Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Nicholas Carr: A Book Narrative



The Shallows by Nicholas Carr

Essentials
Carr, Nicholas. (2011). What the internet is doing to our brains: The shallows. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 0393339750 

Theme
Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows, undertakes a deepening view of internet as the foundational medium of technology that righteously-so is numbing our brains. The Shallows investigates the eras of human technological advancements and in relationship to how the human brain, as a result, is becoming more shallow as a powerful consequence.  

Purpose
The exploration of human advances from spoken word to written passages and online views are examined in terms of creativity, learning, thinking, and capacity. Each era has played a critical role in molding human development, and the human brain has had the largest impact. Since the explosion of the World Wide Web, Nicholas Carr explains how our neurological processes of thought, reasoning, learning has been affected, and in return how human creativity and expression has weakened. Attention focuses have lessened; humans are becoming “scattered brained”. In his daring, scientific investigation of the internet, Nicholas Carr exploits findings of The Shallows in an engaging novel that users of all fields would find accustomed to everyday life. 

Supporting Evidence
In compelling findings, Carr presents investigations in a two-fold method: eras and effects. Each era of human technological advancement has contributed to the effects of learning, thinking, and capacity for reasoning and understanding. My agreement to each evidence presented by Carr to represent the thesis is supported within the below. Every advancement is an expansion of human to “expand our control, power over circumstances—over nature, time and distance, and over one another” (Carr, 2011, p. 44). Earliest forms of writing date back to 8000 BC, where humans used clay tokens for transcription of spoken to written word, and during this time, the human brain shows positive results for critical thinking and reasoning; neural pathways of the brain increased (Carr, 2011, p. 52). Around 750 BC, the Greeks invented the first phonetic alphabet, which helped many rising scholars and citizens alike engage in learning and conquest for knowledge; this era saw a rise in the “economy of letters” (Carr, 2011, p. 53). As spoken words were better easily transcribed into written word, oral words helped to modify records such as scrolls, bibles, letters, and passages of books; thus, this paved the way for books to become the source of navigation for learning and growth (Carr, 2011, p. 60). The shift was a result of the need and desire for human growth and development. The enjoyment of creativity and free expression in writing appeared in the form of poems, plays, and songs written and performed. However, during the Middle Ages, reading became more viewed as less of performance and more of “personal instruction and improvement”; this shift was one of the most critical since the development of the Greek alphabet (Carr, 2011, p. 62). Alongside this introduction of human growth, the daring Johannes Gutenberg around 1445 left his birthplace of Mainz along the Rhine River to follow the pursuit of an idea that would transform human reasoning, thinking, and creativity for generations to follow—the introduction of the printing press (Carr, 2011, p. 68). The printing press established a new era were previously mundane, long written words could easily be published into a book, making reading more accessible, cheaper, and easier for humans. The invention of the printing press appeared as a change of economy, publishing, and technology. The era of the Enlightenment years gave rise to time where thinking critically with sound reasoning became a primary focus for many citizens; citizens were becoming “thinking machines” (Carr, 2011, p. 23). More recently, in mid-20th century, the rise of an era of artificial intelligence (AI) machines were being produced as innovators expanded their knowledge and resources for society. In 1962, the first programming language was created that transformed common words into usable syntax, and in 1977, the first Apple Computer was born (Carr, 2011, p. 11). Both brought forth equal challenging advancements for society, but it would not be until 1989 before either could fully be put to good measure. In 1989, the World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee, and since then, the widely used search engine, Google, alongside an explosion of information overload appeared from books to everyday life (Carr, 2011, p. 9). The results of such technological advancements have significantly impacted the human brain 

Furthermore, the journey of learning transitions has required each era of humans to re-program, re-think, and re-transition. As examined by Carr, these transitions have shaped the human brain into one of “plasticity” (Carr, 2011, p. 21). The human brain is malleable in the way cells have the ability to grow bigger with use through learning, development, and creativity, and have the ability to diffuse with wasteful engagements; therefore, every action has the potential to leave some negative or positive print upon the human nervous tissue (Carr, 2011, p. 21). Whether it is seeing, thinking, hearing, or learning, all neural circuits have the potential to be harmed, so important to the notion is to use time of engagement wisely.

