Bicentennial Man and Immortality

In the movie, Bicentennial Man, Robin Williams plays a robot who is immortal. Technology has made it such that he could live forever as a machine. What if this was real? What if a new technology came out that provided us with immortality? Would you use it? Isn't it going against nature? What are the advantages and disadvantages to being immortal?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGSq-bJhRFY

Losing Nature With Age

It seems to me that in toady's society nature kind of gets lost with age. Think about it, as you are a toddler you have the attention span of the goldfish and everything is entertaining. You constantly craved to go outside to run in circles or pick dandelions and essentially just ruin the lawn. Bike riding, roller blades, going to the park all were great things to do. Think of how many outdoor little league sports there are, how many adult sports leagues do you see? As a young child the outdoors was where you wanted to be and spent most of your time essentially doing nothing but playing with your imagination, but as you age it seems like less fun. Now we are teenagers able to drive and use a computer. Instead of riding our bikes or walking to a friends house many people would rather drive the 1 block to their friends house because if they walked outside they would need to put on a jacket. Instead of going outside and playing ninja with your friends people now congregate indoors and watch movies and just talk. At the age of three your favorite new toy was the wiffleball set your parents got you for your birthday. Now you ask for an ipod, or new cell phone, or laptop. Technology takes over your life as you age. How many 60 year old men do you know asking for a new bicycle for their birhtday? Not many is the correct answer, but they may be hoping for a new car or a new TV. The point is nature is great and I am one who loves to spend time outdoors, but often times as people age they pick technology over nature.

The Technology Good/Bad Debate

Is technology evil? Does it want us to play Wii all day long and text our fake friends with unintelligible acronyms? Of course it does! But the whole debate between the technology lovers and tree huggers is flawed for several reasons.

First off, it isn't a black and white issue. Yes, technology has made things a bit more complicated and screwed up a lot of everything natural. I know the polar bears are drowning. But has it not also saved countless lives because of medicine and seatbelts? hmm? So yes, there are 3 sides to every coin, they just rarely land vertically.

Secondly, humans create all technology, and if technology is in itself evil does that mean either A.) that people are evil and create diversions for themselves to exude a facade of happiness? or B.) technology has imparted upon itself the power of a sentient and decision making being. It chooses to be evil even if it is made with good intention. Both of those arguments present a large problem to the technology haters and lovers.

Finally, in order to have this debate at all, one must be willing to truthfully answer the question, "Would you rather live without technology?" I think 99.99% of the time, the answer will be no. Thoreau doesn't count because he never got to use an Iphone.

Ultimately, no one of my generation could honestly say that they would rather not have technology, thus they must either resign themselves to the fate of the brainwashed and bored, or use the technology to make the world a better place.

Technology <3s Nature

Why do Technology always have to verse Nature in the proverbial steel cage match of life? Sure, Technology has led us to plenty of destruction of natural things: deforestation, global warming, over farming and the clubbing of baby seals, but what about the good things? Technology realized that it was being insensitive and wants Nature to give it another chance.

Here are a few ways that people can use technology to nurture nature!

#1. Alternative energy sources! Instead of burning oil which pollutes our environment, we can use free energy such as solar, wind, hydro-electric and geothermal. After an initial investment, these installations pay for themselves in a few years, and you can even sell electricity back to the company and make a profit.

#2. Recycle! New technologies and tactics now allow us to recycle more than ever before. All sorts of plastics, metals and paper products are recycled and turned back into useful items instead of just being dumped somewhere. Though, even the things that are just dumped can be used. The heat and gas given off by landfills is being used to power generators to create electricity.

#3. Saving animals through captive breeding! Yeah. this one is a bit weird, but we can help bring back the species we've destroyed by pairing the few remaining members and organizing a little lovin'. Some people really really love pandas, so if the natural way doesn't work, they can do it artificially.

Clearly, technology doesn't have to hate nature! A little ingenuity and investment is helping our planet get back to what it was and helping the human race to coexist with it peacefully. Thank goodness for technology, because I love Mario Kart and glaciers and now I can have them both!

