Comments on: Dystopia vs Utopia: My visual object for Week 4 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/ Part of the MSc in E-learning at the University of Edinburgh Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:49:57 +0100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Nicola Osborne http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-37 Nicola Osborne Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:28:07 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-37 Leslie, thanks for commenting and sorry for taking a few days to reply here. I think the hopes I have are probably personal ones but I think those fears are relatively universal. And I think that, since I'm typing this post BNP on Question Time shenanigans, that's always a challenge for humanity: uniting for positive outcomes as hopes tend to be super personally focused whilst fears are much easier to emotionally connect with and rally round. The still for empathy is from WALL*E and old married couple is a perfect summation ;) Leslie, thanks for commenting and sorry for taking a few days to reply here. I think the hopes I have are probably personal ones but I think those fears are relatively universal. And I think that, since I’m typing this post BNP on Question Time shenanigans, that’s always a challenge for humanity: uniting for positive outcomes as hopes tend to be super personally focused whilst fears are much easier to emotionally connect with and rally round.

The still for empathy is from WALL*E and old married couple is a perfect summation ;)

]]> By: lesleyf http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-33 lesleyf Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:41:30 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-33 Hi Nicola, I really enjoyed your presentation - haven't had a go at using prezi yet but it certainly looks good. I was wondering if the fears and hopes you talk about are personal ones? loved the 'empathy' screenshot(or whatever you call it. lol) it remiinded me of an old married couple - don't ask me why, haven't a clue! I think cyber or otherwise the human element will always be important in the form of hopes and fears...so completely agree with you. Hi Nicola, I really enjoyed your presentation – haven’t had a go at using prezi yet but it certainly looks good. I was wondering if the fears and hopes you talk about are personal ones? loved the ‘empathy’ screenshot(or whatever you call it. lol) it remiinded me of an old married couple – don’t ask me why, haven’t a clue!

I think cyber or otherwise the human element will always be important in the form of hopes and fears…so completely agree with you.

]]> By: GeorgeW http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-30 GeorgeW Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:14:19 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-30 Mmmm, like the Prezi stuff - is there any way to incorporate branching during the flow to extend it to non linearly, or some kind of deep zooming to encapsulate more data within it? I like the ruminations incorporated and think that weird isn't the new norm, but weird now has friends; we all get to communicate globally about our weird within a mouseclick. The internet; be weird together... Mmmm, like the Prezi stuff – is there any way to incorporate branching during the flow to extend it to non linearly, or some kind of deep zooming to encapsulate more data within it?

I like the ruminations incorporated and think that weird isn’t the new norm, but weird now has friends; we all get to communicate globally about our weird within a mouseclick.

The internet; be weird together…

]]> By: Nicola Osborne http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Nicola Osborne Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:39:50 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-29 Bill I am chuffed that it reminds you of Chuck Palahniuk ;) Firstly I'm not sure if weird (which I have always prided myself in being) if the new normal exactly - I think bizarre probably is becoming the new normal though. I think there is something about commercialisation of technology and biological technology that does drive rapid acceptance but I also think there are some issues that go deeper than that. The internet has been adopted with astonishing speed. But so was the industrial revolution. None of these changes automatically wipe out what came before but we adapt to new elements in our life all the time... Bill I am chuffed that it reminds you of Chuck Palahniuk ;)

Firstly I’m not sure if weird (which I have always prided myself in being) if the new normal exactly – I think bizarre probably is becoming the new normal though. I think there is something about commercialisation of technology and biological technology that does drive rapid acceptance but I also think there are some issues that go deeper than that.

The internet has been adopted with astonishing speed. But so was the industrial revolution. None of these changes automatically wipe out what came before but we adapt to new elements in our life all the time…

]]> By: Nicola Osborne http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-28 Nicola Osborne Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:35:54 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-28 Jen you asked: "I wonder if you’d say that nothing is inherently or permanently uncanny? If so, and if as Sian argues we want to make a place for the uncanny in our teaching and learning, does that mean we must constantly venture into new environments and technologies?" I think there are some things we find permanently uncanny - the almost perfect simulation of humanity seems to be pretty persistent across the decades from the Metamorphoses to West World to AI. Having said that plastic surgery and photoshopping are becoming so commonplace that the real unreal human may be finally bridge that uncanny divide. I think most of the things we find uncanny are not innately that way and do get assimilated eventually so one must venture out to find new environments and technologies as we find these much easier to accept quickly. Jen you asked:

“I wonder if you’d say that nothing is inherently or permanently uncanny? If so, and if as Sian argues we want to make a place for the uncanny in our teaching and learning, does that mean we must constantly venture into new environments and technologies?”

I think there are some things we find permanently uncanny – the almost perfect simulation of humanity seems to be pretty persistent across the decades from the Metamorphoses to West World to AI. Having said that plastic surgery and photoshopping are becoming so commonplace that the real unreal human may be finally bridge that uncanny divide.

I think most of the things we find uncanny are not innately that way and do get assimilated eventually so one must venture out to find new environments and technologies as we find these much easier to accept quickly.

