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.