Singularity: All Because of the iPod

I don’t think I’m ready to have my mind fused with a computer, but I think singularity is the way the world is heading. As the worlds base of technology grows each year it seems to due so at an exponential rate. Science of today was what science fiction writes described in their books in the 1900’s. Who would have thought that most people (in first world countries) would be carrying around little boxes that can call, text, take photos and do a million other tasks. The iphone seems mundane to modern day society, but it would be science fiction in the early 1900’s. I remember even when I was little I always dreamed and waited for the new technological advances to come out. Then, when I was younger, this consisted of just new apple products and not many technological advances that had medical or humanitarian benefits like now. 
Nonetheless, I remember holding my iPod, the little device that could only play music on a black/gray/white screen. Some weeks later my friend got an iPod that could hold color photos and I went crazy. What else can Apple do? What else will they come out with? At the time I was obsessed with the music video for Lose Control by Missy Elliot and Ciara and could not stop watching it on my computer. I remember running into my mom’s room and saying that I was so excited for when Apple comes out with an iPod that can play music videos because I want to wanted to watch the music video for Lose Control all the time including while in the car to school and other places where I didn’t have access to a computer. She said that would be exciting or something like that, I can’t really remember, but she obviously didn’t think that was soon or was just unexcited. When I think back to that moment now, where I couldn’t wait for the next advancement in technology it is just amazing to see where a company like apple has taken their products in today’s world. What will my mom be skeptical or unexcited about next? What will I be skeptical of? Robot servants? Synthetic brain enhancements? 
In our world anything is possible it just takes time, but the exciting thing is that technology is growing at such a fast rate that I could see anything within the next 10 years even. And I am not just talking about a cool new way to listen to music, but advances that could save millions of lives through new medical technology or help to reverse human damage to the planet. Technology that is coming up on the horizon has the potential to do so much and help so many people; it is just amazing to think of the things that will come next. I would consider myself a proponent of technological advances and it seems plausible to me that singularity may be approaching in my lifetime. I really am excited more than anything, but I understand why people could be frightened of it. Singularity means allowing technology to play an even bigger role in your life and for most people today, technology already is in almost everything they do. Singularity would even mean that part of who people are would be technology that technology would have personhood and emotions. It is a lot to handle and it seems like something that is so different from today’s world. But, gradually, I think, singularity will slowly start to come into people’s lives and it will be a change that they are okay with over time. Like I said before, I am not ready to have a synthetic brain, or even part of my brain to be synthetic but I am open to what is to come. Even though I am someone very comfortable with technology the thought of having synthetic parts attached to me is disconcerting. But what I do know is that over time I bet that will change and I will become open with what is to come. This is not me saying that singularity is something that is inevitable, but with the way technology advances I think it is definitely a possibility. Say I live for around another eighty years, I am sure that I will see some amazing things in the field of technology. And as those advancements happen society will be edging closer and closer to singularity and eventually accept it as an exciting new way of life.

Living an American Life: Is That Sushi?

Living in the 21^st century in America means being exposed to hundreds of different cultures and customs via many sources, including, but not limited to the internet. When I think of my childhood I don’t reminisce about a typical American life where I had a white picket fence and grew up on good ol’ American cooking, I think of all of the cultures that influenced me. In this day and age what is being American or having an American culture? It seems that as the world has shrunk, due to globalization and the spread of the internet, it is harder and harder to define something as American for me.

Starting with my entertainment as a child, which was based solely on Japanese games and shows, I can truly say that what I was entertained by was not what would be considered American. All of the TV shows I watched were Japanese anime shows like Sailor Moon, Pokémon, Naruto and YuYu Hakasho. These were Japanese cartoons that they had dubbed in English and I was obsessed! Not a single TV show I watched was produced or made in America. This means that I was being exposed to Japanese styles of animation, writing and ideas. I also was obsessed with Pokémon the Japanese game that took America by storm. I along with thousands of other American kids were crazy for Pokémon. As far as I can remember, I really was not entertained by anything that was not Japanese as a child.

When someone thinks of the typical American meal what comes to mind, a giant tray of meatloaf, a traditional turkey dinner? When I think of the meals I ate as a child so many different cultures and cuisines come to mind. Even when I was young, my parents were feeding me meals that most people would not think of if you asked them what a typical American family would eat for dinner. I remember getting Chinese food, sushi (A LOT!) and many other types of ethnic cuisine. As I was growing up, I was unintentionally learning about cuisines of the world and all the foods that were traditional to the Asian, South American and other countries that the food I was eating originated from.

As I was growing up I was introduced to many types of music, one of them being Zap Mama, a French-African group that my aunt introduced to me. This group was funky and very cool and I loved it. On top of Zap Mama I was introduced to other French artists and even some Chinese ones that I really enjoyed growing up. This type of music differs from what people would think of as typical American music, country music. Country music was and is a huge part of the music industry and I was not listening to it at all. So, growing up, the music that was influencing me was not Americana, but a mix of African/European/Asian.

