Diptych

Laura Poitras and Edward Snowden Article Response

This article talked about Laura Poitras and her life through the spying of the American government. It is shocking that the government would go to such lengths to harass a person about a crime they did not commit. Poitras was held in airports on multiple occasions, being questioned for hours. If this wasn't bad enough, at one point they told her she wasn't allowed to take notes for fear of her using the pen as a weapon. I see this as a blatant disregard for her right as an American. She was breaking no laws by taking notes, and was actually doing the most appropriate thing for the situation she was in. I find this appalling. I realize that it is necessary for the government to do something to keep our country safe, but what was done to Laura Poitras was a step too far. In her 40+ encounters with airport security, there was absolutely no evidence found for crimes against America, yet she was being wrongfully detained due to assumptions.
I also find it strange that we have to take such massive precautions when dealing with government surveillance. Poitras had to stop using cell phones, and uses specialized computers to do her work. Everything she does regarding her work has to stay a secret for fear of the government becoming involved. Edward Snowden had to leave the country and can only communicate his important findings through encrypted messages over the internet. I find it very hard to believe that the government's work is for our protection when people need to flee the country to talk about how the they are trying to keep us safe. The information coming from this article is mind boggling, and will keep me questioning the government for the near future.

The Art of Peeping Response

The first part of this article gave information on an artist who took candid photos of people in their homes, and using the photos in art exhibits without the people's consent. I feel that this was a terrible thing to do on the artists part. Personal privacy is something we expect from a home. It is where we feel the safest and most comfortable. By taking this away, the artist is not creating art, but rather violating a personal right. Legally, however, the artist had every right to do what he did. Artistic expression is a specific right we have under the Constitution. It is perfectly legal to take pictures of people in their homes (so long as it is solely for art purposes) and display them such as the artist did. This does not detract from the fact that it was morally wrong. As stated before, a person should have the right to their privacy, especially in their own home.
Another part of the article talked about a less artistic approach to the same type of "peeping" called "Mass Observation." This was done in the same way as the artist, but done so in order to gain information on various topics. I feel a little less disgust at this project. The only thing put on display was information. There was no personal information, and nobody's face was shown. However I feel that this is only acceptable for things that are meaningless, and not personal. Seeing how many people drive around a certain area in a day is absolutely fine, but once the information turns to why specific people are driving in this area the entire project becomes foul. Again, this has to do with privacy. To gain adequate information, the specifics of people's lives does not need to be involved.

Surveil Yourself: Specific Topic

Topic: Ending the usage of a computer.

- "Ending" usage refers to taking ones self away from the device in order to do something else.
- Laptop does not have to close for usage to end


Monday, September 2

2:11 am:
- End use of Computer

11:34 am:
- End use of computer

12:51 pm:
- End use of computer

3:17 pm:
- End use of computer

3:28 pm:
- End use of computer

5:12 pm:
- End use of computer

6:01 pm:
- End use of computer

7:27 pm:
- End use of computer

7:34 pm:
- End use of computer

8:24 pm:
- End use of computer

12:37 am:
- End use of computer

"The Medium is the Massage"

The first part of the text make a point that shows the type of media we interact with changes how we involve ourselves with the world. It states that electric media, such as the television or radio, causes our society to act more as a whole than does written or print media. Print media, as the book states, encourages a sort of seclusion among those who use it.
Seeing as this book is from a time before the internet and cell phones, it surprises me how accurate this statement is. Even from a time when electronic media was in its youth, the author was able to see where the world was heading: a smaller, more connected society.

The next section I read talked about jobs, and how they are being threatened by the technology around us. McLuhan's statement, "'When this circuit learns your job, what are you going to do?'" shows that we are expendable in the business world. Computers and machinery may some day be a better choice for our jobs than we are.
It is very strange that the author would include this section in his book. The rest of the work seems to illustrate that our world changes due to the medium in which we confront it, but this section says nothing about that. It does say that our lives could change due to technology, but not in the way stated previously. The only reasoning I can see for this section is that the author wanted to give an example of how technology changes us.

