Friday, October 8, 2010

Wesch, Pedestrian, Harrison Bergeron Period 5

170 comments:

  1. Class- what do you think are the connections between Bradbury, Vonnegut and the Wesch videos since Smith had us read and watch these? There must be a higher purpose and a deeper meaning here...

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  2. Smith-
    There is a higher meaning.. That technology is taking us over, and making Humans, as a species, more dependant on it, and that one day, it may dissappear, and we won't know what to do.

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  4. Ross- where are your specific examples to prove that theory?

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  5. Class- I think that the connections in these Medias is that it is impossible to reach a perfect society.

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  6. Smith - The most apparent connection to me was the aspect of control. There are so many people who may feel like "just another face in the crowd." For example: the Harrison Bergeron story was all about a society where everyone was equal and it was frowned upon to be unique. This train of thought doesn't appeal to me because it is important for everyone to have their own talents that define them.

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  7. Smith-
    All of these show a group or a person trying to challenge a system. They are all thinking of things differently then the average mindset.

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  8. Smith: I think that one of the connections between the videos and the essays is that technolgy can corrupt the world. People get so wrapped up in advancing in technology that we don't focus on the present. And this is one of the main points that all of the essays and videos were trying to get across.

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  9. Class- In Harrison Bergeron, were the bag of weights on the citizens because there was no gravity, because the emperor and empress floated into the air when they jumped, or was that figurative?

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  11. Kimberly - I agree with your opinion that it is impossible to reach a perfect society. Although being equal is important, it is also just as important for everyone to have individuality.

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  12. Abby-I agree I think that control is the main point of this and even relates back to Macbeth and Lord of The Flies. All of these show the impact of a society on individual people

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  13. I agree with Ross there is more to strive for than technology and the small goals of improving our miniature world. I think Smith wants us to realize that everything that exists now could be replaced completely in our lifetime.

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  14. Smith - These can be interpreted in different ways with a deeper meaning. It shows us that machines have a high level of thinking. They can adapt and develope in ways we never imagined. Also, each piece/movie shows that it takes a lot to CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM.

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  15. Smith- I also agree with Anna, there is a corrupt system which all of these characters are trying to challenge. I feel it also shows the helplessness that people feel when they are up against something greater than themselves.

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  16. Logan - Thanks! I also see the connection you're making to LOF and Macbeth. Everything in society defines who the people in that society are going to be and how they will act.

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  17. I agree that these stories and videos are trying to show how far technology could go, but we cannot say that technology will ruin scoiety. Some technology is good and some can bring down our society.

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  18. Ross-
    I do agree that technology plays a larger role in these two stories we read. But I believe that human nature and the innate desire to dominate and have total control play one of the largest roles in these stories, not just technology.

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  19. Johnathan-
    I think the bags of weight were made used to make everyone equal. The stronger people had more weight to try and balance out their abilities. Also the skinnier people have big weights to make them more of an average weight.

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  20. Class- We all know the obvious connection between the readings. Each one took place in the future and society has taken a bad turn. The induviduals, at least, stay modest and accept the change and don't fight it. Why do they choose to hide in the shadows when they have the ability to improve the way others live around them?

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  21. Smith- I think that the the there are connections between the stories and the videos in the form of technology, and its negative effects on the future. The reason for this is that in the Pedestrian and the Wesch videos, the police is robotic and can hold a conversation, while that technology was predicted by Wesch when he said that each web search improves the "Machine".Technology was shown negatively in Harrison Bergeron by the handicaps.

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  22. Ian: I think that your comment about how everything will be replaced in our lifetime is very interesting. Could you be more specific? Do mean along the lines of jobs or bigger then that?

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  23. I agree with Abby with the idea that although it is important for people to be equal,individuality is by far more important. There is no point in having a society where all people are exactly the same.

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  24. Class- What does everyone think of the concept of dance that the inner circle is currently discussing?

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  25. Smith- I think that the videos/ stories all involve the future. It also seems that all the stories are about what the future will be about.

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  26. Logan - How do these relate to Macbeth and Lord of the flies? I don't understand....Challenging the system? What do you mean by impact on individual people?

