I have learned many things this semester. Usually, it would take me a couple days to write one paper. I would sit for hours looking at the screen of my computer with my fingers on the keyboard and trying to come up with the right words to type. However, in this class, I actually enjoyed writing which helped me finish a paper much faster. The topics were very interesting and were not that difficult. I used to struggle with research, but now I am very confident that I will find researching much easier. I would have never expected to do so well in this class. Before registering for this class, I thought it would be very hard for me. Writing used to be my weakest subject. After all the essays that were assigned, I became a stronger writer. The assignments challenged my mind and made me think better.
The “blog” idea really helped make this class much easier because I had a chance to read other students’ work. This was the first writing class that I thought was pretty easy. Though, it was difficult for me to comprehend some of the essay questions. However, that was not a big issue for me. When I read others’ essays, it gave me an idea of what was actually needed for the assignment. With that, the essay questions became clearer. I feel really good about my final result in this class. I feel like I did pretty well on all of my assignments. There were some minor errors that I needed fix, but they were errors that could be fixed easily. I plan on writing more often because the more I write, the better my brain functions. As for the blog, I do not think that I will keep it updated; not because I do not like it, but just for the fact that I will not have time for it. Maybe in the future when I take another English course, I will start updating my blog with essays from that class. I hope I can take what I learned from this class and apply it to future activities.
Karla says, "computers will continue to be developed... an 'entity' is going to be created that has its own intelligence." What is Karla saying about artificial intelligence (AI)? What are your perpectives on AI?
Karla says, “Long after we’re dead, computers will continue to be developed and sooner or later—it is not a matter of if, but when an ‘Entity’ is going to be created that has its own intelligence” (Coupland 34). Basically what Karla is trying to say is that there is no limit to intelligence. A person can have extreme intelligence that can consequently cause an extreme artificial intelligence. There is not a word that can explain how much intelligence a human mind can hold. With that, the human mind can create something that has almost the same intelligence. Karla wants everyone to believe that one day computers will advance and probably become as or more intelligent than the human mind. I can’t say that computers will have more intelligence than the human mind because the human mind is what creates computers. However, nobody can really know what will occur ten or twenty years from now. It seems like everyday something new advances and the human mind just gets more intelligent. Karla mentions that we “cannot de-invent computers” (Coupland 34). What she means is that we cannot go backwards. We can only go forward and advance in technology, which will eventually create artificial intelligence. Probably one day in the future, we can call the ‘Entity’ another brain. Dan says, “Perhaps the Entity is what people without any visions of an afterworld secretly yearn to build—an intelligence that will supply them with specific details—supply pictures” (Coupland 35). In the future, people will start depending on another brain to think for them, rather than their own.
The binary code in the middle of Microserfs is a "hymn" or credo to "My Computer." What do you think is the purpose of this hymn?
This was very interesting to figure out. I tried to decode the binary code that is in the middle of Microserfs. There is a website that you can enter the binary code and it will tell u the meaning of it. I entered some of the code and figured out the meaning of it. What I found was a secret message about “My Computer,” saying that the computer is nothing without Dan and Dan is nothing without his computer. Also, how Dan controls his own life and with his computer, he can make the impossible possible. Before the pages of the binary code, we were reading about Karla’s depressing years before working at Microsoft. We know that Karla had some kind of eating disorder; Dan was trying to comfort her. It was like Dan was praying while Karla was asleep. As we turn the page, we see two pages of numbers, which include 0 and 1. This binary code’s purpose is to get the reader thinking. This message is a hymn because it lets us think about what is said using these numbers. When we read this binary code, it is like we are in another world. I think that Coupland wanted to show the reader another form of writing. I think this binary code was a representation of Dan’s mind in his computer world. I believe that Coupland is letting us know that in the future, our minds will automatically understand this type of coding and our minds will act as computers.
What do you think Coupland is saying when he includes random information, random keyboard hits and snatches of gossip amongst the journal and e-mails?
In the novel, Microserfs, there are many pages that include random heyboard hits. Throughout the novel, we read large, small, bolded, and italicized words that Dan expresses as he writes the journal; whether they are words that we understand, or just words that do not make sense at all. Dan says, “I’m creating a file of random words that pop into my head and am feeding these words into a desktop file labeled subconscious” (Coupland 45). The words that we see are just words or expressions that go through a person’s head when they think about something. Coupland included this random information to let the reader feel as if these words were their subconscious. By reading these words, we felt as if these are the kind of words that would pop into our head when we think about or see something. Our subconscious is always on. There are always words in our head that we do not express. Coupland helped the reader understand Dan a little bit better from his random keyboard hits because we read what was on his mind. Sometimes Dan would write one word or a couple phrases that really get us thinking. I think it was a good idea to include this random information in this novel because it helped the reader understand what was really going on inside Dan’s head. Additionally, I would say that the whole purpose of this random information was to make the novel feel like a real journal. I think that it made reading this novel a little bit more interesting.
Work cited
Coupland, Douglas. Microserfs. New York, MI: ReganBooks, 1996. 1-371.
I decided to take my screenshot when I was working on my activity. When I saw the screenshot, I noticed that I had many files open. One file that I always open when I am studying is iTunes. I think that listening to music helps me relax and actually helps me think more. I didn’t realize that I had so many files open until I took that screenshot. Also, all the files were minimized. It is so much better to work on the computer because you get to see everything that you are doing. When composing in digital space, everything is right in front of your eyes and you will find what you need with a click of a button. You can easily find information without the hassle of searching through books. Additionally, composing in digital space is much faster than composing without the computer. I believe that we can get work done faster on the computer. However, we can easily get distracted. If we find something interesting on the internet while we are composing then we usually stop working and focus more on less important things. Also, if we have accounts or emails, we usually open them and concentrate more on them rather than our work. For example, I have a Facebook account which I open almost every time open my computer. I can see that I have it open in my screenshot. Furthermore, we can better understand digital composing processes by using the computer frequently. The more you work on it, the more you will understand it.