Texting & Emoticons

Today in Mrs. Deerson's class we debated whether technology was beneficial or detrimental. One of the arguments for the detrimental side was that the way we communicate with others through texting and such lowers our ability to communicate well with others. Plus, through texting or Facebook, no one can even truly understand the actual emotions that a person is attempting to portray through text.

This is kind of a stupid video, but in a way it shows that sometimes emoticons replace actual feelings to try to get a point across about how a person feels. It's pathetic, but emoticons and texting emoticons [ ex. :) ;) or :( ]are the closest thing we have to communicating our true feelings.

Technology vs. Nature !

Is nature slowly losing the battle of survival to technology ?

"Green be gone...or at least that is what some conservationists fear will happen within the next few years. A recent study by the Nature Conservancy says that the world is experiencing a "real and fundamental shift away from nature." More people, according to the study, are moving away from the great outdoors and into the digital world. This means a decline in park visits, and a decline in the value society places on nature." -jennifer rod (of news team boulder)

But it can also be interpreted that maybe as we drift away from being everly dependent on nature, we will realize that natural elements are essential to our lives and then try as best that we can to help restore those resources, all we can hope is that it doesnt take too long for people to start missing green trees and clean water.

When Technology Gets Into the Wrong Hands

Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove is a classic comedy which depicts a Cold War-esque catastrophe. What would happen if a low-ranking military base commander somehow got hold of and activated the hydrogen bomb? In this clip, The President of the United States (Peter Sellers) talks on the phone with the Russian President to warn him that a hydrogen bomb is about to attack his country. This scene is an act of sheer comic brilliance--the presidents of the two greatest superpowers of the time are depicted as incompetent and childish. They focus not on impending danger and nuclear destruction, but on formalities and nonsense. This scene also makes the interesting point that all of the technology we have constructed is smarter than us; humans are too stupid and irresponsible to operate the massive technologies that have been created. What do you think about this? Do you think that nuclear bombs are more beneficial or detrimental? Is technology really taking over, or are humans still in control?

Moss Art

Alot of people take moss from the ground or buy it and make art from it. its really versatile and can grow in alot of places.(usually moist) but once you start it, its sort of hard to stop. you can even do it in you garden or backyard to add a little pizzaz to your surroundings.

the car is pretty sick

Man vs. Machine in Movies

A common theme for the entertainment industry is Man vs. Machine. Whether it's books or movies, people love to pose the question of whether we will survive when machines inevitably try to take over the world.

In I, Robot, people have created robots that help them do everyday things and even working in mail delivery and factories. People become completely dependent on them. When one of these robots breaks one of the "Three Rules of Robotics" and kills a person, it ignites a big issue where the rest of the robots end up attacking the humans.

In Terminator, a robot is sent back in time from a future where robots have taken over the world. It tries to kill the mother of a future revolutionary leader.

In The Matrix, humans are being enslaved and harvested by sentient machines. The machines create the "world as we know it" to pacify the humans.

What these movies are all really trying to ask is...
"How far can we keep advancing technology before it gets ahead of us?"

Technology

Mr. Langdon had us talking about technology in storytelling. He asked us to think about whether technology helped or hurt it. I think that in one sense, technology takes something away from it. Imagination.

If you read a book, you will immediately picture how things are supposed to be in your head. Your imagination takes over and fills in the blanks that the book leaves. With our newer technology, we can make anything happen in a movie, which leaves millions of possibilities for Hollywood. Now that we have the technology to make a game of "quidditch" happen onscreen, we'll make the movie of a book. Once you see things on screen, your mind immediately takes their adaption of the visuals or even the audio instead of your original thoughts. People will then assume that what they had previously thought of was wrong, and the movie is right. In reality, it's just another adaptation. Another option. Technology in a way takes away the thoughts our imagination had previously come up with.

stop motion animation

i find it stop motion animation so fascinating. it is sick how people come up with ways to express themselves and to make art

i was looking on youtube at some stop motion animation and i found this link which is below

it is a guy who is doodling but the doodling is movng and shifting it is so cool.

i think i relate to this because i always doodle in my humanities journal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u46eaeAfeqw

Stop Motion Animation

I thought all the stop motion animation we looked at in Mr. Langdon's class was pretty cool. It so crazy that people have the patience to capture that in video. I found this cool clip that takes the song Summer Nights from Grease and recreates the scene using legos & stop motion animation. Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_whyjdt5Qso

Pen Pal's

Technology has obviously affected communicaton, making it easier to communicate long distances, but also, in a way, preventing direct encounters with people. With that said, should people have pen pals? Or considering that technology often gets in the way of having actual conversations, would it just be better to have friends that you could actually see on a normal basis?

