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”.