Wow, I just watched 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time and I have to say that I was blown away by the movie. The reason why I bring this up is because I remember Dr. Campbell mentioning this movie at some point in the semester, so I thought I’d share my thoughts about how New Media has evolved and changed in terms of the movie.

The movie begins millions of years in the past, much before the existence of humans. The first scene may seem shallow at first glance because it’s filled with gorillas that just jump around and roar at each other, however, the scene, serves an important purpose nonetheless, one that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. The scene demonstrates through primitive behavior the most basic of all human interactions. At our core, we are not so different from the gorillas depicted in the movie.

This reasoning is based on the fact that the gorillas in the scene were initially portrayed as a weak species that lived inharmoniously alongside boars, while also prone to inescapable and brutal attacks by cheetahs (the dominant species…up to this point). However, when the gorillas made a logical leap in reasoning and discovered that they could use tools to their advantage, they became much more efficient in gaining dominance and superiority over weaker animals like the boar, defending themselves more effectively from the cheetah, and defending themselves from each other. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the boars disappear completely from the movie after a gorilla symbolically shatters a boar’s bones suggesting the extinction of a weaker and less intelligent species. It is also no coincidence that, after the symbolic scene, the gorillas had a much easier time collecting food in order to ensure their survival as a species.

The gorillas learn how to use a tool that becomes an extension of their bodies, and as a result, makes their lives easier. With hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, and after fast-forwarding to 2001 (or the future that the movie suggests), humans are naturally less primitive as the acquirement of language has allowed social law and order, but they are still identical in nature at least in terms of their desire to gain dominance over other species, and with each other, with the aid of tools (or more appropriately, technology). Evidently, humans have been able to make their lives extremely simple, from communication on an intergalactic network, to transportation at light speed, the acquirement of language has facilitated human’s unavailing pursuit for knowledge as they collectively work together to create tools that go beyond cosmic proportions. The 9000 series of Hals are the latest tools that humans have created, a perfect and intelligent breed of machines that can talk and think like us, but at an inhumanly efficient and rapid speed.

The only kicker? What if humans created an artificial intelligence that was so intelligent (like Hal) that the very tool that was supposed to keep the human race dominant actually was able to desire its own dominance over humans? This is the question that the scene with Hal explores, and it’s a question that I find fascinating. What if we could create an artificial intelligence that emulated our own thoughts, desires, aspirations, sins, etc.? What if we could create an artificial intelligence that was conscious of itself and its own surroundings?

Hal, much like humans and the gorillas, wants to be a dominant species, which proves that it has a sense of itself and its surroundings. It was afraid to die and felt pain as it was slowly dying (whether it really felt pain or not is irrelevant). Hal began to distance itself from humans and lost their trust after asking Dave if he, too, was feeling uneasy about the whole mission. Hal then took away control from the humans by not listening to their commands (perhaps evidence of free will) and then used whatever tools that was at its disposal (basically the whole ship) to kill the humans onboard so that it would have dominance over them in the mission (think back to the cheetahs and gorillas. The gorillas adapted by using tools to fight the cheetahs). Ultimately, Hal’s attempt to kill the humans was cunning and unexpected from a “perfect machine.”

If new media (from a bone for a gorilla to computers for a human) turns into new life (Hal), then we move away from tools that were originally supposed to be extensions of our bodies to make life easier, to a new breed of species that are likely to take power away from us just as we took power away from the gorillas.

It was interesting to hear some my classmates’ opinions on the issue of whether or not children are innately motivated to learn or need to learn to be motivated with the aid of a system. These two issues parallel a prominent theme that oftentimes is found in Literature and Film. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, for example, a debate that arose in my 10^th grade classroom was whether or not the monster killed some of the character’s in the story purely because it was born a monster (and therefore, evil and soulless by nature), or because certain events in the story lead it to commit the crimes just as any human would have under the same circumstances. From the very little I remember from my class, which seems distant now, I thought the second argument was more compelling because there was evidence in the story that indicated that the monster was peaceful by nature, but if memory serves me correctly, it got pissed off because Victor didn’t create a wife for him (or something like that).

For some, it is love. For others, it is money. What’s the root of all evil? For me, it’s bureaucracy. Rules, regulations, power, and hierarchy. Although I understand that the aforementioned words refer to concepts that are necessary for large organizations to function properly, I can’t detach the negative associations I have of those words in educational contexts. This is where Illich and I see eye to eye. Although I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that our school system is flawed, and the reason is because we treat our schools like any other massive institution. We treat our students like we treat DMV customers. Therein lies the problem.