The book later goes on to explain how our media evolved, from times before language, to the creation of spoken word, to the act of writing our speech. With this, the author states how our means of acquiring the truth changed from hearing speech to seeing words. Writing completely changed our world. Things that were written down became solid and concrete. Written word gave us a more modern society, filled with things such as roads, buildings, and government. By writing down thoughts, people were able to reach a larger market, giving more people similar ideas. Written ideas could be copied exactly, not changed through speech. Speech alone can be misinterpreted and spoken differently from one person to the next. Text does not change.
This section of the book seems to differ in ideals from the initial section. This section states that written word brought people closer and more connected. The initial section of the book states that written word brings seclusion and fragmented societies, while electronic media brings the world closer and more connected. If this was the authors intended argument, I do not see why he would state the opposite. 

Surveil Yourself

Sunday, September 1

12:02 am:
- Close laptop
- Get into bed (fall asleep)

11:30 am:
- Wake up
- Get out of bed
-Yawn/Stretch
- Sit in chair

11:34 am:
- Get out of chair
- Grab towel, shower goods
- Put on flip flops
- Leave, lock door

11:56 am:
- Unlock door
- Enter room
- Get dressed

12:10 pm:
- Put on shoes
- Leave room
- Lock door
- Get on elevator

12:11 pm
- Get off elevator
- leave building

12:13 pm:
- Enter dining hall
- Swipe card
- Pick up food

12:15 pm:
- Sit at table
- Eat

12:26 pm:
- Finish food
- Put tray and utensils away
- Leave

12:29 pm:
- Enter dorm building (swipe card)
- Show person at desk the card
- Enter elevator

12:30 pm:
- Exit elevator
- Walk to room
- Unlock door, enter
- Take off shoes, sit at desk
- Open laptop
  - Browse various sites
  - Watch various videos

2:52 pm:
- Close laptop
- Put on shoes
- Leave room
- Walk to bathroom

2:54 pm
- Leave bathroom
- Walk to dorm room
- Unlock door, enter
- Take off shoes, sit at desk
- Open laptop
  - Browse various sites
  - Watch various videos

3:42 pm:
- Close laptop
- Pick up guitar
- Play guitar

4:37 pm:
- Put guitar in stand
- Open laptop
- Check email
- Close laptop

4:38 pm:
- Put laptop in backpack
- Put on shoes
- Leave room, lock door
- Walk to elevator, enter

4:40 pm:
- Exit elevator
- Walk to library

4:57 pm:
- Enter library
- Walk downstairs
- Find a table
- Take out laptop
- Sit down, open laptop
- Read articles

5:14 pm:
- Close laptop
- Put laptop in backpack
- Walk upstairs

5:17 pm:
- Check out book
- Walk downstairs
- Sit at table
- Take out, open laptop
- Read book, take notes

7:07 pm:
- Finish book and notes
- Close laptop, put away
- Walk upstaris
- Return book
- Leave library
- Walk back to dorm

7:26 pm:
- Enter dorm building (swipe card)
- Show person at desk the card
- Enter elevator

7:27 pm:
- Exit elevator
- Walk to room
- Unlock door, enter
- Take off shoes
- Sit at desk
- Take out laptop, open
  - Plug in charger
  - Browse various websites
  - Watch various videos

9:02 pm:
- Close laptop
- Put on shoes
- Leave room
- Walk to bathroom
- Enter bathroom

9:04 pm:
- Leave bathroom
- Walk to dorm room
- Enter dorm room
- Take off shoes
- Sit at desk
- Open laptop
  - Browse, watch videos

11:34 pm:
- Look out window
- Watch thunderstorm

11:46 pm:
- Take video of thunderstorm

11:50 pm:
- Close laptop
- Put on shoes
- Leave room
- Walk to other dorm room, enter
- Sit down

2:11 am:
- Leave room
- Walk to own room
- Open door
- Take off shoes
- Turn off lights
- Open laptop
  - Check email
-Close laptop
- Get in bed
  - Sleep