Instrumentalism vs. Determinism

     In beginning my reading of The Shallows by Nicholas Carr, I was at first skeptical of the prologue's claim that it is not the content of the media that shapes us, but the media itself.  But then I recalled that Maryanne Wolf's Proust and the Squid gives much support that the development of reading has shaped the way mankind thinks.  I have long been an instrumentalist, though I never had seen the word until I came upon it in Carr's work.  An instrumentalist believes: "Our instruments are the means we use to achieve our ends; they have no ends of their own" (Carr, 46).  A technological instrumentalist uses his tools to achieve good.  At the other end of the spectrum, we have determinism.  A technological determinist believes that "technological progress...an autonomous force outside man's control, has been the primary factor influencing the course of human history" (Carr, 46).  The extreme view of determinism says even that our only role is to produce sophisticated technology, until technology is able to reproduce itself.  "At that point, we become dispensable (Carr, 46).

     First of all, I think that finishing my read of The Shallows will likely convince me that the idea that media shapes how we think.  But at the same time, I will still see the way media content shapes who we are.  Both are true.  In regards to instrumentalism versus determinism, I have slightly altered my view and propose a balanced approach.  It should not be unreasonable to say that the internet has made us text skimmers, books promote deep thought, that music gets us to listen to sound differently, and that movies orient us towards visuals and plot.  But technology will never have ultimate control over us.  In fact, instead of thinking so much in terms of control, maybe it would be appropriate to think in terms of a conversation.  People make things that you may see or use, which can influence you via content or form of media.  In turn, you create something which has been influenced by things made past.   This can apply to more than just technology.  It applies to all things - works of art, buildings, music.  But you get to choose what to make, if you make it, how you make it.  You get to choose your tool set and how you use your tools.   Like our Creator, we like to create because its in our nature.  But our creations are based on materials that are around us.  Therefore, we listen and we learn, then we speak.

Autismate

You all saw today what we presented in class about the Autismate app, so I’d like to point out one of the revelations that we as a class made about this app. During class today, we came to the conclusion that the Autismate app may be applicable beyond just children with Autism. I originally saw it as a great way to link spatial skills to reading and to communicating for children with Autism; however, I never drew the conclusion that the practice with naming could increase RAN (rapid automatized naming) in any child on the cusp between speaking and reading. Below is a link of an interview with Dr. Wolf (the same as the author of Proust and the squid regarding her breakthroughs in the science of reading and RAN and her experiences with dyslexia.

http://childrenofthecode.org/interviews/wolf.htm

On the other side of things, I see some flaws to this app. Although it can be useful for nonverbal kids with Autism, only 30 percent of kids with Autism are nonverbal. Instead of putting the children in real life situations they are stuck in the virtual world of the app. This app may encourage more alone play which part of the problem in the first place. The children may become too attached to this technology, and their mood may become dependent on it. Although the app seems to be a “cool” new technology, the majority of the class agreed we would not use it on our child if he or she had autism.

Link to the Prezi 

Lumosity

Last Thursday, Sarah A. and I talked about the website Lumosity. Lumosity is a brain training program developed by neuroscientists that is aimed at maintaining the brain's neuroplasticity. Users of Lumosity have a daily regimen of short, mentally stimulating brain games, each of which are specific to one of five categories Lumosity aims to improve: Memory, Attention, Speed, Problem Solving, and Flexibility.

 Sarah A presented the good things about this website. It was developed by a team of neuroscientists, so the programs the site offer have a decent amount of credibility. Users can get a good idea of what they're signing up for with a month long free trial, before they decide that they want to commit and start paying a monthly fee. Lumosity tracks your progress as well as shows you how you stand among other users, which can serve as motivation to stick with the program and work hard at increasing your brain power. A study conducted at UC Berkeley showed that those who stuck with the program for an extended period of time had significantly enhanced self esteem compared to those who had no experience with the program.

While there are many cool things about Lumosity, there are some aspects that reflect negatively on the program. For this type of software, it is extremely pricey. With a monthly rate of $14.95, many people will get discouraged and cancel their subscription because they decide their money can go towards better things. Like exercise, it is something you have to stick with for a long time before you see any desirable results. People who are only half-committed to participating in the program will just be wasting their money. Also, the goal of the program is to maintain a brain's neuroplasticity--its ability to adapt to new ideas and skills. There are plenty of other ways to accomplish this without sitting at your computer--learning a language, playing a sport, or doing crossword puzzles are all activities that will help keep the brain stimulated and developing. In his book The Shallows, Nicholas Carr argues that activities on the web serve as an extension of our personal memory, not as a tool to enhance it.

