English 207

2004-03-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

I wrote my final paper on the concept that cyberspace is moving from a space of freedom to a space of control. Much of the talk about this stems from outside sources trying to change our way of life. If terrorsits did not commit bombings and other threats than many monitering systems would not be necessary. The frustration comes from the fact that we do need monitoring but we also need to have our freedoms protected. The dichotomy of this presents a real problem when people many individuals have many ideas about this issue. I definetly would not want someone tracking or having the ability to track my every move. Some laws they have about monitoring the public sphere needs to remain unknown to us because those who we are trying to capture would know exactly how to elude securitiy systems we have in place. It is definetly one of the toughest decisions ever made in our nations history and more tough issues related to this will develop without a doubt. A close look a the Patriot Act and its statutes shows that it is exremely invasive. We are fighting against cockroaches that need to be exterminated or they will kill us. We need systems that make our chance of discovering them high. I do not have any answers but I do know that we need to do something to find a medium because the situation does not offer pure freedom or pure control. We are just going to have to do the best we can and live with the current fact that monitoring occurs for the benefit of our safety.

2004-03-05T13:43:00.001-08:00

I am absolutely more aware of cyberspace and the intricacies that are part of this realm. For example, yesterday all students received an e-mail about a virus hidden within e-mail attachments. Before my involvement in the class I would have disreagarded this message and deleted it, now I read them and learn. It states that the internet is experiencing widespread attacks of rapidly mutating computer viruses transmitted by attachments to e-mail messages. Many of the viruses masquerade as messages from trusted friends or official sources. The viruses can look for email addresses in files on infected computers and sebd e-mail appearing to come from those addresses. These are some of the basic ways in which the virus works. The university has given a very descriptive message about what from the virus may come in so the students can delete these messages. It is terrible that CC has to block .zip and .exe. e-mail attachments. I know that these are integral ways that students and staff communicate here at the University.

2004-03-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

2004-02-29T21:38:00.000-08:00

Almost every evening I watch various news channels to update myself on happennings of the day, the technological advances, the misfortunes of many, adaptations of economic indexes, and the way by which we as humans transmit information. Increasingly I find that conflicts and issues regarding the internet as a medium are being discussed on local and national news channels. And rightfully so with the prolific expansion and technological advancement of computers and the internet. Before I took this class I understood to some degree the importance of the plethora of issues facing us, but not nearly as much as I do now. One area that I never reflected on were the border issues in a frontierless cyberspace. I see more clearly now the threats and legalities that The United States and many other countries face when considering the internet and our national security. I never realized the difficulty of decoding encrypted messages and the rampant use by those who wish to hurt us, using these channels to communicate, direct and execute plots to undermine our way of life. The issue is beyond my understanding and control in finding resolution. This class however has made me more aware of current and future issues we face as a nation and individually and for this I am thankful.

2004-02-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

Since I do play online games, I find that emotions that are induced by this medium are truly different than that other media. The reason for this is simple. When playing a game, the person is in control of the hero giving commands. This control gives us power so when we fail with our heros we also fail within ourselves. This is why we react with anger, laughter, frustration, self defeat and a slew of other emotions. It is however different from a movie because movies invoke feelings of sadness that often make the audience cry. This rarely happens with video games and I think the reason is because with a movie we have no control over the situation where video games, we have control, which I think lessens depressive emotions and we have a better sense of accountability.

2004-02-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

The images assigned for class today led to pretty subjective discussion about digital art. The images we looked at showed a woman performing oral sex on inanimate objects. Is this pornography? I think yes because my distinction between pornography lies in publisizing it versus guarding it within the confines of private life. Someone might ask then if an action movie with a sexual scene makes it pornographic. The theme would still be action because that is the main emphasis, so one could state that the film is action with a pornographic scene. This is my subective definition of art: Art is an outer expression of an inner conviction, which means intent of the individual is very important and also the degree of this conviction. It was suggested that images of this same woman brushing her teeth could be considered art but I think these are not displays of inner convictions. Intercourse in the U.S. is usually highly private among couples or groups and to publisize sex takes a boldness, an inner conviction that needs to be publicaly expressed.
Like we discussed, to define art is highly suggestive, but I do think that digital imagery can be considered art. If an individual takes time and involves a process to make a point, then I would say without hesistation that it is art, but someone just posting a picture taking just a few moments to obtain the photo is not considered art. Art to be needs to have some thoughtful insights to the why and what of what is being givin to the audience.