For an organization like DMV, I’d argue that a bureaucracy, although not the most pleasant of experiences, gets the job done. Sure, people complain about their lackluster service, their long lines, and mundane paperwork; however, we don’t expect anything more from a DMV experience anyways. Additionally, there is no competition; you can’t just go to Wal-Mart and register your car (that’s not to say that Wal-Mart would be any better considering they’re not any less bureaucratic, at least to their employees). When going to a public school, however, there’s a certain level of expectation that students have. That is, not to be overwhelmed by one-size-fits-all material, routine and tedious assignments that teach you nothing, and lessons that are catered around a systematic and ultimately flawed testing procedure (in Virginia, notoriously known as SOL tests). As far as competition goes, a few priviliged families have the option of sending their children to private schools or appointing a private instructor. A majority of children don’t have that privilige, and even if they do, who’s to say that private schools are any better than public schools (from a bureaucracy standpoint).

It’s always easy to point out a flaw in any system without contributing a solution. So here’s my imperfect (what is perfect?) solution: my view of the ideal educational system would be one in which all students go through Kindergarten-Middle School and skip High School and college. Why? Because children should be exposed to social encounters and experience some structure for the first few years of their life. After middle school, however, a child is old enough to learn on his or her own without the presence of an instructor, friends, rules, regulations, etc. But how, you may ask? We aren’t living in the nineteenth century anymore. We have computers!

With the presence of the internet, we are all living in a global village (as Mcluhan eloquently points out). Instead of learning from twenty or so classmates, and one instructor, why not learn from a student who is ten years older living all the way in China? Or instead of being instructed by one teacher for a whole year, why not get multiple opinions on the same subject from different points of views via streaming video of lectures? But, but, what about the social interaction beyond middle school, you may ask. I’m not suggesting that we cut each other off completely (we can still participate in clubs, go to places of worship, etc. and get some face-to-face interaction), but why not learn more about each other with the tools that are available to us, rather than constraining ourselves to the same flawed systems that students were subjected to in the 19th century because they had to.    

There was a pretty interesting conversation I overheard between Abby and Dr. Campbell before class began this past Tuesday. If my memory serves me, the topic was about the phenomena of having a dream and thinking it is real. Although I can’t remember exactly what was said, I do remember that the comments compelled me to make some references to the Matrix during class (”What is reality?” “We are slaves to our minds.”) I thought the comments were appropriate because of our discussion of Randall Farmer’s article and virtual worlds. Why? Because the movie poses some farfetched and exaggerated ideas on the presence (or lack thereof) of reality, arguing that reality is just a virtual dream. Although I don’t necessarily agree with some of the movie’s points (it is science fiction, after all), there are some striking parallels with American culture that I thought would be worth blogging about.I don’t believe that the movie’s main point is to question reality, but rather, to attempt to answer the question that has eluded many philosophers, that is, what is our purpose? In the context of the movie, my interpretation of man’s purpose was that man must wake up from his deep sleep and save humanity from the illusion that society has imposed on the masses. What is the illusion? The Matrix. What is the Matrix? A virtual dream.

As an avid gamer who lives in the virtual world more often than the real world, I found this week’s reading interesting.  Because Randall Farmer wrote his article in 1991, I kind of have a context of how this article may have influenced the gaming industry. Having been born in 1989, and turning four years old by 1993, I was alive during what I personally believe was the golden age of gaming.  My first system was a Sega Genesis which introduced me to my first virtual world and my favorite mascot ever (if my username is any indication).  Today, the virtual environments provided by the Genesis are very basic (just moving left and right), but after reading the article, creating a habitat is not an easy task.  It’s not just creating an environment, but also creating the objects within that environment that have their own properties, traits, and behaviors. 

As games progressed, and as I played newer generation consoles, I noticed monumental leaps in their virtual environments as they began becoming more and more lifelike.  By 1996, when the Nintendo 64 launched, I was introduced to the world of 3d gaming.  There were landscapes with their own textures, enemies with their own artificial intelligence, and objects with their own physics. 

When the Xbox launched, I was introduced to the world of online gaming.    Online gaming, with the possibility to play with friends and strangers, and to actually communicate with them via voice, immersed me into the virtual world even more. I was not just playing in an environment that felt artificial, but I was playing in an environment that simulated reality. 

The Nintendo Wii has recently introduced me to motion sensing gameplay and has immersed me by providing an extendsion of my hand into the virtual world. 

The virtual world is getting more and more complex, and as time goes on, as graphics get more and more realistic, and controls become more interactive, what will differentiate what is real from what is artificial? 

