Welcome to CyberCommunities, our class blog that explores various digital neighborhoods. Each week 2-3 people will post articles about their community, which will form the basis for class discussion.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The Outsourced Brain
Here's a link to the article we read in class today: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/opinion/26brooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
I think that people have become more dependent upon electronic devices like their PDA’s and G.P.S. systems. Websites like MapQuest have started to unravel the practice of a requirment our (or at least my) parents instilled in us: to know where you’re going and various ways/routes to use to get home. You don’t have to remember where your mother-in-law’s house is anymore; just press a few keys and the automated, “tranquil and slightly Anglophilic” (according to Brooks) voice tells you when and where to turn.
I’m not sure about younger people (no one I know that’s around my age has a serious memory problem – though there is the name issue…), but I know plenty of older, businesspeople/professionals that can’t live without their Blackberries. Any and everything, from a dentist appointment or a business conference they have next week, to their kid’s soccer game, is recorded into that little device. If they lost it, I really think they’d fall apart.
Rather than ALL electronic devices, I feel that it may be just a few items that have appear everywhere I think the Blackberry is the main problem. It seems to be just these consumers that have lost, or rather failed to continuously exercise their memorization skills, since this device can do it for them. …Either way, we as Americans have developed a serious dependency on electronic devices. So far there have been few repercussions, but I guess time’ll tell how deep/far this reliance will go.
The age of technology is upon us and it evokes many questions and fears in today's youngsters and adults. Many of us are addicted to cell phones, computers, GPS systems, and iPods. We no longer have to memorize phone numbers and what music we like. Now we may externalize out taste and personal information. This makes us more autonomous. All of this technology is giving us more choices. We get to choose and explore what other music we may like and what route we want to take to our relatives house. These choices are changing our generation for the better.
Welcome to Unit 2 of Cyber 110! In this unit each of you will explore a Digital Neighborhood and write a research paper about your findings. This unit will require you to familiarize yourself with your online community by taking part in its activities; research articles that discuss the history of your community or its social impacts; and share the information you find with the class.
For each class 2-3 people will lead class discussions about their communities. If you are presenting on a Tuesday, you should post a link to your article on this blog by Saturday at noon. If you are presenting on a Thursday, you should post a link to your article by Tuesday at midnight. Everyone in the class will be required to read your article for discussion. Please find articles that are informative and in-depth. They should be approximately 5-20 pages in length.
After the class discusses your article, you have until noon the next day to post a summary/analysis of the class discussion and/or article. Everyone in the class is required to comment on at least two posts per week.
Good luck!
New Addition: After class discussion, you have 24 hours to submit your descriptive post. All other students can submit their comments until the start of the following class.
2 comments:
I think that people have become more dependent upon electronic devices like their PDA’s and G.P.S. systems. Websites like MapQuest have started to unravel the practice of a requirment our (or at least my) parents instilled in us: to know where you’re going and various ways/routes to use to get home. You don’t have to remember where your mother-in-law’s house is anymore; just press a few keys and the automated, “tranquil and slightly Anglophilic” (according to Brooks) voice tells you when and where to turn.
I’m not sure about younger people (no one I know that’s around my age has a serious memory problem – though there is the name issue…), but I know plenty of older, businesspeople/professionals that can’t live without their Blackberries. Any and everything, from a dentist appointment or a business conference they have next week, to their kid’s soccer game, is recorded into that little device. If they lost it, I really think they’d fall apart.
Rather than ALL electronic devices, I feel that it may be just a few items that have appear everywhere I think the Blackberry is the main problem. It seems to be just these consumers that have lost, or rather failed to continuously exercise their memorization skills, since this device can do it for them. …Either way, we as Americans have developed a serious dependency on electronic devices. So far there have been few repercussions, but I guess time’ll tell how deep/far this reliance will go.
The age of technology is upon us and it evokes many questions and fears in today's youngsters and adults. Many of us are addicted to cell phones, computers, GPS systems, and iPods. We no longer have to memorize phone numbers and what music we like. Now we may externalize out taste and personal information. This makes us more autonomous. All of this technology is giving us more choices. We get to choose and explore what other music we may like and what route we want to take to our relatives house. These choices are changing our generation for the better.
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