Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Journal 3

What is your favorite machine? Do you feel glimpses of utopia when you are engaged with it? Can you see that perfect world somewhere on the horizon as you use it? Are there any dystopic implications to that machine?

Our world has become very technological and there is not a day in any of our lives that we do not use some sort of machine. It is scary to actually think about because if all these machines quit working the world would probably come to an end. If I had to pick a machine I could not live without, it would have to be the computer with the Internet. If I am not around a computer for a few days I am lost. I feel out of the loop and I am always behind on my homework.

I do see glimpses of utopias while I am using it. Not only can you find real utopias to travel on vacation to but you are also only a click away to the answer to almost any question you have. The Internet has made the world a much smaller place and that thought is very utopic to me. I like the thought of getting online and seeing pictures from all over the world. Within a week you can get your hands on a product from all the way around the world and with a dozen clicks you can be on your way to the same destination.

I actually see many more forms of dystopia with our reliability of the computer and Internet in today’s world. It has become a daily commodity to millions of people and if it is down then people are completely lost. Jobs cannot be done, homework cannot be turned in, and many cannot find the nearest restaurant. With all the good things that the Internet can find at the click of a button there are also ten times more bad things. With the worlds reliability of the Internet the users are becoming younger and younger. With one wrong click, not only do you get the answer to your problem but you also get ten pop-ups advertising things not al users should be seeing.

I also love when I can get away from a computer (or any kind of technology) for an extended amount of time. Yes I said I liked how small that the internet has made the world but it is also scary that though you can get as far away from someone as possible (teachers or a boss) you are still just an email away and your responsibilities are still expected to be turned in.

3 comments:

  1. I agree with you Jeff computers have become a part of almost everyone’s lives; however, I do not feel the same love for the machine as you do. I do not necessarily think our world would come to an end without computers we would just be back in the “old days”. :) I think the computer has brought us a lot of information which is good, but like you said it also brings a lot of forms of dystopia as well. When I think of the negatives of computers I think of all the pornography, gambling, harassment (via email, IM-ing, face book), etc. sometimes I feel like all of the bad outweighs the good. I personally could take a computer or leave it, but I do not see our society moving away from the constant connection or “a click away” from anything in the world. I think it allows us to feel connected to something or people.

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  2. Okay everybody that was me~~~Jamie

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  3. Jeef I agree that computer is a very utopic machine. It is hard for many people, let alone business to fuction propperly each day without having a break down. I still think this is a form of cyberspace though and if we aren't careful we can find ourselves living through this machine. Other than that I think this is a great invention, and it can be used to get alot more task done accurately opposed to the human method.

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