Responses (Davidson, Chapter 1)
1. The most common example of being misled by product advertisements most likely occurs in ads for fast food, and the largest violator being Carl’s Jr. Their ads usually depict very attractive women eating large hamburgers in what could easily be construed as an “erotic” way. One’s attention is drawn more to the commercial’s actors instead of the product itself, despite the voice-over describing how delicious the burger is. Clothing commercials also tend to be misleading in that the typical models are well under the national average in terms of weight-to-height ratio. When most people go into clothing stores to get the clothing for themselves, they find that they don’t look nearly as good as the models sporting the clothing on television. (Tracy)
2. Davidson utilizes the fictional anecdote of a baby named Andy in order to express the many ways in which we as children are influenced by our society. In particular, “boys aren’t touched as much, but they are praised more for being smart”, this in turn affects baby Andy psychologically (40). Andy is also being shaped by the language his parents use; “cute, nose, Mozart, Daddy, pretty, hungry, stinky, strong, careful, and stranger” all point to what is important in American society – what baby Andy should be paying attention to (41). (Madeleine)
3. Early childhood education is important to adult learning because as we grow up 40 percent of our neuron cells decrease comparing to an infant has more neurons than adults. Earning starts in infancy, long before formal education begins, and continues throughout life. Early learning will determine the capability of how later learning and early success builds toward later success, just as early failure will stagnate later learning. It is important to be mindful of how we interact with babies because infants begin to mirror the world around them, concepts, behaviors, and values that are learned from the people around them, especially parents. Every society defines kinship differently or family relationship, basically our values, perceptions and how we view ourselves can be based on social conditioning or what is being fed to early development. This means that the general population is like the products of society’s standards and rules. It is safe to assume that our natural beliefs are being planted in our thoughts that we are programmed to act, think, and feel certain ways, as early as babies because we are social learners. The natural perception for most people is give authority to the society that we can be so predictable because it is easy to give our concept of reality to social conditioning; therefore, it takes a different dynamic mindset in order to break away from the social standards. (Sam)
4. “By understanding how we learned our patterns of attention we can also begin to change them” (43). When Andy was younger he cried to get what he wanted he soon had to unlearn that as he grew up because that’s not what you do to get what you want. Cultural, sociological, and demographic labels should be unlearned if he needs to sell to people of different cultures. (Jake)
Responses (Hayles, Chapter 5)
1. By taking our individual energies and combining them into a group we can accomplish something greater than on our own. Our attention becomes more focused, motivates our search for skills and knowledge, and tells us how to deploy them. We gain the confidence of talented, skilled, competent winners. She explains that playing games can help us gain these traits and become experts at concentrating. (Jake)
2. Video games are the most elevated form of investigation because many critics viewed games are the cause of increasingly of violent, depression, mental health disorders, and self-esteem issues. Even though, there is no solid evidence proving that video games are the cost of these issues, in fact “violence… correlates strongly with poverty, the declining numbers are even more significant if one adjusts for changing poverty rates as well” (153). The potentially of video games offer education in a way that increases cognitive benefits of teaching kids to incorporated very positive results in learning simulators such as, flying an airplane, engineering, machine operating, surgery, dentistry, and so on. The perception that games are dangerous to young people rather than positive aspects is because when the news media released news with crime and correlated back to video games for example Grand Theft Auto video game with the shooting at some colleges, and how games isolated kids from the society. When kids spend too much time inside the house playing video games, instead of going outside and be active it can cost many negative outcome such as, overweight, anti-social, and so on.The truth behind the claims that young people are deficient from those from previous generation is that yesterday’s generation did not have access to many advance video games and the level of technology was not that sophisticated. “Cognitive neuroscientists have shown that kids can learn these concepts as long as the concepts are incorporated into inquiry-based learning projects, like learning games” (160). (Sam)
3. I agree with Davidson based on my personal experiences. Classrooms, on every educational level, are mostly structured so that students are “taught at” instead of allowing them to learn in their own way. For example, students are usually not allowed to talk in class and spend the entire time listening to the instructor and taking notes. None of this includes them responding to, or interacting with, the information being thrown at them. Testing students rarely tests their understanding of conceptual knowledge and usually examines their ability to regurgitate information. It’s possible for students to repeat what they saw in class and pass an exam without them actually understanding the material. (Tracy)
4. “Flow” is the “sublime happiness that emerges from certain creative activities that engage you so completely that you lose track of time” (157). Games provide us with this feeling, since they require total mind-body activity – in other words multitasking. This contributes to education since it inspires qualities that are fundamentally linked to learning. Individuals in the flow are “far more efficient, attentive, engaged, creative, and happy” (158). The “gamer disposition” is a combination of qualities that gamers possess, these being that gamers are: bottom-line orientated; they understand the power of diversity; they thrive on change; they see learning as fun; and they “marinate” on the edge. Lastly, “game play” is “procedural, strategic thinking,” and is important because it is far more conducive in inspiring and teaching children than other forms of educational learning (160). (Madeleine)
Reflective Essay
The Errors of Not Multi-tasking
Since the start of my educational career, many adults harped upon the “evils” of distraction, making it clear to me that: “multi-tasking” resulted in a loss of quality; and videogames were amongst those distractions. This common belief became widespread during my youth as computers and consoles began to play an ever-increasing role in environments of all shapes and sizes. Ultimately, leading to fear and anxiety across the spectrum of adults attempting to accustom themselves to the bewildering atmosphere of digital life. This is where my stubborn-nature comes into play. Without a doubt, I had and have always felt that these “evils” were in fact misunderstood. Due to our own focused attention we become blind to the very thing that keeps us alive and well – in other words the power of “multi-tasking.”
From the get go, I knew these individuals couldn’t possibly be right. Remaining obstinate and carefree, I devoted my time to studies and managed to create time for my videogame fix. At times I would even do the unthinkable – multi-task. In fact, I am doing it right now. As I write this essay I am checking the clock on this computer, determining whether or not I should grab a bite to eat, looking up and down as I type, and – perish the thought – checking my latest message from Facebook. Yes, I am an offender, and a justified one at that.
From the eyes of neuroscience experts our minds thrive on distraction, “wander[ing] anywhere and everywhere it wants to go” (Davidson 278). Indeed, we cannot even survive without multi-tasking! It is an essential part of our biological makeup that helps us adjust to changes in our daily lives, and yet we don’t even acknowledge it. The reason why? Our brain contains billions of neural connections, each providing us with a means to function. These neurons fire together throughout the day, ultimately constructing pathways. “The more we repeat certain patterns of behavior (that’s firing together), the more those behaviors become rapid, then reflexive, then automatic (that’s the wiring)” (Davidson 45). In the end, we don’t have to think about the components of certain patterns we accomplish everyday; hence we forget that we are in the midst of “multi-tasking”. Without a doubt, due to what Cathy Davidson calls “attention blindness” we often tend to forget the absolute necessity for multi-tasking.
As a child, I managed to commit the horrors of “multi-tasking” every waking day – even in my sleep. Not even my teachers or fellow adults could escape distraction. Regardless of how much they preached against it, they were among the list of 7 billion offenders (and counting). And yes, I still study and play videogames. Without a doubt, “multi-tasking” isn’t the enemy. It is a vital part of our life, whether we like it or not.
Works Cited
Davidson, Cathy N. Now You See It: How Technology and Brain Science Will Transform Schools and Business for the 21st Century. New York: Penguin, 2012. Print.
