CLAIM
- E-waste (electronic waste; typically broken down computers and other outdated technology) is being improperly disposed of/recycled and sold to underdeveloped nations, many of which burn the materials in search of valuable metals. This is leading to high levels of toxic substances in the atmosphere.
STATEMENT OF CLAIM
- "Future archaeologists will note that at the end of the twentieth century, a new, noxious kind of clutter exploded across the landscape: the digital detritus that has come to be called e-waste."
SUBCLAIMS
- Products are becoming outdated more quickly, allowing for the levels of e-waste to increase.
- Although 20% of this waste is going to recycling plants, much of the material is still improperly disposed of.
- Imports of e-waste to developing countries is dangerous and harmful to the health of the citizens of those countries.
- Although some countries, such as China, have banned (and successfully limited) imports of e-waste from developed countries, many illegal trading rings exist between independent sellers smaller countries.
SUPPORT
- (p. 31) "...at any given time, all the machines considered state of the art are simultaneously on the verge of obsolescence."
- (p. 32) "While some recyclers process the material with an eye toward minimizing pollution and health risks, many more sell it to brokers who ship it to the developing world, where environmental enforcement is weak." (Out of sight, out of mind.)
- (p. 35) "The air near some electronics salvage operations that remain open contains the highest amounts of dioxin measured anywhere in the world."
- (p. 36-7) Carroll tells the story of Baah, who on nights and weekends sells his brother in Ghana old computers that he gets for cheap on the internet.
WARRANTS
- Those reading the article are familiar with the fact that most electronics become out of date almost immediately after their release.
- People are aware that the chemicals named in the article are known to be toxic and that the developing countries named are, in fact, developing countries.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
A Blessing or A Curse?
Over the past five years, the popularity of cell phones has skyrocketed. There are few people, especially teenagers, who do not have their phone on their person at all times. Although when they were first developed the highlight of the cell phone was the ability to be able to call someone while you were on the go, cell phones can do much more than that now. In fact, most people use their cell phones more for other things, such as texting, taking pictures, instant messaging, and e-mailing, than they do for calling people. Video cameras in cell phones have become increasingly popular as websites such as YouTube have become more prominent. Since these sites allow ordinary people to become potentially well-known "directors" of the next viral video, many more young adults have begun to video tape even the most ordinary and mundane aspects of life, hoping for something funny or amazing to happen. In addition to YouTube, social networking sites like Facebook allow users to upload videos to their profiles directly from cell phones, allowing friends to share videos almost instantly and reminisce about past events together. The desire to be able to re-live and re-experience the past has taken on a heightened appeal to the younger generation as the recording devices necessary for this have become more readily available.
I'm probably one of the best examples of this phenomenon that is occurring among todays teenage population. I own a bunch of different things I use to record random moments: my FlipCam (probably the best Christmas present I've ever gotten), my digital camera (which lately I've used more to record things than to take pictures), and my family's Sony Handycam (my mom recently told me that she forgot that we even had one, since I use it so much that she rarely sees it around the house). And on the rare occasion that one of those devices is not on me, I know I can always turn to my cell phone's video camera. For the most part, I use these devices to record ordinary happenings in my life, things that may not seem significant at the time but later on become cherished memories. My friends and I enjoy the ability to re-watch clips of concerts that we all went to together or a hilariously bad song that we sang during karaoke, and I am extremely thankful that the technology exists that allows us to do this. I've wondered sometimes why we find it so important to get everything on video, to not miss a moment. Are we afraid of forgetting the things that made us happy? But if they made us happy, how would we forget them? Or do we just like the fact that we CAN record everything?
Video cameras in cell phones also open the gateway for less benign events to be recorded, however. Unfortunately, some people take advantage of this wonderful technology and record things that should not be recorded (or even happening in the first place); things that could (and very often do) get them in a lot of trouble. When these events occur, many valid questions arise. Why would someone think of videotaping something that could get them in trouble? Did they do it to show off? Would this have happened if this technology was harder to get your hands on?
Just like the photograph was a revolutionary way of retaining memories when it was first developed, the video camera has changed the way people re-live the past. It allows ordinary people to more vividly remember things that have happened some time ago. Producers must be aware of this desire to hold on to memories, otherwise they would not have even thought of the possibility of including this device in a cell phone. They also must assume that people will want to use this device on a daily basis, since it is now a standard part of almost every cell phone.
