Can Video Games Teach?

   Video games are a very major part of our society. I find it to be actually amazing how quickly they have grown, since they have only been around for about fifty years. In the sense of education, I believe that video games could provide beneficial attributes to education, but on the contrary, give some negative effects. Video games, help people with critical thinking, socializing (for most), and develop key hand eye coordination. Each of these correlate positively with education. The critical thinking can help people think more outside of the box when solving daily problems. The socializing feature of video games allows people to develop key social skills and will benefit them when they go to school, work, or in public situation. 

   The games could easily be integrated into an educational course. For example, if someone were to take game design, it is almost essential that they have played video games to help them have the best features. Games could also be structured to go along with reading, math, and science courses. An example of this would be a game that I played in elementary school. The game involved you answering a math problem, if you go the problem correct, you were able to bowl. Another way games work with education would be for medical research, the game, even though it is rather outlandish, Surgeon Simulator could help medical students learn the procedures for certain surgeries. 

   Some of the negative effects of video games and education are the dependencies. Some students may have certain disabilities inhibiting them from playing the games, thus having them fall behind on the course. Another problem would be that certain people would just play the game and not retain any of the information from the game. I personally, do not want games to be incorporated into my education, because I would much rather learn from doing the task without meaningless steps between problems. Also, I find that reading and being taught something from either a book or a person greatly increases the amount of information that I retain. If I were to be taught strictly from a video game I would not have the same education that I have today. Overall, I believe that video games could positively benefit certain aspects of learning. In general, video games would not be the best choice in practice for learning. The only benefits I would gain from video games being incorporated in my education would be that it would make some subjects more bearable and interesting; otherwise, I would not want video games in my education. 

Are we Too Reliant on Technology?

   People are reliant of technology, but are not too reliant on it. Technology is more of a convince than a necessity. The last time that I went 24 hours without technology was when you friend took me to Canada for a week. Living without technology was weird there, because I was unable to check what time it was and what was going on in the world. Other than the times I have left for Canada, I have gone everyday using technology. 

   My daily routine with technology starts out with me turning off my phone alarm, checking the weather outside, and then starting my morning. After that, I would check my emails and assignments, check what is for breakfast, and then check reddit. After my school day is over, I would play games such as World of Warcraft and Hearthstone while talking to friends on Skype. 

   Improvements of my daily routine that could be made via technology are minimal, but can greatly change everything. If I could create technology to increase the productivity of my routine I would do the following. I would create a computer screen that works in the shower, it would show me updates, weather, email, pretty much anything that a computer can do by connecting to the internet. Then, I would have a tablet or other device that can pull up all my work, books, and other school related things that would connect to one main computer allowing me to turn in all my homework virtually. It would almost be like a tablet. 

   When people say that humans are too reliant on technology, it seems rather ironic. In the past when people did not have phones to get the news from, people would read newspapers. So when people say that people are too focused on their phones they need to see in the past rather than looking at a phone screen, people would be looking at a newspaper. Also, technology is now just a standard of living, much like when people relied on steam power, oil lamps, and nonelectric things to improve their standards of living.  

   I do have to agree that some people are very reliant on their technology and cannot go more than a few moments without going back to it, but that is just how the people choose to live their life. The only problematic thing with being so reliant on technology is that if we were to every lose all of it, there would be mass havoc. Any thing would be that people have become reliant on it to learn math and other problems, but they don't actually use it to learn, bur rather to get the answer. So people are unable to grasp the subject and will not learn it as well. In general, technology is just a way of living now, so no, I do not think that people are over reliant on technology, they are just use to the ability to use it to learn, get update, and to see new potentials. 

Autonomous weapons

   Autonomous weapons should not be banned, but rather changed to reduce the lethality of them. They robots should be usable without a remote, but only able to function off of direct orders.

   The ramifications of using autonomous weapons is that many national threats can arise. Some countries could declare war on another and cause mass havoc and destruction. The ability to have decision making algorithm only further backs my previous statement. Algorithms are not always fully optimal and can have common mistakes. A huge potential threat would be if the algorithm were to go wrong and the drone were to attack non hostile targets, this would cause an uproar amongst many nations. Not only are they not reliable, but they aren’t practicable without human intervention. The drones will need direct orders, or the potential for harm will be tremendous. 

