Author Archives: pavel alekseev

Plagiarism and Inspiration

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In order to understand where is line between plagiarism and creation/inspiration exist, we have to realize that it’s totally different events. Creation is a complex  complicated process which include all levels of author beings, it’s more spiritual or intuitive than explainable or understandable. From the other side plagiarism is a technique, is something anyone can learn and being good in it, even perfect. It’s like driving car: some people doesn’t know how to do it , a lot knows how to do it good, singles knows how to do it excellent, but it’s not an art.
Even if somebody really good in compilation, it’s not make him a good artist, it’s actually make him no artist at all. Doesn’t matter what genre of art is mentioned or what stile, James Joyce, for example, through the whole first part of Ullis was doing a parody for all literature styles of all times, from Homer to Classicism, but he was not copy of anyone . Moreover, he was the first Modern writer. Same way Leo Perutz always took real time and characters but put them in mystical or even magical environment , where God and Devil play together with regular people.
Plagiarism or compilation, is an actual level where true talent never can exist, the speed is too low, the prize is too miserable. Compilation is a pragmatic people poison, when at the same time, inspiration is whine for a gifted, and unfortunately they almost never mix together.

Copyright and Creativity

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Copyright law protects intellectual property. No ifs, no buts – it is, what it is. Anyone who is rowing against it  just not familiar with basic concept of private property in general. The idea of private owning is fundamental not only for economy, it’s even more important for structure of the government. Of course, when the whole generation was raised with child mentality, when people not even try to create something but just copying everything what already exist, idea about protection of intellectual property looks not right. And of course, it’s not people fault they being breeding that way, person with child mentality not creator, he is user. That’s why more and more people forget how to built desktop tower from the part, how to fix the car, even how to cook at home. Generation of creators much less profitable and much more complicated in terms of world commerce and ruling. But why the whole generation stop thinking critically? Why people fighting for insignificant things instead trying to change situation and themselves? Because  Orwell’s Big Brother really exist- it’s muss media , social network , all virtual space in general, and he is dancing and laughing and the whole world doing the same like being hypnotized. People think they doing something real when they create some ice water challenge or whatever you call it, but truly it’s fake. If only you can see wider you’ll see that whol entertainment social media concept with open and closed data, accessibility, connection and anything else you can imagine was create to keep people (users) from real life, real creation, make nations(majority) even more dependable from people who really own power(knowledge, information). The whole idea, if people want to change this situation, they should stop fighting around copyrighting and information pools which are already exist, but start to create  new pools, which will be built on a different principals and will be regulate differently, with no monopoly right , unfair copywriting, with high level of credibility, etc. And it’s can’t be just a wish, people can’t just relegate this to somebody else, it must be social responsibility of every person who connect with that source of information.

Open Access to Any Information

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Open data is a dream, and not a healthy one. Access to any possible information at any time for everyone for free will bring more problems than benefits. People just try not think about it deep, but for real – copyrighting, credibility, responsibilities from the both sides (users and contributors), hosting and many other moments are making the idea utopian. Moreover, same way as a gender gradation in wiki blogging I, personally, do not consider open data very seriously. Today it is not that important who posted more articles – men or women, same as for what information people has full access to. Right now we are living in an era of political, economical, financial and ecological crisis, that can easily end not in a good way for all of us. And this is showing us how regular people can’t deal with all presented information, even with limited data available, where facts presented nice and simple, regular users can’t see bright and are staying frustrated, which for example, can cost  life for seven shuttle crew members.

Critical Thinking: Pros And Cons.

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I agree with Eland Thomas about how critical thinking is important, moreover, I agree, that information which is presented for public censored and sorted and never reflect for hundred percent the reality. De omnibus dubitandum – come under question, thats what Rene Descartes offered in this case and I, personally, take it. I understand the author’s idea about nonprofit press ether, but in his proclamation (because it is what it is) he forgets two very important facts: underground press and publishing agency can be corrupt too, and it’s almost impossible to be clear and critical, when we talk about Hot News, like, for example, couple days ago, plain crushed somewhere in Asia, and some agency told it was a plain, and some report it was a helicopter, and, I bet, some of them just ignored it. Critical thinking is good for everything, except quick respond, mass media, especially periodical part of it, will not survive without gate keeping and assortment control from the side; from the other side, because critical thinking its method of logical thinking, and moreover, its scientific method – its take time and certain level of understanding from person who use it. Government control over media happened not only because somebody tried to keep some information in secret, but because majority will not understand it, or even worse – understand it wrong.

