With abundant digital medias and technologies at our disposal, we should know how to distinguish advantageous features from excessive ones. Since these items are highly advertised and their abilities are constantly updated, the judgment is hard to make. An example of this technology is the GPS, a mobile navigational system. Installed in vehicles of customers who opt for this choice, the GPS interacts with users by mapping out their destinations with directions on its screen or through an automated voice.
It seems convenient. I know that my own directional skills could stand extra assistance on the road. The GPS navigational system is a very useful and revolutionary way that society has combined information with technology. Yet it is sometimes the easy way out that does not lead us anywhere beneficial.
Putting this much trust into a machine has its downfalls. We become too reliant on it, and sometimes it doesn’t even work. People with it still get lost, and people without these technologies still manage to get to their destinations, just by taking the time to actually think about where they’re going.
This project will relate to the “Cyborg Manifestos,” reading in the way that machines are used and become part of our everyday functions. It will analyze how this interaction between human and machine unfolds, within a debate of how this technology brings us what we need versus what we think we need. When it comes down to it, we need to examine modern advancements while bearing in mind ways we were able to achieve the same things without them.
As you might have guessed from the title of the comment, interesting. How are you thinking you're going to quantify usefulness? It seems like you might need to in order make a judgment on whether it applies or not.
that's a good point; I guess "usefulness" is pretty fluid..I initially just thought of "usefulness" in terms of how beneficial/advantageous the product is, and how much the disadvantages weigh in (..and ultimately are outweighed, in my ideal perception of "usefulness"). That's tentatively what i'm going for..
SO... i have a gps system for my car. My parents thought I'd get lost down here in LA, but i haven't really.
It is certainly a nice crutch to have in the car. I can't say it is always helpful (it does lead me the wrong way occasionally). However, I'm pretty thrilled to have one. I never worry about getting lost, and frankly, I think the technology is pretty cool.
I understand that much of our new technology is not useful all the time, but regardless, i think map and gps technology is only growing. Take a look at the Google Maps feature on the new iphone and other smart phones. Sometimes when we're on the go we need to get directions and we don't always have a big paper map handy. In these (mobile) cases are gps and mapping technology useful? Maybe think of considering this...
This is a good area of interest, with lots available to investigate. Of course GPS technology has lots of other uses other than driver navigation, so you'll want to be clear that that's the function you're focusing your research on. But what I'm not clear about at this point is exactly how you're going to do this research. You need some concrete evidence to analyze; what will that evidence be, and where will you find it? I'm not getting a sense yet of what the meat of this project will be, and you need to make sure that it isn't merely descriptive or opinion-based. I'll look forward to hearing more about how this is developing.
Most of my experience with GPS is with the handheld or even wrist-watch style units used by backpackers and others who find themselves wandering in the backcountry. They come with mapping software for the user's computer, allowing someone to trace out a route with the full topographic maps on the PC and then upload that route to the handheld unit. In the field, it shows them a map of their progress and makes sure the user stays on track. After the trip, data can be downloaded back to the computer to create graphs of progress, elevation, time, etc.
There also exists the hobby of geocaching among outdoor nerds. In short, someone puts some trinket in a small waterproof case somewhere in the world, posts the coordinates online, and others use their GPS devices to drive, hike, climb, ski, or swim to the coordinates at which the cache is stashed. There's an interesting community that surounds this, and it's all web-based, making it particularly relevant to the course.