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  27. Smith-
    Well, in the two movies, for example. Sorry, I don't remember the different names of them. But the one with the students holding up the signs. All of the signs were about how technology is hindering their schoolwork. (I read 6 books a year.. But 1200 FB profiles, for example.)
    In the other movie, Web 2.0, It's all about how the machine is learning from us, giving us the idea it will become more powerful.
    The Pedestrian uses this idea, because it's in the future, and technology has given us the idea that we all need to be the same, and if you want to take a afternoon walk, you get put in a mental hospital. These are just a few examples.

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  28. Class- When the picture of Harrison Bergeron was shown on the TV screen, it was shown right side up, upside down, and the picture was rotated on each of it's sides, why?

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  29. Class - I agree with what Torri and Anna are mentioning with "challenging the system." I feel that sometimes you can go too far and end up corrupting the system instead of changing it in a more positive way.

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  30. Class- Even though these stories are fiction, do you believe that our society could be heading in this direction?

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  31. Vivian- I definatly agree with the fact that all of them are examples of challenging the system.It seems like in order to think for yourselves (especially in Harrison Bergeron), you have to challenge the system, but that is very difficult in all of these situations.

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  32. I agree with John, we cant categorize all technology as bad because without it the world as we know it would crumble. But I also think that people have to have a fallback in case technology fails. Because those who don't will just follow everyone else.

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  33. Mariah - I think the picture was changing from upside down and right side up to confuse the people so that they wouldn't remember what they see.

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  34. Abby-
    I feel that the system will more likely corrupt you, not that you will corrupt it.

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  35. Smith-I think Bradbury, Vonnegut, and Wesch all thought that we, meaning civilization, have to change the way we think and act in order to change the future for the better. The Pedestrian and Harrison Bergeron were stories of how technology would limit and eventually overtake us. Both stories took two goals of our society over the edge. In Harrison Bergeron, everyone was exactly equal, and equality is a goal in our society today. However, the government in HB took equality too far and made it a detrement., In The Pedestrian, there was no crime in the unnamed city and it was virtually a utopia, but no one did anything except for watch TV in their house. The one person who did do something got arrested for it.

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  36. Jonathan- i think they were able to float because they needed weights to be equal so they could move equally in weights but if it taken off they are lighter.

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  37. Class: Steven is talking about equality and how in the essay everyone was equal. Do you think that the world would be like how it was in the Harrison Bergeron story?

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  38. Abby- I see what you mean and I agree that challenging the system can end terribly, but without it we would not know how to change the system at all.

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  39. John-
    Yes, everything about technology, and how it's evolving, is pointing us in that direction.

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  40. Abby-
    I agree with what you are saying completely! But also, why does the system get to decide? Why is there a system controlling what people can and can't do? Though I know completely destroying it will cause mass chaos, why was the system really started? What gives these people the right to make the world of pit of mindless zombies?

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  41. Carl- The individuals accept the change because others have tried and failed or the society has become so equal it is trapped in believing equal is better.

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  42. Avery-They all do involve the future but at the same time take a sour outlook on it. What if these videos/stories are to warn us about what humankind might come to in a time period that is not that far away?

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  43. I also agree with Ross technology also seems to ply a major role in all the materials we viewed.In the videos a lot of the students had signs about how they would look at many websites and few papers.

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  44. Ross - That's a good point. Because the people in both Harrison Bergeron and the Pedestrian seem corrupted by the system, the system being the government.

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  45. John
    It is not unreal that our society will start to head in this direction but I think that before it gets as severe as it is in Harris Bergeron or the Pedestrian someone will realise what is happening and stand up for the public.

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  46. smith: In both the videos and the reading, people were being overrun by there own creations or technology. The technology was turning them into robots, and making them scared of uniqueness and individuality. Instead of trying to build up the "lesser" people which was hard, they took the easy way out and brought everyone else down.

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  48. Class- the ballerinas show how sad our society is. As a whole we cannot accept the differences in people. Our nation cannot praise people if they are better than them. We are always striving to be better than someone else.

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  49. Abby- If they were showing the picture of Harrison to warn the public about him, why would try and confuse the people watching; that's contradictive.

