Week 8 Reading: Barabasi 80/20 Rule

Barabási, Albert-László. “The 80/20 Rule”

The 80/20 Rule: Vilfredo Pareto first discovered what is now known as the 80/20 rule as he noticed that 80 percent of his peas were produced by only 20 percent of the pea pod. This observation is now considered a ‘Murphy’s Law of management’. For example, 80 percent of decisions are made during 20 percent of meeting time, 80 percent of the population receive 20 percent of the overall income etc. Few large events carry most of the action.

When mapping the networks of the web, it was discovered that the distribution of links followed the mathematical expression called the power law. Peaked distribution – a bell curve. A power law is the opposite of a bell curve. A histogram following a power law is a continuously decreasing curve, implying that many small events coexist with a few large events.

Random networks: ie. City road map (organised structure leading to few main highways)
Power Law: Aeroplane route (a few hubs link many airports)

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Weekly Reading 07

“The Long Tail” by  Chris Anderson.

In this article Anderson explores the consequences of a world with hypertext and the network. He explains that the market is no longer restricted by physical boundaries. Online stores can ‘house’ an endless selection of products, regardless of the age size of the product. This is revolutionary for the sales of products that are not new releases. Buyers can search for the exact item that they are looking for, as well as browse the online store at whatever time suits them.

Online shopping is readily available for not only our entertainment needs (movies, books, music etc), but also necessities like groceries and clothing. The consumer is saving time, as well as getting to choose from a wider range of products, and the producer can save on the expenses of operating a physical store, such as rent and staff salaries.

The market gets bigger and creates niche markets that may not have been easily accessible or available to mass markets before. The idea of ‘mainstream’ is then greatly altered, as consumers are exposed to a wider variety of genres and styles.

Part of globalisation. Geographic location is not as important when comparing sales. This has changed the type of movies that are released. No longer does a film have to be a blockbuster to be successful, most films will find an audience.

Examples of online stores:

Quick Flix 
Coles Online
Amazon
Spotify

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Reading week 6: The End of Books? – Or Books Without End?

Extract from Douglas, J. Yellowlees. The End of Books — Or Books Without End?

I found this weeks reading very thought-provoking because the subject matter is very topical as we are living in a time where nearly everything be becoming ‘modernised’. We’re told that the death of print media (and possibly print-everything) is probable in the near future, so what will happen to good old fashioned books?

I myself have recently rediscovered the joys of reading for pleasure while on holiday in Vietnam. If I could be teleported anywhere right now, it would be the muggy beach of Nha Trang sipping on a coconut while reading.

Victor Nell’s definition in Lost in a Book: The Psychology of reading for Pleasure is very accurate “lucid” is the sense of becoming so immersed in a narrative that we become ‘lost in it’. There is a trance-like state of emersion on a novel that engaging readers find pleasurable.

 

Part of the concept of the book is bound up in its fixity, the changelessness of its text. I found myself agreeing with this point. As much as I enjoyed the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books at the library as a kid, I think there is some element of the reader choosing the outcome as a fixed narrative. Besides, I would always read all of the options in those books and then choose accordingly…cheating on the purpose of the books I suppose.

I can understand the desire to select an ending that pleases you, but each person has their own way of interpreting novels and that’s why some people would classify Romeo and Juliet as a love story, and others a tragedy.

Many people prefer the original book than the film that follows. Often it is not interpreted as the reader imagined, or they are disappointed. This is because one of the joys of reading is that even if you can’t choose the outcome, you are engaging with your imagination and creating your own movie version of what you’re reading. Sometimes watching a film based on a book you’ve read can be frustrating, as the characters don’t look the way you think they should.

Hypertext and modern technology bring up many questions in relation to books. Such as what is a book? Is a blog a book? How about an eBook? Personally, I enjoy holding a physical book, but I also quite like the idea of never-ending stories/books and the possibilities that arise as a result.

 

 

 

 

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Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

I love TED Talks! This talk by Sir Ken Robinson was extremely insightful, as well as hilarious.