Implications

Revisiting each era, clay tokens of spoken to written passages served for the openings of new neural pathways in the brain, and the connection of visual and sense-making areas of the brain were formed (Carr, 2011, p. 52). As eras progressed, the ways in which human brains collected reasoning changed. Earliest form of written words, such as passages, bibles, and plays helped to liberate the writer as well as the reader; reading was viewed as a “filling, replenishment of the mind” (Carr, 2011, p. 65). The connectivity between writer and reader brings forth full submersion of demanding, undivided, sustained attention within the passages of the text; thus, reading serves as a powerful intellectual tool to expand and support mental capabilities, growth, and quest for knowledge. Moving along the eras, the transition of technological advancements switched human being thought processes substantially. With introduction of the World Wide Web (for reference called the “net”), the human brain began to decline. Our capacity for memory, expansion for growth, creativity for learning, reasoning for progress, and processing of cues slowly faded away, yet leaving a shallow brain. Thus, the net serves most functional as a technological tool that has “fragmented content and [disrupted] concentration” (Carr, 2011, p. 91). As information overload exists in the online world, human beings are forced to rely on the scarification of critical reasoning and learning at the dispense of cheap, copious, “easily searchable artificial memory” even if the result makes humans shallower thinkers (Carr, 2011, p. 194). It is a long-standing battle between an era of technological advancement that is further alienating humans and critical reasoning skills.

Related to the notion of AI, the exploration of technological advancements and effects on society are further explored in Surveillance, Transparency and Democracy: Public Administration in the Information Age written by Akhlaque Haque that carefully examines the relationship and would be of a supplement to Nicholas Carr’s evidence on the rise of artificial intelligence. One major implication is that to be effective leaders, we must appropriately select, use, and distribute technology to citizens, bearing in mind the cost and benefit analysis. If no or too little of reward is for citizens, then the technological advancement has failed. If leaders are to promote technology then according to Mary Parker Follet the “guidance by the law of the situation” should be met; to be effective leaders, forth coming leaders should recognize that the situation should guide the action thereafter, and action should not guide the situation (Haque, 2011, p. 89). Meeting citizen needs is critical to the survivor-ship of technological success and reducing information overload. Thus, “technique” of carrying out everyday life is unique to each individual, and technique is generated through the many facets that technology helps to implement and shape into an individual’s life (Haque, 2015, p.35).   

 Interest

The Shallows explores the direct relationship between each era of history and society effects; each one is propounding, however, the last century is of most attention. Nicholas Car uses wise judgment is stating that “we are trading away our old liner processes of thought for the so-called riches of the technology” (Carr, 2011, p. 10). The Net has become a source of medium for society, where information overload flows through the eyes, ears, and brain. If society wishes to advance further in the technological age, innovators, organizations, managers, and citizens alike must recognize the direct and disturbing ramifications of such use. In an era where the Net exists in every realm, from work to social and even religious (use of “live” web based sermons for example), it is critical for all citizens to make the necessary change. Change must start with the individual; every citizen has the option of choosing information that flows in and out. As humans advance, brain plasticity decreases, so it is of wise notion to be a mindful, attention oriented person even in a world of distractions.