2004-02-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

Continuing on with hyper text....Some in class posed the question whether or not creating hypertext based narratives would change the way that we read things and if literature as a whole would suffer because an author would not have to develop characters and plot as much. I disagree to any that state this to be true. As an English major, I feel safe in saying the whole point of rhetoric is to unable the author to get a point across no matter what the subject fictional or non-fictional. I think narratives with hypertext and links will allow the reader to choose but the reader is only able to choose the links offered which allows the author great power to guide the reader to the point or points being made. I think this type of writing will faciltate more creativety not less. Much more thought will have to be put into the construction of a narrative because all options provided will have to travel coherently meaning as you travel through options of hypertext. I think a gifted author would find it fascinating to explore and present different situations while providing the same or similar points!

2004-02-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

Hypertext...........Is this going to change the way people write and read with the new advances in technology? I think so. One thing that was not mentioned in class today was the nostalgic feeling and atmosphere we can create by opening a newspaper in the morning with a cup of coffee or taking a great novel to the park to enjoy the sunshine. These are things that I feel cannot be replicated or replaced by hypertext and technologies. I think the convenience can be replicated with new technologies by downloading novels onto note pads or PDA's, but looking at a computer screen is not pleasing to the eye. I cannot imagine staring at a little electronic device to read something of interest over an extended period of time. Professor Shaviro today showed how he creates links to the articles we read in class and at the same time prints them out because he prefers to read the hard copy. I think the majority prefers this because it gives us the freedom to mark on the text and take physical notes. The question was raised if the type of medium has any impact on the content. My thought would be to say no because if you took the New York Times as a physical newspaper and then went online to the official website you would virtually find the same articles and the same information. One thing that you made find is that cyberspace has more space to store information where a newspaper has limited physical constraints in regards to the amount of information it can hold. Anyways, there is still a lot to be discussed concerning this topic that I will address again tomorrow.

2004-02-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

Having been a part of this class has allowed me to be more sensitive and cognizant to things the apply to cyberspace and related topics. One example would be the commercial with the little girl who was convicted by major record label music companies and advertizes that fact. With the millions of downloaders of mp3 music files, it is impossible to catch and convict all perpetrators, but I thought there was creative and detouring effect with this commercial. It also gave an alternative to those downloading music to download songs, 100 million to be exact, free without any restriction or penalty. There was only truth to this T.V. add especially when the girl stated that "were still going to download music." Even with those 100 million songs provided, on most given days around 800 million songs are downloaded. This commercial is definetly a positive start to detouring and minimizes losses to the music industry and those who download music. This weekend I watched Minority Report which touches on many issues we've discussed in the class. It shows a non-fictional system where 'pre-cogs' predict the future. These predictions are then taken from the human pre-cogs and then downloaded onto a computer where future murder events are seen, thus allowing law enforcement officials to engage the criminals before the crime even occurs. It was a good movie but even better after discussions we've had in class and the knowledge I have gained from them.

2004-02-15T15:46:00.001-08:00

The articles that were most interesting to me from Thursday's readings are the ones that discussed new technologies to boost security against criminals. We have talked extensively about copyright and rights of information and I think a real challenge is ahead. The border dispute in frontierless cyberspace makes any kind of legal solution complicated. So, having said that, I move to a topic that a think will have profound impacts on our freedom and on the amount of information the government has on us and how accessible this information is. One prime example would come from the UK. Presently, in the UK today there are more than four million video surveillance cameras monitering public and private places, meaning that non-offensive law abiding citizens are monitered as well as criminals. I think that this technology is not detrimental to notions of freedom because cops moniter just like cameras in public and private forums. I do not think distinctions can be made here. If there is nothing to hide and if you obey the laws then cameras should be implimented. Gait analysis technolgies are now being developed because programs of face recognition can be easily fooled by masking, make-up and facial hair, but gait analysis is much more accurate because people cannot change their bone structure or physiology. I do not know how this information would be collected unless they had a video recorded computer analysis of every citizen in each country. There is the development of celldar, which allows cellular phone emissions to be pinpointed and then somehow from the processed location a topographical map is processed showing all the structures and individuals in a certain area. There is the technology of microchip dusting that I think is a very bad idea. I would not want people to know what I read, eat, do, or anything else made known in my private life that is legal, but this is what would happen because these microchips would be placed on of every product and on every item of fruit making it possible for authorities to instantly know the personal intricacies of our lives. I think these technologies could have great benefits to security and make safe societies but I do believe that these technologies should not be too invasive into our personal lives!

