Furey's Lectures

I found Furey's lecture on genetic information quite interesting for several reasons. One thing that struck me as interesting was the fact that companies are trying to make a profit out of sequencing a person's genome. In my mind, as Furey explained it, this is ridiculous because these reports do not really reveal any significant information. For example, if the test tells the person that he has a 10% more chance of getting a certain disease, but the disease is only found in 2% of the population, then the chance the person gets the disease is 2.2%. This information (the 10%) is misleading especially because the people who receive these reports do not really understand it. Further, the reports do not really come with any kind of analysis that reveals the truth. Furthermore, I found it really strange that companies are trying to patent different parts of the human genome. In my opinion, this should not be allowed becuase it might significantly destroy the prospects of the advancement of technology. For example, I believe that a certain company patented part of the genome that may help in curing breast cancer; however, this means that other companies can not use this to further science. This could be a major problem in the future when companies figure out different ways to cure diseases but they are unable to use what they find because it is patented.

Hippo Technologies

Recently, while playing Second Life, I visited a store called Hippo Technologies (the slurl is: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hippo%20Technologies/95/169/44). Upon visiting the store for the first time, I was intrigued by the architecture of the building, which was covered with black glass and a logo for the store. Hippo Technologies is a very complex business in that it offers a variety of quite advanced services and products. For example, some of the services they sell are home security services and delivery services. It seems rather ridiculous that one would need home security in Second Life, but there must be some kind of demand for it considering the store was packed with avatars. Furthermore, their delivery service seems realistic; for example, if a person, for some reason, is unable to pick up something he purchased, or if the person's computer crashes, Hippo Technologies will pick up the product you purchased and deliver it to your inventory. This business also sells products, such as various scripts that sell for hundreds of Linden dollars.

This business is very different than most other businesses that I saw in that it is very, very complicated. The services and products that it sells is certainly not for the average Second Life player. Though the business does not attract these type of players, there is no doubt that there will always be customers in the store because it caters to a more advanced Second Life audience that spends a large amount of resources on the game.

Copyright Laws: Smith and Jenkins Lectures

In my opinion, both Kevin Smith's and Jennifer Jenkins's lectures on copyright laws and how the laws are colliding with new means of intellectual property were very interesting. Kevin Smith, naturally being a lawyer and librarian, discussed the fight between Google and authors and publishers around the world. Many authors believe that it is copyright infringement when Google, through Google books, allows people to see previews of their books. Because of the copyright laws, Smith explained to us that Google had to reach an agreement. Now, there are strict rules on which books people can preview and how many pages or paragraphs or sentences that can be previewed. One thing about the copyright law that Smith mentioned that I found strange was the length of copyright. Originally, it was for 14 years, after which the owner of the intellectual property could renew the copyright. But after years of progression, the copyright law is now the life of the author plus 70 years. Though I understand the need for copyright, in that it fosters creativity and innovation, it does not make much sense to put such a long time constraint on it. For example, if a person needs to use something, which has not been touched in years and something no one cares about, but is still protected by copyright law, that person is not allowed to use it without the consent of the owner. Even though there is a good chance that this person will never find the owner, the government still claims that it should be protected by copyright. This does not make much sense, and, in a way, may, as a direct result of governmental policy, cause a deadweight loss. This is detrimental to our society. I believe that copyright law should be a certain number of years, after which the owner can choose to renew it. This way, if no one renews the copyright of a tangible item, it is free to use in the public domain.

One topic that Jenkins talked about that I found interesting was the fact that the copyright law has been written in such ambiguous and arbitrary terms that it is almost impossible for anyone, without legal training, to understand the document. This means, according to Jenkins, that often times, in cases where copyright law is not clearly defined, judges usually rule based on their own gut feeling, and not strictly according to governmental law. Thus, many of the recent cases with copyright law and its collision with the new medium that displays intellectual creativity (ie. the Internet) will be decided by the will of the judges. This seems dangerous considering that many present judges, being relatively old and perhaps being not technologically savvy, may not see the importance in loosening copyright law so that creativity will be encouraged and promoted through this new medium.

