Joy Response

1.    This article addresses the primary concern that as technology continues to advance, our world will soon be taken over by robots that will have minds of their own and be able to make decisions for themselves.  This will therefore mean that there will no longer be a need for humans.  Joy creates an overall negative view for the future in his writing. 

2.    Joy uses an ethical standpoint to back up some of his arguments.  Joy claims that the growth and development of nanotechnology has the potential to create some dangerous outcomes.  He claims that if we do not consider the ethical issue of nanotechnology then there is a “risk that we might destroy the biosphere on which all life depends.”  Obviously he is trying to create an emotional appeal to the reader here since no one wants the biosphere to be destroyed.  Joy points out that the development of genetic technologies has already caused ethical issues in our society.  As he states, “the general public is aware of, and uneasy about genetically modified foods, and seems to be rejecting the notion that such foods should be permitted to be unlabeled.”  Joy goes farther with the point and proposes his concern being that genetic engineering may ultimately unintentionally create a “white plague,” which is a disaster where a particular group of people is selectively destroyed due to genetic manipulation.  Through genetic technology, humans may be able to develop the means to reengineer themselves into different species, which could lead to many problems in society.  Joy also brings up his concern with artificial intelligence.  If robots become capable of thinking and making decisions for themselves, they will eventually be able to self-replicate and become superior to humans.  Joy’s use of examples are effective because he is able to back up a lot of his arguments with concrete points that people can relate to.  Also, his uses of ethical and emotional appeals are really effective because the concern for human existence is something that every member of society is going to be concerned with.  Most likely, no one is going to argue against the fact that a human being destroyed is something we must avoid at all costs. 

3.    I would say that these issues have become more relevant since this article was written because there have been many new technological advances since 2000.  I would say that for the most part, our technologies have been positive ones and have allowed our society to advance.  Therefore, I disagree with Joy’s overall pessimistic view of the future of technology.  I don’t think we have to worry about these things that Joy speaks of actually becoming a problem.  The technologies we have developed over the last 11 years have allowed for many advances in fields such as medicine, prosthetics, and analytics. I don’t foresee that the technologies of the future will cause robots to take over the world.  I feel that for the most part technology isn’t abused and is used to make positive advancements in our world.       

  

    

proposal ideas

1. Source: USA Today for Friday March 18, 2011
Title: "The search for a new way to test school kids" The problem addressed is the fact that the standardized testing system in the US is causing cheating incidents and narrowed school curriculums.  This is an important issue because students are the future of this country and it is what they learn in school that is going to get them where they need to go in life.  Cheating and not gaining a well rounded education is not going to get these kids anywhere.

2. Source: USA Today for Friday March 18, 2011
Title: "Hunger, despair for millions" The problem addressed is the rise in food prices which has caused 44 million people to descent into extreme poverty and hunger.  This is a problem because these rising rates of poverty are a form of inequality and social injustice.  This is a serious problem that cannot simply be ignored.

3. Source: USA Today for Friday March 18, 2011
Title: "Female soldiers' suicide rate triples when at war"
This article talked about how the suicide rate for women who go to war has tripled.  This is a concern because researchers and psychiatrists are trying to find the causes of these increased rates with the hope of finding a way to stop this from continuing to happen.

4. Source: The Daily Collegian for Friday MArch 18, 2011
Title: "Wi-Fi necessary, but at the right time"
This article was about how Penn State needs to get wi-fi in its dorms, however right now money is tight so this huge expense may not be practical just yet.  This is important because wi-fi in the dorms would be much more convenient and practical then Ethernet cords and it's definitely something with the University should install.

Modest Proposal Blog Entry

1.) The initial problem that is addressed at the beginning of this piece is the fact that women and children are out on the streets begging for food.  Swift proposes the idea that anyone who could figure out a way to get these children off the streets and turn them into productive members of society would be doing a great service to the nation.  Basically, his proposal is that by fattening up these malnourished children and feeding them to the rich landowners of the country, this would allow the economy to thrive and ultimately just create a better nation.

Another problem that Swift proposes a solution to is the fact that there is a shortage of deer in the country.  Swift’s solution is to use teenage boys and girls as an alternative and butcher them for meat.  Because so many of these teenagers are already unemployed and malnourished, he doesn’t see a problem with this.  However, Swift kind of eases up on this solution because he realizes that this sounds totally absurd and cannibalistic to the point that no one is actually going to buy it.  A third problem that Swift brings up is the fact that poor families who have a lot of children are often in a significant amount of debt.  If they sell off their children as meat to rich families, then this could be a solution to paying off their debt.  This would also cause parents to be less likely to abuse their children and would “spur healthy competition among parents as to who can bring the fattest Child to the Market.”

I think that the satirical mode helps Swift to get his point across.  His sarcasm definitely adds to the piece and allows some of the things he says to be slightly less ridiculous and he actually does form some logical arguments through his satire.  The satirical mode also makes the piece entertaining to the reader so that you will keep reading to eventually find out what his true exigence is in writing this piece.  I think that Swift’s true purpose in writing this was to make people aware of the state of the nation and to realize that something had to be done.  He makes his point by talking all about these appalling and immoral solutions with the point of drawing the reader’s attention to who is to truly blame for the state of the country’s economy.  I think that Swift is really trying to point out that the upper class is to blame.  The true point behind this essay is that the lower class needs help and it is the upper class that needs to step up and stop this oppression.    

2.) In our modern society, cell phones are a big deal.  So how is it that people should expect us to wait to answer text messages when we are driving in the car?  I mean for us teenagers, texts are always important.  It’s not like we’re ever texting about things that don’t matter.  Every text is crucial and should not be delayed.  But for some reason adults think that texting while driving is dangerous- they think it causes accidents.  So, to make them happy why don’t we just get our cell phones surgically implanted into our arms.  That way they are never out of reach and we can always have that piece of mind that our best friend is right there by our side.  This solution would allow for us to be able to text, make phone calls and browse the web all while still being able to drive with two hands on the wheel.  During phone calls, we would no longer be having the phone glued to our ears, allowing us to be fully aware of the sounds around us.  This will all add up to safe driving without having to give up a crucial part of daily life.