Deconstructing letters 1 – Making Space
The idea that we are a very visual society today, reminds me of prehistoric cave paintings. These images were created before writing and complex languages so their primary function was to evoke memories, emotion and imagination. So, I find it interesting that humans are moving towards to a very rudimentary form of conveying information. This letter also reminds me that the birth of civilization is marked by the birth or writing and writing was not created to evoke emotion or imagination but was created to keep track of business affairs such as inventorying, taxes, and IOUs. So business is entwined in civilization and the trinity you mentioned.
deconstructing_letters_waleyko
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matthew_waleyko
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Deconstructing letters 2 – Re-structuring text
Deconstructing letters 2 – Re-structuring text
Mentioning how re-structuring a text is non-terminating process reminds me of my internship over the summer. I was a computer science intern over the summer and a favorite data structure of the place I was working at was the Java Stream object. What was unique about this structure was that you could perform a series of non-terminal operations on the objects within the data structure. By using this I learned about a different way of processing the information I was given.
Connecting my work with this letter also made me reflect on sharing at that organization. You mention that sharing is important as it adds further value. However at my work the value of the information stems not from sharing information but from keeping it secret as information is what gives the organization a competitive edge.
Mentioning how re-structuring a text is non-terminating process reminds me of my internship over the summer. I was a computer science intern over the summer and a favorite data structure of the place I was working at was the Java Stream object. What was unique about this structure was that you could perform a series of non-terminal operations on the objects within the data structure. By using this I learned about a different way of processing the information I was given.
Connecting my work with this letter also made me reflect on sharing at that organization. You mention that sharing is important as it adds further value. However at my work the value of the information stems not from sharing information but from keeping it secret as information is what gives the organization a competitive edge.
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matthew_waleyko
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Deconstructing letters 3 - Sharing what we see when we read
Deconstructing letters 3 - Sharing what we see when we read
This letter reminds me that I hate metaphors, poets, and artists. I believe that people should say what they mean and mean that they say. Poets and artists contributions to society is insignificant compared to the work of scientists and engineers who actually improve the lives of people.
The discussion of networks and hubs remind me of a digital forensics class that I took last summer for fun. One topic in the class was networking and how computers interact with each other via small packets of data. This in turn reminds me of my linear algebra class because in one assignment I had to create a Hamming code which are used to check if the data packets on networks have been corrupted. Hamming codes are also used to reconstruct data if it has been corrupted within the network. So I find computer networks very similar to the human networks you talk about in your letter as they process and interpret information in addition to creating new information.
This letter reminds me that I hate metaphors, poets, and artists. I believe that people should say what they mean and mean that they say. Poets and artists contributions to society is insignificant compared to the work of scientists and engineers who actually improve the lives of people.
The discussion of networks and hubs remind me of a digital forensics class that I took last summer for fun. One topic in the class was networking and how computers interact with each other via small packets of data. This in turn reminds me of my linear algebra class because in one assignment I had to create a Hamming code which are used to check if the data packets on networks have been corrupted. Hamming codes are also used to reconstruct data if it has been corrupted within the network. So I find computer networks very similar to the human networks you talk about in your letter as they process and interpret information in addition to creating new information.
Last edited by matthew_waleyko on 19 Sep 2019, 12:11, edited 1 time in total.
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matthew_waleyko
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Deconstructing letters 4 – Simulating a society
Deconstructing letters 4 – Simulating a society
In this letter you mention that we are mapping the universe into cyberspace. This reminds me of the work I did over the summer. I was working in the modeling and simulation division so the job of all the scientists, engineers, and analysts was to model the real world and create a simulated world that would be indistinguishable from the real world. This in turn required a lot of the classical direct observation and experimentation all in service to creating a simulation that will be able to be a substitute for observing the real world.
In this letter you mention that we are mapping the universe into cyberspace. This reminds me of the work I did over the summer. I was working in the modeling and simulation division so the job of all the scientists, engineers, and analysts was to model the real world and create a simulated world that would be indistinguishable from the real world. This in turn required a lot of the classical direct observation and experimentation all in service to creating a simulation that will be able to be a substitute for observing the real world.