Furthermore, after hearing both of the lectures, I concluded that there is a serious battle underway between copyright laws and digital creativity. It seems that much of what random people are creating online is, in the eyes of the United States Government, copyright infringement. However, in my opinion, these outdated, antiquated copyright laws are indeed stifling digital creativity. If you look at much of the material online, such as videos, pictures, sound clips, etc., a lot of this seems that it would be copyright infringement. In my opinion, if the government goes after those who created this items, or even becomes stricter with sites that facilitate these items, such as YouTube, there will be a great loss in digital creativity. For example, many of the popular mashups on YouTube, such as this song, which is a mashup of six popular songs, would not be shared with millions of people around the world. After listening to songs such as this one, and viewing videos that use copyrighted material, it is evident that these new items are very creative and don't have any intent to profit from the original material. I believe that if the government becomes increasingly strict about imposing copyright law on the Internet, digital creativity will soon be lost.

Don Fowler's Lecture and TWIT

I found Don Fowler's lecture to be especially interesting considering that IT consulting or management consulting are occupations that I may be looking to pursue in the near future, after graduation. At first, I found myself questioning the validity of the occupation because it is hard to imagine how small changes in efficiency can translate to larger changes that actually impact the business. However, Fowler did a great job at illustrating the advantages and uses of consulting. One example I found quite interesting that Fowler mentioned has to do with outsourcing, which, often times, is a solution to reducing costs for many businesses. Fowler talked about how outsourcing allowed projects to cycle around the world, thereby, ensuring that the project was being worked on 24 hours a day. For example, a project could be worked on in the US, but after the work day, it could be sent to, say India to be worked on, and then maybe Australia, and then back to the US. This would drastically increase efficiency. I think consulting would be a great field for any graduating student considering that just about anyone, from any major, can be hired by a consulting company, such as Accenture. Furthermore, Fowler also mentioned that it was a relatively stable job; whether the economy is in a recession or in a boom, consultants are in demand, either to help cut costs or help expand businesses.

Fowler also made it clear that consulting would be nearly impossible without the advent of the information technology revolution. For example, outsourcing would be next to impossible because companies would not be able to transfer data and projects across the world, like it is possible now.

One topic I found interesting from TWIT was how print newspapers are on the decline and how they are even starting to disappear. The panelists on the radio station were discussing how print newspapers were becoming redundant and that using the online versions of newspapers would be relatively easier and less redundant. They also mentioned, however, something I agree with, which is that reading a print newspaper has a different feel to it. For example, it feels more natural to scan the headlines of a newspaper and to be able to flip through the pages. Obviously, online newspapers have very different layouts than print newspapers, and, in my mind, are less conducive in allowing readers to scan the news. At the same time, I believe that online newspapers have significant advantages as well and that neither version of the news can be sacrificed. I, however, may be biased, coming from New York, where the world-renowned New York Times is found in practically every household. Another reason for the demise of newspapers, according to the podcast, was that they waste a significant amount of paper, a process that is extremely detrimental for our planet. And, at the same time, online newspapers can be stored relatively easily and in large amounts without wasting many resources. When listening to this podcast, I thought of a story in the news that I had heard recently. Apparently, Seattle's main newspaper ended their print version and now only have the online version. Though this may have a few significant benefits, for the most part, it does not make much sense considering there may be a large population of readers that either do not have Internet access or do not know how to access the online version. This is just one example of how technology may be leading to the demise of the publishing world (though I do not buy the argument that it is leading to the demise; rather, I believe that the world of technology and the publishing world can coexist and complement each other).

