BLOG ASSIGNMENT

Question 1:
A. From Greek mythology, the stories of Daedalus, Icarus, Prometheus and Pandora express some of the West's deep-seated misgivings regarding technology. How are these metaphors applied to new media today?

Comparing Pandora’s Box to technology, the evil that had been carried in that box and unleashed upon mankind could have parallels to help people view technology today. Although technology has been a great advantage to the world, it has also been the cause of many illnesses. Technology such as cell phones, computers, microwaves, etc, are very beneficial and used in our daily lives, it also has its downfalls. One of which is that many technologic advances cause cancer and tumors, due to electronic balances and radiation.

Prometheus, character in mythology is that he is ripped to pieces and brought back to life. Though the Frankenstein notion is derived from Prometheus in the aspect that he is technology and it can be ripped apart and put back together. This is a relationship with our doubts regarding technology using deductive reasoning could be related to the fact that Frankenstein was portrayed as a monster, and Frankenstein was technology, therefore we are afraid that technology may become a monster.

Icarus, the son of Daedalus had wax wings and feathers that were invented for them to escape from Crete but Daedalus had warned his son to not fly close to the sun nor the lake. Icarus did not listened and had flown to the sun where his wings had been burnt off and he fell into the lake and drowned.This myth could be used as a metaphor where the wings symbolize our technology and the sun and the lake are our limits and boundaries. We must be aware that as much as technology is advancing we cannot surpass our own boundaries and limits with technology for we may create a stronger and more intellectual innovation of technology that it may be a scary thought. In this situation, no longer would we be controlling technology but it would be controlling us.

Question 2:
A. Consider Marshall McLuhan’s division of media into “hot” and “cold.” Choose one of the following and analyze its “hot” and “cold” qualities: video games, text messaging, the ipod/mp3 player, the laptop.

Marshall McLuhan distinguishes his ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ division of media as what appears to be how an audience may interpret information, how much effort they need to put in to processing information that they are being given. ‘Hot’ medium is where one sense is being extended by just the eye such as your vision, your perception, and you’re individualistic. Hot medium is in conjunction with high definition. High definition is a position where you, the audience are being filled with information. Hot medium are low in participation. Cool medium is where we have more than one sense, such as the ear and the eye. This is with low definition, for so little information is being given and much as to be filled in by the listener. Cold medium are high in participation. A ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ quality such as the laptop is one of many that McLuhan may describe as a division of media.

A Laptop can be seen in both ways of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ due to the fact that a laptop is low definition where both our senses (eyes, ear) are being used. For example, TV where we have YouTube (to watch shows, movies, music videos, etc), and video web camera with microphones where we can actually have a conversation with someone else through the internet (msn, etc). This is being seen as a ‘cool’ medium for we are using both senses and we are high in participation for we have to fill in a lot of information. But at the same time, laptops can be used as an MP3 player where we have iTunes to listen to music, the internet which we use as books, Microsoft programs such as Word which we use as a notebook, PowerPoint which we use as a bristle board, Excel which we use to insert formulas and it gives us solutions. Although a laptop is both the ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ medium, overall the ‘hot’ medium overpowers the ‘cool’.

Question 3:
A. Analyze an example of new technological use that contradicts the principle of technological determinism. In other words, think of an example in which culture, social context, or other factors result in very different uses of an identical technological device. “New technology” for the purposes of this question refers to the Internet, wireless technology, and other technological innovations that attained widespread use after 1990.

Technological determinism could be described as technology making our lives simpler rather than complex. This is not true for all technological advances for example, having the iPhone; it was designed to make things less complex where it actually has made things less simple. It takes into account all these devices but whomever thought to use these until they all came together; it has made our daily lives more difficult. It influences us to multi-task and it has been demonstrated that we can only retain so much information and by multi-tasking we are retaining even less. It causes us to multi-task by using the internet while talking on the phone, you’re listening to music and using your GPS and you may forget some of what you just did due to the distractions of other gadgets. It is not just your simple phone but the iPhone takes into account the iPod, the telephone, the internet, an agenda, games, GPS, stocks, weather, calculator, email, etc. It is so much more complicated and difficult with all these tools. These devices cause more technological problems, since it is so much technology compressed into one when one aspect does not function everything comes apart. In reality, if you have to take your phone to get fixed every month, how simple is it making your life compared to how difficult it is, time consuming, expensive, and unnecessary stress that is added to your life. The iPhone does not have a huge impact on institutions, nor society in such a way that it does not stop us nor does it alter the way we interact with our peers. It does not modify social establishments such as schooling, jobs, and religious beliefs. As a result of combining all these devices, the iPhone has had the opposite effect of what was intended, contradicting the principle of technological determinism.

Question 4:
A. Consider Postman’s essay “Of Luddites, Learning, and Life” (assigned for October 14) and evaluate his description of the purpose of schools. Do you agree or disagree? Do universities such as York also have responsibilities beyond merely imparting information? If so, are they meeting them adequately or are they failing to do so?

Schools will have no purpose because technology infiltrated our lives so much that there would be no need for teaching children how to interact with each other, which according to Postman is one of the main functions of school. Interaction leads to participation in groups which build upon how we may lead our lives with socializing with others and helps our community grow stronger. With the advances of technology, this is no longer our main priority because rather than interacting with each other most of our time is spent interacting with technology, such as rather than speaking to someone face to face we can now speak to them on the phone, send messages, etc. Or now we do not need to be physically present in class, to achieve the credit for it. We can take online courses and are considered equivalent to a regular class where you don’t need to put so much time, no interaction with teachers or peers.

Postman holds valid arguments to his beliefs of schooling purposed, however my views differ from his for various reasons. Some of which are, individuals are still interacting with one another, it may not be face to face but in today’s society, time is not a luxury for us as it was before, but we still interact face to face just not as often. We are now occupied with work and advancing our education. We have become so consumed with our fast paced society that we don’t have spare time anymore. An example of this, our lives are becoming the survival of the fittest where in this case if you don’t keep up, you don’t succeed. Although there may be negative aspects due to technology such as job loss, technology has also given us more careers that didn’t even exist and we have created such a great market with technology that has advanced our society and worldview.

York University allow for students to complete school through the internet instead of being present in class, and this is a positive aspect because we have other obligations such as being a mother, having a full time job, etc. It accommodates to everyone for that everyone gets a fair chance at the career they would like to achieve and advance with the world instead of falling behind because they couldn’t attend a certain class. University can be seen at as a form of networking, where we have TAs, professors, peers and other counsellors that will help us within our future for example, where if we need a reference letter, etc. It also helps us communicate with the world, where we are not just communicating with each other, we are learning about current issues and how industries are being brought together, etc that will help us understand and accommodate to these fields.