EOTO Key Post #5

History of the Typewriter

The concept of the typewriter dates back to the earliest being 1714, but it was not patented and fully developed until 1867 by Christopher Latham Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel W. Soule. Sholes was a newspaper editor and a printer, he had a need for faster writing and that propelled his idea of the typewriter. Carlos Glidden provided financial support and contributed ideas to the project. Samuel W. Soule assisted in the practical design and construction of the machine. There was a major demand and crave for having communication delivered faster at that time period, and the typewriter was one of the first steps to that kind of efficiency. Typewriters were created to create a more legible and efficient way of writing. When things were handwritten, there could be a lot of grammatical and spelling errors, it could be time consuming, and difficult for other people to read. It was created to stop these issues and a way for important documents for governments, businesses, etc to produce more copies and documents that are more legible and less time consuming to make. It also was a great way for people to be able to keep record of important documents, etc, as documents weren’t able to fade or be damaged as easily, and was also more legible for people of the future to read. People were able to have an easier time launching businesses and getting information relayed to the masses. The typewriter truly changed communication within that time period and was a revolutionary concept for many years. It was one of the first steps to more professional and efficient writing and mass production of writing and communication. The first commercially successful typewriter was manufactured by E. Remington and Sons and first sold in 1874, it went for around $100. Although there were a lot of benefits to the typewriter being created, there were some negatives just like anything else. Due to the creation of the typewriter, there were some jobs for people lost because the had to be able to know the machinery of the typewriter and how to use it, and things that were handwritten weren’t needed, less people were needed for the job. Furthermore, the typewriter also propelled some environmental issues. There was a lot of electronic waste and resource depletion when it came to the parts of the typewriters machinery. A lot of physical force was also required in order to use a typewriter which created strain on people using the machine as well. Overall, typewriters truly did change the standard writing style as well. Typewriters encouraged a more uniform and standardized writing style due to their mechanical limitations. They also allowed more people to use them because the specific penmanship was not required, it was just typing and pressing on letters. They definitely played a crucial role in shaping modern writing practices and contributed significantly to the evolution of written communication in the 20th century. Society as a whole wanted better and faster communication. 

https://www.britannica.com/technology/typewriter 

Blog Post #4 - Privacy

Privacy, especially when it relates to the information given out on the internet, is a huge concern nowadays more than ever. A malicious intent has definitely grown over the years on behalf of many people, companies, organizations, and governments through the years. They use technology for their own gain, even if it includes using it in harmful ways. This issue affects myself and everyone I know. Anyone who uses the internet, which is basically everyone nowadays because life has been made to where you sort of need to be on a certain communication level with others and for jobs, school, or even for just friends and family. There are companies out there that are collecting our information, about who we are, and not just basic things- but preferences, and certain mannerisms we have based on how we react and respond on the internet. This is a bad thing because it violates our privacy and is slowly turning technology away from us. I believe that the government shouldn’t be able to dictate what is said on certain platforms, unless it gets violent and harmful to someone or a group of people. They shouldn’t be banning platforms or taking things away that do have benefits for people, but they should have somewhat a little bit more control of what data is being mined and stored, and mainly being aware of what the point of keeping that data is. I recently watched a video about how car companies take a lot of data from us and we don’t even know it. Yes, they track how fast you go, and what times you use the car, and how much you press on the brakes, but they take more than that. When you plug your phone into any car, it now has access and maintains the information that is on your phone- so now the car knows even more about you than it did before. Some companies are more blatantly open about it than others, but if you read into the privacy policies of some companies, they admit to taking basically all of your information. Another insane privacy disrupter is public charging stations. These are known to also take your information and who knows for what? What do these stations have to gain, your information, that is what it gains when you plug your phone into it for power. Privacy concerns in general are a mess because anyone can come in and take your information right out of your hands, and not only that but other people can come in and attack specific areas or organizations which causes a data leak and that reveals even more private information. I think the only thing people can really do to stop this, is to be cautious of it and aware that this is happening, and to read through the privacy policies when signing up for something. 

Key Post #3 Eight Values of Free Expression

 In today’s current events I feel as if voice and opinion has gone too far in the sense of the internet. Most people hide behind a screen and say things that they would never say to someone’s face and label it as ‘venting’. While the internet may be great to express yourselves in different ways, I feel as if expression and opinion are getting lost within what the facts truly are. A global issue that is happening today is about the promotion of tolerance through freedom of speech aids in the rise of extremism and hate speech leading to violence and discrimination against groups of people. Which also plays into the fact that facts and opinions have gotten so chaotic and noisy in that realm, that some people can’t differentiate the two. 