Click the link below to watch the next monumental step in gaming. Be prepared to drop your jaw.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wNr3yGcI_V8&feature=related

With tuition prices and the cost of living rising at an accelerated rate, many University students are becoming more and more dependant on a part-time job in order to generate necessary income to pay for food, recreation, tuition, books, travel, among other expenses. As a student who has to pay off his own expenses, my life savings are depleting at what seems to be the pace that technology is progressing. Thus, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to afford the college experience without applying for a student-loan to defray immediate college expenses. I also don’t have all the time in the world to work in a job to make a decent living.  My guess is that I’m not alone, which is why I would like to use what I’ve learned about New Media Studies and make something that would not only be beneficial to my education, but also practical and money-making to alleviate some of the burden of paying off loans. I would also like to teach and familiarize my fellow classmates how to make money online so that they too do not have to carry the heavy burden that a lot of college students carry.

Few students are aware that the Internet is an excellent tool to make money. Even fewer are aware that making money over the Internet is as easy as creating a Myspace account with one or two additional steps. Creating an Ebay account, for example, is just like creating a profile on Myspace. The potential to personalize your account is still there, although it is a bit more formal and professional (although you can be personal if you’d like), as you have the option of creating a dynamic company or personal profile for prospective buyers to view. Additionally, creating an inventory (I’m creating mine with all my old videogames, DVDs, and books that I don’t use anymore) is designed to be user friendly. After receiving your product, the customer can leave feedback about what he or she thought about your service, and you can leave feedback about the customer either complimenting or complaining about his or her payment, which is similar to leaving comments on Myspace.

Some additional steps that some students may be unaware of taking are creating a PayPal account to easily and securely transfer money. Another step is learning about how the postal system works, as most items will have to be delivered either by USPS or UPS, or any other delivery company. Although these steps may seem daunting, in practice, it is not at all. I hope to learn more about E-commerce from this endeavor and make some money along the way. I hope to pass my knowledge to my classmates so that they too become E-commerce savvy, not because they necessarily want or would like to, but because of the potential to get rid of their old stuff and make more money than trading them in a lousy pawn shop.

Time FramesIt’s amazing how Scott McCloud was able to illustrate the vast dimensions and possibilities of time and space so effectively through sequences, pictures, and words, that I don’t think any other medium (i.e. literature, film, television, video games, etc.) would have been able to explain it any better. In my freshman seminar last semester, we spent a great deal of time learning about time and space in videogames. I understood the two concepts reasonably well, however, after reading Time Frames, I have a more solidified understanding of what exactly time and space are.Obviously, it’s quite different in each medium. For example, most novels are chronological. That is, time moves as you read each word. There are also many novels that have flashbacks and time lapses, especially between chapters, which are some unique and creative ways to break the flow of time within a text.

My experience with laptops in an “academic” setting has been quite vast. Now you may be wondering why I put quotations around the word academic. Well, because a great majority of my “academic” career has thus far taken place in High School, which at least for me, was as far away from academic (in the real sense of the term) as President Bush’s approval rating is from 100%. With that said, yes, my school provided laptops, and no, nobody (myself included) used them for what they were intended to be used for. To illustrate, I would look to my right, and Joe was on Myspace presumably sending a love note to his girlfriend. I would look to my left, and I see Katie shopping for her new homecoming dress online. I lean a bit to the right to get a peak at Mike’s monitor ahead, and he’s watching some basketball game on Youtube. So in an atmosphere like this, I had the option of setting an example for everyone else to follow by actually doing my work, or I could just go to Newgrounds and play some flash games (guess which path I chose). So I type up the URL, and what do I get? ACCESS DENIED!? Luckily, Joe heard me gasp and turn red from shock and disbelief. He let me in on a little dirty secret about how he was able to get past the secure servers and get on Myspace. Not too long afterwards, I remember telling him that I was so impressed with his knowledge that, had he turned water into wine, I surely wouldn’t have thought much of it. That’s it for this enthralling and exciting paragraph. Stay tuned for the next paragraph to see if Missak will actually make a coherent or rational thought. Will he make another ingenious joke about Bush that is Jon Stewart worthy? Will he actually fall in love with Katie and ask her out to the homecoming dance? Will he actually even end this paragraph or will he just continue asking “Will he” questions? Continue to the second paragraph to find out (Ah, the memories…I actually used a similar transition in one of my English papers back in 9^th grade on my Introduction paragraph to amuse my teacher…he, suffice to say, wasn’t amused).

I don’t know if there’s anyone in our class whose username is McluhanProphecy, but considering that no one even knew about Mcluhan before we took our New Media Studies class, I doubt it.  So you can imagine my excitement when I got a short but sweet comment on my “Project Ideas” post from someone who is apparently outside of our classroom.  It’s easy to lose sight of the transparent nature of the internet, which is helpful in certain circumstances, and harmful in others. 

As a sidenote, remember kids, Myspace and Facebook aren’t as private as you think they are…