Best of Week: 6 Sense Technology TED Talk

       This week we continued the TED talk presentations, but the one that stood out the most to me was Taso's about the new technological beak-through that his TED presenter came up with.
       The innovation is called 6 sense technology, I think, and it makes technology more human by integrating the computer with our lives. Now that may sound bad, but it's actually a pretty cool thing. The way that this technology works is that you have sensors on your fingers, a computer and a projector on a necklace you wear and maybe a small computer in your back pocket. You are able to use virtually any surface as a screen and are able to transfer documents and other such things from the 6 sense device to anywhere else you want it and everything is done all with your hands; and that's how easy it is and that is how he made technology more human.
       This technological innovation has got me thinking about how far the human race has come; and in all honesty, I'm pretty surprised we've come this far. I mean we don't have flying cars yet, but hey, I can work with this new cellphone/computer. It also makes me think about how much this will change the technology we use and how we create things in the future. If this technology was developed three years ago, think about how incredible it'll be ten years from now; I'd like to see Apple beat that one.
       If someone told me about this innovation, I probably would not have believed them until I saw it for myself. When Taso played the TED video of his presenter demonstrating how to use the 6 sense technology, I literally was staring at the screen in awe. I would have never thought that someone out there actually developed something like this; it was just too unreal, like something out of a movie. I now have so much faith in the human race, because if we could develop something as awesome as this, we could hopefully develop some pretty radical things in the coming future.
       What's really exciting about being part of this generation is that that are so many new things and innovations that people are coming up with right now and we're like the first people who can actually obtain these things and use them. It'll definitely be interesting and fun to see what people come up with in the next couple of decades. I'm just really excited that I get to be a part of all of this.

Metacognition: The Mashup Process

       Creating a mashup was a very different experience for me. At first, I thought that I was doing it wrong, but I figured that a mashup is supposed to feel wrong, right? I mean, I was putting quotes from here and there, pictures that had something to do with my two topics, I was using sources in the Humanities curriculum, and sources outside of the curriculum, and everything just felt wrong; but in the end, everything felt right, everything blended together and formed one meaningful mashup.
       My thinking while doing this mashup was at times all over the place and very random, but I would like to say that it was intellectual most of the time. I found quotes about solitude and writing from different parts of the book; I must admit that I stumbled upon the quotes, but they ended up being meaningful quotes that I actually really liked and that's how they ended up in my mashup. The pictures I found on Tumblr, were sprinkled all over the place and I just happened to find them which was really interesting and thought it was a hint from the universe that I should put them in my mashup. The sources that I found outside of humanities, were quotes and pictures from things that played a huge role in my life; Taylor Swift is my idol and I wanted to incorporate her in my mashup because when I feel alone (or solitary) her and her music always seems to be there for me. John Green is my new favorite author and I've only read two of his novels, but they were so incredibly written then I could just sit here and read them again and again and I can't wait to read his other work.
       I think the way that I found the parts of my mashup was very natural, and they sort of just came to me in a way, I didn't go looking for them. When we got the assignment, I also kind of knew then what i wanted to put in my mashup which made things easier; for example, the three quotes that I used for the parts from the Humanities curriculum came from three works that we studied that I really enjoyed.
       If I was asked what I wanted to change anything about my mashup, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm proud of what I did and I believe I thought of some pretty creative things to mash together.
       Because this was such a new assignment to me, I was really surprised that I was able to get myself to focus. A mashup has a very random nature to it and it was surprisingly easy to keep my mind on track and not veer off into tangents while creating a mashup about writing and solitude. I was also kind of surprised at how creative I got while creating this, because being a fourth quarter senior, my mind is totally out of school mode right now.
       I really liked how my mind just kept giving me ideas while I was working on this project. It surprises me that I have so much stored in the back of my mind that I don't use and they all just come springing forward when the time comes. I honestly would have never thought about half of the stuff I put in my mashup if it wasn't for my creative thinking. So, I was really surprised that I got through it and came up with some pretty great things to loop together.
       Overall, creating a mashup for Letter to a Young Poet was a fun new experience and it showed me that my mind isn't tuned out all the way yet.