DiVE Into Reality

Today was the second time this year that I have visited the DiVE. Just as the first time, this time I was both impressed and intrigued by the virtual reality system. Systems like the DiVE allow information to be represented in ways that are impossible to do so usin other visualizations. For example, Fred Nijhout explained how the 3D gradient he derived is very difficult to understand when you cannot move around and visualize it. The DiVE allows users to do this; and, in turn, the user can comprehend the information represented by the image in a way that he wouldn't be able to do otherwise. The DiVE along with other 3D also allow users to interact in data in an unprecedented way. For example, while in the DiVE today, we ran the program in which you can move around giant coins. The way this system allows a user to move objects is, in my opinion, incredible. The movements feel extremely natural and innate. The same is true for the program in which you had to move the molecules around. From these new interactions, we may gain new insight into how different processes actually work, as exemplified by the molecular interactions. Of course, these are all major advantages of these types of visual systems. One big disadvantage is the cost of these systems; often times, installing visual systems like the DiVE is just impractical because of the space it takes up and, more importantly, the large amount of money it costs. Also, these types of visual systems are still in their infancy; there are still many flaws that can only be corrected or improved as technology progresses and improves.
It is not difficult to foresee a time where the use of these visual systems will be combined with programs like Second Life. At the moment, programs like second life are crude in terms of movement, graphics, etc. Combining these with the 3D visual systems will enhance these qualities. In addition, the systems will make the programs much more realistic (the original goal of many of the programs like second life.)

Prof. Halpin's & Prof. Schwartz-Bloom's Lectures

Though I don't think you can exclusively say that it is always the case that you need more than one way of looking at data, I believe that providing multiple images can be more beneficial in the understanding of an idea. The more visual representations of data that are provided, the greater information you can relay to the audience. As we saw from both Halpin's and Schwartz-Bloom's lectures, illustrating data through multiple representations may bring out different information from the same data. This can help the audience and even the researcher see the data in a different way and help discover something more than they already know. For example, Halpin illustrated that, in his case, multiple representations of the data helped reveal new information. Specifically, Halpin showed how different representations of the movements of a whale (the 2D and 3D) representation bring about new information. Specifically, the 3D model may help show the depth at which whales feed and where plankton live. In many other cases, a single representation may in fact be more effective in demonstrating an idea. For example, if someone is demonstrating a simple idea then perhaps you wouldn't want multiple representations of data for it may be overwhelming and confusing. Another example is that if you are showing something or demonstrating an idea to an informed audience that already understands the concept, showing multiple representations may be unnecessary for such an audience. For example, Schwartz-Bloom illustrated that when trying to explain concepts to high school students, often times it is important for the educator to show multiple representations of the same thing, so that it becomes easier for the student to understand. However, imagine if instead she was explaining a complex idea, something that has to do with neurons for example, it would not be necessary to provide multiple representations of neurons, considering that the audience is already familiar with them.

One technique that was prevalent in high school was the use of mnemonic devices. For example, my Latin teacher taught the class the following mnemonic devices: TAAPPPIIICCV and SIDECAPPS. Though the first device may seem strange, it was relatively easy to memorize (it's pronounced tap-ick-v). These two devices help students remember the various prepositions that go along with accusative and ablative cases, respectively.

Severe Storm Visualization and Dr. Richardson's Lecture

Though the severe storm visualization may have been adequate for its time, looking at it now, it is evident that there are problems with the visualization. One major problem was that there was no indication that the storm had been stretched vertically so that the viewer would be able to see the details easier. Had the visualization explained this somehow, it would be much clearer. Another problem was that the narrator often referred to directions; however, the compass was only present for the first few frames of the visualization. Instead, the compass should always be visible. Additionally, the contrast between the plane and the lines (that created a grid) was too great and made the visualization slightly distracting. Further, there was also a problem with the color map that showed where the water density of a cross section of the storm was the greatest. The use of the archaic rainbow color map took away from the information the map attempted to convey. By using other color schemes on the map, the color map could be greatly improved. A major reason for all these problems is that when the visualization was created, the computing ability was much weaker than it is now. Computers were slower, and creating these types of visualizations required frame by frame creation that took a long time. Likewise, early visualizations of molecules were not perfect either. In the early 2D models of molecules, it was difficult to get a sense of depth, which was important in perceiving molecular interactions. In addition, though the earlier 3D models of molecules showed some type of depth, it was difficult to translate the models onto scientific journals and other print.
These types of early visualizations were, of course, very helpful to their respective fields in that they provided additional information that would be lacking otherwise. Since the 1980's, since our computing power has increased by a lot, we are able to create more sophisticated visualizations in much less time; back then, people were forced to draw each frame to create a visualization. Dr. Richardson's visualizations of molecules were different than the visualization fo the storm. For example, Dr. Richardson's visualizations changed due to molecular interactions, whereas the storm visualization was constant and was not altered for any other reason.

