External Technology

External technology has a strong affect on me personally, most notably the internet. A large portion of my family lives in the middle part of the US and my brother will soon be relocated to the west coast while pursuing his PhD. Because of this, and because of my status as less than poor college student, it is hard for me to afford certain types of technology (such as long distance) to keep in touch. However, the internet allows for a much more affordable means for me to keep in contact whether it be through email or sites like facebook and myspace. Also, my brother was stationed overseas with the Air Force during the intial bombing of Iraq. With the limited abilities presented to myself and my family to contact my brother, the internet and emails made it much easier to keep in close contact with how things were going. Also, at the moment, I have an uncle very close to me going through some really rough times physically and with him living in St. Louis (and thankfully being an internet junkie) allows for us to keep in closer contact than we would have without the internet. So, overall in the broader spectrum of my life, external technology plays a large part in my inner life and how I am able to keep in close contact with my family. Coming from as close-knit a family as I have, it is hard to be separated so much of the time and it is times like these that I am thankful for the technologies we have and the science that led to them.

Weekly Question Number 2

I think that external technology can affect your internal life in many ways. I think one of the most influential forms of external technology would have to be the internet. The internet can be used in so many different ways. It can be used for communication through e-mail or IM to help you keep in touch with your friends or family. It can be used to find new information and research. It can even be used for entertainment, to play games or watch movies or shows of listening to music, which can be very important to different people. I know that the internet affects my internal life in all of these different ways, and has come to be very important to me.

Chapter 10 Response

What began as a bit of a gigglefest of childhood playground memories quickly turned into an extremely interesting article concerning a theory of why the Neandertals fizzled out. I found myself becoming very much engrossed in the debate of differing attitudes toward sex, especially when Mr. Summer made the point about the two different types of Chimpanzees and their differing attitudes toward sex. Not only was this interesting in terms of the ongoing debate between evolution vs. genesis, I also found it interesting how well the subject matter matched up with parts from our other reading "The Handmaid's Tale" (sorry for the quotations there, should be underlined I know). What struck me most about the comparisons between the two is during the period where we come to learn of the men's lack of interest in sex and how, because of this, many of the men were becoming sterile (including Offred's Commander). Going back to Summer's article and his argument that because the Neandertals reaction to sex differed so greatly from ours that their population finally began to dwindle seemed to connect perfectly back to "The Handmaid's Tale" and the shift of power from the patriarch to the women (handmaid's). On a complete side note, this also made me think of the recent film "Children of Men" which dealt with the same type of problem of a world filled with sterile men and the mass panic of a dwindling population. Amazing film if you ever get the chance to see it, especially now with what we are talking about in class.

The Handmaid's Tale--late

This is one depressing novel! Offred becomes more complacent with her situation and begins to manipulate those around her to be able to appreciate technologies from her past. It seems that this civilization is making no headway and in fact has backed up. She tries to thrive in this environment, attempts to get pregnant via Nick, gets magazines, lotion, cigarettes, etc to break the monotony of being a walking baby mill. They even use the phony pay for prayer booth to initiate her into the underground women. In the end all of this work does nothing for her and she gets shipped off by the Koresh-esq soldiers in their black van with the winged eyes--probably the end of her. Soon they'll be a new Offred to continue the vicious cycle. Who wouldn't want to commit suicide in a world like this?

The Handmaids Tale

Another aspect of the novel that I found interesting was the loss of fertility in the women. It was interesting, because while they explained that it was because of pollution and new strains of diseases it ultimately seemed as though the government strictly blamed the women for the lowering fertility rates. They blamed women for choosing not to have children, or changing themselves so that they could not reproduce. They never once blamed the men, in fact it says in the novel that it is forbidden for women to ever speak of or insinuate that a man might be infertile. It was only the womens fault when they could not reproduce.
Also while the different families were given handmaids to try to bear children for them, they did not use scentific reasoning to try to help them get pregnant, they used a religious ceremony that seemed even more counter-productive. Instead of relying on fertility testing of different times of the month, natural family planning evening they just put it in the hands of God and the ceremony. Which does not seem very practical if they really wanted children so badly. It is the same with claiming that men could not be infertile, only women. If they valued children and humanity so much then you would think that they would take a step back and use the science that they have to help themselves.

The Handmaids Tale

I thought that there were many different interesting aspects to the Handmaids Tale, especially the unique perspective of the future. I thought it was wild to imagine a future where democracy and freedom has essentially been destroyed, and religion has become supreme, or at least one religion has. It is almost the opposite of how our government is now, with how religion plays virtually no role in the government and the way our country is run. It was vaguely reminiscent of Hitler and WW2 where one regime took over and would not tolerate any other perspectives. A radical religious group assasinates the majority of the government and stages a coup and the entire US is completely changed within a matter of months. Women become completely subjugated again, and catholics, quakers, protestants, homosexuals, basically every group that would not conform is executed and hung on walls as examples for everyone else. It was the worst kind of war, where everyone lost their freedom.

