When we first got assigned assignment 2, I honestly had no clue what I was going to write about. After going over some questions in class, it got me thinking about a few topics. I was trying to decide whether to discuss the idea of a "cat's cradle" in my paper and go in depth about that, or talk about technology. After re-reading some passages and finding some decent quotes to back up my thoughts, I decided to go with the technology theme. I figured both Cat's Cradle and The Human Factor's context was focused on technology and comparing the two would be easy. Making notes of while I read The Human Factor helped a lot when going back to it. I was able to really remember the points that I thought were interesting without having to read the whole article again. However when reading Cat's Cradle I wish i would have bookmarked pages where I found good quotes because going back to try to find a thought was difficult.
Peer editing online is new to me but I think it is really interesting. I think it makes the editor really focus on the context of the writer's paper instead of the grammar. At least for me, when reading a paper that I can write on, i generally look at grammar. Online where you have to type your comments back is nicer because then you are really getting feedback on the context of your paper. I personally like the blog editing, it allows people to write freely and take their time re-reading a paper. Turning a blog entry into a final formal essay will be a little difficult just because you may have to go back through and make sure your paper sounds professional. Overall I think working with a blog and all the students online will really help to better our final papers.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Is Technology Out Growing Us?
A lot of times people do something to better themselves, wait, that is why people do the things they do. When thinking about doing something, most people say what’s in it for me, or how will this make me look? This is the exact attitude Dr. Felix Hoenikker has in Kurt Vonnegut’s book “Cat’s Cradle”. Also, many people in today society only look out for themselves and do tasks to give them honor and pride. This is a pattern that we recognize every day, many times in technology.
Dr. Hoenikker is a husband, father and inventor, even though you wouldn’t recognize all of his traits right away. He had been an absent father to his three children, Frank, Angela, and Newt. He showed this with Newt in the very beginning with Newt. “He must have surprised himself when he made a cat’s cradle out of the string, and maybe it reminded him of his own childhood. He all of a sudden came out of his study and did something he’d never done before. He tried to play with me. Not only had he never played with me before; he had hardly ever spoken to me.” (Vonnegut p.11-12). This tells me that Newt never thought of Felix as a “father figure”. Felix was someone who just existed with no responsibility. When his wife Emily died while giving birth to little Newt, Felix chose to pull his daughter, Angela, out of school to be in charge of the household. Could he not do it himself? Being an inventor of a Ice Nine, Felix was put into a position he loved, he had honor and no responsibility. While making this weapon he never took down notes, never told anyone anything about it and he even knew what kind of damage it could do to the world. Even knowing all these things, he still proceeded to make it for his own good and recognition. This brings up the question is technology becoming smarted than us?
Technology is a concept that sometimes we may take advantage of; when in reality it is a privilege. It has developed into one of the, if not the biggest issues of our world, it manages just about everything we do. Without technology most of us would be lost, but where does it end? It is almost like a comfort blanket that we all think we need. The Human Factor, A Threat to our Quality of Life: Technology Beyond our Control, states “We walk around with electronic leases – pagers, cell phones, personal digital assistants and pocket PC’s – that tie us to our work. We are constantly reaching for something, checking for a new text message, and looking up something on the Internet. When will the iPod or phone I have be enough? There is always going to be the next best thing that everyone “has to have”. But do we really need it? Everyday people go to work hoping to invent something new. For example, in “Cat’s Cradle” no one ever knew that Dr. Hoenikker would one day just whip up a weapon of mass destruction, so maybe there should be some limits, and maybe we should be aware of what goes on in research laboratories. However, it’s not so easy. Giving us knowledge of what goes on behind closed doors is almost impossible. That would mean the scientists would have to be watched and closely monitored 24/7, and that’s not likely to happen. One way this is monitored is by restricting what people are allowed, and not allowed to buy. This enables the average person to feel comforted. By knowing that a random person can’t go buy a certain dangerous chemical allows people to be relaxed.
As technology keeps growing we will learn new ideas and invent new things that may be to our benefit. However we have to keep in mind the other things that can happen with all this experimenting. We have learned through Dr. Hoenikker that dangerous weapons can be produced on an average day by an average person. Today technology is something we control, and someday it may be the thing that controls us.
