Not Quite the Same...

Is there a difference between an e-book and a good old-fashioned paper book?

Besides the obvious, I mean.

I admit, I am a fan of the paper book, but that is just my personal preference. That doesn't mean I think reading paper books is the right choice for everyone. Here are a few reasons I have thought of as to why people might prefer one over the other.

Perks of an e-book:

1. You can have all your books in one spot

2. It's cheaper per book

3. A Kindle is not as heavy to carry as a bunch of books

4. You can feel technologically advanced and progressive

5. Your bookmarks won't fall out

6. You can feel secure in the knowledge that you are saving trees

Perks of a paper book:

1. You can enjoy the old-fashioned format

2. You can put sticky notes inside and write in the margins

3. You can thumb through looking for a certain part

4. You can pay just for the book you want without having to buy a technological device

5. You can put it over your face when you want to sleep in a hammock

6. If it gets destroyed, you've only lost one book

You can probably think of more, but my point is that for adults, at least, it seems like digital vs. paper is mostly a matter of choice at this point. But what about for children? Children are known for often destroying paper books. In my house, we have a copy of "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" that I swear a fisherman went to town on or something, because half the fish are missing. Along with the covers. And a few words. Actually, a lot of words. And "The Princess Bride" is split in half right down the spine, and has another book shelved in between. And "Pippi Longstocking" is quite dogeared and naked. Poor Pippi. None of these things would happen to a Kindle. Maybe paper books aren't the best, after all.

On the other hand, if a child drops "Fox in Socks" in the bathtub, well, you've lost "Fox in Socks." But if a child drops a Kindle in the bathtub, you've not only lost "Fox in Socks," but you've lost all your books and your Kindle as well. Expensive bath. Since there are risks both ways, perhaps book format for children is also personal preference.

As you make your decision, Kindle vs. paper, feel free to choose what is most compatible with your needs and best fits your personal preference, but don't make your decision based on fear of change. Changing from one format to the other is nothing new.

We don't read scrolls anymore, and who knows... maybe someday no one will read books, either.

You Tweet, I Whistle

Since a horde of people have suddenly started posting about their blog "tweethises," it made me wonder if I had a central message to my blog. The verdict: I do!

When I started this class, I was surprised to find it was geared almost completely toward digital technology, philosophy, information systems, government control, and other things along that line. When I took the first half of World Civ, the focus had been on the music, art, religion, literature, famous people, and other aspects of the culture, and so I was excited to start the second half because that sort of thing is very interesting to me, especially the music. I admit it - I was very disappointed to realize as the weeks went on that no thrilling exploration of world history's culture would be forthcoming. At first I moped around, feeling stuck in a class where there was such an inundation of digital focus that, while I'll be the first to agree that it's important to be on the cutting edge of understanding technology, I was drowning in too much of a good thing, and starving for lack of anything else. Then, as we talked more about self-directed learning, I realized that it was OK if I was interested in the real-life culture and people of the time periods being covered while everyone else was eager to philosophize about digital worlds, because with self-directed learning, we could learn about whatever we wanted to. I decided that I would be the voice for the cultural side of history, and everyone else could be the voice for whatever they wanted to be, and if nobody was interested in music and dancing and books, well, that was OK, and if I found out there were others who were also interested in the culture of the time periods, that would be good too, and if in the meantime I became more interested in digital philosophizing, well, that would be great as well.

So, I love music and culture, and I'll be an advocate for it even if no one else is interested, because they can be interested in whatever they want, and that's OK.

So, that's my "tweethis." Except, I don't have Twitter yet. So for now, I guess it's my theme song.

Sorry, Prometheus

Once upon a time, there was a god named Prometheus. He wanted to share fire with the poor little cold people on earth, because they had none. Zeus said no. Prometheus said yes. Zeus said thunderbolt no. Prometheus took the fire to them anyway. Then they were warm.

But that's not the end of the story. Did I mention Prometheus was grounded by Zeus? Chained to the top of a mountain? Sentenced to have his immortal liver eaten out daily by an eagle? Well, that's what happened.

In "Blown to Bits," one of the books I'm reading for class, it talks about the Prometheus myth, and says "The Promethius myth is about technology. Technology, like fire, is neither good nor bad - its value depends on how we use it. And once we start using a technology, society itself changes. It is never the same again."

It doesn't mention what happened to poor Prometheus for his efforts.

We talk about the importance of "bridging the gap" of the digital divide, so the poor people in far-off countries can have internet and calculators and electronic toothbrushes too. But somehow it is never as easy as it seems. Governments complain, red tape gets in the way, and some people who have the power to help simply don't care.

