Black Mirror

Although I find the episode frustrating to watch, the most interesting of the first season’s episodes of Black Mirror is the third episode entitled “The Entire History of You.” While the first episode is just something that seems too ridiculous to happen and the second episode relies on a dystopian future, “The Entire History of You” captures the potential of how we use technology. The episode raises compelling questions about how humans and technology interact. The characters in this episode have a chip implanted in their heads that records their memories – a piece of technology inside of their bodies, something that seems to have become domesticated. The humans in this episode are part computer - their memories, and by extension, their past, is completely digitized.

One interesting scene took place in the airport when security asked to see the main character’s most recent memories. In a world like this, how much privacy do citizens have? It seems like they really have none, especially when government officials are allowed access to a visual account of one’s memories. However, I thought about how our current world already digitizes our lives; Facebook prompts its users to re-share posts on the post’s “anniversary.” We have access to all past posts on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram – essentially every social media platform except for Snapchat. Our social media and technology map us throughout history, so the memory chip the characters use is just an extension of that. The technology in this episode raised some concerns for me but we are already using technology very similar to it.

This brought me back to another idea I had about the episode. It seemed like all of the characters were very comfortable with the technology, freely sharing memories with others and singling out the woman who removed her memory chip. In our current world, a viewer is likely to react to this episode by saying that we would never use technology like that, but people have fears about every new form of technology and society eventually embraces it, then becoming domesticated and something we cannot imagine our lives without, and this episode especially exemplified that.

Geek Heresy, Chapter 3

From Geek Heresy, I thought it was most interesting when the author discussed the link between technology and relationships. The author presents two options about this relationship. In option A, the belief is that technology helps us to connect to those we would already be inclined to connect with. Option B believes that technology helps us communicate with people we would have not otherwise communicated with. He presents it as if one is correct and the other incorrect, but I think both options are true. It depends what technology is being used and what the intention is. On things like forums, option A likely applies because people are gathering to discuss a shared interest, but on something like Tumblr, option B likely applies because the casual blogger does not exclusively follow certain types of blogs. Opportunities for connections are greater because of technology. However, it is important to keep in mind that those connections may not always be positive, which the author then explores, talking about how sometimes connections cause us to be even more divided in cases like politics. I also really liked how the author talked about the privilege that is connected to having technology, which he expresses through the example of “you” raising money via social media vs. a very very poor person doing the same – of course “you” would raise more money, having the ability to write persuasive e-mails, having a richer network, etc. This was a strong example that highlighted opportunity.

One of the themes that seems to be running throughout this book is the human role in technological development and implication, and this is expressed in this chapter by the author’s questioning of technology’s ability to solve our problems. One of the examples of this is the story of Perez-Luna’s company and how he was able to detect the human issues that were responsible for the company’s issues, which helped the company avoid a costly digital solution to their problem (45). The same thing happened in the schools in India that did not have any IT support for their broken technology. I think humans are quick to accept technology as a solution but fail to recognize their own role; technology can only do as much as its creator.

Geek Heresy, Intro and Chapter 1

This was more of a philosophical piece; it left me wondering what the world would be like if every student in the world had access to the Internet and opportunity. I specifically liked in the intro when “opportunity” was questioned – what does one really need to succeed? Is the opportunity to do something enough (like Google jobs being posted online) or is it more important to have the means to learn and become qualified for something? I agree with the latter opinion. For Westerns, our lives and our society make it easier for us to achieve or goals. We have support nets and ways to accomplish things, which is not the case for other countries.

One of the most important sections of this reading is when the author addresses the typical reception of new technology in education; usually, new technology is declared as the future of teaching, such as movies, radio, and television. The author notes that the same thing is happening today with computers, especially with MIT’s program in which they sell laptops to countries for student use. While I think this is an interesting comparison, I think computers/the internet are a unique technology compared to radio/film/etc. The internet is highly interactive, and digital learning is often very involved. While I do not think that everything should be taught digitally, I do think that digital learning can be highly effective. It gives specific attention to a student, so teachers can pinpoint what each student needs. Things like radio, TV, and movies can also be effective teachers, but I think it is best when everything is used to reinforce each other – sort of like “transmedia teaching.”