The Revolution of Story Telling

With all the improvements of technology, has story telling become easier? Or has our expectations for story telling increased to the point that our modern technology doesn't suffice in story telling?

Interview!

In Mrs Deerson's class, the class was divided into four groups. Each group had a representative who asked their group a question about technology, communication, and texting. I decided to interview other humanities students from different periods. Here is a video where I interviewed Kristina Hungrige, Nate Villaman, Mason Lasky, and Al LaMonica.

You have to tilt your head to watch the video.

Another earthwork made in Windsong Lenape Park!

This earthwork is made out of rocks.
It says LP, for Linkin Park.
This earthwork is band's logo.

Some of my earthworks done in Windsong Lenape Park!

The music notes are made with rocks.


The heart is made with barks from trees and it's placed in the sand.


The peace sign is made with pinecones.

My earthwork represents peace love and music.

Going Green or Going Back?

I was thinking about the new craze of "going green" today and it occured to me that "green" is really backtracking against harmful technology. I mean, we invented cars as faster and more efficient transportation instead of horses, trains, and ships. But now we're trying to modify cars so that they aren't as harmful to the environment. People used to live through much harsher winters with just a fireplace and now we need gas heaters, etc. to warm our houses, but we're trying to "green"-ify that as well. People used to go to sleep when the sun went down, but then we discovered lightbulbs and now they're harming the environment and sometime this week (?) we're having that "Lights Out" hour to save on our emissions.

Aside from the obvious benefits from using cars, lightbulbs, heaters, etc. would it have been better had we not invented them? Are we really just backtracking across centuries of human technology or is a progression really necessary in technology? Are we really "going green" or are we just trying to turn the clocks back?



I'm not sure there's really a true answer here and even I rest on the fence on this one. On one hand, I think our world would be a lot better off had we not invented such technology. But, because we now have these gadgets, etc. and people are not really willing to give up their new found technology, I think progression is necessary. However, such a thing would not be necessary if we had not created the monster ourselves.

Learning and Technology

Mr. Langdon mentioned learning styles in class and how technology has affected our ability to understand things. So it got me thinking about how it specifically helps or hinders us individually.

Learning Style Quiz:
1. You are about to give directions to a person. She is staying in a hotel in town and wants to visit your house. She has a rental car. Would you:
V. draw a map on paper?
R. write down the directions (without a map?
A. tell her the directions?
K. collect her from the hotel in your car?

2. You are staying in a hotel and have a rental car. You would like to visit a friend whose address/location you do not know. Would you like them to:
V. draw you a map?
R. write down the directions (without a map)?
A. tell you directions?
K. collect you from the hotel in their car?

3. You have just received a copy of your intinerary for a world trip. This is of interest to your friend. Would you:
A. call her immediately and tell her about it?
R. Send her a copy of the printed intinerary?
V. show her a map of the world?

4. You are going to cook a dessert as a special treat for your family. Do you:
K. cook something familiar without the need for instructions?
V. thumb through a cookbook looking for ideas from the pictures?
R. refer to a specific cookbook where there is a good recipe?
A. ask for advise from others?

5. A group of tourists has been assigned to you to find out about national parks. Would you:
K.drive them to a national park?
V. show them slides and photographs?
R. give them a book on national parks?
A. give them a talk on national parks?

6. You are about to purchase a new stereo. Other than the price, what would most influence your decision?
A. a friend talking about it?
K. listening to it?
R. reading the details about it?
V. its distinctive, upscale appearance?

