TOW #19 - The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder

Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize winner of his book The Soul of a New Machine, a book about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation. Considered a literary journalist, Kidder has also won other awards such as the National Book Award for Nonfiction, Ambassador Book Award, Lettre Ulysses Award, and many others, establishing him as a significant and credible writer of nonfiction. In his book The Soul of a New Machine, Kidder narrates the experiences of the two design groups that are fighting to create a new computer than can compete with the VAX computer developed by Digital Equipment Corporation, which is dominating in the market of 32-bit computers. Kidder documents the conceptualization, design, and the implementation process that takes place at Date General Corporation and tells the story of the company's struggle through the experiences the design teams had to face. Directed towards those interested in engineering and computer science, this book portrays an important piece of the history of the development of the modern computer. However, Kidder's main purpose is not to inform his readers, but to motivate them not to give up when faced with a situation involving a crucial deadline and a near-impossible problem to solve. Throughout the first half of the book, Kidder attempts to achieve his purpose through anecdotes and imagery. The addition of anecdotes creates an atmosphere that makes it seem as if the reader is at Data General Corporation itself, which enhances the audience's reading experience. Complementing anecdotes is Kidder's imagery. The skillful use of adjectives and other methods of describing a situation/person promotes the reader's understanding of what is taking place and the obstacles the design groups have to go through. Combined, these devices attempted to achieve Kidder's purpose and, however, were not successful because the struggles in the book have yet to be impactful. However, I believe that in the second half of the book, Kidder will be able to achieve his purpose.

TOW #18 - Article: "Technology Must Prevent Texting While Driving, Say Doctors" by Douglas Main

No Texting and Driving

The cellphone, a device capable of placing calls, texting, and entertaining its users, is possibly one of the most dangerous gadgets ever developed. Douglas Main, a science and environmental journalist who contributes greatly to Popular Science and other science news organizations, recognizes the threat that cellphones pose on those who are able to drive since "cellphones are responsible for a quarter of all accidents in the U.S. Texting is particularly bad, since it serves as both a mental and visual distraction." Concerned about the plight technology these days has caused, Main conceptualizes various ideas that have a great potential of increasing a driver's safety. One such fix to this problem that Main suggests is by adding a sensor to the car that creates a jamming signal, preventing drivers from using their phones and driving unsafely at the same time. Drivers, young and old, need to understand the dangers of using their cellphones carelessly. However, they do not, and rather than raising awareness of this situation, Main proposes that it is best to create equipment for the betterment of the current predicament. To achieve his purpose of warning people of the hazards of cellphone use while driving and proposing ideas to ensure safety, Main includes statistics on driving and quotes from doctors. The addition of statistics in the articles creates a quantitative outlook for the readers of the article. By understanding the percent and number of people effected by this, readers who are drivers are subtly forced to become scared and worried, making the incorporation statistics a direct appeal to pathos. Furthermore, Main quotes various doctors who have similar viewpoints on the texting and driving dilemma. Quotes create a sense of professionalism, further strengthening Main's credibility while giving an insight to readers about the dangers of driving. Statistics and quotes were strong enough the achieve Main's purpose, making drivers more aware of their phone habits and convincing them to acquire technology that prevents such dangerous behavior. 

The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder

The nonfiction book I selected for the third marking period is The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder. Technology is rampant in today's society, and this book takes us through the experiences of a computer engineering team racing to design a next-generation computer at a fast pace under great pressure.

I chose to read this book because it stood out as something very interesting. It is interesting to learn about the roots, the history, and the significant events that eventually built up to current technology. By reading this book, I am hoping to not only learn about where my iPhone and computer came from, but also incorporate some of the anecdotes described in the book into my work in the future. 

TOW #17 - Article: "How to Check if Your App is Addictive Enough to Make Money" by Shira Abel

Video Games!!

It is currently the prime time for smartphones. Adults, teenagers, and even young children are busy on their tablets and/or phones obsessively playing games such as Flappy Bird, Angry Birds, Clash of Clans, and others. But what is so intriguing about these games that makes them so addicting? Shira Abel, the CEO of Hunter & Bard (a marketing agency that works with start-ups, small companies, and entrepreneurs) and a constant contributor to The Next Web, breaks down apps into the specific components that affect their addictive-ness. The major elements include the app's concept, conditions, platform, environment, "quick wins," and recurring revenue. By understanding each part of an application that contributes to its addictive-ness, programmers, primarily those who develop mobile-based applications, can increase their potential of making a more mainstream application. As technology continues to advance, so does the number of application developers around the world. Abel's purpose of writing this article is to teach programmers how to make a "perfect" application that can easily addict the public. Through her use of listing and real-life examples, Abel is successfully able to channel her knowledge about marketing applications. The addition of lists in her article creates a simple flowchart for her readers to follow, giving a elementary, yet very informative list of elements to consider when creating an application. By giving real-life examples of applications such as Candy Crush and Toshi, Abel subtly forces her audience to consider the components that make up these addictive applications. For the present and the distant future, this article sets the foundation for current and future programmers to become a success. Shira Abel was able to successfully achieve her purpose of teaching programmers the "proper" way of making an addictive application. By implementing lists and real-life examples of addictive games, Abel was able to easily transfer her knowledge of creating a successful and addictive application.

