The Dystopian of Technology Essays

The Dystopian of Technology Essays The Dystopian of Technology Essay The Dystopian of Technology Essay Chloe Fenney Dr. Holland English IV AP: 1 11/15/11 The Dystopian of Technology As a human species, we are wired to survive. In the beginning, survival was simple; all we needed were the elements of nature and a few tools that abled us to obtain these essentials. Naturally, as we evolved so did our technological advancements. As time passes, the fine line between â€Å"needs† and â€Å"wants† starts to become unrecognizable. We have progressed to an age where complicated is the new simple and we have created a mindless routine of more taking and less giving. Superficial factors, born from our innovations, cloud our judgment and have detached us from healthy influences, including thoughts and emotion. Growing technology has fueled the fire for the need of an easier life with instant pleasures, and distanced individuals from becoming independent and excelling intellectually, spiritually, and practically. The essential purpose for technology is to make one’s life easier. Many modernizations have created a nasty habit for humankind to think that things should naturally come trouble-free. This starts to not only relate with physical labor, but emotional problems as well. With this strive for instantaneous gratification; the absence of struggles can lead to self-destructive behavior. The saying, â€Å"What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger,† expresses the theme of overcoming basic realities and unpleasant aspects of life can make an individual tougher as a result. In Ray Gradbury’s novel, â€Å"Fareheight 451†, the character Mildred is the perfect example of what happens when those feelings are oppressed. After attempting to commit suicide, Mildred has forgotten the whole event the next day and goes back to being consumed with the television and radio. Her feelings may be hidden away, but they have not disappeared and will most likely surface again. The one factor that makes a task easier is by making it go by faster. Our society is addicted to living fast-paced lives and getting as many things done as possible. There was a period where life was unhurried and time was not as well defined. As Geoffrey Godbey put it, Technology promised to make our lives easier, freeing up time for leisure pursuits. But the rapid pace of technological innovationand the millisecond processing capabilities of computers that can work virtually nonstophave compressed our perception of time,† With the advancement of technology our perception of time has changed. Our lives have become rushed, and things like work have rolled over personal activities and become our number one priority. With our energy and thoughts going towards things like our careers, not only do we not have time to spend with whomever is closets to us, there is rare occurrence throughout the day where one can think in depth about important matters whether It be personal or have to do with our whole population. In effect, there is no time to grow as a society. Another effect of technology is the rise of superficiality and decline of individuality. With the technology we have today, the spreading of concepts is rapid and effortless. Unfortunately, the ideas floating around are shallow and artificial. We have the wrong image of beauty, we believe the more we have the happier we will be, and our time is spent trying to live the lives of those we see in the media on TV, instead of living our own. The worst part about these philosophies is there is very little variability. Every day it seems as everyone wants more of the same things and uniqueness is lost. The constitution states, â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness† (US Declaration Ind. We may be created equal, but we have the right to be different from the crowd. If there is no one to lead the way, or stand out from the crowd how can we grow? â€Å"The most dangerous enemy of truth and freedomthe solid unmoving cattle of the majority. † (Radbury,108) The promotion of individuality can keep us moving forward, verses uniformity keeping us stuck . This frivolity reflects in the technology through shows and movies we watch. As we gaze at movie stars living unrealistic lives, we desire to be like them. This desire creates confusion between what is real and what is not. Technology disconnects us from truth and we use this to escape the hardships of reality instead of facing them. Once you are trapped it is hard to escape the concern of surface appearances, fame, and sensationalism. This â€Å"fakeness† also can affect relationships. With the rise of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, there is a weakening in human contact. Communication is now done through messaging, comments, status updates, and most of all texting. Thirty Eight percent of college students cannot go 10 minutes without switching on some sort of electronic device. Students were asked to not use Media for twenty four hours. A large percentage of the students experienced symptoms similar to drug and alcohol withdrawal† (Dunn) Our nation, especially the younger generation, is addicted to technology and using it to communicate. With this addiction, there is an elimination of real interaction replac ed with superficial consultation. The most forbidding consequence of our developing technology is our ignorance developing more than our knowledge. The truth is elusive, and hard to grasp especially when technology can help spark false ideas and ways of thinking. In the movie â€Å"Minority Report,† a new system is created that helps the government foresee murders and stop them from happening. The crime rate drops 100 percent, so no questions are asked. The protagonist of the story John Anderson says, â€Å"There hasnt been a murder in 6 years. Theres nothing wrong with the system, it is perfect. (â€Å"Minority Report. †) As the movie goes on, Anderson’s ignorance, along with the society’s, is proven when there is a discovery to be an ironic flaw, the murder of a woman paving the way to the system’s success. Everyone was so blinded by the advancement, that there was no questions asked about how it came about. The abandonment of debate and interrogation can be extremely dangerous. Challenging ideas keeps things from being hidden away and society moving forward without any false positives. As a human race we started off with barely anything. We have built our ways up to be dominating forces with the will to survive anything. Technology has been a driving force in this effort. Improvements have done the impossible, ignited many inspiring events and movements throughout history, and pushed us as a civilization beyond our limits. As in many great things, there are flaws. Technology distances us from what is real in our lives, including things both painful and pleasurable. It takes away emotion and feeling and replaces it with superficial aspects of life. Fortunately, we do have the choice and the power to stop it. John M. Grohol says â€Å"Our brains on technology will take time to adapt, to learn and to grow. Most of us will find a way to integrate technology - such as the Internet or whatever new mobile phone comes out - in beneficial ways in our lives. But for some of us, it’ll take a little more time and skills learning† The nature of technology is positive and negative, beneficial and manipulative; it takes mankind’s determination and patience to go against the flaws of technology, and find meaningful ways to live.