7. Recall a time in your life when you learned how to do something like playing a new board game. Try to avoid choosing a very physical skill, i.e. riding a bike. How did you learn best? By:
V. visual clues-pictures, diagrams, charts?
R. written instructions?
A. listening to somebody explain it?
K. doing it?

8. Which of these games do you prefer?
A. Pictionary? R. Scrabble? K. Charades?

9. You are about to learn how to use a new program on a computer. Would you:
K. ask a friend to show you?
R. read the manual which comes with the program?
A. telephone a friend and ask questions about it?

10. You are not sure whether a word should be spelled "dependent" or "dependant". Do you:
R. look it up in a dictionary?
V. see the word in your mind and choose the best way it looks?
A. sound it out?
K. write both versions down?

11. Apart from price, what would most influence your decision to buy a particular textbook?
K. using a friends copy?
R. skimming parts of it?
A. a friend talking about it?
V. it looks OK?

12. A new movie has arrived in town. What would most influence your decision to go or not go?
A. friends talking about it?
R. you read a review about it?
V. You saw a preview of it?

13. Do you prefer a lecturer/teacher who likes to use:
R. handouts and/or a textbook?
V. flow diagrams, charts, slides?
K. field trips. labs, practical sessions?
A. discussion, guest speakers?

Now go back and count how many V's, A's, R's, and K's you circled. Whichever letter you have circled most indicates your preferred learning style. If you have a "tie" or two letters are about equal you probably have more than one preferred learning style.

V's=Visual
You have been identified as a Visual Learner. You learn best by watching or seeing things.

A's=Aural
You have been identified as an Aural Learner. You learn best by hearing things said or explained.

R's=Reading
You have been identified as a Reading/Writing Learner. You learn best by reading and taking notes.

K's=Kinesthetic
You have been identified as a Kinesthetic Learner. You learn best by using your senses, especially hands-on approaches.

Now that you know what learning type(s) you are, how specifically has technology helped or hindered your learning both in the classroom and outside of it? Do you feel that overall it has enhanced your learning experience or made it worse?

Optical Illusions

Optical illusions like the one above make you question what is really there. There are three ways to look at that picture: 1. You see two faces looking at each other. 2. You see a cup or goblet. Or 3. you see both. After seeing this image so many times throughout your lifetime you probably can just see both things. But optical illusions make you question what is really there.

What about the people who see mirages while in the desert? They get so parched and thirsty they start imagining places of wonder and amazement with water and food only to find out when they get there it is nothing at all. So you may be looking at this on your computer screen, or you may be imagining it. To be honest I believe in almost everything I see, so I too think this blog post is real.

The Grandfather Paradox

So, I happened to be reading a book the other day and it mentioned the Grandfather Paradox. I was surprised to see that what i believed is actually a theory that many people recognize. It's called the "Many-Worlds theory". The theory states that the paradox isn't a paradox at all.

Every time you make a decision, an alternate reality gets created. If you decide to write in black ink, a reality is created where you use blue ink. So once you kill your grandfather, you are immediately in an alternate reality where you've done it. You no longer exist in the original reality that you came from.

Existentialism in Waiting for Godot

In English we read a play called Waiting For Godot, a work classically known for its existentialist themes. It reminded me of what we talked about in class about the meaning of life, a subject about which the author, Samuel Becket, has a lot to say.

