TOYOTA; THE REAL DEAL
One minute of well executed, advertorial brilliance on many levels. Clear contrast between real and dystopia or technological … Digital driver in digital world commentary – “there is no “alive” in this town, just pixels, pretence and driver assist.” His reference to alive indicates that he knows what real is. Was he formerly a non-digital human?
The real car is concealed, hidden and only available to those who know where to look and have inside knowledge. Digital driver arrives with a suitcase (prepared to leave digital world) and goes to a shop full of old things, books, with lots of light bulbs – all illuminated (metaphorical “seen the Light” experience). Here reality exists in contrast with the grey uncluttered world he left, digital shopkeeper is eating a real hamburger, there’s a real plant … the car is the only thing hidden. On revelation of the real car and on driving it Édith Piaf starts singing “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien,” (No I don’t regret anything) dedicated to the French Foreign Legion (how deep should we go here?) – a well-trained military service with a high (human) ethos of morale.
Morale (also known as esprit de corps) is the capacity of a group’s members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower, obedience, and self-discipline of a group tasked with performing duties assigned by a superior. Wiki
Happy face now he’s driving, goosebumps (human response), “feeling” alive. No going back once experienced driving this car, past Danger end of World sign and then revs through a wall which happens to made of glass (so well done) into nature and the real world “Once you feel it no going back”. Triumph of the real over technology – of the human over the digital.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature&=player_embedded&v=K6Pb_tmPKGkO
HEART TO HEART
Great Ad for BT landline and a Real Human Encounter. Funny the son who is physically present asks the guy who is away if he has talked to Mum. Why doesn’t the son? “Yes we talk all the time”, says Adam … NOT. He meant digitally not for real. Text and techology are no substitute for voice contact and conversation on a telephone, the ad tells us.
“Something is up with Mum” initiates a phone call from Adam. She still looks pensive during and after the call, as if she has still not divulged what is going on with her as she pats her tum.
The fact that, even when he rang, she didn’t tell him could indicate their relationship’s “real life” neglect, built on shallow technological exchanges, could have adversely altered things. Or she may be pregnant and not sure how he will take the news, preferring a face to face meeting to tell him. Or.. she could have an ulcer just worrying about everything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l5bkniCUAow
WORLD BUILDER
Man builds a replica (not original in the true sense), artificial world similar to Italy. Starts with blocks, adds detail, colour, trees and flowers, smell, movement etc to evoke an emotion in a woman (he loves). It turns out he does all this to get a photo of her loving the smell of flowers. She is really in a hospital bed lying unconscious. Somehow he accessed her imagination. Nodules on her temples may have given him access to have her imagination to allow her travel to this world with all her humanity, touch, sight, feel, happiness, puzzlement, smell intact. But why couldn’t he jump out of the door way? Was this really just for his photo opportunity rather than her needs?
I think (?) this is technology provides a lovely gesture in this instance but awful in the wrong hands. After he got his photo the world dissolved in a way that did not make her happy although he comforted her in the hospital bed later and brought a flower that existed in his artificial world (could have been a 3D print out).
An example of humans in control of technology with the ability to manufacture images for other humans to experience (unwillingly or not) subconsciously and parts of those images can become real. With that technology they could surely cure her?
I don’t like that he could organise this artificial experience in her mind generally but have often felt people in comas are trapped in their bodies – you communicate intuitively but never really know if that is for you or them (in a similar way we attribute human emotions to our pets) – it would be wonderful to be able to interact with people in comas. Oh dear, I just said, “you never really know if it’s for you or them” … like the man’s photo shoot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VzFpg271sm8#!
They Are Made Out of Meat
Alliteration and repetition of the word meat became appalling to the point that I could smell meat and wanted this video to be over. Aliens visit to decide whether to engage with us – reasonably impressed with humans(meat) ability and our achievements, thinking, dreaming, talking, inventing machines but for our constituency – MEAT.
In the meantime the students living and being around them are really, really enjoying themselves, friendship, love, food, play. Meat made Machines, Meat does the thinking. Their view to me is repellent, although funny. The aliens could not get past what we were made off (meat) and so to them we were worth erasing.
“Who wants to meet meat”. The aliens could get past the meat to define humans – it was a tainted classification. We are not told what the “meat” represents to them – poison, food, a caste system in their own community?
Luckily the aliens’ viewpoint has no relevance to how humans define themselves. Happy they rejected us. They do, in this video, provide a unique and humourous viewpoint – humans as outsiders might see them. “Who meets with Meat.” Take “heart” the body is amazingly complex and unique to humans, as is our character, mind, spirit and intuition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IfPdhsP8XjI#!
EXPERIENCE DIARY
Still feeling a little behind but more in a rhythm and less frenetic about web tools and flicking around new digital sites. Loving some of the other things I have read and Week 3 Digital images. Wish I could get a handle on GMT for the meetings. I am trying a clock on my computer.
Am hearing completely foreign things now ref: Prof Steve Fuller on being human but some great blogs are helping me interpret. Saw the note about the time commitment needing to be reviewed if this course is run again – feel very relaxed about this and trust #edcmooc staff can too. We are talking about a great learning adventure not honours and I feel privileged to be part of it….
periwebblog 