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matthew_waleyko
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- Joined: 10 Sep 2019, 00:23
Deconstructing letters 5 – Reading the other’s text
Deconstructing letters 5 – Reading the other’s text
In this letter you discuss getting lost in the words and works of others. This reminds me of coding in computer science. When working on adding new functionality to old code everyone gets lost even if it is your own code that you are modifying. Because code is boiled downed to the simplest forms of logic you are able to see how a person thinks as you try to make sense of what you are reading. When I look at my old code, I am able to see exactly what I was thinking and how I was thinking about a problem when I wrote it.
This thought reminded me of how as a TA I had to read and evaluate the students code and that gave a great insight into how their minds work and what they were thinking. Because of this uniqueness it made it easy to spot when someone would just copy code from online.
In this letter you discuss getting lost in the words and works of others. This reminds me of coding in computer science. When working on adding new functionality to old code everyone gets lost even if it is your own code that you are modifying. Because code is boiled downed to the simplest forms of logic you are able to see how a person thinks as you try to make sense of what you are reading. When I look at my old code, I am able to see exactly what I was thinking and how I was thinking about a problem when I wrote it.
This thought reminded me of how as a TA I had to read and evaluate the students code and that gave a great insight into how their minds work and what they were thinking. Because of this uniqueness it made it easy to spot when someone would just copy code from online.
Last edited by matthew_waleyko on 24 Sep 2019, 12:24, edited 1 time in total.
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matthew_waleyko
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Deconstructing letters 6 – Theory of assemblages
Deconstructing letters 6 – Theory of assemblages
In this letter you discuss the modeling of any community and assemblage theory. This causes me to think of machine learning and neural networks. With machine learning data is given for the computer to train on and it develops its own model. However, whenever you add new information to the system the model can recreated to be more accurate incorporating new Information. Neural networks in machine learning reminds me of the assemblage theory as the nodes are connected with each other but the relationship between the nodes are change with each new piece of information with an element of randomness. As a result, different models are created from the same information in neural networks.
In this letter you discuss the modeling of any community and assemblage theory. This causes me to think of machine learning and neural networks. With machine learning data is given for the computer to train on and it develops its own model. However, whenever you add new information to the system the model can recreated to be more accurate incorporating new Information. Neural networks in machine learning reminds me of the assemblage theory as the nodes are connected with each other but the relationship between the nodes are change with each new piece of information with an element of randomness. As a result, different models are created from the same information in neural networks.
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matthew_waleyko
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Deconstructing letters 7 – Reassembling the social
Deconstructing letters 7 – Reassembling the social
The constant use of the future tense in this letter made me reflect on the future of society. We are at a technological precipice. Society is on the verge of being radically transformed by technology. As more and more smart devices are being added to homes an internet of things are taking shape. This internet of things is able to collect vast amounts of data on people that before now was too much to handle. But with AI and machine learning a whole host of possibilities has emerged. All the data collected can now be processed and used, that is why big data is now considered the future of computer science and will shape the future of society.
The constant use of the future tense in this letter made me reflect on the future of society. We are at a technological precipice. Society is on the verge of being radically transformed by technology. As more and more smart devices are being added to homes an internet of things are taking shape. This internet of things is able to collect vast amounts of data on people that before now was too much to handle. But with AI and machine learning a whole host of possibilities has emerged. All the data collected can now be processed and used, that is why big data is now considered the future of computer science and will shape the future of society.
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matthew_waleyko
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Deconstructing letters 8 – why we teach each other
Deconstructing letters 8 – why we teach each other
I am offended by the author’s disparaging reference to pragmatism, experience and cynicism. In stark contrast to the author I am a firm believer of pragmatism and believe that being pragmatic is something people should work towards. Therefor I find the author’s view that it is an unfortunate effect of being in the real world for a few decades infuriating.
I do agree with the author that professors are not rewarded for the teaching they do. A good example is from when I was a TA. The professor had 7 TA’s for one class so they only had to lecture for about an hour a week and have the TA’s do most of the work. As a result, the TA’s, some of which were only sophomores, had to do all of the grading, run the labs, proctor examinations, in addition to helping students with in class assignments that take the majority of the class.
