Michio Kaku stated that we are a "0" civilization. He compared where we are at in computer technology to the evolution of the universe. He said that going from Stage 0 to Stage 1 is the most dangerous time period of the evolution process. It is during this time that the risk of failure is the most likely. Some reasons are; lack of tolerance, exhaustion of resources, cultural and political objections and terrorist threats.
I feel that the chances of success are in our favor. It is in the nature of man to want to find a better way of doing things. There will always be the battle of good over evil but in this case the evil wants a better and faster way to meet their goals too. It is through ignorance or over-use of resources that all civilization will fail.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Virtual Classes
I found the virtual classes to be very time consuming. I did learn things of interest to me that I did not know and probably would not have explored unless they had been a required part of the class. I missed the give and take of having an instructor in front of me. It was more time consuming to have to look up supplemental information on the course material. I like the convenience of having a classroom instructor immediately available for clarification.
My main complaint is that I would, at times, lose my Internet connection during my timed tests. It was also difficult to do the on line activities because of the same reason. At one time my Internet provider was out of service for a continuous two week period. So much for convenience. I do not know if all classes allow a second chance to go back on line to retake the test or not. Fortunately this particular class did.
It was not my favorite way to take a class. I would compare it to the way I have self taught myself in my arts and crafts activities. One of the advantages of taking a formal class is the spontaneity of subject enrichment obtained from a real-time instructor. For me it was not a more bang for the buck experience.
My main complaint is that I would, at times, lose my Internet connection during my timed tests. It was also difficult to do the on line activities because of the same reason. At one time my Internet provider was out of service for a continuous two week period. So much for convenience. I do not know if all classes allow a second chance to go back on line to retake the test or not. Fortunately this particular class did.
It was not my favorite way to take a class. I would compare it to the way I have self taught myself in my arts and crafts activities. One of the advantages of taking a formal class is the spontaneity of subject enrichment obtained from a real-time instructor. For me it was not a more bang for the buck experience.
Nano Medicine
I suggest that you check out some web sites on nano medicine. Simply stated it is breaking medical treatment down to the molecular level. Gene therapy is a form of nano medicine. On a larger scale cancers are being treated with laser technology and surgeons use small microscopic cameras to aid them in surgical procedures. Research is being done now to to go even smaller using nano robots to get into areas of the body that can not safely be accessed now.
The thought of being able to do brain surgery by injecting a nano robot into the blood stream seems like a miracle. It is truly an amazing time that we are living in.
The thought of being able to do brain surgery by injecting a nano robot into the blood stream seems like a miracle. It is truly an amazing time that we are living in.
The manipulation of Nanobots.
The question is, the use of Nanobots to improve our bodies and how you would use this ability.
Foremost this is pushing the capabilities of science. I believe that making changes on that small of a level runs the risk of major malfunctions. We have all experienced allergic reactions to a medicine we have not taken before. Why would we believe we could not have the same reaction to a nanobot on the lose within our body. You talk about mind control. Would you want to give anyone or anything such control over yourself? What would happen to your soul or your spirit? Even God gives us free will. If Nanobots can be safely used to cure disease with our body I would want to have a clear explanation as to how it works. It would be great if all disease could be cured in such a fashion. I feel it is still a long way off before Science Fiction become Science Fact.
Foremost this is pushing the capabilities of science. I believe that making changes on that small of a level runs the risk of major malfunctions. We have all experienced allergic reactions to a medicine we have not taken before. Why would we believe we could not have the same reaction to a nanobot on the lose within our body. You talk about mind control. Would you want to give anyone or anything such control over yourself? What would happen to your soul or your spirit? Even God gives us free will. If Nanobots can be safely used to cure disease with our body I would want to have a clear explanation as to how it works. It would be great if all disease could be cured in such a fashion. I feel it is still a long way off before Science Fiction become Science Fact.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Exposed to the World
Is it good or bad to have your personal information available to everyone via the internet? This like so many things can be, using an old cliche, a two edged sword. My greatest fear is picking up a virual infection that renders my computer useless. I love to play computer games and wonder how safe are they to play. I play FarmVille on face book and get neighbor requests from people I don't know and wonder how safe they are to accept. It is a shame that we have to be so carefull with what we put on our posts and question the wisdom of doing something as simple as a casual play game. I have virus programs and firewalls installed and run the safety checks once or twice a week and hope they are effective.
Identity theft is a threat, but if you use common sense you are relatively save. I feel that in a digital world there is no 100% guarantee. Any thing can happen. I try to restrict how my personal information can be viewed by others and use encrypted sites to do my on line bill paying. My policy is to never put in writing anything that I would not want everyone to know. I try to keep my private live private.
