The Wonders of the Virtual Killing World

Baker, Nicholson. "Painkiller Deathstreak." The New Yorker. August 9, 2010. Web. January 27, 2011.

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Baker provides a brief outline of a variety of war themed video games that he played thanks to influence from his sixteen-year-old son. He basically describes the experience he encountered while playing these games and the challenges he had. First he describes the difficulty of these games and lets the reader know how unskilled he is when it comes to video games. He makes note of all the challenges he faces and how bad he does relative to his son and his son’s friends. Next, he explains how long the games are and compares them more directly to a full season of a television show rather than just a movie. Finally he admires the beauty in the games and the high quality of the graphics and audio. He describes certain levels and acts by characters as “wonders of explorable specificity.” Baker continues to describe game after game in at least decent detail. However, Modern Warfare 2 seems to be the most heavily focused on game, hence the title of the article being a set of terminology from that game. He also describes Modern Warfare 2 as being the game with the “deepest moral snowdrifts,” although his favorite game he played is Uncharted 2.

In writing this article, Baker really sets out to convince the reader of the realism and intensity of video games today. Our technology has become so in depth and it has enabled virtual worlds, like that of video games, to be so realistic. Baker challenges the reader to imagine what it would be like in a real war situation, and then he gives vivid explanations of situations in various video games. In doing this, he is ultimately selling each of the games to the reader and making the readers think. He writes of how these video games are so real and difficult and it speaks to readers beyond the words he actually writes. His words invoke feelings of addiction towards these “virtual worlds” we call video games. He seems to be in control of the game rather than it controlling him, but the way he speaks of his son and his son’s friends seems to tell a different story. These games are so realistic that they are pulling in a bigger following than video games ever have in the past. Young and old, people are getting hooked and letting video games govern their life. The only thing to blame is the improved technology that makes it so realistic and addictive.

Copyleft Concept

We are all familiar with the term "copyright" which means the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit something, whether it be an operating system or a musical piece. However, "copyleft" is a term that was used by the producers of GNU/Linux as a way to describe the freedoms of the open source operating system they were attempting to build. The term, undoubtedly means exactly what you would think it to mean. The producers give anyone freedom to change it and distribute it. The only specification is that if you choose to distribute it, it must be in some type of form so that the next person that uses it also has their freedoms to alter the system. The whole concept behind open source software and "copyleft" is that any user should be able to modify it to meet their needs. Open source has the capability to make the world a better, more connected place. Sharing these ideas and modified operating systems among one another is the key to progress as a whole in society. Copyleft is a more productive and community beneficial concept to put behind software, rather than a copyright to restrict people.

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The Internet and Other Technologies are Successfully Re-Wiring Our Brains

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, July/August 2008. Web. 18 January 2011.

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Nicholas Carr provides a couple interesting points in the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” that really make the reader consider how they use the Internet and other technologies that have made the term efficient have a whole new meaning. Without clearly taking a side on whether or not he appreciates new technology, Carr invokes thoughts of doubt in the reader’s mind toward how these technologies have affected the human brain as we know it. He first describes an issue that many people have problems with, reading lengthy articles and stories with full concentration and absorption throughout. The internet, Google in particular, has really changed the way the human brain thinks and comprehends information. Before the internet research was strenuous and required full concentration and determination. Sites like Google have now revolutionized research and ultimately given humans “artificial intelligence”. Researchers in the past would have to search in depth and read book after book after book in order to obtain information that they desired. Now, one can type a few words into a search engine and find almost anything they need with relative ease. It has brought a whole new meaning to the word efficiency and, as Carr expresses, made readers lazy. Articles and other sources are more often skimmed by readers for the facts and knowledge that they desire.

Within the article, Carr doesn’t just provide specific examples of changes in the way society functions, but he more importantly conveys a sense of urgency towards the way people think. Rather than filling our minds up with information we come across, the human race is relying more and more on technology and the internet to be our “brains”. Carr points out that our dependence on technology is depleting our intelligence and turning it into artificial intelligence. Deep reading goes hand in hand with deep thinking, and the ways of the world nowadays are changing and moving in a direction opposite from this. Carr’s words speak to the reader of this article and seem to urge that person to examine their tendencies. Technology is useful in so many ways, but the manner in which we are using it could ultimately be making us stupid. He wrote this article to present his thoughts obviously, but more importantly to send a message that society is overly reliant on the technology we have come to take for granted. When writing a research paper, one doesn’t really consider where they would be without the internet, but more than likely they would be lost and incapable of efficiently composing such a paper. This amenity however, seems to be inhibiting the brain power of us as humans.