Schwegman Blog Post #8

In " The Machine Stops," Forester's vision is that of what will happen if we continue to be dependent on technology. Eventually, leading to a complete dependency on technology which is very unhealthy.  Forester is responding to the issue that technology is causing humans to loose are close association with our  peers and other humans. Forester brings up some interesting points that shows our human nature. First is the development of religion. In this short story, he shows that humans become so dependent on the machine that they even begin to confide their personal beliefs in the Machine. This shows that as humans we have a deep religious devoution that is crucial for our "sanity." The Machine in this story shows the authencity of human nature that we need some type of religion to live "happily." Having a character like Kuno shows that even in a society so dependent on the Machine, there is someone who doesn't follow a long with society's conventionalism.

I agree with a lot of Forester's visions of the future, but I do not think the future will be so dramatically dependent on society. I do not believe that " The Machine" will become so influential that humans confine themselves to a cell and interact soley with technology. Social interaction is crucial for a society to work, and social interaction with a machine does not make the cut. Also, I do not think religion devouted to technology will develop. Most religions are people confining themselves to an object that is unattainable. The Machine in this context is attainable. I do not believe humans will be satisfied with this kind of religion. Forester does leave a lasting impression that our growing dependecy on techonlogy will eventually lead to an unpleasant future.

Schwegman Creative Proposal

My group's presentation topic is techonlogy and health. With this idea, I have many ideas that I can use to present it. I can show that our techonlogy used with medical procedures is advancing and we are becoming more reliable on computers or robots. My group can try to show that doctors do not play an important role in operating on a patient than doctors used to. 


We could represent this future in a creative project by showing an average trip to the doctor. When we speak with a doctor, all of our information is now posted in an internet database. Also, showing 3-dimensinal views of a new piece of surgical equipment would give viewers are sense of how advanced our health is becoming. To complete this project, I will need to do a lot of research. 


To complete this project I need to set two or three hours of work a week dedicated to completely it. 

Schwegman Blog Post #11

My definition of online privacy is based off Facebook privacy settings. I believe that the setting preferences we make on Facebook should be respected and not exposed by those who created Facebook. If we believe only our friends should view our profile, specific pictures and posts, and personal information, than only our friends should view it. There should be no one else to be able to view this. In a "perfect world" our privacy settings would be respected. I believe that there is someone information that individual should keep private to themselves and not put it on the internet. Personal things such as; phone number, address, other information that would make it possible to track down and access an individual personal information. Pictures, wall posts, and thoughts are allowed online.

When my family first started adding me on Facebook, I was nervous to let them see all my information. I may or may not have pictures that are appropriate for them to see. I also might have inappropriate comments and wall posts that are from my friends and from me a couple of times. I was started to put them on limited profile, but then I realized that if I am ashamed to let my own family see my Facebook than I should be ashamed to let anyone see my Facebook. I took down some photos and changed the way in which I use my Facebook. I "cleaned up" my language, from then on I avoided any language on Facebook that would be inappropriate. My profile though, is completely private from anyone who isn't friends with me. Users that aren't my friend may be able to see my schooling and profile pictures, but that is all I allow. I also went through my friend list and deleted anyone who I didn't know. I also do not accept anyone as a friend unless I know them, this sounds juvenile but a lot of people accept anyone.

When looking up my name on google, the only hits I found were high school honor roll and my old swimming times. Spokeo was very different though. I didn't find anything about myself but I found information on my mom, dad, step mom, and all my aunts and uncles. Also, my deceased grand parents were on it. All the old houses were my family used to live in were on there also. It also made me feel uncomfortable that all the house prices were on it too. It is hard to handle this information because you don't know how to delete it. And if you delete it, you know there are still more websites or places that still contain this information.

Schwegman In Class Writing #9

The audience of the article, "Stay Informed on Facebook's Third-Party Privacy Policies," is any Facebook user or Internet users who are concerned about their privacy. This is shown by the constant reference to our individual actions online. The article is responding to the growing population of Facebook and our decrease in caring about what we choose to show. The author scares us into believing people, a third party, is tuning into our information. The author gives us a sense of paranoria.

The author uses an extreme website to support his view. Although he believes this source is extreme and possibly untrue, he beleives this article gives a provoking thought. The article uses a rhetorical appeal, pathos, to prove his point. He shows that users continue to expose themselves in order to have social interactions. Asusers, we would rather have our personal lives out there, rather than not have a Facebook. Also, that money is more important than our privacy.

If I was writing an essay on online privacy, I would not use this article as an acceptable source. This article is too bias in showing that Facebook's privacy settings are unsafe. It only uses Facebook as an example and no other social media site. Also, the website it sites is very extreme. The author doesn't choose a median argument.

Schwegman In Class Writing #8

My top five:
1. Rugrat's in Paris
2. Britney Spears "Toxic"
3. Matrix
4. Harry Potter
5. Dodgeball

My group's top five with MLA citations:
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: A.A. Levine Books, 1998. Print.

2. The Hangover

The Hangover. Dir. Todd Phillips. Perf.  Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms. Legendary Pictures, 2009. Film.

3. Lord of the Rings- " The Fellowship of the Ring"

Token, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. United Kingdom: Geo. Allen & Unwin, 1954. Print.

4. The Matrix

The Matrix. Dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Perf. Keanu Reeves. Warner Bros. Pictures,        1999. Film.

5. Backstreet Boys "I Want it That Way"

Backstreet Boys. "I Want it That Way." Millenium. Jive Records, 1998. CD.

Schwegman In Class Writing #7

In this video by Glenn Beck, he explains the history of violence through visual stimulation. Beck explains how humans are conditioned not to kill naturally: we are programmed to kill and be prone to violence through advanced video games. The Pentagon created the first "video game" to get soldiers adapted to  killing enemies during WWI. Ever since that creation, killings during war time have increased dramatically. 

Beck argues that our violent tendencies are the results of pop culture's influence on us. He believes that the increasing violence shown in the media are training people to be murders. He also argues that the sex shown in these video games are changing the way we treat the opposite sex. 

This video with Glenn Beck is very informative on video game violence, but the argument Beck creates is very bias. Beck only shows the side of video games that are bad and creating murders. We all know there are two sides to every arguments and Beck failed to reinforce his argument with opposing views. I also believe that he makes a valid point that video games are being too violent, but blaming them on every murder that occurs is going too far. I believe that video games should be censored and be less violent because they are increasing violence in those who do not realize that it should not be taken as reality.

Schwegman In Class Writing #6

Part one:
My experience with online music is far below the experiences my peers hold with online music. I just downloaded my first iTunes song a Monday, while many of my peers have a whole library. I typically only use YouTube as a source of music entertainment.

Music piracy has declined in usage recently due to the shut down of Limewire, a popular music piracy site. Many people are for and against music piracy. As a college student music piracy is a cheap alternative to buying a song for a $1.29 on iTunes. Many artists and average people feel that music piracy is stealing.  I see where people get this idea. I believe music piracy is a form of stealing, but I also feel that it is completely ridiculous that a website charges $1.29 for a song. This issue has many arguments that are all valid points.

Part two:
The article I was assigned to read was, "How to Save the Music Business." The author believed that music piracy is stealing from the music business and artists. The author came up with ideas to fix the problem and also blamed web sites for causing the problem. He supported his ideas by showing how they worked in other countries. His ideas somewhat support my stance of music pirating. His ideas still make users pay for their music, but at a much lower price than sites like iTunes.