MATRIX DISCUSSION

“That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born intobondage. Born into a prison that you

cannot smell or taste or touch.Unfortunately, no one canbe told what the Matrix is.

You have to see itfor yourself.”

Who are we really? What is our mind? What are we? What are we in terms of where we stand? What does our occupa-tion and social status have to do with anything? What does our physical appearance really mean to us and what does it mean to our surroundings.

The social psychological concept of “looking-glass self” coined by Charles Horton Cooley states that we shape our view of ourselves based upon our understanding of how oth-ers perceive us.

What has technology become to us? Specifically the inter-net and social media. Has social media created a new form of identity for us. Better yet a platform for us to create a new identity for ourselves?

I want to say that social media, let’s take the specific idea of status updates on Facebook, allows people to be who they really want to be in real life. People who depict them-selves as in a higher economic social standing by perpetu-ating lies, insecurities that become covered by modified photos and bragging rights that are no where near justified. These messages are delivered to the communities and networks they are a part of and their biggest reader is him or herself.

Think about it. Who truly believes this identity? People who are strangers to this person in real life? A person this person just met looking to learn more about this person? the most important and most destructive believer of this identity, is the person themselves.

Think about it.

TED TALK #1Ludwick Marishane: A bath without water

Ludwick Marishane has created a topical lotion that re-places the need to bathe. This innovative invention will save millions of lives that fall victim to diseases that rise due to inadequate hygiene. The Drybath product will also save billions of liters of water in situations where the consumer uses the bath replacement product for convenience. A “kid” just went ahead and solved one of the world’s great-est or not the greatest natural resource problem. But what does this say about our world and the contrasting realities the different face.

Let me tell you a story. Circa 2011 probably November if I recall correctly. My roomates and I never called the city to switch the water bill from the home owner’s name to ours when we moved into our home for the acadmeic year. One day we woke up to no water.

Yes. The horror of no running water. I panicked. How the fuck was I going to get ready for work. I was going to look so shitty leaving the house. I probably smelled horrible. My level of insecurity was bursting at the seems. The idea of “Fresh and Clean” equated to an aspect of confidence for me. Let’s analyze that mentality by referring to the idea of being born into a smelless and tastless prison.

My world was turned upside down because I didn’t have water to clean myself. What selfish first world reality am I truly living in when a single day without water to CLEAN my-self, not to drink and live, but to CLEAN myself, can provoke such a high level of emotional distress.

And here we have this genius self-proclaimed “kid” who invents a way for people to bathe without water. People who lack clean hygienic water to even drink who suffer daily without a life necessity.

Scientifically speaking why is water a “life necessity?”

Well according to me, because I can’t feel confident without a shower right? What has happened to my reality?

Think about it.

Ever wonder why such a convenient feature exists? Well of course to make our lazy asses more prone to creating more accounts on newer apps and websites so corporate America can make money right?

No. No. No. It is so that companies like facebook can mon-etize our privacy.

Think about it.

Ever see ads on that little right panel on Facebook? You think it’s just a coincidence that they very much pertain to you and your lifestyle? Because Facebook sells our “private” data such as what we search for, to advertising companies so they can better cater and laser their products to us.

Now take away the idea of monetizing our data to laser ad campaigns specifically to us. What do you have? Facebook knows much more about us than just what we “upload” to Facebook.

Think about it.

PRIVACY“We lived on farms, then we

lived in cities, and now we’re goingto live on the

internet.” - Sean Parker (Social Network)

FACEBOOK THIS FACEBOOK THAT TWITTER THIS BLAH BLAH SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING COOKIES DEMOGRAPHICS PSYCOGRAPHICS STATUS UPDATE PICTURES OF WEED AND GUNS ON MY INSTAGRAM THOUGH COOKIES COOKIES.

Create an account or login with Facebook.

Let me say that again. Create an account or login with Facebook. If there is a feature that has destroyed our pri-vacy on the internet, this is it.

DIGITAL MEDIA PRINCIPLES1. Numerical Representation

- Digital media is.. well digital. Think about what binary code is and how a computer runs. Think about recorded sound. When we project sound waves into a condensor microphone in a studio is it merely storing the wave in the computer? No. It is breaking it down into a series of numbers and codes that will then be reread by a computer to redepict that wave we produced. DIgital media is nothing but continuous data.

2. Modularity

- To what degree can digital media be deconstructed? Bet-ter yet to what degree can digital media be deconstructed than reconstructed either in the same form or a different one? The possibilities are endless.

4. Automation

- Automation is the opposite of manual. In terms of pro-cesses automation is needless to say the more advanced process. By finding a way to automate a process digitally we create convenience. If we can write a command to be inter-pretted digitally we will not have to do the work ourselves.

SYSTEMS

3. Variability

- Variability is well in a way variety. How variable can a digital media “item” be? Is is a wav sample that can be changed in pitch or speed. Is it an vector image that can scale to any size without being pixelated? Digital media is not fixed and can exists in infinite versions

3. Transcoding

- Transcoding is the digital conversion of data to another digital format or form. An example of this is formats. MP3, AAC, MP4 etc.

We are all part of some sort of system in some way or form right? School system, work system, political system, ecosystem...

Our ecosystem is a system that functions with the structure of interdependence. This means that each individual entity within that system relies on and affects each other indi-vidual entity within that system.

So what happens when you introduce a factor of chaos into this system? Does this upset its ability to self-regulate?

Let’s look at our world as an example

My theory is that this earth was “created” to completely self sustain itself. Organisms eat, organisms create waste, organisms die.

This is one of my favorite quotes from an anime series by the name of Full Metal Alchemist.

“I am one and I am all”

So what does this mean? This is the manifest of interdepen-dence. Every individual entity affects every other individual entity within the system.

I am no different in context of myself and in context of the whole.

This leads me to my theory. Joe Rogan said it best. When flying on a plane nature looks beautiful. But when we touch down closer to the city.. doesn’t civilization look like a cancer? The placement is very similar to that of cancerous cells.

I believe that we are not of this world as a human race. All we have done to it. The natural resources that we have de-stroyed and squandered. I believe that WE are the chaotic factor that was introduced to this interdependent system known as earth and WE will be the end of it.

Think about it.

So I asked myself why are there young super rich people. And why are there old poor people? Is it because of educa-tion, generation, economic class that you are born into?

Well yes all these factors contribute of course.

But when I answered the question personally it came down to one thing.

Certainty.

Absolute certainty, in yourself, in your mind, in your ability.

Trusting yourself is the key to doing anything.

Have a plan. Don’t just say. Do. Calculate your campaign and execute. Try over and over and over again until you suceed.

Think about it.

CURATE

Our worth accumulates over time correct? Better let’s say our “value.” I mean I’m not going to graduate and land a director level position at a marketing firm right? I have to work my way up.

For my dissection I disected an electronic vaporizer.

An electronic vaporizer is used for those who are attempt-ing to quit smoking and instead “vape” a liquid substance that contains nicotine.

The electronic vaporizer is composed pretty simply. A couple of metal pieces, a mouth piece, a heat coil, a battery and a cartormizer tank.

From just these parts pure contact can be used to heat up the liquid within the cartomizer tank and generate a “steam” that is inhaled.

DISSECTION

As separate pieces they are absolutely worthless. They are just scraps of metal, a battery, and some liquid. But when combined they create water vapor.

When the button is pressed on the base metal piece, al-luminum contact is made with the battery. This provokes the battery to fire a current into the cartomizer tank. From there the heat coil within the cartomizer tank burns the nicotine liquid.

The nicotine liquid then evaporates rapidly and creates a vapor that can be inhaled through the mouth piece.