I am offended by the author’s disparaging reference to pragmatism, experience and cynicism. In stark contrast to the author I am a firm believer of pragmatism and believe that being pragmatic is something people should work towards. Therefor I find the author’s view that it is an unfortunate effect of being in the real world for a few decades infuriating.
I do agree with the author that professors are not rewarded for the teaching they do. A good example is from when I was a TA. The professor had 7 TA’s for one class so they only had to lecture for about an hour a week and have the TA’s do most of the work. As a result, the TA’s, some of which were only sophomores, had to do all of the grading, run the labs, proctor examinations, in addition to helping students with in class assignments that take the majority of the class.
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matthew_waleyko
- Posts: 114
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Deconstructing letters 9 – meeting once again
Deconstructing letters 9 – meeting once again
The discussion of how we must have been uncomfortable in doing abstraction harkened me back to one of my first programming classes. This class was object-oriented programming and object-oriented programming is all about abstractions. In class we had to come up with abstractions and no one in the group had any idea what to do or how to create abstractions so we were all uncomfortable in that instance.
The discussion of the possibility of writing about friendship in the workplace reminds me of the first summer at my internship. The company placed all of the interns in one lab and after a month in we had a fun and lively conversation. In this conversating we determined that none of us were friends and we determined we were instead esteemed acquaintances. For the rest of the summer we would often refer to each other as such.
The discussion of how we must have been uncomfortable in doing abstraction harkened me back to one of my first programming classes. This class was object-oriented programming and object-oriented programming is all about abstractions. In class we had to come up with abstractions and no one in the group had any idea what to do or how to create abstractions so we were all uncomfortable in that instance.
The discussion of the possibility of writing about friendship in the workplace reminds me of the first summer at my internship. The company placed all of the interns in one lab and after a month in we had a fun and lively conversation. In this conversating we determined that none of us were friends and we determined we were instead esteemed acquaintances. For the rest of the summer we would often refer to each other as such.
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matthew_waleyko
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Deconstructing letters 10 – Learning is an act of courage
Deconstructing letters 10 – Learning is an act of courage
I believe that courage is overrated and instead curiosity and sense discovery drives learning as in my view there is nothing freighting or courageous about learning.
I believe that courage is overrated and instead curiosity and sense discovery drives learning as in my view there is nothing freighting or courageous about learning.
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matthew_waleyko
- Posts: 114
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Deconstructing letters 11 – Soft Power
Deconstructing letters 11 – Soft Power
I like the idea of soft power as is it the ability to willfully coerce others. I find your words “You want to construct a Society and do Business in it” very interesting as this does not describe me at all particularly the business part. My career plans are to go into government and the dynamics are completely different. Procurement for instance, the government says what it wants and businesses need to fight each other for the opportunity to provide a good or service. Additionally you inherit a deeply entrenched society in government, you cannot create one.
I like the idea of soft power as is it the ability to willfully coerce others. I find your words “You want to construct a Society and do Business in it” very interesting as this does not describe me at all particularly the business part. My career plans are to go into government and the dynamics are completely different. Procurement for instance, the government says what it wants and businesses need to fight each other for the opportunity to provide a good or service. Additionally you inherit a deeply entrenched society in government, you cannot create one.
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matthew_waleyko
- Posts: 114
- Joined: 10 Sep 2019, 00:23
Deconstructing letters 12 – Assemblages
Deconstructing letters 12 – Assemblages
The discussion of Actor-Network Theory makes me think of the Butterfly Effect and how minor experiences can change all of the connections in a network via a ripple effect. A good example would be the group meeting. If someone said something different then the meeting would have discussed different topics and would have followed a completely different path. Because of a different conversation the assemblages would have been different and basis of our society/group would be different.
The discussion of Actor-Network Theory makes me think of the Butterfly Effect and how minor experiences can change all of the connections in a network via a ripple effect. A good example would be the group meeting. If someone said something different then the meeting would have discussed different topics and would have followed a completely different path. Because of a different conversation the assemblages would have been different and basis of our society/group would be different.