Digital Classical Music Composition?

This article really leads me to question what's happening with the world. True music is created from the vibrations of strings, wind, metal, etc. This digital version of an instrument, to me, can't possibly be the same. 

 

By MICHAEL HSU

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THE COMPOSER Franz Liszt, who lived for years with his mother in a modest Paris apartment, might have welcomed a digital piano. The best models simulate the sound and feel of an acoustic instrument, yet take up less space. They also don't require tuning, are impervious to the swings in humidity that wreak havoc on standard pianos, and can be played silently with the use of headphones.
"For students, a good digital piano is better than a mediocre upright," said Andrea McAlister, associate professor of piano pedagogy at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where, as at most schools, students learn basic keyboarding skills on digital instruments.

Concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein shows you what to look for in a digital piano by putting a handful of models to the test.

Ms. McAlister recommends that beginners opt for a full-size 88-key model that has a "weighted action," which simulates the feel of actual piano hammers. She also stresses the importance of a stand that keeps the instrument at the proper height, since good posture is essential to proper technique.
To find a worthy digital model, we enlisted the help of classical pianist and Sony 6758.TO +5.70% recording artist Simone Dinnerstein, whose latest album, "Night," was released earlier this month.
"I always scoffed at digital pianos, mainly because the ones I had tried in the past had a very unrefined sense of touch," Ms. Dinnerstein said. "There wasn't a connection between how I would press down on the key and the sound that would come out—there was no subtlety."
She suspected, however, that technology had since advanced. And the prospect of being able to play with headphones appealed to her. "I don't want people to hear me struggling when I practice!" she said.
According to many of the musicians and teachers we spoke with, Yamaha makes the most innovative digital pianos, so we asked Ms. Dinnerstein to meet at a dealer, Faust Harrison Pianos, on New York's "Piano Row," on West 58th Street.
Ms. Dinnerstein started by playing a few passages from the Goldberg Variations on models in Yamaha's CLP and CVP line, which start at about $2,400. On one model, the resistance of the keys gave her pause. "It feels like I'm having to push through something to get to the sound," she said. She switched to a Chopin Nocturne. "I can't play it gently, so maybe it's not teaching somebody to be as subtle as they could be." She also found the sound to be electronic and fake.
Ms. Dinnerstein was pleased, however, with the Yamaha CLP-480 (about $5,600, yamaha.com ). "The way it sustains is much more similar to a piano," she said. "It has a lot of variety of touch and sound. I like this one." Her only complaint: The keys were too stiff. "But you could say the same about an acoustic piano; some are a bit brutal in how they make you play," she said.

“'I could probably be fooled that this was a real piano,' said Simone Dinnerstein.”

Yamaha's AvantGrand line is one of the more advanced (and expensive) on the market. The two top instruments in the range simulate the feel of string resonance by sending subtle vibrations to the keys as you play. And the sound reproduction is purportedly state of the art.
Ms. Dinnerstein started on the AvantGrand N2 (about $12,000), an upright piano with the action and sound of a grand. "I think this is kind of amazing actually. I could probably be fooled that this was a real piano," said Ms. Dinnerstein. "There's something a little bit freaky about it—but I love it. I would definitely consider having one of these." (She noted, though, that while the sound was "really close" to an acoustic piano, the timbre was markedly more electronic when she played with headphones.)
The higher priced model wasn't necessarily better. The larger AvantGrand N3 (about $16,000) sounded and felt less realistic to Ms. Dinnerstein than the N2.
At Allegro Pianos, a dealer next door, she played a Kawai CA95 ($5,745 list, dealer pricing varies, kawaius.com ). According to the manufacturer, the instrument has a spruce-wood soundboard that "faithfully reproduces the tonal ambience of an acoustic piano." But Ms. Dinnerstein was not convinced. "It's a certain kind of sound that is a bit brittle and a bit nasal," she said. She was also unimpressed with the feel of the instrument.

Can a digital piano teach me to play?

Some digital pianos have a high-tech teaching feature: keys that light up to indicate which ones you should press next when playing a song that's preloaded on the instrument. But is this approach useful for beginners?
"Yes, but most people quickly outgrow it," said Rachel Kramer, a piano instructor and director of member development at the Music Teachers National Association. Light-up keys only help with one aspect of reading piano music, she said: learning the notes on the keyboard. Students tend to pick that up quickly. "It's deciphering the sheet music that blows most people's minds," she said.
Yoheved Kaplinsky, chairwoman of the piano department at the Juilliard School, said that she wouldn't use the feature when teaching, but "anything that makes practicing the piano more attractive is legitimate." Ultimately, though, the lights are a crutch. "People have been learning to play piano for several hundreds of years without them."

Neither the Roland RG-F1 ($7,999, rolandus.com ) nor the RG-3F ($10,999) passed muster. "While the sound is nice," she said, "it's kind of thin and a little two dimensional." The Yamaha AvantGrand N2 was more realistic to her ear, she said.
Ms. Dinnerstein also tested the Casio Privia PX-350 ($799, casiomusicgear.com ), a portable keyboard at the lower end of the price range. Casio makes an optional stand and foot pedal ($150 for the bundle) that convert this 25-pound keyboard into an upright.
"The sound is quite synthetic, which is to be expected," she said, but the piano would be good for novices. "The keys have a nice weight to them—similar to playing on a real piano. Beginners would benefit from this. The resistance in the keys would help strengthen their fingers."
It might even suit a seasoned concert pianist: "I could easily imagine practicing on this myself in the middle of the night, when I didn't want to wake anybody up.

