It often bothers me that people use machines and technology while having no idea how they work. Now I am not talking about knowing all the exact details on how to build a computer chip or maintain a car, but rather the basic understanding of computer and auto parts. You don't need to know how the combustion of gas in a car propels the vehicle to get from place to place, however one should. When someone doesn't know those details, I feel like they are ignorantly living.
There are two instances in my life that illustrate this point. The first is from literature. In a new book from the fantasy genre, a magical character tries to explain how magic is a tool just like technology. She argues to the protagonist that just like he doesn't know how the phone works, so too -- she doesn't know why magic works and what it does. She says something along the lines of: "you don't know how the voice is recorded by the phone and passed through the air to any location to another person whose device interprets the data..." However, I think we should know how that works. We should know about radio waves and how they are transmitted and received, we should know about cell towers and satelites, we should know about electro-magnetism and speakers, and we should know about electricity and digital storage and transmission of information. This doesn't mean we should be able to build a phone from scratch, but rather that we have a general understanding of how things work.
Another example comes from an Android commercial. The Claim: Android searches the sky and projects an image of the sky on your phone - with labels for the astronomical features. To the ignorant user, that is what the phone does - it searches the sky. However, the user should understand GPS and digital sky charts, and physics and astronomical calculations that make such programs feasible.
It is not that technology is magical, but rather there are simple techniques and devices that are used ingeniously to fulfill certain functions. For example, a CD is is just a thin string miles long that either has spot with indents or not indents that reflect a laser to send information --- 1's or 0's. Similarly, ones Hard-drive functions the same way but on a much larger scale, but slightly different. Understanding how data is stored, how cars work, how phones work, allows people to appreciate the world without the lens of ignorance.
I am not saying that we need to be able to understand things to the point of perfect detail, but rather we should learn things as much as possible and appreciate the brilliance behind the technology which we possess. Its often not to hard to grasp. Websites like www.howthingswork.com are great resources. Take a peek and open your eyes...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Hiding Behind Anonymity
I think it is obvious that when people can hide their identity, they will do things they normally would not do. Often times I find myself doing embarrassing actions in public, but not really caring because nobody knows who I am. Conversely, had I been in a room with people who are always with me, then I probably would feel more embarrassed.
This distinction is obvious. When we are worried about our reputation and "ruining our names" then we are extra aware of the people who around us who may know us. If we are convinced that people don't know us, then we feel comfortable doing things we normally wouldn't do.
However, I think there is more to this than just inconsequential things. For example, one of the interesting things about Youtube is that the people who comment do so anonymously. They can say whatever they want no matter how prejudice or hateful. Since there are no consequences to their actions, they can be outright rude to others without having to worry about ruining their own reputation. (Compare to Facebook where the people who right on your wall are identifiable and therefore accountable)
I think also, this could be applied to crime in general and to more broader social settings. Think about the New York subway for a moment. Plenty people graffiti and trash the subway system. However what if people were identinfied as having been on a certain car at a certain time. Each person could hold a radio emitting ID card that could identify them. Then each car can scan for the IDs and people will be linked to the cars that they are on. In other words, you can only ride the subway if you identify who you are. And once you do that, then you are less likely to commit a crime. (The problem would be if someone lost their Id card...but then they should cancel it ASAP like a credit card)
If people are identified in real life (and online) then I am convinced that a lot of the information on the internet would be more trustworthy and the slander will be limited - because people will only want to communicate with people who they can trust and with people who do not need to hide behind anonymous personalities. Also, crime will be less because people then would be identifiable.
Setback? Big Brother is watching...
This distinction is obvious. When we are worried about our reputation and "ruining our names" then we are extra aware of the people who around us who may know us. If we are convinced that people don't know us, then we feel comfortable doing things we normally wouldn't do.