Diegosan the Robotic Toddler

On Tuesday, February 19, Cody L. and I presents Diegosan. Diegosan is a robotic toddler that was created to simulate they way in which children, specifically one year-old children, learn to interact with other humans through emotions. Diegosan is able to create multiple facial expressions and has 44 pneumatic joints.
I presented the con side to this technology. In order to study how one year-old children learn to interact with the world, other children will need to be involved in this study. I am concerned with this because there is an uncertainty of the psychological effects the study will have on the children. I am also very confused with how a one year-old child's learning can be simulated by this robot. If we do not know how they learn, how can we create something that learns like a child. Looking into the future, this technology could be used as a companion for only children and children with different mental syndromes like Autism or Aspergers. The psychological effect of this are unknown and have a very bad potential in my opinion. In the quotes within the prezi, Turkle shows how humans begin to bond with robots and lose a separation of interacting with humans and robots.

The Pros of DDR

     As an experienced Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) player, I was excited to be able to present this topic.  However, it may be interesting to know that when I was first (verbally) introduced to the concept of the game, I thought it sounded quite silly.  "Why wouldn't you just go dance in real life?" I thought.  Upon first trying the game myself, I became quickly interested in it, but was unable to complete even a single song at first.  But once I took my first steps, so to speak, things improved quickly.  But no matter my skill level, I've always found DDR to be fun, once I tried it!

     Hans B and I presented  the topic of human development via DDR together.  The key benefits that I discussed are: physical, rhythmic, and cerebral.  I mentioned the neuro-plasticity aspect of this game in relation to Maryanne Wolf's "Proust and the Squid", but did not include a quote, therefore I will mention one here.  Wolf writes:

"A system that can become streamlined through specialization and automatically has more time to think.  This is the miraculous gift of the reading brain."

I have found this to apply to the game of DDR because of the reading of the arrows.  I believe this could have some benefits outside the game.  Though DDR's style of dancing is much different than dancing in other public settings, the rhythmic and physical benefits in combination with this automaticity achieved from DDR could lead to being more confident in social dance settings.  Having that "time to think" once you make the change in style will not only alleviate any negative self-consciousness but also allow you to be more fully present.

So why not ditch the arrows and only play more realistic dance games with Xbox Kinect?  Well, I'm not actually trying to downplay newer games.  However, there is something to be said about the very structured straightforward gameplay of DDR.  By creating a set of rules, the player is actually allowed to be freer to push themselves physically.  Similarly, a piano player is not truly free to play the piano until they know something about tempo, rhythm, pitch, key signature, the positioning of hands, and time signature.  Even if you find the dance moves to be irrelevant, Dance Dance Revolution is certainly a fun way to contribute towards one's development.

My Fitness Pal

My Fitness Pal is an app you can download on any Apple or Android product. It allows you to track your progress with weight loss, gain or maintenance. You input the food you eat into a calorie counter that tracks the protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, etc. that are in the food and compare it to the amount of each nutrients that you need. You can even help your friends lose weight by encouraging them and tracking their progress as well.

What's cool about this app is it does the calculating and management for you. The only thing you need to do is eat and track. The database has a variety of foods, drinks, and exercises that can easily be adjusted at any time. If the database does not contain the food or exercise you did, you can always "Quick Add" calories or "invent" the food yourself. It's also free and easy to use.This software also contains the correct amount of protein, fiber, calcium, etc. for a person of each weight, height, age and gender.

What's not cool about this app is it can be very time consuming and monotonous. It can also have a tenancy to promote the "thin ideal" that Rosen talked about in his chapter on eating disorders. It is very easy to change the calories to a very low amount like 300, which is what the average person with anorexia nervosa would eat in a day and the app would not alert anyone of this restriction and allow the person to continue to starve. Wolf would probably be more on the fence about this app because while it does help us organize our eating habits and thoughts, it might be doing all the thinking for us.

Here is our Prezi!

ARGUS-IS: Hayley Nicolich and Griffin Magee

               In 2007, DARPA was awarded a contract with a budget of $18.5 million to develop the Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System, more commonly known as ARGUS-IS. Recently, a limited amount of details regarding this military surveillance system were released to the public. This technology, designed by Yiannis Antoniades, has incredibly innovative and impressive capabilities. ARGUS is actually composed of 368 5 megapixel cell phone cameras in a mosaic-like form which are mounted to a drone. The video stream from each of these chips is blended together to create an incredible 1.8 billion pixel real-time video stream, capturing areas up to 15 square miles in a single glance. The resolution is so defined that an operative can zoom in from 17,500 feet to clearly view an object as close as 6 inches from the ground. Not only does ARGUS-IS stream video at a rate of 600 gigabytes per second, but it also is capable of storing a million terabytes, or 5,000 hours of high definition footage per day. And this is just what the government has allowed us to know so far. 