Dr. Hoenikker is a husband, father and inventor, even though you wouldn’t recognize all of his traits right away. He had been an absent father to his three children, Frank, Angela, and Newt. He showed this with Newt in the very beginning with Newt. “He must have surprised himself when he made a cat’s cradle out of the string, and maybe it reminded him of his own childhood. He all of a sudden came out of his study and did something he’d never done before. He tried to play with me. Not only had he never played with me before; he had hardly ever spoken to me.” (Vonnegut p.11-12). This tells me that Newt never thought of Felix as a “father figure”. Felix was someone who just existed with no responsibility. When his wife Emily died while giving birth to little Newt, Felix chose to pull his daughter, Angela, out of school to be in charge of the household. Could he not do it himself? Being an inventor of a Ice Nine, Felix was put into a position he loved, he had honor and no responsibility. While making this weapon he never took down notes, never told anyone anything about it and he even knew what kind of damage it could do to the world. Even knowing all these things, he still proceeded to make it for his own good and recognition. This brings up the question is technology becoming smarted than us?
Technology is a concept that sometimes we may take advantage of; when in reality it is a privilege. It has developed into one of the, if not the biggest issues of our world, it manages just about everything we do. Without technology most of us would be lost, but where does it end? It is almost like a comfort blanket that we all think we need. The Human Factor, A Threat to our Quality of Life: Technology Beyond our Control, states “We walk around with electronic leases – pagers, cell phones, personal digital assistants and pocket PC’s – that tie us to our work. We are constantly reaching for something, checking for a new text message, and looking up something on the Internet. When will the iPod or phone I have be enough? There is always going to be the next best thing that everyone “has to have”. But do we really need it? Everyday people go to work hoping to invent something new. For example, in “Cat’s Cradle” no one ever knew that Dr. Hoenikker would one day just whip up a weapon of mass destruction, so maybe there should be some limits, and maybe we should be aware of what goes on in research laboratories. However, it’s not so easy. Giving us knowledge of what goes on behind closed doors is almost impossible. That would mean the scientists would have to be watched and closely monitored 24/7, and that’s not likely to happen. One way this is monitored is by restricting what people are allowed, and not allowed to buy. This enables the average person to feel comforted. By knowing that a random person can’t go buy a certain dangerous chemical allows people to be relaxed.
As technology keeps growing we will learn new ideas and invent new things that may be to our benefit. However we have to keep in mind the other things that can happen with all this experimenting. We have learned through Dr. Hoenikker that dangerous weapons can be produced on an average day by an average person. Today technology is something we control, and someday it may be the thing that controls us.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Behavior throughout Cat's Cradle
Overall, Cat's Cradle showed me how behavior has evolved. First off, I feel the role of woman has definitely changed. When Emily Hoenikker died after giving birth to little Newt, Felix pulled Angela out of school to act as the motherly figure to Frank and Newt. Felix, who never interacted much with his children, couldn't handle this himself so he chose Angela. But why Angela? -because she is a woman and she is able to do more work than a man? It has been becoming more popular in today's world for woman to work, and sometimes then it is the mans job to be in charge, or handle the household. Also the womans role in Cat's Cradle makes them look like they are to follow orders and never step out of the box. For example, on page 33, when Miss Pefko is being introduced to Dr. Nilsak Horvath. Dr. Horvath states ""Whats new in surface chemistry?" I asked Miss Pefko. "God," she said, "don't ask me. I just type what he tells me to type." And then she apologized for having said "God."" This to me makes her seem scared to be different, and she is also very apologetic to men as if they are the surperior ones.
Another way i saw behavior was demonstrated was through Frank. Frank, being the son of a man who invented something new, didn't have any responsibility. He was a Major General on San Lorenzo, and didn't really want much to do with it. For example, when he tried to speak with John about becoming president of San Lorenzo, and John refused, Frank didn't really know what to do, so he asked John who else would want to job. Frank never wanted to assume any type of human responsibility- passing the job of president to just anyone who would take it? John, then, eventually took the job because it was everything he ever wanted and it was also everything Frank wanted- honor with out responsibility. In today's society- a major general having this type of attitude- the nonchalant, don't care type- would be fired right away. I personally think Frank is just lazy.
Another way i saw behavior was demonstrated was through Frank. Frank, being the son of a man who invented something new, didn't have any responsibility. He was a Major General on San Lorenzo, and didn't really want much to do with it. For example, when he tried to speak with John about becoming president of San Lorenzo, and John refused, Frank didn't really know what to do, so he asked John who else would want to job. Frank never wanted to assume any type of human responsibility- passing the job of president to just anyone who would take it? John, then, eventually took the job because it was everything he ever wanted and it was also everything Frank wanted- honor with out responsibility. In today's society- a major general having this type of attitude- the nonchalant, don't care type- would be fired right away. I personally think Frank is just lazy.
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