The Quest for the Source of the Nile

The Quest for the Source of the Nile In the mid-nineteenth century, European explorers and geographers were obsessed with the question: where does the Nile River begin? Many considered it to be the greatest geographic mystery of their day, and those who sought it became household names. Their actions and the debates that surrounded them intensified public interest in Africa and contributed to the colonization of the continent. The Nile River The Nile River itself is easy to trace. It runs northward from the city of Khartoum in Sudan through Egypt and drains into the Mediterranean. It is created, though, from the confluence of two other rivers, The White Nile and the Blue Nile. By the early nineteenth century, European explorers had shown that the Blue Nile, which supplies much of the water for the Nile, was a shorter river, arising only in neighboring Ethiopia. From then forward, they fixed their attention on the mysterious White Nile, which arose much further south on the Continent. A Nineteenth-Century Obsession By the mid-nineteenth century, Europeans had become obsessed with finding the source of the Nile. In 1857, Richard Burton and John Hannington Speke, who already disliked each other, set out from the east coast to find the much-rumored source of the White Nile. After several months of acrimonious travel, they discovered Lake Tanganyika, though reportedly it was their headman, a former slave known as Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who first spotted the lake (Bombay was essential to the success of the trip in many ways and went on to manage several European expeditions, becoming one of the many career headmen on whom explorers heavily relied.) As Burton was ill, and the two explorers were constantly locking horns, Speke proceeded north on his own, and there found Lake Victoria. Speke returned triumphantly, convinced he had found the source of the Nile, but Burton dismissed his claims, beginning one of the most divisive and public disputes of the age. The public at first strongly favored Speke, and he was sent on a second expedition, with another explorer, James Grant, and nearly 200 African porters, guards, and headmen. They found the White Nile but were unable to follow it up to Khartoum. In fact, it was not until 2004 that a team finally managed to follow the river from Uganda all the way to the Mediterranean. So, once again Speke returned unable to offer conclusive proof. A public debate was arranged between him and Burton, but when he shot and killed himself on the day of the debate, in what many believed was an act of suicide rather than the shooting accident it was officially proclaimed to be, support swung full circle to Burton and his theories.   The quest for conclusive proof continued for the next 13 years. Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley searched Lake Tanganyika together, disproving Burton’s theory, but it was not until the mid-1870s that Stanly finally circumnavigated Lake Victoria and explored the surrounding lakes, confirming Speke’s theory and solving the mystery, for a few generations at least. The Continuing Mystery As Stanley showed, the White Nile flows out of Lake Victoria, but the lake itself has several feeder rivers, and present-day geographers and amateur explorers still debate which of these is the true source of the Nile. In 2013, the question came to the fore again when the popular BBC car show, Top Gear, filmed an episode featuring the three presenters trying to find the source of the Nile while driving inexpensive station wagons, known in Britain as estate cars. Currently, most people agree the source is one of two small rivers, one of which arises in Rwanda, the other in neighboring Burundi, but it is a mystery that continues.

The Doubting Game as Opposite to the Believing Game Essay

The Doubting Game as Opposite to the Believing Game - Essay Example The doubting game is opposite to the believing game and requires an individual to contest a certain idea or subject.   The doubting and believing game can be played by one acknowledging the fact that there are two sides to every argument. In the believing game, the students may assess each point uniquely and find the good things about it. These can then be used to help the students believe the point which may otherwise be different from their own. The doubting game is simpler as it is easier to identify error than to believe in something (Elbow, 2008).   Hence, in this game individuals may assess a point and look what is accurate and what is inaccurate. Hence, concluding that all the information that they assume to be inaccurate is incorrect and create an opinion based on the inaccuracy. An example of an issue that has been widely discussed is euthanasia and whether it should be legalized. Each individual has a right to live which consequently means he or she has a right to die h ence euthanasia should be legalized. People who are against the legalization of euthanasia state that this could lead to a slippery slope (â€Å"Euthanasia Pros and Cons†, n.d).   This view is valid and interesting as allowing the killing of a human being raises the question of where a line should be drawn. If euthanasia is permitted people will start to question other aspects of morality. This raises an even bigger problem as morality is not factual but subjective. Hence, if allowing a morally objected matter such as the killing of innocent human beings for any purpose other morals in society will come into question. If I possessed this belief I would see the need to change many aspects of society and revise the definition of murder as euthanasia is an act of killing another human being. The slippery slope could be true in many different cases involving hospital ethics and society’s views for murder and value for life.  

The Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Death Penalty - Essay Example In 2000s, Texas was ranked as the leaders in death penalties across the nation. However, it is the Eighth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution which is the centre of all debates made on capital punishment, and which makes it impossible to come to a conclusion. It is clear that the Eighth Amendment prohibits ‘cruel and unusual’ punishments, but the interpretations to this amendment are unclear and inconclusive. The courts have presented many interpretations in different cases and in general terms the word cruel means excessively brutal. This means that the punishments that are torturous come under this heading. The term unusual has a broader meaning and it refers to those punishments that are not usually associated with a common type of crime, but rather they are applied arbitrary in severe crimes. Another interpretation of this article is that punishments should be given proportionate to the seriousness of the crime committed. The article, according to some interpretations , prohibits life imprisonment for crimes such as shoplifting and theft. This is not because the punishment is cruel or unusual, but because it is not imaginable and acceptable for such a crime (Stearman 143). Under this article comes the issue of death penalty which has been addressed by the Supreme Court many times. The general definitions of the terms used in the article are considered by the Supreme Court quite often. Up till today, the court has never completely and clearly ruled out the use of death penalty as unconstitutional. The major issue regarding the amendment is the time period when it was written. The courts have often argued that the meaning of the eighth amendment can change over the time as society changes, modernization takes place and norms change. The amendment was made in 1700s and at that time whipping was considered and recognized as an acceptable punishment because of the society values. But these practises may not be applicable today due to the changes in th e values and cultures. Many times the court has addressed that death penalty hold the public support and can be used as a remedy for the serious crimes (Gardner 201). The Supreme Court has considered that the death penalty is not considered to be a cruel punishment for some serious crimes, however if it is ruled off if the application is unusual. The issue here is again the proportionality of the crime committed. Cases decided in 1972 and 1976 are the two major ones about the death penalty issue. The case of Furman v. Georgia was decided in 1972 which concluded that application of death penalty by arbitration and the disproportion seen in minorities are the factors that make death penalty unusual. In response to this decision, the death penalties in row were cancelled and there were no death penalties for about four years in the U.S. Because the courts did not rule the death penalty as unconstitutional, the state legislatures were free to make statutes for death penalties (Clear 543 ). The critics of the death penalty have ruled that it is commonly used as discriminatory against the minorities, ethnic groups etc. They argue that death penalty should be ruled off since long in the history they have been used against the minorities. This has been observed in U.S. and in other parts of the world too where death penalty is still applied. The critics argue that this is merely unconstitutional and it infringes the

Sociology & Scientific Depends Essay Example for Free

Sociology Scientific Depends Essay Sociologists have been divided on the issue of whether or not sociology is a science for as long as anyone remembers. It is a very controversial topic in sociology, due to the number of conflicting views about what it is to be scientific and according to the definitions of what is scientific, whether sociology can be categorised as a science. Durkheim and Compte, positivists believed that sociological studies should be based on the same logic and methods as natural science; they stated that this would create a positive science society and would allow us to discover laws of human behaviour, similar to the way scientists discovered the laws of gravity. Positivists believe that human behaviour, like that of a plant is influenced by external factors, that society shapes us and therefore that these factors can be isolated, controlled and measured. Durkheim believed that he had done just this when he had studied suicide, isolated the factor of being isolated as the cause of suicide. see more:when did sociology begin Popper was a famous philosopher of science, and he agreed with some of the positivists theories, claiming that indeed sociology could be a science. He said that natural sciences are scientific because they use the hypothetico-deductive approach, and look at evidence which may disprove their theory, as well as enforce it, he then went on to say that if sociologist could look at conflicting, as well as supporting evidence when trying to prove their theories, then indeed sociology could be considered scientific. Popper disagrees that human behaviour is only a product of outside stimuli, and so he is not a positivist, he simply agrees that sociology can be classed as scientific but in order to do so, studies must be conducted so that a hypothesis can be enforced or falsified. Popper argued that Marxism wasnt a scientific approach, because when its theory of a revolution failed but come true, they simply pushed its coming further into the future, instead of admitting the original hypothesis was untrue, therefore they prevented any possibility that the original theory had been false because they simply adapted it. Realists also believe that sociology is scientific, and claim that there is not much difference between sociological studies and natural science investigations. They held this view because like natural science investigations, sociology tries to explain the causes of behaviour in terms of underlying causes, which are not visible in everyday life. Sayer focussed on the fact that in all areas of science there were open and closed systems, for example in some situations, a lab can be used where variables can be controlled, but also in areas such as meteorology, experiments cannot always be fully controlled, he argued that sociology faced the same problem, studying issues which were relevant but complex, like meteorologists, sociologists had to deal with the fact that there may be other influences, but this does not mean that the studies they do are not scientific. Both study hidden causes of things relevant to their field, in ways that can be seen as scientific. The realist definition of science is Being scientific involves explaining behaviour in terms of underlying structures, mechanisms and processes. They believe that natural scientists and sociologists do, therefore sociology should be classed as a science.