However, I think there is more to this than just inconsequential things. For example, one of the interesting things about Youtube is that the people who comment do so anonymously. They can say whatever they want no matter how prejudice or hateful. Since there are no consequences to their actions, they can be outright rude to others without having to worry about ruining their own reputation. (Compare to Facebook where the people who right on your wall are identifiable and therefore accountable)
I think also, this could be applied to crime in general and to more broader social settings. Think about the New York subway for a moment. Plenty people graffiti and trash the subway system. However what if people were identinfied as having been on a certain car at a certain time. Each person could hold a radio emitting ID card that could identify them. Then each car can scan for the IDs and people will be linked to the cars that they are on. In other words, you can only ride the subway if you identify who you are. And once you do that, then you are less likely to commit a crime. (The problem would be if someone lost their Id card...but then they should cancel it ASAP like a credit card)
If people are identified in real life (and online) then I am convinced that a lot of the information on the internet would be more trustworthy and the slander will be limited - because people will only want to communicate with people who they can trust and with people who do not need to hide behind anonymous personalities. Also, crime will be less because people then would be identifiable.
Setback? Big Brother is watching...
Monday, March 8, 2010
Music
Have you ever noticed the different ways you listen to music?
I think it is interesting that when we listen to music it is hard to take in everything all at once. Yes we can "hear" all of it, but it is very hard to pay attention to all the details of the song. We can usually hear a song over and over again and pick up on small musical facets that we have never heard before.
Usually there is some harmony that I miss, or a chord that really hits home. Sometimes, I try to listen to the instruments to see if I can name them all, and often discover melodies and beats that were completely lost in the whole.
Moreover, I think music is something that we often underestimate. We often see it as a means for entertainment. However, we allocate much of our memory to lyrics and often find ourself humming tunes throughout the day. I don't think this allocation is a waste of space. Rather I think these memories are capital that we use at later times to support and remember feelings that are not immediately available. The feelings that songs evoke remain with us and return to us whenever we hear those same songs.
Music is more than just some sounds. It is rather a complex collection of sounds that ultimately capture our attention over and over again and continually invoke memories and emotions. I think we too often underestimate its power and importance.
I think it is interesting that when we listen to music it is hard to take in everything all at once. Yes we can "hear" all of it, but it is very hard to pay attention to all the details of the song. We can usually hear a song over and over again and pick up on small musical facets that we have never heard before.
Usually there is some harmony that I miss, or a chord that really hits home. Sometimes, I try to listen to the instruments to see if I can name them all, and often discover melodies and beats that were completely lost in the whole.
Moreover, I think music is something that we often underestimate. We often see it as a means for entertainment. However, we allocate much of our memory to lyrics and often find ourself humming tunes throughout the day. I don't think this allocation is a waste of space. Rather I think these memories are capital that we use at later times to support and remember feelings that are not immediately available. The feelings that songs evoke remain with us and return to us whenever we hear those same songs.
Music is more than just some sounds. It is rather a complex collection of sounds that ultimately capture our attention over and over again and continually invoke memories and emotions. I think we too often underestimate its power and importance.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Meat
I think one of the interesting things about eating meat is how removed we are from the process. We never see the animal, kill the animal, skin the animal, carve the animal, drain the blood and dispose of the corpse. Moreover, when we get the finished product, we remove ourselves further by hardly even calling the meat what it really is.
We call it beef, hamburgers, brisket, bologna and never cow.
We often call chicken white meat, dark meat or buffalo wings...
I think that the very fact that we get queasy when thinking about skinning cows and carving the meat off their bones demonstrates a quintessential fact about our common meat eating tendencies.We think it is gross, but we like how it tastes.
However, I think that by removing ourselves so much from the this process, we downplay the status of living animals. From an standoffish place, we begin to equate objects and animals as equal objects. Just like how my chair underwent some sort of production and assembly line, so too did my meat. I don't care about the process, I only care about the end result.