I'm probably one of the best examples of this phenomenon that is occurring among todays teenage population. I own a bunch of different things I use to record random moments: my FlipCam (probably the best Christmas present I've ever gotten), my digital camera (which lately I've used more to record things than to take pictures), and my family's Sony Handycam (my mom recently told me that she forgot that we even had one, since I use it so much that she rarely sees it around the house). And on the rare occasion that one of those devices is not on me, I know I can always turn to my cell phone's video camera. For the most part, I use these devices to record ordinary happenings in my life, things that may not seem significant at the time but later on become cherished memories. My friends and I enjoy the ability to re-watch clips of concerts that we all went to together or a hilariously bad song that we sang during karaoke, and I am extremely thankful that the technology exists that allows us to do this. I've wondered sometimes why we find it so important to get everything on video, to not miss a moment. Are we afraid of forgetting the things that made us happy? But if they made us happy, how would we forget them? Or do we just like the fact that we CAN record everything?
Video cameras in cell phones also open the gateway for less benign events to be recorded, however. Unfortunately, some people take advantage of this wonderful technology and record things that should not be recorded (or even happening in the first place); things that could (and very often do) get them in a lot of trouble. When these events occur, many valid questions arise. Why would someone think of videotaping something that could get them in trouble? Did they do it to show off? Would this have happened if this technology was harder to get your hands on?
Just like the photograph was a revolutionary way of retaining memories when it was first developed, the video camera has changed the way people re-live the past. It allows ordinary people to more vividly remember things that have happened some time ago. Producers must be aware of this desire to hold on to memories, otherwise they would not have even thought of the possibility of including this device in a cell phone. They also must assume that people will want to use this device on a daily basis, since it is now a standard part of almost every cell phone.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Abstract of Carr's Article
CLAIM
- Although it might seem overly-skeptical, Carr worries that Google is encouraging us to rely too heavily on the internet to do research for us, and that one day the work achieved now by human minds will be replaced by computers.
STATEMENT OF CLAIM
- "And what the net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation."
SUBCLAIMS
- People have a tendency to glorify technology
- What we write with changes how and what we write
- Old media has to adopt the ways of new media
- There are many ways to become distracted on the internet
SUPPORT
- Ever since the clock was invented, we base when we eat, sleep, etc. on specific times as oppoesd to following our natural instincts
- When Nietzsche started to use the typewriter, his writings went "from arguments to aphorisms"
- There are links leading to other links and articles and scrolls along the bottom of news shows giving us even more headlines to absorb
- Newspapers like the New York Times use snippets of news stories to provide people with only what they feel is the necessary information about an issue
WARRANTS
- People reading this article use Google a lot and are familiar with the internet in general
- In general, people have had similar experiences with distractions and a decrease in concentration
- Although it might seem overly-skeptical, Carr worries that Google is encouraging us to rely too heavily on the internet to do research for us, and that one day the work achieved now by human minds will be replaced by computers.
STATEMENT OF CLAIM
- "And what the net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation."
SUBCLAIMS
- People have a tendency to glorify technology
- What we write with changes how and what we write
- Old media has to adopt the ways of new media
- There are many ways to become distracted on the internet
SUPPORT
- Ever since the clock was invented, we base when we eat, sleep, etc. on specific times as oppoesd to following our natural instincts
- When Nietzsche started to use the typewriter, his writings went "from arguments to aphorisms"
- There are links leading to other links and articles and scrolls along the bottom of news shows giving us even more headlines to absorb
- Newspapers like the New York Times use snippets of news stories to provide people with only what they feel is the necessary information about an issue
WARRANTS
- People reading this article use Google a lot and are familiar with the internet in general
- In general, people have had similar experiences with distractions and a decrease in concentration
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Are We Really Stupid, or Just Lazy?
Google and other various search engines are not necessarily making us more stupid, but they are undoubtedly making us more lazy. Instead of taking time to browse through long passages from heavy, thick books from the local library, we now simply hop on the web, type in what we're looking for, and click various links on Google until we find something resembling the answer or fact that we're looking for.
Something is lost in this process though. I remember (oddly enough) doing projects in elementary school before my family had a computer. I dreaded going to the library to look up the few paragraphs that I needed to cite in my report that would be accompanying my diorama made of Crayola Model Magic. It seemed like an endless task that would leave me tired, exhausted, and drained in the library for hours on end. However, looking back on it, I found many different facts from skimming those books manually, without the aid of a computer; facts that I might have otherwise missed. Oftentimes, the material that I ended up using came from the paragraph or chapter that I least expected it to come from.