             Whether or not the implications of the ARGUS-IS are cool or terrifying is disputable. First, let’s delve into the positive aspects of this technology. The fact that this imaging system can transmit 600 gigabytes of data per second is a huge leap into the future of wireless data transfer technology. Although it is unclear what this means for everyday Americans, it is not unwise to assume that this will impact the speed at which we are able to transmit data on a societal level. ARGUS-IS is also obviously beneficial for its very purpose: to make military reconnaissance more reliable. With this technology, American military operatives will have the ability to gain more reliable information from further away. There is also a possibility that ARGUS-IS could be used in the field of law enforcement to do anything from locating criminals to finding missing persons. 

             The fact that some pieces of the sensor are still considered classified information raises suspicion, and fairly so, in the minds of many Americans. The use of this device on American soil presents an array of problems, most of which arise from the potential for conflict with rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution.  The Fourth Amendment offers protection against warrantless searches and seizures, which in recent years has been extended to include the use of GPS devices to track citizens.   Now, one of the features of the ARGUS-IS is its ability to isolate and record the movement of specific objects in its field of view.  Because this type of technology is unprecedented, no legislation has been passed with regards to its use in America, but it is certain to be found to conflict with the rights assured in the Fourth Amendment.  The unsettling nature of this device is not limited to the infringement upon Constitutional rights, however.  In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the amount of surveillance that each citizen is placed under every day.   The addition of the surveillance ability of the ARGUS-IS would only be another step towards a George Orwell-esque future in which we are constantly monitored and controlled by “The man”.

iPhone - Pros

Though the pros of the iPhone are great and plenty, refrain from belittling my work.  With a focus on the iPhone 5, here is a video explaining the device in detail:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/#video

Apart from the instantaneous, almost magical appeal of the iPhone, in my presentation I brought up several key features such as these:

• Beautiful high resolution screen
• Siri
• E-mail functionality
• Camera quality
• Intuitive design
• Lightning port that goes to HDMI
• Facetime capabilities

This technology is not one that the authors of our readings would argue against; the potential for learning and development on the iPhone is astounding.  I shall begin to conclude with a poem:

Iphones are black
Iphones are white
Never out of mind
Never out of sight

Can be used for work,
Can be used for school,
Iphones are everything
But infinitesimal.

Apart from the levity, this really is the case.  As the vice president of Apple said in the attached video, the iPhone is one of the few things that if one leaves their house without it, they go back and get it.  It has become and integral part of our daily lives, and like I said before, this is for the better.  The level of communication we are able to achieve is remarkable; over the cellular network, we can make calls, send text messages, and video chat with others around the world.  I state, of course, my own humble opinion, but I believe that the iPhone is a device that makes the world a better place.

What Is Progress?

     I recently came across something in "Proust and the Squid" (page 213) which I find to be very profound.  Wolf makes a commentary on a quote from Ray Kurzwel, an excerpt of which you will see here:

"How can we, limited by our current brain's capacity for 10^16 to 10^19 calculations per second, even begin to imagine what our future civilization in 2099 - with brains capable of 10^60 calculations per second - will be capable of thinking and doing?"

The brains in the future that are referred to here are computers.  Wolf responds:

"One thing we can imagine is that our capacities for good and for destruction will also be exponentially increased.  If we are to prepare for such a future, our ability to make profound choices just be honed with a rigor rarely practiced by learners in past generations.  If the species is to progress in the fullest sense, such preparations require singular capacities for attention and decision making that incorporate a desire for the common good."

I completely agree with Wolf here.  This is like a large scale version of Spiderman's "With great power comes great responsibility".  I hope that humanity can make moral progress forwards.  With a sense of common good and technology to assist us, we can do great things.

     I am highly interested in this topic because if I ever have the privilege of designing a piece of technology, I want it to have positive impact and not be abused.  While mankind always has the choice to misuse something which is good, I sometimes wonder: Is it possible to design something which by its very nature encourages the user to use it properly, or use it for good?