This line of thinking is unfair. Not to say that we should not eat meat, but rather that when we eat meat, we should at least acknowledge that process and try to think a little bit more about where meat comes from. Animals and Minerals are not equal.
Interestingly, if you are to agree that we should think a little bit more about where meat comes from and not take it for granted, I think that you can also apply that to many aspects of life. The labor put into the creation of your possessions and the natural processes that enabled nature to produce the materials for our possessions both demonstrate a level of meaning that we often ignore, that I think can only enhance our daily experiences.
We call it beef, hamburgers, brisket, bologna and never cow.
We often call chicken white meat, dark meat or buffalo wings...
I think that the very fact that we get queasy when thinking about skinning cows and carving the meat off their bones demonstrates a quintessential fact about our common meat eating tendencies.We think it is gross, but we like how it tastes.
However, I think that by removing ourselves so much from the this process, we downplay the status of living animals. From an standoffish place, we begin to equate objects and animals as equal objects. Just like how my chair underwent some sort of production and assembly line, so too did my meat. I don't care about the process, I only care about the end result.
This line of thinking is unfair. Not to say that we should not eat meat, but rather that when we eat meat, we should at least acknowledge that process and try to think a little bit more about where meat comes from. Animals and Minerals are not equal.
Interestingly, if you are to agree that we should think a little bit more about where meat comes from and not take it for granted, I think that you can also apply that to many aspects of life. The labor put into the creation of your possessions and the natural processes that enabled nature to produce the materials for our possessions both demonstrate a level of meaning that we often ignore, that I think can only enhance our daily experiences.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Self Reflection
You may also have had this experience.
As a kid, you know every facet of your room. You know all the cracks in the roof, where the carpet is loose from the wall, the patterns in the wood of your furniture and even the creaks and squeaks of your door. OK, you might not have known these exact specific things, but you did know the unique facets of your room/house that really made it your house.
I find that as we get older we stop paying attention to those little details. We only have time for the "important" things and rarely stop moving to just take in our surroundings. Moving from computer to the TV news, to HW to reading, to cooking, to shopping, we often don't take the time and just sit and look around. To explore. To wonder.
I noticed this one day as I took a break from writing a paper, and instead of switching to checking an email or taking a nap, I just sat on my couch and looked around. And I remembered what it was like as a kid to just sit in one place and just look around.
Even when we have a day off from work or school, we still don't stop and look around - even when their might be a religious normative message to do so. We often go from meal, to sleep, to errands, to readings and still keep ourselves busy by always doing something.
However, I think that this constant moving around takes its toll. Not only do we lose the details that for some reason provide those aesthetic beautiful memories, but we also lose the time for self reflection. We know so much about so many things in life, but we don't know a lot about ourselves. Besides the larger philosophical questions of who we are and where we are going, I think we must ask the smaller questions that pay attention to details-
What motivates us to do work?
What meals of the day make me feel more energized?
How productive am I each day? Each week?
What makes me mad? How can I be more patient?
What can I do differently?
Is what I did today the best way to have done it?
I think that we often take the first answer that comes into our minds. While these might be good answers, they may not include a more comprehensive list. We should really think and rethink and try to understand what it is that makes us tick; how we work and respond to different situations.
We must pay attention to our inner details and really try to "slow down," reflect, and relax.
As a kid, you know every facet of your room. You know all the cracks in the roof, where the carpet is loose from the wall, the patterns in the wood of your furniture and even the creaks and squeaks of your door. OK, you might not have known these exact specific things, but you did know the unique facets of your room/house that really made it your house.
I find that as we get older we stop paying attention to those little details. We only have time for the "important" things and rarely stop moving to just take in our surroundings. Moving from computer to the TV news, to HW to reading, to cooking, to shopping, we often don't take the time and just sit and look around. To explore. To wonder.
I noticed this one day as I took a break from writing a paper, and instead of switching to checking an email or taking a nap, I just sat on my couch and looked around. And I remembered what it was like as a kid to just sit in one place and just look around.
