Blog Post #7 - Privacy, Online & Off

 Technology in our Daily Lives

Ah, technology. It's such a beautiful aspect of our daily lives! We take our phones everywhere we go. We drive our cars, use our computers, and so much more. It's so amazing how much technology helps us...and watches us. Yes, that's right. Technology might just be your worst enemy.  

License Plate Readers

Ever seen one of these before? If you haven't, you might want to pay close attention. These are license plate readers. They are little devices used by the police department to snap a picture of your license plate as you go about your day. They are able to track everywhere you've been by your car, not just your phone. Most people know that the government already tracks us through our phone. But what most people don't know is that they track you through so much more. In a TedTalk, Catherine Crump discussed how the government is always watching us and even has pictures of people going about their every day lives. The police department keeps and stores this information in case they need it some day. Talk about a serious invasion of privacy!

Does this mean we are never safe? Are private moments really private? Turns out the answer is most likely no, nothing we do is ever private. The government has way too much information about our personal identities to potentially use against us in the future. According to a TedTalk by Christopher Soghoian, the government is mad that they have had difficulty invading our privacy through companies embedding encryptions that block personal information from being accessed. However, government officials believe that all texts, phone calls, emails, etc, should be available to the government at all time. Will we ever have privacy?

Fortunately, I haven't been contacted by the government due to them invading my privacy. However, this impacts me, my friends, and my family by making us all feel uncomfortable. After learning this information, I feel very uneasy about the government watching my every move. It makes me wonder, am I really living? 

What Should the Government do? What can We do?

In my opinion, I don't think the government should have access to invading our privacy to this extent. Nobody should be monitoring people like this unless there is an impending reason. But now I'm wondering if there is really anything we can do to put a s
top to this.  The government can always lie to us and say they aren't tracking us when they actually are. The only thing I can think of doing is putting up fire walls and encryptions. Who knows, maybe one day the world will change. 

Blog Post #6 - EOTO Technology Presentations

 The Evolution of Technology 

In class, I had the privilege of hearing several creative presentations about the evolution and impact of technology. Today, my generation is very fortunate to have such advanced technology to accomplish tasks and make our lives easier. However, the technology we use today had to evolve from somewhere. While listening to my classmates presentations, there were three inventions that I found especially interesting and did not know a lot about. These inventions are the printing press, film, and instagram. 

The Printing Press

The printing press is an exceptional invention that has revolutionized that way we communicate and spread information quickly. I learned that the printing press dates back all the way to to year 1440. This shocked me because I had no idea that the world had been "printing" words that long ago. In my mind, I didn't think the printing press was invented until much later. I also learned that the first printing press ever made was able to print up to 3,600 pages a DAY. I find that absolutely amazing considering the time period and level of advancement correlation. 

Overall, the printing press has made a huge impact on our society, including causing literacy levels to rise. It was discovered that people had a much easier time reading printed words rather than handwritten words. Of course, the printing press evolved to a much more efficient piece of machinery that we have today: the electronic printer. 

Film 

Learning about the first film had to be the most interesting invention I heard about in class. This is mainly because I lack a lot of knowledge about this topic and I have no idea how film began or became what it is today. To begin, I learned that the first photo taken was in 1826! That is so crazy to me. I find it very hard to wrap my head around the fact that we weren't able to document historical evens before 1826, unless it was an oil paining of course. I take pictures every single day, as well as film and watch videos, and I can't imagine my life any different. 

I also learned that film was first used to tell a story through taking rapid photos to show movement. This concept was accomplished by taking rapid pictures of a horse, as shown above. Let's just say I'm very thankful I didn't live back during this time period!

Instagram 

Ah, Instagram. Everyone loves it, right? Instagram was created in 2010 for the sole purpose of allowing people to share their lives and experiences through photos. However, I didn't know that Instagram became revolutionary for social communication! Despite the primary purpose of Instagram, many people began to develop connection with other users within the app through their instant message feature. In fact, a lot of relationships have even formed due to meeting on the app! 

I find it crazy that the app allows for people to become best friends with people they have never met before and people that live on the other side of the world. I also learned that Instagram is one of the ultimate news platforms for media coverage! What was a simple photo sharing app is now a combination of pictures, videos, advertisements, jobs, and more! Instagram has evolved into one of the most popular social media platforms today. 

Conclusion

I couldn't be more thankful for the technology I have today. After learning about the first models of evolved technology, I have a grater appreciation for the efficiency I walk around with! Most inventions in the beginning were operated mechanically before electricity was discovered. Now, almost all machines are operated by electricity! 