   On the other hand, the drones could actually save lives for the people using them. Having less troops going on missions to eliminate a certain target via explosives, we could simply use a drone and if it gets destroyed we build a new one. The only problem with this is that after a few hundred drone losses the amount of money used to create all new ones would be very substantial. 

   The most practical way of thinking about this issues is through the pros and cons. You have to decided whether you want to risk the lives of troops or spend a few hundred million dollars to build new drones. Personally, I believe that we should stick with the drones, but make minor changes to them to make them safer for others. As strange as it sounds, a few “safe features” to the drones can make a huge difference. 

   If we were to create a different algorithm that required a person (who could be located anywhere) to confirm that the target of the drone is the correct target to eliminate, then there would be a lesser chance of harm on civilians. The only issue that would go along with this is human error, but human error is already seen with bomb strikes and other warfare mechanics that it should not be such a large problem to the public.

   The real issue with autonomous weapons is not that there could be errors, but rather that people are afraid of the unknown and do not want potential harm. We should keep using autonomous weapons, but make changes to them to make them safer for the user and the civilians located around the battlefield.    

How has the Internet Influenced You?

   The internet has been the largest factor that has changed technology and even society. The internet has simplified everything. It has created new ways to speak to other people, to see other people, to connect to other people, and has increased our learning substantially. Its influences on me are endless. Without the internet I would not know as much programming that I do now, I would not be able to get around so easily, thankfully google maps is a thing, nor would I be able to take my college courses like I do right now. If the internet was never invented our society would be very different.

   If we were not to have internet, I would not be doing the assignment I am doing now. We would most likely be still using type writers, because computers would not be as widely accepted as they are now. The connivence that the internet has given society is almost indescribable. Without the internet Google would have never been invented, this does not seem like a very large deal, but when you look at the big picture, Google has changed everything. I personally would not be functioning the same without Google, I would not be able to simply look up facts, find where to go, or even know what is provided on the internet without a very long complicated list. In the sense of online gaming, large companies like Blizzard and Steam would not be existent today without the internet. 

Personally, if the internet was never created I would not be in the same major as I am now, nor would I have the same knowledge that I have now. The internet’s endless opportunities have provided and will continue to provide me with a book of knowledge that will never end. Documenting all the advancements in technology, medicine, or anything else would be extremely difficult without the internet. Companies would work very differently without email, people would have to work in closer quarters and information would not get around as fast. The biggest change of all would be distribution of software.

   Without the internet it would be almost impossible to promote, distribute, or create software for anything. There would have to be stores that specifically sold software only and promote it constantly. Apple, Microsoft, and Dell would have a very hard time promoting their new gadgets, because a majority of their reviews come from youtube and other websites that will show an unboxing or rate it. 

   The internet has molded me to be reliant on other people to learn, even in the past this was true, but not as wide spread as it is now. Without the internet I would not have the job opportunity that I have today, nor would I have the same major. The internet has played the largest role in deciding who I want to be today. 

Making Meaning - Pattern on the Stone

   Pattern on the Stone, I found personally, to be a very interesting book. It provided me with new insight on how computers and everything works. The most interesting part of the book was the chapter over algorithms. When I graduate from K-State I want to go into a field that uses algorithms such as data analytics. With this being said, I had prior knowledge on the subject, but the book gave me a new way of thinking about it. I liked all of the chapters in the book, but if I had to select one for the least interesting it would be chapter one. I knew most of the concepts found in that chapter and I just did not find it very interesting. 

   I did not have to look up any terms, but I need do further research on the Big “O” notation that follows algorithms. I found how to calculate it, what it meant, and how to implement it with my current projects. The book helped me understand lecture six in class, which was the algorithm lecture. The book did an amazing job clarifying everything in a very unique, precise manner. On the idea of recommending this book to a friend, I am wary, because if you give it to someone that has no interest in computers they will not retain all of the information and will not find it interesting. If I were to meet someone else in the Computer Science field who has not read this book, I would tell them to read it in a heart beat. 