Even when we have a day off from work or school, we still don't stop and look around - even when their might be a religious normative message to do so. We often go from meal, to sleep, to errands, to readings and still keep ourselves busy by always doing something.
However, I think that this constant moving around takes its toll. Not only do we lose the details that for some reason provide those aesthetic beautiful memories, but we also lose the time for self reflection. We know so much about so many things in life, but we don't know a lot about ourselves. Besides the larger philosophical questions of who we are and where we are going, I think we must ask the smaller questions that pay attention to details-
What motivates us to do work?
What meals of the day make me feel more energized?
How productive am I each day? Each week?
What makes me mad? How can I be more patient?
What can I do differently?
Is what I did today the best way to have done it?
I think that we often take the first answer that comes into our minds. While these might be good answers, they may not include a more comprehensive list. We should really think and rethink and try to understand what it is that makes us tick; how we work and respond to different situations.
We must pay attention to our inner details and really try to "slow down," reflect, and relax.
Monday, February 22, 2010
The News
Everyone complains that journalists sentimentalize news stories. However, news networks still have good ratings and everyone still watches the news. Knowing that what they see should be taken with a grain of salt, viewers continue to encourage sentimentalized reporting.
Think about the alternative: People stop watching news networks that demonstrate bias. Instead they opt for new coverage that is fair and controls for misrepresentation and other socio-cultural errors. These news stories would be less engaging and people would stop watching.
This accounts for why people continue to watch highly biased networks (well the news network of your choice that best fits your own news outlook) and still complain that the media is unfair and weighted.
Circular logic at its best. - wanting the best of both worlds...
Ever wonder?
Think about the alternative: People stop watching news networks that demonstrate bias. Instead they opt for new coverage that is fair and controls for misrepresentation and other socio-cultural errors. These news stories would be less engaging and people would stop watching.
This accounts for why people continue to watch highly biased networks (well the news network of your choice that best fits your own news outlook) and still complain that the media is unfair and weighted.
Circular logic at its best. - wanting the best of both worlds...
Ever wonder?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Time Speeds up with Age
We have all heard parents claim that lives pass them by quickly and that their children grow up quickly. We also recount at the end of a high school or college how quickly time has passed by.
We also remember that when we used to be kids and our parents promised us 10 more minutes, those 10 minutes seemed like forever. Now, 10 minutes is 1/4 of the time it takes to get ready in the morning...
Now it could be that we were so self absorbed as kids that we didn't know that the 10 minutes our parents promised us was really 30 minutes. but I have a different theory:
I think that it has to do with our relationship with time. Therefore, when we are 4, a year is 1/4 of our lives! That is a very long time. Similarly, when one is 16, 4 years of high school is 1/4 of our life.
However, when you are in college at 20, those 4 years now become 1/5 of your life. Then when you are 32 and you have a 4 year old who grew up so quickly, it only took 1/8 of your life.
The point is: as time goes on, your points of reference continue to expand. Long periods of time seem shorter and life seems to pass by quicker.
That is my theory. Thoughts?
We also remember that when we used to be kids and our parents promised us 10 more minutes, those 10 minutes seemed like forever. Now, 10 minutes is 1/4 of the time it takes to get ready in the morning...
Now it could be that we were so self absorbed as kids that we didn't know that the 10 minutes our parents promised us was really 30 minutes. but I have a different theory:
I think that it has to do with our relationship with time. Therefore, when we are 4, a year is 1/4 of our lives! That is a very long time. Similarly, when one is 16, 4 years of high school is 1/4 of our life.
However, when you are in college at 20, those 4 years now become 1/5 of your life. Then when you are 32 and you have a 4 year old who grew up so quickly, it only took 1/8 of your life.
The point is: as time goes on, your points of reference continue to expand. Long periods of time seem shorter and life seems to pass by quicker.
That is my theory. Thoughts?
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