G Wade Blog

Video Games and Violence

2004-07-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

Video Games: Silly entertainment or the scourge of society?

When I was a kid growing up in the seventies, technology wasn't that advanced and we didn't have all of the high speed games that we have now. I remember when Atari came out with Pong, our mom managed to get us a used version of the game and we thought we were stylin'. Keep in mind that this wasn't just any version of the game. That's right baby, with the flip of a switch, we could go from Pong to Breakout. We were the envy of the neighborhood and kids would actually come over and hang out just to play the game.

My how times have changed. In the past thirty years, technology has increased a thousand-fold and the characters in games have changed from two sticks knocking balls back and forth, to lifelike animated characters that actually resemble human beings. Instead of trying to get the little ball past your opponent to score a point, the purpose now is the get by your opponent at any cost. By shooting your competitor or blowing him up with some sort of explosive, you get more than points; in fact, you get to earn stockpiles of ordinance and extra lives.

According to Game Over, 90% of homes now have access to video games and average about 1.5 hours of playing time per day. If this is true, then those playing the games are exposed to about 547.5 hours of degradation, violent bloodshed, sexism, and racial stereotypes per year. Those are just the things that I was able to come up with from the video and, depending on where you are coming from, I'm sure there are others.

The question is, if violent video games are so prevalent and are supposed to be conditioning individuals to act a certain way, then why are we not seeing more people acting out as a result of playing these games? Why are more people not blowing things up and smackin' down their hoes like we see in the virtual world? Well, for me, the truth is simple: People are more than capable of distinguishing real life from virtual life and, for the majority, these things are simply not acceptable. People, despite their many flaws, are able to separate their real and virtual worlds. I'm sure this is disappointing to all of the arm-chair mental health professionals out there, but I'm sure that my arm-chair degree is more sound than theirs and that I am correct in my analysis.

Game Over scored some big points when they introduced the retired Lt. Col. who discussed the Army's use of video training tools to improve the response times of individuals preparing for certain combat situations. However, I believe that the conditioned response of soldiers to combat scenarios is far different that the fantasy, cartoon shootouts experienced by eleven-year-olds in their living rooms.

Also discussed in the video was the Marine Corps' use of Doom, a game that actually scripts the act of killing, as a training aid for combat Marines. I would really love for someone to conduct a study of the Marines who participated in this type of training to determine whether it was the game or good old fashioned training that prepared them for Kuwait, Haiti, Somalia, and Iraq. As a former Soldier, Marine, and combat veteran, I am willing to bet that none of those asked would say that Doom helped them win a battle.

Back in the day, people said that when records were played backwards you could hear satanic messages from the devil worshipping rockstars performing the songs. When movies started getting big, there was a fear that people would act out because of a desire to emulate characters from the films. I believe that video games are simply the media of the moment and that they will be in the spotlight until something new comes along. Until then, I'll be playing the video games that have the girls with the big...uh...heads: because we all know that smart chicks are sexy!!

Identity

2004-07-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

There is little doubt that we alter our identity to fit whatever situation we find ourselves in at a given moment. Whether we are at work, at school, hanging out with our friends, or chatting online, we adjust our attitudes and behavior to fit the perception that we want others to have of our individual selves.

Think about this: Do you find yourself wanting to say something in class, but choose not to do so because you are afraid of what people might think? Maybe afraid that the professor teaching the class might not like your opinion and you are worried about your grade? When the subject in class turns to race, sexuality, religion, abortion, etc., do you jump into the debate with both feet, or do you simply choose the middle ground so as not to upset the balance of the room? The truth is, many of us choose to sit on the sidelines and take in the conversation, then, after class, we get together out in the halls and discuss the fact that so-and-so is a moron and needs to stop monopolizing the discussions.

Without realizing what we have done, we have just saddled ourselves to two similar, but different identities. The first being the attentive active listener, the person who sits there and nods his head as if agreeing with everything being said, and the other being that of the hallway activist, speaking out against the other students for their ridiculous opinions.

I'll take a shot here and tell everyone that, when not in class, I use profanity like it's going out of style; in fact, I epitomize the term, "Cusses like a drunk Marine." That's who I am; however, I don't want people to see me as unprofessional, so I try not to cuss when I am at school. I want to be a good son, so I don't cuss in front of my mother. I want to be a good Christian, so I don't cuss before noon on Sunday. The truth is, there is no real limit to the number of identities that we wear as we go about the day-to-day activities of our lives. I am sure that you understand what I am talking about.

In our text, Kimball talked about mudders who would try to hide the fact that they were mudding at work. Why? Because the mud did not always fit in with their work identities. Everyone knows that employees who are attentive about their work do not goof off on the job. How can these guys be getting any work done if they are hanging out in these dressed up chat rooms sipping virtual margaritas with their pals in another state? Were they bad employees? Probably not, but their "good employee" identities did not want to get messed up with their "slacker" identities so they hid the fact that they were mudding.

In closing, I have to wear too many hats as it is, and I really don't have a lot of time for chat groups or Muds. For me, between full-time work, full-time school, and weekend dad living in a shoe-box, real life identity is far too difficult to manage without having to come up with the time to convince people that I look like Brad Pitt...only sexier!

What is Artificial Life?

2004-07-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

What is Artificial Life? As I understand it, artificial life is the creation of computer based entities that attempt to model the biological processes that we experience in our day-to-day lives. By programming these computer based entities to act /react to cetain behaviors, we can model the possible outcomes of actual biological elements.