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  50. John: I agree with you in saying that we need to challenge the system to understand what we can become, but I do feel like we need to focus on the present and not always be worrying about what is to come.

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  51. Vivian- It takes individuals to challenge the system which is shown by individuals acting against something that is controlling them. In Lord of The Flies individuals challenged the system by going against Ralph's regime and in Macbeth it was done by killing the king to gain his power. Without a concept of society there would be nothing for a single person to challenge. Does that make sense?

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  52. Class + Jonathan - Of course challenging the system it is difficult. What does it take in each of these situations to challenge the system? How can the people holding the signs in the movie challenge the system?

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  53. Ross- I don't agree with what you said, because you said that we won't know what to do when technology disappears, but I believe that those videos were more of a warning to us to be prepared for that time
    Class- I believe that we were supposed to watch/read all of these things so that we could understand how technology affects us, and what could happen if we let it go too far, or don't control it. Also, what happens if we have an excess of it, or lack of it, like Lord of the Flies, so that we need a nice balance in the middle. We should be able to do things on our own, while improving some things, and not being completely dependent to them.

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  54. Carl-
    You are exactly right! However, it will not stop. We will not try to stop it, until it's too late. It's just human nature.

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  55. Ian- I dont think so because in Harrison Bergeron they cant think because of the handicaps and those without handicaps are not as inteligent.

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  56. Carl- it definitely seems that way because the videos had all the kids definitely had a dependency on the machines.

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  57. John-
    I think that these stories are based on one of the many possibilities thought of by the authors of these stories. But my view of these stories is more of a representation of an idea, rather then actual future possibilities. I see the authors trying to make a point or point out a certain flaw in human nature.

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  58. Class- I do understand what Stephen is saying, but I also think that the total equality would completely ruin society. All or the people who are higher up in society had to do something to earn that position and it would not be right to make them give up their good qualities.

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  59. Ian-The two stories showed the result of rebellion, Harris got shot and the Pedestrian character was arrested for no reason. Maybe it got so far it is now out of their control.

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  60. Anna - I agree with you completely and am also extremely confused as to why the people would let this happen to them in the first place. Could it be that maybe the people simply gave up? It was such a dominant association that the people allowed it to take complete control? These stories don't seem to give much credit to the human race and their ability to think for themselves.

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  61. Elise- I completely agree with your comment about bringing everyone down to the lower level instead of trying to build the weaker ones to the point of the stronger people. Why would they not try to overall improve society instead of just draging other people to the lowest standard?

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  62. John- I agree with you and your point about thinking for yourselves. When you challenge the system, you have to think differently than the system and therefore think individually.

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  63. John, I don't think this will happen to our society, but I think something else along the lines of these things could happen. Machinery could and possibly will control us in the future if we keep making them smarter and more human like(Robots). It reminds me of a book we read in sixth grade that I forgot the name of. But it was set in the future and it was about machines called tripods ruling humans. And when they came of a certain age the tripods did something to human brains to make them docile and not think for themselves. This book seems very similar to the works we reviewed.

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  64. Greg-
    Right now, people see those videos, and think, "Oh, fun. That'll never happen, we're smarter than that." And leave it at that. We will really appreciate those videos when it is too late.

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  65. Avery
    This relates to the question Smith asked us about whether censorship should happen or not. So I think that if nothing was censored then technology would become a better source and the public would know what is really happening then a total collapse of society would be less likely.

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  66. Class- Why was crime ebbing in the pedestrian?

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  67. Whitney- I do think the world would be like how it is in the Harrison Bergeron story in a certain way. I believe the world would not allow to be controlled and there will always be though who are unhappy with their society and willing to try and fix it.

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  68. Class- I disagree with everything that we read in all of these articles. The fiction will never happen. The Weschs over-generalize, and blame the wrong people for these problems. Not all of the things are even problems! For the Vonnegut: Yeah. Sure. Everyone is as dumb as the dumbest person and everyone is as weak as the weakest person. Not even humans are that stupid! Seriously! People accept each others dissimilarities later on in life; the people who are in charge are in that stage, and it is obvious that the major cultures are more accepting now than ever before! It is different to bring everyone up than down. And the Bradbury: Yeah, right. I'm sure that dogs can survive in deserted desert cities. I'm sure that only 1 person would be left and that the technology would be left running. Technology will always depend on us. Most likely. Robots cannot operate yet at all, really, to serve a purpose. Without humans, nothing would be left running. Humans will always be necessary for creation and creation to continue.

