Notes for Bryan

Blog Link:

http://cosmologyofawareness.blogspot.com/2012/09/but-now.html

After reading your blog, my thoughts would be to have more of a focal point - I felt kind of confused while reading because there were some tangents that seemed to start whole other new conversations. Maybe it is due to my lack of understanding of your topic from the beginning (which is more to do with me & my difficulty with philosophical conveyances vs your writing ;) but I would start getting into the meat of one subject and begin understanding and then get thrown into a different one where I had to start all over again. I guess if you could start by stating your main goal in a little more detail, which I'm thinking was describing a structure/process, that would help someone like me understand better. Hope this makes sense o.O

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Another thought, might be totally off topic, but thought I'd send it to you anyways in case it springboards other ideas for you - Emoto's claim that human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water. Since, as humans, we are largely made up of water, how does our consciousness affect our bodies at a molecular level?

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This is the octopus chromatophores video I had told you about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-OVrI9x8Zs&feature=player_embedded

Data Visualization Examples

Here are some examples of what data visualization looks like and how it displays information in a visual format.

Live Plasma: Helps you discover new music and movies that you might enjoy based upon something you already like.

Last.forward: Is a downloadable, open-source tool to visualize any Last.fm user’s social network, including relationships between other users.

http://m.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/06/50-great-examples-of-data-visualization/

Eye on Earth

http://www.eyeonearth.org/en-us/Pages/Home.aspx

Past Sr Seminar Projects

After perusing the mini-library of past Senior Seminar projects, I noticed that about 50% of the topics were on trend with what was happening during those years, about 35% of them seemed to just be philosophical and the remaining 15% is what really intrigued me. This 15% of topics and papers were somewhat of a forecasting train of thought which was interested to see what students were proposing at the time and to know what of that has actually come to fruition present day. An example of this was a student from 2007 that wrote a paper called "A Proposal for the Greenroof". Greenroofs which weren't very popular back in 2007 are now becoming a popular architectural trend for multiple reasons such as energy efficiency and for sustainable local farming efforts.

The paper that I found to be the most interesting for me was one written in 2009 called "Raw Technology." This was a paper on how the changes in the Japanese economy has been affecting, and therefore been changing the forms of sushi. He discussed how modern Japanese people had taken a great interest in less oily fish such as the bluefin and with this spark of interest, have managed to almost deplete the wild stocks of tuna. This is of interest to me because of my background in Aquaculture research and my interest in marine conservancy. It was interesting to see his paper pointing out how so many issues that you think have nothing to do with tuna end up having the greatest effects on their survival.

Internet Studies + Computer Information Systems = Data Visualization o.O

            I am majoring in Internet Studies which is a concentration on the Internet as a tool for communication in multiple formats. These formats range from social networking to news sources to entertainment mediums and many more in between. I have been learning about the different methods of communication through both the designer’s and the end user’s perspectives. One of these methods involves learning new software programs such as Adobe Flash and Dreamweaver in order to design websites from scratch. Another is learning about the different types of social networks and how to utilize them. Additionally, this program teaches about the history of the Internet and how technology has made it what it is today.

            I am minoring in Computer Information Systems which is a program training people to be a liaison and/or translator between Information Technology departments and users (both internally and externally). It is quite typical that within companies, most people working for them have a very difficult time talking with their IT people and vice versa. This program teaches people how to communicate with both sides and how to explain one side to the other. Learning what the IT department does such as programming, networking and database management plus business administration enables students to be this translator between departments. Even though it is strictly a business degree, it is rather interdisciplinary in the sense of needing to know so much information from so many different fields to be a proficient manager.

            I have been at ASU for three years now and the five classes that have had the most profound effect on understanding of my concentrations have been Internet Communication, Database Programming, Creativity, Systems Analysis and Design, and Society and Technology. Database Programming and Systems Analysis and Design have helped show me some of the technical components of the field I want to enter into. Society and Technology was important because it gave me a more thorough knowledge into the fields I thought I wanted to work in, such as Appropriate Technology and Sustainable Culturing. In my Creativity class, I had to write a large research paper which turned out to be centered around the subject of Biomimicry (the use of nature as an inspiration in design and science technologies). This was very important because it allowed me to find a niche in the field that I really want to take part as a professional in. And finally, Internet Communication was important because the professor introduced me to a way to integrate my background as a graphics designer with the major and minor of my concentration.

            Data Visualization is what I think I would like to find a new career in when I graduate. It is a very interdisciplinary path to choose as it utilizes my background in graphics and requires the knowledge of Computer Information Systems and Internet Studies. The basic idea of this career is that the designer uses programming to create information or statistics that they then display through designed content which is then displayed over the Internet or possibly on television or film. From what I have discovered, this is somewhat of an untapped field as there are very few people who can cross over and have a working understanding of both fields required. Usually, people can only either design or program, not both.

             Other ideas for research could be the idea of communication via the Internet and whether the amount of communication done online has diminished our social skills outside of the online arena. Another idea is whether or not the development of the Cloud will eliminate the need for purchasing physical software and devices or if will prove to be too unsecure for all uses?

Sr Seminar Main Blog

Just a reminder that this is the Sr Seminar Blog link:

http://ids-senior-seminar.blogspot.com