Handmaid's Tale 2

As the novel shifts from the first half to the second, there is also a shift in the attitude of Offred toward her "controlled" status as handmaid in Gilead. During this switch we see the same thing happen in the new society of Gilead as what has happened throughout our own history of the US. Offred and the organization referred to as Mayday, begin to attack the society from the inside by using their naturalized stereotypes to gain power instead of relinquishing it. In essence, Offred begins to revert back to her past experiences with her husband (whom she had an affair with) and her then lesbian friend. There was a since of control then that women had thanks to rebellions against such status quos that were now controlling them in Gilead. Reverting back to memories of Moira and Offred's mother as an activist during the transitions into Gilead, Offred is able to empower herself during her nighttime encounters with her Commander. Offred begins to notice a shift within herself as she longs to use her power as a woman over the now desperate men of Gilead. This transition begins to take place especially as Offred is allowed to read more books and magazines and engage in deeper conversations with her Commander. Offred, through the technologies that have been kept from her all this time, is now discovering an increased power to control situations instead of merely being controlled. It is in the end where we see Offred finally escape from this prison of anti-science/big brother ideology by the hands of those working outside of the Eyes reach. By using the leaders of Gilead's own surveillance technology against them, Offred is able to take control and release herself from the controlled Utopian prison of Gilead. Offred is able to accomplish this in a less drastic way than the other women who eventually had to commit suicide to escape. Either way, the novel presents two very different means of people finding ways of taking control in an oppressive environment. As the epilogue explains to us in the end, Gilead was formed in an attempt to counter the evils that a rapidly progressive science induced culture had created. Instead of the positive outcome that had been hoped for by the Commanders, the exact opposite was produced. Still, Atwood presents to the reader two different forms of society, yet also shows us how allowing ourselves to fall completely prey to one specific train of thought can be deadly to our society. It is important for society to embrace some type of middle ground in order for humanity to survive.

The Handmaid's Tale--early

In the early part of this story, Offred, our heroine of sorts, is suppressed by technology, at least in her mind. There are the cattle prods handled by the Aunts, the cameras and other bugging devices, the shapeless robes and winged head gears (sounds familiar eh?, think Middle East) to keep the breeding class of women from having any individuality, and most importantly, the religion. So how is religion technology one might ask? Try watching FOX news sometime, but not too often, or might start to believe it. In WWII propaganda campaigns were used by both sides to de-humainze the enemy. Although this technique had been used throughout history (as Offred said you can't miss what you don't remember), WWII was when such methods were highly funded by major government bodies. The exact same thing goes on today every time you hear someone (maybe a specific someone) classify groups of people as terrorists or evil due to their allegiances. In this novel the religion is used to brain wash the culture into believing that educated women are sub human, calling them Unwomen, and going as far as killing heretics who's beliefs differed. This religion also promoted infanticide and prohibited medical comforts and support, claiming such things as un-godly. This in itself is a method of sedating a populous; Daniel Quinn: "Religion is the new age opium". The world proposed in this novel is a cross between Nazi Germany and Classical Greek.

Handmaid's Tale 1

From the disturbing opening sequence of the novel to the seemingly liberated ending, we are presented with the story of a woman's journey from controlled to controlling. What struck me most about the first half of the novel are the clear lines being drawn between what is natural and what has become naturalized within the new society. We are presented with what was once looked upon as natural through Offred's many flashbacks. When we are placed back into Offred's present situation we see just how naturalized things have become as opposed to then. Most notably the roles of people have become increasing naturalized to fit the ideology of the "religiously" controlled society of Gilead. This shift brought to mind some of Darksyde's argument against an "anti-science" minded set of people in our current society. This most notably landed in the laps of intelligent designers, scientologists and extremely religious minded sectors of the nation. Taking this and placing it in the context of the novel, we see a "Utopian" society set-up to resemble such a state of being; a state of being completely removed from that of science. Offred, and all of the women, are now in a completely naturalized, controlled position within society. They are no longer allowed the control that the advancements of science and technology had once given them. They are now stripped of that control, and instead, given a menial sense of control simply over one another. In the more science oriented way of living, although women were still looked upon in naturalized stereotypes they had control over whether or not to adhere to those stereotypes. In the newly formed land of Gilead, a complete patriarchy has been formed in order to subdue the interests of women to being any more than what the Bible or the Commanders say they should be.

Sexual Evolution

I'm not exactly sure what Sumner is trying to convey. I think we can all agree that human and chimps are parallel creatures. Is he speculating about why we don't have the desire to cross breed? Dogs tend to hump things for fun. I've never seen a dog on a horse...does this mean that the dog doesn't mount the horse because it is physically impossible or because he has no desire to mount the horse? It doesn't take a genius to speculate about puzzle pieces fitting versus desire to make those pieces fit. The fact will always remain that species capable of propagating will continue and those that cannot will fail.

Maybe I can look at his piece in that he is speculating if creatures that are more prone to mounting anything possible have more success? I don't really see how people screwing horses, goats, and other barnyard animals helps the race to continue. In the same since I was always under the impression that a mule was the product of a donkey and horse which are more or less forced to breed. The mule isn't intended to exist as it is sterile, so one would think that a horse and donkey would not be inclined to copulate. The only thing that I picked up from this piece is that Bonobos are very horny, kind of like teenage males

Chapter 10- Sexual Evolution

Sumner's theory on sexual practices of early humans and Neandertals and why they didn't reproduce is pretty interesting. I think the chimpanzee theory and how they were more closely related to earlier humans makes sense. If chimps don't reproduce for fun, then maybe early humans had the same mindset. Nobody really enjoys doing things that aren't at least somewhat fun. Secondly, he says that both sexes of Neandertals had similar physical characteristics and may have been indistinguishable from one another when fully clothed. Just a wild guess, but I don't think any of us would sleep with something if we didn't know what it was. I think these types of things show us why early humans didn't reproduce with Neandertals.