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  69. John - I agree with you, seeing as everyone has different talents. No one can take those away, and it's our choice to stand up for our individuality. Doesn't make you wonder as to how the people eventually gave in to the government taking over?

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  70. Torri- Its much harder to bring people up than it is to break them down, at least on a mass scale.

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  71. Jonathan-
    That won't happen for hundreds, or maybe thousands of years. It might happen, but I doubt we'll let it go that far. I know I'm contradicting myself. We will let it go to far -- but not to the point of them harvesting us or anthing.

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  72. Class- are you all familiar with the terms dystopia or utopia? How about satire? Become familiar with these words by Monday.

    Ross- good specific examples.

    Outer Circle- why haven't you used your legs yet?

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  73. James
    But what if people didn't submit fully to the government in the first place? None of that would have happened, people need to dig in and stand their ground against a higher power.

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  74. Nicholas- you say that fiction will never happen, how can you be so sure of the future?

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  75. Class- I completely agree with Lauren with which you had to see both sides to be able to feel everything that was going on. Do you think these stories did a good job of this?

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  76. John: I agree with you 100 percent! If everyone was equal the world would be so boring if we didn't have differences. Also I think that you make an excellent point when you say that people have to earn there positions/status's in life. Do you think that the world could ever get to the point where we are all the same?

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  77. Ross - Did these movies change your perspective on the future? Do you think that we are smarter than those kids and the next generation will improve?(like you commented to Greg)

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  78. Class- If Harris was so smart as the story portrayed him to be, why couldn't he find a better way to correct his society without putting himself and others at risk?

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  79. Mariah- I think it was because certain laws had been in place, and people might not have had as much reason to commit crimes.

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  80. Logan and Torri-
    I think that as a society we should try to accept everyone for who they are and not try to bring them down. But, I believe this will not happen in our life time.

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  81. Nick S- In the future you have to think differently because 20 years from now is not the same as today.

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  82. NickS- becareful about using exclamation points in your response. We are having a discussion not a debate remember. Help everyone try to see your point. By the way, I disagree- we are becoming all of these societies, afterall, machines can grow babies, we don't need humans

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  83. Smith
    What do you mean by using our legs?

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  84. Abby-
    I'm not exactly sure how people could let it happen but then again, look at our society today. We let the government force rules, regulations, dresscodes and other things upon us just because it is what we have been taught is 'right'. Slowly as more and more of our freedoms are taken away by these rules and such, we could turn into a Harrison Bergeron society. Technology also plays a big role in this.

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  85. Smith- I am familiar with both terms, and have written a satire, Logan and I were both involved in a class about Utopias in 6th grade.

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  86. Nicholas-
    I disagree with you. Look at cars, 30 years ago they were very primative compared to now. Now, cars, use computers for everything that they do. Imagine what another 30 years could bring us.

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  87. Carol-
    I felt like Harrison wanted a quick fix to his life not a long term fix.

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  88. Ian- i kind of disagree with you. i mean how many times a week do you check your email, facebook/myspace, and cell phone? how often do you play video games or watch tv? it almost seems that technology is slowly taking over.

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  89. Mariah - I believe crime was ebbing in the story "The Pedestrian" because the people were immobile. As the pedestrian was walking, the way he described everyone was like robots. They spend their day doing work and go home and recharge themselves by watching TV.

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  90. Nicholas
    Well said, the humans will ultimately control the computers, if humans fail computers will fail but if computers fail humanity will not.

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  91. Class: In all of these stories the author doesn't explain how these societies got to the point they are at. What conditions could cause an educated society to make such poor choices on how to run their lives?

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  92. Mariah- crime wad ebbing in the pedestrian because everyone was so focused on staying at home and watching in their big TVs so there is no greed and jealousy. Everyone has the same TV and same channels.