iMedia: Frank Gehry's Architecture

      Frank Gehry and his architecture has taken the "norm" out of the word normal. As one can see, the building to the left and to the bottom are not normal looking buildings. The one to the left looks as if it will collapse at any moment because of the weird bend, but it's called art. The building at the bottom looks like it's from the future. Even though we are not used to seeing buildings like this, Gehry's architecture has changed the way buildings can be built, and his creativity has changed the way we think. If you Google "Frank Gehry Buildings" you will find some of his best works and some of the most interesting buildings you have ever

seen. By watching a documentary about him, we were able to see how his creative process works. He basically takes random pieces of paper and puts them on a model in weird and awkward angles and wa-la, we've got ourselves a fantastic new building.
     What I'm getting to is that by seeing Gehry's work and being able to see how he creates it, gives students like us hope. Hope that maybe one day, things that we create- whether it be "normal" or not-will change someone's view. Gehry's work was unlike anything before, it's very modern and sometimes it's hard to understand, but his awkwardly shaped and futuristic looking buildings has made him a sufficient load of money. Architecture was something his old teacher told him wasn't for him, but now he's made well-known and well-liked buildings, and he's doing something he absolutely loves and he gets paid for it, so what's better than that?
     Gehry has also paved a way for others to create whatever goes on in their mind, to make something of themselves and maybe one day, their art can be appreciated as well.

Blogging Around

Justine: Connecting the movie Once to other Hollywood movies. Deliberating on similarities and differences.

I agree with you, that the movie Once was so different from some of the movies that I usually want to see or watch. It was kind of a nice change from the typical love story from those Hollywood movies because most movies have gotten very predictable and they're not that fun to watch anymore. What happened in this movie was definitely unexpected because I was totally predicting that the two main characters were going to end up together. Like you said, the way he showed her that he cared about her was something new, but still cute at the same time. I also agree with your point about Once and other Hollywood movies; Hollywood movies are now being filmed in a way for the audience to feel like they're watching a home video and for the audience to feel that the story is real. It was something far-fetched from the movies I am used to watching, but it was nice. Great job on your blog!

Rachel: Talks about the inconvenient truth about technology, how it evolved and how it may be hurting us more now than helping us.

Everything you said about technology was so true. I do believe that technology has become a total obsession than a helper. I could never, never, never get rid of my iPhone because it's like a part of me. I just couldn't imagine life without it and I keep wondering how I lived without it before; that makes me sound like a totally iPhone obsessed person, but I bet half the teenage population would agree with me. I almost never just use my phone for texting now, it's always for social media apps and games. It is definitely a need now. I think we should take a break away from technology as well and get back to going outside and hanging out with friends in one place instead of talking to each other and staring at a computer screen all day.

Change of Mind: Postmodernism

       Before going over the Modernism and Postmodernism chart in class, I payed no attention to those two words; to be honest, I didn't really know what those words meant. Then, we went through a very organized chart that differentiates between Modernism and Postmodernism. I took an interest in the Postmodernism side, because it's from 1945 to the present, the time period in which I lived in and am living in now.
       In "The Individual" part of the chart under Postmodernism, two ideas spoke to me. The first, "space is corporate" (Allen) was something I didn't think about before. I didn't look around and notice all the ads that were plastered in every open space or the arenas, buildings and other places named after companies. When I watch the Blackhawks play, the rink is covered in advertisements from all their sponsors and there isn't a space left untouched by corporations. By talking about this, it helped me realized that space is corporate, companies own almost everything we use and the places we walk into everyday. The second, "mediation of experience: what is distant can be close and what is close can be distant" (Allen). Another idea that I also did not think about before discussing it in class. I admit that I'm the person that is always on their phone, but then again, so are my friends. We all have iPhone's now, so we get anything instantly and we can access anything when we want to, it's all in the palm of our hands, literally. But, I guess that's the problem isn't it? We distance ourselves from the people close to us who are there then and there, by using our phones to connect with people who aren't there.
       The section, "Worldview" changed the way I see the world today. Two more ideas, changed my mind on my worldview. I learned a new word: Pastiche, it is the coexistence of the past and present (Allen). We examined how the people from the past influenced the way we built, created, and mastered things in today's society. How architecture from ancient Greece can be seen on modern buildings, how we took old inventions and made them better and more efficient. The little things from the past are sprinkled here and there and now I know that they're there. Then, there is the idea that "the distinction between economic and cultural breaks down" (Allen). Commercials are supposed to help sell a product, but nowadays they seem more like a public service announcement and they use like 3/4 of the commercial to talk about something other than the product... like the Chrysler Superbowl commercial... was that supposed to be about the car or a farmer?
       Lastly, the section "Truth" and the fact that it is "impossible to have historical authenticity" (Allen) changed my mind as well. I always thought as a kid and even now, that places like Disneyworld and places where we can go on cool safaris were really fun! but apparently places like that destroys historical authenticity, because instead of visiting the actual place we can get the fake version right here close to home. I understand that they're trying to make it convenient so we don't have to travel to those far away lands, but I would actually much rather see the real, true thing in person where it's naturally supposed to be.
       So, by going through the Postmodernism side of the chart and seeing all the examples, my mind has been changed and I look at the world in a different perspective.