Link: http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/02/02/check-app-addictive-enough-make-money/#!udv1v

TOW #16 - Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnston (Part 2)

In Everything Bad is Good for You, Steven Johnston, the author who is a graduate of both Brown University and Columbia University and currently an American popular science author and a media theorist, takes the position that regular exposure to pop culture is beneficial to us. In part 1 of the book, Johnston argues in favor of video games, television, films, and the internet, describing all of the positive cognitive effects it has. Starting off part 2 of his book, Johnston transitions into the Flynn Effect and IQ scores. Through various studies, it has been concluded that the population's IQ has been increasing across all races, and the factor resulting in this increase has been the environment, particularly the great exposure to pop culture. Nowadays, with the advancement of technology, people face so many problems and challenges that it is reasonable to see why people are getting smarter. Additionally, Johnston goes into the economic, technologic, and neurological drive of the Sleeper Curve. The economic forces include and film industry's constant production of movies and TV shows. The technological forces entail the media-related technology, such as DVD, VCR, cable, etc. Lastly, the neurological forces explains how people enjoy challenges and focusing on this that interest them, like different informative TV shows for instance. To support his argument, Johnston incorporates diagrams, statistics, and quotes. Diagrams, especially when trying to explain a complex point, simplified the content and information Johnston was channeling to the readers,  making it easier for them to understand his viewpoint. Furthermore, using statistics from various studies and experiments bolstered his argument since he quantified everything, giving a perspective for the reader. Lastly, by incorporating quotes from reliable sources, such as scientists, Johnston's argument becomes something to consider. He doesn't voice an arbitrary claim, but a claim that can be supported and argued against. With evidence, diagrams, and reliable sources, it can be justified that Johnston successfully proves that pop culture, contrary to traditional belief, has a beneficial effect on the public. 

TOW #15 - Article: "Can DNA Reign Supreme in the Digital Dark Age?" by Roger Highfield

Roger Highfield, the director of external affairs at the Science Museum in England, addresses the issue of losing and not being able to obtain information in the future. Considering the fact that there are some billion gigabytes of data stored worldwide and that technology is rapidly progressing, it is necessary that mankind be able to develop ways in order to preserve the rapid increase in data. Highfield goes into a brief explanation of how storage on floppy disks that still remain today are unreadable by much of current technology. There is no software available and no program to open files, prompting scientists to craft new methods to store information. Highfield's solution to this problem is to use DNA to store all the information. Highfield refers to Ewan Birney and Nick Goldman, at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute near Cambridge, have created a way to store two thousand million million bytes per gram of DNA. It is speculated that DNA storage can last until the year 10 millennia. Specifying this issue primarily to the scientific community, Highfield attempts to provide an answer to this future problem and convince scientists to pursue research in issue. To achieve his purpose, Highfield includes historical evidence and scientific jargon. Historical evidence that is incorporated into this article provides the context from which Highfield creates his argument, which is to use DNA for storage purpose in the future. It sets the foundation of his argument, which is then used as evidence as to why newer and more improved methods of storage are essential. Additionally, Highfield's use of scientific jargon gets across his reasoning in a much easier fashion. Since his message is primarily towards scientists, using science-related vocabulary will help the audience understand what Highfield is trying to get across. With historical evidence and scientific jargon, Highfield was successfully able to achieve his purpose.


Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/10553626/Can-DNA-reign-supreme-in-the-digital-dark-age.html

TOW #14 - Media: "Start Your Day On A Roll" Wawa Commercial

In this 30-second Wawa commercial, there are various scenes that go through the variety of Wawa Breakfast Hoagies. At the same time, this commercial shows what can go into the breakfast hoagies: cheese, eggs, bacon, steak, ham, etc. To conclude the commercial, the narrator states the different hoagie sizes (junior, shortie, and classic), each with its respective price (2, 3, and 4 dollars), and then ends by transitioning to the Wawa logo and saying the slogan. The target audience of this commercial is everyone who lives mainly on the eastern side of USA. Wawa, primarily located in Deleware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, aired its commercial in those particular locations because of convenience and promotion, particularly to advertise and convince people to buy the Wawa Breakfast Hoagies, which was this franchise's purpose. Additionally, Wawa aired its commercial in order to compete with other places that serve breakfast foods, such as McDonald's, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, etc. To achieve its purpose, Wawa incorporated music, visual text, and animation to help achieve its purpose. With happy and joyful music and singing playing in the background, the commercial conveys the idea that eating Wawa's Breakfast Hoagie is a great start to one's day. Furthermore, the visual text that pops up is another aspect of the commercial that has a strong appeal. Using bright colors, such as yellow, orange, and red, Wawa forces the audience to eye the words that pop up on the screen, which helps the audience create a mental list of what can be added into their hoagie. Lastly, the animation added the finishing touch to the commercial. It helped keep Wawa's commercial flowing, and it is effective in keeping the attention of the audience. Eggs rolling on the table, cheese getting cut, and sandwiches constantly changing are the various animations that crafted this strong commercial. Primarily appealing to pathos, the incorporation of music, visual text, and animation are all qualities that created a jolly commercial, which successfully convinces the viewers to start their day on a roll!