Summer 07 Later Handmaid

As the novel progresses, the narrator (offred) forgets a lot of how the world used to work. I'm not sure that I really buy it. It doesn't seem like it's been a long time since the changes started and yet she forgets so many things that it seems like you'd never be able to forget without getting hit on the head or something, like what used to be in the old university buildings, that having a baby takes both a healthy woman and healthy seimen, what money used look like, and so forth. She seems less and less like a woman to me and more like a small child in how she'll cling to anything. She still goes along with almost anything that the system forces onto her, from only giving her scrapes of informative by crappy, biased TV, to tuning out during conversations when her shopping partner hooks her up with the grapevine of risistance workers. I found myself thinking that she must have been a real ditz before the changes took place for her to be such an ingorant doormat towards the end of the book. About the only thing that she stands up for is sneaking around to sleep with Nick and even then she doesn't challenge him or trust him; she keeps considering killiing herself instead.

Summer 07 Early Handmaid

In the early chapters of a Handmaid's tale, the narrator (real name unknown) is really annoying. She seems like a pushover, just letting the powers that be force her into second class status. She spends so much time bewindered and not fighting back while her rights are stripped away, like her right to work, own things, travel by herself and more. And that boyfriend/husband of her's, Luke just seems to not be bothered by things as much as he ought to be. It's annoying, and it made me want to scream at her for being such a doormat. She waits far to late before she tries to escape and you can't help but know what sort of pain is coming; it's like reading a novel based on the holocaust where everyone thinks that things will get better, that the restrictions are temporary, and the while I, as a reader, just have to sit there and watch it all fall apart and the narrator turn into a doll.

External Technology and Our Lives

In my opinion, external technology just makes our lives easier. We've already discussed how taking this class is an obvious example, and I think it speaks to the fact that almost nothing is impossible on the Internet today. You have email and instant messenger, where you can talk to people all over the world, and you can buy pretty much anything without leaving your house. I really like the fact that I can get movies, sports tickets, and pay all my bills straight from my personal computer. External technology has made convenience something we take forgranted. We have greater access to information, and that information is also much quicker to obtain than years ago. It's also really nice for us as college students to have a library website with academic resources so you really don't even have to visit the library to write a paper anymore. The best part about all this is that it will only get better in the years to come.

Summer 07 Inner life

I've been trying really hard to think about how technology influences my inner life and I keep comming up blank except for one thing: My knowledge base. Between the internet, music CDs, DVDs, television, books, and such the pool of knowledge that is ready at my fingertips is huge compared to the knowledge pool that I'd have access to if I were a wandering, pre-historic nomad or something like that. Technology outside of me changes what I can access to suck up inside of me. That's probably the biggest thing that it does to my inertnal world. It gives me more things to play with in my fantasies and daydreams.

Technology also makes my life easier and gives me more free time to do the things that I really enjoy... many of which use technology too, like surfing the net, rollarblading, going to the movies, etc. But I wonder if without it, I'd just find other things to enjoy, like building sand castles with my hands or listening to oral stories past down from the elders in a tribe or something...

The Latter Effects of Technology on Offred

Offred begins to take advantage of the small accesses to technology that she has. She watches the television intently to cling to any information she can for hope of getting out. She uses the system of the new government, who wants to keep her suppressed, to give her pieces of information about her new world to her advantage. This doesn’t directly help her, but it does give her hope and also keeps her informed with information that she uses to maintain the use of her brain. This helps her to revitalize her life back as much as possible for her situation.

Begining Relationship and Effects of Technology

In the beginning, Offred starts to slowly lose her identity. This isn’t her real name and I am thinking the handmaid’s are named after their Commanders. Her credit card, which she uses all the time, stops working. The new government froze her account because they made a new law that women couldn’t work or own property. This is the first of many withdrawn access to technology. With no job, she and her family decide to run away, but they were caught and split up. She ended up at several different houses in order to reproduce for the Commanders and their wives. For the first few years, she lets them rule her and doesn’t fight back. The only access she does receive of technology is the television. On rare occasion, she is allowed to watch the news. This seems to happen in order for her and the other handmaid’s to see that there is no way out. The new government uses the media and television to show the handmaid’s and other weak people of the society that you can’t try to go against them or you will be hanged. An incident that happens on the way to go shopping for the household’s meals involved cameras. Tourists from Japan wanted to take pictures of Offred and Ofglen, her partner, but they are not allowed to take pictures as if this is an offense to the handmaids. All of these encounters with technology are used to suppress Offred and the other handmaid’s into being subservient to the new government.

Handmaid's Tale

Are those posts still due on Saturday or tonight? I thought our posts were always due by Saturday, but the syllabus says Thursday....just wondering

Why 2 Postings for The Handmaid's Tale?

Although the division doesn't fall exactly along first half/second half lines, there are two different relationships that Offred has with the (heavily technologically mediated) system she is in. During the first part of the story, Offred is mainly "acted upon" by the system. During the latter part, she tries to turn it to her advantage (with greater and lesser degrees of success.) I want you to look at the effects of technology, the role of technology, and/or the way that Offred (and other characters, if you so choose) negotiate her/their humanity in both kinds of relationships.

Question on 2 blogs for Handmaid's Tale

Why do we need to post 2 blogs for the Handmaid's Tale? Is there something specific we should discuss for each blog?