To be a Public Administrator within the realm of the Net means engaging citizens in useful ways such as limiting the volume of hyperlinks on pages, creating thoughtful and not meaningless web sites, reverting to offline user activities, and controlling the urge to put every information piece “virtually”, thereby reducing information overload. In the Net era, it is critical to stay abreast of changing trends, but an administrator should use discretion. Perhaps, Twitter or Facebook may not be the best way to reach the targeted audience, and a more direct way, may simply be “old-fashioned” mailings, letters, and even phone calls that have more meaning, functionality, and positivity for human brain plasticity. As Carr notes, “the price we pay to assume technology’s power is alienation” (Carr, 2011, p. 211). To be an effective leader one must carefully use technology an “enabler” for citizen thoughts, needs, and wants, to leaders are ingrained as “human actors”, which play an essential role in shaping the outcome of technology (Haque, 2015, p. xv Preface). The more reliance on artificial intelligence, the shallower our brains are becoming, the shallower our society is becoming, and ever more importantly, future generations may cease to exist. The Shallows encompasses that to “remain vital, culture must be renewed in the minds of every generation…outsource memory, and culture withers” (Carr, 2011, p. 197).

Resources
Carr, Nicholas. (2011). What the internet is doing to our brains: The shallows. New York, NY:           W. W. Norton & Company

Haque, Akhlaque. (2015). Surveillance, Transparency and Democracy: Public Administration in the Information Age. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

Monday, February 13, 2017

"Big Data"


“Big Data” is coined from collective research findings, projects, social activity, health ratings, and historically within mobile use. Every action that is set within the parameters of the technological field incorporates data generation. The generation of data amounts to “big data”—Data that is so huge for processing capability! It comes to my mind as information overload. Most data generated is not always helpful data, but rather it is fluff within our spaces. As more data is collected everyday regarding citizens, there is in an alarming stance towards personal privacy and abuse of the use of collective data. Who really owns data? This may sound like an easy answer, but really it is a two-fold system. Ideally, it does belong with the consumer’s control, but once a consumer agrees to “privacy terms and conditions” usually found embedded within a contract so-to-speak, the entity collecting the data has a right to uphold consumer protection even further.

Take for instance Facebook or even the Pandora Application. Both are great tools for social experience both visually and mentally (some could argue differently). Facebook allows users to keep up with friends, engage in conversations, and even play games. Pandora music application allows users to listen to a variety of genre from classical rock to hip-hop to old school country. Facebook is generally seen by most as a great way to “be connected”, whether professionally with co-workers allowing for networking opportunities (LinkedIn would be my better choice for this, but to each his own) or personally with long-ago friends or even long-distance family members. Pandora is convenient for long car rides without boring commercials and can even help within the office setting to make the work day better. Either way, both are resources for consumers, but both entities are capturing real time data analysis on end users. The data analysis can show behavioral and social patterns of activity, likes and dislikes, clues about one’s current state of mind, matter, and place, and engage with consumers. The tricky business to the generation and collection of big data analysis lies within informed end users and their correlation with trust to the entity. It could be predicted that most of us do not think twice about the long-drafted, never-ending it seems like contractual agreement that every application requires end users to sign, which is usually the better known “privacy agreement”, but it should be noted that careful consideration should be taken by the end user by carefully proofing the agreement. Even then, be mindful of posts, engagement, and functionality of the resources being used—not everything is as what is appears to be.

Of particular interest, there are endless technological advances within such applications as navigational tools (Garmin, Google Maps, and Yelp), social resources (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Snapchat), fitness arenas (Fit Bit and Apple watch), financial advice (Banking, Credit, and Stock apps), and even personal life (Weather Channel and others).With such an advancement of applications, there seems to be one striking to mind that (to my knowledge) does not currently exist. A big data project of analyzing professional job interviews and creating a system of allowing end users access for review, practice, and even feedback. Critical to this project would be anonymous identification of both entity and consumer.

For my big data project, the collection of job interviews across public entities will be examined through an app. Since the examination of public companies will be used, in theory and of my approach, citizens have a designated right to the data collected. Most citizens struggle with the “right and wrong” answers, how to dress properly, and even how to professionally engage with a potential employer. It can be stated that business culture plays a role into shaping most of the “correct/incorrect” doings, but overall for most professional industries, the norm is standard across borders. Successful completion of such a project will require examination of introduction, process and production, and privacy. All three areas are crucial for implementation.