Images related to Livingston's Lecture

The first image I found is a rather popular optical illusion. This illusion is much like Livingston's example of the homogenous gray disc that appears to be shaded from light to dark because of the shaded background. According to Livingston, the center-surround cells can't tell the difference between "increasing light to the center or decreasing light to the surround." This manipulation of luminence creates the perception that A and B (labeled in the optical illusion) are two different shades of gray. I chose this particular example because unlike Livingston's example, where the shades seemingly barely differ, this illusion makes it seem like the two shades of gray are on the far sides of the spectrum. Block A looks much, much darker than block B. However, because of the manipulation of luminence, (and I verified this on MS paint) A and B are in fact the same shade.
The second image I found is related to the mosaic images that Livingston refers to. Much like the Babe Ruth mosaic image, this image illustrates how central vision and peripheral vision differ. The central vision sees the small, individual images of Simpson's characters, whereas the peripheral vision sees the overall image of Homer Simpson. These contrasting perceptions create a dual effect.

Response to Sherryl Broverman's Lecture

In my opinion, Sherryl Broverman's lecture was one of the more interesting lecture this semester. In the beginning, she referred to website called Ushahidi.com, which allows users to call in, text, or email information about a certain area. She illustrated that this is especially useful in African countries that are marked with conflict and violence. With technology such as Ushahidi.com, people can find out which parts of the country are dangerous and which parts they should not travel towards. Another website that Broverman referred to was Kiva.org, which allows people to make loans to people in Africa. I thought this was an interesting concept because usually most organizations are looking for donations rather than loans. This technology allows people to help Africans out without directly donating.
The way Broverman explained her project in Kenya seemed to be multi-faceted in that there are many projects going on at the same time. I thought it was interesting there already existed some "internet cafes" in the slums of Kibera. Broverman explained that she and her team were trying to setup a school for women that would also make use of computers. The greater the availability of information at the hands of the people, the easier it is for them to escape their life of poverty. I was surprised when she explained that an educated population of women has so many beneficial effects onthe country, including the economy.
Another aspect of the project I found interesting was that Broverman said her team was attempting to map out specific information of Muhuru Bay and incorporate on a map of the area. In fact, her team is also trying to rent a satellite to take ultra-high resolution pictures of the area so that they can distinguish the relatively wealthy and impoverished areas of the region. The team is also trying to map out a typical day in the life of a young girl in Muhuru Bay in order to figure out where they spend most of their time and how the team can help out and make everything more efficient. In the end, I think that Broverman's project was interesting in that it combined many pertinent fields, such as politics and economics with virtual reality (for example, the mapping may be done on google earth).

Mark Olson's Lecture

Mark Olson's lecture on the advancement of technology in surgery was especially interesting because he introduced a new surgical system I had never heard of before - the Da Vinci Surgical System. According to Olson, there are numerous benefits that come with this system. It seems that this system is like an upgrade of laparoscopy because it still involves looking at a screen to conduct surgery. From the videos of the system I have seen, it seems that the system improves surgery; the arms of the machine move in ways the human wrist cannot; further, the system uses binocular vision to imitate or simulate the vision of humans (this makes the surgery more "intuitive" - this vision is unavailable for laparoscopy). However, unlike laparoscopy, in the DVSS, there is no direct surgeon-patient contact; instead, all the incisions are made through the machine. Furthermore, the DVSS has many safety features that reduces the risk of the procedure as compared to traditional open surgery or even laparoscopy. However, there is some concern that by using this system, the skill of surgery may vanish. For example, surgeons no longer would have to memorize complete procedures because the system could guide the surgeon through the procedure. It also may be that there is a loss of the need for intense congnitive ability. Though this may remove some of the skills associated with surgery, in a way, it requires a different set of skills, in my mind. Also, the use of this system may lead to a new field of surgery and medicine since it is not necessary for the surgeon to actually be near the patient. What if this leads to global surgeries, where a patient can be in Nigeria and the surgeon in New York? This may open up great possibilities. Something else I found interesting was the images of surgery that compared an experienced and novice surgeon. The experienced surgeon's incisions were more compact and seemed more like a machine. This may indicate that using machines for surgery may be a better option. I think that this system has the potential to revolutionize the field of surgery; whether if it will change it for the better or the worse is highly debatle.

