"Why the Computer Disturbs" and "Interface"
SPECIAL NOTE!
This final discussion is extra credit (optional), and you are not required to respond to other Posts. Discussion Posts must be on the Message Board NO LATER than midnight on the due date. (Late answers will receive 0 points. so get them in early).
These works lead us to speculate about our past/present/future.
The two articles on technology deal with, frankly, tricky ideas. When I first read the excerpt from David Sudnow's book Pilgrim in the Microworld, my response was, "This guy is crazy! How can he value a video game (even one that was the state-of-the-art when he wrote the book) more than one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? And how can he suggest that even the best that the Atari 2600 had to offer was comparable to a Beethoven symphony or a profound scientific expression?" So even I had to take a step back, shake off my own initial feelings/opinions, and re-read his work to see just what he did mean. And he does make a profound point that he manages to back up with lots of concrete examples. It just took some careful re-reading and an open mind to let his ideas sink in.
Turkle's essay starts with an example of an infinite loop, progresses to an example of an infinite regression, moves on to an examination of machines (electronics in this case) that seem to have taken over, all the way to a consideration of "what is life?" What makes her article so neat (in all senses of the word) is that she gets at these ideas with some anecdotes about kids and their marvelously imaginative thinking.
Both essays take a trivial subject (a video game and a common kid's toy) uses them as examples to explore some deeper ideas/issues.
Discuss one of the following:
In his essay "Interface," David Sudnow suggests that the Atari game Missile Command is more significant than the ancient pyramids. What does he mean by this, and how does he support it? Your answer must use supporting evidence (quoted and documented) from the essay.
Hints
You will want to consider his statement that the pyramids are "just labor" (Sudnow 6).
You will also want to consider how he compares Missile Command to a Rembrandt painting, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, oriental calligraphy, and the expression of Einstein's theory of relativity.
The children in the essay "Why the Computer Disturbs" are disturbed by the computer because they can't kill it; their toys are supposed to be in their control, but Speak and Spell won't shut off in the "say it" mode. Adults find computers frustrating as well, often because we feel we lack control over them. Discuss ways in which computers frustrate us, even threaten us, in our daily lives. You need not limit this discussion to computers; you can discuss ANY technology that is both threatening and frustrating.
Remember that your answer needs to be an actual incident you observed or experienced, not just a notion or opinion.
In "Why the Computer Disturbs" one child says spiders are not alive " because you can kill them" (Turkle 5). This seems completely illogical until you suspect that Ralph really confused to often-exchanged words: can and may. In other words, he is permitted to kill spiders, so he doesn't really value them the way he values a human life. Movies such as Blade Runner, Terminator, A.I. and I, Robot challenge our notions of what's alive and what's merely manufactured, of what must be preserved and what can be junked.
Explore this concept in any of the movies listed or in any other movie or television show you've seen that relates to this topic. Be sure to cite specific scenes from the movie/show for support and illustration.
Do not use generalizations or remembered examples; actually watch television and take notes, or rent some DVD's and take notes as you watch
Your job is to explain, with actual examples (quote and document) from the story and the real world, what the story means, what Vonnegut's position is and why. To earn maximum points you will want to do some research (at least one source showing the example you are discussing). I recommend you put a link to your source in your posting