A Robot to Create Poetry?

The New York Times

Times Haiku is a collection of what they are calling “serendipitous poetry,” derived from stories that have made the homepage of NYTimes.com. The haiku live on a Tumblr hosted by the Times. Harris built a script that mines stories for haiku-friendly words and then reassembles them into poetry. (For those of you that may have zoned out in class, haiku are comprised of three lines with, in order, five, seven, and five syllables.) The code checks words against an open source pronunciation dictionary, which handily also contains syllable counts.
“Sometimes it can be an ordinary sentence in context, but pulled out of context it has a strange comedy or beauty to it,” Harris said.
Harris was inspired by Haikuleaks, a similar project that found poetry in the cache of diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in 2010. The backbone of that project was an open source program called Haiku Finder, which crawls through text to generate haiku. The program was built in Python; Harris made his own version in Ruby on Rails.
The result, much like @nytimes_ebooks, is bizarre, quirky, and kind of zen. The haiku have a strange way of getting at the heart of a story, or teasing out interesting fragments from an article. “There’s something appealing about finding these snippets of text, these turns of phrase and pulling them out,” Harris said. “You find it compelling and it drives you to read the article that it came from.” (Think of it as a more lexicographically strict version of Paul Ford’s SavePublishing.)
In its own poetic way, Times Haiku will be another access point for Times stories, said Marc Lavallee, assistant editor for interactive news at the Times. “If someone sees the site, or the image of an individual haiku and shares it on Tumblr, and it gets them to think about who we are and what we do, or gives them a moment of pause, I think we’ve succeeded in a way,” Lavallee said.
Lexi Mainland, social media editor for the Times, said they wanted the poems to be able to stand on their own and be readily sharable. That’s why the haiku are actually images, which fits well with the aesthetic of Tumblr, she said. Outside of Tumblr, the Times will promote the haiku through the paper’s flagship Twitter account.
That the Times has the ability to build a haiku bot isn’t surprising. But why build a haiku bot? “A lot of the projects we work on here are these incredibly big heaves, which are very, very gratifying,” said Mainland. “But you crave these smaller projects, which are just as valuable.” Similarly, projects like the haiku bot may seem silly on the surface, but the underlying code, the use of natural language processing, or other components could be valuable to future projects, Lavallee said.
It helps that the project came at little expense to the Times — Harris put it together on his own during a fit of post-election letdown. Harris had been working on projects connected to the presidential race for over a year, and after election day suddenly found himself with idle hands. He wrote the code in November and began monitoring what it was spitting out. After showing it to Mainland, Lavallee, and other editors, they gave the project a green light. Designer Heena Ko and software developer Anjali Bhojani gave the haiku their distinctive appearance for Tumblr. (Those lines you see running askew of the text of the haiku? The length is computer generated, based on the meter of the first line of text.)
As whimsical as a haiku bot or a spammy-sounding Twitter bot might be, both are efforts to find new uses for the Times’ vast collection of work. “It’s just this large corpus of text that gets very dizzying to look through,” Harris said.
The Times may also have a soft spot for artwork inspired by the written word. Anyone who has visited the lobby of The New York Times Building has likely seenMoveable Type, an algorithm-backed art installation that displays fragments of Times content across 560 display screens.
But why poetry? For starters, today is the first day of National Poetry Month, Mainland said. (Today is also April Fool’s — and if you were wondering, this is not a joke.) Still, for lovers of verse, it may sound like a cold and bloodless way to create poetry. Can you really create poetry without a soul? Do robots have feelings? Can they really see a sunset, or be moved by the sounds of a whale songs CD?
Harris admits the bot is imperfect; it’s required a little teaching along the way. One reason he limited the scope to the front page was because it provides an editor-picked selection, which tends to be richer features and important daily fare. (Running the bot on the Times Wire, Harris said he often got haiku made up of basketball scores, which may be too esoteric for any lit major or stat nerd.) The algorithm is designed to toss haiku with certain sentence constructions (sentences that start with a preposition, for instance) or from sensitive stories. Mainland, Lavallee, and Harris also keep an eye on the haiku being created to see if anything untoward sneaks through.
But Harris also has to do some syllable counting himself, teaching the bot words that appear in the Times (“Rihanna,” for instance) that it doesn’t know. Henry Higgins would be proud.

This story was originally published by Nieman Journalism Lab.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-york-times-has-built-a-haiku-bot-2013-4#ixzz2Pu9cOHiQ

Technology Changing Education?

The video we watched in class focused a lot on how technology was changing the face of education. Not only is technology in the classroom constantly increasing, but it is altering education as a whole.  As one of the professors in the video stated, technology is like 'oxygen'; it just helps school make more sense to students.  Many schools are switching from an influence on contemplation and thinking to more hands-on actually doing things.  Some schools implimenting these strategies show higher attendance rates and higher test scores.  However this is not without its criticisms.  Some people label it as instant gratification educations, basically saying that it is based on quick and fleeting thought that does not foster long term linear thought.