Pebble Watch- Alexis deZayas and Monica Bravo

The Pebble Watch proved to have many positive uses and aspects. The Pebble is the newest smart watch that can actually connect to an IPhone or Android phone and send notifications directly to the watch. The watch has a sleek style unlike many other smart watches, which appear bulky or unattractive. The Pebble is waterproof and has a battery life of over 7 days. One noteworthy aspect of the watch is that you can download new apps for it on your smartphone, and you can actually create your own apps for the watch. 

Although the Pebble Watch has many neat features and uses, there are quite a few downsides to it as well.  For one, it is made with a cheap screen.  If it drops on a hard surface, there is a fair chance that it will crack and need to be replaced.  It also only works with iPhones and Androids.  This means that not everyone is able to utilize this new technology unless he or she has a compatible phone.  The fact that the watch uses between five and ten percent of your phone’s battery life is also a negative factor.  There are already so many things that run down our phones; the use of this tool means the battery will hold a charge for even less time.

Another big glitch in this product is that if the Bluetooth connection is lost, you must reselect which notifications to send to your watch each time.  This is a huge inconvenience as Bluetooth connections fail quite often.  It almost defeats the purpose of convenience that the watch is supposed to provide.  Finally, the question comes up of if we really need to be connected to our phones even more than we already are.  Are we really too lazy to just pull them out when we want to check something?  I don’t think it is really necessary to have a screen on your wrist to display your notifications and such when we can just as easily look at our phones and see the same thing.  If you didn’t have to carry the phone around in addition to the watch, it would make much more sense on why this watch is really benefitting us at all.

3D Printing–Potential Disadvantages

Dear Class,

Three-dimensional printing progressed from academic curiosity to powerful production tool through the 1980s and 1990s. The apparatus works by injecting media onto a bed, sometimes submerged in liquid, in thin layers, usually around 100 micrometers. After repeating this process many thousands of times, a physical model of a digital object is produced in three dimensions.

As with most technologies, three-dimensional printing has the potential to be socially disruptive. For instance, how will we, as a society, decide to protect the intellectual property rights of companies whose products are likely to be copied using three-dimensional printing? (See this article on how three-dimensional printing is likely to disrupt tabletop gaming company, Games Workshop.) How will we choose to regulate the production of certain objects, like assault rifles? (For more information about weapons manufacture using three-dimensional printing, see this interview with Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson.)

As technology is adopted, there is the tendency for our lives to be lived farther and farther from the physical. Three-dimensional printing is an odd reversal of this trend, a movement of the digital world into the physical. And yet, the physical experience of three-dimensional printing is not the same as other acts of creation. The designer of objects for three-dimensional printing never knows the human pleasure of craftsmanship, the tactile experience of exploring material as it progresses from imagination to form.

The craftsman knows the sensory delights of working in the physical world: the sound and smell of wood as the plane removes shavings, the touch of the plane, the sight of wood taking its final form.
(Image Source.)

With best wishes for your happiness,

Hayden

3D Printing--Pros

Last week my partner Hayden S. and I did our technology presentation on 3D Printers. 3D printers, while relatively new to the manufacturing world, may have the potential to redefine it. 3D printers function in a very similar manner to normal 2D printers, except instead of using paper and ink, they utilize layers of thermoplastic powder into which a binding solution is injected. The solution is injected in areas according to a scan of an object or a 3D design created with Computer Aided Design programming that has been "sent" to the printer. The result is a nearly perfect replication of almost any object imaginable.

 I discussed the many positive implications 3D printing in our presentation. First and foremost, 3D printing is extremely efficient. Many of the processes used to create, assemble, and distribute mass produced products could be eliminated completely with the use of 3D printers. This would simultaneously maximize productivity and minimize cost, which could be beneficial in reducing the price of many useful devices that are too expensive for many to afford. 3D printing also nearly eliminates the production of waste byproducts, meaning that 3D printing could potentially be labeled as a sustainable option for mass production.

One of the most important uses of the 3D printer may be in the medical realm. Technology is being developed which could allow for the "printing" of viable organs, essentially eliminating the need for organ donors and transplant lists. As a result, many lives could be saved. This kind of technology, while not available to hospitals yet, could become a regular practice within the next five years.

These are just a few of many reasons why 3D printing could have a very positive impact on the world within the next decade. Below is the link to our presentation on 3D printers.