Thoughts on Patrick Herron and the Virtual Peace Projecy

I found Patrick Herron's lecture on simulations and his virtual peace project to be quite interesting. When Herron started talking about how "experience is simulation" and related it mirror neurons, I was drawn in because I have always been very interested in neuroscience as well of some of Ramachandran's work. After drawing this relationship ("experience is simulation"), Herron connected it to the idea the "simulation is reality." Though simulations often are less complex than reality, as Herron mentioned, I believe that simulations are close subsitutes of reality. Some examples Herron discussed inlcude: the army using mechanical horses to simulate riding horses; pilots in training often use flight simulators to practice flying (if you have used a flight simulator, you know that it isn't merely a game...it is far, far more complex); first person shooters (FPS) can be used to train military personnel (and, unfortunately, FPS trained the Kentucky school shooter, who without ever having used a gun, used the weapon with extreme precision). Herron noted that "we learn faster" through simulations rather than learning by other means.
From this point, he transitioned over the Virtual Peace Project. This seems like a very interesting idea because it allows people to practice negotiating and handling a real policy issue in a believable context. When I first heard about virtual peace, I really liked the idea because it combined the idea of virtual worlds with the idea of simulating actual problems (it is easier to see how virtual peace is relevant in our world, as compared to Second Life, where people often walk around aimlessly). The only problem I have with virtual peace is that there is no way that the moticons are proper substitutes for actual emotions and gestures. Anyone learning even the most basic negotiation skills knows that body movement and emotions are as important as the actual dialogue. However, I understand that this project was completed by a small staff with a relatively small budget; and, what they have accomplisheed is quite impressive. In any case, I look forward to using virtual peace in class.

Google Earth + Virtual World = ?

In my mind, Google Earth is one of the greatest programs ever created. It fulfills the vision of a metaverse in the sense that you can actually travel to any place on the globe and look at comprehensive two dimensional snapshots or pictures (taken from satellites). Furthermore, there are also features in Google Earth that are 3D, such as various, usually famous, buildings and the terrain of the earth. Google Earth also allows users to interact through many features, including "Gallery," which combines things like Google News and the NY Times with the actual globe the user is looking at. In addition, I believe that it is also possible for users to tag places around the world, which become visible to all other users.
If Google Earth were combined with a virtual world program, it would become the ultimate metaverse in the sense that users would be interacting in a virtual place that actually resembled real places in the world. The possibilities of this type of combination are endless and may be the future of virtual worlds. It seems that if this were done, the virtual world would be, in many ways, more relevant (to everyday people). Further, because of this, the visions of many people, including Walden (who talks about advertising), could be fulfilled.