Video Games

Watching that video in class about video games and how people get addicted and have to get sent to camps and stuff to take them away from video games is pretty crazy. I know that it has been a huge contraversy on whether video games cause violence and things of that sort, but honestly I didn't think it was that serious. I really believe its because people in china are using laptops and other technology in class to educate a little too much.... Anyways, do I think that video games are a negative or positive thing? I think that it depends on the video and how much time you are actually spending playing the video game. The lady in the video who quit her job because she didn't want to stop playing the game is a little over board. If you quit your job because you want to play a video game than there is a bigger problem at hand. I think that video games could be a form of "play time" if they are not over used.

Turkle Chapter 10

 In chapter ten of "Alone Together," it discusses how email, texting, and instant messaging have become the preferred method of communicating over talking on the phone and talking in person in general. The teenagers that Turkle speaks with in this chapter all agree that they prefer texting or instant messaging over talking on the phone because written messages allow for time to think about what they want to say and how they want to portray themselves.

           

But just like it’s not just teens who are using Facebook and virtual worlds, adults are also becoming more lenient toward an avoidance of the telephone. Many claim “exhaustion and lack of time” but is it more than that?  Texting and emailing is certainly the easier way to maintain relationships. Phone conversations require more attention for a longer time.... And then there is the annoying situation of how to end a telephone conversation without offending the other person...

By removing voice from our communications with others, Turkle argues that we lose something inherently human.  The human voice conveys a variety of emotions and the way in which one speaks and says a TON about their personality, education, and background. By removing this from social interactions, it takes away a certain level of ‘realness.’ Just like letter writing is dying art form, soon  phone conversations will become a thing of the past as we expect technology to handle our busy lives and relationships more and more so that we don't have to invest much time or work into them.

Are kids getting dumber?

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/04/01/toddlers-learning-technology

I found this article in the news recently and thought it was quite interesting. The news company/host brought about the point that kids these days are actually getting dumber because they are so focused on technology these days. We are giving our kids Ipads and Iphones younger and younger and they become infatuated until the point of not being able to talk to anyone while they are doing this. It has come to a point where these younger generations have such difficulty talking to each other in person because of technology. Face to face contact is dwindling down more and more that's its a wonder we are even able to talk to people at all. I just wonder when will our future be silent because people are unable to talk to one another.

Texting not talking

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/fashion/02BEST.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

In chapter 10 Turkle talks about how people no longer talk on the telephone because they are texting or chatting online. She is worried about the effect on relationships. Here is an article in NY Times that talks about just that. It says that the trend in relationships and interactions between pre teens and teenagers is towards increasingly superficial and public interactions. I can't help but wonder about potentially negative consequences of having public relationships. Publicity ruins intimacy, just ask celebrities.

Breaking Up with Technology

In Turkle's chapter 10 she discusses the use of cell phones and other electronics in order to end relationships with people. In the chapter she discusses how it's "easier" for people to do this because it's less personal and you don't have to see the hurt someone is going through. People know that it's not how they should breakup with someone but it's just the easier way to do so. I'm just wondering what everyone else's thoughts about this are. Has society today really become so emotionless that people nowadays think this is an acceptable way to break up with someone? I've never done but I've heard stories of people who have been together for years and do it. Has technology put us in such a place that it has, in fact, beat out the emotional level to things?

What's more important?

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/robot-dog-toys-win-georgia-tech-contest/nWrj3/

I found this website via a friend on Facebook that talks about how a college student won an invention contest by creating what he calls "ChewBots". ChewBots are little robotic dogs that can move and are fluffy similar to a real life animal. The interesting thing about the article, to me, was that these toys beat out other inventions that could benefit the human race very well. For example, the second place holder invented a disposable test that would help people to check for anemia themselves rather than having to go to a doctor and find out. Third place, went to someone who invented a system that makes it nearly impossible for someone to steal your things even if they have your PIN number. I find it interesting that society is turning itself into something so focused on the fun aspect that we let things that could benefit our overall health and well being for a little fun.

Friends vs. Phone

On page 175, Turkle was talking to a young woman named Julia. Julia states that when she feels a variety of emotions she'll pull out her phone and immediately text her friends to tell them how she feels. I found this quite entertaining because I am the exact opposite. If I'm feeling some sort of emotion I do pull out my phone to tell someone, but most of the time I will call them. I like having the personal connection of hearing someone's voice and genuine reactions to my news over the phone rather than waiting for them to respond via a text message. Julia went on to say that while she waits for a text back she often has unsettled emotions because she is so unsure of how people will respond to her. That is why I like to call someone, there is more of a personal connection with the person, you hear their genuine attitude, and you get the response you were looking for much quicker. Then I don't need to go around to all of the people in my life looking for a response because someone didn't answer, I just talked to the person on the phone, got the response, and now I can easily move on to the next thing I have planned for that day.

