Smart? Mobs

The topic of discussion in class today was Smart Mobs, and I have entitled this post Smart? Mobs very intentionally. This term Smart is so widely used in the technology saturated world we live in. I have a Smart phone, my laptop seems really Smart, my calculator is nothing short of a genius, I can talk to my car so it must be Smart, and my tooth brush tells me how long to bush my teeth... That's Smart! This Smart world we live in today has injected every aspect of our lives with something Smart.

I think there are many people in generations older than mine that are probably fed up with how Smart everything is. I also think there are people younger than me, that by the time they are my age, may be brain dead because their Smart world has thought for them their entire life. Please do not misunderstand me though, I LOVE technology. I would be lost without my iPhone, Macbook, GPS, and even my Sonicare toothbrush, but where will it stop? I am not saying I want it to stop, but how Smart can this world get before it has to shutdown and reboot?

I am reminded of all the IBM commercials about "building a smarter planet." I would love to help build a Smarter planet, and I think my long term carrer will contribute to that end. I like to think that one day I will, in some way, make this Smart planet just a little bit Smarter.

In case you have not seen one of those IBM commercials here is one I like...

Group Projects Gone Wrong

In Tech Writing Class we are just getting ready to embark on a semester long group project. Those words "group project"can almost automatically raise my blood pressure. As we discussed on Tuesday there is SO much that can go wrong when it comes to group projects. Scheduling, conflicting personalities, lack of talent, and disagreements are just a few potential stumbling blocks for group projects. I personally am somewhat of the controller / leader type when it comes to working in groups, but personally I would rather just do it myself and that way I am happy with what gets turned in and have no reservations about it. I know that sounds extremely close minded, and it is, but when I hang my degree on my wall at the end of next year my name will be the only name written on it. In the spirit of adding a little media to my blog I went on a search for some group projects gone wrong. This is what I found, be sure to watch it all the way to the end, enjoy!

Cold Hard Facts

I think in this day and age cold hard facts are few and far between. I think many people are under the impression that a lot of things are set in stone when in reality they are loosely proven hypotheses. I brought up the evolution versus creation debate in class today and I think this is an example worth expounding upon. There two main sides to this debate, one being that we evolved from primitive mammals originating from the big bang beginning of the earth. The other side is that of creation, acknowledging that God created the earth in seven days as outlined in The Bible.

I think many people on either side of this debate will tell you they adamantly believe their position to be true, to be fact. I think people on both sides could present some very convincing arguments as to the validity of their theory. I think both could produce substantial evidence in support of their cause. I think it is a debate that will not come to an end before the world itself comes to an end.

I do not however believe evolution is proven. I personally take the other side, that creation of the world by God is how we all ended up here doing this thing called life. I know many would say ok prove it! I would love to do that, trust me, I would. All I can do to this end would be show someone the passages in the Bible that depict the creation of the world, and then hope to convince them of the origins of the Bible and its absolute truth. That is where myself, and anyone else, has to decide whether they believe that or not. I believe in that, and I think evolutionists believe in evolution, and to each his own. That is where I make my point in this blog post. No matter how tight the supporting evidence, no matter how perfect the rhetorical presentation of the subject at hand, no matter how long the argument has been accepted as true, one must choose to believe that it is indeed a fact. One has to believe it in their own mind, accept it as true, and be willing to defend it as fact. So, I think that in every "cold hard fact" there is an element of belief.

Warning

Instructions these days have almost as many warnings as they do instructions and diagrams. I noticed just how ridiculous some of the warnings are while reading an instruction manual in class earlier this week. A Black and Decker air compressor instruction manual had a warning in it that told the user not to attempt to inhale the compressed air or put the tube in their mouth. I almost began laughing out loud. I mean seriously who is going to put an air compressor hose in their mouth and turn it on? 

I thought for a minute and realized exactly who would do such a thing. There are people all over the world looking to get rich through a lawsuit of some outrageous accusation. In addition to these people there are numerous "tv lawyers" that specialize in helping people like this win cases. This has become such an epidemic that millions of dollars must be spent by companies to create warning manuals that make their products lawsuit proof. I understand where some may push back and ask is the product really safe? I am sure there is an incident where some air compressor failed and someone was hurt. A company should most definitely be held responsible for this. I do not, however, believe a company should in any way be held liable for gross negligence of a consumer trying to make a million dollars by inhaling compressed air.

I believe the courts in which these cases are heard should have zero tolerance for criminals such as these. It is a classic example of people making a living by exploiting the government, but that is another topic for another post. In the meantime don't inhale air from an air compressor, but I trust that probably goes without saying.

Ethically Speaking

The past few days of discussion on Rhetoric have been thought provoking. I think the biggest thing that has stood out to me is Aristotle’s strong position on the ethical implications of Rhetoric. Ethics is a controversial subject in today’s world for sure. I think every field or career has a wide range of ethical implications.

            I am a mechanical engineering major and although it is a highly technical field ethics still holds an important place in the work of engineers. I think as Rhetoric can be seen in so many conversational scenarios so can ethics.

            Personally I try to live of life of integrity and that means behaving ethically even when no one may know. I hope that as I created Rhetorical pieces of writing in class that I may never sacrifice my integrity for the sake of making a point. I believe that no matter how great a reward is at stake it will never be worth behaving unethically and sacrificing my integrity.