The Week's Readings and Julian Lombardi's Lecture

I really enjoyed Julian Lombardi's lecture because he discussed the history and the future of GUIs, something that I was not at all familiar with. I thought it was interesting that for hte past 20 years, the interface of personal computers has remained relatively unchanged. The desktop as it is now, is virtually the same thing as it was back in the late 80's, with documents, folders, etc. Though I thought that Lombardi and his Duke team's project was interesting (I even tried to download the pre-alpha version -- without success), I don't think that companies or people will adapt to the new interface in the long run. For one, it gets rid of anonymity, which has always been a major asset during the current era. In any case, I hope the project succeeds so that we won't be constrained to a single interface anymore, which according to Lombardi, prohibits many new innovative technologies.
The "Who's on Third in Second Life" article describes, with great depth, the idea of libraries (storage and access to information) in second life. As I was reading the article (that is...before I played SL), it seemed very interesting and promising. However, after actually playing SL and visiting a "library," I found that it was difficult to access any type of information or communicate intelligently with any other avatar (but, this might be becuase I have only played SL once and am still not use to it).
In the "Opinion: Second Life and the next wave in customer experience" article, Steven Walden portrays virtual worlds, including SL, where companies actively and successfully engage in advertising. However, after playing SL, even though you can find a few company ads in various places, it seems to me that this type of advertising isn't promising in terms of revolutionizing a customer's experience. For one, it seems virtual worlds aren't technologically advanced enough yet that a customer can have an actual virtual experience with a product or a company. The examples Walden states don't seem to be viable.

Second Life Exploration

After creating a Second Life account, I encountered a classmate (Joe Levy - "Jodoglevy Xenobuilder") in the Duke ISIS oasis. I friended him and together we explored the Duke ISIS oasis and learned specific features of the game, including how to make the avatar perform gestures, how to fly, and how to communicate. The oasis itself is a strange place with many random objects...nonetheless, i found it to be an interesting place, especially the Coach K court that was almost an exact replica (however, I couldn't actually get on the court - no access).
After parting ways with Jodoglevy Xenobuilder, I decided to search New York City under the location search. I teleported my avatar to the Statue of Liberty. I was extremely impressed by the level of detail gone into making the Statue and even some parts of Manhattan...(thinking back to the Shirky speech...there seems to be a huge surplus of time..imagine if it went towards something more useful..). Anyway, while exploring the city, I discovered that I could hop into a random person's car without their permission. The person who was driving the car seemed annoyed after a while and tried to avoid me. However, he started talking to me and ended up giving me a car for no reason!..Though, I have yet to figure out how to actually pull out the car. I decided to keep following this guy and eventually his avatar took out a machine gun and started shooting - nothing happened to my avatar though. The SLURL for this place is http://slurl.com/secondlife/Statue%20of%20Liberty/106/149/40.
I also ended up going to some racetrack. It seemed like an interesting, well-designed place, even though no one else was there at the same time I was. I right clicked on a car and selected "LETS RACE!" This option let me in the driver's seat of the car but I could not figure out how to actually move it. I assume you need another person racing against you in order to be able to drive the car. The SLURL of this racetrack is http://slurl.com/secondlife/2raw/130/204/22.
Overall, Second Life seemed like an interesting virtual world, even though I could not figure out how to do much while I was there.

Wikipedia Entry

After searching for Duke Basketball on Wikipedia, I noticed that the entry was missing information that I thought was important and relevant. The entry did not have a section showing the current roster of the team, so I added a table of the roster to the entry. Though I had edited a few Wikipedia articles in the past (change a few words or a sentence, at most), this was the most substantial edit I have done. Truthfully, it is kind of cool knowing that you contributed to something that millions of people use. Here's the specific link to my edit.

Paolo Mangiafico: The Social Life of Information

I really enjoyed Mangiafico's presentation and thought it was very interesting. I thought it was especially clever how he described "knowledge as an iceberg." Above the water is explicit knowledge, the kind that has been printed in books for centuries. Underneath however, there is this greater mass of knowledge, which lies within people and their practices. It is this information that we, as a society, need to make accessible to the public, as a wholes. This is related to Pierre Levy's definition of "collective intelligence" -- ("No one knows everything, everyone knows something, all knowledge resides in humanity").
I particularly enjoyed Mangiafico's examples, such as websites including delicious, citeulike, WorldCat, and LibraryThing. On these websites, instead of information being just published, as it was done in the old days, information is being shared. It is clear that these types of websites are extremely efficient. Mangiafico also introduced the concept of "collaborative filtering" that these various websites engage in. Through engaging individuals to participate, the websites are more effective in producing results that are favorable to the overall audience (ex. Digg or Slashdot).
Lastly, Mangiafico's presentation related to Shirky's speech. Shirky illustrated that people are wasting time (by watching tv, etc.) instead of actively participating to better technology. Mangiafico provided examples where individuals, who probably thought were wasting time, were actually benefiting society through participating in these online projects.