Chapter 10

Neandertals and humans, according to historical records, did not breed together. There are many theories to this and the ones Sumner talks about are that they had different sexual preferences and they may not have been able to reproduce because of their sheer physical contrast in size. Animals and humans were put on earth to reproduce. Our bodies are made to reproduce. With humans, we have a highly specialized brain that we can think in ways that animals can’t. Humans have sex for fun and pleasure because even though we are made to reproduce, we are able to think cognitively. We can theorize, think critically, and think abstractly. There are kinds of hormones in our body, progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone, that make us sexually driven. Hormones can’t be measured through fossils so we don’t know if Neandertals had the same hormones as we do. This could also be a reason we didn’t have sexual intercourse with each other.

External Techology on Internal Life

The personal computer is a technology that has a huge effect on my internal life. I can communicate with people through email or instant messaging. I can take online courses and not even have to go to school or even get dressed. The personal computer can even entertain me with games or reading material. It has changed everything that I do. I don’t have to watch the news and wait for the right time for it to come on. I can just look up the latest news and weather when I feel like it. If I want to travel, I can book a flight and a hotel, or I can also print out directions and not worry about taking a map and trying to figure out what signs to look for on a piece of paper with a million roads and highways on it. The best thing is, I can shop and pay online for my merchandise. I can handle all my banking online. I am reminded of my bills online and I don’t have to sift through the mail. I don’t have to write checks or buy postage stamps every month. All these things have made a huge impact on my internal life and there are many more that I am probably not aware of.

Question for this week:

How does (external) technology affect your internal life? You can be as concrete (taking this class would be an example that applies to everyone) or abstract (the things we think of as possible--space travel, cryogenics, cloning--and how that affects us as people) as you like.

Summer 07 Kosmos Chapter 10

The author claims that Humans and Neanderthals didn't have "nookie" together because we have almost no evidence that they ever cross bred to produce children with traits like both parents. But maybe we did have nookie with Neanderthals, but that the DNA is just different enough that no amount of nookie would ever produce a well-formed baby that could survive in the real world... or that the few babies that may have been born were sterile and thus only one generation--easily lost, after all not every long dead Neanderthal was fossilized--of Neanderthal/Human babies were ever born. Maybe Humans and Neanderthals were sort of like donkeys and horses are now; if they have nookie you'll get a mule, but a mule can't ever have offspring, except that noone was breeding human/neanderthal mules to do heavy labor for them and the humaniod mules were considered a waste of time and a drain on thier tribes because they'd never reproduce young to care for them as they aged.

And while we do not share the same sexual habits with creatures like the chimpanzee, as the text points out, many scientists have expressed interest in our similarities, sexually, with the Bonobo and other animals that appear to have sex for reasons other than just reproduction. (It'd be really hard to prove whether or not they did it for fun/pleasure like humans sometimes do rather than doing it as a form of communication or currency, but it's interesting to compare them never the less.)

I had to giggle at the line "Humans might have even had trouble telling Neanderthal males from the females when they were bundled in clothing." It reminds me of the Tolkien's darwves.

His theory that Humans and Neanderthals just weren't sexually attracted to each other is pretty cool especially in light of the differnces between human sexual organs and other primate genitals and breasts.

And a few (far too many, if you ask me) humans actually do have sex with non-human living beings. We just consider them to be sick preverts and fortunately they don't produce centaurs or anything like that after the deed is done. And animals will do the same thing to us if they are horney enough... like dogs, they hump human legs and small children all the time unless you smack them with a newspaper on the nose or something like that. Maybe we did have nookie with the Neanderthals, but those that did were outcasted for their sexual preversions.

As for his request to get someone to look at Neanderthal pelvic bones and compare them to Humans to see if they produced tons of babies and let nature sort it out ("like that of modern humans") or if they only raised 2 in a decade, I'd don't see how that it like or unlike modern humans. After all, some humans only have one or two children in a lifetime if any at all. And many native tribes practice birth control (including chemicals in herbs to control female ovulation so that they can still have sex without becoming pregnant) so it isn't reasonable to assume that modren humans just "churn out a herd and let nature sort it out."

It's an interesting theory, but I think it has an aweful lot of holes and bad assumptions...

Class Question Response #1

On a continuum, where 1 is purely natural, and 10 is entirely technological, where do you place your life? I think I’d have to place myself somewhere around a 6 or a 7, because technology is something I had to utilize from the beginning. I was born premature and underweight and I lived in an incubator for the first six weeks of my life. Doctors said I was supposed to have brain damage and other problems, but I turned out just fine because of medical technology. The only lingering effects of my birth were having asthma as a child (It went away around age 14) and my eyesight went bad a couple of years later. Then again, that is just another example of modern technology- contacts and eyeglasses that allow people with poor eyesight to life normal lives. I also had a couple more surgeries throughout my adolescence, and another to correct a hernia. I would be in pretty bad shape without technology. I am also a frequent user of the computer, email, internet, television, cell phones, and other things that involve technology.
I feel like most people in today’s world have to be somewhat technological because everyone utilizes resources around them that involve it. In the years to come, there will continue to be greater advances in technology that will make our lives easier. I think that nobody is purely natural or technological, but I would be willing to bet that most of us fall somewhere in the middle of that continuum.