Growing up in America, did I grow up American? I believe so because even though what it was watching, eating and listening to was not originating from America or in an American style, I was experiencing all these different cultures in America. I grew up not actually liking many typical American aspects of society/culture, but what really is typical for America? It is a mish-mosh of so many different people and cultures that eating sushi or watching anime isn’t seen as foreign, but as a typical thing that Americans experience. So, “traditional” American foods, shows and music don’t have to originate from America or really be in English to be considered part of America. This is truly because I grew up in a global culture and I currently am in a global culture. With the internet and as the world modernizes, cultures spread so quickly and root themselves into other countries, becoming typical parts of these countries’ societies. Looking back on my childhood, I grew up as an American living in a global culture because through the lens/society of America I was experiencing aspects of other countries/cultures that had rooted themselves in American culture and had over time assimilated into everyday American life. From the track it has naturally taken, it seems that globalization and the advent of a global culture are here to stay and have really permeated most every country in the world. This means that not only did I grow up an American, but I grew up a citizen of a global culture.

The 7th Graders with iPads

I went to a progressive high school, but that does not directly mean that we were supposed to use technology to learn. In many schools students are not allowed to use laptops or other electronic devices because teachers don’t want students to be distracted, but this was not the case at my high school. I wouldn’t say that we were the most high tech school in the country; it was just that the use of technology/ the use of new technology was something that I experienced on a regular basis. I typically took notes on my computer for at lest ¾ of my classes. This helped my stay organized and allowed me to go back and edit my writing or make study guides from my notes. This was my normal interaction with technology while in a learning environment. But, my school tried to really integrate new ways of learning with technology as well. I remember that for a French project we corresponded with a Moroccan class where we wrote plays for each other and acted them out via a large video chat. I would say this is just some light integration of technology, and this is what I experienced, but my school went even deeper with their use of tech. Last year they started out the whole 7^th grade with ipads and fully integrated them into all of their classes. Literally every class of everyday was ipad based for these 7^th graders. But, the program was met with great confusion by many older students at my school. I was actually surprised that many of my peers were saying how this would ruin these kids’ education and that these ipads were not that good for classroom purposes. I tried to keep an open mind because I liked new styles of teaching like this. So, when the 7^th graders made a presentation, I got to experience first hand what it was like for them to go through all of their classes using the ipad. It really seemed that with the help of some great apps for the ipad, classes were going well and students were responding well to the use of new tech. What was cool was that the whole presentation was done on ipads. After seeing this presentation, I was quite impressed and could really see this being the future of many other classes. What was so interesting to me was how many of my peers still saw these ipads as mere gaming devices and not so much as a tool that could be utilized as a learning device in the classroom where as many of the adults in the community responded positively to the use of ipads. I would expect the opposite where students would be praising the use of new tech while the older people would be denouncing this radical way of teaching. I think that the reason many of my peers saw the ipads as distraction was because they thought that the way they grew up learning was good enough without ipads and that bringing in this tech was unnecessary. From this experience plus some others, it seems like tech is being rejected in the classroom by most people, but progress never stops. And because progress never stops, there is always going to be new ways to teach using tech that schools, teachers etc. are going to have to/want to use because that is the way of the future. Why not utilize the best tools available for learning? Often it makes the class more interesting for the student and gets them more engaged in their own learning experience. This is what I saw firsthand coming from these 7^th graders, a group of kids that were really excited about what they had been learning about and were able to make a whole digital presentation about what they were learning and how they were leaning it. This is just a small slice of what living in a digital culture means.  The use of ipads is just one example of how teachers are actively using the digital culture we live in to educate their students. There are thousands of other ways that are available to utilize as educational tools and they are becoming more and more advanced everyday/ new devices and programs are coming out faster and faster these days, so it seems like there are a lot of possibilities for educational devices for the future. To me, pushing forward with the use of new tech seems like the way to go.

Are Games Good for Girls...or Anybody?

You look away from the screen; down at your watch…it’s 4:30 in the morning. You have just beaten Call of Duty: Modern Warfare…chances are you’re a guy. The gaming industry has always had a gender problem. More guys play more games for longer periods of time than girls do. But, the market has recently changed and girls seem to be playing more and more games. What has changed? I think the release of the iPhone has really changed the way society and girls view games. There is a divide (page 15-17) when it comes to hardcore games that are played on consoles and casual games on the internet or an iPhone. Guys seem to use console based games that they get really into and play for hours more than girls do. With the release of lots of mobile games I have seen more and more girls playing games and, not just un-educational games, but strategy and word building games like Words with Friends. So, is it a bad thing that girls don’t play as many console games as guys do? I say no because these types of games often absorb the player and have them waste hours playing a game that does not enrich them at all. If girls pick up strategy/educational games on mobile consoles, I see that a good shift in society.