Communication and Driving

Turkle talks in chapter 9 about the danger of texting and driving and how so many young people do it today. The kids she talked to said that the reason they text, answer phone calls, and read messages while driving is the "need to connect". I found it interesting to see why they do this because I do it as well when I drive. My reasoning is just to make sure someone is not hurt or in trouble whereas theirs is this insatiable need to be connected to their friends and the world. While most of these kids do believe texting and driving is okay, I try to restrict myself as much as possible and really not let it get in the way too much. I'm known to turn off my phone for hours on end because I don't want to talk to people or be interrupted doing homework, etc. The world we live in has grown so technology driven especially with cell phones that kids are literally attached at the hip to their devices. I just found the reasoning behind always answering the phone while driving or texting and driving for someone else other than myself.

texting and dating

http://thatteowonna.com/?p=3964

why are people using texting to date? the answer is simple: fear of rejection. when you think about it it makes complete sense. if you get rejected over text its just eh whatever and go back to what you were doing. no people see you and no one may even know you asked someone out on a date. but if your hanging out with friends and you see a girl youd like to ask out on a date it becomes humiliating in front of people when you get rejected. and the fear is stronger than the satisfaction of getting a yes which is saddening but true

Individuals and cell phones

If you look closely at my title, it states INDIVIDUALS and cell phones. The reason I am putting emphasis on the word individuals is because many people have the misconception that the only peopel who have their phones hooked to their hip are teens, when that is an incorrect statement. Although, I do agree that teens are one of the higher percentage people... everyone who owns a cell phone are becoming more attached to their device. I don't think we made that a big enough point during our discussion. What we discussed in class is very interesting, and turkle is correct in my opinion when she says that phones are becoming apart of people and their daily lives. When driving individuals can't even ignore a text or phone call because they don't want to feel "disconnected" it's pretty crazy considering it is puttin your life at risk. Technology is beginning to take over our lives....... in positive and negative ways.

Cellular Connectivity and Teens

http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/blogs/teens-sleeping-cell-phones-clear-and-present-danger

Turkle addresses this concept of adolescent connectivity in her book. It's interesting, but true. 75% of teens sleep with their phones. Oftentimes, they say it helps them sleep better. As frightening as it is, I would have to agree. My phone gets me up on time. It is within reach if I need to communicate with anyone. And, it is right there if anyone needs me. If I found myself suffering from the all too frequent bout of insomnia, the cell phone gives me instant access to Twitter and Facebook. I find myself amazed by the distance I have traversed from being without a cell phone entirely to being entirely dependent on my cell phone.

Arendt

Arendt's chapter was one of the most complicated readings that I've ever encountered. At the beginning of the chapter there was very difficult language being used and I was having a hard time really comprehending the point of the chapter. As I read more and more the point became apparent. Humans are shaped from the day they are born until the day they die by their interactions with other humans and other beings on Earth. From day one we are constantly being conditioned and changed into different people. This is very interesting and I think it is a bit scary to think of. If we lived our lives in a constant battle to only have positive interactions with people it could be exhausting. I think the point though, is that whether our interactions are good or bad, it doesn't necessarily mean that you will end up good or bad. There are so many interactions that humans experience throughout just one day it is silly to think that just one bad interaction could shape us positively or negatively. The point here is that humans must do everything in their power to interact with as many people as possible to give themselves a better understanding of the world we live in. Interact and grow as a human being and learn about things outside of your personal comfort zone.

Turkle and Cellular Devices

     I find what Turkle has to say about cell phones and similar technology to be interesting. After reading chapter 9 of Alone Together, some of my own observations have been confirmed regarding cell phone use and other technology that allows instantaneous messaging. I always notice how a majority of people are constantly on their phones or messaging on Facebook. While this does lead to a form of connection, it can also lead to a form of simplification that would not happen in a face to face conversation. Personally, my cell phone is mainly used as a timekeeper. Therefore, I always find it somewhat odd that others can be so engrossed within their cell phones.

Turkle about life online

the video we watched in class today addressed the issue of the younger generations in society facing the difficulties that come with growing up online. The influence that the Internet based social life has on the formation of young minds is said to be detrimental by all account of some. others would argue that an online plugged in life style for the youth generations is just preparing them for the future. the role that the children of today will have in the future is significantly different from the roll that earlier generations filled. i think that it is fair to say that both sides of this argument are kinda correct. yes the Internet is a tool that can not be escaped in the modern world but we also must be cautious and not allow the Internet life consume our society. people must be taught to function not only online but in the real world as well.

Technology and the Environment

I find this article to be an interesting comment on how technology is actually saving the environment which, in previous years, it has had a hand in destroying. Green energy, which is a quickly growing field, is entirely based upon technology. Often times, people speak of technology and the environment together in a negative fashion. Here, we can see how technology can actually aid in the saving and sustaining of our planet.

http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/issue.aspx?id=1021&y=2007&no=2&content=true&page=3&css=print

Social Networking in the Work Place

Here's an interesting article I found researching for another class! It evaluates, from a scholarly standpoint, the use of social networking in the workplace. It's directly related to Turkle's Chapter 8 "Always On" whcih evaluates societies new need for continuous connectivity. I find this concept especially interesting as, from personal experience, I have found that having social media and networking sites to actually be required for my job--I work in retail!

http://www.lscits.org/pubs/HOReport1b.pdf

Video games..good or bad?

