"Emergence"

What I think is most interesting about this segment was the idea of the collective whole and the power for potential. We saw this demonstrated with Sir Francis Galton and the ox-weighing contest, in which a large group of sort of low-brow, average citizens each took guesses at how much an ox weighed. When Galton added the averages together, he found that it was only one number off from the actual amount. And this surprised Galton, who was quite the elitist and went on to be known as the father of eugenics, or the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population,especially by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics)  or encouraging reproduction  by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics) (definition taken from dictionary.com). Galton's findings went against everything he knew because these people who individually may not have been the brightest bulbs in the box, so to speak, were collectively much more intelligent. We also see this same type of collective power with the Internet and what allowed Google to become the search engine giant it is today. This was done by linking, in which those pages that had more people pointing to them had more positive endorsement, and therefore more highly valued. And I just think this really encompasses the whole idea behind the saying "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." 

Radio LABs from Week 2

It wasn't until after I had finished listening to the Radio Labs that I could relate the ideas and topics discussed to performance. The Emergence Radio Lab allowed me to grasp this concept of togetherness and how two individual things can benefit the newly created whole. If I step back, I find it difficult to imagine a situation where something becomes a solo performance and is successful. Yes, you can have a singing solo or a speech, but often times the audience is present and I believe the one receiving the performance has an important role in the overall execution. This deals with the situation from the Radio Lab where they discussed the search rankings on Google. The factor that came into play was how many hits a website received from those searching the specific content. Without this form of audience there would be no significant numbers.

With the Help Radio Lab, I took away the idea of the amount of power one has over themself and the conversations that go on within oneself. I feel that this totally relates to performances as we all have to deal with the nervous moments before we perform. I know I definitely talk to myself and try to pump myself up. In the Radio Lab I noticed these people were giving themselves some form of an incentive in order to accomplish the work that needed to be done. In some cases I think this could aid the performance, just not to the extreme level of committing suicide if one fails as mentioned in the Radio Lab. I see it as a way of rewarding yourself for putting yourself out there.

Week 2

I though both RadioLabs were really interesting. From the Sir Francis story, I definitely took away from it the interesting aspect of working with a group to retain better results. I had a sense of how Google worked, but this was a really articulate way to understand just how much we, the people, have decided the popular content on youtube. Incidentally, it seems almost inevitable that poeple would use this system against itself to make money.

"I flipped a coin, and lost my life" might have been my favorite-attrbuting the the funny boys, and I got goosebumps when they both got lucky leaves. It was really interesting to see the change in Dennis. Iv heard it takes 17(?) days to build a habit. It seems like this habit actually turned into something Dennis loved. Regardless of Dennis wanting to do it or not, the tea leaves spoke his true fate. I don't think Dennis is wimpy in any sense. I think he needed a bigger entity to himself to show him he was making the right choice.

Obviously I wrote this before the Elizabeth Gilbert Segment but I just want to add something about the importance of only receiving one percent inspiration.

I really have gotten a really interesting set of perspectives pertaining to the 'human condition' and I am led to believe even further that every interaction is a performance. We are so concerned and in-tune with the other party and their reactions, as well as often attempting to avoid conflict. All of which result in individuals making deals with themselves and others in a way of taking a level of control. It seems like the power of ourselves is the most powerful. For some, this is literally the last restort in terms of making a real, internal change. 

Radio Lab! 09/17/13 Class

Radio Lab: "Help!" discussed intriguing, yet slightly disturbing, concepts about how to gain control over 'forces' within you. A woman, an avid smoker of 30 years, failed to quit smoking despite trying almost every technique there is available. Then one day she made a pact with her friend, a reformed smoker, that if she smokes another cigarette she will give 5,000 of her own dollars to the KKK--a thought that absolutely disgusted her. This worked. She never smoked again. Every in-the-moment craving for a cigarette was squashed with a more intense in-the-moment disgust at the thought of giving money to the KKK. It was a way of internally communicating, or performing, within yourself in order to get another part of you, an unhealthy part, under control. Internal communication is incredibly important for healthy living, growth and self-awareness.

Also, another type of more internal communication discussed later in the podcast was one about discourse with your muses. Creativity was being described as something more external and a person was merely a channel or medium through which these muses funneled their ideas into the world. The podcast said that if you were facing some sort of creative dilemma or rut, to just talk to the muses directly. This can be very therapeutic and is an excellent way of communicating with yourself.

Radio LAB

Radio lab Emergence: Steven Johnson stories about how work as an individual can lead you one way while, when u take the groups ideas and find the middle you get close to the answer. An example is for the ox story when every one guessed a number the middle number of all the numbers guessed was very close to what it is. So performing, as a group can be more efficient and which aids to successes through teamwork and collaboration. Also his blog, and how he helped Google with people posting advertising his blog got more and more hits making it higher on the list, of what comes up first. So he didn't become number 4 on Google search page by what he wrote, but by the visits he received and the comments that made him popular enough to be seen. So between both of these things nothing performs solo except the physical thing itself, but it can’t be put together without the help of others.

Response to Radiolab "Emergence"

The story of Sir Francis does a great job of giving an example of what this class has been talking about lately. Since we are studying people's performances, the community's average guess adding up to being what the ox weighs shows that a communities' performance can represent its culture (in a way). This may not be exactly accurate, but the story shows if a community performs together then it can be a successful community, at least within itself.

Blog participation

Just a quick note that I've decided that since so much of our class is dependent on in-person participation, if you feel disadvantaged in participating within the context of the classroom, you may receive extra participation points by commenting on blog posts. This pertains to both my posts and your fellow students' posts.