The Internet has proven itself to be a great tool for business. Your customers and clients are not limited to those available in your geographical location. The whole world is now your potential customer. Follow the good financial rules of business and the pros out way the cons.
The Internet is here to stay. I feel it is the responsibility of the user to become educated and use it to enhance their life. It is a good way to communicate timely with those around you.
Identity theft is a threat, but if you use common sense you are relatively save. I feel that in a digital world there is no 100% guarantee. Any thing can happen. I try to restrict how my personal information can be viewed by others and use encrypted sites to do my on line bill paying. My policy is to never put in writing anything that I would not want everyone to know. I try to keep my private live private.
The Internet has proven itself to be a great tool for business. Your customers and clients are not limited to those available in your geographical location. The whole world is now your potential customer. Follow the good financial rules of business and the pros out way the cons.
The Internet is here to stay. I feel it is the responsibility of the user to become educated and use it to enhance their life. It is a good way to communicate timely with those around you.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Are you a digital native?
After watching several video's about being a digital native, it helped me understand why I find working with the computer, operating all the peripherals for the television and using my cell phone can be so frustrating. I am not a digital native. I am an digital immigrant. Not just any ordinary immigrant but an older immigrant. According to one of the videos I watched, a
digital immigrant has trouble learning how to use and function in our new digital world. Presumably, it is harder for our brain to learn a new language when we become older and that learning new digital technology is similar to that. Having not grown up with digital technology that puts me in the category of being a digital immigrant. It is my personal believe that it is just not the fact that the technology is foreign to me but that the technology has glitches in it. For example; my high definition TV was not working but my old analog TV connected via cable directly to the TV, not through a box, worked. My first thought was, there is something wrong with the TV. I grab the TV manual and I go through all the problem solving suggestions and the TV still does not work. To make the story short, there was nothing wrong with the TV. It was a problem with the cable provider. Yes, it may be hard to learn to be a digital native. The problem is not just learning the digital skills and how to apply it coherently, but the fact software glitches and hardware compatibility confuses the understanding. It is similar to how accents and dialects of speech confuses the understanding of a new language.
As far as responding to how digital savvy students should be taught, I would need more information on how the educators feel it should be addressed. Maybe it will evolve by itself as the digital native replaces the digital immigrant. The only other choice would be to educate the digital immigrant first.
digital immigrant has trouble learning how to use and function in our new digital world. Presumably, it is harder for our brain to learn a new language when we become older and that learning new digital technology is similar to that. Having not grown up with digital technology that puts me in the category of being a digital immigrant. It is my personal believe that it is just not the fact that the technology is foreign to me but that the technology has glitches in it. For example; my high definition TV was not working but my old analog TV connected via cable directly to the TV, not through a box, worked. My first thought was, there is something wrong with the TV. I grab the TV manual and I go through all the problem solving suggestions and the TV still does not work. To make the story short, there was nothing wrong with the TV. It was a problem with the cable provider. Yes, it may be hard to learn to be a digital native. The problem is not just learning the digital skills and how to apply it coherently, but the fact software glitches and hardware compatibility confuses the understanding. It is similar to how accents and dialects of speech confuses the understanding of a new language.
As far as responding to how digital savvy students should be taught, I would need more information on how the educators feel it should be addressed. Maybe it will evolve by itself as the digital native replaces the digital immigrant. The only other choice would be to educate the digital immigrant first.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
computer literacy as it relates to the craft artist.
The artist craft person will need to use a word processing program, spread sheets, various data bases, desk top publishing and computer assisted drawing programs. Every part of your business is impacted by computer technology from computers you use to conduct daily business maintenance to the raw supplies you use to produce your product. The precious metal a jeweler uses to fabricate an item will be removed from the ground using equipment that has embedded computers controlling how it operates. Many tools used in the fabrication also has embedded computers.
I have mixed emotions about how computer technology has impacted what is available to me for all the different crafts I love to make. For example, my sewing machine interacts with my lap top assisting me to program complicated stitching programs. It is great, but I am still struggling to figure out how to make it all work together.
I have a digital camera to produce great photos of my hand crafted items, but I am struggling trying to figure out how to use photo shop for marketing purposes.
I have mixed emotions about how computer technology has impacted what is available to me for all the different crafts I love to make. For example, my sewing machine interacts with my lap top assisting me to program complicated stitching programs. It is great, but I am still struggling to figure out how to make it all work together.
I have a digital camera to produce great photos of my hand crafted items, but I am struggling trying to figure out how to use photo shop for marketing purposes.
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