Blog Post #5 - Antiwar Voices in the Media

 The American Conservative and Antiwar Voices

As Americans, the First Amendment is a very important and crucial document in our lives. Freedom of speech is arguably one of our most valued freedoms. However, in terms of war, the concept of dissent can be seen as imposing a threat on the government. In other words, those who utilize the First Amendment to speak their opinions against the government can find themselves in serious trouble. However, according to the First Amendment, citizens have the right to dissent. 

What is in the News Today? 

There are many famous mainstream news sources, such as Fox News and CNN. However, there is something very special about these mainstream news sources. Fox News and CNN are very biased, meaning that they have a specific target audience that they communicate specific viewpoints to. It is very common for people to listen to news and information that only aligns with their political beliefs and opinions. More often than not, people don't like to be told that their viewpoint is wrong. Fox News and CNN provide news that people want to hear because it supports their beliefs. 

What News is Hidden? 

There are always two sides to a story, right? While mainstream news sources such as Fox News and CNN run the media, there are other outlets to information that are not so easy to find. This information typically deals with dissent and antiwar voices that you don't see in the media. American Conservative and Antiwar.com are two websites that contain information and viewpoints that is not seen in mainstream media. Why? It's simple. People don't want to listen to or hear information that doesn't align with their viewpoints. Mainstream news sources such as Fox News and CNN have an agenda they need to keep by  maintaining a certain number of viewers. This means learning who their demographics are and only showing information that caters towards their needs. 

American Conservative and Antiwar.com deal with information that has extreme opinions and viewpoints on war. Mainstream outlets don't have a lot of this content on their platforms because it doesn't agree or align with the majority of their audience and viewers. These two websites are very hard to find, and I bet most people have never even heard of them. If you want to look for an antiwar perspective, you will have to search hard and dig a little deeper since they are not among the first sites to pop up on Google. 

Blog Post #4 - Each One, Teach One: The Typewriter

Once upon a time, before the internet, people had a much more complicated way of simply typing out a document. 

Behold....the typewriter!!!

The What?

That's right, a typewriter. This "prehistoric" device is a mechanical typing machine that is used for producing printed characters. Typewriters date back as early as 1714, when an English engineer named Henry Mill issued a patent of a typing device. Unfortunately, his patent was never recovered and the idea of a mechanical typing machine didn't resurface until over a century later. In 1868, a man named Christopher Latham Sholes issued the first completed patent of a typewriter. It didn't take long before every office in the world had one of these devices before personal computers entered the market. 

How Does it Work?

You're probably wondering, how does one of these weird machines even work? It's simple...well...not really. It's crucial to remember that typewriters are completely mechanical and are controlled by your own hands. Here is a picture of what the levers and springs look like within a typewriter. To use a typewriter, a piece of paper must first be placed onto the cylinder bar above the keyboard. To generate printed characters, the keys must be pressed using your fingertips. When a ket is pressed, a metal lever swings forward onto the paper after being hit by an inked cloth. As you continue to type characters, the cylinder bar continues to move to the left to create space for the following characters. Once the bar reachers the end of the paper, you must manually push the bar back into place by hitting the return lever. 

Sound complicated enough? I haven't even mentioned the worst features of a typewriter. Unlike our lightweight mobile personal computers and laptops we have today, typewriters weigh an average of 22 pounds. They are large and rather bulky devices that are basically considered immobile due to their weight. Not to mention, typewriters take a large amount of force when pressing keys to generate characters and are very loud in the process of doing so. But wait, it gets worse. If you make a mistake while typing on a typewriter, a delete key is nonexistent. Instead, you can either use white paint or white correction tape to correct a mistake. Typewriters also require a lot of maintenance and upkeep, such as replacing paper, ink, and repairing broken or damaged metal levers. 

From Slugs of Metal to Keys

Okay, so typewriters aren't completely awful. It's simple: typewriters solved ineligible writing. Also, thanks to typewriters, the mechanical devices soon evolved into the personal computers that we know and love today. It didn't take long for typewriters to spark the evolution of technology, as personal computers began to appear in the late 1970's. Typewriters have changed our world forever as we know it, making our lives easier and more efficient. Nowadays, everyone can type on an electrical computer device accommodated by the internet of course! We are all familiar with many of the features personal computers have that typewriters don't, such as a screen, mobility, and most importantly: a delete key! 

Today, our society is very fortunate to have immediate access to advanced technology. Most of us walk around with a smart phone, or should I say, a universal assistant, in our pockets. Therefore, it's pretty hard to believe that there ever was a time that the internet didn't exist. A lot of us take for granted the efficiency of the technological age we are in. Typewriters saved us time, allowing for people to type faster than they could write and have news spread more quickly! Where would our world be without computers? Who knows what evolution has in store for the next round of technology! 