On the other hand, some people worry that the poor may be happier the way they are. What happens when the people themselves don't like what they're getting? Go to this link to take a look at this modern Prometheus of sorts, who ended up being shot in the heart with an arrow for his efforts, and not by Cupid, either.

http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2012/02/ignoring-reclusive-tribe-no-contact-demand-results-in-bloodshed/

So, bridging the gap for those sunk in the digital divide is a touchy subject, both inside and out. It's not too easy on the trying-to-be-helpful Prometheuses, either, but hopefully good comes of the continued efforts.

Oh, and did I mention that Hercules came and found Prometheus? Or that he broke the chains and set him free? I didn't? Well, he did. And that's the end of the story.

Where's Hercules when you need him?

Don't Forget the Chopin Liszt!

In all our intellectual talk about current events, crowd sourcing and the digital divide, it seems like we sometimes forget that there were actually people living during the historical periods we are studying who had families, and religious beliefs, and favorite foods, and favorite books, and a keen enjoyment of music and dancing and art that had cultural significance to them. In other words, we sometimes forget that the time periods we are studying are not just spans of numbers on a timeline that were governed by governments and affected by technological and social changes - they are actual moments in people's lives, filled with their culture.

In my group's presentation on the 19th century this week, we did not really address the culture of that time period, so I would like to briefly touch on it. Of course I can't begin to cover 100 years of worldwide culture in a single blog post, but here is a representative sample of some of the culture of the 1800s:

Literature: One very influential author of the 19th century was Charles Dickens, an English novelist who wrote many novels that bore strong social commentary, such as "A Christmas Carol" and "Oliver Twist," which are still considered beloved classics today.

Art: One significant artist from the 19th century was Claude Monet, the founder of French impressionist painting, and the painter of such masterpieces as "Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies" and "Poppies Blooming."

Child Rearing: Some changes in child rearing philosophy occurred in the 19th century with the creation of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory and his conceptualization of the id, ego and superego.

Dance: A new English dance - the waltz - rose from peasantry to the finest dance halls in England, breaking social barriers as it tossed away the formality of holding partner at arm's length and paired partners together in a close embrace.

Religious Beliefs: A new religion came on the scene in the 19th century with the advent of what is commonly referred to as the Latter-day Saint Movement, originating in upstate New York, which has now spread to become the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and affected the lives of millions of people.

Food: A big breakthrough in 19th century food preparation came about when French confectioner and brewer Nicolas Appert discovered that food did not spoil when sealed tightly in jars, and came up with the process of canning, which is still widely used to distribute food today.

Music: Last but not least, 19th century found the musical Romantic period coming to full swing, with composers like Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin on the scene, creating beautiful music like Liszt's famous Hungarian Rhapsodies, and concert etudes such as "La Campanella" and "Un Sospiro," and Chopin's ballades, etudes, and waltzes like "Waltz in C Sharp Minor" and "The Minute Waltz."

So, as we study important philosophies, governments and technologies, don't forget that there were people who lived at the time who were happy to find ways to preserve food, and raise their children right, and dance scandalously close to each other to the tune a lively Chopin waltz. Without the richness of culture inside, the greater things would have been only a hollow shell.

PowerPoint Power - Taking That First Step

Well folks, this is it! I have finally reached a new digital threshold! Ready for it?

...I finally made my first PowerPoint!!!

In the past, when I had the option of making a PowerPoint or not making a PowerPoint, I always chose the "not" option. I would make posters, use video clips, bring visuals... anything, in short, to avoid the big PP.

Now that I've done it, I honestly have no idea why I avoided it for so long. It was fun!

I think that's what is funny about becoming digitally civilized - the hardest part is the first step. We don't want to let go of our traditions and make that move out of our comfort zone.

This is nothing new. When my great-grandpa first got an electric light bulb in his house, he didn't like the way it hung in his face. So, he got a knife and tried to cut it off.

Yeah, that didn't go over well.

Then again, my grandma used a computer in her 90's, and was still ordering things from Ebay, trying to learn how to use Grooveshark and checking her e-mail not long before she passed away.

So, I guess whether or not I choose to be inspired by my grandma and warned by my great-grandpa is up to me, but I think I want to follow the more adventurous road. I'll probably end up doing the same things either way, but if I dive right in instead of waiting around until the last minute, I'll save time and build confidence. It's like going off a diving board - if you just go for it, it will become easier and easier each time, but if you stop and think about it for too long, you'll get cold feet - literally - and probably wind up in a belly flop.

OK, Prezi. It's a date.