In the current world, many people talk a lot about video games and their pros and cons. Many people have studied this topic and have looked at correlations between violence and the video game play. When I was a child, I was not allowed to have a video game console in our house. Now kids have every game console available, an iPhone, and an iPad. They spend a lot of time with their face buried in technology.

Video games have their pros, but in my eyes they are only good for maybe a reward or for limited time only. The topic of child obesity comes up and many of those children spend a lot of time playing video games and not being active. This leads me to the cons. When kids spend their time sitting, they are not being active which is a major problem. Kids need a lot of exercise and activity in a day, which most do not get because of video games. I think parents should think deeply on the topic of video. Games before making the decision to introduce them at a younger age.

Interesting Facebook Article

I found the following article pretty interesting of a parents view on Facebook. I wonder how many people share this viewpoint. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/11/opinion/la-oe-orenstein-facebook-tween-20120611

Identity and Social Media

http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/unlikeus/2012/03/01/identity-on-facebook-even-who-you-are-is-defined-and-controlled-by-facebook/

This article discusses how we are defined by Facebook. The identities we develop on Facebook are intimately connected with the fact that Facebook is a social networking site. Turkle explores this development of multiple identities view social media in the second part of her book.

Social Media, Identity, and Me

The other day in class, we discussed social media and identity.

Basically, we talked about things such as Facebook, or Half-Life 2, where people can create their own avatar, or repesentation of what they want to be perceived as over the internet.

I do know some people who choose not to have their own picture as their profile picture on Facebook.  Some people would rather be represented through something like their favorite car, their favorite author, a famous individual they look up to, etc. Many do this so that they are "protected" online from any "predators" or so that they don't receive any "unwanted attention."

Many other people do this though so they can be a different person. They are unhappy with their life and wish to be someone new. This is more commonly seen in things such as Second Life 2 or online games like World of Warcraft. People can become whatever they want, and they can do whatever they want. There are instances even of people sacrificing 15 hours out of their weeks just so they can escape into their alter ego.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I once played a lot of online games like these, and I too once lived a different life through an avatar. It was fun, it was definitely a great escape from the horrible reality of high school (ha!). However, there are people out there that become way too involved with these games that they become addicted and reliant upon them to provide escape.

The same goes to social media sites like Facebook. even though they aren't so much of a "game," you still maintain them like an avatar, and you can find yourself lost on Facebook for hours before you even realize it... I myself am very guilty of this!

I think social media and the idea of avatars are slowly making us not want to be ourselves, and rather pretend to be something different all day... because, when you can live in multiple different realities, why stick with boring old real life?

twitter

I am guilty of having a twitter. However i probably tweet maybe once everyother day. the thing that i find fascinating about social media is that fact that people thing twitter is a place to release problems they may be having because its so impersonal. they can post something about a problem and people who dont know them see it so it doesnt matter to the person composing the tweet.

With facebook and twitter comes new- for a lack of a better word- problems. people creating false identities because its a place where they can live an alternate lifestyle. thats mostly the case on facebook and not so much twitter, but regardless you can create a whole new person that isnt you becasue you may not get that attention otherwise. which seems to be a theme of social media is attention

Life without Technology

I read Allison's post about her challenge about no technology for a day (just 24 hours and half the time you are sleeping hahah) and I have actually tried this on my own and succeded. I honestly had to leave my phone at my house for the day or else I know that I wouldn't be able too. Allie said that she couldn't do it and she began to have the fake vibrations from her phone and that made me laugh because i did the exact same thing except... my phone was not even with me. I freaked out a few times because I thought I lost my phone and couldn't find it.. again, it wasn't even with me. I am so used to having my phone and being able to be connected with everyone! I would play games when I was bored, text my friends, search on the internet,  and check my e-mails all on the go and with the touch of one button. After I got over the fact of not having my phone and told myself that I am going to feel much better after not being engaged in my phone all day, I serioulsy felt so realived. I felt so aware and thankful and honestly more happy. I literally felt like I had a weight lifted off of my shoulders and I felt so proud that I did it!! Now, every once in a while I will make myself go a day without my phone, or any technology... it truly feels so nice, you should try it!! You will feel like a brand new person.

Turkle on Twitter

See below for the transcript of a Twitter exchange with Sherry Turkle. The original can be found here.

A Twitterscript with Sherry Turkle, Founder of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self


By Susan Leem
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - 5:10am



For 20 years Sherry Turkle has asked unusual questions about the human side of technology. She wants to know how our relationship with devices affects our psychology, and why it is that “we no longer care if we are among life.” She’s referring to our love of gadgets, robots, and the way we obsess over email and smart phones, ultimately giving them highest priority in our social interactions.



Professor Turkle is the Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of the Social Studies of Science and the founder and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. Her latest book is Alone Together.



We live-tweeted highlights of this 90-minute conversation, which we’re aggregating and posting here for those who weren’t able to follow along. Check out our Twitter stream next time at @BeingTweets.