Connection: Humanties & Sociology

       Lately, I've been noticing that some things I'm learning in one class are very closely related to something I'm learning in another class. It's like de ja vu, but not really. Anyways, a new semester means new classes, which means everything must feel new, right? wrong. I thought that by switching some of my electives, I'd get some new information, but turns out, the history and english departments are put in the same wing of the school together for a reason; because they mysteriously go over some of the same topics.
       In Sociology we're talking about social "norms" and deviant behavior. In an article we read in class, social "norm" is defined as what a society expects an individual to behave and deviance is defined as behaviors that go against a society's rules. Then, we elaborated on social control -which is how a society keeps people from breaking the rules- and came up with external controls (authority figures), internal controls (morals), rewards and punishments. The people of a society conform to these rules in fear of punishment; which means that conformity and "going with the flow" both play huge parts in how people act, but deviant behavior comes from nonconformity and going against the flow.
       What does this have to do with humanities you ask? Well, to start off the new semester in humanities we discussed challenging the status quo.We had to read a letter Martin Luther King Jr. wrote while he was in Birmingham jail, and annotate for sections in which he talked about how one should and why one should challenge the status quo.
       So, the two things I read have multiple things in common. External forces were involved in both passages: police officers, parents and other authority figures keep the inhabitants of a society in check, while MLK talks about how external forces (like policemen, politicians, white people) are keeping African Americans from fully practicing their God given rights. Internal forces also play a role: people decide to take part in deviant behaviors because they lack internal morals, MLK talks about how morality should help African Americans in their fight for equality. Those who commit deviant acts are punished to maintain order in a society, MLK lists many occurrences in which African Americans are punished for being born a certain color, which is absolutely unfair.
       Most importantly, these two passages taught me that sometimes conformity isn't the best thing one can do; because nonconformity and challenging the status quo can lead to changes that a society may need.   

Blogging Around

Maura blogged about getting organized. She explained how she always lost clothes due to a "monster/black hole" in her dresser and what she did to kill that monster and get her dresser drawers in a more organized manner.

Maura, I liked how you used a clothes-eating monster as an excuse for losing your clothes.. haha just kidding! Losing clothes is nothing new to me either, so I'm pretty sure there is also a monster/black hole in my closet. Whenever I reorganize my closet I always make piles for clothes I want to keep and those I want to donate as well. Feeling guilty about giving away certain items of clothing always keep me from finishing my task right away, but in the end, I always think that someone out there probably needs this sweater or this pair of jeans more than I do. I am such a neat freak all the time so I get the piles of clothes into nicely folded stacks in no time like you did! After accomplishing something like the task you described, I feel much more relaxed and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders just like you said you felt. Overall, great blog entry because I was able to relate to everything you explained!

Justine thought that the best of the week of November first was the video of the starlings. She talked about the process her group went through to come up with a myth and a scientific reason as to why and how the starlings fly around the lake the way they do.

Justine, I agree that each week is very different in humanities. I thought that the most interesting idea that week was also the video about the starlings. It was so cool to watch them fly over the lake like that and without colliding. My group got their creative juices flowing and we found that the only thing hard about the assignment was picking ONE of the endless amounts of myths we made up. I like how you brought up that this activity helped us see like the people back then who actually believed in myths. It was also interesting the way you ended your blog by saying that we still don't know everything because I love the saying, "we learn something new everyday" and there have been many times that that statement has been proven.