Chapter 12 Response

Chapter 12 started with Darksyde’s wife asking why diet cola fizzles when it is hot. He then went into a discussion about the discovery of black powder and how it led to the invention of more powerful weapons such as guns and steam engines. We then read about the first refrigeration devices of our time, and how the chemicals used in them emitted a large amount of carbon dioxide.
The chapter ended with a discussion about CFCs and global warming. This is a concept that we always hear talked about in the news media today, but I have really never paid much attention to it. Mr. Darksyde really put it into perspective with the concluding example about the diet soda and how the oceans could really do the same thing if our ozone layer continued to deteriorate and global temperatures continued rising. This would be something that would make earth’s land virtually uninhabitable, and kill off a large amount of the human race. After reading this chapter, I think I will be more inclined to pay attention when I hear something about global warming from now on!

Chapter 1 Response

This chapter in Kosmos deals with science. It discusses how science is neither “good” nor “bad,” and basically comes down to what we make of it. The author also states that most of the decisions we make in life are made using scientific methodology, where we hypothesize, test our hypothesis, and make a conclusion. This was evident in the burnt-out bulb example. When a light switch is turned on and the light doesn’t work, we assume that the bulb is burnt out and then replace it, which usually results in a bright light once the switch is turned on again. This entire process involves scientific methodology.
The thing I found most interesting about this chapter was the example about the cab driver. The old man drove a beat-up jeep in a remote mountain village, and when he came to an intersection, he would begin honking his horn and blow through the intersection without slowing down. When asked about why he did so by his passengers, he said he had poor eyesight and recalled he had used this tactic several times before on the same road and always avoided an accident. He figured this method was the best way for him to get through the intersection without being in a wreck. This type of thinking is what is applied when we hear people say, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” When people do certain things several times and always get the same response, they are likely to use these same techniques on a regular basis without ever thinking differently. I also think many people live their lives in this way. Humans get into certain routines that produce expected outcomes over and over, so everything just becomes commonplace for us.

Chapter 12 Discussion

In Chapter 12, "Shattered Skies," Steven Darksyde provides a witty analogy (of bringing his wife diet coke) to the detriment that politics is having on finding a solution to environmental pollution. Darksyde goes back through time to recount the discovery of "black powder," the canon, and the gun through the enlightenment, the industrial revolution, and the development of CFC's to accommodate modernized material demands of society at an economical cost to the consumer and the producer. More importantly, Darksyde recounts the ways in which politics helped and then hindered the damages being caused to the environment by industrialization.

The portion of this reading that stuck out to me was the discussion about the Clear Skies Act of 2003 and the strong negative impact Darksyde perceived it as having on the environment to protect the high money stakes of politics. I remember hearing about the act when it was being proposed and the media always gave the impression that it was this swee[ing act to reduce emissions and not a law to "halt research and applications into solutions for dangerous emissions" the way Darksyde describes it. After researching the act to get more information, it does seem to involve a lot of fancy words that sumarise nicely as don't do anything that woon't make us more money, well aside from the idea of reducing the amount of gasoline used by vehicles but you will pay the car dealerships more money for a fuel efficient car so the consumers still get the short end of the stick and the environment seems no better off.

Kosmos Ch 12

I think that its wild to think of all of the possible things that could happen with the technology that we have, and how things can completely change in an instant, like in the blackout in New York. Its hard to imagine a world without lights, tvs, fridges, etc. and if it was all suddenly taken away I cannot see people reacting well. All that I can envision is violence, looting, basically an entirely unsafe enviroment. I think it is important for people to not get too lost in technology and to spend some time on other aspects, like literature.

Kosmos Ch. 1

While I do greatly appreciate science and everything that it has done for us as a society, I cannot imagine actually applying methodology in my life, even though it is apparently something that I do everyday. I guess that I am not very scientifically minded, and I lean much more towards music and the arts, but I did think that it was interesting to see how almost everything you do i sort of like a mini experiment. I never though about everyday acts like changing a light bulb as being a scientific process with a hypothesis and conclusion but I guess it is really true. Everyday people draw hypothesis' and conclusions about the things that they do, and that mot things have some sort of scientific system to them.

Weekly Question Number 1

I think that on a scale of technology from 1-10 I would rank myself a 8. I spend the majority of most days using some sort of technology, and almost everything indoors is touched by technology somehow. The only time I ever really feel like I am surrounded by nature is when im out hiking in the middle of the woods. I spend at least an hour everyday on my computer or watching tv, or even both. I talk on a cellphone at least a few times a day, and rely on an alarm clock to wake me up. Whenever I get something to eat I get it our of a refridgerator and cook it in a microwave. A lot of the time when im outside im still listening to my ipod or talking on the phone.
If someone were to come in tommorow and take away every aspect of my life that involved technology I would be completely bewildered and adrift. I wouldnt be able to shower, or know what time it is. I wouldnt have any food or a way to get around. I think that people rely on technology a lot more then they think most of the time, and that the only way to really test how in tune you are with nature is to see who would survive if all technology was taken away from us.
-Allie Murray

Chapter 12 Response

While reading this article I had flashes of Al Gore standing behind a podium with a swirling mega-hurricane projected behind him. The inconvenient truth of global warming is once again brought out again but this time in a very interesting way by Mr. Darksyde. I thought it was very interesting how he backtracked to the history of gunpowder and managed to wind up with our battle against CFC’s today. It was a very well developed take on, not only our culture’s path from the days of sword and shield to the industrial revolution, but also our culture’s path from self-reliance to machine-reliant. Looking over the last half of the article where Mr. Darksyde once again goes on a drive-by conservative shooting spree (again, I agree with him but felt it was a bit of a tangent) and also the emphasis on global warming, this article paints a pretty amazing chronology of our descent into the world of technology. From the looks of things, we as humans have naturalized the natural. We have taken hold of the definitions of what is to be seen as natural and what is to be seen as naturalized. There is no more room for the use of the scientific method expressed in Mr. Darksyde’s first article “The Gift that Keeps on Giving.”