It is shown (Page 15-17) that girls tend to play casual short-term games. When games like this come to mind I think of games like Bubble Trouble or Bubble Spinner. These are both games that I have played with many girls and that I have seen them play by themselves as well. I have played these games with girls on a computer, but what I have seen the iPhone do is create accessible and casual games that get girls into playing more games. These games are not limited to just “pink” games as some would call them, but games that they play with other guys and girls alike. The iPhone has created a gaming revolution that has taken over the country. Each time a revolutionary game comes out I see my whole school engulfed in the game, not just the guys. For a while I was playing Words With Friends, a popular scrabble-like games, with 5 girls and 3 guys from my school. I have seen the happen with other games as well. I know that Fruit Ninja was really popular among many of my friends that are girls and still is their go to game if they are bored or on a train etc. It seems that the popularity and the accessibility the iPhone has created has shifted the gaming paradigm that used to exist, but is this the best thing for society?

            I have always loved video games, but I am not the type of person that would spend hours upon hours playing a game until I got to a high level or I beat the game. I am not really into gaming and I don’t think that getting more girls into gaming is something that is really important. Sure, video games can be a fun thing to do when you sleep over at a friend’s house or you need to entertain your younger cousins, but when it comes down to it, do games actually enriches our lives? There have been many studies showing that playing video games give you better hand-eye coordination etc. but to what degree? And do the hand-eye coordination benefits out way the hours people spend just staring at a screen? I don’t think so. But, I do see the potential in having kids learn from educational games and I think they have a different impact on kids than games such as Call of Duty. I remember playing a lot of math PC games that I found really fun. I remember those games helped me learn to multiply and learn other areas of math that I had trouble with as a kid. With the creation of iPads and iPhones these learning games have become really popular with children and seem to be helping kids of all different learning abilities process information. It really depends on what type of gaming someone is doing whether it is a guy or a girl. There is the intense and engulfing type of gaming where someone will spend hours playing the night away and then there is the light form of gaming that seems to attracting more and more girls. This is the type of gaming that I think is here to stay and become more popular. Not to say that console based games are going to fall out of the spotlight, but I think that with the learning potential and growing popularity among a lot of different demographics we will see a rise in new and interesting gaming options on portable devices like the iPhone or iPad.

Living in a Digital Culture: Trolling the Internet Got Me This Job?!?

You are looking through a bookstore (you know, the one that is left after all of the rest have gone out of business) and you come upon Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. You recognize the name (remembering it is a famous novel or movie…or both? You don’t know, but nevertheless you pick it up) and open it to see if you would like it. A look of horror creeps across your face as you slowly realize that the language is too dense and heavy for you to even want to read. Why is this? You remember a time when a book like Gone With the Wind would have been a pleasure to read, its lengthy prose and dense language wouldn’t have been a problem. But after hours of jumping around on the internet your habits have changed and now you can’t stand the sight of a book that requires so much concentration. Has the internet ruined my generation, generations past and all of the ones to come? No, the internet is an advance in society that has revolutionized the world for the better and is an advance that should not be looked down upon. Just like Socrates criticized written word because he thought it would make people’s memory worse, modern day critics of the internet say that it is changing to way people process dense language and data. But, just like written word changed the world for the better, so has the internet. And it will continue to be something that revolutionizes the world. So far the benefits of the internet including the ability to access millions of previously unattainable resources out way any negatives that have arisen on top of the fact that the internet is now a staple of our society (and is here to stay).

Above: Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

            The internet got me my first internship. Doesn’t that seem strange? How would trolling the internet for hours have gotten me a job when it seems like just the opposite should be true? Having an interest in fashion I always looked at magazines like Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, but the knowledge I could gain from these magazines were limited to what the editors and writers wanted me to read. What if I wanted to know what Rick Owens’ bedroom looked like or what kind of dogs Jack and Lazaro of Proenza Schouler have? Well, the internet gave me the access to find this information. The internet was a giant fashion encyclopedia to me and I would spend hours scrounging through thousands of websites just absorbing data. Because of this, when I met my now former boss and my mentor I actually impressed her with my peculiar knowledge of a random fact that included world famous ice sculptures creating the Fall/Winter Chanel 2010 runway. I was asked to intern on the spot, something that has set me on the track to have an amazing career in fashion. At the time I was just a 16 year old nobody that had no connections in the fashion world, but something that I did have was access, access to valuable information that I culled from random sights on the internet. This is just one amazing thing that has happened to me because of the internet, but I can think of hundreds more. What is important to note is not just that the internet can do amazing things for people, but also that the internet is now a permanent part of society.

Above: Chanel Fall/Winter 2010

            

The internet has permeated every part of modern day society, firmly planting its roots into the lives of most of the people on earth. This is just the natural course of society advancing.  The internet has created a technological revolution just like the way the typewriter and the printing press created a technological ripple in society when they were first introduced. In the end, both the typewriter and printing press revolutionized society and became a permanent step in the staircase that is the history of technology/society. This is what has happened with the internet, it also is now a step in the very same staircase (and a very large step might I add) that both the typewriter and printing press are a part of. What has happened with the internet is that it has become an unavoidable part of society; it is a natural advance that will lead to new ideas, technologies and much more. The world is constantly moving forward with new advancements happening every second and I can’t wait to see what new advancements stem from the internet.

Bibliography: Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/>.