Another two articles describe and explain zines as a genre of literature. Which is, in my opinion definitely not new, authors just forget about salon writing of eighteen and ninety century, when people did absolutely the same and even at the same form.

Convergent Media

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In their work Networked Digital Media in Everyday Life, Graham and Young use iTunes as a perfect example of convergence technology in action. The application was created by using three aspects that never mixed together before: media content, computer hardware and communications. Moreover, authors pointed that what significant for iTunes is characterizing the whole modern media industry. Graham and Young go very deep in their explanation how technological progress affects and shapes society and as a result, how society affects it back. Authors bring a lot of different points of view from many researchers and sociologists but in general, picture looks for me like Ouroboros – a snake eating its own tale. Society creates technology, technology reforms society. But what  really kept my attention was the point  that authors just lightly touch: even with ability to create modern media with using ideas of democracy and equality people built it in absolutely opposite way. All modern media companies built with corporate structure – very strict and limited.

Another good passage, in my opinion, was about four aspects that shape technology: design, marketplace, policy debates and end usage. Authors pointed that technology is a content, in other words, technology is a key moment in understanding trends of modern society. Design part shows the cultural level, policy discussion reflects level of social responsibility, marketplace displays value and end usage – level of social adaptation.

Real versus Virtual

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Both articles don’t have much in common. The reading brain in digital age by Ferris Jabr present for auditory information scientific research about competition between traditional paper book and electronic book, or reading from computer screen. Author use very interesting data, but it feels from the first sentence, that he personally  opposite the idea of books being published in electronic format. It’s look like he is playing with information in order to improve his own opinion. The example he use in a first paragraph(little girl magazine experience) is very unclear, for sure, and author pointed on it, but in a way it will work for him. Ferris, actually, live e-format for magazines and newspapers, his main idea – studying and any important reading and testing must be doing with paper printed sources (books,documents etc), which is definitely true for his generation, same as for mine, but ,in my opinion, not going to work for younger generation. Reading, writing and understanding are training ability, they depends from condition and quality of training. It means that if one generation will be raise without access to paper books, they will don’t need them at all. The Cobweb by Jill Lepore ,in opposite, present to readers different style. Author use real facts, but put them in contexts through personal experience. She is not try to mock auditory, but present her sympathy without forgetting about critical thinking. The idea of the web archive definitely inspire her, but she, with no mercy, shows negative side of it too: the Utopias of founders, the difficulty in order to use it, problems with copyrighting and authors rights. Lepore’s work, as I see it, is more close to a novel, than to essay, she presents not only plot of her research, but real characters: Kahle, Licklider. And even her description of Wayback Machine and archive itself is so stylish and detailed that the reader has a feeling of being at the place without even seeing it. And of course, the main idea that Internet much more fragile than majority of people think it is, is a great topic itself.

Power of information

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In both pieces authors discourse about advance of information. Badke gave us short perspective about how the idea of information evolution with human society and affect it at the same time. Rainolds, in his turn, bring to the table scientific research about how electronic information technology will have transformed American society in a next twenty years. In spite of authors moving with different motivations: Badke needed the basis for his modern information research method, and Rainolds just gave the readers interesting facts, they both make us clearly understand, that information is power, and as any power it has advantages and disadvantages. If Rainolds, actually, not doing much, in his article he just present wise look to the future, Badke describes situation where tail almost willing the dog. In his passages about credibility and quality of both- information and people who use it and care about it , Badke is drawing very sad picture: evil Google and web 2.0 people control the minds of majority and blocking from them real information. Moreover, I mention that Bodke is switching the idea of learning, which is , almost all the time , life  long process, with idea of research, which is, some times, can be done for one working day. Beside of this, I really enjoy my reading, especially NYTimes article and would like to say that in my opinion information research problems mostly depends not from credibility of sources or specific methods of doing research, but from personal experience and intellectual level of researcher. After all, Dorothy realized pretty quick how to survive, even before she understand that it was not a Kansas.