Classical With a Capital "C"

When people talk about "Classical music," they often use the term to broadly mean anything not modern. I admit, it's a little pet peeve of mine. But then, I sometimes do it myself. After all, it is rather hard to tell if someone is pronouncing something with an upper- or lower-case first letter.

The funny thing is, if you call pre-modern music classical music, you are using correct terminology. But Classical music... well, that's a different matter entirely! The capital "C" changes the word from a broad one to a specific term indicating music from the Classical period of Western music, which occurred between 1750 and 1830.

The 18th century opened with the introduction of the pianoforte by Bartolomeo Cristofori (immortalized in the musician's catchphrase "I've got a date with Cristofori," used by pianists who have to go practice). This new invention opened the way for the music of the Classical period. This period had many famous composers in it, such as Haydn, Mozart, Clementi, Schubert, Salieri, C.P.E. Bach, and Beethoven. It brought about great works such as "Die Zauberflöte," "Solfeggietto," "Der Erlkönig" and "Fur Elise," to name a few. Many of these people were pioneers in their work. Beethoven, with his increasing deafness, dramatic music, and brilliance mixed with borderline insanity, finally pioneered the Classical period out of existence as the strict and orderly music of the 18th century slipped away into the wild Romanticism of the 19th century, paving the way for greats such as Johannes Brahms, Frederic Chopin, and Franz Liszt.

Sure, the Classical period is gone and often forgotten as such, but the music lives on under the general head of "classical music." And, if that means the true Classical music, such as "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Sonata Pathetique" get lumped in with other greats such as "La Campanella," "The Little Dog Waltz," "Un Sospiro," "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini," and "Rhapsody in Blue" ... well, so much the better!

And, since I love audio-visual stuff and I'm a fool for Rachmaninoff... here's a representative sample of what I consider to be one of the greatest classical (with a lower-case "c") works of all time:

Standardization - Is a Ballerina Less Intelligent Than a Biochemical Engineer?

Remember those several hours of your life that you spent sitting in the ACT, crunching through English questions, speed-reading passages, and plowing through graphs and numbers in hopes of getting a competitive score so that you could go to a good college, maybe get a scholarship, and pretty much be a successful person in life? The little number that the ACT produced as its measure of your intelligence meant a lot at the time, and probably still haunts you in your endeavors, for good or bad. At first glance, the ACT score would seem to be a very handy social yardstick for measuring you against others. But is it really a measure of your intelligence as compared to the intelligence of others?

In 1983, Howard Gardner developed a theory of multiple intelligences, in which he proposed that there were eight different areas of a person's development, and a person could have various levels of intelligent potential in each area.

1. Spatial - the ability to do well at things like puzzles

Here's a shockingly brief example of someone who displays a high level of spatial intelligence. I'm impressed - I can never even finish the last side!

2. Linguistic - good at reading, writing, telling stories and memorizing words and dates

This man shows a high level of linguistic ability. 3.1415926... yep, that's as far as I can go. And I can remember my own phone number, on lucky days.

3. Logical-mathematical - the ability to excel with logic, abstractions, reasoning and numbers

These men display highly advanced logical-mathematical intelligence. I won a game of chess... once.

4. Bodily-kinesthetic - the capacity to control one's bodily motions and handle objects skilfully

These performers demonstrate great ability in the bodily-kinesthetic area. And, on a side note, this is probably my favorite of the videos in this post. It is AMAZING!! Yeah, I could never keep up a hula hoop...

5. Musical - displaying sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones and music

This girl is INCREDIBLE! At the age of 6, she is already highly talented in the musical intelligence area!

6. Interpersonal - good at interacting with others

By posting this, I'm not saying I endorse Mitt Romney or agree with him on everything. I'm just pointing out that as a leader as good as anyone getting as far as he has would have to be, he shows a great development of interpersonal intelligence.

7. Intrapersonal - displaying introspective and self-reflective capacities

According to his wife's description, Elder Cook possesses great intrapersonal capabilities. They are such a cute couple! I want to be that way someday!

8. Naturalistic - the ability to be nurturing and relate information to natural surroundings

The gardener of these topiary shrubs is very talented in naturalistic intelligence! Plus, this video has gorgeous music, so it was a must...

If you think about it, the ACT, while a wide-spread and generally accepted tool for measuring people against each other, is geared entirely toward those gifted with linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. As far as the ACT goes, you may be killer at checkers, basketball, saxophone, flirting, comforting others, or growing roses from twigs, but if you can't solve an equation or read with speed, you're toast. While I'm not sure what to suggest in place of standardized tests, because they certainly have their uses, it seems clear to me that with standardization that reflects certain values and not others, some people, who have intelligence in other areas, will be missed.