Blog Assignment #8 Final Course Reflection

          Overall, my thinking towards science and the humanities has changed drastically. I found that both coincide well depending on the type of person you are. They both touch on different aspects of life and because of that some people might lean towards one or the other a little more. As far as science and technology I still have a deep passion for them because I do see them differently. I admire learning the fact that there are scientists who created many pathways for future scientist but also broke barriers in their time. For example, learning about the first black Chemist, Percy Julian, was major to me because he actually created the cure to arthritis and survived through a racially discriminative period in time. The technology and theories that I have stumbled upon in my LIB200 class has left me in awe because there are many innovations I never thought existed or even had the imaginative capacity to think about. I believe that I am more optimistic about science and technology now because I have been exposed to more than what I knew outside of class. I like technology more now because learning about robots and artificial intelligence is new to me but it also makes me wonder how many other forms of technology is out there. I have always found science to be very interesting but I really found Albert Einstein more engaging this time around. The book Einstein's Dreams written by Alan Lightmsn was a really good read because looking through Einsteins thoughts made me wonder about the different ways in which life functions. Although, it was much more interesting to read how it would be if it functioned through his thoughts. This is my course reflection of my LIB200 class this semester.  

Critical Thinking Blog- Assignment #7 Critical Thinking About a Scientist’s Life and Work

Robert Oppenheimer was a scientist successful at creating the atomic bomb through the amazing discovering of Albert Einsteins equation E=mc^2. Based on Oppenheimer figuring out how to create the atomic bomb, the result in present time is the creation nuclear weapons of all sorts and multitude. The life story of Oppenheimer tells us that to be a scientist it takes endurance, patience and determination. He had been through a lot of social issues and had been treated like an outcast all his life. Although all these things just made him smarter because instead of trying to hang out with people his age he spent his time studying endlessly. Through his experience and struggle in life I find that it takes a lot of hard work, time and dedication to become successful. Oppenheimer’s achievements have definitely been recognized in history because he made it possible for the attack in a war to become much more effective and exceed any other form of weapon that could be seen as a major threat. I think the work of this man gave us a combination of having a sense of wonder and the feeling of being threatened. There’s nothing nice about a bomb that could incinerate an entire city, but it does make you wonder if that was possible then it is much more scarier to think about what other things could be invented from this terrible invention. He broke the barrier for other scientists like himself to make anything possible with enough time and determination.   

Critical Thinking Blog- Assignmnt #6 Sharing and Reflecting on Two Research Sources

The topic of my research paper is the ecstasy and agony of technology. What I specifically built my paper upon is the promise of Apple products versus the realities of factory labor used to create them. The title of my first source is “The Wizard Of Awe (Cover Story)” by Jason Kirby. The name of the journal it came from is called Canadian Business which is located under the database of Academic Search Complete. This source gives information about Steve Jobs, owner of the Apple Company and how he uses his ability to wow people in the launch of his products. Also it provides information and evidence on his attitude towards making sells and how successful he’s been in the process of launching new products. The spin that’s put on this paper is that information is giving about how successful Apple is in its endeavors but at the same time it offers the opinions of others and what they think of Apple. This information helped guide me towards arguing that with all the success that Jobs has stumbled upon he is wrong for not knowing the conditions and struggles endured to make his products.

In my second source called, “A World Without Apple?” by Sacha Segan and this is out of PC Magazine. This source can be found in the Academic Search Complete database as well. The just of this source is basically giving information about how South Korea has no affiliation with the Apple Company. They live without having any Apple products over there and the article just gives example of how it is not hard to live without certain things because things are not much better than what they seem to be. This article helped me make the argument that affect of Apple on people is that they become subject to the illusions created by Apple; turning people into mindless zombies that rely on Apple for everything.      

Critical Thinking Blog- Assignment #5 The Promise and Peril of Robots in Film, TV and Real Life: Friends or Foes?

Robots have often been seen in a negative or positive light throughout TV, film and real life. They have expanded the horizon of realistic attributes and functionality that make these robots look and act exactly like humans. Two films that I viewed were The Terminator and A.I. which are contrasting films that portay robots in a negative and a positive form.

            In the movie The Terminator, this artificial being has gone on the hunt for a girl named Sarah O’conner and goes to any measure to have her killed and terminated. In the  process of trying to find this girl he kills girls with the name Sarah in search of the right one. This killer machine has all the characteristics of a regular human being as far as looks and communication. Although, this is a negative portrayal of robots and it is a very terrible vision to have of robots there is still a presence of extreme intelligence coming from this artificial being.

            Coming from a positive and more acceptable vision of robots, the film A.I. gives us a more affectionate and programmed to love robot named David. David is a young boy who wants to fit in, make friends and be just like everyone else. He is kind in every way and makes it easy to accept him being artificial. Also David even has the potential to live as an extension of a family becoming more and more real. He ultimately wants to find a place to fit in and exist within life. This is a very positive depiction of robots within a film.

            In comparison and conclusion, both films give us an example of intelligent robots living and walking among human beings. The Terminator is like a monster out of a horrible dream. On the other hand, you have David who completely alters that negative envision of robots being also human like and programmed to love. I think as far as David people would be more acceptable of robots but not if they had to deal with the Terminator. Although with robots becoming more humanized most people have given up their fear of robots and have learned to accept them.

Critical Thinking Blog- Assignment #4 Midterm Practice

            There are several novels that depict robots and artificial intelligence as being as smart as the next person. In the non-fiction text “The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology” by Ray Kurzweil and “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” a graphic novel by Philip K. Dick they do make a good claim as far as the intelligence of robots and artificial forms being very undetectable, which is why I believe that androids will one day surpass humans in intelligence. I do not agree that they will be able to obtain emotion as well as surpass human beings in intelligence because it isn’t possible.

            In Philip. K. Dick’s graphic novel, there is an android named Rachel Eldon who is very intelligent and is able to very easily fool people of her being an android. In the novel she is suspected of being an android and then is put to the test. There was a test they finally created that could finally expose all androids of their anonymity. This test examined androids ability to answer questions that struck different emotions; causing a meter to fluctuate determining if there is any emotional response at all and how strong this response is. When Rachel Eldon took the test she came extremely close to passing it and it was only because one question that she was not able to give a reasonable and on time answer that would ultimately expose her of being an artificial being. It is safe to say that because Rachel Eldon only failed the test by one question that androids have the potential to surpass human beings with intelligence. If the matter of determining if they will or will not surpass humans is determined by one question, there is not much of a gap between levels the artificial beings can reach.  

Welcome!

Hey how's it going! My name is Randy, Welcome to my blog! I am Liberal Arts major looking to pursue a career in the technological world possibly through the venue of the medical field. At the moment I have nine more credits to complete within my intent to graduate this summer. After I obtain my Associates Degree here at LaGuardia Communtiy College I will be transferring to a four year university where I will further continue my studies. I really look forward to sharing different parts of my life with you all and I hope you find interest in reading about me. Thanks for checking me out!