What we see in this article is exactly why one should not rely too much on one side over the other. As we have progressed as a nation driven by technology, it is scary when we see events such as the blackout in New York. People’s lives actually hang in the balance of large mainframes run by computers. In order to analyze this from a neutral position I feel that we as English majors have the upper-hand. This is precisely why it is important to establish an education filled with both aspects of science and literature. We are able to remove ourselves from the situation and approach it from a different angle instead of purely scientific. To go a bit further here, it is also interesting to take Mr. Darksyde’s journey through time and our progression toward a more technological society and associate that with the progressions that were being made in our own field (printing presses, type writers, word processors, etc.). It is slightly disturbing to see how we must adapt to times even as naturally destructive as this, but it is nice to see throughout the history of science and literature people trying to reinvent the natural state of things in a predominately naturalized culture.

Chapter One Response

Reading this article brought back many fond memories of when I was a child grappling with the thoughts of “Why do I have to take science?” and more recent thoughts like “I’m an English major...why?” This is where I found the article to be particularly interesting in how it ultimately debates those very questions, and similar questions universities deal with on a continuous basis concerning the weight of science vs. just about everything else. This led me to hearken back to literature classes not so long ago and the relevance of this issue throughout the years. I was reminded of authors like Sir Francis Bacon and his attempts at applying the scientific method to his essays (and just about everything else). Bacon was a staunch supporter of the use of the scientific method almost to the point of absurdity which satirists like Swift would later come along and attack as the direct cause of the world’s lack in common sense. During the Victorian Age there were the epic battles between Arnold and Huxley as to which types of college level classes should carry more weight in a universities cannon. All of this conjured up years ago in an article all too relevant today. Still, where there is the strong argument for the need of science in the think-tanks of humans, there is also a blatant need to attack at the end of the article. Although I agree with pretty much all Mr. Darksyde had to say, I feel that the strong and plausible argument that was made in the first half of the article was slightly compromised by the last half.

When one sits down and really thinks about it, especially as English majors, it is amazing just how much the structures of how we do research intertwines with that of science. In an age when technology is steaming to the forefront of society, it is important for us all to have a well established foot in the land of science; but when cold-hard facts begin to take too much of a toll on everyday life it is good to know that we also have a freer foot in the land of literature.

Class Question Response #1

On a scale of 1 to 10 I believe I would have to honestly rate my technological existence at a 6. It took me a while to come up with this rating but it sort of hit me a few mornings ago. Now I’m about to get a bit long-winded about my morning routine so feel free to tune out if you like. Each morning I get up, walk to the kitchen, pour a glass of OJ, toast a piece of bread and then sit outside on my back porch for a while. Now a few days back I began to wonder if that was the most natural part of my day, i.e. the moment of my day during which I use the least amount of technology. So that fateful morning when the hamster started spinning the wheel I began to remember all of the other not so technological things I do. I jog, ride a bike, hike, read books outside, play with my kitten, all without any shred of technological help. Well, kind of. See, I was about to rate myself at a mighty 4 or 5 on the techno scale until that fateful morning. I began to realize that even during the most natural of circumstances technology still held a firm grasp over whether I could do them or not. The jogging, for instance, could not be accomplished without the shoe factory that spit out my extra comfy running shoes. Riding a bike would be pretty difficult without the bike which is in and of itself a technological entity. In order for me to hike, guess what...I either need my bike or car to get to the trail in reasonable time. Reading books outside seemed like the most natural to me but unless I’m able to get a hold of the handwritten manuscripts of the author then I need those amazing printing presses to spit me out a hard copy. Finally, I come to playing with my kitten. That’s about as natural as they come unless you throw in the toys.

So, as I bit into my piece of toast (toasted by a machine) and took a sip of my OJ (processed and packaged somewhere by a machine) I realized that the only thing natural about my day and that morning was the nature that surrounded me. Now, one may ask why 6? Why not 10 you techno junkie! Because I just cannot come to the terms that almost every aspect of my existence is in some way shaped by technology; however, regardless of how much my day is shaped by technology, my natural identity will always be just that, natural, and I believe that alone is reason enough for not being a 10.

Chapter One Discussion

In Chapter One, 'The Gift that Keeps on Giving', Steven Darksyde discusses the progression of the scientific method and the different applications of the scientific method that may not have been previously recognized and how the method evolved over time. One part of the chapter that really stuck out to me was the phrase, "in our own ostensibly enlightened culture, science is openly attacked by anti-science ideologues under the guise of "Intelligent Design"/Creationism (IDC)." I googled the idea because it seemd familiar to me from wathcing the news but I realized I had very little awareness of what it actually meant. I then realized that the reason it was likely familiar was because of the number of celebrities who are proponents of it. It was interesting to read the variety of perceptions about IDC after reading how strongly Darksyde felt against it and his beliefs about their status as "predators." Darksyde spent a significant portion of the chapter discussing the "whacked out flakes" who support science that does not involve the scientific method. IDC seems to focus on religion or fear based science regardless of whether the foundations are valid or not. In conjunction with this idea, Darksyde discusses how easily and frequently science is bought, which is supported by the numerous blogs on the internet criticizing IDC's scientists poor reputations and lack of credentials.

