Is the machine using us?

Before watching this video, I had never thought of this approach. I mean, I saw the machine as nothing more than a tool that allowed us to write, communicate, create, etc. But now, I'm not so sure anymore. Though short, this video has a great impact on the viewer, making us think about this topic that is so close to us that we sometimes take it for granted. Are we just using the machine, or is the machine using us as well? Now, I can say that I think it is a two-way thing.  Every time we enter new information, we are giving it to the internet, to the world, to the machine.  Every day, huge amounts of new data are entered, from all around the globe. How is this new information going to change the way we see the relationship between humans and computers? Or even between humans?

True Confessions

Less is more, in prose as in architecture.  ~Donald Hall

I decided to include this quote in my confession post because it explains, in a nutshell, what I need to work on while writing: conciseness.

I probably already failed at that just after a single phrase. But it seems as if I just can't help it. I have been told a few times over the years that I tend to write more than it is necessary. I think I do that because I want to get my point across exactly as I have it in my mind. I don't want to leave any space for confusion or misinterpretation.  Though I have been learning that quantity is almost never directly proportional to quality.

From now on, I'll try to use more precise, clear words instead of filling the page with unnecessary ones. We'll see how that goes.

Closers

1. Closer is the most emphatic part of a written work.

• The final scene in RENT serves to emphasize what the whole musical is about. It does so by repeating in the Finale parts from the most important songs of the play.

2. A writer should think twice before defining their closer.

3. A closer should revolve around the main point of the essay.

4. Leave the reader with the main point.

5. Don't be afraid to go back and revise the closer.

"Hell, let everybody in!" - 09/21

On Wednesday September 21st, Emerson College professor John Timbur was invited by the department of University Studies to give a conference titled Open Admissions and the birth of Modern Composition.  Although it is a topic I really do not know much about, I still found the speech pretty didactic and easy to understand.  Overall, the conference dealt with the nature of composition, focusing specially on basic writers.

Timbur argued that open admissions programs during the 60's and 70's were instrumental to the birth of modern composition, starting a reinvention of the way in which we normally see the writing process. The CUNY adopted the open admissions method for the first time during the Fall of 1970.  Though there were no admissions exams, students still had to take placement texts.  The concrete example we had was an essay written to the prompt What is reality?.  The point of analyzing the essay was to demonstrate how even works like this, that violate the expectations of academy, gave a great insight on the nature of composition.  According to Mina Shaughnessy, essays like these are not chaotic, as it might seem at first: they only follow their own order or organization.  Though a person's first reaction is to correct the mistakes (and this is true, because I was so tempted to do the same), Shaughnessy argues that we should first understand the cause and origin of the error itself.

A Painful Glimpse into My Writing Process

This video portrays exactly how I believe the writing process is/should be. It is chaotic, unorganized, random. It is also painful. I don't think any writer feels content about what they've done until they've had the chance to rewrite it, revise it, change it, modify it, burn it. I know I personally don't. I don't think I am ever fully happy with what I produce. I don't know if that comes from a deeper lack of self esteem problem, but I am truly surprised when people tell me they like what I wrote. My writing process may not be as extreme as that shown in the clip, but it is equally messy. I just start by jotting down ideas about the topic I want/need/have to write about. Then I try to see if and how these ideas relate to each other. Sometimes they don't, so I just delete them and start fresh. I like starting fresh. If I feel like my writing is going nowhere, I prefer tearing that page than continue to work on it. It just makes me feel like I have all the possibilites available again, even though that can also be a bit overwhelming. I am a perfectionist, though (and I think I've already said this before). Once I get a first draft of something, I will check it, review it, change it, keep some parts and erase others. Sometimes I'd look at something I've written and think 'I cannot believe I wrote that'.

AT&T Commercial

The AT&T commercial shows us two children, dressed like they belong in a fairy tale, walking by themselves in a big, made up city.  Based on the story of Hansel and Gretel, they are throwing breadcrumbs behind them, so they will be able to find their way back home. The city in which the scenes are set plays an important role for the purpose of selling the product, acting as a third main character.  At first, the city looks nice, sunny and, even though it is crawling with people, it seems safe.  All of the sudden, darkness.  Things don't look as safe or calm anymore: there is almost no natural light, vendors are securing their stores, there are not many people around.  The city presents itself as a dangerous place, especially for two little kids who seemed so out of place to begin with.

The aim of this commercial is to highlight people's fears and use them to sell their product.  First, it aims for one of kids' biggest fears: getting lost.  Second, and also most importantly, the ad plays on a parent's (and more specifically a mother's) biggest fear: loosing his or her child.  If we also consider the fact that the environment in which the scene develops is a city, the fear is amplified: a city is often seen as an unknown place, one where it is even easier to get lost (or lose someone).

What the target audience is led to believe is that if they get an AT&T phone, they can be connected to their children at all times, and even when they are not, they can completely trust that AT&T will make sure their kids find a safe way back home.  With this alternative, they won't have to rely on those pesky breadcrumbs anymore.

Another Heineken Commercial.