Becket uses his play to explore the condition of human insignificance. Becket takes a narrowly focused look at two pairs of people then delves into the importance of perspective and cycles in dealing with the human condition.
A key issue that surfaces in the piece is the insignificance of people. As members of the human race, people aren’t valued. A person is only one among a huge mass of self-interested people. In Waiting for Godot, Beckett shows the audience two couples of people who have deep and intricate relationships, but are insignificant to anyone else. Estragon and Vladimir have known each other for years and have become co-dependent on each other. Their value to each other is immeasurable. The case is comparable for Pozzo and Lucky. They are so emotionally bonded that they cannot be separated. Pozzo tries to get rid of Lucky by selling him, but it is evident that he is unable to do so. Vladimir and Estragon’s relationship and Pozzo and Lucky’s relationship, as monumental as they may seem to themselves, will never be important to the world.
Another issue explored is how cycles depreciate the value of life. For Becket, a cycle is one day and he makes each cycle distinctly separate from the one previous. Estragon can never remember what he has done the day before. All of his actions lose meaning because he will never remember them long enough to build on them. While Vladimir’s memory is much better than Estragon’s, he is still unable to connect the events of one day to the next. This circumstance prevents both of them from being able to ever make any progress. In a situation comparable to that of the legendary Sisyphus who pushes his rock up the mountain infinitely, each day Vladimir and Estragon start from scratch in dealing with their troubles. No matter how they push, they never reach the top. Like Sisyphus, they always start again at the bottom of the mountain.
Becket’s word choice reveals his strong opinions on existence. He repeats the phrase “Shall we go?" emphasizing a fixation on destination. In his opinion, life is mainly comprised of waiting. As Estragon says, “Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes.” In that vein, it would be useless to measure life by what is gained. Instead, Becket is intent on destination. He looks to see if people can end the day in a different place then when they started. As Vladimir and Estragon are stagnant and fail to achieve a destination, it is clear that Becket concludes that people cannot, and therefore they bear no significance.
Becket makes comparatively little of the human experience. There is little meaning in the relationships between people when looked at the perspective of the whole world. There is also nothing gained in the span of one cycle or even in one whole life. His work deconstructs life and searches for its meaning and ultimately does not find much to explain why we exist.

Dana "Sunshine"

Proof of Reality

For people to believe reality to be what they perceive they must have trust in their senses. While most people have no problem with this, there are cases where people do not trust their senses to accurately portray reality. Such a case is in the play Proof. It’s about Catherine, the daughter of a great mathematician who suffered from schitzofrenia.

In the play’s opening Catherine is already confused. Her father has just died, yet she sees him in the room with her. She doubts her senses and does not trust what she sees. At the same time, she must deal with wanting to trust her father because she loves him but being unable to rely on his image because she knows that she may have inherited his mental illness. Before Catherine is even able to process the dilemma with her father, she is presented with another when her sister comes home.

Catherine’s relationship with Claire also gives her reason to doubt what she sees because she knows that Clair isn’t trustworthy. Their complicated interactions are the result of years of distrust and manipulation. On top of their already poor relations, Catherine’s misgivings about her sister spike when she discovers that Claire has been maneuvering behind her back. Claire cannot be forgiven or trusted after she has been found to be tampering with the most valuable pieces of Catherine’s life.

In the end, Catherine discovers that unlike the mathematics with which she is so familiar, in relationships there is nothing certain. She says, “It’s just evidence. It doesn’t finish the job. It doesn’t prove anything…Nothing [would]. You should have trusted me” Catherine seeks to find the proof that her sense of reality can be trusted. She finds that there is no proof. There is only faith.

Dana "Sunshine"

Would you rather...

The game "Would you rather" is often played at parties, lunch tables, or anywhere where boredom is a factor. The game is played by offering two scenarios; usually both egregiously bad or both wonderful. The point of the game is to make a tough decision and choose one. There is no other option. While this game may seem trivial, it is a metaphor for existence.

As in the game, one often is faced with only two choices. Through trial and error, the human race has learned to usually choose the lesser of two evils. This is where the quandary arises. If everyone has differing points of view, how can large groups of people come to a consensus about these decisions. Imagine two huge groups arguing over what they would rather do, or have. What does this remind you of?

A presidential election? Whether or not to drop the bomb? All major decisions in history have just been games of "Would you rather"

I should probably take hide and go seek more seriously.

-Max

Cat Galaxy

Remember Men in Black?
Yeah, I know you do. So, do you recall that the galaxy that the plot revolved around was actually the size of a little charm on the cat's collar? Take a look at the video if you don't remember. (Sorry its in French)

Think - if galaxies weren't infinitely large spans of space and matter. They were all the size of a cat charm. Rather... they're all the size of an atom. No, even smaller... molecule. What if every molecule was a galaxy.

Imagine. Or galaxy is actually just an molecule in a planet we've never seen before. It would be galaxy within galaxy within galaxy - forever.

Could this be for real?