Week 4 Blog Reviews

Lauren P:::

Freda Kahlo

I like how before you began analyzing the painting, you took the time to explain everything just as it’s seen. By pointing everything out, it made me realize there were details I had over looked. I think you did a good job interpreting the painting too. The whole idea of a wedding was a good interpretation and you had some really good observations that tied in nicely. One example was the décor and colors of the background and how that translated into wealth. I enjoy your use of descriptive words like “royal” as well. Good job.

Will Machines Have Consciousness Like Humans?

Bad summaries are really hard to read… I think they either had too much information, or skip important details… But I really enjoyed reading your summary because it made sense and you kept it a minimal length without indulging in unnecessary details. While reading it, I felt like I knew exactly what was going on and it even reminded me of a few of the details I had forgotten about after ready the textbook myself.




Lauren A:::

Freda Kahlo

I completely agree with your interpretation of Self Portrait on the Border between Mexico and the United States. The plugs from machinery vs. the rooted flowers could only say just that. I like how you explained why you chose this portrait and how you thought it related back to her “story” too. It’s a good reminder for those of us who now know her story, and good background information for those who don’t.

"The Lights are on, but is anybody home?"

As I mentioned in Lauren P.’s review, I think that summaries are fairly often hard to read because they aren’t don’t well… but like her, I think you did a good job writing yours too. You followed the storyline of the article well, and rewrote about the important information with just the right amount of necessary details. Oh, and great title! Loved it!



Kim Kida::: No posts

The Boken Column

Volves, Ed. "Freda Kahlo at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art." 16 June 2008. California Literacy Review. 17 Sept. 2009 http://calitreview.com/747

The Broken Column

There is so much take note of in Freda Kahlo’s, The Broken Column. Like most of her artwork, she is the subject. In this specific portrait however, she is the only subject up for discussion as all attention is on her. In this representation, she is a lone figure in a somewhat empty terrain. Her naked torso is split into two by a broken column and her body is sprinkled with nails.

Freda displays herself with a lot of honestly here. The broken column in her torso, which has replaced her spine, shows a deep rooted pain. This torso is also exteriorly bound by straps. Upon a closer look, you recognize that the column is not just broken, but has been carefully pieced back together. This detailing resembles all that she has endured throughout her life, all of the agony she has gone through. Like the broken column, Freda too has pieced her life back together. The bindings across her torso symbolize the support system needed in her yet fragile state.

The remainder of Freda’s body illustrate just as much as her upper body. The expression on her teary eyed face is almost nonexistent. The blank appearance illustrates her valor and exhaustion, while her impermissible tears expose the lingering pain of one whose plate is filled with sting and tenderness- of one who may not be able to take on much more. While the trunk of Freda’s body is mostly naked, perhaps exposing her vulnerability, wrapped around her waist is a blanket. On both the blanket and her exposed skin, she is scattered with piercing nails. The nails possibly resemble the many other pains she’s undergone, or stand as a reminder of what she’s been through. Either way, it’s another reference to pain she has encountered.

Another important aspect was the environment in which she chose to portray herself, alone in a barren terrain on a blue skied day. Releasing a slight sense of loneliness it seems her emotions falls along the lines of acceptance, and somewhere between the extremes of abandonment and independence.

The Broken Column depicts both the obvious pain she’s undergone and also a sense of achievement getting past it. As someone who has obviously endured a lot, she has managed to hold herself together and I think this is exactly what this piece is trying to say. Aside from what’s represented here, I think that Freda’s capability to expose herself by the mere creation of this piece says a lot about her ability to cope and move forward.

Wright

Can Machines Think? Maybe So, as Deep Blue’s Chess Prowess Suggests, is an article written by Robert Wright that discusses some of the many deliberations over the concerns of artificial intelligence in their relation to human intelligence. More specifically with detail on consciousness, the article discusses the theories of philosophers David Chalmers and Daniel Dennet.

Wrights first demonstration of the concerns growing between artificial and human intelligence are displayed by Garry Kasparov, a chess champion, whom seemed to believe he’d be stripped of his dignity, had he not been able to beat the computer he was playing against. Kasparov’s reaction is what introduced the concern of how far progressed artificial intelligence is actually becoming. Wright points out that machines are beginning to do jobs that were at one time only held by people, and are doing so more powerfully than ever before. It is that computers are getting smarter, and philosophers are beginning to take the idea of consciousness more seriously (Wright 140). The Turing test, which addresses the question of a machine capability to think, is one of the ways Wright defies this idea (Wright 141).

Discussion of machine progression leads into concerns of the consciousness of the mind. Debating it are philosophers David Chalmers of University of California Santa Cruz and Daniel Dennet of Tufts University. While Dennett believes that the consciousness is the mind and the mind is the machine, Chalmers believes consciousness is a mystery that’s continually becoming more perplexed then we ever first thought (Wright 142). Wright unbiasedly discusses these both of these philosophers’ theories. He uses Cog, a robot who will eventually have a sensitive, synthetic “skin” as an example. Dennett, who knows that when a human touches something hot, the hand will recoil, also thinks that a robots ability to recoil the hand is the same thing. While he believes this is a good example for explaining consciousness do to the messages sent and received by the “brain” of the robot, Chalmers feels this is not entirely analyzed, such in the fact that the robot does know why it’s reacting the way it is (Wright 143).