Class 1 Discussion Question

I would have to say that on a scale of 1 to 10 with one being purely natural and ten being purely technological, I would place myself at a six. I would go with a six because I don't think I am voerly reliant on technology but I certainly enjoy it and employ it throughout the day. I am a finicky eater, so I eat only organic/all-natural foods (yes, I actually think I taste the difference) which allows me to lean more towards the natural side, but I have to keep in mind that It took a truck and problem some computerized inventory to get to the Farmers Market or grocery store that I purchase from. I live in a very modern house so I can recognize how much 'un-natural' effort went into building that. One thing that is more natural then when I lived in the southeast is that I do not have ar conditioning...I have to say though that this is one feature I could stand to have a little less natural. I feel that I have an excellent balance of natural and technological influence in my life because it is important to me to have food, medicine, etc. to be as natural as possible; however, I appreciate my computer, my house, my car and other technological influences in my life.

Summer 07 Kosmos Chapter 12

Global warming and the whole in our vital ozone layer are very big environmental issues as they threaten the well being of humankind all over the world. As more of the world industrializes, I think that we definately need to be careful with pollution and such all across the globe, especailly since the actions that have already been taken in our past are, according to the news at least, leading to a healthier ozone layer. Images of the whole in the ozone, taken from space in more recent years, have shown that the hole seems to be at least stabilizing, if not fixing itself, but no one is really sure if it is fixing itself, or just waxing and waning in a cycle of sorts.

For more information, check these out:
One
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as a start.

Summer 07 Kosmos Chapter 1

As much as I respect the scientific method and science in general, I was rather amused when the chapter told me to "Bestow upon your children the treasure of science and reason, any way that you can. It's the gift that keeps on giving for the rest of their lives." Science and reason can't always give you all the answers. At some point science and reason will always leave you with more questions or a paradox that you can't solve in your lifetime, so you have to make a choice but your gut, emotions, or other things that methodical in nature. Science and reason aren't the only "seeds" that need to be planted for preservation. Those things are great, sure, but what about music, art, friendship, love, and so forth? I'm not for the slaughter of the golden scientific goose, but I don't see a problem with plucking it sometimes if you end up with a cozy comforter to make people happier too.

Summer 07 Weekly Question #1

On a scale of 1 to 10 with ten being the most natural and 10 being the most technological, I'd put myself at about a 3. I know that probably sounds a bit low to many of you, so please allow me to elaborate. I do use the following technologies with regularity: my car, my laptop, my washer/drier, indoor plumbing, stove/oven, and `fridge. I own/rent a PS2, dish washer, apartment with electricity/lighting and AC/heat, TV, and a cell phone. However, I rarely watch TV as I prefer a good book 95% of the time and I don't have cable OR rabbit ears at the moment (crazy... I'm sure). I only have 4 PS2 games and I only play them when I'm out of books or feel like crashing cars after a rough day (It's the first and only video game consol that I've ever owned, so I'm not a huge video gamer... I prefer cards, the standard kind with 52 in a deck ranging from Ace to King with 4 suits...); it stays disconnected in my closet most of the time. I try to wash my dishes by hand as soon as I'm done with them, otherwise I forget to do them and end up with ALL the dishes dirty when I really need one. The windows in my room are great, so if I open the windows I get a great breeze and tons of light; I don't need to turn on artifical lights unless I'm up late at night. If I get cold, I just shut the window; if I'm hot, I turn on the fan and that usually takes care of things. I hate using telephones. My cell phone is therefor my only phone and I don't use it very much... only when email or AIM don't work or to prove to my parents that I'm still alive and well and haven't fallen off the face of the planet. Lucky for me, my boyfriend also hates phones, so it doesn't pose any trouble for us. I do not, currently, have a microwave and honestly, I don't need one. Real cooking tastes better; I can even make the crust for a cherry pie from scratch (thanks to Grandma Mills). My technological guilty pleasures are ridiculously long hot showers, the internet, music (stereo and my iPod), and long drives for no good reason other than for fun. I even have green stuff growing in my apartment, and no, it isn't mold. I have flowers and some herbs in pots on my window seal, including what is turning into a monster of a basil plant that I think wants to conquer my room. I love camping, hiking, canoeing, and other activities outside too.