Uwand and IR technology--cons

As the presentations for technology come to a close, I'd like to take the chance to take you back to our first day when Colette and I discussed the Uwand. This magical remote incorporates infrared technology--nothing new to the tech world. As a matter of fact, it was first used as a missile detector on Queen Elizabeth's jet in 1990. Since then it's been implemented into security systems, measuring devices, motions sensors, temperature monitoring, and a variety of other consumer products; however, this is it's first application with a television. The Uwand offers a very basic remote with very basic controls with a very basic goal--ease of use.

The Uwand's ease of use marketing strategy borders on false advertising because of its inability to be used through walls and susceptibility to weather. In addition, prepare for the next Iphone to be capable of the exact IR technology making this technology obsolete to the everyday consumer.

Remember when we used to just "watch" tv. We never clicked, browsed, or scrolled on it. We just enjoyed whatever lame CSI came on for an uninterrupted hour. While our brains are not  necessarily turning to mush, our ability to concentrate is being depleted if we need to be able to interact with a television.

Don't get me wrong, I find the ease of use to be extremely cool, but I would expect my Uwand to do my homework and make me the coolest guy at Reggie's on Monday for a market price of $200. It's just not financially sound for its capabilities.

Fortunately, only the 20% of people who actually have smart televisions--66% of which don't even use the apps--can experience its blatant downsides. Carr quotes Doidge in The Shallows saying, "The paradox of neuroplasticity is that for all the mental flexibility it grants us, it can end up locking us into rigid behaviors." Philips is merely playing on the fact that our brains are locked in the "rigid behavior" to have the latest technology--whether is useful or not.

Golden-i

       We did a presentation on Verizon's Golden-i headset that is a full personal computer. Reade discussed what it is and the different specifications of the device. Philip discussed the pros, which included the sturdiness of the device, the ease of use, and the ability to be updated with new technology. Hans talked about the stuff that wasn't cool about it, which included the cost and the fact that it would lead to a more antisocial society. We discussed that Rosen would agree that it would lead to more "i-disorders".

http://prezi.com/y8awke4hvgcq/verizons-golden-i/?kw=view-y8awke4hvgcq&rc=ref-29892049

Larry Rosen Interview

After searching on YouTube, I found this very intriguing interview with Larry Rosen, author of iDisorder. In the video, Rosen talks about some key parts of his book, including our generation's conditions of obsessive compulsiveness and narcissism. Rosen's comments on our dependence on technology and digital devices reminded me of a passage in Wolf's The Proust and the Squid. Wolf writes about the history and beginnings of the written language and how many people were opposed to its development and use, including Socrates. Socrates felt that in writing information down, people no longer had to use their mental capacity to store information. Wolf connected this to our generation and our dependence on technology. The way Rosen speaks about how our generation cannot sit down for a nice quiet dinner without phones on the table, constantly vibrating from text messages, causes me to wonder about technology's effect on humans. Our obsessive compulsiveness has led us to be in constant contact with our phones, never leaving the house without them, and I can't help but think that this has negative ramifications. Maybe the way Socrates felt about his generation's dependence on the written language correlates with our current situation. I know from personal experience that from the moment I first acquired my iPhone, I no longer had to remember where and when certain events were taking place because my phone sent me a reminder that day. Because of the emerging Digital Age, we no longer have to remember information that generations before us did. Are we turning into a generation that can no longer think for itself?

Noninvasive Test for Chromosomal Defects in the Fetus

Tuesday, February 5, Cody L. and I presented Noninvasive Test for Chromosomal Defects in the Fetus. This test is new technology in development to detect chromosomal abnormalities in a fetus through a mother’s blood sample. Using Massive parallel sequencing, the fetal DNA can be isolated in the blood and read in many short bursts at one time. This allows for the DNA to be decoded and assembled together to reflect the entire genome.
The positive side to this technology is the safer method of testing. Currently, more dangerous or less accurate tests are used. An amniocentesis is the most reliable method of currently determining chromosomal defects in the fetus, yet it is coupled with the highest risk. In order to gain a sample of the amino, a needle is inserted through the mother’s belly into the sterile amniotic fluid. This needle can introduce pathogens causing and infection, a or even lead to a spontaneous abortion upon entry, which is argued to be between a 1 in 200 or 1 in 1600 risk. There are also methods of calculating a probability of defects with in the fetus either by a visual clues or maternal hormone screening. Neither of these methods are very reliable, however, and generally lead to an amniocentesis for confirmation. The new technology and methods being developed allows for a harmless blood draw from the mother. The blood can be analyzed for fetal DNA fragments present. These fragments can then be isolated and decoded. The process of decoding is preliminarily test to be just as accurate as MicroArray technology, currently the most accurate method of decoding and translating DNA.