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  93. Vivian-
    No, I don't think we'll get smarter. We will try to, when we realize that we've gone too far to correct ourselves.

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  94. Nick- I completely dissagree! When we watched the video by Mr. Fisch at the beggining of the year it showed how quickly information fades from importance. The statement of the pieces shouldn't be lost. This is satire so everything is brought to the Nth-degree for ease of understanding.

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  95. Nick- I agree with your interpretation about how everyone is as dumb as the dumbest person, and everyone is as weak as the weakest person. People are just weak and dumb in different ways. But as for robots ruling us, it is perfectly possible. We are the ones making tachnology smarter and smarter than us. But what happens when technology is so smart it can control itself just like us? What will it do, it could have the power to take us over. But you are right, it is just fiction...for now...

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  96. Avery
    When will technology have technically taken over? when we are all robots? how far is fully taken over?

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  97. Class- REMINDER: proofread your response. This means use capital letters, proper punctuation, etc... Formal writing still applies.

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  98. Anna - That's very true. And I can connect what we're discussing now with what we've been studying in history. Is everything they say and tell us always right? How does the government know what's best for us? And with your comment on technology, do you think that sometimes it plays too big a role than we really need?

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  99. Nick- Ross is right. Technology is growing at a rate that cannot be controlled. Humans will always find more ways to modernize their world and it is apparent in the Pedestrian

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  100. Smith - Machines can't grow babies. I would be terrified to think that machines will evolve or adapt enough to make choices or "grow babies"

    Class - Do you think machines or technology will be able to "grow babies"? What are ways that this can happen?

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  101. Torri- Humans aren't stupid enough to bring everyone down, especially not in Senate, who passed 213-215. We are more likely to ruin ourselves by bringing ourselves up, like in genetic engineering, accidently destroying ourselves through a disease. As for the Bradbury, why would any technology be left in an abandoned city? We would need to loot it at that point in time. And if it's humanity that's doomed, why would a single person be left in existance? If it's a diesease, wouldn' there be more dead bodies. Anything else wouldn't just ignore him.

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  102. I agree that technology plays a big part in people's lives but I do not see how it is possible that it will come over so much that it will completely change our lives.

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  103. Ian- Are you sure? with out technology and that kind of new age stuff then humanity will fail because we cant adapt too a world that changed from new age to 18th centlury. We would most likely turn savage like in LOF.

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  104. Ian and Avery,
    Fully taken over could mean when we surrender our freedom (not Constitutional freedom) to technology. This has happened for some people, like those on the computer 12 hours a day. However, I don't think this will ever happen to all of humantiy.

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  105. Allise- I think that many of the causes that would make a society change are in the roots of technology. One idea could become viral and travel around the world in record speed, converting everyone that it touches into believing one particular view of something. This is with the use of the internet and cell phones.

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  106. Vivian-
    No, not 'grow'.
    They will 'build'.

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  107. Class and Smith - With the polls we took earlier, doesn't this seem to have a connection with the questions of if our history books are accurate and if information should be censored? Think about it, how do we know what is accurate in history books if we only get the story from our standpoint? Could we connect censored information to what happened to the people in Harrison Bergerson's society?

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  108. James
    Would we? Or would some natural leaders arise like Ralph in LOF?

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  109. Can someone please define being taken over?

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  110. Class- when you have some time, read this:

    http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/14/will-boredom-and-the-costs-of-constant-connection.html

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  111. Ross and vivian-
    Computers will allow us to "design" our children

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  112. Vivian-Machines can't grow babies, unless they have humans. Ultimatly they could clone humans, but if there are no humans, thay could not grow babies. They could make robot babies, which could be more inteligent and stronger than humans, but they would not be humans.

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  113. Ian- In wall-e the humans had been completely reliant on robots and technology that they all became big balls of lard and didn't even notice that the person they were talking to over the computer was right next to them. America is on a slow waddle towards this every technological advance brings us closer to falling over the edge of complete dependency on robots and technology.

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  114. Stephen- Taking over is being overwhelmed by something.

    Ian- You might be right.