Reaction to Clay Shirky's Speech

I found Shirky's speech both interesting and insightful. He talked about how people these days have an immense amount of free time on their hands. This excess of time, in the mind of Shirky, is a social surplus that needs to be tapped into. I didn't realize until listening to Shirky that wasting time (on things like T.V.) was such a big issue in our society. As he put it, our country wastes two hundred billion hours watching T.V. per year...(if you cant visualize it, look at it as a number -- 200,000,000,000 hours). That's also equivalent to 2,000 wikipedia projects per year. Imagine if instead of wasting time on unproductive activities that people actually decided to undertake a project of substantial magnitude...the possibilities are endless. I think that our society is actually moving away from this and towards Shirky's ideal. New technological innovations are showcasing greater individual participation recently. In fact, Shirky relays a story of a 4-year old looking for a mouse for a T.V. This shows that participation in technology is so widespread that the young child automatically assumed participation was a characteristic of all technology (and in my mind, technology is evolving towards that).

Notes on: "Read the Blog: You're Fired" by Linton Weeks

This article talks about how many companies have moved towards rather impersonal and cruel ways to fire employees. Because of the convenience and dispassion associated with technological communication (though not all the "techniques" are through technology), companies are finding it easier to lay people off without having to directly fire the employees or give reasons for the layoff. The article cites some examples of this:

• Tesla Motors CEO essentially laid off workers through his blog
• Partner at Washington Law Firm found a note on his desk telling him he was being forced out
• Some RadioShack employees received an email
• Korean credit card company fired employees through instant message
• After coming back from lunch, one man realized that his security card was deactivated
• High-tech company during dot-com crash gathered employees into a conference room and read out a list of people it was letting go of
• It isn't uncommon to see people being laid off via email or BlackBerry

I think what these companies are doing is outrageous because though it may save employers much time and effort -- and maybe even the pain of laying off a colleague -- it makes the process much more "depersonalized." In a related article, a professor from the University of New Hampshire explains that these impersonal ways to layoff employees can "make a bad situation worse." According to this professor, the biggest problem managers make is they become "robotic" and "emotionless" when terminating workers. Furthermore, I agree with the author who claims that it is unfair to tell an employee that he/she is being let go without any due reason or claim. It is ridiculous that some managers can't show some decency and respect toward their employees. Especially in this day and age, when the once-booming-economy is staggering, it is clearly important for companies to show a little more compassion and understanding towards their employees so that it is "easier psychologically for both sides of the desk."

Some Quick Thoughts about: The Autumn of Multitaskers by Walter Kirn

While I found this particular article interesting, I disagreed with much of what was said. Though I agree that the concept of multitasking may be counter-productive at times - ("To do two things at once is to do neither" - Publilius Syrus), especially when you're trying to drive and look at pictures on your cell phone at the same time - in many cases multitasking is a great tool to utilize. Personally, I watch TV or listen to music while doing work because I feel that having something in the background helps me absorb information better, which goes against the claims from the UCLA experiment. Kirn claims that multitasking in the office setting is costing our economy $650 billion every year. However, he fails to note the benefits of multitasking, which, I would guess, sum to a total greater than the loss. Anyway, unlike Kirn, I believe that technological innovation that assists in multitasking is beneficial to the great majority of our country.

About Me

Hi, my name is Nitin Gupta and I am a freshman at Duke University. I was born and raised in New York. As of now, I plan to major in Economics and minor in Statistics. My interests are diverse, from playing basketball and tennis to reading to playing poker. I am aslo an avid sports fan (aka - a diehard NY Giants and Yankees fan). ISIS 100 seems to be a very relevant course, considering that we are surrounded by technology everywhere we go. Through this course, I intend to learn and understand in greater detail the complexities of technology.