The deliberation continues but always seems to come back to whether or not machines can think in one way or another. Chalmers even goes as far as thinking “AI research may… be generating new spheres of consciousness unsensed by the rest of us” insinuating that machines may eventually become sentient beings (Wright 146).

Week 3 Blog Reviews

Lauren Angulo :::

Blog 1; A thousand thoughts a day

You have a really good way with words when it comes to making statements that stand out. I thought your opening paragraph for one, was great. It was well structured and easy to read. I especially liked how the very first sentence insinuated that you were reviewing/referencing the article you had previously read but was nicely followed by key topics that you would be addressing. Later opening up to the many concepts of what a thought is, or could be made a strong point. Like your opening paragraph, I really loved your concluding statement too; "The ability to think and develop thoughts and ideas are one of the greatest elements that make us human." It’s a strong and well written statement. The only thing I would have suggested is that perhaps you could have tried to break that conclusion off of what could have been another great paragraph in the body, and then written your final conclusion around that because it was such a good statment by itself. Overall though, I enjoyed your writing.. I like the way you write.

Blog 2; Is my computer smarter than me?

We share the same thoughts that a machine couldn't be smarter than a human, but I like that before exploring your personal opinions you addressed Minsky first. I like the honesty in this paper too. Yes, I agree... a computer smarter then its creator is frightening. It's apparent that the article definitely had some influence on you too, which is good. I feel like your citations were really appropriate and complimented the personal feelings you'd already established quite nicely. One of these was the references you made were about a machine being incapable of cleaning. Again I liked what you had to say in your final paragraph. You found another great way to say something concluding, yet simple and direct; "...consciousness goes way beyond Minky's definition of awareness."

Lauren Petrovich :::

Blog 1; Any ideas?

I like that you took the time to define the key words in your writing (but I’m not sure that’s the correct way to cite your reference or not...?). You brought up a lot of good concepts, especially that thoughts and ideas are from an individual which I took to mean as thoughts and ideas, and their creation varies amongst us. I like that the examples you used where something anyone can relate to as well.

Blog 2

You did a good job discussing Minsky’s ideas. You made sure to point out his justifications along with the opposing arguments he’s facing. Because you both reflected upon Minsky and his thoughts, and put in your own ideas and opinions, I thought your concluding paragraph was well rounded. I think that we both seem to agree that more is not necessarily better in the sense that a machine, which at times can do more the humans can, isn’t necessarily better when all aspect are looked upon.

Kim Kida:::

Unable to review.

Genius Machine

Will machines surpass the human brain?

Computers have the capabilities to do a large number of things, but surpassing the human brain is up for debate. Although many disagree, Marvin Minksy certainly thinks that computers can do just that, advance beyond human brain capabilities. In fact he even thinks they could potentially be more conscious then humans (Davidson 116). He argues that computers, which can already do a wide array of things, can do far more then the brain can because they are programmed to do so. They can hold much more information than the human brain can (Davidson 120), and can also be programmed to revert back to internal records (Davidson 120) which is something that we humans cannot.

I remember my first experiences with a computer from when I was about five or six years old. There was a big, bulky monitor and a screen that displayed in a shaded green color. It didn’t take CD’s or have USB ports, but it accepted 5” floppy disks with ease. But now, not even two decades later, you can find laptops that are smaller than a piece of paper and slimmer then our textbook. It’s no doubt that technology has rapidly advanced, and will continue to progress in the future. Look where we stand now. At minimum technology makes things easy. It does things faster then we can and usually with more accuracy. It can indeed store more information than the human brain and can recall it without problems. But whether or not it reaches, or will reach a point beyond human capabilities is questionable.

I personally don’t think machines will ever be able advance over humans. How can you teach a machine to feel? No matter how highly developed they become, they can't have emotions like human beings. They won’t be able to act on instinct because there won't be any gut feeling. Small factors though these may seem, I feel they leave humans one step ahead, tipping the scale. We, as to say humans, are the ones creating these machines anyways, aren’t we?

Ideas and Thoughts

Much like the concepts of consciousness and how the mind works, the development and purpose of ideas and thoughts are quite puzzling. What are thoughts and ideas, and where do they come from?

Generally speaking, I think that ideas are in a way, a kind of thought that our minds create. They are for the most part existent only in our mind and absent in the outside or real world although they have the potential to become existent in this outer world as well. Ideas are something we create in our brain both consciously and subconsciously, and are something that isn’t necessarily true but is created from our desires, fears, and expectations with the assistance of our existing knowledge.

Although I think ideas are thoughts, I don’t necessarily believe that all thoughts are ideas. I view thoughts as something of a more natural, biological occurrence. Opposed to ideas, which I see as only a fragment of thought, thoughts have a more direct relationship to the brain and the biology behind it. Like ideas, they are both consciously and subconsciously created and again are influenced by many factors. These factors include our memories, desires, expectations, our existing knowledge, and our desire to continually learn and progress. Thoughts are the naturally handling our brains take to process and organize information, comprehension, and perceptions.