I'm not really sure that being technological is on a different end of some pole from being natural, because, well, people's emotions, thoughts and actions are pretty much just natural... they have a sort of illogic and whimsy that a machine or computer just can't copy, and yet when people aren't being "natural" in their behavior and thoughts it's not "technological" so much as it is just "phony" or "forced."

kosmos chapter 12

Society has made several advancements that have led to the destruction of our O-zone layer; at the same time we have comprehended enough to identify how this occurrence takes place. The decision of what measures should be taken now is almost like trying to find a balance or compromise point. It appears that in no foreseeable future is the United States or the world going to cease damage inflicting behavior, because industry would decline at alarming rates. On the other hand, methods of minimizing the global harm resulting from Global Warming have to be installed. Possible solutions to this problem can include research to develop the next catalyst driven engine, perhaps self energy generating. It is interesting to consider because when fossil fuels are burned, or Freon 12 exposed into the ecosystem, we destroy our own habitat. Prevention is only effective as implementation, and if we as people choose to ignore the warnings and continue to drive deisel trucks, etc. there is going to be no solution. The compounding portion of this problem is that fossil fuels, etc. are becoming more scarce to the point where the most ecological and economical solution might be one and the same. Interesting to think about is the fact that in destroying our own planet, we are basically denying ourselves in the future, of healthy air, non-polluted skies, and general well being.

kosmos chapter 1

The engine of scientific discovery is facts that an individual considers for themselves to be “truths.” The basis of discovery is disagreement, in the sense that when an opinion is stated the immediate requirement is to prove the opinion. I think that this is where the vagueness of scientifically justified facts are up for discussion. Peer review can be a crucial element in the sense that generally majority rules, yet not necessarily the resolute. The methodology required for scientific advancement, is continued questioning. If theories were never substantiated then there is no establishment of general fact, and if facts are never refuted then learning would cease to exist. Additionally, once a fact is proven and established the yearning to specify in more detail leads to increased material to study. The fact that the comprehension of such intricate subject material requires investment is just to state that understanding requires knowledge of basics. I feel that the most important part of scientific experimental methodology is not the final result, rather what can be learned in the process. The most provable aspect of an experiment does not necessarily have to be what a hypothesis was testing, and discovery only occurs in the absence of fear.

continuum between purely natural and entirely technological

On a continuum between purely natural and entirely technological, I would place myself at about an 8, by no fault of my own. I state this because since the dawn of civilization, the purpose of human existence on earth has in some way, shape, or form been to advance the way we live. Historically referencing, the first species of human is not directly identifiable because of archeological discussion, yet more or less the first people were very primitive. Since then the invention of simple hunting tools has progressed to the development of nuclear warheads, the wheel has advanced to $100,000 automobiles, and the pictographs on cave walls has advanced to communication methods through various media. Even today, I feel that society would almost cease to exist without electricity, even though at some point producing a fire from flint was breakthrough. Without technology, travel would be on foot, not to mention that voyages across oceans would be a very difficult endeavor. I think that my birth was the only thing purely natural since the time I was born, because I have enjoyed the comforts of cars, appliances, technological advances, and don’t know what it is to not have any of those material possessions. To think that I could live without these amenities is irrational because the species of human has become progressively less immune, while growing mentally sharper, and to a sense the beauty of innovation is that it is human genius expressed. Because I am taught what it is already known until this point, it is instinct to try and take that a step further, to examine the situation and make things easier. I think that the more time we have on earth, the direction we as people on earth are heading is towards 10, yet never reaching that exact number because there really is no end. It would be of no surprise if 100 years from now there were cars flying on highways through space from Earth to other planets, premeditated births according to genetic specifications, and general advancements that shatter our view of morality. Nowadays it feels like the emphasis of staying up to par has become eminent to a point where even our individual thought processes are being partially sacrificed to the media, teachings of conformity, and societal scrutiny, almost to a point where years from now human existence may not be any different than that of machines. Is that good or bad? That’s why I said I am at about an 8, because I certainly appreciate and participate in the ease of living that we enjoy, at the same time always try to maintain what perspective I can.

Chapter 12 Kosmos

The depletion of the ozone layer has the potential to raise our temperature on earth causing the oceans to emit Carbon Dioxide which can then raise our ocean’s temperature even more causing a “Great Dying”. For political reasons, our government isn’t taking the steps to enforce regulations for people on the planet to reduce our energy consumption that is depleting our ozone layer. Has America gone too far? Americans consume more energy than any other country in the world. We are also the most comfortable, free, rich in opportunity, people in the world.
Advocates of Global Warming should be taking measures to show Americans what we can do to save our world. If they are right, they need to stop talking about it and start doing something about it. If it means giving up our luxuries, no one, not even the advocates will possibly be willing to give up these luxuries of life and then maybe everyone will know the true effects of Global Warming. After all, things must be proven scientifically to be true. Even if it becomes too late, we will at least all know that Global Warming is real.

Chapter 1 Kosmos

Science is all about hypothesizing and testing to confirm if the hypothesis is right or wrong. Anyone can make a hypothesis about something, but being able to test it is another story. First of all, it is not even considered real science if it can not be tested. For scientist to agree that something is true or real, they must see evidence.

Another incident that may arise for proving a hypothesis is peer review and whether these peers are credible or not. Peer review holds so much power in the science world. If something is peer reviewed, it is automatically thought to be true or upholding. People can easily be manipulated with money, power, prestige, etc. Peer review just means more than one person agrees on a given issue. It does not necessarily mean that the issue is 100% true. This applies to any and all hypotheses made.

Continuum of Natural and Technological

I place myself on the continuum of natural and technological at a 5. I was created by God and therefore my body and being is completely natural (naturally created). However, in everyday life, I communicate with people through technology (ex. this internet course). I use technological materials such as phones, cars, credit cards, T.V, etc. These technological materials get me through daily routines.
Society is becoming more and more technological and in order to succeed, I must become more technologically advanced than would be necessary in earlier times. I believe technology is good for the most part. I also believe there needs to be a balance between natural and technological in order for humanity to remain personable and enjoy the benefits of technology at the same time.