Character and Setting in Popular Music :: Music Communication Essays

Character and Setting in Popular Music Whether it is through music or written literature, such as a novel, characters convey emotion and thought. The audience understands through the characters present. Just as we find characters we love we also find characters we despise. Setting is much the same. Whether the setting is explicitly given or simply implied, the audience has a picture in mind. Sometimes it is a place of great beauty and sometimes it is a place we would rather disregard. It is my observations however that character and setting are to some extent present in every song I listen to. Character and setting are not only additions to music and songs, but seem to be what makes the songs. Of the popular music available today, we can find songs dedicated to telling a story about a lost loved one, a favorite place of recluse, love in general. But not each of the popular songs lay out the setting or give the embodiment of a character. Listening to these songs however, the listener is transposed into the song and can see as the speaker talks. For example, Alicia Keys’s song â€Å"Diary.† This song is the voice of a woman speaking to her lover. â€Å"Lay your head down on my pillow,† she sings. â€Å"Here you can be yourself.† So from the beginning we are invited to witness the sweet whispers of lovers in a room. The bed, inviting and comfortable, sits in center stage. We listen to the woman tell of her love and the security her man can find in her and she in him. â€Å"I am the pages of your diary,† she sings. Again, Alicia does not tell us all the details, but somehow the picture is so clear. Another example of a popular song that has setting and character is a song by India Arie entitled â€Å"Nature.† In this song she is telling a loved one to slow down: â€Å"Let’s sit and watch the flowers grow†¦let’s sit and watch the river flow.† She believes that nature is a show and there is music there. And although she doesn’t really give us a clear character we can relate to, we can see the singer as the character.

Only the Good Die Young

Portia Francis Comp & Literature Feb 11, 2013 â€Å"Only the Good Die Young† vs. â€Å"Make Much of Time† The tone in â€Å"Only the Good Die Young† and â€Å"Make Much of Time â€Å"are very different. Both the song and the poem speak of men tempting women to lose their virginity and â€Å"carpe diem† live life to the fullest, â€Å"Make Much of time† has a much softer tone, versus , â€Å"Only the Good Die Young† has a much more aggressive one. In â€Å"Make Much of Time† the writer, although a â€Å"carpe diem† poem takes a much gentler approach to the women he is encouraging.Herrick refers to us, â€Å"Gather ye roses while she may† to show that in the 1500’-1600s women married much earlier and time was of the essence. He uses phrases ,like â€Å" this same flower that blooms today will soon be dying, †and â€Å"when youth and blood are warmer† to support his idea that women should not wait unti l they are older and choose to marry and ultimately give up their virginity. He speaks â€Å"having once lost your prime† to support his tone to women.. Herrick, in my opinion, is encouraging young women to marry before they are too old, which is relatively young but not missing out on the most important thing in their life..He uses words like â€Å" Rosebuds† and â€Å"smiles today† and having â€Å"lost but once your prime† to create a more gentle tone. On the other hand Billy Joel writes a â€Å"more in your face â€Å" carpe diem poem. He sites â€Å"Don’t let me wait, Catholic girls start much too late†. He seems to be putting on the pressure with the young women and pointing the finger to the reasons why. He seems to be more concerned with his personal satisfaction† after speaking of her, â€Å"Brand new soul† and â€Å"Cross of gold† after her confirmation, â€Å"But did she ever say pray for me? To me, this ind icates that he knew his thoughts were lustful and in a round–bout way, he acknowledged his feelings and wanted resolution. The songs title lends to his aggressiveness â€Å" Only the Good Die Young†, because no woman is going to die if she doesn’t give up her virginity. Lastly, the in in the song â€Å" And they say there’s a heaven for those who wait. Some say its better but I say it ain’t. † Seals the deal that he main concern is his own satisfaction and again attempts to inflict the guilt on the young woman who would not immediately please him.