We have both thoughts and ideas for multiple reasons many of which are speculated and unknown. I believe as part of natural evolution, our intelligence is always trying to progress further, to help us process new and old information, and are assisted in doing so by the use of our thoughts and ideas. They help us to recognize and distinguish what we consciously and subconsciously are aware of, and also of those things we may not know we are mindful of.

Week 2 Blog Reviews

Lauren Angulo

Blog 1 ::: Online interaction vs. Face to face setting

Your writing on Online Interaction vs. Face to face setting was enjoyable to read. In the first paragraph when you discussed how personalities are perceived, you brought up many variables that are easy to pass by. You did a great job covering the topic too. I like that you addressed more then just one of the writing prompts to do this. Along with the supporting citations, I think doing it that way gave your writing more depth and a more thorough content.


Blog 2 ::: A world without His foundation?

I loved how you introduced your writing with that quote from the book. Not only does it tell us where your writing is headed, but it is good initial support for the statements and opinions further along in your writing. As you started getting into your personal beliefs and experiences, you used them as a great example, while keeping the general mood fair and unbiased. Overall I agree with you, a person's moral values depend on the individuals.

Lauren Petrovich

Blog 1 ::: Expressing Ourselves Through Writing

I love that you kept this writing fairly simple and to the point. You argued on a couple of points but argued them well and supported them with great quotes for the text which made the writing easy and enjoyable to read. All of the optimism you lend towards online classes, specifically this writing course, added a great touch of personality too. I found it was a great way to conclude the writing.


Blog 2 ::: Who is God? And can we be good without Him?

When we were given the writing prompt "Can you be good without God", I found difficulty in the beginning of my writing because the definition of both God and good are so open-ended. I like that you the attempt to tackle the various definitions of the terms, most specifically God, before addressing the main question of whether or not we can be good without Him. Your overall writing has great structure, flow, and voice. It had a strong opinion that I felt I could foresee before the concluding paragraph and though my opinions on the topic did not agree with you, I feel you did a great job keeping the paper from getting preachy in any way.



Kim Kida; Unable to review.

Godliness, Goodness

Does goodness equal Godliness? Can we be good without God? The topic of religion, more specifically God, has remained such a taboo topic amongst people. But as controversial as it is, it’s a fair topic worth discussing.

Religion all around brings a lot to the table. Aside from the belief in God, or some sort of higher power, most religions encourage a behavior that the average person could and would not look down upon. With a foundation of beliefs stemming from God, believers are taught from a young age what is right and what is wrong. Proactive in choosing the right and doing good, the morals they teach are for the most part logical and ethical. Their ideas of living life are more than reasonable.

It may seem that these factors, religion, God, and goodness run hand in hand but goodness can also stand alone. In most religion, God is the basis of people's actions and the encourager of behaviors, but is it quite the stretch to say that every good deed one does is because of Him. A good example of this comes from sociologist Alfie Kohn who studied the relationship of religion and behavior. His research showed that nonreligious people were equally as willing to help neighbors. Another study resulted in atheists as being the leading group of students who resist cheating on tests. (Beedles, 63).

So can we be good without God? Yes. Religion instills values, social rules, and supports and encourages morals that influence everyday society (Beedles, 65), but these positive factors would probably all still exist, even if religion did not.

Impressions

They say you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Whether it's face to face in a personal environment like a traditional classroom, or transmitted through satellite and electronic signals onto a computer for an online class, they always make an impact regardless of the communication means. So does the type of environment we’re in lend an advantage in how a first impression is made, regardless of the circumstances by which they’re created?

Traditional classes offer lots of opportunity to leave multiple first impressions. Students get to physically meet and interact with new people everyday, and they are continuously put in the position to do so both in and outside of the classroom. Though classrooms don’t always offer a great deal of flexibility, or the best circumstances for students to leave these impressions behind, they generally produce a fair and honest idea of who we are. Yet, as students are continually interacting with new people, these impressions can become somewhat subjective to the observer, who is likely to be someone difference each time class is attended. On another hand, additional optimal opportunities arise by simply walking across campus. Social groups, teams, and recruiters roam the campus ground presenting themselves to students. They offer plenty of chance for students to get involved when and where they feel comfortable enough to imprint and expose themselves honestly and confidently.

First impressions through online classes are more manageable then traditional classes. They are controllable, tweak-able, and let’s face it, they have the potential to give a false or misguided representation of who we actually are. Unlike in the traditional classroom, the chances of meeting or actually developing some kind of personal relationship with the other students are more unlikely then not. Because of this, there is a higher chance for these impressions to be inconclusive and inaccurate. Online impressions are larger so to say, and can provide a deeper imprint and more detailed overview of who we are. However, they may not always be authentic. The computer screen acts as an excellent barrier between what students are, and what they want to be perceived as, honest or not.

Both traditional classrooms and online courses both have their advantages and disadvantages on how a first impression is made. What it really comes down to is the student.