1.“There’s a phenomenon where people feel their phone ringings when they’re not. It’s called the phantom ring.” - @STurkle 1:09 PM 22 Feb

2.“Just because we grew up with the internet we think that the internet is all grown up.” @STurkle 1:13 PM 22 Feb

3.“I get very discouraged that we don’t seem to have a taste for stopping and asking how can we make this work for us?”-@STurkle on technology 1:14 PM 22 Feb

4.“What is intimacy without privacy, what is democracy without privacy?” - @STurkle, author of “Alone Together” - http://bit.ly/cJxjOQ 1:16 PM 22 Feb

5.“If you don’t teach your children how to be alone, they’ll only always know how to be lonely.”-saying in psychology via @STurkle 1:28 PM 22 Feb

6.“You don’t want to be alone because you can’t think by yourself, you can’t feel by yourself.” - @STurkle on growing up with texting, etc. 1:30 PM 22 Feb

7.“It’s teenagers who say ‘My parents text at the dinner table.’” @STurkle on how children also want sacred spaces. 1:34 PM 22 Feb

8.@STurkle on rules for adults to create sacred spaces in family- put down the phone at dinner, moment of school pickup and on the playground. 1:40 PM 22 Feb

9.“The greatest gift you can give your child is to walk out of the house without your phone. Show your child what that looks like!” @STurkle 1:41 PM 22 Feb

10.“We have to ask ourselves what is served by having an always on, always on you, open to anyone who wants to reach us, way of life.”@STurkle 1:43 PM 22 Feb

11.“I love uses of technology that are positive and hopeful and exciting.” - Professor @STurkle author of “Alone Together.” 2:01 PM 22 Feb

12.“In a human conversation I’m talking to another person who understands the arc of a human life cycle.” -@STurkle 2:14 PM 22 Feb

13.“I don’t need to be right, but I do need to feel as though people understand what I’m trying to communicate.” -@STurkle on conversation. 2:16 PM 22 Feb

14.“Whether or not we want robots caring for our elderly will be one of the most humanistic conversations we’re going to have.” -@STurkle 2:17 PM 22 Feb

15.“This is a corporation, it isn’t your mother, and I think people forget that.” -@STurkle on Facebook 2:21 PM 22 Feb

16.“There’s a whole kind of robotics that’s really going to change the way people see the world.” -MIT professor @STurkle 2:23 PM 22 Feb

About the image: Sherry Turkle (photo: Peter Urban)

Identity and Role Play

http://anthrocyber.blogspot.com/2009/05/identity-construction-and-self.html

This article looks at all the aspects of Facebook within the circle of relatives, friends, and other communities and looks at its effects on how we view ourselves and others. Turkle talks about this, and how it may at first appear to be constructive in creating an idea self, but in the end it is really more stressful because you try to tailor things to look good for everybody. In the end, you are not really being yourself in the way that you are yourself in real life.

"The virtual world of each person’s Facebook page consequently becomes an open book of personal identity that in the physical world may take years to decipher." This is another way of saying that everything is open to everyone in an instant; there is no discovery of each other as would be in a personal relationship in the real world. I think this is an interesting study on how Facebook has created a new culture online on interaction and relationship.

A day without Technology

In one of my English courses, I was challenged to go a day without technology; that means no cell phone, no Facebook, no Twitter, nothing.  I accepted the challenge with the notion that it would not be that difficult.  What is 24 hours with no technology?  After the first hour, I was already having a difficult time.  I was constantly worried that someone would try to reach me in an emergency and I would not know or be able to help.  Then there was the fact that everyone else was checking their phones constantly and I was the odd man out.  I began have the "phantom vibrations" phenomenon also.  Needless to say, I cheated on the challenge and caved in after a mere 2 hours.  This really showed me how much technology controls my world and daily activities.  I challenge you to try a whole 24 hours without technology to fully understand how much it controls your life.  I bet it will be more than you think!

Focal Points

One day in class, we discussed the idea of focal points in our lives.  These are things that link us to others and help us build relationships.  When thinking about what is a focal point in my life I came up with two: basketball and family.  These two things tend to over lap in some cases.  Basketball has helped shape me into the person I am today and many of my personality traits.  It has put certain people in my life that I never imagined and has had a huge impact on why I am the way I am.  As for my family, growing up we were a close knit family and still are today.  With that said, although these are focal points, my days are not centered around them.  I think having a healthy balance is key with focal points.

Kids with Cell Phones

Turkles chapter 9 about growing up tethered really hit home with me. I work at an after school program for kids from Kindergarten to sixth grade. The kids as early as third grade have cell phones and they are constantly on them. We have to remind them daily to put their phones away. Children should be living in the moment  and the now at the playground or gym; instead I am seeing them sitting on the bench playing with their phone. Turkle continues talking about how its affecting adolescent development and I can't help but think about how these kids who experience technology younger and younger will be affected.

Lewis Mumford and the Megamachine

After reading Lewis Mumford's chapter in the textbook about the idea of a Megamachine it got me thinking how our generations interpretation of the word "machine" is vastly different from that of past generations. The Megamachine that Mumford is talking about relates to the time of the Egyptian absolute monarchy using hundreds of thousands of men at their disposal to build pyramids and statues. To us, machine almost always has something to do with technology and electronics. We can't even fathom the idea of a machine that has nothing to do with these things and it is very amusing to be completely honest. The digital age that has begun is something that will forever change the interpretations and perceptions of peoples lives especially when it comes to technology and electronics. It is a little bittersweet that we have moved so far ahead in our development that the idea of a machine has been understood in such a different light.