So, what does that mean? Well, Let me try to explain where I am coming from. While I am not a scientist, or a computer geek either for that matter, I am going to try and apply my own little spin on this and hopefully work to explain where I am coming from.

I did a paper at Clark College a couple of years ago that discussed the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's). As we all know, GMO's are those little foods created in laboratories to make certain elements of the food more attractive, tastier, drought resistant, etc.. While doing my research, I found that a big part of this industry is the computer based modeling of certain elements of these food items. By using computer based models to mimic the actual biological growth processes of certain entities, scientists have found that they can eliminate large numbers of unlikely combinations without having to spend the time to develop the real-life elements. This saves years in the research process and drastically improves overall success factors.

Where did it start and what is the "Game of Life"
Whatever the "Game of Life" is, I'm sure that it started the day I was born and I got one of the crappy versions of the game.

That said, according to information I found at math.com, the "Game of Life" was invented in 1970 by a mathematician named John Conway. After reading through the information provided by the site (http://www.math.com/students/wonders/life/life.html), I still do not have an understanding of the purpose of the game and, for me, is probably just Conway's idea of how patterns develop in mathematics and the infinite possibilities that arise as we apply differnt patterns to different situations.

Summary of mid term paper

2004-07-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Whiteness of the WSU webpage

Thesis:
By looking at the content of a website from a minority perspective, you can better understand the way website content affects the different minority groups and then work to prevent alienating prospective users in the future.

Argument:It is possible that some colors used within the content of a page may be offensive to select users.
Evidence:Colors are a source of ethnic identity and, when used, may alienate certain groups.

Argument:The alignment of a page may indicate whiteness.
Evidence: A majority of web pages are written in English and, therefore, align on the left hand side. Sites using other languages may align to the right depending upon how it is read.

Argument: Images used with the content of the page may indicate whiteness.
Evidence: Many of images are of white students and faculty/staff

External Sources:
1. Used statistics from the the US Census Bureau.
2. Found an article written by Dr. Peggy McIntosh titled, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." 3. Used ideas from Robin Williams' book, "The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice

Possible refutation for my argument:
1. Someone might say that my arguments are silly. First of all, can someone really be offended by the colors used within a site? Do colors indicate whiteness?
2. The alignment of text within your average page is the norm. Does this really indicate whiteness?
3. The images used are true representations of the actual faculty, staff and student body. Does this represent whiteness or the actual make up of these groups?

My Conclusion:
If we truly want to live in a society where all people are considered equally, then we have to be understanding of the challenges that others face in their day-to-day lives and work to provide a field of play that is inclusive, rather than exclusive.

Brasher and hate.com

2004-06-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

Is there any real difference between the online religion that Brasher discusses in her book and the various hate sites as presented in class while watching the Hate.com video? As we all know, religion online has become an enormous industry, reaching millions of people worldwide and providing many with a promise of hope and understanding through their religious teachings. Hate sites work in the same way.

As seen in Hate.com, many of those who practice hate consider this hate to be based in religious ideology. I am sure you will remember the young lady from the video who was describing the lettering tattooed on her arm and explaining the idea behind RAHOWA, RAcial HOly WAr. In her mind, as she was indoctrinated to believe this way, she is religiously bound to practice hate. This is her religious identity.

Hate sites plant this message of religious identity with the user and lure the user in with the idea that they too can find salvation and belonging within a particular group. This group will support them through hard times and help them to understand the difficulties they face in their everyday lives. However, there is a little twist to the teachings, as the "understanding" provided by hate groups is not your traditional message of love and forgiveness. Instead, these hate groups present the message that you have to subjugate others in order to obtain righteousness.

Give Me That ONLINE RELIGION

2004-06-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for religion, you'll find it on the world wide web. With over a million sites dedicated to religion, you can find everything from the Christ to the anti-christ, and from the Amish, to Zen Buddhism. The web really does have a little bit of something for everyone; in fact, it has more. In a world where it seems there is no way to avoid everyday encounters with some aspect of religion, the web provides us with the opportunity to investigate those encounters and to try and find some sort of answers. Why are those guys always pushing the watchtower? What the deal with those Mormon Missionaries? What is the conflict between Judaism and Islam? How the hell did the Christians get mixed up in that mess? The answers are there if you want them, all you have to do is look. The best part about it? you can pretend that you're not home and just not answer the door.

What does religion do within a culture?

2004-06-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

What does religion do within a culture? In order to answer this question, my tendency is to look back over time and discuss the different aspects of religion and how people have followed different paths over time. However, instead of doing this, I am going to take a different approach and say that religion, regardless of whether we are discussing Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc., is the greatest reason for many of the world's problems as we know them today.

For starters, let's take a look at what is going on in the world today. Right now, our country, predominately Christian, is involved in a war in Iraq, a country that we all know is predominately Muslim. Why? I don't really know. It could be money, oil, democracy, freedom, or, depending which side of the political aisle you are sitting on, any number of other reasons; however, this is not the gist of my point For me, the point is in the difficulty we are having in this region. There is no doubt that the Iraqi people were happy to be rid of Saddam Hussein. Unfortunately, they do not appear to be all to happy with the alternative. Why? Well, the alternative is an interim government supported by an American, predominately Christian army that, traditionally, reflects the face of the British Colonialism of the past. In addition to this, ...

More to come...

Contract For English 471

2004-06-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

Summer 2004

• Clarifying the assumptions that we make
• Opposing opinions are okay, have a thick skin
• Recognize good intentions
• Have an open mind
• Choose your words carefully
• If you don’t know, ask questions
• No ad hominem attacks (attacks against the people in the discussion)
• Do not try to monopolize the class discussion