High Tech Trash Problems

Usually at some point during the year, there is a round up of all the electronic devices that one has broken during the year. These items sit around for months, serving no purpose except for dust collection. Just the other day I had to buy a new cell phone, the man asked me if I would like him to dispose of my old phone for me. I replied "No, thank you", seeing as I am the type of person who will need my old phone at some point because of my carelessness. Now, after reading High Tech Trash by Chris Carroll I feel better knowing my Motorola won't end up burning in a fire pit Africa. E-waste is a direct threat not only to the population because of its harmful health related effects, but also effects on the environment. The areas where the "disposals" are become severely damaged over time, the chemicals resulting from burning computers and circuit boards can only pollute the soil and air. The developing world is being compromised thanks to the over zealous inventions created without a thought as to what would happen when the devices no longer worked, or were needed. Dumping electronics in innocent countries is inappropriate and wrong. Obviously I am not shocked that this could be possible, it is just unsettling and bleak to think about how long this has been going on.

Small Object, Large Scale: Red Bull Flys High

As a society run ragged by the pressures of everyday life, what seems only "natural" is for distributors creating a highly caffeinated beverage to keep the American consumer alert, awake, and bopping around with sugar pumping through their veins. Red Bull is replacing the need for sleep with a tasty can of caffeine. Instead of sleeping recommended hours for healthy living, the American society can easily fix exhaustion by chugging a Red Bull. This alternative is known for its fast acting awakening affect, and shows that the American culture values its active time more so than sleep. The society likes being busy, and anything to enhance or minds is greatly appreciated.



When Red Bull first became popular, it took a simple illustrated commercial to show the viewer enthusiastically that 'Red Bull gives you wings!' The advertising suggests that Red Bull can be used as a super power, to fly up and away as little wings sprout from the cartoon character after the first gulp. This energy will make the contemporary American surge through our power struggle to continue to take part in our hectic schedules. The association with Red Bull ads are high energy, an online video shows people driving various objects such as water planes and parasails, off of a jump down a long drop into the water. Extreme sports are where Red Bulls major promotions come from, showing the charged effect Red Bull has on its drinkers.



I drank a Red Bull Shot last night to give me a boost to write a previous blog around 12, quite ironic that today I was handed an assignment and instantly chose the Red Bull, even though I do not regularly drink it. Last night I wrote my blog with ease, showered, and still felt alert. Falling asleep was a joke. It's funny that something designed to give us so much energy takes away from the natural way our bodies want the energy. Obviously my decision to consume Red Bull at midnight was not the best idea if I wanted to get a good nights sleep, but I am a contemporary American who struggles between two jobs and school; falling into the "wing" trap wasn't too hard.

Time is the most valuable thing anyone can have, and the human race has very little of it. Companies know that designing a product high in caffeine for those on the go will sell with no problem. Because of the caffeine in Red Bull, the American population will continue to come back to the store fiending for the same energy high. Maximizing our potential is important but at what cost? Red Bull is high in sugar and the effects of the heart-pumping beverage are dangerous to the general populations health. Ultimately the contemporary American will always seek out whatever will get them out of bed in the morning, as well as keep them on high speed for the rest of the day. And without that Red Bull, how else would one get wings? We are a people obsessed with caffeine.

Toulmin Model of Why Google is Making Us Stupid

Is Google Making Us Stupid? by Nicholas Carr is an article on how the internet has increased our knowledge, yet is distracting us from a quest of deep understanding of what we are reading. Carr's claim in his article is that online search engines are allowing us to become lazy with our reading to a point where instead of ones eyes glued to the screen one finds him or herself giving any excuse to stop absorbing letters on a page. The main point coincides with this when Carr states "I'm not thinking the way I used to". Our minds have adapted to our technological advances and why would we want to turn back to endless hours in the library when it would be just as convenient sitting on the comfort of our couches. An example of Carr's support for his opening statement is that "the Net has become a universal medium". Most cultures have embraced Google, it sure saves the day when it takes minutes to discover all the information you could ever want. Evidence Carr introduces is a quote by Scott Karp, an online blogger, who said "he has stopped reading books altogether". Another fact from Carr is stated "When we read online, she says, we tend to become 'mere decoders of information'" of Maryanne Wolf. Another reason is "The mechanical clock" says Carr, we must have a specific way to be able to plan our entire day around a specific time- keeper. Carr later refers to the internet as our "Map" a human instinct to always rush to a computer, so many things can be done on these mesmerizing machines that they become our warrants, the computer appeals to the human brain, just as Google intended it to. For example: "The company has declared that its mission is 'to organize the worlds information... the perfect search engine... the more we can 'access' and the faster we can extract their gist". Google is molding our minds steadily as we get more and more information from the internet. Carr states "people have become so machinelike that the most human character turns out to be a machine" about HAL's dismemberment. I believe he closed with this statement so that can ask ourselves if we have become addicted to the internet in all its glory and vast, yet skim of the surface understanding.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Google is an excuse for anything and everything. You can find the dumbest things and the smartest information, a range of so many things that relate to every topic ever thought of it almost seems like we would be ignorant to say that Google is making us stupid. When seeking information these days the first thing almost anyone does is google it, it has become a verb. Most of the population would have more difficulty functioning because we have become so dependent and so used to literally having all knowledge right infront of our eyes. Google makes people lazy, it is simple and requires no knowledge or take much time to find so that when we get the information we do not really discover it. Everything is skimmed rather than sifted, making it atrificial knowlegde from what is described by Carr as atrificial intelligence. Computers respond to our patterns. Websites are always completeing themselves as what the search guesses we might type in. Sometimes I think about my Itunes as having artificial intelligence, the same way a search engine on Google would... it knows our brains and while that is convienant, it is a little scary. Carr writes about how our desire to read has diminished and how books are neglected. To me, reading is still mesmorising, but how is it that I can spend 3 hours on the computer without a blink or a realization of the time, yet if I'm reading a book my eyes become tired and while i can concentrate I defnitely cant do it for more than a couple of hours, and i will need to take a little mental break in between. The color the words, the movement, the pictures all capture us into the Web and create a virtual world that many seem to have become lost in.