I do remember becoming aware of the education system in year 12. One of my teachers told the class about how we start primary school with big imaginations, and slowly, as we progress to graduation, that creativity and imagination is forced to the side as we learn about essay structure and maths. As Robinson explains, education kills creativity.

As he talked about the way we are conditioned to be afraid to take chances for fear of being wrong, I found myself completely agreeing with him.

This is a totally embarrassing story from grade 5, but I remember the class writing out some kind of test, and one of the questions was ‘why do lions hunt in packs?’ I had no idea what to answer, so did my best to make up a story about how they can distract the prey and work together for ultimate hunting power. Whatever my story lacked in facts, it made up for in creativity. However the next day my teacher, without revealing my name, told the class how someone had written a totally wrong answer about lions, and joined the class in laughing at my expense. I sunk in my chair and secretly vowed never to attempt to answer a question I didn’t know. And certainly never make it creative!

I find it kind of insulting then, for schools to bury our creativity for years, then when VCE comes around, expect us to come up with original creative writing ideas.

The arts are at the bottom of the curriculum. What makes mathematics more important than dance or arts to do with the body? The education system hierarchy is based on the ultimate goal of gaining a job, rather than what a person enjoys.

This TED Talk was effective because it is straightforward and practical. It really makes you question our own education.

It also validates some of the main points we’re being taught about learning methods in Networked Media.

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05 Reading: Critical Theory and New Media in an Era of Globalisation

Hypertext 3.0: Critical Theory and New Media in an Era of Globalization by George Landow.

Axil structure characteristic of electronic books and scholarly books.
Network structure of hypertext.

A new ways of using and interacting with books. The reader can enter and exit the text at any page, they can search for words or phrases, and its borders aren’t as defined.

Webs electronically link blocks of text. metatexts can start as self-contained, and grow by having links to other locations online, and being open to added material such as comments.

Simplest form: author creates a HTML template and only uses links to navigate the text.
Writing in the presence of other texts: The author links to outside websites as references, and they act as annotations to support their work.
Networked documents:  can stand alone or be part of a larger set of networked documents.

 

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Reading response: In-class ideas

My pal Memphis had some excellent take away ideas from this week’s reading by Vannevar Bush. She even wrote a blog post about it – making my job easy..here’s a link!

In summary:

– The reading re-affirmed the importance of technology in this course, and utilising the technology available to us.

– Re-visited the idea of active learning and adapting with technology instead of doing what we’ve always done out of habit. A good example of this is how we learn at Uni. Why keep having traditional lectures and write essays to prove knowledge when we can move forward with technology? Be active in learning, not passive!

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Reading week 4

As We May Think by Vannevar Bush

It is quite strange to read this article, written in 1945, and realise that Bush is discussing technologies we use on a daily basis, and has pretty much predicted the future. Advances in science and innovation in technologies are usually taken for granted by us Gen Y’ers, but it really is amazing how reliable the technology is that we have so openly integrated into our lives.

This quote stood out for me

” For  years  inventions  have  extended  man’s physical  powers  rather  than  the  powers  of  his  mind.  Trip  hammers  that multiply  the  fists,  microscopes  that  sharpen  the  eye,  and  engines  of  destruction and  detection  are  new  results,  but  not  the  end  results,  of  modern  science.  Now, says  Dr.  Bush,  instruments  are  at  hand  which,  if  properly  developed,  will  give man  access  to  and  command  over  the  inherited  knowledge  of  the  ages. “

This is so true of ‘recent’ technology. The internet comes to mind straight away. We are so lucky to have “access to and command over the inherited knowledge of the ages”.

I will often claim “what did I ever do without the internet?!” sure, I was in Primary School and preoccupied with climbing trees and writing in my *physical* diary, but for older people being introduced to the internet must have been like opening a huge door of information. Even though I tend to waste this privilege by watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians online (hardly brain-expanding, but hey, it’s my guilty pleasure), I do appreciate the wealth of information available online.

This also makes me question the future, how can we expand these technologies even further? What else is left to expand of the human experience now that we have covered physical and mental expansion?

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