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http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-20047253-235.html?tag=topTechContentWrap;editorPicks

From Computer Power and Human Reason

This was a fascinating article. I can't say I am surprised that the

ELIZA program that became known as DOCTOR had the effect that it

did on people. When you look around today we see so many people

looking for advice in books and magazines and they have no idea who

wrote the information. In these instances we can usually rely on the

fact that a human came up with the information( even though that's not

saying that it's helpful or reliable information). In the case of a

computer playing human, there are so many possible things that could go

wrong. Like it is highlighted in the article the context of our language is

key in communication, and as Weizenbaum mentions, there are things

that a computer should not be programmed to do. I like the fact that

he continues to point out the aspect of computer still being computers

regardless of what they are used for. Meaning, we can create a

program to give therapy to someone, but this therapy is still computed.

I also really like how Weizenbaum mentioned the fact that arts used to

be a source for humans to gain understanding and intellectual

nourishment but that science was becoming the sole form of

understanding (Weizenbaum). One interesting thing I thought about

while reading this article is that technology is becoming such a common

part of our daily lives that many people look to the computer for their

answers to everything. I find myself typing in questions some times

rather than asking a friend, or a teacher, or someone who may also

know the answer.

Second Life Article

I genuinely enjoyed reading this article. I learned a lot about the way gender is visually constructed in virtual realities like SL. In real life we are constantly surrounded by images of gender and what maleness and femaleness is supposed to look like. If we open up a fashion magazine that is directed toward women we see certain types of women with specific images of hair, makeup, clothing, etc. In men's magazines there are similar images that are constructed to fit a specific gendered appearance that our society accepts as male. The article discussed gender in the aspect that we "do" it based on the way we behave or our actions. In SL Delia and Georgia both designed separate avatars. Georgia designed Rude to be a female avatar while Delia decided to create a male avatar. Most of the options that users can select are distinctively 'female' or 'male' based on characteristics like large breasts, small waists, long hair, long legs, and for males there are broad shoulders, large pecs, and six-pack abs. Within time the researchers became used to the environment and were no longer surprised by images of naked breasts or the obvious gender stereotypes that existed in SL. I found this to be very interesting because it depicts many aspects of RL and the way that society constructs and enables gender roles for men and women. I like that the study pointed out that SL is still limited to what the creators allow for the user to create. Meaning someone may find SL liberating based on the ability to create their avatar in many different forms, but they are still choosing physical characteristics that someone else created for them.

http://mashable.com/2011/03/09/president-obama-cyber-bullying/

Question Two

Williams discusses technology and society and cause and effect. He
uses specific statements such as "television has altered our world"
in his analysis of Versions of Cause and Effect in Technology and
Society. He brings several different statements that all have one
thing in common-that they believe that television has altered the
world. This is true because television came before the use of
personal computers for news and entertainment. I know many people who
do not watch tv anymore because they choose other media to get their
information from, but if this other media were to disappear I think
many people would go back to watching more television. He identifies
the first class of opinion as technological determinism which he
states as a viewpoint regarding the nature of social change. He
explains the second class of opinion to be in contrast with the first
and considers technologies to be symptoms of other change. The
article then goes on to discuss how these two opinions are the cause
of a debate in regard to our thinking about technology and society.
The history of television is discussed as well as it's similarity and
difference to radio and cinema. I found this article to be very
interesting because there in personal experience I have heard many
people speak about how television is the cause of many problems as
well as it's effects on people, yet I do not hear much about the
debate behind it all. When we analyze it from the perspective of
television being a medium like anything else that technology helps
create, we then see how there are several forms of new media that most
people are using today for exactly what television was used for then.

Just Like Me Only Better

I found this article to be very fascinating. The study that was done involved the statistical findings of avatars that people from around the world were able to construct themselves for MUVE (virtual realities). The study found that the avatars created all resembled the Caucasian or western standard of beauty which consisted of light skin, thin nose, thin lips, etc. There was one black woman who chose an avatar that represented characteristics of her true self-identity which is overweight and black, but almost every other person in the study had selected an avatar that fit the Caucasian standard of beauty. In Germany there were some people who chose to create their female avatars with tan skin, however they were always accompanied with a thin nose, thin lips, and blond hair. Studies like this one are important because they help us analyze the reasons people are creating online versions of themselves to be what they consider the standard of beauty. The study points out that there was no surprise in regard to the hegemony that was identified in regard to the Caucasian standard of beauty. I was not surprised by this portion of the study either because it seems that many people throughout the world think the Caucasian standard of beauty is universally accepted. We live in a world where skin lightening cream is marketed as a "beauty" product and this is part of the problem.

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