Final Blog

In my literature circle experience, I read the book Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson.
I chose to compare my book to my good friend Benjy Wax's book. In The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain, Benjy talked about how the Internet, with all it's pros and cons, is neither rotting nor enhancing our brain. We have the same brains of the past, just differently programmed. For instance, an inventor of the early 20th century would head to his study and toil away for hours at his latest ideas. After weeks of seclusion, he/she would emerge victorious, invention in hand. But Steven Johnson brings up the point of how 21st century inventors operate. They would post their idea to a forum, receive feedback and finish their product within a couple of weeks.
Are these processes different? Yes. Do they produce the same result? Yes. So as Benjy read in his book, the human brain is not smarter, nor dumber, it is just different. Thanks to the innovations of the modern day, the creative process is completely changed.

Captured Thought: Humanities Class

This past week I found out something that I should have figured out a while ago. While it may sound like a bad thing, I encourage you to really think about what I am about to say/type.
I learned that in this Humanities class, the grade I get is neither important nor a reflection of my learning. The important thing about this class is that I'm learning about the humanities and writing. While it is true that I haven't received an A on a writing assignment in quite sometime, my "A-ha!" moment came after I received one of my lit circle reflections. I received an 88%, but Mr. Allen himself said that I am close to "getting it."
I have a few more months left in Humanities, so I am looking forward to the day when I do reach nirvana and finally "get it."

SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR!

Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Good Ideas

In the final reading assignment, Steven Johnson once again incorporates themes from previous chapters in order to build his idea. In the chapter entitled “Platforms,” Johnson praises the adjacent possible created by different inventions throughout history, for example Twitter, Global Positioning System, and even the development of coffeehouses. The final chapter, “The Fourth Quadrant,” traces innovations and their associated adjacent possibles throughout the course of history with the use of enlightening, but confusing tables and charts.
The best quote comes from “Platforms” where Johnson is talking about the power of Twitter. “The songbird doesn’t carry the cost of drilling and felling because the knowledge of how to do those things was openly supplied by other species in the chain. She just needs to know how to tweet” (Johnson 210).
Since reading this book, “Platforms” has to be my favorite chapter because it is incredibly relevant to current events in 2011, despite being published last year. The power of Twitter has been showcased in the recent conflicts in Egypt and the Middle East. Through social media, the people of these countries were able to unite as one mass and topple dictatorships that have stood for decades. Without the adjacent possible of Twitter and Facebook, these social revolutions could not have happened. Johnson knows this and praises the innovation; not only adjacent possible, but the future possibilities brought by these platforms are what Johnson is truly trying to convey in his book.