   Overall, Pattern on the Stone was a very good book. It provide great detail over what computers are, how they work, and things you can do with them. I wish the book was longer and contained more detail, but nonetheless, it was a great book. My favorite feature of the book was how the author described everything and taught the reader how it worked. He took a very friendly, knowledgeable tone with the book that made it very easy to follow. If this book was written with the same information, but with a different author I do not think I would have liked it as much as I did. The simplicity of the book that taught information over a very complex subject is what made the book as good as it is. This book is the perfect example of taking something very complex, and condensing it into something that someone can understand. If I had to rate this book it would get a 10/10. 

Computers In Daily Life

   The most prominent computer system that we use on a daily basis was not hard to think of. The answer is simple, it is a router. William Yeager, was the first person to create a multiprotocol router and worked at MIT and Stanford. The technology and ideas behind routers is baffling, the thought of fluently connecting everything on the internet together with ease is amazing. The system itself is above common, it is almost a necessity for any computer user. The systems have been around since 1981, but have grown vastly since then. 

   Life without routers would differ greatly to what we have now. We would not have the capabilities and the power to gather information that we do today. There would be no internet, phones would have veered in a different direction and we would be doing most of our work on paper/typewriters. We would also not have smartphones, computers, mp3 players (ipods), and other advanced technology.

   Security concerns are highly associated with routers and computers in general. With routers allowing computers to connect to the internet and even each other there is a lot of room for malicious activity. Due to the fact that anyone who has a computer will most likely want to connect to the internet, they will need to by a router. This means that every person who has a device that uses internet will also own a router. With this being said, every person is at a potential risk of their data being stolen or corrupted by someone else. If the the inventions of routers never happened, then we would not be at this risk and all malicious crimes involving stealing data would have to happen in person and would be a lot easier to track. Another thing that happens with everything being connect to the internet is countries spying on other countries. With the event that happened with Edward Snowden, we can see that the chances of “cyberwar” positively correlates with how much we rely and use the internet daily.

   As previously stated, routers have changed the way we use, think, and act with our devices. Routers have changed the direction that our future is taking and will help us further progress in the field of technology. Even with all the potential risks of data breaching, cyberwar, malicious activity, and potential harm routers will always be a stepping stone in our path to the future.  

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router_(computing) 

Algorithms

   Thinking of something that I do everyday that could be expressed as an algorithm is not easy task. After much consideration, I decided that the most obvious algorithm that I use everyday is what to wear. Expressing the process to someone can happen in many different ways. The first way I could express this, is if I know exactly what I want to wear. If I know what I am wanting to wear the algorithm would be straight forward and the function would look like this:

   def Dress():

      put_on(pants)

      put_on(shirt)

      put_on(shoes)

In this scenario the function is easily excited and really doesn’t have a bad “Big O” input. The second scenario that could happen with my dressing algorithm is if I know what I want to wear, but I am unsure if the clothes I want are washed our not. This function when described to a person or computer would look like this:

   def Dress():

      if not is_dirty(shirt):

         put_on(shirt)

      else:

         put_on(clean_shirt)

      if not is_dirty(pants):

         put_on(pants)

      else:

         put_on(clean_pants)

      put_on(shoes)

In this scenario the function Dress() is a bit more complex, I am required to do a few extra steps to find my outcome. The final scenario is a bit longer, and would be rather spacey to type out so I will describe it. In the third scenario I would base what I am going to wear that day on if it is clean or not and if the temperature is in a certain range at that time. This function would have around twelve steps and take a lot longer based on how many inputs I have. 

   Describing all of these functions to a robot would be very easy to do, given the two examples above, a robot could easily be programed to run this. If I were to implement this algorithm with a computer, it would be very, very easy to do so. All I would need to do is write out a few more logic statements and it can easily return the outcome variable.  

   My outfit algorithm is not the fastest one, I would easily save time by preemptively sorting my clothes so I would not have to do the clean or dirty check in it. Other than that one fix, I don’t think that I could make it anymore efficient.

   If I had to share my algorithm verbally with people it would go something like this. The first step the the Dress() function is to pick out a shirt from your closet, check to see if the shirt is dirty, if it is, put it into the hamper, if not, put on the shirt. Next, pick out a pair of pants from the closet, check to see if the pants are dirty, if it is, put in into the hamper, if not, put on the pants. Finally, select a pair of shoes that you would like to wear and put them on.