Another hindrance that power-browsing on the web creates is the difficulty to read long articles novels. It is no surprise that this generation's attention spans are significantly shorter than those of decades past. In today's world, the culture wants everything immediately (I think of the Netflix commercial featuring "The Wrightnows"). Don't get me wrong, Google comes in handy for quick facts. However, I don't like using it too much for projects or papers. If I do, I make sure that the website I'm clicking on from Google is reliable, and then I read it until I find the information I need. Yeah, it's tedious, but I like learning the other information that is not necessarily what I need to know about but nonetheless interesting. I get worried that people (myself included), because of these shortened attention spans, will lose their drive for learning and even possibly their creativity. If we want everything to be done quickly, our schoolwork will become sloppy and poorly written. Also, we will likely not put our creativity to use, simply because that would take too long and create too much work.
Another thing that interested me is the idea that people think differently and write differently depending on the medium with which they use. I realized that it is very true that the material that we use to write (pen versus keyboard, etc.) influences what we write and the way we write it. When I am on the computer, I find that my first instinct is to type without using much capitalization or punctuation. I try to get what is in my head out onto a virtual piece of paper as fast as I can without giving any attention to sentence structure or grammar. However, when I pick up a pen and put it to a piece of looseleaf paper, my brain immediately clicks into gear and makes sure that I dot all the "i"s and cross all the "t"s.
Also, I often find that sometimes when doing homework or reading an article in the newspaper, I'll come to the end of a paragraph and have no idea what I just read. I'll realize that I should go back and read it again to try and fully comprehend it, but sometimes I find myself not wanting to even make that small effort.
On different note, I'm a little freaked out by the thought of a supercomputer that is smarter than a human being. What's even more scary to me is the possibility of this computer being directly linked to someone's brain. Imagine having all of that information immediately available in your mind. That's a LOT of facts. I think I would be completely overwhelmed by all that instant information.
Anyway...
Although this makes it seem like I am completely against Google and all other search engines, I'm not. I use them just as much as the next person. Google makes valuable information widely available to people all over the world. It provides us with access to websites that contain information that we might not be able to find in a typical library. Google can be a wonderful thing, but I think that we just all have to make sure that we are not becoming to lazy or slacking in our research and writing.
Something is lost in this process though. I remember (oddly enough) doing projects in elementary school before my family had a computer. I dreaded going to the library to look up the few paragraphs that I needed to cite in my report that would be accompanying my diorama made of Crayola Model Magic. It seemed like an endless task that would leave me tired, exhausted, and drained in the library for hours on end. However, looking back on it, I found many different facts from skimming those books manually, without the aid of a computer; facts that I might have otherwise missed. Oftentimes, the material that I ended up using came from the paragraph or chapter that I least expected it to come from.
Another hindrance that power-browsing on the web creates is the difficulty to read long articles novels. It is no surprise that this generation's attention spans are significantly shorter than those of decades past. In today's world, the culture wants everything immediately (I think of the Netflix commercial featuring "The Wrightnows"). Don't get me wrong, Google comes in handy for quick facts. However, I don't like using it too much for projects or papers. If I do, I make sure that the website I'm clicking on from Google is reliable, and then I read it until I find the information I need. Yeah, it's tedious, but I like learning the other information that is not necessarily what I need to know about but nonetheless interesting. I get worried that people (myself included), because of these shortened attention spans, will lose their drive for learning and even possibly their creativity. If we want everything to be done quickly, our schoolwork will become sloppy and poorly written. Also, we will likely not put our creativity to use, simply because that would take too long and create too much work.
Another thing that interested me is the idea that people think differently and write differently depending on the medium with which they use. I realized that it is very true that the material that we use to write (pen versus keyboard, etc.) influences what we write and the way we write it. When I am on the computer, I find that my first instinct is to type without using much capitalization or punctuation. I try to get what is in my head out onto a virtual piece of paper as fast as I can without giving any attention to sentence structure or grammar. However, when I pick up a pen and put it to a piece of looseleaf paper, my brain immediately clicks into gear and makes sure that I dot all the "i"s and cross all the "t"s.
Also, I often find that sometimes when doing homework or reading an article in the newspaper, I'll come to the end of a paragraph and have no idea what I just read. I'll realize that I should go back and read it again to try and fully comprehend it, but sometimes I find myself not wanting to even make that small effort.
On different note, I'm a little freaked out by the thought of a supercomputer that is smarter than a human being. What's even more scary to me is the possibility of this computer being directly linked to someone's brain. Imagine having all of that information immediately available in your mind. That's a LOT of facts. I think I would be completely overwhelmed by all that instant information.
Anyway...
Although this makes it seem like I am completely against Google and all other search engines, I'm not. I use them just as much as the next person. Google makes valuable information widely available to people all over the world. It provides us with access to websites that contain information that we might not be able to find in a typical library. Google can be a wonderful thing, but I think that we just all have to make sure that we are not becoming to lazy or slacking in our research and writing.
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