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  115. Stephen- We become so dependent on technology that we end up becoming slaves to it, having to spend more and more of our time on the computer/other electronics to run our daily lives.

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  116. Abby-
    I know it sounds just like history class! You are getting my point exactly. How do we know if everything that is decided for us and such is right, how will we ever know? I do feel that technology plays almost too much of a role sometimes. Why are we able to so easily talk to people through the internet but it kills us to approach them in person? I feel as though these questions will never be answered and slowly as a whole, the human race is giving up on trying to answer these questions and just going with the flow of what is decided.

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  117. Emily - That statement is so true yet so scary to think about.

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  118. Ross
    So everyone will be a robot? Will they take over humans or will humans remain the top species like it has been for more years than we can even document?

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  119. Abby- how much did you learn growing up about the real story behind Abraham Lincoln? About George Washington? Did you learn about any women?

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  120. All Doubters- How could technology exceed us and continue to exist? They cannot know emotion, care, or even need. If one begins to erode, will any of the others care? If all of them begin to erode, will any of them care? Would they care? I highly doubt it

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  121. Emily-
    It will take thousands of years. You'd have to take out the sperm, and the egg, genetically modify them to have the traits we want, without killing them, and then insert them back, to allow them to fertilize.

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  122. Ian- good connection back to LOF!

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  123. Anna - I agree! And I think that what we're talking about now could have played a large role in what happened in the short stories we're reading and discussing about.

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  124. Avery
    But in Wall-e they realised what was happening after there was a spark lit under them. Then they took action because their eyes were opened.

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  125. Vivian+Ross- Right now machines build other machines in factories and right now incubator machines nurture and "grow" babies. If machines become smart enough, they could alter the things they make and change them for the better of machines.

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  126. Nicholas-
    Think outside of the box. In a few hundred years, it won't be impossible to build chips that we insert in them for emotions, and such.

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  127. Class- What I think is interesting is that in Harrison Bergeron the society was supposed to be equal but then there was a Handicapper General who was more powerful then everyone else. They make others equal and if someone does not obey the law the Handicapper General takes them out. That does not seem equal to me.

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  128. Ross - That makes sense. Thank you. I agree with your point. The human race might not change but we will change machines. They might change us. We might lean on machines for education and answers too much.

    Class - Could machines change us as we are changing them? Has this already happened?

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  129. Ian- Humans are slowly becoming robots because military soldiers with disabilities are being equipped with robot legs and nanos that could cure diseases are being invented. (By the way nanos go in the blood stream.)

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  130. JACK!!!!-
    They won't just leave it at that -- They will continue to grow and grow more powerful.

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  131. I completely agree with Megan and I don't think that the technology advancements brought up in Harrison Bergeron will actually come about.

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  132. Ian- but that only happened because technology's flow was interrupted by Wall-e if he hadn't knocked that guy out of his Techno-chair people would have kept on getting fat and fat and living in his false computer reality.

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  133. Kimberly,
    This is a common human order. Leaders tell people to do things, but they themselves are only seeking to gain more power. Their goal is to get people to overlook that and only look at themselves.

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  134. Kimberly- I agree with you, I belive that it's impossible to have everything completely equal and in balance.
    Class- Does anyone think that everything can be in complete balance at one point of another?

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  135. Ross- I agree that technology will grow stronger but the best thing about humans are our ability to think differently and not "in the box".

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  136. Nick and Class: I agree that technology is not able to feel emotion or think. Technology has to be programmed to perform tasks. It cannot make decisions or "think".

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  137. Ian- I agree with you on WALL-E that humans, when provoked, were smart enough to realize the error of their ways. They let the machines handle everything ( food, sleep, etc.). The problem is that we rely on them now (calculators, computers, microwaves, etc.).

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  138. Kimberly- It doesn't matter to the citizens because they're either too dumb, or have a sound going off every 20 seconds so they can't think about it for too long. It's not fair, but I think that they mean everybody being equal as the majority of the United States. The Handicapper General is only a minority.

