, displayed piercings, tattoos, and other distinguishing characteristics.
Piercings and tattoos nowadays symbolize rebellion and therefore a sense of “coolness”. However, this view may change with time. Gladwell says that “cool hunting” is merely a collection of random observations that keep changing as the definition of “cool” changes. So, what I viewed as “cool” now could just as easily be seen as “uncool” in a couple of years. Barabasi believes that the ability of a fad or virus to spread depends on the individual receiving the “cool” ideas. The idea that tattoos and piercings were rebellious caught on, and enough individuals were persuaded. But, there may be an innovator who decides these things aren’t “cool” anymore, and begins to spread this idea. If enough people believe this idea, an anti-fad may arise.
Gladwell states that “cool” can never truly be observed. He says that the “quicker the chase, the quicker the flight”. This statement is very applicable to my “cool hunt”. I can believe that the fads and fashions I saw were “cool”, but in reality, they were most likely just “old” fads. Newer fads are being created somewhere in secrecy. They will soon emerge and ultimately become popular and “cool”.

Reading Notes #4

In “The Connected Age”, Duncan Watts discussed several different types of networks. He presented the power grid as a vast network that might possibly be the “most essential technological feature of the modern world”. The problem with the power grid, and also many other networks, is that the individual behaviors of the components are known, but the collective behavior of the group is not. This is a problem that continues to boggle the minds of many scientists, mathematicians, and other professionals. A general consensus is that the individual parts don’t connect in a simple fashion, and that this process is very complicated. On the other hand, complete systems’ behaviors can sometimes be predicted without knowing the behaviors of the individual parts. Watts also discusses the dynamic nature of networks. They are not fixed, and change with time and the world in which they operate. An interesting topic that they discussed was one of “clustering”. This is the idea that most people’s friends are also friends of each other. This coincides with the “small world” idea. I cannot agree more with this concept. I cannot count the number of times I have been at a get together or in a class and discover that we have mutual friends. This is actually one of the aspects I love most about the UW. This “small world” feel makes the population seem a lot smaller than 40,000 students. What is clear is that networks lack structure, are adaptive and ever-changing, and are still a puzzle to many who study them.