Blog Post #3 - The Eight Values of Self Expression

 The Value Behind Freedom of Expression 

Where would our society be if we didn't have the ability to state and express our thoughts, ideas, or opinions? Freedom of expression is an essential aspect to society that allows for individuality to be free from government censorship. We as a society are able to express our own thoughts, ideas, and personal beliefs to form our own opinions about important public issues. There are eight main values of free expression. As a college student, there are certain values that personally resonate with me more than others. 

I personally believe that our society has a censorship problem. If someone doesn't agree with you, it's as if they don't want your viewpoint to be heard at all. Unfortunately, our society today has become very divided. We are living in a time of a significant amount of racial tension and health tension among the vaccinated and unvaccinated. I think people forget that people will always have an alternative viewpoint, but you must always remain respectful. If we all got along and agreed with each other, the world would be a very boring place to live in. 

Promote Innovation 

The value of free expression that resonates with me most is to promote innovation. As a college student, I am constantly trying to make changes in society to help create a stronger sense of equality. Personally, I feel that our society is too divided and has a significant amount of tension between groups depending on aspects such as race and political affiliation. I feel that segregation among groups involving these aspects are a problem in society. Allowing a value of free expression to promote innovation is very beneficial to society, because it allows for people to stand up and make a positive difference. Our society is always changing, and this is mainly done through promoting innovation and self expression. 

Stable Change

Stable change is a very important value of freedom of expression that I find to be important and in action today. Our society is currently engaging in a significant amount of disagreement and butting heads. Our society has also struggled recently with acts of violence and violent protesting. Stable change allows for underrepresented citizens to vent and express their own thoughts and opinions. It is fair to say that there are specific groups of people in society who are being treated differently. Under stable change, these groups have the right to express how they feel, which in turn benefits the government to change to make corrective actions. I see a connection between stable change and promoting innovation, since a stable change will lead to innovation due to people expressing corrective actions that need to be made. 

Social Media’s Influence on Free Expression

Social media has a significant influence on the valves of free expression. For starters, the first amendment does not protect free speech on private social media platforms. In other words, any statement made by a social media user on a privately owned social media platform can be removed or restricted. A strong example of this concept is Twitter, a privately owned social media platform that is known for censoring their users through removing and restricting publicly made statements. 

On the other hand, social media acts as a boost of confidence for some individuals. Many people who have strong thoughts and opinions feel as if they can’t express themselves. Social media can protect an individual’s identity and allow for them to express their thoughts and opinions unanimously. There is a strong connection between social media and the individual self-fulfillment theory. This theory allows for individuals to express themselves freely in order to establish and create their own ideas. Social media provides a safe outlet for individuals to fulfill this concept for those who prefer to remain out of the physical public eye. In other words, people can “hide behind a screen” to express their ideas and opinions.

Blog Post #2 - The Supreme Court

 The Power of the Supreme Court

I don't think a lot of people realize how much power the Supreme Court carries, being that it is the head of the judicial branch of government. I knew the Supreme Court was powerful, but I had no idea that it checked the actions of both the executive AND legislative branches of government. The Supreme Court of the United States is only made up of nine justices and has ultimate jurisdiction over all laws. Every year, the justices receive roughly 7,000 petitions from individuals fighting for a change. Accepted cases and written arguments are sent to be under consideration by justices once a week. The Supreme Court serves to protect citizens from state power under the United States constitution. 

Key Take-away

The most important take-away about the Supreme Court is that, according to the video, they are the most powerful judicial body on Earth. The greatest national questions are argued with their power rested on public faith. The Supreme Court draws the boundaries of government power. The Supreme Court will provide equal protection of law to all citizens. I find it absolutely fascinating that the Constitution is guiding people to “solve problems” that have been occurring 200 years later after the document was created. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg stated in the video that “We the people” meant something different 200 years ago than it did today.” “We the people" has grown to prevent discrimination in today’s society. 

Changing the way we view the Supreme Court

    

People often forget that the members of the Supreme Court are people. They are here to ensure equal justice under the law for the people. However, the Supreme Court can never avoid controversy. It is there to stop acts that are deemed unconstitutional in favor of the people. John Marshall himself said, “It is a constitution we are expounding.” It is crucial to remember that the Supreme Court is here for our protection as citizens. They constantly face the challenge of upholding the law by abiding what is considered to be “Constitutional.” 

Information quoted from Supreme Court Part One and Part Two.