]]> By: andym http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-27 andym Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:37:25 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-27 Bah... my eye just caught a glimpse of your comment Nicola as I scrolled down the page. Its confirmed my thoughts. As a viewer,I felt your feelings and opinions grew stronger as the presentation developed. Towards the end, you were making big points about evolution and mankind's acceptance of technology. As a fellow student, and probably the majority who find themselves in rapid transience with digital culture, I identified with your own sense of growth. From a personal point of view, until I saw Sian's contribution, I had never heard of Prizi. It's quite a dramatic platform for presentations - the way it leaps at the viewer. I will use it some where down the line. Bah… my eye just caught a glimpse of your comment Nicola as I scrolled down the page. Its confirmed my thoughts. As a viewer,I felt your feelings and opinions grew stronger as the presentation developed. Towards the end, you were making big points about evolution and mankind’s acceptance of technology. As a fellow student, and probably the majority who find themselves in rapid transience with digital culture, I identified with your own sense of growth.

From a personal point of view, until I saw Sian’s contribution, I had never heard of Prizi. It’s quite a dramatic platform for presentations – the way it leaps at the viewer. I will use it some where down the line.

]]> By: billb http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-26 billb Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:00:29 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-26 A thought-provoking artefact, Nicola, that reminded me of a favorite Chuck Palahniuk quote: "When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?". So, is weird the new normal? Possibly. I would add to Jen's comment that it is also important to think *why* what is new and/or unsettling becomes normalised so fast. Could it be because in the globalised world everything has to be sell-able to everyone? A thought-provoking artefact, Nicola, that reminded me of a favorite Chuck Palahniuk quote: “When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?”.

So, is weird the new normal? Possibly. I would add to Jen’s comment that it is also important to think *why* what is new and/or unsettling becomes normalised so fast. Could it be because in the globalised world everything has to be sell-able to everyone?

]]> By: jen http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-25 jen Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:27:11 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-25 Very nice use of Prezi, I agree - I chose to follow your path rather than explore freeform, and it was extremely well done I thought. The zooming in to the tunnel screencap was awesome! The points you're making about how quickly what is new and/or unsettling becomes normalised are very important, I think. We talked about this yesterday in a breakout session at the Literacy in the Digital University seminar, after Sian's talk about the uncanny. I wonder if you'd say that nothing is inherently or permanently uncanny? If so, and if as Sian argues we want to make a place for the uncanny in our teaching and learning, does that mean we must constantly venture into new environments and technologies? I really enjoyed this, and I think you've created a genuinely balanced multimodal text - the text and the images work together and enhance one another, and neither struck me as being predominant. (perhaps others read it differently, though?) Thanks, Nicola! Very nice use of Prezi, I agree – I chose to follow your path rather than explore freeform, and it was extremely well done I thought. The zooming in to the tunnel screencap was awesome!

The points you’re making about how quickly what is new and/or unsettling becomes normalised are very important, I think. We talked about this yesterday in a breakout session at the Literacy in the Digital University seminar, after Sian’s talk about the uncanny. I wonder if you’d say that nothing is inherently or permanently uncanny? If so, and if as Sian argues we want to make a place for the uncanny in our teaching and learning, does that mean we must constantly venture into new environments and technologies?

I really enjoyed this, and I think you’ve created a genuinely balanced multimodal text – the text and the images work together and enhance one another, and neither struck me as being predominant. (perhaps others read it differently, though?) Thanks, Nicola!

]]> By: Nicola Osborne http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-24 Nicola Osborne Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:56:19 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-24 Thanks to both of you ;) What I wanted to say in the artifact really changed as I tried to pull it all together as each image and idea started to make me think about other factors and the connections I intended to make also sparked unexpected connections. In a way I felt I could have rerouted round the same images in lots of different ways so I'm really glad some coherent ideas came through in the end. I know what you mean about potential seasickness Sarah, it's always a judgment call with Prezi. I like some of the whooshing around but I've not quite got the balance of swishy vs. too swishy I think ;) Thanks to both of you ;)

What I wanted to say in the artifact really changed as I tried to pull it all together as each image and idea started to make me think about other factors and the connections I intended to make also sparked unexpected connections. In a way I felt I could have rerouted round the same images in lots of different ways so I’m really glad some coherent ideas came through in the end.

I know what you mean about potential seasickness Sarah, it’s always a judgment call with Prezi. I like some of the whooshing around but I’ve not quite got the balance of swishy vs. too swishy I think ;)

]]> By: Sarah Payne http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/2009/10/17/dystopia-vs-utopia-my-visual-object-for-week-4/comment-page-1/#comment-23 Sarah Payne Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:29:28 +0000 http://digitalculture-ed.net/nicolao/?p=91#comment-23 Great artefact Nicola. Some fantastic content - though some of it did make me feel slightly seasick :) I thought the point about us not fearing technology but how we will change as humans when those changes finally reach us was extremely interesting. I think I need to mull it over a little more! Great artefact Nicola. Some fantastic content – though some of it did make me feel slightly seasick :)
I thought the point about us not fearing technology but how we will change as humans when those changes finally reach us was extremely interesting. I think I need to mull it over a little more!

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