2004-02-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

2004-02-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

I liked Tuesday's discussion so much and I was not able to finsh my thoughts previously so here goes about encrypted messages. People wonder how we can moniter and filter the flow of encrypted messages especially when these issues are directly related to our national security and the security of other nations. One, I see the dificulting in hacking in to all messages because the numeric pattern is so dense and would take so much time, but I think one student had a great suggestion about the information that is available on the web: Encrypt the information and sites considered harmful to the public so that you eliminate the possiblity before a person even gets started. I think detouring mechanisms are much more effective than allowing the flow of information then trying to filter after the fact. This just does not make any logical sense. Maybe we could place alarm systems on encrypted information making it easier for authorities to catch hackers. I think these ideas are good but I admit that my knowledge on this subject only allows me make logical assumptions. I do not know how we could impliment a system to catch those that would harm our society as national threats or those causing and launching harmful viruses affecting large groups.

2004-02-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

Tuesday's discussion led me to some places that made me realize how affected our notion of freedom might change within the realm of cyber space. I would just like to reiterate certain things that I agree with and other things that I believe would be detrimental to our society. The first would be copyright infringement. I do think it is 'ok' that record companies have access to our IP addresses under monitered channels that only allow them access to music files stored in an area that allows other users online to download music. My lack of knowledge on the subject gives me no affirmation if this is possible or if this is already happening. I do strongly believe that authorities should have rights to track us given they go through the proper channels and there is reasonable cause to do so. For example, I have nothing to hide and people should be informed that if they enter certain sites thay are free game to the authorities. I think in our day and age that security protocols such as these be taken with all the new world wide threats. People should have nothing to hide if they are not breaking the law. One student asked us how could we measure penalties for those who launch viruses. My response is simple and we would employ our democratic justice system just as we've used in the past to employ new laws. Penalties would be given based on the gravety of the offense and these laws could passed from state legislature to state legislature with federal action taken with only the gravest of offenses. Granted cyberspace has no boundries and borders are a tricky topic, we could at least enforce laws within the continental United States hopefully minimizing our current problem.

2004-02-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

Last thursday's discussion was probably the most interesting for those of you left after turning your papers in. We discussed whether man can be combined with machine and whether or not machines are intelligent. I find it very interesting that computers can demonstrate cognitive functions of humans on a much accelerated degree in some aspects, but lack a vital part of intelligence called emotional intelligence. Psychologists measure overall intellience not just by logical function but by both logical and abstract function.
This is what makes humans highly superior to all living life forms on the planet including the non biological sphere of computers and machines. Although computers lack abstract and emotional function, I still find them as intelligent entities capable of great things. I do think man is becoming more reliant on machines in many ways. We can see numerous examples in life support systems, pacemakers and a plethora of other mechanisms used to promote the wellness and efficency of human kind. I do not know if we can consider the relationship between the two at this point to be symbiotic because humans are the beneficiaries of the realtionship while machines just provide function without knowledge of existence. To my knowledge all symbiotic relationships are organic leaving the difficulting in defining a machines realtionship to us. Maybe one day we will become advanced enough where we have programs that can actually replicate organic learning through experience and maturation.