Progress? Enough?

We have touched upon the concept of progress in class. I think that progress can be a positive or a negative thing. It can be a positive because this is how we got to the world that we are in today. People wanted to advance the way we live and to make things a little easier in a sense. We as a people have many more opportunities now then people had back before the new technologies.

The negative could be seen as when is enough enough? Have some things gone to far? These are a few questions that are asked frequently. When new versions of the phone come out, their isn't a huge different between the two but yet people go crazy to get the newest and greatest. I could see the difference between a computer and an iPad maybe because there are several differences between the two, yet they are an advancement of each other. But when will the new technology be enough?

I do to think it will ever be enough because inventors and people always want to be improving and we are constantly becoming more available to new technologies and new ideas on how to use it and what to create.

DARPA’s Newest Robot: The Cheetah

We watched a video in class one day about DARPA’s “Big Dog” robot they have built, which is supposed to be used for carrying equipment for soldiers. The Big Dog has a seemingly innocent purpose, but what in the world are they going to use the Cheetah for?

The article I found was published March 5^th, talking about DARPA’s newest robot called the Cheetah, saying that it is designed to mimic the running motions of fast running animals in nature, and has set the record speed for four legged robots. The link is provided below, and shows a video of the robot running 18 miles per hour. It is currently only running on a treadmill, but once they take the thing off the exercising machine, what are they going to use it for?

http://gizmodo.com/5890550/darpas-newest-robot-is-possibly-its-creepiest-ever

I also decided to look up more on what the Big Dog can do, and I found a more recent video posted, where the Big Dog exhibits not only more balance, but strength, throwing a cinder block weighing 35 pounds 17 feet while walking.

For some reason, giving the military of a country where war is commonplace a bunch of strong robots that you can’t outrun or knock down doesn’t seem like the best idea to me.

Are we ever satisfied? When is enough, enough?

We have discussed the term "progress" in class, but will progress really ever stop. As humans, we alwasy want the best and we are always going to want the best. As a creator, why would you not want to keep supplying what people are going to pay for. There is always going to be progress if society allows it. If you keep paying for better, they are going to continue to create better. Progress will never end in the technology world. People are always thinking how can we make this product or machine better? How can we improve this so that it is easier for humans to understand? Look how fast computers turned into laptops and laptops turned into tablets and I pads. What's next? We don't know, technologies will be overseen in 6 months after it is considered new because they will create a new and improved. If this continues, I believe that the idea of a companion robot is creeping up a little faster than we think.

Lewis Mumford

It is strange to think that the idea of the Megamachine is meant by the Egyptian "machine" of thousands of people laboring towards one thing. Now, it means thousands of circuits that instantly zap from one place to another. But that is only a part of the whole. This organization is seen in heirarchies of societies as well as tools. However, the people that build and are a part of the "megamachine" become "spiritually dead", which is somewhat telling of a society that zones out on screens and machines. According to this article, it will and is created a "universal, but inadequate society".

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1966/12/1/mumford-warns-of-mega-machine-criticizes-chaos/

When is enough, enough?

In today's society the term "progress" never has an end.  We always want something better or there is some kind of upgrade to every technology.  But how significant are these upgrades? Is the difference between the iPhone4 and iPhone5 that drastic?  We are never satisfied with a product.  We always ask "how can we improve this?"  Things that are considered new technologies will be non-existent in 6 months or a year.  If this rate of progress continues, I believe that the idea of companion robots is closer than we think. 

Focal Things and Practices

Recently in class, we discussed a concept called "Focal Things and Practices."

This really stuck home with me... focal things are objects or actions that require more human interaction and work, rather than having a machine do it for you. For example, a fireplace is considered a focal thing because it requires the human effort of throwing in logs and lighting th fire and maintaining it, plus it brings people together... its non focal equivalent is indoor heating, which takes minimal effort to work, and does not bring people together.

I think focal things are extremely important. I have always argued with my brother about what is better: buying and collecting CD's to listen to, or downloading music online and just listening to it from your computer. I have always though CD's are superior to that, because there's more interaction with one than just listening to a pre-downloaded song on the computer. Having to choose the CD, and load it into the the player is alot more focal than pulling up spotify or pandora and listening to it there.

In fact, even more focal than CD's, is live music. I myself am a musician and have played trumpet and other brass instruments for about 8 years... I sometimes play at bars for money even and I have always loved doing it. Live music is so much more superior and focal than listening to spotify or a CD because not only does it bring people together, but it requires much effort for the musicians as well and really is a workout on the brain.

I guess what I'm getting at is this: I am a focal person. I am not very introverted... I am very extroverted and enjoy personal interaction. I like saying hello, and sometimes I like to do stuff "the old fashioned way" (I have friends that I sometimes write letters to even!). Therefore, I feel that focal things and practices are essential to the spirit that makes us human. I feel like without these things, we become less than human.

Humans are social animals, and if we're on cell phones all the time, what do we become?

