Yahovah

Relearning What We Already Know

[tartkiwis]

Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan was no ordinary man. He was a brilliant mind and popular media analyst. He spoke of the present and future with extraordinary accuracy and representation; diligently expressing his thoughts of the world through a highly educated and distinctive perspective. Some of his many quotes entail concentration on certain aspects from "being big," "spaceship earth," and "money."

"The ignorance of how to use new knowledge stockpiles exponentially."  An excellent quote describing what one could only imagine being of such brilliance surrounded by an ever expanding consciousness of media coverage. McLuhan felt amiss teaching students of only five to 8 years his junior. He started investigating into the ways students learned and attributed his feelings of abstraction to such. These students were learning from different media outlets and at a different pace. This meant for McLuhan to keep pace with the new trends to keep as sharp a wit as ever with the new technologies of the day.

At the end of the day Marshall McLuhan probably would have never expected media sensationalism to take the turn it has. With everything having advertisement and almost literal upload into the lives of those around us at immediate speed the idea that we are "entirely" individuals has turned nil. Today people are learning faster than ever and not always by choice. There are still many accidents in media and it dials down to "the medium is the massage."

[fluffysingler]

So my tech writing students have to have a blog set up by this weekend and several haver decided to use tumblr since that was an option I gave them. I have also started using my iPad that I got from brown Mackie. It is not that I am technologically challenged; it is more that I got to a comfortable place and there I stayed. So now I am venturing back out.

[tartkiwis]

Using my ipod is somewhat of a daunting task. I am very aware of how to maneuver through the gui, but exactly what apps I can utilize to my personal gain has left me feeling out in the cold.

[fluffysingler]

I’m curious about the subtitle of your blog—relearning what we already know. I find that is often the case with education at the college level. There is a lot of learning but a lot of it is relearning, applying, making connections, and bringing what you know to the fore. Is that the literal meaning of the name of your blog or a subtitle that you had added?

[tartkiwis]

A subtitle I felt was appropriate for the class. Whenever I read it and think to myself "how can you see life from another perspective?"

[fluffysingler]

So my tech writing students have to have a blog set up by this weekend and several haver decided to use tumblr since that was an option I gave them. I have also started using my iPad that I got from brown Mackie. It is not that I am technologically challenged; it is more that I got to a comfortable place and there I stayed. So now I am venturing back out.

[tartkiwis]

Using my ipod is somewhat of a daunting task. I am very aware of how to maneuver through the gui, but exactly what apps I can utilize to my personal gain has left me feeling out in the cold.

[tartkiwis]

What is concentration? The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines it as “the ability to give your attention or thought to a single object or activity." In today’s society there are innumerous distractions around us such as Facebook, cell phones, billboards, and homeless citizens sitting on…

[fluffysingler]

Ok. Good start. Now, thinking of distraction, how would you relate this to technical writing?

[tartkiwis]

Design any sort of technical writing to be short and to the point so readers don't become distracted.

[tartkiwis]

Distraction...the new form of Concentration

What is concentration? The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines it as "the ability to give your attention or thought to a single object or activity." In today's society there are innumerous distractions around us such as Facebook, cell phones, billboards, and homeless citizens sitting on street corners holding up signs... all polluting our senses and hoping to achieve one goal; your focus. Some of these distractions are mighty important too; such as stoplights at an intersection. But how can we really find ourselves focusing upon one thought or object in this mess of distraction? Simple; we're not goldfish swimming around in a plastic fish tank.

The human brain is a supercomputer designated to process and translate a massive volume of information we receive on a constant basis from our peripheral nervous system. In short; what excites the senses apts for our focus. Whatever it is we deem important we allow ourselves to concentrate upon. So how do we decide what is important and what isn't? It is the relation to you and how you perceive that thought or object at that very moment.

As I type this out rather slowly; meticulously criticising my every keystroke; I find my concentration wavering and drifting to many other thoughts of interest...almost as though I am bored. In which case I truly am hoping to distract myself so as to produce enough stimulus within my brain that I somehow come about the next word to type that seemingly fits snugly in the confines of this block of text. *exhale* Which brings me to a question: How is all of the distraction around us as social creatures furthering our means within this world upon which we stand? One major drawback I myself have noticed of such massive amounts of stimulation outside our bodies is that we are becoming less intune to the more "quiet" things around us. Things like our heartbeat. We need to touch base with ourselves and less with this crazy "look-at-me" world around us.