2004-02-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

For Tuesday's reading, there was an article about envisioning cyborg bodies. For those of you who read this posting there is a Jean Claude Van Damm movie called cyborg which gives setting after the third world war. Like most people, I wonder whether we have the capacity and technologies to ever reach such advancements in cybernetics. We are close in some aspects when considering cloning. I think one of the big problems in the realization of cybernetics is the wiring that would be necessary. How would you hard wire electronics to living tissues? I think this would be very difficult if not impossible. I feel that even though we understand the evolutionary process I do not think it will ever be synthesized. Sometimes I feel like we think because we understand this process to a high degree that we are above it. For example, every year we have to produce new antibiotics and medicines because viruses and bacterias are always mutating. They go through a natural evolutionary process while our methods to combat them are largely synthetic. One day, maybe, these microorganisms will out manuever and evolve faster than our technologies. I think we will advance very much in our cybernetic capabilities but I do not think we will ever create a symbiotic humanoid cyborg where electronics and natural tissues combine creating a new species of humanoid. I just do not think it is in the 'universal' plans to be.

2004-02-01T17:47:00.000-08:00

After reading through classmates journal entries, I decided to respond to a journal entry posted by Laura Boos. It is true that internet technology has affected commerce in grand measure, but one needs to realize that the internet itself does not produce inventory: or I should say that products do not exist. For example, the fall of the 'dotcom' companies in the late ninties. Many became wealthy on the idea but eventully flopped with no product backing the idea. I start with these comments because I do not believe the internet itself is a commercial product to be sold or marketted. However, it does facilitate transactions between businesses and allows trading to occur the most efficient of speed. Commerce is only possible when goods exchange. So I think commerce relates more to the real world rather than virtual and faciltation of transactions relates more to the virtual world and telephone communications.
We have discussed in class before whether or not meaning is lost through internet communications when considering dialogue between individuals and groups of people. I do think meaning is lost, not just by way of internet, but also by writting and telephone. The most accurate communication exist in the physical world when both parties are present in the same space. This allows humans to read and react to voice fluctuation and facial expression that in turn allows us to respond more accurately to information. This does not make other means of communication uneccessary or unimportant. Much is done through internet, letter and phone and will continue to allow is to be efficient. With this said, it will be forever important to be mindful of the source and of the speaker.

2004-01-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

Tuesday's discussion about the virtual community brought forth some interesting questions. As a class we seemed to focus on isolationism and how that might affect
interpersonal relationships among groups of people. Some in the class seemed to think that certain groups (extremist) would become more isolated and maybe progress more fervently in thier belief system. Others in the class, the majority it seemed, thought that if these groups open up forums of discussion, that it would actually lead to expansive social change rather than restrictive. My thought is that virtual communities will neither cause society to become more isolated nor expansive. The reason for the this is simple human behavior to feed its own desire. People in general are very selfish and as we age our belief system becomes set.....maybe in stone. So I do not belief that conversions are going to be made. It seems that people in our society are very much isolated in 'real communities'. So I continue and conclude by saying that people will migrate to thier comfort zones on the web or where ever and will this will continue throughout the ages of humanity!

2004-01-26T09:29:00.000-08:00

It was interesting to hear what people had to say about cybersex and identity when serving as co-facilitator last Thursday. What most struck a cord with me was Mcluhan's book title....'The medium is the massage' when related to to the topics we discussed. If we ignore what the message is and look what this medium is doing as a means of conveying a message, we can really see the impact. Sexuality has been expressed through media in all cultures throughout history but never more far reaching since the advent of the internet. People are able to explore sexuality and identity as never before and on a magnitude of grand scale.
In the readings, Mcluhan says "human sex organs are to machines what bees are to plants." This is important because if we look at what bees do to plants then the metaphor becomes clear. Bees pollinate plants and allow poliferation and growth possible in the plant kingdom. As we explore different kinds of sexuality and identity on the internet, growth and poliferation of new sexuality and identity becomes apparent.
We talked briefly about the effects of sexuality and cyber-identity. I would just like to add my opinion about this. As sexuality and identity becomes more and more prevalent, I believe so will the constrain upon our society to remain socially healthy. It is already noted that sex is the largest domain on the web. Why do you think we have one of the highest murder rates, sexual assault rates, rape rates, and fraud of all types existing in our society? Do you think that the internet is a cause for any of our social problems within America today?
Morgan McCoy