Hate crimes against religious, ethnic, and racial minorities are rising, partly because extremist ideas and opinions spread online, fueling division and hatred in different societies. For example, after the Israel-Hamas conflict has gotten so much attention within the media, U.S. antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed 360% in the aftermath of the October 7th attack in Israel. “Reported hate crime incidents across the country have once again reached record highs, with anti-Jewish hate crimes at a number not seen in decades. At a time when the Jewish community is already reeling in the wake of a terrorist attack that constituted the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, the reality of this data is incredibly sobering” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. Regarding this conflict, the facts of the matter have been completely lost as people on social media started dissecting Osama Bin Laden’s pre 9/11 letter, and claiming that his acts against the United States were actually justified. That type of OPINION being relayed as a FACT through the internet, does not help in any situation whatsoever and does not make a more tolerant society- instead creates a more delusional and dangerous society. 

I can relate this to Lee Bollinger’s, “The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech” because Bollinger argues that protecting even the worst kinds of speech helps contribute to a more tolerant society, and while I agree with that statement, I don’t agree with it in the realm of social media as it is so noisy and nobody actually reads into stories that the facts of the matter gets lost and it becomes dangerous for specific groups of people. Although I still agree with the fact that this vicious ‘venting’ should still be protected by the First Amendment, as ridiculous as some of what I’ve read is- it needs to be protected. However, I do believe that opinions that are portrayed as a fact SHOULD be monitored as it is literal propaganda and becomes harmful to groups of people. The news, media, and especially on social media platforms have gotten taken to a new level of violence. As someone who is jewish and has had people that my family and friends knew, be kidnapped and brutally murdered- having the internet’s noisy OPINIONS creates violence for jewish people and Israelis all around the world and it is not helping the situation, it’s having people call for violence without even truly knowing it.

Blog Post #2 - Supreme Court

There is a lot of history when it comes to the Supreme Court, and there have been a lot of iconic cases that have set a precedent for many years after that are still utilized today- the concept of which they stand with their decision for years even when the world is evolving and getting smarter, which I thought was very interesting. It was very interesting to learn about some of the Supreme Court judges themselves, and their backgrounds and history. I found lots of interest in Sanda Day O’Connor, she was the first female to ever become a Supreme Court justice. Her opinions were very researched and thought out and she served as a swing vote in many cases. Furthermore, I also thought it was very interesting with how long it takes for a case to get to the Supreme Court, they can decide to discard it and not take the case. This relates to the concept of certiorari, which grants the power of the court to pick and choose which cases it takes and even this is based on a precedent which is the Judiciary Act of 1925. With this, I believe that the most important thing to know about the Supreme Court is that it doesn’t just make decisions on certain cases, but it plays a very large role in interpreting the Constitution. Going back to the point that they set precedents, their decisions widely affect every person living in the United States, which is why they play a vital role within the country. The video really opened my eyes as to how the Supreme Court works and how important it really is, and how when something is decided on it really sends a message and sets a precedent that will be followed for a long time.

Blog Post #1 - 5 Sources

 The following are the news sources that I personally pay most attention to.

Fox News is known as a more right leaning, conservative news source. I normally listen in and watch Fox when I’m in the car on the radio, or if I am watching news on TV, or if I get any notifications from it on my phone. Although it is one of my top news sources, I will say that there is a lot of opinion rather than news mentioned at certain times. They have a lot of opinions stated, as well as just debates between different people on certain issues. News sources like this make it a little bit harder to fully understand as it is very opinionated at times.

Listening in to Candace Owen’s podcast is one of my favorite ways to get news and information. She is very conservative but offers really good viewpoints on various issues. She really dissects information and details of certain issues, and she really brings about good viewpoints as well. She states her opinion but she also states the facts, and I think that she does a really great job at separating the two.

The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is another great one in my opinion that is able to separate fact from opinion. Joe Rogan brings in a lot of guests and they have really deep conversations that are super interesting, that also correlate and are about modern day times and current events. The conversations are very diverse and include guests of all different kinds of backgrounds.  

Social media plays a big part nowadays when it comes to the spread of media and news around the world. I personally pay attention to a lot on Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Youtube when it comes to news information. There are loads of information on these platforms, so I am very aware that everything that is said is not just immediately true unless it is proven with facts. A lot of people nowadays spread propaganda and twist stories to fit their narrative, or just are voicing their opinion and label it as a fact which can confuse people looking for the truth. If I ever come across a video or post that interests me, I always research it unless research is included. 

Another way I hear about current events and news is from my family and friends. Just like I am, my family and friends are also connected to different news outlets and social media platforms. This allows us to exchange information and talk about it, as well as convey my opinion to them and vice versa.