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  139. Allise-
    if technology can perform tasks than they can perform the action a human would make when showing an emotion

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  140. Vivian- Very good question. I think machines already have changed us. What are we doing right now? Blogging. Machines have changed how we communicate. When was the last time you hand wrote a letter, and it wasn't as school work?
    Class- Machines have changed us. So far is it for the better or the worse?

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  141. Vivian- There are plans in the works for being able to choose your childs hair and eye color in vitro. As well as gene therapies and cures for diseases caused by genetics. Surgery started as something to improve how your body operates but then it turned to cosmetics. I think that that is the next step for genetics and the process for improving a person through surgery are all through machines

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  142. Jack- I agree with the points you make on our reliance of technology now. Think about 100 years from now, how dependant will we be then?

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  143. Avery, they didn't become balls of lard because robots control them, it was a natural result of the fact of bone-loss in space.

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  144. Class-
    How many of you agree with the things the students showed on their signs, in the movie?
    How many of you actually do some of those?

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  145. allisel- I agree with you that they can't think NOW. In the future, though, they probably will in order to perform tasks for humans. In 1999, I think, a computer beat the world's best chess player at chess. That took thinking.

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  146. John and Ian: It's ironic that you say the people in Wall-e are right next to each other and using computers to talk, because that's what we are doing right now.....

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  147. Abby-
    I know. I feel like the world would really benefit from a full time research team look into these kinds of things. People whos jobs it would be to make sure that slowly we aren't being taken advantage of by the government or any other power. People who could give the world the truth. Though I know this is what the news are supposed to do, even though they are even controlled and censored by the government... where is the truth? The raw un-edited, un-cut, flat-out truth?

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  148. James -
    I agree with you. I believe that even though machines can be created for a variety of purposes, humans will always have an innate ability to judge, read, and influence others in a way that machines can not, and most likely will not be able to do.

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  149. Johnny
    Some machines are good, and some are bad. For example, I have some friends in Ohio. Without cell phones and the internet, I would never talk to them, or see them again. However, destructive weapons, like bombs and poison gas, are not good, and only degrade from society.

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  150. Class- Maybe emotions are seen as a fault in human nature and the fact that technology has none will help it progress faster?

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  151. Jack and Ian-
    WALL-E was a movie made to attract elementary school children, and it's not all true.

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  152. Smith - I read the article that you gave the html for. I think that it is possible that certain animals can experience boredom. I am not an expert on nuerons, but some animals have a close number of chromosomes to us. They might have the same emotional cells as us. Machines could build enough to discover this and possibly even change this.

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  153. Class-
    In the Pedestrian there is no one walking on the streets except for Leonard Mead. Imagine walking in Colorado and not seeing at least someone else outside.

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  154. Vivian- Our society is already changing with new technology. Schools and classes rooms are weaving in computers and cell phones in to class ( what we are doing in class today is a great example). Businesses are using new technologies to sell their product. The question is where is the line between changing with new technologies and growing to have machines as our equal.

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  155. Allise- I laughed when I read your last comment! very true.

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  156. Ross- I generally agree with what they said, like buying a bunch of new text books but never opening them and then of course reading more facebook profiles than reading books, so on and so forth.
    I can honestly say that I haven't done a lot of what they wrote though.

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  157. I agree with everyone in the middle how they are saying that it doesn't matter how big of an accomplishment you do to challenge the system, it just matters that you even do something.

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  158. Ross- I can connect with the 7 1/2 hr. average of sleep, the TV hrs., what in class is actually useful, and the amount of assigned novels read.

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  159. Kimberly-
    There is no line, and there will never be one. We are too obsessed with getting the 'Next new thing.'

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  160. Emily: Even though machines could make an action, it would not be the same as humans because they would not be influenced by emotion, therefore they would take different action.

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  161. NickS- I know that but even if your ins space if you work out and exercise then you can stay normal the people in Wall-e all relied on their computers and such.

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  162. Allise-
    Very true! We are already taking the steps toward being a totally computer inclined world.

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  163. Ross- Just because WALL-E appeals to little kids dosen't mean it is simple. It has strong symbolism and is a very deep movie.

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  164. I'm seeing both the advance of technology and uprisings against it both as challenging the system. Odd.

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