1.       Introduction

An application designed to capture real-time data regarding employer feeds of job interviews. Data generated will come from potential employee Q/A, attire, presentation, and overall ratings of hire ability. The application will serve not only as a personal assessment but professional growth as trends can be recorded and observed. This production may be tested and/or used within the United States and abroad. Privacy issues concerning abroad should be analyzed carefully to ensure proper measures against consumer protection. It may best be tested and used first in America to ensure profitability for research.



2.       Process and Production

Firstly, employers will begin interviews by launching a desktop or hand-held app. designed for this project. A consent form must be used to ensure consumer privacy and entity ethical considerations. The company’s formal HR operation procedures for interviews should be used. Questions may be altered or pre-entered as needed dependent upon the company desires. Answers will be manually recorded. Key attention to interviewee body language cues of behavioral associations, and potential conflicts should be noted. In addition, attire, presentation, and response assessment should be added, as well. The application will be designed in such a way to allow for ranking and additional comments. Any potential uneventful findings should be included further. Once the interview is conducted, the interviewer will carefully review ratings and submit a final upload. The company will have access to the data, as well as the application for further research.



Secondly, the application will produce generalized results. These generalized results will be sorted upon classical application tabs to ensure that if there is a specific section such as “professional attire” or “best responses” for job interviews that a consumer is looking for within the app., then it can easily be found. The consumer will pay for the download of the app., and the monies generated will further back the research credibility and marketability. An end user will find the information helpful depending upon which professional industry is completing an interview within, whether it is higher education, healthcare, or banking.



3.       Privacy



A privacy agreement form should be electronically signed by the corporation and end user for the application use. The application must uphold all privacy standards to ensure that both the corporation name and end user identification remain anonymous. Details of state, city, industry type, and rankings of findings will be generated; as such will be attractable to many end users. End users may cross collaborate results, but attention to personal identification will be omitted. The application is expected to generate mega data, but for functionality, it will help serve populations of all race, gender, and age types. It may be advised for testing first in U.S. to ensure growth and use, but it could very easily serve other countries. Country set privacy issues would come into play and should be abided.


Overall, this potential big data project should help those in need of professional growth with an added boast!

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Examination of the "Stupidity of Computers" Article by David Auerbach


The world is becoming ever-so involved within the technological field at a high rate. As proposed by David Auerbach in his recent article “The Stupidity of Computers”, the “dumbness of computers” will eventually become our weakness as humans. Today more than ever, humans rely on computers for everyday needs ranging from online banking, shopping, social media, and so forth, and this only means one thing: there is a great deal of influx of data being entered into computers. Will computers be able to increase as consumer demands increase? Ultimately, David examines the relationship between the history of computers and the human world. The below are summarized findings.

Early inventions of computer databases paved the way for modern life in the technological arena, but language barriers presented an issue. Computers are ingrained with certain functions, such as being able to capture word choices entered by the end user and finding those word choices on the World Wide Web; however, early inventions to understanding the mechanisms behind the relationship of input and output were examined by algorithms as Quicksort, Monte Carlo, and Huffman Compression. The role of these algorithms was to provide efficiency for computers in sorting and translating data. Alongside these early inventions came the introduction of early search engines such as Lycos, AltaVista, and Northern Light. These engines tried to help the computer understand the language being inputted but failed at doing so effectively and efficiently. A more modern search engine most of us may be familiar with is Ask Jeeves. Ask Jeeves captures data being entered into a search bar differently than most engines captured data before. For instance, if I were searching for “US best parks to hike” instead of typing my search directly out, Ask Jeeves' search would require me to enter a hypothetical question; trailing back to my original search, this could be for instance “Where is the best park to hike in the US” or perhaps “Which US state provides the best park to hike”. Ask Jeeves would translate my input into a code that would then search across web-pages trying to find a precise match to my question posed. The implication of confusion was met at odds since my proposed question was somewhat technical and laborious! Since then, humans more frequently rely on Yahoo, Google, and even social media for answers (which I will touch base on shortly).