Interview with Albert Borgman

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2901

Here is a link to an interview between a pastor and Albert Borgman. Borgman talks about focal things and practices and I think its interesting (and relevant to a Catholic school) the connections he makes to religion. It would seem his idea of a good life is consistent with many religious ideas of a good life.

The grander of the experience

As I talked about today in class on the discussion of Albert Borgmann and his idea of focal things, Henry David Thoreau is a perfect example of  living life with the grander of an experience not just about efficiency always. the words from his writing Walden, " I went to the woods because i wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life" in this sentence Thoreau is saying that he has to get away from the hectic everyday of modern society and all of its expectation  He understands that in the wilderness he finds peace and comfort in the grander of all the beauty. I feel the same way and as an Environmental science major i find the most comfort in the wilderness among the trees and rocks and hills. The wild is one of my focal things that i don't want modern civilization and technology to ruin, i can not image anything that can be a supplemental for the great outdoors. High adventure amusement parks that offer white water rafting or fake rock climbing try to fulfill the same actions that the wild provides but they are not the same just as the TV dinner is not the same as the thanksgiving dinner.  

Walden (Or, Life In The Woods) by Henry David Thoreau

Walden (Or, Life In The Woods) by Henry David Thoreau is one of my favorite novels of all times. I came across it in my junior year of high school in AP English III, when we read an essay from it in our AP text book. The essay reflected many thoughts that were similar to quite a few of my thoughts on technology at the time, so I thought I would go out and by the book for a summer reading. I’ve never read the entire book at once, but I have skipped through and read chunks throughout the book that seemed interesting at the time, some of which I have purposely reread up to four times because I enjoy it that much. I fell in love with this book, and it actually inspired me to take this class in the first place, so I figured I would share it with you guys in a blog post as a book I recommend for those who enjoy topics related to the ethics of technology, or anybody who has enjoyed the more current discussions in this class. This is because the novel shows many ideologies similar to those of the more classic philosophies of technology we have been discussing in class, while giving close up real life examples from the period of Industrialization that can easily relate to and show the intensity of these effects in modern society.

This novel is actual a collection of journal entries from Henry David Thoreau which he wrote during a retreat. This “retreat” was actually an escape from a society that he saw was falling apart to the extent that life was losing meaning. Thoreau discusses the effects he has seen technology have on society since Industrialization, and how technology was beginning to have the ability to control lives of individuals. He points out specific examples of people trying to make their lives better with technology but instead piling of complications and slowly taking away meaning of life. He decides to take a retreat in the woods living a simplistic lifestyle to find out what it really means to live.

Quotes from Walden, Or Life In The Woods:

 

 “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.” 

"It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which we morally can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."

Heideggar

According to Heideggar the greatest danger is that we lose human beings into resources. He saw the danger of technology in terms of the human domination and exploitation of all beings by instrumental means. The essence of technology is not technological to Heideggar, but yet more of a way of being. To some degree I can follow these beliefs. In the world we live in today it is like we can not let anyone or anything just be itself. We are constantly putting constraints on people and coming up with new ideas or gadgets trying to improve what already is which can cause stress and controversy. If we would sometimes just let things stand as is then we might find more comfort in our own lives.

Heideggar

Heideggar talks about humans and losing them to different resources. He claims that this is the greatest danger and I can see where he is coming from. Technology often leads to exploitation of human beings and we are constantly putting constraints on them. The important part of his point to me is the idea that people are constantly trying to improve what already is good and advanced. In some points this is good but in others it is not necessary. But these individuals that come up with this new technology dominate others and dominate the actual technology that is made available to the world. We have no idea what technology is actually available to everyone until it actually comes out. This is all something that we have to think about.

Robotic Pets

The other day in class... we were discussing robotic pets and how they are becoming more prevalent in our society. Although to some these may seem nothing more than just harmless children's toys, there are many people who would argue that these "pets" are slowly blurring the lines between robots and humans as Turkle suggested in the second chapter of her book.

What is the problem about this? As just suggested, there are many fears that these sorts of toys are not teaching our kids how to take care of pets, but instead, are teaching are kids that animals do not have emotions and no matter how much you abuse them, they will still get up, and keep doing what you want.

Another fear is that kids will not be able to tell the difference between animals and robots, and treat a robotic toy that loses power in its batteries as a pet dog dying.... what if children became more emotionally invested in a machine than a real animal? What if future generations become more invested in robots and robotic companions that they are unable to become emotionally invested in each other?

I know its a large stretch, and it seems pretty ridiculous, but the more I read Turkle's book the more I am being slowly convinced that this is a possible future we may be heading into...

robotic pets

On the idea of people having a pet, that really isnt alive i think it totally depends on the situation. If a young child wants a tomogatchi or a furby i dont think that is much of an issue. that could be used as an educaitonal experience to teach them. or even with adults who are allergic to pets getting robots. that all seems to be okay with me

the problem then arises when people like to be human qualities in anything that resembles a human. they think that the robot can actually think and has feelings just as we do. if you think about it, most of us do that. why is that? I dont have a for sure answer but if i had to say it seems like people just want someone to listen to them. Same idea with pets. People know they have no clue what theyre saying but every once in awhile its nice to have someone sit and listen without getting any back talk.