hist 390

It was really trippy to realize that long ago information was not organized. The idea of people having to make systems to sort documents and to share them is something I take for granted. Meigs system of sharing information through the National Building Museum was really cute yet nifty for his time.

 

Reading “As We May Think,” I had to really force myself to pay attention. This guy Bush really knows how to get a modern student to suffer. Regardless of how I felt, his theory, rather than the content, was a bit fascinating. Bush believes people think from one thing to the next which is opposite of what Carr said, that people need to think on one thing at a time. Focusing shows discipline. I mostly agree with Bush because people have a lot on their mind and it doesn’t make sense to just focus on one thing at a time. I could back up Bush’s argument because having more than one thing to do comes into play with psychology. The mind is always multitasking. While I am writing this I am breathing but also thinking in my mind on what to type. One could argue that breathing is automatic thinking compared to writing which is controlled but, to that I say one could control the amount of breathing one does. This shows that people can multitask at a basic level. I’m not saying I can do an advanced calculus while also studying for cognitive psychology but, we are able to do multiple things at a basic level.

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This week left me clueless, which is not necessarily the worst thing. We discussed a good portion of the classes this week about Claude Shannon, a man who apparently is crucially important to this age, yet so unidentifiable to the common man. His work on information being probable is brilliant. I could have never made such a simple, but complex idea. Besides Shannon, I was amazed at the ideas made by others during his time as well, like Alan Turning, John Searle and Tim Berners-Lee.

 

While we were talking about these people and their contribution to the world, I could not help but feel so stupid. I kept thinking to myself, “how the hell did he think of that?” It amazes me how the human mind has thought of the most revolutionary ideas and implicated them into our lives. I had never given two thoughts as to how the internet works or how it came to be. My level of ignorance to computers and how they work is still at an all-time low, but at least I can nonchalantly mention to my snobby, computer science major, friends that I know who Claude Shannon is and that I semi-know what the ENIAC is.

 

Another topic that came up was how this time of advanced technology came as a result from the Cold War. I knew the basics of the United States and Soviet Union in competition with everything, but I did not know the details of what was the actual outcome. Who would have ever thought that something other than high egos and competition came out of the Cold War?

 

I am forever grateful for the genius minds that have been given to humanity. Sadly, I am not a genius and I am completely fine with that. I prefer to be in an ignorant bliss and absorb the knowledge. If I come up with the next world changing idea, then I would like to be Claude Shannon, a person that made the most impact but is kept a secret.

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I was not excited to read The Shallows. I hate books. Yes, I know hate is a strong word. Contrary to my liking of books, I still did it to make sure I know what I’m talking about in this blog.

I thought the whole book was an irony. Carr says the internet and computer have altered his writing and is trying to go back to the pre-internet era, yet he wrote this book using Word and did a part of his research on the internet. The book seemed like I was, yet again, being told by someone other than my parents how life pre-internet was better for society and one’s self. I get it, mom and dad. I also felt a lot of the writing was not really related to the topic of how technology has changed us. Maybe it’s just me being a shallow, impatient reader. Pun intended.

Carr did make some good valid points. He writes that we skim over pages, books, articles, etc. rather than taking the time to read in depth, which I agree on because that’s exactly what I did with this book. I’m sure Professor O’Malley is skimming over this blog as well as everyone else’s. We have a shallow knowledge of many things, but can never get into the nitty, gritty details. The part that really interested me was about neuroplasticity and how the brain alters itself to what we expose to it, probably due to my major in neuroscience.  Reading the book, I did not think it had a deeper meaning until the lecture.

The lecture was very insightful. The concept of having two selves was mind bottling. I never took into account that I am reading to another person inside of me. As I am typing this, I am literally talking to my second self…. So… Weird…

The topic of discipline and how one is dressed in the classroom was a perspective I had not thought about either. I agree to a certain point of how one’s public self is now declining compared to a few decades ago when everyone was dressed to attend a meeting with a CEO. The other side of me says that what you wear isn’t a sign of how dedicated you are to learning. Young people, today, wear sandals and shorts and are figuring out the cure to AIDS and finding ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Should I start wearing slacks and a blazer? Nah, I think I’ll stick to my comfortable jeans and a t-shirt.

I’m not sure if this book was supposed to change my mind about how much time I spend on the internet, but it was a repetition of what my parents say. Regardless of what anyone says, I rather live in this generation where information is literally at my fingertips.

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After a wonderful summer filled with sunburn and redundant hotdog and hamburger barbecues, I start the school year at Mason once again. When I signed up for HIST 390 I didn’t know what to expect. Prior to the class, I had no knowledge of music whatsoever. The closet I’ve come to music is either through my headphones or car radio. So far, I have enjoyed the class discussions and lectures. The readings this week, however, left me in a dark hole.

 

As I was reading I had no idea what the authors were talking about. After an hour trying to decipher, what seemed to be the Da Vinci Code, I was still a deer in headlights. The lecture, after the reading was due, did clear up a lot of questions but, also left me mind blown. When we compared Aretha Franklin’s uncompressed song to Adele’s compressed version, I was left with my mouth open. I was shocked at how I never noticed the subtle yet, distinct difference in voice range. Now, every time I play my favorite contemporary songs, I don’t feel the same amusement as I did before.

 

Previously, I was that obnoxious teenager blasting and bumping the hippest rap music with my sunglasses on but, after week one the compressed music I have been accustomed to doesn’t seem to give me the satisfied, head thumping vibe it once did. Did one lecture from Professor O’Malley ruin today’s music for me? If so, what else should I be prepared for?

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