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.