Even with early search engines, it is notable that language in computers is two-fold. Sentence meaning has to be precise for computers to understand written request (search), and the sentence must be free of any potential obscurity. Thus, the search request must contain normalized values with easily understood principles. For instance, if I wanted to search for “How many years does an average dog live”, I might be more prone to instead search for “Average dog life”. Thus, vocabulary is strengthened while my search find will most likely end up being more precise.

Referring back to early inventions of search engines, the most notable one of all, Google, was created into existence middle 1990 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who were two students trying to figure out a way to solve the complex language of computer search engines. Brin and Page set out on the laborious, head-wrenching mission by analyzing the topology of web pages. In this way, search pages were match accordingly to relevant material found by a ranking classification system. Instead of search results pulling all pages across the web together, the ranking system identified web pages and results in order of importance based upon data entered in the search bar. Thus, the system for generating order and precision in technological search engines was formed, yet the problem of understanding the language (codes) had not truly been identified. However, Google did succeed in the search engine world, and as by evident, humans still rely on Google for everyday life questions. Presently, an evaluation of searches made daily on the internet and the monies to be gained from “owning” such a search engine is noteworthy; hence, the stock price of Google—Who would have thought decades ago that Google would become what is has today? Talk about revolutionary in modern life technology!

Alongside Google, most of us are familiar with other search engines/ technological areas, such as Wikipedia, Amazon, and Facebook. In his work, David Auerbach examines the relationship between these prominent engines and crowdsourcing (a familiar term to most of us), and crowdsourcing in this sense means the ways in which humans are “outsourced” to obtain information from the internet rather via other areas. First of all, Wikipedia is a searchable databased for nearly all areas; however, it is meet with the limitation of being user editable. With greater user accessibility to make real-time edits comes the need for greater control over what information users are writing for various topics; hence, it may not always be true. But, with anything in life, one must be knowledgably aware of what one decides to digest and be mindful to always be critical. Most of us have been warned to stay away from Wikipedia. Secondly, Amazon has provided users with a wide range of shopping items based upon categorical areas, such as gender specific gifts, price range options, and even location based sellers. With this feature, Amazon has implemented an “ontological” database system, which helps to store, classify, and sort through the endless amounts of user entry of Amazon users. Thirdly, Facebook is a tool that allows users to provide data about themselves, and in return the data is stored internally. Facebook’s strategy of data collection is both socially and virally. The implication (or actual advantage) of Facebook is a gold mine for marketing strategists. However, all three technological areas run the risk of data breach security, and according to the National Security Agency more than “1.3 billion emails, calls, and other types of communication” are stored and can be viewed daily.

Overall, search engines help to make our lives easier, and computers are a true piece of art. There are implications for every advancement made in technology, particularly those of computers, but each piece has helped to liberate us from mundane content. As humans, we have access to nearly all works of information, but it is mindful to be cautious in what we interpret and store. Computers are a great advantage to society, but unfortunately, the ability to process, interpret, and transmit data is a downfall of such technology; computers are only as “smart” as our weakest link.

Reference:
D. Auerbach. (2012, Winter). The Stupidity of Computers. Retrieved from https://nplusonemag.com/issue-13/essays/stupidity-of-computers/
Notes:
Further research supporting ideas presented in the above, can be found at the tabs located on the home page. These include the below web-based links:

The article explores the relationship between the history of Amazon and the effects on society. Implications for future society needs, wants, and technological areas are addressed.

2. Overview of Quicksort
Academic based publisher, Kahn Academy, provides a deeper understanding of one of the first algorithms used within computers, as discussed in the above blog.

One of the most well-known online editors, Huffington Post, examines a variety of technology dependent write ups about different areas of life. This assortment provides a plethora of engaging more within how society is become technologically dependent more every day.
Classical Time magazine outlines the history of infamous Wikipedia and the effects on society.